Book 7, Chapter 61 - Doomsday Shif (1/2)

Book 7, Chapter 61 - Doomsday Shif

Cloudhawk dreamed.

They were visions of chaos and peculiarity.

He imagined himself as another species, living in a place of miracles and illusions. These creatures came to this dreamcape from other worlds, all possessing great mental powers. With a flick of their wrist mountains rose and fell. With a thought clouds parted and rain fell. All were like gods.

They were a miraculous people whose reach extended to the stars. With no limit to what they could accomplish, they built a vast cosmic empire.

Yet for reasons unknown, this great society which had lasted for countless generations fell into decline. For all the pride they had in their mental powers, they began to fade. Their immortal bodies began to wither.

He watched as this magnificent species teetered on the edge of extinction. All living things lived and eventually died. All things waxed and waned. Even the universe would eventually pass into oblivion. Birth and death, creation and destruction – they were twins born of the same source. Two sides of a mirror.

There was no living thing that was immortal in the true sense. Nothing was indestructible. Societies – like people – aged and went into decline. Just as the young robust man cannot escape the march of time, neither could a species. It was the way of the universe.

Fear took them. Panic. Their civilization came under threat from outside forces. The desire to live was a basic part of any creature or society, so with their incredible potential the species began a terrible experiment.

An experiment that, once started, could not be stopped.

Living things were inherently selfish. From the tiniest microbes to the largest civilizations, they were built on the destruction of lesser creatures. Cows ate grass, a disaster for the sprouts of green. Lions ate meat, and thus brought an end to the beasts of the field.

Following this principle, humans did all within their power to build a better life. They cut down trees, cultivated the land, raised and slaughtered animals, fished the seas and so much more. Everything that humanity created was erected on a foundation of exploitation.

With this in mind, what the grand civilization did next was understandable. As one of the greatest species in the universe, in order to preserve itself, it saw all other living creatures as a necessary sacrifice. Indeed, to them lesser species were akin to how humans saw cattle. Even smaller, for the gulf between these societies was so great. Those of inferior evolution were merely resources to be used for the higher purpose of continuing their dominance.

Thus, the cataclysm of untold civilizations began.

Cloudhawk wasn’t able to see all the details. These visions came in fits and starts, like a fever dream. After what seemed like only a short period his consciousness returned and his eyes shot open.

“Hey, you’re awake!”

The voice caused Cloudhawk to shoot up into a seated position. He patted himself down, finding serious but no life-threatening wounds. Nothing that his constitution and a few good nights of sleep wouldn’t repair.

Dawn was seated beside him, concern on her face.

When Autumn and the others brought Cloudhawk back, Dawn couldn’t believe what she was seeing. What was left on this earth that was such a threat to him? He wasn’t just strong, he was unbeatable, achieving heights no human ever had.

Dawn had begun to worry that Cloudhawk had fallen into a trap laid by Belial. The artisan was a demon Elder, after all, and they were known for their cunning. Only that thought disappeared when she saw the other body they were carrying. Belial himself, wounded even worse than Cloudhawk. She didn’t have any explanation.

After coming to, Cloudhawk was quiet for a long time. His encounter with the God King had gone very poorly. But as fatal as it had nearly been, it was a priceless wake-up call.

Lately Cloudhawk’s strength had given him an inflated sense of confidence. Since there was no one on this planet who was his equal, he had no metric to compare himself to. That turned into conceit. His vicious defeat at the God King’s had was because he went in cocky and unprepared.

What’s more, he learned quite a lot from the exchange. Now it was time to plan his next step.

After a little while he brought his mind back to the present. His loss didn’t appear to affect him much. Cloudhawk had a sturdier ego than that. He’d already shed the shame of his defeat when he looked at Dawn. “Where’s everyone else?”

“Outside,” she answered. “What you found was amazing. We’ve gathered enough evidence to prove what the gods were up to. The news has shaken Stormford to its core.”

To its core? Well no shit. The secret base had a thousand god corpses lying around now, which alone was a fact that would blow the average citizen’s mind. Beyond that there was also a Source crystal the size of a city. All of this would shatter everything the Elysians thought they knew. The perfect societies they cultivated were nothing more than cattle pens, and humans were the livestock.

“Let’s go take a look.”

Cloudhawk and Dawn left the bedroom and where immediately met with the noise of a city in chaos. Hundreds of thousands of people were marching in the streets, separated into various camps. Conflicts big and small were everywhere he looked.