Chapter 1
Volume 1: The Circus
Act 1
It was the 11th day of the Post-glacious season, the first month of the year.
In room 42 of the Nirvana birthing chamber, a black-haired woman screamed in agony, her legs spread wide as she gripped the bed rail.
"Almost there, keep pushing." urged one of the midwives, her hands poised to catch the emerging child.
"AAARGGHHHH!"
With one final, excruciating push, the baby slid into the midwife's waiting hands. They quickly wrapped and cleaned him with a towel as he let out a powerful cry.
"Whoa, he's a vibrant one. Full of energy already. Congratulations, ma'am." said one of the midwives, handing the newborn to his mother.
Sweaty and exhausted, she cradled her baby with a weary smile, instantly enchanted. "I'm surprised he didn't kick in my womb." she said, her heavy breathing gradually slowing.
"Consider yourself lucky." one of the midwives replied.
"Let's leave her to rest." the tallest midwife suggested, leading the others out of the room.
Once alone, she closed her eyes and exhaled deeply. "I need time to give you a good name." she said, her tone burdened with emotion.
Opening her eyes, her expression softened as she pressed her forehead against her baby's. "I'm sorry for bringing you into this world during such a dark time." she whispered, tears rolling down her cheeks.
…
The night of that same day, in the Star Cathedra hosting the sisters whose lineage have been graced with the visions of the stars. They adorn themselves in dark blue gowns and occasional black veils that fall to their buttocks. Their iconic feature was their deep-blue glossed lips and black curved-up eye lashes.
Lightning flashed through the stormy night and thunder cracked endlessly. In a room on the last floor of the Star Cathedra, a young seer of fifteen lay on a lavish bed, her delicate frame trembling. Her eyes darted beneath closed lids, locked in the throes of a nightmare—or perhaps, a vision.
In her dream, she found herself in a dark cold dystopian world riddled with vines and soot. Deformed trees, coated in soot, stood scattered throughout the landscape. The ones cut in two floated in the air as well as the destroyed mega buildings. As she traversed this world in fear, the ashes beneath every step she took on her bare feet floated slightly above the ground.
She looked up to find the source of light and saw thick clouds that glowed with occasional flashes of lightning and a crescent moon eerily closer than normal, which was partially obstructed by a giant ancient clock tower.
The strong scent of petrichor brushed through her nose as she observed the giant clock tower. All the erect structures she had seen so far had been cut in two or more places and left floating in the air but this ancient clock tower remained intact with only occasional vines visible on it.
She observed the complex contoured lines and edges on the imposing structure as her eyes slowly panned down to the clock part. Even though that part looked carved and almost had no contrast with the body of the tower, she could see it was numbered in roman numerals and the three hands were sitting on the roman figure twelve.
After a few seconds of observing, a gust of hot wind blew from the ancient clock tower, pushing the black ashes in the surroundings away from it, making her black hair and light blue nightgown dance vigorously. She gasped and staggered backwards, instinctively protecting her face from the force and heat of the wind. As the wind stopped, she looked up and saw the numbers and the three clock hands gradually glow red hot followed by the movement of the seconds hands. Its movement was smooth and sleek.
Her eyes wide open with the scene reflecting in them, she watched as the seconds hand completed an arc. The moment the seconds hand struck twelve, a sudden white force blasted outward like a shockwave, sending her and everything in the vicinity flying.
Hundreds of scenes flashed through her eyes, scenes of destruction, scenes of some people, scenes of battles, scenes of planets, scenes of different monstrosities and much more until it stopped in a particular scene. In this scene, she found herself floating among the vastness of the constellations. The stars and distant galaxies illuminated the unlimited expanse of the dark void.
The scene shifted once more followed by a scorching feeling on her left side. In a few seconds, she realised that she was still floating among the constellations but this time, she was very close to Etern's star, the sun. She saw and felt the purifying energy dissipating from it, spreading far and wide.
From the corner of her eyes, she noticed a giant eye staring at the sun. This eye blended with the scenery of the constellations, the image and energy of the sun reflecting in its mirror-like iris. This scene would be ingrained in her memory for almost eternity.
As her eyes widened in shock and despair, the eye panned eerily towards her, twitching subtly like it was sizing her up.
Immediately, she shot up from her pillow, her eyes wide, breath ragged. Tears mingled with sweat on her pallid cheeks as she clutched the blanket tightly. Shivers racked her body, and soft, fearful sobs filled the room.
Hearing her distress, two older sisters sharing the chamber hurried to her side, carrying a softly glowing blue lamp. "What did you see?" they asked, their voices laced with urgency and concern.
The girl struggled to steady her breath, fighting to control her sobs, she looked at the two with widened and teary eyes. The sisters exchanged glances, their faces mirroring the fear and confusion that had taken root in their hearts. The girl's sobs echoed in the room along with the endless thunderclaps.
…
A year and a half passed. The mother sat on the brown wooden floor, surrounded by fluffy toys, watching her baby attempt to stand.
Her heart swelled with anticipation as he lifted himself up, making adorable sounds of effort. Spreading his tiny arms for balance, he finally managed to stand on his wobbly legs. Overjoyed, she scooped him up and tickled him, eliciting peals of laughter.
She gently picked up a flat package nearby, recalling, "'Open this when he makes his first stand,' he said. And it turned out to be a boy, just as he predicted." She reminisced, rubbing the package.
After a moment of nostalgia, she tore it open to reveal a scarlet scarf. She carefully wrapped it around her son's neck, lifting him to admire how it looked on him. Suddenly, her face lit up with inspiration.
"Scarlet... That's it! I'll name you Scarlett. Scarlett Valoryn Voidaris."
...
