"The battle is lost." A calm voice spoke aloud, full of
sorrow and loss.
"Humanity… has fallen."
Shin Hopefell lifted up a chipped and damaged golden sword, raising it above his head for a brief moment before he plunged it downward. The blade left a trail of golden light as it slashed down, ripping apart the enormous brown boulder that had just been lobbed at him.
BOOM
WHOOSH
The split parts of the boulder slammed down onto the ground past him, throwing up a small cloud of dirt and dust.Shin's aching body shook from the force of the deflection, his
tired green eyes looking out at the hopeless scene before him.
It was a slaughter.
They were standing on a large, broken stone plateau. Tens
of thousands of figures could be seen battling on this plateau,
swords clashing against spears, explosions of light and magic
searing the air and sky. Shin could make out thousands of
Adapted Humans making use of their Vampire, Werewolf, and
various other forms as they fought against the hundreds of
blue-skinned humanoids that had greeted them when they
arrived on the plateau.
He could even see a few Full Transformation users. A few
towering Tyrannosaurus Rexes and other large dinosaurs, a
couple of huge Golems made of black rock, and a massive
green turtle all helping lead the defense against the blueskinned humanoids.
Humanoids from one of the 12 Tribes of Deities. The blueskinned Morians.
"Don't give up yet, Micheal! We've made it so far!
Humanity can not fall yet!" Shin yelled out loud at the
speaker, twisting his body to the side as another huge boulder
came smashing down.
The Morians had sent out a force of roughly 1,000 of their
members to confront the Last Army of Humanity, as their
force was so proudly dubbed. The strongest 50,000 surviving
warriors that had made it through the Seven Layers, fighting to
protect and ensure the survival of the Human Race.
Billions of lives had already been lost, yet billions more
were depending on them to succeed. To gain a foothold on the
Seventh Layer and allow humanity to flee the lower layers in
safety.
Shin's body was muscular and mighty, the years of intense
combat and survival having hardened him into a powerful
fighter. His entire physique was covered in scars, a testament
to the brutal fighting that had overtaken him. His bright blonde
hair was tied up in a Norse braid, a nod to his Gaelic and
Norse roots. A dark red Aura clung tightly to his body, full of
potent strength.
Micheal turned to look at his longtime companion, his best
friend that he had met back in high school so many years ago,
back on Earth.
"I'm not giving up, Shin. I am merely stating the facts."
Micheal whipped a sharp-edged sword of his own forward as
he split a boulder of his own in half, his body shaking as well
under the force of the attack.
Micheal's body wasn't as muscular as Shin's, but instead
held a slim, inner strength that bespoke long years of practice.
While he was nowhere near as powerful as the true geniuses of
the Human Race, his years of dedication and obsessive
training had seen results. Clinging around his body was a
powerful red Aura, just like Shin's, full of vital strength.
"The air is incredibly thick here. Gravity is far stronger
than on any previous Layer. Even the rocky ground is
incredibly durable, I was nearly unable to split that boulder.
Despite that, those Morians are playing with us. They aren't
even trying…" Micheal continued, his voice harsh.
Indeed, the Last Army of Humanity had just arrived on the
Seventh Layer, in full force and regalia, with as much
preparation as possible. Well, as much preparation as possible
given that the varying leaders of the army were arrogant and
self-obsessed after so many years of ruling by themselves.
They didn't really get along and had no agreed-upon strategy.
And as soon as they had arrived, they were ambushed by a
force 50 times smaller than their own. A force that didn't
contain any of the true elites or experts of the Morians.
And despite that…
They were being slaughtered.
The plateau they had arrived on was set in a seemingly
random location. Of all the Layers, this final, Seventh Layer
seemed the most normal. There was a large mountain range in
the distance, and a series of broken stone plateaus visible
around them. It almost felt like they were back on Earth.
The only real, visible indication that this wasn't Earth were
the two Suns hanging high in the sky overhead.
