Chapter 46: Chapter 46 : Understanding The Board (Part 6)

Using the continental ridge connecting Resia and Inis, millions of aresians came pouring into human lands. With intentions far from friendly, they effortlessly mowed down humanity, leaving a crimson sea in their wake.

They didn't just kill them either; just like monsters, aresians were also said to consume humans. A great tragedy played itself out on Setsuna's soil, and not long after that, other nations were made to host a similar play.

The aresian forces moved swiftly up the northern supercontinent, painting the lands red with the blood of humanity. At their arrival, the label of ‘demon’ quickly shifted off of psionics and onto them. Not just subconsciously, but officially.

When Rei first heard about the invasion, he was very confused. He had a lot of questions.

Why had the aresians invaded now, and not earlier? Why was humanity so unprepared for their arrival? Why were they ignorant till now? Why…

The 'whys' went on and on. Thankfully, all his questions had an answer.

For all the dozens of variations the Radiant Church could conjure up, there was one belief - no rule that always remained the same. No human was to cross into the southern hemisphere of the world, in other words, pass the Dark Forests to Setsuna’s south.

This was a rule strictly enforced since the Radiant Church’s inception following the Divine Year. To disobey it was seen as the most forbidden act. It was said that Raiken had laid out this decree himself, and was very adamant that it be followed. With this being his direct order, the Radiant Church, for all its nonsense made sure to obey and have the rest of humanity obey this rule as well.

Humanity knew they were living in the northern hemisphere, and knew that there was another continent connected to the continental ridge. This mystery continent was dubbed the ‘Dark Continent’. Most believed it was a place reserved for monsters and nothing else. Some believed the monsters residing on this continent were the same monsters that previously occupied Inis, and that Raiken's 'Heaven's Judgement' which seemed to obliterate them actually transported them. While this was a more niche notion, the general consensus was that Raiken did this to separate two incompatible species to ensure both could live on the planet.

In reality, the truth wasn't too far from this notion. But instead of humans and monsters, this decree was meant to keep apart humankind and aresiankind. In the same way humanity had, aresiankind also received an order to keep to their half of the world.

Raiken hadn’t just used words though. While he had eliminated many monsters, he purposely kept the continental ridge packed with monsters, and powerful ones at that. Also, while he killed land monsters, he didn’t do so for sea monsters. So, even if humanity or aresiankind did want to cross over, they’d most likely not be able to survive the journey.

However, while that worked in the pre-Zenki era, it didn’t work now. Armed with superpowers, the trip wasn't as daunting. Aresian and human alike had their curiosity get the better of them and made the trip north and south respectively.

A few humans who managed to cross over ended up catching the attention of one Kizu Erendus, an aresian prodigy. The aresian’s curiosity caused him to make the trip north. Examining the human world, his eyes lit up with desire, the desire to conquer. His aresian blood raced at the thought of doing battle. Still, he didn’t rush in. Kizu was a rare genius. After taking in everything he could, he returned to Resia and began preparing.

He put down Resia’s Upheaval, their Great Scramble equivalent, and got much of Resia to follow along with his intention. With the passing years, the Aresian Army grew stronger and more coordinated. All the while, Kizu kept an eye on the happenings in Inis. The more he heard, the more assured of his kind’s victory he became. Even after having gotten everything ready, he couldn’t help delay. Humanity was destroying themselves all on their own, so he might as well just wait. News of Kai’s death was particularly pleasing to hear.

But the decline didn’t continue as expected. Raven Tail popped up out of nowhere and stabilized the human world, all the while illustrating their staggering might.

Kizu watched their feats with a worried gaze…but not a hopeless one. After studying them, he had a plan.

After doing a 'quiet' invasion, he laid out a trap. Reporting a monster hoard, he lured Raven Tail to Setsuna. They would come...because that’s just who they were. Then, when they were close enough, he and thousands of powerful aresians would attack them from all ends, using their rehearsed tactics and strategies.

And true to his designs, the eight Ravens present were trounced by the aresian forces.

Well, originally.

