In an age long forgotten, seven ships emerged from the blinding light of the sun, descending upon Earth's atmosphere. Their arrival was heralded by the deep, resonating sound of their horns, a call that sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it.
The beings aboard were unlike anything humanity had ever seen. Their sharp teeth gleamed under the daylight, their ears tapered into fine points, and their dark skin was adorned with long, intricate tattoos that pulsed with an oozing smokey aura. These were the Zeytians. And they had come not in peace, but to conquer.
The world burned.
The invaders laid waste to cities, slaughtering two-thirds of humankind, their blood staining the seas a deep, violent red. Humanity, unprepared for such ruthless devastation, teetered on the edge of extinction. That is… until Eden arose.
From the ashes of destruction, a divine force manifested. Eden, a being of untold power, summoned forth spirits and legends from the depths of myth and fable, warriors of old who stood at her side. For ten days and ten nights, a war unlike any before raged across the planet, and at the end of it, Eden had done what seemed impossible—she had saved humankind.
But salvation came at a cost.
The world was in ruins. Not only had humanity lost the majority of its population, but vast swaths of the seven continents were left unrecognizable. And as if to mock their suffering, from the blood-soaked seas, new horrors arose—monstrous beasts, twisted by corruption, claiming the land as their own.
Yet, Eden had not abandoned them. She granted humanity a gift—'Spirit Essence', power beyond mortal comprehension. Strengthened by this newfound force, humans vowed to reclaim what was lost. But as the years passed, their gratitude twisted into something darker. The memory of the invasion festered in their hearts, and the hatred for the Zeytians became their greatest weapon.
For the war was not over.
One day, the Zeytians would return.
And when they did, humanity would be waiting.
***
A baby cried out, their voice rang throughout the distant night. Nothing was in sight but the darkness that could be seen through the trees, all except a single torch lighting the area like a beacon. The human man who was holding it had long black hair that reached his upper back, his eye's were green, and his skin complexion was light and fair.
"Lo?… How does this work?" Jin said, holding his newborn in his arms. His eyes were full of concern but also full of joy.
"Give him to me…" She said, her voice soft. Her once milk chocolate skin tone was pale and her silky long purple hair spread across the bed. Her ears narrowed into a fine point and her fangs were ever so sharp, she was a Zeytian.
The man handed her the child with cautiousness and care. As he fell into the embrace of his mother the crying stopped simultaneously. She laid the newborn gently down next to her on the bed. Sniffing his hair and rubbing her cheek on his, the child reached out his tiny hand which wrapped around her finger.
Just then a purple light glowed within the stomach of the mother and son. "I am Loah Juroklet, Daughter of Emperor Juroklet. As Crowned princess of the Juroklet family next in line to rule Zeytia, I deem this child a member of the Juroklet family." She spoke as the purple light grew stronger and stronger.
Inside Loah's stomach the string's ends that were attached to the purple orb began to fade leaving the orb to spin and vibrate resonating with the orb of the child.
"Kei Juroklet".
This memory was a reoccurring one as they were the first words ever spoken to Kei. So long ago a normal child shouldn't even remember, yet he remembered it once more. He seemed disconnected looking as if he didn't even remember where he was, as if reality had taken him elsewhere.
"Are you sulking again?" A boy said to Kei, who was looking out of the window.
"Oh, Lok…" he said gloomily, he turned to meet his younger brother's eyes but once again his gaze had become fixed upon the horizon. The waves of trees reflected the very quickly dimming light of the sun that was soon going to be replaced by a beautiful moonlit sky.
"The night is coming soon, we should lock up." Lok was concerned, he placed the book he was reading on the wooden table and walked towards his older brother.
"Lok… Do you ever think about finding our people?"
This question confused Lok, he knew his brother, and Kei only brought up these things when he appeared to be burdened.
"Hmm? Sometimes I wonder about them, however I don't know much besides the stories you tell me." Lok replied.
"Yeah, the stories mom used to tell." Kei spoke in a monotonous manner.
"I don't recall… what's making you think about this all of a sudden?"
"Look out there." Kei asked his younger brother turning to invite him towards the window.
Lok approached the window looking out to see a vast forest surrounding them.
"What do you see?" Kei asked.
"I see trees." Lok responded.
"What about beyond that?"
"More trees?…"
With this Kei smirked and let out a tiny chuckle. His younger brother was only 12 years old so he knew he wouldn't understand his question, and after what happened to them that was especially so.
"Beyond that are the humans at the treeline. They are the path back to our people. Using their power and gaining their trust we'll find our way back to where we belong." Kei spoke with conviction.
Soon the moon peaked its head from the edge of the planet granting light to the darkness.
'For as long as I can remember my older brother was tormented by dreams. "It was just a bad dream, Lok." Every time night struck it was like a trance had taken him. Some nights I'd hear faint crying, others panicked breaths, and occasionally…'
"He has to die!" Kei yelled upon waking up. He was sweating and holding his head.