The blue-skinned Morians were casually ripping giant
boulders of stone from the ground and lobbing them at the
humans. A few of the Morians had even leapt forward and
engaged their army in a grand melee.
Explosions of light and fire shook the air as other members
of the Last Army responded, sending out powerful Abilities to
try and strike back. Micheal could make out the elite members
of the Human Race engaging several of the Morians directly.
The Chinese Black Dragon King Yun Qi was currently
facing off against several of the stronger looking Morians, all
of their bodies blurring as they fought in hand to hand combat.
The blue Aura that clung to him was identical to the Aura the
Morian attackers held, one that rippled with power far
surpassing Micheal's own.
The American Blue Queen Jessica Wiles was sending out
rippling spear after spear of ice, knocking back the blueskinned Deities with grace and ease. The Morians, however,
were only minimally injured by her freezing strikes. Strikes
that had, on the Sixth Layer, easily obliterated entire
mountains.
Micheal saw the legendary French Sundering Swordmaster
Bastien Amiot wield his blade against a dozen Morians, his
arms blurring as he unleashed blistering strike after strike.
Quivering beams of energy blasted through the air, slamming
into foe after foe.
The greatest geniuses of the Human Race went up against
the Morians, the experts that represented the various nations of
Earth, from Germany to Russia, from China to France,
America to Singapore, the Philippines to Malaysia. It was a
glorious joining of hands as every nation joined together to
survive.
Behind those elite geniuses stood thousands of powerful
and tested experts like Micheal and Shin backing them up.
While Micheal wouldn't truly consider himself an expert, only
a middling warrior among the 50,000 greatest, he was still an
experienced soul, ready to battle.
Most of the Morians simply circled, throwing out boulders
or long distance Abilities, as if they were waiting for
something. Only a few of them rushed forward to engage, and
even then, they only engaged the geniuses that were fighting at
the forefront.
For every boulder that a human expert managed to deflect,
another would crash down hard, penetrating through defensive
Auras and taking a life. At least 2,000 of the greatest fighters
humanity had had already perished, leaving them at roughly
48,000.
'Status.' Micheal thought, calling up the strange, mystical
screen that had appeared years ago. He had a few moments of
safety and opted to check and see if anything abnormal had
appeared after arriving in the Seventh Layer.
.
— - Status — -
Name: Micheal Care
Points: 84
Race: Human
Age: 28
- Stats -
Strength - 2,428
Endurance - 1,703
Recovery - 412
Soul - 108
- Abilities - (7/7)
- Grandmaster Sword Mastery (1/5)
- Ironblood Body Type
- Ki Cultivator (King Tier)
- Herculean Strength
- Talos Mind Power
- Enhanced Strength
- Enhanced Recovery
.
He sighed as he looked over it. He had just barely
managed to reach the lowest Tier of Grandmaster Sword
Mastery before the final battle, after training for so long. He
was not an innate genius like the powerful warriors fighting at
the front line, but his dedication had proven itself in the end.
'While my Stats and Abilities aren't the greatest, I should
not be the weakest either.' He thought, hoping he could prove
useful. Compared to regular humans from Earth, he had the
strength of more than two hundred and forty men combined.
Yet, among these giants, he could only be considered average.
'Nothing about my status has changed.' His eyes flashed
with glowing light as he flicked it off, all while maintaining
his guard.
"WELCOME TO THE SEVENTH LAYER,
HUMANITY! CONGRATULATIONS ON MAKING IT
THIS FAR!"
A loud, terrible voice interrupted the ongoing melee,
causing a temporary ceasefire as both sides disengaged. This
voice was full of throbbing power, causing the air itself to
ripple.
A figure descended from the sky. A blue-skinned Morian
wearing a simple leather vest and holding a simple looking
grey sword in his hand. The air seemed to shiver around the
Morian as he moved, distorted.
"I am General Kelleth of the Morian Tribe." The floating
figure introduced himself, looking down at the figures down
below. A cool, white Aura seemed to cling to his body, one
that radiated strength and power.
An Aura that Micheal recognized.