Through her ability, Mira had seen this reality play out and warned her fellow Ravens of the trap that lay ahead.

Foresight was overpowered. Raven Tail had benefited from it many times. However, it would be a while before they could benefit from it again. Mira, after delivering her warning would enter a comatose state. Her future self had been killed in the chaos, disrupting her ability’s natural process, causing her to suffer a heavy backlash. It would take a week for her to awaken, and in that time, Raven Tail and humanity were their own.

Thankfully, others stepped up. Dimitri was a standout during this period. Not a day later, he gave a speech that would resound throughout Inis. It was a legendary speech that would rally humanity’s collective spirit into action. The Bellusian Army, not seen since the days of Bellus' rule, was reestablished and Dimitri took the role of Supreme Commander. With him at the helm, humanity waged war against the invaders.

The War of the End, the interspecies war, was underway.

The aresians held a clear advantage. They pushed the Bellusian Army further and further back. Despite being anatomically similar, aresians’ physiques outstripped humanities in all areas; regeneration, strength, speed, perception, toughness and longevity. Monsters had these advantages over humanity as well, but unlike monsters, aresian intelligence was pretty much equal to mankind. Not only that, their civilization level was equal too - no in some ways more advanced.

As for Zenki variant, aresians had the power of Onki. It allowed them to use all three Standard Psi classes’ power. Another thing in their favour was that, while around half of people who could become psionics, became psionics, all aresians in the first soul stage became Onki users. Aresiankind was fielding more super-powered individuals. Though, even without this percentage difference, they would still be fielding more. The Great Scramble was several times more chaotic than what occurred in Resia and even went on for several years longer. Humanity was outnumbered by more than twenty to one.

Numbers weren’t the only thing they had going for them, the quality of their soldiers was incredibly high too. The amount of Ascendants they had was worth mentioning. Where humanity had one in Rose, aresiankind had Kizu and twelve other Ascendants. It wasn’t just a power difference. Aresians prided themselves as warriors, and most had become skilled fighters during the Upheaval’s many conflicts.

And lastly, while humanity had invented guns around this time, aresiankind came with their own strange technologies. Netherian had been used to counter Alois’ lightning attacks and their Ascendant commanders all adorned vantaquake armour with some having weapons that could fire flashy beams.

The opening days of the war weren't humanity's proudest. The Aresian Army advanced northward at a brisk pace, massacring humanity’s forces with ease. The Central Region's southern nations suffered greatly during this time. Much of its modern-day backwardness came from the destruction the War of the End left behind.

But eventually, the turn came. Mira awoke. Once Raven Tail was up and running, it threw caution to the wind. They didn’t need it anymore, for now, they had certainty.

With pent-up emotions, Raven Tail’s fighters let loose, unleashing the wrath of humanity upon the aresian forces. The tides of war turned in the blink of an eye. Being pushed back at a rate of knots, the aresian Ascendants which had remained hidden finally showed themselves. A great battle ensued, but with Mira’s ability, the result was a predetermined one. Raven Tail dealt with them handily, killing the eleven Ascendants without suffering a single loss.

Humanity rejoiced at this victory while aresiankind despaired. Raven Tail and the Bellusian Army pressed on and drove the invaders out of Inis. Meanwhile, a mass retreat was called on the aresian side. Their ambitions of conquering Inis had been dashed, and they knew it.

Still, while their hopes of winning were gone, drawing was still a possibility. At least, this is what Kizu believed.

At the edge of Setsuna's Dark Forest, he stood shinning in dense golden light. He had been acting as a rearguard, making sure his fellow aresians could safely retreat.

His presence was noted and it wasn’t long before the Ravens went out to meet him. Soren, Elsa, Ciel, and Alois moved to hit the nail in the coffin and bring the War of the End to its conclusion.

A battle ensued. And again, Mira’s power proved invaluable, saving the three Mimics’ lives.

Kizu hadn’t just appeared before them to die helplessly, he had an ace up his sleeve, one that would assure a draw.

Soul Explosion.