Lok ran to open the door of his brother's room.
"What's happening?" Lok said nervously.
"A bad dream…" Kei responded.
"Are you ok?" Lok asked sincerely.
"…Lok? Have you heard of something called 'The Selection'."
"No, What are you talking about?" Lok said worried.
"Huh… It should start soon." Kei muttered to himself as he stared at a scar on the top of his hand.
***
Boom! Boom!
"Again." A man said.
A teenage girl stood before a group of adults, one laying on the ground unconscious. Another runs to attack the girl. Same as the one before her the adult was met with a blow that was strong enough to echo throughout the huge auditorium surrounding them.
Boom!
"A battle can be won by strength alone, but what happens when strength is not enough? A man said standing above the crowd.
"Defeat." The girl responded as she landed another blow.
"When speed is not enough?"
"Defeat."
"When ability is not enough?"
"Defeat."
"Do we know defeat?"
"We do not!" The girl yelled.
"So what must we do to achieve victory?" The man said. The girl could not answer as she was focused on the battle in front of her.
Sweat poured from her face as she landed blow after blow. The taste of salt on her tongue made her want to vomit. She had been in this place for hours with no breaks. Not only was fatigue starting to catch up to her but anger was starting to set in aswell.
"Make the opponent's blind spots your friend and make their own strengths their foe. Use strategy and only that. Fight as if you have no strength." He said sternly, answering for her.
The girl fist clenched and she gritted her teeth. More of the adults rushed towards her. Every time they threw a punch at her she perfectly countered retaliating with a punch or kick of her own.
"Good." The man smiled from the second floor of the auditorium before turning around to walk away his figure disappearing from the view of those standing on the bottom floor.
A woman in a maid outfit approached the girl stunned by all of the unconscious people around her.
"State your business." The girl spoke over her shoulder.
"Ms. Hageshi-"
"Lila Inés, You've been working as my maid for a few weeks now correct?" Kori said sternly interrupting the young maid.
"Y-yes!" Lila responded nervously.
"From now on only address me as Kori. Now what do you want?"
"My apologies ma'am. Kori… the 'House of Eden' is calling for you." Lila bowed.
"T-The House of Eden?!" She stuttered.
Kori knew that residents of houses only called for visitors when it was something important and the most important event left in the remaining world was happening tomorrow. Realizing this, her brows curled in anger as she tried bargaining with herself that maybe it wasn't as she thought it to be.
Soon albeit hesitantly and unwillingly she sat on the floor closing her eyes and crossing her legs looking to calm her mind. As her eyes opened she was standing on broken concrete hovering over a white space. In front of her were stairs with rails lined with flowers leading to a simple wooden door with the image of a beautiful fig tree carved into it. She carefully knocked and finally heard the words.
"Enter."
Kori soon appeared in front of a concrete hall of pillars with torches lining the walls symmetrically. She walked into a gigantic room which had the walls decorated with book shelves almost like a library that held infinite knowledge. In the middle was a table with nine thrones dressed with gold surrounding it.
"Kneel." A stern voice ordered.
In an instant Kori's head was filled with a direct order she couldn't resist. It was as if her body was not her own.
"King. Has she grown capable?" A female voice asked stoically.
"She has." The King responded.
Kori's heart was running amuck under the presence of the residents of the House of Eden.
"Stop it! Why am I here!?" Kori yelled, hating the feeling of not being in control of her own body.
"You are her father. You should tell her." A third voice said to the King.
"Fine… Eden's energy is swelling, you are a diamond amongst a generation of coal. Number 'Two' agreed to use you as his handpick to participate in 'The Selection'." King said indifferently.
"What?!" Kori responded perplexed.
Almost immediately Kori began to feel queasy as she saw something akin to the writing of a rune on to the top of her hand which faded into a healed scar.
"Child fear not. You have been selected which proves you are a child with outstanding talent!" A man said full of excitement. Kori hated that she could not raise her head to tell who was who. She had only known her own father's voice.
"No way! The Selection is supposed to start tomorrow, There will be no time left for me to prepare!" She said desperately not even able to raise her head.
"You have trained a life's worth. Now is the time to put what I taught you to use. Upon winning or surviving your 'Trial' in 'The Selection' you will be one step closer to being granted a spot in 'The Salvation Army' and help in the effort of re-taking planet earth from 'The Corruption' and the looming threat of the Zeytians."
"So-, 'Father'… is that it? You can't be serious! Are you sending your youngest daughter to die?!" She mocked in anger.
"Quiet."
She felt as if her mouth wasn't able to move.
"Do not embarrass your family name! Set out and prepare however you like. You have until tomorrow…" King said.
Kori opened her eyes after hearing those last words while still sitting in the auditorium with seemingly no time passed.
"So Kori… How'd it go?" Lila asked nervously.
Kori clenched her fist and bit her lip in boiling hot anger. She slammed her fist against the floor causing a slight crack.
"I'm fucking dead."