'He's actually God Tier…' He thought, his heart dropping
with despair.
"Hmph, who cares who you are? The Human Race fears
nothing and no one!" The Black Dragon King's voice boomed
as he jumped up into the air, a pair of black wings appearing
on his back. The blue Aura that surrounded his body rippled
with black light as he activated some Ability, facing off
against the General.
WHOOSH
His body expanded, transforming into a huge, towering
Black Dragon. Black energy crackled around his enormous
frame as his wings shook the air, thundering with power. It
was an awe-inspiring sight, a gargantuan leviathan that blasted
through the air.
Micheal watched all of this, his eyes glued to the Black
Dragon King, desperately praying for his success. The Black
Dragon King wasn't a fool, he could recognize the power of
the creature he was up against, yet chose to fight anyway,
confident in his own strength and well aware that retreat was
not an option.
SHKKK
WHOOSH
General Kelleth's arm seemed to shiver, blurring for a brief
instant. It moved so quickly that Micheal was unable to make
out the attack at all.
The Black Dragon King looked at the Morian General.
And then, slowly, closed his eyes as his body fell apart,
split into 24 bisected pieces.
Killed instantly.
"No!"
"The Great King!"
"Dragon Lord!"
Cries of horror and terror shook the human army as they
saw one of their legends die. Tens of thousands of voices cried
out.
"How dare you! Die, you vile cretin!"
The Blue Queen had never been on fair terms with the
Black Dragon King, yet she still rushed up into the air, wings
made of ice surrounding her as she launched freezing cold
attacks of her own. Beautiful crystals and frozen snowflakes
swarmed the air, surrounding her like a beast from legend.
Against a single opponent, other allies would merely get in the
way.
SHKKK
WHOOSH
The General's arm twitched.
The Blue Queen fell, killed instantly, her body ripped to
shreds.
"No!!!" More screams from the crowd.
"I will not allow this to continue!" The Sundering
Swordmaster rose into the air, the bright blue Aura that
covered him fluctuating. He saw the deaths of the other
legends, the power the Morian General held, yet fought all the
same, doing everything he could to stop the attackers.
SHKKK
SHKKK
WHOOSH
The Sundering Swordmaster fell to the side, killed. This
time, it seemed to have taken slightly longer than with the
other two legends of humanity, yet he still died all the same,
from an attack that Micheal could not even make out.
"No!"
"It's too much!"
"Retreat back to the Sixth Layer!"
The Last Army of Humanity seemed to fall apart as expert
after expert tried to challenge the General. Dozens of powerful
Ability users all rushed forward, some as unique Adapted
Humans while others focusing with pure power. Some
attacked in groups, while others attack on their own.
The Morian General floated down to the ground, taking all
comers.
One after another, all the challengers died.
Those that tried to retreat found their way cut off. The
portal that had led them here was locked, unable to transport
them backwards. All that awaited them was the jeering
Morians, throwing deadly boulders, arrows, or bolts of energy.
"The battle is lost, Shin." Micheal's voice was quiet as he
looked at his comrades, his brothers in arms. He looked down
at his blade and then back up at the Morians. Now that their
General had landed, the Morians seemed to take that as a cue
to attack. Several hundred of them were rushing forward,
wielding an assortment of weapons.
"I-I…" Shin stumbled over his words as he looked at this
scene, his arms trembling. He took a deep breath, closing his
eyes.
"I guess you're right, Micheal. I was wrong in the end."
Shin's voice was small, his usually cheerful and optimistic
demeanor nowhere to be seen.
"There was no hope for us." His voice broke as he looked
at the charging wave of death, his blade limp at his side. His
shoulders hunched, making him appear small and fragile.
"We have failed. Humanity has failed." Micheal closed his
eyes as well, tears threatening to leak.
He had done everything he could. When everything began,
so many years ago, the people of Earth had been transported to
the Seven Layers in waves. As someone that was part of the
4th Wave, far behind those firstcomers, it was only because of
his sheer determination that he managed to catch up to this
point.
