Odyssey Of The Righteous

Mankind, with all of their blessings, had failed to prove their worth time and again. Indeed, but mankind had lost their way, being overcome by corruption and evil. The world being spoken of, had many secrets. There were hidden ideologies-dark, destructive and dangerous; orchestrated and adhered to by ancient groups forgotten through the passage of time, concealed in the shadows of common societies. This world was a refuge to all, including many who did not want goodness to be established. The ones who only wanted to be the cause of pain and strife, misery and hurt, yearning to bring about the end of the reign of mankind.  For those who want to do good, are challenged time and again by those who want to be the causation of evil; it has been a dramatic war since the beginning of time. THE NATION OF VOLTIA The nation of the many faiths. Where the people lived together, side by side, in peace and harmony. No matter  the creed, no matter the race, the population once celebrated their diversity. Growth and peace were blessings which the people of this nation once found the benefits of. However, everything changed when a supernatural phenomena occurred, giving rise to confusion and doubt among a population  which was once happy. And then, it gave rise to fear and death.    It had been a year that the hordes of demonic beings from the outer world, far from human reach, had been first allowed to enter the world of mankind through the inter-dimensional gateways opened by sorcerers of an ancient cult. Eons had passed but the five altered leaders of this cult remained undying due to the powerful, malicious spells they had conjured upon and kept in practice, gaining strength from a being which belonging to another world. They were scholars of the evil arts of immoral magic, well-versed in the forbidden books of sorcery, able to cause great harm of an unthinkable scale; the countless adherents of this cult had been responsible for toppling civilizations whenever they would reach the pinnacle of growth, peace and order. They would not allow mankind to be united, being the hidden causes of war and corruption, whispering in the ears of politicians and kings, promising them eternal life and great power should they commit their share of evil, throwing the world into chaos and anarchy, where no child was safe, no family able to find peace. In the beginning of that year, the leaders of the cult had declared that there would be ten waves of the apocalypse, when the armies of darkness would slowly be unleashed upon the earth. Once the final wave would be initiated at the end of the year, then mankind's rule on the world would come to a bloody end. Mankind deemed these horrifying events which occurred, as the end of times. The dead had begun to rise as entities took over corpses and walked the world in a physical form, absurd supernatural occurrences were reported throughout the many countries as creatures unlike anything ever known had revealed themselves; the thin line between what was real and what was believed to be fiction had disappeared. Everything had begun to fall apart. Emrem, the corrupt king of Voltia, had lied to its people that they would be saved. Indeed, he had lied all this time to the people of his nation. "It shall all pass," said the king earlier that year, before matters had proven to be so serious, "we shall be free from these torments and supernatural affairs very soon. I have assigned the great preacher Lancolm De Rea to purify my great cities. He along with his disciples shall rid this great nation of all atrocities and blasphemies so that we regain ourselves in the eyes of our Lord!" Those were hypocritical words. His hands were stained by the blood of innocents when he had usurped upon the domain of the rightful king who was then  unknown and exiled. The great preacher Lancolm De Rea, the proclaimed savior of the nation, traveled across the land with his thousands of followers, visiting villages, towns and cities, spreading his wisdom of purity and holiness. Or so he claimed.  "I deliver unto you the orders of our Creator!" said Lancolm, "Join me in cleansing this unholy land of blasphemers and corruptions." Indeed, those who acted as keepers of harmony, were often times the ones who caused corruption.  