It was an Ascendant-specific technique that one could use as a last resort. By destroying one’s soul, two deadly explosions would occur. The first would activate the technique, and the second would completely obliterate the user’s body. During the brief time span between these explosions, one would be able to wield power well beyond what one would normally be able to.

Kizu, having learned this technique somewhere, somehow, used it in the clash. As soon as they were in range, he sacrificed his life so that his fellow aresians had a future.

The Mimics were obliterated while the space-twisting barrier around Soren kept him safe. This was how Mira had foreseen it. She relayed the details to her fellow Ravens and the group took measures. They baited Kizu into using the technique, and as soon as his aura flickered, they exited the blast range.

When they captured the nothingness that occupied the space Kizu was in previously, the group rejoiced and then humanity rejoiced. It was over. Humanity had won…or so it seemed. In reality, it wasn't.

Kizu's ploy paid off.

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Later that night, all four Ravens would die. While the three Mimics died on Dark Castle's balcony, Soren decided to go out in a wrathful blaze. Taking flight, he streaked southward and devastated the retreating aresians. He was thought to have died a few minutes after he was spotted. His body wasn't discovered, but there was no question that he died. The poison coursing through his veins wasn't something he or anyone could do anything about.

‘Kizu, quite the demon of a foe,’ Rei couldn’t help but compliment the aresian.

He truly was. Even ignorant of Mira’s power, he had still managed to end up outmanoeuvring her, Dimitri, and all of humanity to achieve the draw he had sought out.

When hearing the news, the rest of Raven Tail rushed to Setsuna. They were distraught. Mira was inconsolable, rocked with guilt and shame at her inability to stop the reality she was experiencing. Though, she couldn’t be faulted, nor could anyone.

Still, emotions ran hot. Rose was similarly burning up with it. She had spent much of the days at the headquarters, and had been endlessly frustrated at not being on the front lines, 'doing something useful'. Believing that she could have prevented her companions' and lover's death had she accompanied them, she took her anger out on everyone around her, especially Dimitri. Gasket blown, she flew southward with thoughts of revenge on her mind.

With her speed, no one could catch up. While it wasn’t confirmed, she was also thought to use the Soul Explosion technique during this time. Empowered by this technique, she destroyed the continental ridge in one attack, then like Kizu, died without leaving a speck of her body behind.

With that, the War of the End was over.

In the aftermath, humanity was left to pick up the pieces. They technically won, but victory came at a great cost. Heads were hung low and hearts were heavy. But this changed as Dimitri delivered another rousing speech. It was very Bellus-like, and inspired humanity to take the hard step forward.

The Pillar factions took charge and worked to drive humanity out of the rut it was in. Undoing the Martial Law placed on Inis, sorting out the refugee problem, restoring the lands affected by the war; there was much to be done.

The Adventurer Association came into existence during this time. Unlike the title of Hunter, the title of Adventurer was a more neutral identity that didn’t have any great moral expectations attached to it. This job was for the everyman. It wasn't psionics-only by any means, but psionics was the targeted demographic.

The goal was to keep psionics busy. A psionic with too much free time could be trouble. The Pillar factions didn’t want to see another Great Scramble happen. And so, the Adventurer Association was established.

Another significant development in the War of the End’s aftermath was the transformation Setsuna underwent. The whole nation became a giant military base, meant to prevent another invasion from occurring. Much of those previously in the Bellusian Army chose to serve here, not as Bellusian soldiers, but as Guardians.

The months passed and humanity began regaining its pep. Hope and optimism began worming themselves back into the hearts of humanity. Dimitri shone brightly during this time. After the war, he became the first Head of the Psionic Association. It was from this position that he directed world affairs.

Everything was looking bright, but again, darkness approached.

Not even a year after the war’s end, the Great Betrayal incident occurred. 'Morning Light' Dimitri Drazan, practically beloved by all, suddenly and without clear reason went rogue.

The reason wasn’t clear then and it wasn’t now. It was so abrupt that the people of the time couldn't believe their ears. He was popular, respected, and was effectively, the most powerful person in the world. He had everything, friends, a lover, status, so why had he done it?

