"Honey! Are you okay?"
"Yeah! I just slipped on some—
I found something; it's a cave."
"A cave?!"
"Yeah..."
"What's in it?"
"Nothing— Wait, I see something, there's a door..." he replied,
"But— There are hundreds if not thousands of dead bodies and bones here." he hesitated, a mixture of shock, disgust and disbelief evident on his dirt-covered face.
"Bones?" she replied with a shocked tone.
...
"Answer!!" she shouted, fearing he might have gotten into a predicament.
"Yeah!! — but for some reason, some bodies and bones look like the bodies of people who didn't struggle while being killed; some of the other bodies look like they committed suicide willingly," he replied while moving through the sea of dead bodies and monitoring them.
"You sure?!"
"Yeah. And there's also a large door— no gate in front of all this."
"You mean there's a gate underneath the field?"
"Yeah, and it's a big one."
"Who knew we would find something like this on our honeymoon, huh," she said with a face that glimmered in excitement as it took a 360 turn from her previous worried face.
"Should we check it out?!"
"Yeah— we should explore it.
It might even make headlines. If it belongs to someone great."
__________________________________________________________________
25-years ago, a couple discovered the burial tomb of the Chinese Emperor Qin Shi Huang of the first Chinese Unified Empire on their honeymoon in the field of their vacation home.
The tomb was considered a myth due to the controversy surrounding it, as the first emperor took extreme measures, killing everyone who attended the burial, including architects, servants, and guards.
The intention behind this ruthless act was to deter grave robbers and safeguard the sanctity of the tomb from any potential defilement.
Surprisingly, it was true, with several bones and dead bodies found, yet it maintained a pristine and almost dazzling appearance.
Engraved in colossal golden ancient-lettered characters was the name of the tomb's owner, which spanned across its gate-like doors.
-Weeks Later-
The government emptied the tomb, retaining only the body and the desiccated bones, in response to the worst fears of the emperor.
After discovering valuable artefacts within the tombs, during the process of the removal of the artefacts, some bones were inadvertently destroyed and broken during the excavation process.
-25 years later-
Across these past 25 years, the discovery of four other tombs and legendary artefacts worldwide, and now in the present, on the 31st day of the last month, at the last hours of the inauguration of the recent tomb artefacts commenced.
As the woman grazed her finger across the edge of the golden key, she bled, and a blood drop dripped on the artefact.
These activated the artefact, causing a bright-blinding light to erupt as it shone brightly across the globe.
Simultaneously, in various nations and museums worldwide, several other artefacts were also "activated" at that very moment.
The activated artefacts raced towards the atmosphere with a ferocious speed as they collided with the initial artefact that activated, colliding in a symphony of BOOMs from every direction—east, west, north, south.
The collision released shockwaves with a burst of energy that surged through the world, gripping every individual, animal, element, and even plant in its intense and electrifying embrace.
Awakening from a deep slumber, beings hidden within the Earth's recesses stirred.
With the collision of the artefacts, all living beings awoke and looked towards the brightly shining artefacts as they continued to merge.
Creatures from the depths of the sea emerged, and entities from the Earth's core, from volcanoes, and the mysterious depths of Bermuda all rose in response to the unleashed energy.
Entities of various forms, defying the laws of physics, arose in unison: humanoid, smokey, void, animalistic, and colossal creatures akin to flying giant turtles.
The world witnessed an unprecedented convergence of life, a spectacle beyond the boundaries of imagination and understanding.
*CRACK*
*CRACK*
Suddenly, the peaceful sky was shattered into countless pieces, looking like broken shards of glass. Instead of the sky, a very bright star appeared, seeming to expand quickly and light up everything around it.
The vastness of space and the shimmering stars seemed to converge and then collapse inward as if they were being pulled in by an invisible force, just like that of a black hole.
Reality itself bent and twisted, spiralling and collapsing, all converging to a singular point—the birth of a new creation, "Luminara Regal."
