Chapter 9

Odin 13th, 12048

Under the three full moons, the night sky also had aura caused from thick clouds underneath. One would think of it as a natural beauty to have many moons, but it was actually a disaster.

A rogue asteroid had hit a nearby planet’s moon which ended up leaving orbit to its regular planet. On coming closer to ‘Nemura’ it simply started orbiting the planet.

All would be okay but the orbit was not very steady and the researchers and stargazers of the planet would always predict end of the world every now and then. For the new moon was orbiting anti clockwise while the older two moons orbited clockwise direction.

Perhaps this was what an end would fit a planet with so much bloodshed? Many thought that way and many deferred from that.

“We may have had our differences but this is not an outcome worthy of our existence” a man shouted in a conference.

“Tell that to the native inhabitants of this world we crushed, settled and are still killing them” Another yelled back.

Turns out they were both settlers and their arguments made no differences. The lives of native race were unchanged. They were enslaved, captured and among those who fought back were hunted.

They had no political standings and had no common languages, even their cultural differences were on extreme differences. The distrust, the incompatibility was obvious and there was no way the settlers would leave. Their home planet had already been destroyed.

Colonel Jack was a settler’s army officer and he was tasked with clearing out the new land from the native race so they could settle additional people that were still somewhere in space, seeking new home.

The area of Northern Lands was a beautiful place with mountains and rivers. The natural flora and fauna made it look even more beautiful. Between the mountains, in a valley was the village of Rimstones. It was quite well developed as the population of the village reached around 50000 people. One of the largest villages the planet had that belonged to native race.

The natives of the planet were in fact also not just simple beings. The village had different sects and each sect killed each other as there was internal conflict over who was right regarding what happened centuries ago.

They had divided themselves into five different sects each holding their own values. The settlers who had landed in the planet had made good use of their internal conflicts to weaken them.

However, upon realizing their overall strength, they abandoned the policy of divide and rule.

It was not necessary and judged that they could take over without much plotting. In a way, one would say fair enough. The native’s fault was that they could no longer defend themselves and hence they were captured. The entire universe worked that way.

“The third moon orbit is getting unstable again and barely missed collision with another moon” news was a thing on this planet and both settlers and natives would often forget their conflicts when such things appeared over announcements.

Few natives thought why bother coming here if it was on a brink of destruction? But finding a planet that could sustain their lives was enough. Specially where they could fuel their ships and load resources.

Their destination planet was called Vinrya. The main settlement planet and where they really were outnumbered. It was a place where the native races were strong.

In the vastness of universe, finding a new world had a low probability. So they decided to occupy the planet that was easier to occupy. Use all resources and be on their way to Vinrya.

They had magic portals too, but mana requirement was immense and risky, so looking towards technology was easier.

Mage guilds of their home planet had already left for Vinrya and abandoned their own race way back.

This became another reason why settlers hated the native races. They embraced magic and had used magic in their daily lives.

“This is outrageous, why do we have to live like slaves in our own homeland? We must protest and unify among selves. We are divided and hence we are conquered. ” An old man spoke out in the public rally.

“Yes you are right Oliver and I think it’s about time we place our differences to the side for now and handle the outlanders” an elder from different tribe spoke. The remaining elders silently nodded.

The public rally took place in market place so more and more locals could listen to them and participate. The portrayal of unity was also a tactic the rebellious natives had come up with.

Not knowing that the settlers no longer cared about their unity, they still believed if they could prove the natives collectively dislike settlers, they would leave peacefully.

Perhaps peaceful protest was all they were capable of now. Any form of aggression towards settlers was not taken lightly by the regime.

The native race was humanoid beings the only thing that made them look different than a human was their pitch black eyes and antennas on their forehead. Also the gills that were now almost vestigial organ as the planet lacked much water.

But if they did swim in one, they could still breathe easily.

Roy and his mother were in such marketplace and were on their way home. Roy, who was usually a quiet boy at around the age of 14 years, loved his family a lot. He would not care about all the politics that was on fire now days.

Neither did he care about who ruled the planet or his race.

He did however worry from time to time when people he knew would suddenly disappear or be prisoned. But he always heard the one side of the story. Knowing that he did not have any means to know much, he would always look away.

However, deep inside him, he also did fear if the knock came to his door.

While they were walking, suddenly the troops of soldiers from regime came on their vehicles. Their informers had done their work and informed them about the rally. Unhappy with anti-regime movement, the soldiers were ordered to capture the participants and demotivate the locals from ever participating in such rally.

Now to demotivate, they had to make examples out of people.

So they simply fired and shot the person who was on stage down and killed him. Knocked off many others among citizen and started arresting them. Those who tried to flee would get shot.

Roy’s mother was one such citizen who panicked. Roy almost shocked at seeing his mother’s reaction immediately understood the situation they were in and held her hands tightly.

In her fear she tightly held Roy and hugged him as she started screaming.

“Mother, stop they are not here for us” he reasoned.