Rei questioned this too. ‘These records are from Micheal. Does he not know the reason too? Or is he just keeping it to himself? We’ll have to ask him that when we meet him.’

The Great Betrayal saw Dimitri's forces raid the Psionic Association headquarters and unleash a bloody massacre. Mira, Micheal, and countless others were said to die on that fateful day. Following the incident, Dimitri, his many vessels and his newly established, Shadow Ravens, unleashed chaos upon the world through various large-scale terroristic acts.

No one could stop them…until five years later that is.

Micheal, who had been considered dead, made a reappearance. Not as the Raven whose only claim to fame was his uncommon handsomeness - no, not only had he unlocked his Unique ability of creation, he was also an Ascendant, making him humanity’s…fourth one.

Micheal and the Pillar factions versus Dimitri and the Shadow Ravens.

The two Raven’s clashes made much of the history to come. One on the side of light and the other, on the side of darkness.

One important thing to note around this period was the introduction of potions. Ten years after making his return, Micheal introduced potions to Inis. Humanity was at first sceptical, and for good reason, but after verifying the amazing effects, humanity quickly took to it.

With the great difference between psionics and non-psionics and the resultant uneasiness it caused, Micheal's potions which could enhance one's physical attributes so drastically was greatly welcomed. Though, in reality, the difference between psionics and non-psionics was still great.

Still, the enhancing potions served to give many people peace of mind that they hadn't had before. As for the mutant debates, they came and went all within the span of a blink of an eye. The potions' miraculous effects were just too desirable. Fifty years later, and potions were consumed with the same regularity water was.

Rei’s mind fast-forwarded. There were many interesting events, dramas, and conflicts, but nothing that could be called major in the same way the Great Scramble or Caelus’s rule was. Arriving in modern times, two major incidents crossed his mind.

The first was Astra's rampage ten years ago. With how recent it was, and perhaps the figure involved, information about it was very scarce. In the end, Rei didn't learn anything new about the incident. He moved on to the second major incident, the assassination attempt on the Saures royal family that happened three years ago, the infamous Bloody Hill incident.

When the attack made the rounds, all who heard it was shocked. Saures was and still is the most powerful nation in the world, with known close ties to the Pillar factions. It was nonsensical to attack the royal family. Yet this was exactly what Black Mist, one of the three great assassination factions dared to do on that fateful day.

Dozens of members swarmed the royal family. As one could expect, they were annihilated, with most of the annihilating being done by Carter Astor, the current Lightning King, a powerful lightning Mimic said to be one of the world's strongest psionics. However, while they failed to kill him, his wife, Belle ended up losing her life in the chaos.

Blazing in the aftermath, he sought to eradicate the Black Mist. He wasn't alone, the Pillar factions moved as well. An attack on Saures wasn't just an attack on Saures, but their authority. They flexed their muscles in a way they hadn't in decades and trounced shady organization after organization with the purpose of finding and eliminating Black Mist. Six months later, the legendary assassination faction was completely destroyed.

'What was the end goal there? Honestly, that's more of a mystery than Astra suddenly stopping. Could there be some grand conspiracy afoot?'

As he was thinking this, Rei’s roaming eyes caught the numbers above. ‘Whoa, I’ve been here forever. Enough of this,’ he stood up. ‘Instead of other people’s stories, let's focus on furthering our own story.'

Nodding at his words, he broke into stride. 'For ours…will surpass all others.’

A slight smile accompanied his internal declaration. Eyes forward, he cast his sights on the silver dome in the distance.

‘Might as well do some analyzi-ah?!’

Rei’s thoughts were derailed as a never-before-felt sensation passed through his being. It was incredibly soothing. He could feel his Soul Gate’s white rings rotating. The process was smooth, as though the rings were coated in butter.

As soon as they reached a certain spot, a click seemed to echo in the very depths of Rei’s soul, and the difference from before became immediately apparent.

Just as one couldn’t feel the effects of gravity until it was absent, the clogged state of his Soul Core couldn’t be felt until now. Knowing what this meant, Rei beamed.

'It's here!’

Without a second’s delay, Rei rushed to the outside world.

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