His followers, throughout the year, proved to be a radical group which controlled important communities through concealed violence and oppression. They recruited more to their creed, spread their superstitions, brainwashed the common people into thinking them as saviors and soon, Lancolm De Rea had become an entity who people worshiped and adhered  to. Corruption had spread  across the land, people believed in lies and there was morality disappearing from the hearts of ordinary folk, as common people were driven by hatred and animosity among each other to be divided in matters of faith and community. In the final day of that year, the final wave of the end of all things was initiated, when the earth was on the verge of destruction and no government, no humanly power or authority managed to save their people from the supernatural-conclusive invasion. All hell had broken loose. It was in these times of  unspeakable horror and mankind's realization of their mistakes and wrong doings that a young man named Ikra, a member of the special operations unit of the Voltian armed forces, was assigned along with around a ten thousand remaining Voltian defenders to be stationed for the protection and evacuation of fifty thousand people who lived in Riviera, the capital city. With all other cities of the world consumed by the forces of darkness and destruction, home to demons and creatures of the outer world, Riviera was chosen by the cult as the final point of mankind's extinction. The great walls of the city, constructed to fend off any humanly force, could not hold the supernatural army at bay, as they-the creatures poured into the world in millions at once. Ikra had a modest face, determined and calm eyes, a humbly captivating posture while standing. A strong body, although not very muscular-shaped by the harsh training he endured throughout the many years, with one thing in his mind-to defend the city with his last breath, hoping for a miracle. No hope he had left within him, as he had witnessed the horrors of the unknown enemy throughout the year, unable to change the fate of his kind for he was but only a soldier. One who had to follow orders, to defend and protect where he was commanded by his superiors to do so. He was no king, no preacher, no mover of people's hearts. But indeed, he was a human being who did his best in any endeavor, who acted with kindness and humility towards others, who watched and grieved as human beings died and suffered at the hands of monstrous beasts of hell, who tried to give hope and help to any who crossed his path. A righteous soul. However, only a warrior bound to follow orders from those not so pure in intentions.    He had earned the special forces uniform he wore with his skill in combat and knowledge of battle. Riviera, the city which the members of the cult had chosen for the commencing point of the final wave before the apocalypse would be completed. There he was, Ikra, hopelessly fighting alongside Voltia's remaining army against the hordes of the living dead and monstrous beings attacking and ravaging.         The people of the city cried to their Creator to save them from what they had done. All of the evil which they had caused upon the land. They prayed and wept but it was all too late. The doors of repentance had closed as the skies had become a blood red. The mountains were ripped apart, the oceans and seas dried up at once. From below the earth the hidden creatures had risen to sunder the reign of humanity. The portals which the cult had opened allowed for the armies of demonic beings from the outer world to surge into the world of humans attacking whatever they could find, killing all in their way. The streets of Riviera were drowned in blood. Men, women and children torn apart, limb from limb, carried off and ripped. Roars, groans and screeches filled every part of the city, as no one could hide, no one was safe. Their numbers were unthinkable, their aggression and lust for human blood-inexplicable. Some of them had wings, some of them were hound-like, some of them chimeras with multiple heads, some of them gigantic beasts, some of them so terrifying that only seeing them would be enough to cause death. Mankind had lost. They did not stand a chance. The noble Ikra, gathered as many elderly, women and children he could find running here and there in the streets due to fear and agony, and took refuge inside a small house, barricading the doors with wooden planks before any of the monsters from hell could get inside. The Voltian army was crushed, the weapons could do nothing. Ikra knew there was no hope, he was a rational human being. He believed that mankind had earned this, that mankind was at fault, that this was the balance of life; mankind's deeds and corruptions caused the species to be forsaken by a higher power.  He knew the boarded doors and windows would not be enough, but he could never allow those few crying children he had managed to gather up inside that house to perish without trying to save them with every breath he could muster. They cried due to terror, as not even in their nightmares could  they have imagined such a day. He had nothing in his arsenal, he had nothing with which he could fight back. The weapons he had were useless against even one or two of those creatures, and millions had arrived to earth. What could one soldier's assault rifle do against such an enemy? What could his handgun do? What could his tactical knife do? What good was his body armor against the talons and teeth of these vile beings? He stood resolute behind the boarded up door, hearing the cries and screams of those he guarded with his life. "My Lord, forgive me for all