Chapter 1
"Prisoner 99. Step forward and board the ship!"
Damian complied with the instructions, remembering what happened to the last guys who tried to be stubborn to the prison wardens. He walked forward slowly, looking up through the corner of his eyes at the long gashes that decorated the bodies of those fellows.
They had been singled out, probably to be dealt with when they reached the island.
Once he had completely stepped on the deck of the ship, he lined up beside the other prisoners and criminals. They were birds of a feather if you could call it that.
Damian looked up through his wet and bloodied strands of hair at his "family" that stood on land across from the ship.
His uncle, aunt and their two children. They could barely hide their excited smirks as they watched Damian board the ship on the way to the most dangerous prison in the entire Northern Region of the world.
Of course, they would be excited. They framed him for a theft he didn't commit, as well as several other things. Theft ordinarily would mean he would get sent to a normal prison, but in this world, anything could happen as long as you had connections.
And by connections, what he truly meant was power.
A hundred years ago, humanity was faced with an incredibly powerful calamity. Trying to find alternative and cleaner energy sources, some scientists unknowingly unleashed a strange energy that mutated the entire world.
The entire Earth except for humans, that is.
Humans were outmatched by what they now call the Ether Beasts as well as the various strange mutated phenomena. There was nothing that human invention could do to stop these strange, powerful creatures that could cause earthquakes and blast beams out of their mouth. They were like the kaiju from those old movies.
However, one day, a massive discovery was made by a researcher. This discovery allowed humans to use the Ether to awaken the dormant EVO-1 genes within their bodies. Once these genes are activated, it gives humans the ability to do things only heard of in fiction.
This brought about a new age called the Age of Evolution.
Damian was something that a lot of people on Earth now would call a "waste".
He had faulty genes. No power emerged from his body. He couldn't cultivate the Ether to grow stronger, and he couldn't benefit society in any way whatsoever, which made him the lowest of the low.
It was also the reason why his so-called "family" felt so comfortable taking advantage of him. His uncle had remained patient for years, but when Damian's father died a few months ago, he finally felt comfortable to commence his bullying.
Damian clenched his fist as he stared daggers straight into their souls. His eyes were reddened and bloodshot from lack of sleep and the inhumane conditions.
Grant, his uncle, stumbled back at Damian's chilling and murderous stare. Then he harrumphed before turning away.
Damian did so as well, lowering his gaze to the short lady and girl standing beside his uncle's family.
His gaze softened slightly as he saw the tears in their eyes.
"Mom… Lily…I'll be back soon, I promise."
He could only mouth those words to them, but even then, a guard spotted him quickly.
"Hey, you there! I thought we said not to speak!"
He brought a thick iron rod down against Damian's back, causing him to tremble as a shiver went up his spine. He kept his head down to avoid any misunderstandings, which pleased the guard a lot.
"Heh, that's more like it," the guard sneered, staring at Damian from top to bottom, "You won't last a day on the Sentry Prison Island, boy!"
Damian said nothing.
Sentry Prison Island was way different from a regular prison. Especially since most prisoners sent there were evolvers. More importantly, they would have access to all their powers. It wasn't so much a prison as it was a massive coliseum where they were all meant to battle themselves to the death.
In a situation like that, Damian, a fifteen-year-old waste, stood no chance against these hardened criminals and Evolvers.
But he was determined to survive. All he had to do was bid his time.
However, he first looked up at the guard who just harassed him, noting all his facial features.
'You… you will die.'
Almost as soon as he thought that, he spotted the guard getting off the large warship to whisper something to his uncle's ears. He could hardly tell what they said, but he didn't need to think much upon seeing the telltale transfer of money using wristcoms.
As soon as all five hundred prisoners were onboard the massive warship, the journey on the vast blue sea started immediately. They were 'escorted' to the bottom of the ship, heavy chains and handcuffs clanking together. Anyone who slowed down the line was hit with the long metal rods that the guards carried.
Damian himself was also subject to the beatings, although he hadn't slowed down once. It was none other than the guard with the hateful face. He had a nasty smile that showed off all of his rotten teeth and bad breath.
Finally, the torture seemed to stop once they were all at the bottom of the ship. That couldn't be more wrong.
It was dark, and uncomfortable, with barely any space for all five hundred of them. Damian could hardly adjust to the feeling of other's sweat and sometimes blood grazing his skin.
And this seemed to last forever as the long sea journey lasted. He could hardly keep track of space in this unfortunate space. It could have lasted anywhere between an hour and seven. It was hard to keep a note of time when the smell of vomit and musty sweat was the only thing even vaguely stimulating.
After some time, it came to an end.
The door that they came through cracked open, revealing a temporarily blinding burst of light.
A hardened man wearing a muted blue military uniform stood there. He looked different from any of the guards earlier. In simple words, he looked disciplined, but that didn't mean he was going to be any easy to deal with than them. Damian thought it was going to be the opposite.
The man appeared to be middle-aged and had a long scar running down his face. It had taken his entire left eye, leaving a hollow hole in there that he didn't cover with an eyepatch.
A smirk spread across his face.
"Get down, maggots."
The prisoners, still seasick and disoriented, took a bit more time to respond, causing the man to harrumph slightly.
He raised a hand, and small lightning sparks appeared at his fingertips. Then he casually flung them into the crowd below.
BZZZT~!
The purple bolts of energy struck an unlucky man, who collapsed immediately.
Everyone startled, got to their feet and got to standing.
Damian was no exception. He wasn't a superhuman like the rest of these criminals. He would die if one of those bolts struck him.
They all quickly filed out of the bottom of the ship, onto the deck, and finally onto the shore of the island.
ROOAAAR!!
The ear-shattering roar reached their ears as soon as they all stepped foot on the island. A large head peeked through the trees in the distance, and then its whole body followed. The sleek body was a magnificent panther-looking creature.
Its dark fur was covered in glowing red stripes, and a massive barbed tail swayed out behind it, clearing swathes of forest with each movement. Its maw opened again, and this time a burst of flames shot into the air.
Damian stared in awe. It was the first time he'd seen an Ether Beast in person, and possibly the last with how weak he was.
Prison Warden Konnor smiled to himself as he spotted the Fifth Stage Ether Beast.
Then he announced loudly, "This island, maggots, is where you will kill yourselves for the good of the Empire."