Chapter 1 - The Cataclysm

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This is the story of Eros, a planet in a faraway galaxy called Andromeda. This vast planet is a sight to behold. It's terrains range from mountains that scrape the stratosphere to oceans deep enough to put out its sun. The sundry life on Eros occupies every nook and corner, most of them being small niche communities, but two species flourished and dominated the landscape, they were The Homo Xenocytes and The Homo Sapiocytes.

Homo Xenocytes possess the ability to manipulate and generate various elements of nature while Homo Sapiocytes innately possess no such prowess, instead, they were able to attain abilities akin to Xenocytes through innovative technological advances such as the Imperium.

Intermarriage between a Xenocyte and a Sapiocyte is quite common, but the result of such a union yields no hybrids. Scientists claim that their DNA is similar enough to allow birth but not similar enough to allow hybridization, a fact nobody bothered to question.

This bizarre planet consists of numerous empires, all sworn into The Millennium Peace Treaty that ensured peace between empires. The upholder of this peace treaty is an empire far south of the mainland called Vasilias. In addition to maintaining peace, Vasilias also forms the world government, and the man or woman who sits at the throne of Vasilias rules over the entire world.

The previous emperor of Vasilias was a Sapiocyte who went by the moniker, Jonathan 'The Rocketman' Munroe, a title given to him due to the rapid advancements he made in his tenure as emperor. That was until he, along with all his courtiers, was murdered single-handedly by Johann Kenton Zark 18 years ago, a Flame Xenocyte who now sits at the throne of Vasilias.

Zark's intentions were still a mystery, though. Ever since he overthrew the existing world government, he made no drastic action and let the world run as-is. Majority of the population expected this incident would lead to the disruption of peace, but oddly enough, the world seemed almost more peaceful than before.

Though Vasilias is said to be the greatest empire in existence, there exists another empire, far up north. This empire is said to rival the greatness of Vasilias; its name being Eirini. Many great personalities call Eirini their birthplace, but for this story, we must focus on a certain group of teenagers, in a certain military school, who changed the face of the planet, forever.

34th of Baratus, 3000

3730 Days to The Cataclysm

"Listen up kids," said the principal of Northern Eirini Military School, Julius Brown, into the microphone, addressing hundreds of graduating students. "You are now going to enter a new chapter in your life. All of you are 15, at the brink, the transition, where you can finally call yourself adults and man up to your responsibilities. You must understand the time for goofing around is over. Tomorrow is the most important decision of your life; tomorrow is the day when you have to choose whether you want to be a soldier in the army or lead the civilian life, tomorrow is-"

The rest of the speech slowly faded away to the ears of the light-skinned, 15-year-old Sapiocyte. He was dressed in his school uniform, which was a plain white half-sleeved shirt with beige-colored trousers paired with black shoes. His shoulder-length blood red hair was tied in a bun apart from a few thick strands hanging down right next to his green eyes.

He spaced out and thought about his future, only to realize, once again, that he had no ambitions and lived entirely in the present. He often wondered if there was any purpose in life other than the prolongation of one's death. Though he puts up a frivolous façade, deep down, he's the complete opposite.

He laments the fact that his adopted parents died before he was able to have any memory with them. He laments the fact that his elder brother is never there for him. He laments the fact that all his friends have a set goal, all his friends have a dream they wish to achieve, and he is yet to find purpose in his life. An average acquaintance wouldn't be able to figure out the sorry state of his mind.

At times, he could hear a voice in his head, the soothing voice of a woman, it was almost as if the woman was right in front of him, calling out his name;

"Elric, Elric, ELRIC!"

Elric's thoughts were interrupted by an elbow to the chest from his geeky black haired buddy.

"Isaac, what the hell?" Elric snapped.

"Dude, you're being called on stage, get the hell up there," Isaac replied.

The moment Elric realized what was happening, the reality of the situation instantly replaced his daydream.

"Can we have Shirozou Elric and Kurokami Gerard on the stage please?" said Julius, with a hint of annoyance apparent in his tone.

Elric hastily got up and made his way to the stage.

He was accompanied by Gerard, a Lightning Xenocyte. Gerard was an introverted student with a complexion as pale as his social skills. His lavender colored hair extended all the way down to cover his eyes. He lost his sight years ago due to a certain incident, but he uses his other senses to create a mental image of his surroundings and lead a normal life.

Both of them were instructed to stand on either side of Julius.

"I must inform you, ladies and gentlemen, these two young men you see here are no pushovers as their looks may imply," he said.

The audience lit up with the sound of gentle laughter. Julius signaled them to quiet down as he continued.

"These two gentleman are the highest scoring students in the history of this school, and I can assure you one day both of them will be indispensable to the Eirinian government."

The audience burst out into a standing ovation. An embarrassed blush covered Elric's light cheeks. He glanced at Gerard from the corner of his eye but saw the same emotionless face as always.

"Go back to your homes," whispered Julius into their ears. "Don't ask why, just go."

"Thank fucking goodness," muttered Gerard under his breath.

Elric wanted to ask something more, but decided against it and the both of them left the school premises.

"What was that all about?" asked Elric, confused.

"To be very honest, I don't know and I don't care. I didn't want to give some stupid speech in front of everyone." replied Gerard.

"That's so like you," chuckled Elric. "Wanna come over tonight and talk about this whole army thing?"

"Not tonight. My social energy is at an all time low after being around so many people. I need some time to myself. Does tomorrow work?"

"Yeah man, sure does."

They both said their goodbyes and parted ways. Elric didn't want to go home alone. There was nobody there for him. The only living relative he had was his step brother, Tadashi, but he was the Vice - Admiral of the Navy. Elric loved and respected him to the ends of the world, but he really wished his job didn't come with so many responsibilities because he barely got to spend any time with him. 