that we have done," Ikra prayed as he wept, knowing that this was the end of everything, "we have not been grateful, nor were we able to establish righteousness and justice on this world. Please, forgive us, for you are the Forgiver. Forgive us all, I beg you. Even though we are unworthy of forgiveness. Please, please......" He stood his ground, but he broke down in tears. His kind would be wiped out. It was in that moment,  that a voice spoke, and everyone in the city being ripped apart could hear a heavy, bold voice, which reached to every part of the settlement- "Today, mankind sees their downfall. The world you knew has been changed forever. Naught could you do against our powers, against our ways. Your Creator has abandoned you, this day. This great day, we hand this world over to the Overlord of the outer world, the one we served since the beginning of time! The giver of power! The one who grants immortality. Behold, the final wave of the apocalypse which we humans have sought! This........is the END!" Suddenly, a great portal, a massive gateway like a wormhole opened above the city which cut through the blood red skies and made a hole into reality, the terrible-shattering sound of which made all deaf. The thousands of people below who looked up at the final unearthly scene of their lives had their eyes widened and their mouths completely open due to shock, as from the greatest earth-ripping portal descended the OVERLORD-one who was the absolute leader of all things evil, along with its entire army of horrors.  The OVERLORD looked as if a human being who was taller than usual, wearing an armor which was never seen before by anyone, made by otherworldly craftsmen, impenetrable and impregnable. Its eyes remained closed as this being of world ending maleficence witnessed dreams of other worlds, its face a dark blue. It had its arms in a posture signifying something no one knew of; the right arm wrapped around its hip while its left arm was kept crossed against its face, its legs straight as it continued to levitate downwards. The being of all evil! And as the OVERLORD descended onto the ground of earth, a huge explosion followed from where it stood, the blast of which was so intense that all human beings in the vicinity of  the great city were turned to dust, wiped away. One descent, causing the deaths of thousands of human beings. Ikra, and the people he did his best to save, to guard, were reduced to nothing but ashes. It was all over. Everything had reached its end. THE OTHER DIMENSION Darkness. Everything around Ikra, was darkness. After his death, he found himself in a place where nothing was visible. Unsearchable, untouchable. A realm beyond the mortal one.  He remembered dying, he remembered the terror and the horror when he was in the city of Riviera. What a remembrance, as to bring sadness into his soul. For a while, he was glad to see nothing. All of his life, he had witnessed the pain and suffering of the people he loved and cared for. He witnessed mankind's atrocities, their corruption, their ignorance and hate. For a while, he found peace in the nothingness. It felt as if he was there in that realm for many, many years. Uncountable time, during which he was in a trance. In this realm, eons passed, but his soul did not feel the effects of such passage of time. There was no more pain, no more fatigue, just existence in a place where nothing could be seen, nothing could be heard. Only his soul, and his thoughts slowly decompressing, expanding. But where was he? He asked himself that at a point. It was in that very moment of sudden realization, that a bright light shone above, a beautiful, divine light. "The world of humans has ended," spoke the voice of a lady, so angelic and calming, yet unseen, "mankind has met their end." Ikra stood up, and faced the light which was way above. Soon, the light spread across everywhere, but there was nothing, there. Just a world of whiteness, empty. Even the ground he stood upon was white. He still had his military outfit worn. There were blood stains on his armor, he had no weapons. He searched for the voice, but could see no one. "I speak  to you from another time, Ikra," she said, "a time which I need  you for." "Who are you? Where am I?" "A dimension created for souls no longer belonging to the world of the living," she said. Ikra thought for a second, and tears filled his eyes, "The world is finished?" "It is. We have failed." Again, he broke down in tears. "All for nothing," he cried, "we brought it on ourselves. We were never united. We never thought that such a thing could happen." "Mankind is ungrateful," she spoke, each word being as if a comfort to his ear, "but you are here for a purpose." Ikra was a little confused. He had just died, but now he has a purpose? "What purpose can a dead man serve, when his world has been destroyed? When all he ever believed in has failed him?" The woman spoke, "It is for your belief that you are chosen, Ikra. I have chosen  you