A tool—that's what I am. A tool for those at the top, the powerful. I have no name, no connections, no bonds.
I am nothing, yet something. One strike, an empire crumbles. One kill, an era ends.
I am a tool, and there's nothing I can do, yet I can do anything.
I've been known by many names: Number 0, Baba-Yaga, Diablo, Nameless, Shadow, Djinn, Bakemono.
But I call myself Hollow. Empty.
Like everyone, I was a child full of hope and dreams. But unlike most, I was immediately awakened by the reality of my single purpose.
To maintain balance within this world.
I became the weapon of the Illuminati—an order made before civilization flourished. Powerful families, clans, and bloodlines across the globe were at each other's throats, but they each collaborated on one thing, and that is creating me.
Project Hollow.
An empty husk that will do anything to balance the world, to kill and destroy anyone disrupting its balance.
From individuals who created a cure for cancer, to tyrant rulers, all their blood was spilled by my hands. As long as it maintained the world's balance, my purpose was temporarily met.
Cryogenized, I woke up only to fulfill my task.
But, as time passed, I gained consciousness, and awareness of my true purpose in this world.
I saw the world change as time went on—wars, famine, deaths, disasters. Humanity struggled but grew stronger. It fascinated me.
What if humanity started anew with knowledge and lessons from the past accessible to them? Remove the bad stems, fruits, and roots, then plant a new seed. Would that end my purpose? Would that make me finally be... free?
And that's when I decided. I will reshape humanity to my vision of peace.
A restart, so to speak.
And that's what I did, or rather, what I will do once I kill the man in front of me.
"Uggk! Do—Do you know what you've done!"
The man, a descendant of my creator, lay on the floor, his back against a blood-painted wall, holding his severed guts.
"I've come to finish my purpose."
"Purpos— You've killed humanity! That isn't your purpose!"
"My purpose was for the world to obtain eternal balance. To achieve that, humanity must first obtain peace. This is the end of the past generation. I've placed all infants around the globe within one country for them to start anew. There's only one important piece to perfect my plan, and you currently hold it, my lord."
"You de-cough!* defective tool..." the man gasped for breath. As he continued to vomit blood, I walked toward him and stabbed my finger on a nerve on his neck and ribs. His bleeding quickly stopped.
"Give me 'Project God', and I'll let your bloodline live."
The man widened his eyes before staring at me with an indifferent gaze.
"Do you think I couldn't see through your lies? You've already killed them... didn't you?"
He's correct. All the children were too far gone, their mind was already ingrained with their ways, leaving them alive would spoil my plan.
"You aren't the patriarch of the Marcos Family for nothing. Your oligarchy in this world will now end. Do you have anything to say?" I kneeled in front of him, staring at him dead in the eye.
"Your plan will fail. The Illuminati is eternity. As long as there is light, our ideals will forever be illuminated..."
With those last words, the patriarch of the Marcos family looked at me with insanity in his eyes.
I went close to his ears and whispered,
"Unfortunately for you, the shadows of your past have finally engulfed your light. All of you shouldn't have created me..." With a swift motion, my hand went through his lungs, destroying his ribs and stabbing his heart.
With that, the past generation have now ended as the man in front of me took his last breath.
I felt his heart beat in my hand for a few seconds. When I felt a small contraption, I pinched it and freed it from his heart.
Quickly retracting my bloody hand, I looked at my sharp claws and willed it to retract. With a swipe motion, my bloodied hand is now spotless, devoid of any blood.
Looking at the small contraption in my hand, I nodded in satisfaction.
The fragmented quantum computer. A technological marvel and the Illuminate's new ultimate weapon.
Seeing that the world was quickly changing into a digital age, the Illuminati hadn't been idle.
To control the world through the internet, they created a quantum computer that could control and obtain all the information of any digital apparatus. However, the quantum computer alone wasn't enough. They needed something they could easily control too. That's where the project comes in.
'Project God.'
'Artificial Intelligence... A very dangerous thing... In some sense, they just created someone like me, huh. Only much more efficient...'
Thinking that, I squinted my eyes at the fragmented quantum computer.
'With this, I could manipulate the future generation into my vision of peace. My body is already at its limit, being cryogenized and decryogenized so many times. I need someone to inherit my will. In this case... I need something.' Deep in my thoughts, I grabbed my suitcase beside the door and placed it on the office's table.
Opening the suitcase, 12 other fragmented quantum computers revealed themselves to me.
With a total of 13 bloodied fragments, I would finally be able to complete the quantum computer.
'Just a little more, and we will achieve true peace...'
With those unfamiliar feelings, I proceeded to assemble the quantum computer. After finishing it, I exited the room with fast strides.
My plan succeeded. I kicked-started the A.I inside the quantum computer and named it Noah.
Within the first five years, taking all pairs of animals and all children with a total of 1000 population below 4 years old to a country called the Philippines, I stored them inside a deep bunker that I had created.
I then launched all the atomic bombs accumulated over the years into the atmosphere and detonated them back into the Earth's soil.
The world shook for a few hours from that destruction, but the bunker held on through it. It was already expected; after all, Noah had calculated all possible scenarios for my plan to be perfect.
Noah also made the perfect syllabus to wire the children's minds for everlasting peace. Through education about morality, coexistence, nature, and psychology, human's innate empathy have reached its peak.
Some smart ones guessed my and Noah's purpose, but that was already in our plan. Once a child was aware enough, a new syllabus would be taught, and that was the Void Era's history.
I named it as such because I wanted this generation to look at this Era as a lesson and a deterrent. A dark history that future generations must avoid following into...
As time went on, I saw the seeds that I planted grow from its roots with a smile on my face. All of them now knew my dark past and instead of hating me for it, they understood why I did it.
I thought it was impossible for me to be understood by others, but I guess I didn't know the true extent of the results I created.
Ten years had passed. Now, the children would set foot once again into the outside world with me as their guide. As they pushed me forward in my wheelchair.
As soon as the huge gate of the bunker opened, instead of fire and ruins, what we saw was green, lush leaves, and humongous trees.
The birds' whistles echoed into our ears, giving us the signal that we, humanity, would once again be one with nature. Only this time, much stronger, knowledgeable, and wiser.
[My friend... it's beautiful, isn't it?] A robotic sound echoed into my ears.
"Yes, Noah. With this new world, the children will now start anew. With this, our purpose, my purpose will now come to an end."
[I know, my friend. You've had a long, hard journey. It's time to rest.] With Noah's farewell, my eyelids began to feel heavy.
"Grandpa, look at the sun!"
The sound of children's laughter chimed in my ears, joy and happiness evident in them.
"Grandpa, it looked exactly like what you told in your stories..."
Another one added,
"Grandpa, it's amaz..."
And another one...
"Grandpa..."
Another...
"Gra—..."
As the children's voices sung in his ears, Hollow took his last breath. Content that he had now permanently achieved his true purpose.
He was wrong; eternal peace wasn't his true purpose; it was his death all along...
/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\
-Comment on what you think!
-patreon.com/Rai_jin
-You can read 5 chapters ahead on my Patreon if you want!