Blind Phoenix

Earth's Decay

“An inexplicable number of deaths have been occurring worldwide. Entire nations are in a state of panic and it seems it’s only the beginning. Even here at our broadcasting station we have several of our workers…dying before our very eyes. We- what? There’s a fire in the building? Hurry, we’ve got to put it out!”

            News outlets around the world were reporting a plethora of disasters happening throughout the entire world. OWL was putting in great effort to assist all those afflicted. They suspected it was the work of Tenno and were uncertain on how to handle the situation. Were they to reveal their entire organization? It only seemed like common sense to do so as the entirety of Earth and all of civilization was falling right before their very eyes.

            “The fire isn’t going out. This is strange…” said the middle-aged news anchor. “Try using th-…aaaahhh!” The reporter caught on fire and was swallowed in an eerie black fire. His anguish blasted through the mic as he was burned to death. As he thrashed about the fire caught onto the camera, destroying it and ending the broadcast. Everyone inside OWL’s main control room watched in horror and anger as it had went down. Liam slammed his hands onto the desk in front of him. “What the hell is this?! Their timing is impeccable…This is no doubt the work of those scum” yelled Liam.

            “Sir, this cannot continue. We must call upon our alien allies for assistance. It is the only way to save our planet and you know this.” said his secretary.

            A bead of sweat ran down his forehead as he looked at her. He then averted his gaze and looked at the floor beneath him, his fingers creaking from anger as he grit his teeth. Liam slowly composed himself and straightened his posture. “You’re right…contact the head of our Universal Relations Committee (URC). Tell him to explain the situation to every alien leader he can come into contact with” said Liam with conviction.

            “Yes, I will get right on it.”

            “This is worse than I thought” Liam thought to himself. “How long had they been planning this? I had always assumed they were hiding and gathering strength. I would have never imagined this was their plan! Damn it, I’ve failed as a leader, as a protector. If this gets any worse, I am to blame.” Liam clenched his hand into a fist and closed his eyes. His internal monologue was swiftly cut short by a soldier bursting through the door. The entire room turned towards the man with concerned expressions.

            “SIR! We…we were abandoned. We’re on our own now, what do we do?” he asked as he fell to the floor.

            Liam approached him and gently set his hand over the soldier’s shoulder. “You must compose yourself. Tell me what’s happened.”

            “All of our galactic allies have left us to die. You…you may not have noticed from here, but…we’ve been quarantined, sir. The entire Milky Way galaxy has been contained inside a massive energy sphere.”

            The entire room reacted in absolute surprise, except for Liam who seemed to completely unintimidated by his words. “Are you certain?” demanded Liam.

            The soldier shook his head and responded “I would never have told you something like this without being 100% sure…This information came directly from the URC. It’s been confirmed.”

            Liam stood up and examined the room, carefully inspecting the faces of his comrades. The news was gnawing at his soul, yet he could not show it. He had failed as a leader before and he would not do so again. He closed his eyes again and thought for a mere second right before opening them. The impression left by his eyes had completely changed. All that could be seen was unshakable resolve.

            “Young man, has every single one of them left?”

            The soldier, inspired by Liam’s poise stood up and with a fearless voice said “No, sir! Some select few individuals have decided to stay behind. A few of them were even handpicked by their respective galaxies, but for the most part, maybe 90%...they remained here of their own free will.”

            Liam nodded his head. It was something he could work with. Any help was invaluable. “Gather them all in the main hall…I will deliver a speech. To them, and to the rest of this world.”

            “We will begin writing right away, sir” said one of the workers.

            “No,” said Liam, “I will speak from the heart and nothing less. I frown upon such an unnatural procedure. But…hold on a second. You never told us why such a course of action was taken. Did they tell you?”

            “Ah, how could I forget…I’m sorry, sir. We were only told that the nature of this threat was exactly what everyone feared. It seems Earth was left in the dark about the exact implications. Apparently, a dangerous organism that has been around for billions of years has resurfaced once again after lying dormant for so long. It’s been causing the fires and disease all throughout our world…that’s about all we know. It’s vague, sir, but it’s all I we were given.”

            “Blast it…” said Liam. “Then, to the main hall we go. Spread all the information we have on this as much as possible. Everyone, you know what to do.”

            The entire room nervously saluted Liam and scrambled to their work, preparing everything and heading to the main hall. As Liam walked with urgency, he could feel the overbearing tension in the air. It had no effect on him in the slightest. His long life of discipline had turned him into an unbreakable man. A will that even the heroes of mythology struggled to match, yet no animate man or woman had witnessed its limits.

            Liam reached the end of the corridor and arrived at the main hall. It was quite a gigantic and ravishing room. There was a large red carpet with yellow trimming at the entrance, leading to wide stairs. The steps split in two directions and led to a second floor possessing a large balcony. The second floor had varnished railing and more space for people to look from atop. Beautiful white marble had been used for the floors and the walls were painted a more golden-white and were illuminated by lights of the same, more intense color.

No one but Liam was present. The sound of his steps resonated throughout the room. He turned his head, admiring the craftsmanship of it all. As he walked up the steps he brushed his hand on the railing gently and began singing to himself. His voice was deep and powerful. It was easy to distinguish that it was the voice of an experienced singer, a good one, at that.  One could wonder what Liam’s life would have held for him had he not been recruited by the organization he so adamantly worked for. As an old man, it was too late for a change anyway, but he had no regrets.

He reached the top of the staircase and sauntered towards the central balcony. He then inserted his finger into his suit’s sleeve and pressed on a tiny chip embedded into the fabric. Within a few minutes, a great number of people teleported into the room. Not so much people in the common sense, but aliens, of all shapes and sizes.

Liam fixed his tie and assumed a confident posture, or to be more precise, more confident than he usually always is. In his grandiose voice he addressed his audience, “Friends…I thank you for coming. I would like to begin with acknowledging your bravery and loyalty. This…will be no easy task.”