for this endeavor, to save our world." "Our......world?" Ikra, a little taken aback. What could she have meant by that, he wondered. "But you said, our world has been destroyed!" Ikra spoke again, his emotions rushing. "The concept of time is something I must explain to you, dear Ikra. But right now, time is of the essence. You must know this, that we have an opportunity to start over and save the world from its end." Her words, each one so beautifully spoken, in an accent he had never heard of before. Ikra, in a burst of feelings spoke out, "Whoever you are, you have no right to play with me in this way. To play with someone's soul. I know there are beings out there from other worlds. If you are one them, I want you to know I am not your toy." "You are the one I have chosen, Ikra," she said, "we will save our world. This is our one final chance." Ikra, in sheer disbelief, doubted her words and could not accept it. He accepted his death, he knew everyone died, it was the way of life. He accepted that the world was destroyed by supernatural forces of evil. But he could not believe when he was told that there was a way to save the world he was born in. That beautiful planet, earth. Which was once home to mankind. He looked down and cried, glowing tear drops of his soul-form falling on his hands which were shaking due to awe. A portal opened in front of him, a gateway. "Ikra, this is your destiny. You can choose to stay here, in this realm where you will slumber till the day of judgement. Or you may take this chance given to us to right humanity's wrongs. To prepare for the ten waves of the apocalypse before they even begin. The choice is yours." "I do not know what is going on....." said Ikra, unsure but given hope by her words. If whatever she was saying had any truth in them, then there were more no more questions to be asked. "We do not have much time, Ikra. I have come a long way, for the salvation of my people. I cannot turn back. But I cannot do this without the one I have chosen for this journey. We might fail, but this is our chance, Ikra. The only one we shall be given." Wiping his tears, he knew there was no turning back now. The questions he had would find their answers. But in that moment, as he prepared to walk into that portal, his being told him that it was the right thing to do. If her words were  true, there would be logic behind them, and he would be able to help save the world he had lost. He would be able to save mankind. No questions asked, no words spoken. He ran from afar, rushing towards the portal and he moved through it, leaving this strange, empty, unknown place he was in. THE NATION OF VOLTIA Again, he saw his world, as he stepped on to the  desert regions of Voltia. He could feel the sand in the palm of his hands, the grains falling off from the sides. More tears, but this time of happiness and not of regret. He could feel the warm air. The sunlight on his face of the sun which still shone bright and hot upon that desert. He could sense the usual world around him yet again. Indeed, he had returned after death. "Ikra," she said, "I can feel your happiness. I can sense your gratitude." "This is my world," he said, "I was born here." "And you now have the chance to save this world of  yours, dear Ikra. But you must listen to me." "Who are you?" Ikra asked. "I am the one who can tell you how we will save this world.  Is that adequate information for now? Although I would love to chat with you, but we do not have the luxury of time." "Not.....really. I mean.....okay," Ikra spoke hesitantly, "if the world is still here. It means the tenth wave of the apocalypse has not yet commenced?" "Neither has the first," she said, "but it shall tonight." "Whaaaat?" Ikra exclaimed, "You're telling me, we came back to the first day of the year? How, why, what?" "Indeed, you are reborn in the age you were when you died, in the same body you had before you perished. But you find yourself there, a year before everything ended. I do not have the luxury to explain everything to you yet. But I will when we shall meet." Ikra did not know what to say. He was at a loss of words, and he felt a little dizzy hearing of such matters of fantasy and dream world-like things. But it was all real. He could  feel that it was all real. He was back! To the day one year before the final wave of the apocalypse had commenced, when the entire world was destroyed by the one known as the 'Overlord', worshiped by the members of the mysterious cult. And then a sudden realization came upon him. "Wait, if I am in the first day of  the year. That means......" "It means that the first wave of  the apocalypse shall commence tonight." Ikra could not believe that he was hearing  this. The Voltian king and his subjects in Ikra's previous life had learned about the supernatural occurrences only when the fifth wave had begun and the scarier demonic creatures which were gigantic and more powerful had appeared. They had no way to defend against them.  "How on earth, do we prepare for this? What can you and I actually accomplish alone?" "More than you can think, Ikra. With me and you, lies the knowledge of the future. It falls upon us to protect what shall be lost. We do not get another chance after this one." The young man breathed deep, realizing the gravity of this situation. Maybe his Lord had given him a second chance. Maybe his faith in all that was good was of some value. Whatever the reason was, he knew that in that moment, he was on a journey to change the reality he had witnessed. Ikra looked left and right, trying to see if there were any hostilities nearby. His instinct kicked in; years of training had allowed him to become one of the nation's elite special operations soldiers. He had been a part of conflicts, learned about espionage and solved social issues in his peacekeeping missions. He had protected people, towns and cities before so he had enough experience in combat situations. But this time, he would face the genesis of the end of the world head on. He was a little worried about how he would tackle the supernatural creatures when they would arrive that night. Little did he even know of where they would arrive from. "If we are to know anything, we shall know it in the town of Lica, where the first wave of the apocalypse is to commence. We must convince them of the dangers to arrive," said the woman whose voice Ikra heard. It was a little absurd hearing from someone he could not physically see, there were so many inquiries Ikra wanted to make of this lady who had given him a second chance. What powers did she have? Was she even human? Why did she sound so heavenly? And what had she planned? "To stop the final wave of the apocalypse from ever becoming a reality," she continued, "we must find out where the evil sorcerers are hiding. We must defeat them in their plan, before it reaches the verge of fruition." "You mean the cultists?" spoke Ikra, "The king had never taken them seriously. But they are the ones causing all of this." "Remember Ikra, should you face them in battle, they are not humans. They have sold their souls to the evils of the outer world." Ikra listened carefully to her, for the enemy identified, the cultists, also known as the sorcerers, were the ones behind the ten waves of the apocalypse. "This is  your destiny, Ikra," she said, "often times we live life as if tomorrow is promised. Tomorrow is not promised. You were dead, and now you have returned. A purpose to save your world from an evil which has slumbered for a long, long time. I wish I could have given you more time. Yet, my powers are not enough. I could only give you a year to stop them. Which means, after this year, your life shall be forfeit. Little do humans accomplish in their many years of living. You are given the opportunity to do more in a year than any have or will in a life time. The road ahead is not easy, and the end is the same for you either way, whether you are killed or you reach the end of the year victorious. But you can save mankind." For a moment Ikra remained silent. She, wondered if this knowledge of a temporary second life was not the right thing to give him in that moment. But he needed to know that a year was all he had. "I do not mind," Ikra said, thoughtfully, "you gave me a chance to make things right. Although I am just a solider. Maybe someone else would have been a better choice."  "I chose you, because I know you, Ikra." The young man nodded, "With all that I have, I shall endeavor to save this world." Enough had been spoken, enough had been learned. The sun would set in a matter  of hours, and at night, the first wave of the apocalypse would begin. Traveled he did, this young hero of ours, towards the town of Lica. Little did he know of the difficulties and the horrors he would see. Little did he know that the journey was one which would test him in ways he could never have imagined. He lived the life of an obedient son, a good human being, a protector of communities. Now, was he walked upon the earth which was destined to end, while he was told that his destiny was to save it. Ikra contemplated; the king of the great nation of Voltia had failed to protect his people, the great preacher and all of his pompous talks of salvation and purification were worth nothing at the end, the entire world against an ancient cult proved to be inadequate. Such were the evils which lay ahead. The foe, hidden in the shadows. Untraceable, they plotted against reality, ready to unleash an inferno upon earth. The road ahead, to Ikra, seemed but impossible, he was rational. But he believed in that moment, as he walked upon the desert sands weary yet brave, that this second chance meant something. His purpose-to defeat the cult covertly menacing the nation and to stop the ten waves of apocalypse when they would occur, or before they would occur. Little did he know of the dangers which awaited him, the enemies he would face. Thus, began the odyssey of the righteous.