“You boy, get the fuck away from her we are taking her” a soldier said.

“No, why are you taking her? She has done nothing wrong” Roy said as he sent a distress signal to his family with telepathy.

The mother tried to block the signal but it was already too late. The boy may not know the nature of the soldiers, but she knew too well apparently.

“Let my boy live, take me instead” Roy got scared and started getting goose bumps.

“That’s what we plan on doing. You boy…aaaah” as the soldier tried to forcefully remove Roy from his mother, his hands got crushed to Roy’s grip.

“Why you little… die” The soldier said in a fit of rage.

BANG

“mm…Mother?” Roy’s eyes were wide. Tears dripping like a shower. His mother lost her life the moment she took the bullet for him.

“MOTHER?” Roy’s sister screamed as she witnessed. She stood with their father standing behind her. Roy looked at both of them, not believing what just happened.

With the death of their mother, the locals had turned violent and started attacking all soldiers. Their basic mana was not enough to take down soldiers who were obviously geared to deal with petty mages.

“Shoot them all” the soldier yelled.

“NOOO” Roy yelled. As he was yelling, a bullet hit him on his head and he darkness spread in his vision.

System has found you in extreme stress. System would like to initiate a trial for someone. Would you like to host? Y/N

The system message started flickering in Roy’s eyes. As the darkness faded, he looked around. Only to see everyone he knew. His mother, sister and father were al killed. He himself was soaked in his Mother’s blood.

Why was he still alive? Well the answer was something Roy knew all along.

“Argh, why wouldn’t you die brat?” The soldier yelled again as he continuously kept on firing at him.

“Why wouldn’t I die you ask?” With blank eyes of Roy, which were gazing at the bodies of his family? He responded. He was so shocked and stressed. Yet he was much calmer.

System has found you in extreme stress. System would like to initiate a trial for someone. Would you like to host? Y/N

The system message kept on flickering.

But before it could prompt again, Roy pressed.

NO.

“I don’t need any banished soul to help me.” He claimed.

“And help me with what? Can it bring my family back?” he added

Not understanding why the boy started talking, the regime’s soldier could only deduce that the boy had lost it.

Still unable to understand why the bullets won’t harm him, he asked for other troops. They brought in cannon and he also had called for air support just in case.

“You see, I…. I don’t die because, this is the last possible life I could have” With a maniac’s smile, Roy lifted his face.

“You, I had no business with your deal. I had decided to live a chilled out life. You had to ruin it didn’t you?” Roy said with anger.

“Well cry me a bucket you undead freak” The soldier said.

“Undead? Hmm I like it” Roy added.

His rage had reached impossible heights by now. Somehow, he was also angry with the system.

He knew life would be tough for NG+7. But he hadn’t signed for unreasonably unfair fate. He could live with the fact that he was born to a community that was enslaved by foreigners.

He could live with the fact that he was subjected to unreasonable prejudice. He could live with the fact that even if he was hit, he would control himself and never use his insane stats against another being.

But this? His story had ended before it could ever start.

This was last life he could have as per system. He had done all sorts of training to prepare for this life.

Having maxed almost all stats, he was more than prepared to protect his new family.

In a way, he wanted to curse himself. Why could I not save mother and my family?

This damned soul memory lock.

Perhaps, it unlocked revealing most about his strength after the bullet hit him.

Thoughts were a thing of the past now.

Roy gazed back at the soldier with a new resolve.

“You… you have killed them” He shouted with tears still dropping.

“Now witness the strength of true death” He yelled with extreme expressions.

“Air support, fire” The fighter planes started firing at him, but now it was too late.

“Mana-sheild” Roy chanted a spell around the soldier who killed his family.

With an extreme surprise the soldier tried to understand the logic. But before he could ask, what he saw dropped his jaw.

Roy clapped with extreme force and it created a shockwave so powerful and it created ripples across the world and even affected the moon.

Due to the ripple, the moons collided to each other but that was now irrelevant.

The core of the planet went unstable and now earthquakes occurred everywhere.

“Bastard, to think you were this strong. But why kill your own people?” The soldier yelled.

“My family was my own people, no one else.” Roy responded.

“Then why protect me?” the soldier asked.

“I know that your race lives beyond this planet. You will die last among your kind. I will ensure it” Roy, who was no longer just a teenage boy, announced a sinister new purpose to his life.

The ripples then even extended to the nearest star and caused a solar flare.

The entire planet and moons were instantly vaporized. The politics and the settlement and natives, all burned to ash.

What lived from the planet were just Roy and the soldier.

“On his knees, the soldier silently cried. Oh! Alyria” Tears dripped down the corner of his eyes.

But he immediately wiped them clean. He was a soldier. A soldier would never break in front of an enemy as he resolved.

“I will not rest until every reptile-kin is dead” Roy said as he made his mind.

***

In the void world, the mage sits alone on the rock. Looking at the floor, he inwardly screams “that fucking ant”

***