And despite everything… he proved useless. He couldn't
even help those vaunted geniuses, let alone stand anywhere
near their level.
"How could we have known, Micheal?" Shin muttered
quietly, watching as the last hope of humanity died out.
"How are we supposed to fight Gods?" Shin fell to his
knees, his hands trembling.
CRUNCH
THUD
Noise echoed out as a figure landed down near them. The
figure of the blue skinned Morian that had wiped out all the
geniuses of Humanity.
The figure of General Kelleth, covered in his resplendent,
oppressive white Aura that indicated he was a God Tier
warrior. A true Deity representing an entire Tribe of Deities.
"To struggle from being the weakest race all the way to the
Seventh Layer, it is truly something to be commended! Allow
me to send you on your way!" The General loudly proclaimed.
"Die!"
"Kill it!"
The fighters near Shin and Micheal rushed forward as one,
more than a dozen powerful warriors all at least King Tier
throwing themselves forward. Black lightning, bright red
flames, powerful energy bolts, a deluge of attacks smashed
down towards the figure, full of chaotic might.
BOOM
With almost a casual wave of his hand, the General
dispelled and blocked the attacks. His body then blurred as he
began to unleash a slaughter, killing everyone that attacked
him.
In less than a second, more than 50 warriors died.
The General's body blurred and then stopped in front of a
kneeling Shin, looking down at the fighter curiously.
"Ah, has despair taken you, warrior? Alas. If our survival
did not depend on this, perhaps we would spare your kind."
The General shook his head sadly.
Shin looked up, his eyes bloodshot, but, at the same time,
conveying a feeling of acceptance. The General raised his
sword above his head, the white Aura bursting around him as
he prepared to take Shin out.
"Die!"
Micheal's voice was full of passion as he rushed at the
General, swinging with all his might. He unleashed
everything, his blade moving in an intricate and skilled arc,
red energy surrounding it as it cut through the air itself.
WHOOSH
SHKKK
CLANG
Micheal felt as if he had been punched in the chest. A
stabbing pain filled his body as he was flung backwards, his
sword knocked from his grip as he sailed through the air until
he crashed down hard on the ground. He felt his Ki fluctuate,
the red Aura that surrounded him shivering.
"No…" He croaked, blood spattering from his lips as he
looked down.
A huge hole in his body could be seen, punched directly
through his heart.
As Micheal's vision wavered, he could just barely see the
General return to stand in front of Shin, raising his blade once
more. His body went into shock at the gaping injury it had
received, making everything around him appear surreal.
WHOOSH
SHKKKK
The world around Micheal seemed to move forward in
slow motion. .
Slowly, ever so slowly, he watched as the last friend he had
in this world, a man he loved as a brother, slid to the ground.
Dead.
'NOOO!' Screams tried to rip free from Micheal's failing
throat as he watched Shin die, commanding his body to stand
and fight. Pulling forth every iota of willpower and strength,
all the years of training and dedication, to try and make
himself rush forward, to try and save Shin.
All to no avail. His body was failing, his heart already still.
All he did, everything he tried… It was all not enough. It
had been a waste. Humanity had still fallen.
'Sorry, Shin.' Tears streamed down Micheal's face as he
collapsed, his vision turning black.
'I let you down.'
'I was useless in the end.'
As Micheal's body fell still, a small, unassuming, purple
ring on Micheal's finger flashed.
A ring he had stumbled upon through random chance and
luck, acquired in a place he had long since forgotten.
Micheal died.
But as he died, that ring vibrated with power. Words began
to resonate, contained purely within the ring. Words full of
desire and longing, passion and need.
'If only I had a chance to start over, to fix everything.'
"…"
'If only I had a chance to start over, to fix everything.'
"…"
'If only I had a chance to start over, to fix everything.'
"…"
'Divine Artifact: The Wishing Ring activated. Wish has
not exceeded the maximum range of values.'
"…"
'Wish granted. Transporting memories through time.'
"…"
WHOOSH