Five years before Scarlett's birth, an incident occurred at Etern's world summit in Nexus Stellar, the most advanced city in all of Etern. With its underground, on-ground, and airways transport systems, the city was a marvel of engineering design.
In the summit's tallest building, a man in a corporate gray suit with brown hair gazed out at the cityscape through a crystal-clear window. His name is Eldric.
"How many centuries has it been since I last reached the 50th floor?" he mused, hands clasped behind his back.
The summit had exactly 100 floors, with Eldric residing on the topmost level.
"Beats me." replied a blond man in a tech suit, approaching with a bottle of champagne and two glasses. His name was Caelum.
He poured the champagne and handed a glass to Eldric. "Here."
"Thanks." Eldric said, accepting the drink.
"You still have bags under your eyes. No improvement in your sleep?" Caelum asked, sipping from his glass.
"Sleep, huh? I wonder when I'll have time for that. I can't rest when I envision my work crumbling around me. It's like I've become the heartbeat of this city." Eldric replied, staring into his drink.
"You're too hard on yourself. Can't you see? This is exactly what you wanted, maximum resource utilization. You've won, my friend. Cheers." Caelum clinked his glass against Eldric's.
"But at what cost?" Eldric asked, still gazing out the window.
"Oh please, everyone knows Vion the Fourth was a spoiled, privileged fool. This milestone wouldn't exist if you hadn't taken his place as Monarch." Caelum said, lounging in a comfy chair and pouring more champagne.
"I... can't deny that." Eldric admitted, pinching the bridge of his nose.
"Sheesh, you need to start giving yourself some credit." Caelum insisted.
"How are the people?" Eldric asked, still looking out the window.
"Been busy ensuring order, but from what I've seen, they're good. Comfortable, at least." Caelum replied.
At the entrance to the world summit building, a hover car stopped, and a black leather boot stepped out with a stomp.
"What about the workers and law executives? What do they say?" Eldric asked, turning to face Caelum.
"They don't talk much, they keep their personal lives private, around me at least." Caelum answered, refilling his glass.
"I want to know if I've positively impacted people's lives, that my efforts weren't in vain." Eldric said.
"Trust me, they weren't." Caelum reassured him.
A law executive entered the room. "Sir, there's someone at the entrance who might be looking for you."
"Who could that be? The meeting isn't for another two hours. It's just 2 PM." Eldric said, heading toward the door.
A loud sound followed by strong vibrations shook the room. Caelum immediately got up and looked out the window, sweat beading on his forehead.
"What? What's happening?" Eldric asked, gripping the doorframe.
The champagne bottle rolled off the table and shattered on the floor.
"You and your colleagues need to evacuate the building immediately! It's collapsing!" Caelum shouted, grabbing Eldric.
Caelum jumped through the glass with Eldric on his shoulders, landing on a nearby rooftop. They watched as the world summit collapsed, crushing other buildings in its wake.
Eldric's breath came in heavy gasps as he clutched his chest, eyes wide with shock. "But... why?"
As Eldric fell to his knees, an explosive shell hurtled toward them. Caelum's eyes widened in alarm.
"Shit!" He grabbed Eldric and leapt away just as the shell exploded, sending debris flying.
"Thump." Caelum hopped across buildings, searching for a safe place to drop Eldric. Spotting an active underground shelter, he headed for it.
"Brace yourself, brother! This will be a rough landing."
The mouth of a pointed blade pierced through Caelum's back. Blood spurted from his mouth as his eyes widened in shock. He was yanked backwards by the chain attached to the blade, crashing through buildings.
Eldric fell from his grasp, crashing onto a car and rolling to the ground. His vision blurred as the sound of his heartbeat filled his ears, mingling with high-pitched screams and commotion.
With devastating sounds of shattering glass, Caelum was dragged across buildings. Gritting his teeth, he punched the blade out of his chest and grabbed a building's metallic bar. The pierced area immediately gave off a subtle green glow beneath the tech suit as he scanned for the attacker.
Found you, you bastard!
He leapt to the top of the building for a better view, eyes narrowing as he saw the assailant leap down.
"What is he planning from that distance?"
Caelum ran to the edge, anticipating an attack from below. He saw two chained, cross-shaped weapons wrapped around the building and the buildings before it. The chains glowed red-hot.
The assailant pulled the chains, splitting the buildings within their hold, including the one Caelum stood on.
Meanwhile, Eldric crawled to a nearby building, unable to reach the underground shelter in time for it had been shut. News of the attack blared from a billboard above. He reached for his phone, trying to call Caelum, but got no response.
"BOOM!" A titanic figure in medieval armor landed in front of him, creating a cloud of dust and debris.
The armor was layered with scales of crest-shaped iron plates, a black flexible metallic underlayer allowing the flow of Regeni, and a black cape running from the right shoulder. The fingers were claw-like, the helmet pointed behind with a dark-blue ponytail extension. The armour landed on one knee, its greatsword embedded in the ground.
The chest of the armor opened, revealing a man clad in a black jacket and trousers. His deep brown hair fell neatly over silver eyes, and his pale skin seemed untouched by the chaos. With an air of calm, he approached Eldric, brushing off his clothes as though undisturbed by the destruction around him.
As the dust settled, Eldric saw three others in law executive uniforms.
One, over 6 '9, wore a long white coat and a high-tech mask indicating Admiral status, spinning an explosive shell on his finger.
A female with short dark-red hair and cobalt blue eyes wielding two chain-linked cross-shaped blades, sitting atop a building.
A black-haired man with a face mask leaned against the building, a composite glaive strapped to his back, folding his arms with closed eyes.
The man from the armour stopped before Eldric. "I'm afraid this is your climax, Sir Eldric... and my beginning."
This event marked the start of a new era.