With heavy thoughts clouding his mind, he walked back through the same green meadows returning to a home where no one was there to welcome him. He unlocked the door, changed into a more comfortable attire, and went straight to the living room where he fell asleep on his couch. Hours later, he was forced awake by the sound of the doorbell.

He lazily dragged his feet to the door and opened it. He was greeted by the sight of a tall, balding black man in a black suit, white shirt, red tie, and shiny black shoes. In his hands, he held a large metal briefcase, larger than any he has ever seen before.

"Mr. Shirozou, this has been sent to you from the military," said the man in a deep, slow voice.

Elric's eyes widened as he stammered;

"Wh-what for?"

"I am not authorized to speak anymore," said the man as he walked out and shut the door behind him.

Elric lifted the briefcase and realized it must have weighed a couple of hundred kilograms.

He placed the briefcase onto the living room table and examined it.

"What the hell is this?" thought Elric to himself, trying to find some clue on the surface of the briefcase.

After failing to find a clue on the upper surface, he flipped it upside down but was unable to find anything there either. He was conflicted as to whether he should open the briefcase or not, but soon enough, curiosity got the better of him, and he proceeded to open it.

The moment he opened it, his mistake was made painfully apparent. He forgot to flip the briefcase back and all the contents fell out. He felt like the dumbest person in Eirini. Vowing to himself to keep this incident a secret, he picked up the dropped items and put them on the table. He looked inside the briefcase and saw that a metal envelope was stuck inside. He pulled it out of the briefcase and scanned it for any incoming address but once again, found none.

"What is with them and addresses, jeez," thought Elric as he opened the envelope. Inside, he found a letter written on a beige colored paper that read;

"Dear Shirozou Elric

This letter has been addressed to you to inform you that you have been inducted by recommendation as a front-line soldier into the military. Inject the serum you received to calibrate the gauntlet included in the package. You start your two yearlong formal training at the Eirini Military College from next Graviday onward.

We look forward to your commitment to the military. Long live Eirini.

Yours truly,

Saxton Wright

Chief of Recruiting"

Elric was stunned as he sunk back into his couch. His thoughts swirled in a vicious cycle of uncertainty. Was he meant to fight? Is this what he wanted? While a great many such questions kept repeating themselves in his head, a sudden wave of familiarity interrupted them all. He couldn't explain what that feeling was, but all of a sudden, he found content with the idea of being a soldier, with the idea of fighting, almost as if he was meant to do this. His thoughts stopped swirling and cleared up. He got up and snatched the serum from the case. 

He proceeded to inject it but remembered he had no idea on how to administer an injection. He placed down the syringe and whipped out his phone to do a quick search, but before he put it away, the screen turned black for about 5 seconds, after which it displayed nothing but the letter Z.

The screen then changed to show a fair man, with medium length silver hair that spiked upward. He wore a pitch-black robe with a pointed collar that reached up to his cheek along with a dark blue scarf that he wore around his neck. His eyes were completely black. He was seated, with his head tilted and resting on his right fist, on a throne of blood-stained bones.

Elric's eyes widened as the man's cold, terrifying voice resonated through the speakers.

"Welcome citizens of the world. My name is Johann Kenton Zark, your emperor. Eighteen years ago, when I overthrew your pathetic government, I decided to let the world remain as is, but no longer will I follow up on that decision. I hereby dissolve the millennium peace treaty and declare my throne open for overtaking, though, you don't have forever, you have another ten years to take me down. Otherwise, I will burn down this world, and from its ashes, shall rise another."

With that, the broadcast ended, and his phone screen returned to normal. Elric was confused about how such an announcement could be made in such a rather anticlimactic fashion. His grip tightened on his phone, and he gritted his teeth. He shook his head in an attempt to cast out the fear that swept over his being. After a long pause, a sudden fire of determination was able to cast it out and in turn, lit his soul.

He loosened his jaw, placed his phone down, and picked up the serum. He eyed the green fluid and took a deep breath, after which he proceeded to inject the serum into his arm. As soon as he removed the syringe, his head felt heavy, and he passed out.

Hours later, he was forced awake by a loud sound. He slowly opened his eyes, but his vision was blurred. It took a few seconds for his eyesight to clear up. He held his head and groaned.

"What was that?!"

He looked around and saw the syringe lying beside him and picked it up.

"What the fuck was in this thing?"

His thoughts were interrupted by another loud bang, but this time it was accompanied by a blinding light that shone from his windows. Almost instantly, he hopped to his window and looked outside. What he saw was a massive airship, whose purple and black color scheme signified that it was from the empire of Zilevo.

"How are they attacking so soon? I couldn't have been passed out for that long, right?"

Another explosion prompted a sudden unexplained feeling in him. The feeling to jump right into battle. Elric's fist tightened as he realized that war had come upon him sooner than he expected. He quickly ran to the box and noticed that it had another layer to it. He removed the top layer and found a long red robe and four swords, presumably the dress code on duty. A smile spread across his face as he put on his robe and wore his gauntlet.

It was a large metal glove worn on the dominant hand and was about 6 inches in thickness. On a neural command, the gauntlet remolded itself into an exoskeleton and a pair of wings. He darted out of the house and looked around to assess the situation.

He saw the airship in the distance and closed his eyes, making up his mind to give his life and soul for his empire as he slowly walked towards the edge of the cliff. His robe rustled in the wind, the noise of the explosions were inaudible by the silence of his thoughts. The walk turned into a sprint as he jumped off the cliff and unfurled his wings that symbolized the start of the chain of events that would never fade away into the pages of history, it was the start of the Cataclysm.

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