The whole of creation swirled; the planets, the sun, the stars, comets, asteroids, water, the atmosphere, and the rest of creation spiralled towards the Regal.
As they spiralled, a mix of horror enveloped all witnesses, drawn into a dance that bent and twisted them, tearing them from their cores until all that remained was a profound void.
A resounding BOOM echoed through the now-created void, wiping everyone and everything, ceasing as if nothing had happened. The realm, the Earth, and even the universe had ceased to exist.
All that existed was the artefact known by its name, "Luminara Regal."
The artefact that had caused all this continued spinning in the void, the vast emptiness it created, and with a
*CRACK*
It all began again—the same realm began cracking, reaching points where the eyes couldn't see.
Suddenly, a small glistening light was seen; it glimmered a warm, welcoming glow that increased as the crack continued. With a last thud, all fell, revealing a horrendous sight, a view that made you gouge out your eyes when looking at it.
All creatures that existed and those that recently showed appeared here, a plain that looked and felt like Earth, a plain similar yet different to Earth. They were transported here from Earth and were spaced at random.
But what happened was disgusting and horrendous; they all started transfiguring, changing their shape and mutating.
Their bones, shells, muscles, skin, and leaves all started transfiguring; the plants couldn't adapt to the sudden change and eventually died.
The beasts that successfully transfigured became majestic-looking creatures of various sizes. Those who couldn't adapt died, releasing a noxious, unpleasant, murky, irritating scent that irritated all the senses.
The adapted beasts, comprising less than 2% of the initial total, transformed into majestic-looking creatures.
Some others retained their old appearances but looked different in certain parts.
For humans, less than 50% survived with no physical changes occurring; they remained the same.
However, they acquired the ability to use the force that transfigured others. The rest underwent transfiguration, from farmers to boxers and politicians, the once rich and poor, male and female.
This transformation affected most adults and teenagers, while most kids and pregnant women survived without transfiguration.
Interestingly, the children born to pregnant women during this event didn't transfigure but gained a superior mastery of the force compared to those who underwent transfiguration.
This was a horror to some as they lost their loved ones to transfiguration, but a blessing to others as they gained new prospects. The transfigured people underwent panic as their minds began to degrade, losing control of their minds and becoming nothing more than monsters.
The instinctual urge for violence overcame them, leading to a brutal massacre. They targeted anything nearby, be it humans or others in various stages of transfiguration.
The young and teenage survivors, alongside the remaining adult population, dedicated themselves to safeguarding the pregnant women.
They aimed to protect the new generation, but some paid the ultimate price, losing their lives in the process.
Unable to harness their newfound abilities, they faced challenges from the naturally enhanced transfigured beings.
This conflict resulted in the death of up to 30% of the enhanced human population, leaving only a fraction, around 20%, of the original human population.
Across the plains, heading north towards the sea, Paladins, Adventurers and Knights rode gallantly.
The presence of other beings in the realm became palpable, evident in the distinct movement of the force Aether.
Aether, a natural force, followed a rhythmic pattern and steady flow, and the gathering of large forces caused the Aether to become denser at such points, creating slight variations in its weight across different locations.
The sudden influx of numerous unidentified beings seemingly appearing from nowhere raised tension throughout the realm, alerting its inhabitants to the unfolding events.
They rushed to the scene, a scene that sent fear to all at the sight of 10 million+ Mommuls.
Mommuls are entities that are born from Mana Overlord. They come into existence during the birth of humans and other races, through deviations experienced by individuals, or when animals and beasts undergo a rampage without immediate adjustment.
Encountering more than 1000 mommuls in one place signifies an issue, and when they gather in large numbers, it spells trouble.
Paladins and knights witnessing over 10 million+ mommuls together understand that a significant and impending threat is on the horizon.
But what surprised them most was they were infighting, and that gave them a chance to save the people amongst it who looked similar to them but who also felt different and unique.
They rescued them all and sustained minimal casualties as some mommuls attacked them.