The calm, and dark ocean water could be seen as both beautiful, and eerie, the gentle waves moved by in a calm, and soothing fashion. The waves started to distort, and tremble, as a smooth black object slowly emerged from the restless waters. As the waters slowly parted, the object grew taller, and taller.

Until something several kilometers wide slowly surfaced from the ocean depths, the height of the object already spanned several hundred meters, and continued to grow. It was a giant black dome, that covered the island of steel, made entirely of a strange black material. A sharp piercing sound continuously spread forth from the island, followed by transparent waves of energy, that spread out in all directions.

A flock of gray birds spanning over 3 meters in length, that were mutated by the land, flew lazily near the island, but soon the birds started to shudder, and convulse, eventually they fell from their flight, diving into the waters below.

...

It had been a week since the events relating to Elithas' island, preparations were made long before the secondary meeting, even without his guidance the co-coalition forces were already building it's momentum around the borders to the Byrantine empire.

The world did not move for arbitrary things like justice, ethics or morales, but gains, and profits under the disguise of them, at least in the past. Now that common individuals no longer held much power, the so called excuses provided to the masses no longer mattered.

The reason to attack the Byrantine empire simply held plenty of benefits for powerful individuals. The Byrantine empire wasn't only powerful because of the 2nd black lab, but because a large swath of it's land survived the golden era of humanity, before the human harvesting, and before the war of sages.

Many of the structures, factories, and other items during the height of humanity remained intact within that empire. Long extinct resources, facilities, and knowledge still exist within.

No one dared to attack them, but during that meeting, when Elithas willingly offered to spread the data, and location of the 4th lab, many quickly agreed.

If they managed to topple the Byrantine empire they would have data from the 4th lab led by Dr. Genova known for energy creation, and synthesis, and data from the 2nd lab, led by Dr. Cylia, well known for her breakthroughs in bio-robotics, and programming.

As a show of good faith, Elithas had provided a vast array of data for converting plant life into energy. The one that gained the most were the Paladins, Evane was a direct descendant of Dr. Herio, leader of the 3rd lab. If the operation was successful, he would have data of 3 black labs, making him an individual that held the most information from the golden era.

The forces that Elithas brought together were from various empires in the central region, and from some massive organizations.

Currently in a military base in an island, on an unmarked location was a small meeting room, where ten people resided.

An old man wearing cybernetic glasses slammed the table.

“What do you mean Elithas will not show up, Evane!”

Evane sat comfortably, and said in a rather calm tone.

“Elithas plans to make a move independent of the coalition, but the terms he stated will still go through, rather than worry about how Elithas will act, it's better to just act accordingly. “

A man with a thick full beard nodded.

“We've already come this far, let's move forward with the operation.”

A holographic screen appeared; a map was printed out, and a man in a black suit walked next to the map and started to explain.

“As we know, a project is being formed in the ocean cities, while the energy to maintain this project remains a mystery.”

A skinny man wearing a visor spoke up.

“What is this project specifically for?”

“From the data Elithas has provided, it seems to be a contained energy shell of some sort, although we do not have a clear idea on it's usage, the energy contained is at least, enough to wipe out a continent.”

While most of the higher ups understood this fact, some of the people in the meeting were still stunned, and their already pale faces turned ghostly.

“Anyways unto more important matters, the shipyards here on the mainland, the supply depots here, and forward military bases here, should be the first priority, in terms of logistics...”

Evane watched the meeting silently without a hint of emotion, several lies and misinformation was used today, but it was already past the point of worry, he could only go forward.

…

What is a human? They are simply a species, and what is a person? They are an entity recognized by the laws through rights, certificates, and Ids.

Genova was definitely a person, but in my opinion she was also definitely not human. How did someone like her, become one of the seven sages, that led humanity in it's golden era?

No one knew.

At that time there were only six prominent scientist, each one an amazing talent whom dedicated their lives towards the advancement of humanity, be it arms, energy, robotics, evolution, theories, or simply expanding the limits of imagination. Their influence, power, and connections grew to a point, where they were able to move countries.

How they managed such a feat could be left to the imagination, but with the rise of cloning, mental augmentation, androids, and easily misinformed masses, many seemingly illogical decisions came to pass, as if it were the most normal thing ever. This was a testament to the human ability to be willfully blind, and comfortably ignorant.

Well I can't blame them entirely, the human brain has natural inefficiency towards rational judgment, simply known as cognitive bias. We as a species can be aware of it, but it would never stop us from repeating those mistakes. It is simply, how the human brain works.

During this era an unknown entity rose to power, and became the seventh sage, she took on the name of one of the existing sages, simply naming herself Genova. No one knew how Genova, and Dr. Irene Genova were connected, it could be because of their similar names, or because they simply could not get along, but an indescribable rivalry was eventually formed.

These long lived sages surpassed the human limits, and brushed against countless taboos, the greatest change to humanity was when they discovered a new form of efficient energy lurking in the depths of this world.

Genova, a woman with no prior history, no family name, and seemingly never existed, became the spark for the war of sages, that ended the golden era of humanity. To this day, her reasons remained unknown.

And to me, she was closer to a god.

…

Belerrion, a small town located in the far north.

In a small rural village, located near an ancient water treatment plant, a little boy, and a older girl were lying on the concrete near many intermingling pipes. A single thin blanket covered their scrawny, and malnourished bodies.

The little boy shivered as he tugged on the older girls arm, he whispered in a tired and timid voice.

“Sis, I'm hungry.”

What greeted him was silence, the little boy stared at the older girl with her eyes closed.

“Sis has been sleeping for two days now, I'm sure shes very tired, I should let her rest.”

As the boy slowly crawled away from the blanket, a sharp piercing sound could be heard, the sound caused the boy to stumble unto the ground. Next a wave of energy passed through his body, before a single thought could form the boy already lay motionless on the cold concrete.

A deep numbing sensation slowly enveloped his body.

The boy did not know what was happening, nor was he scared, his conscious drifted away, and his glazed eyes stared at the concrete floor.

…

Hades, a large city located to the east, in the center of a large mega continent.

A young man in ragged clothes with black hair and unnatural red eyes, was walking barefoot in an alleyway. The small knife in his hands dripped a crimson red as he watched over a well dressed man, the man's neck was ravaged, deep gouging scars protruded outward followed by ragged red flesh, and a single piece of white, sticking out from the middle of red, and black.

The lifeless head rolled on the floor in the mud, and dirt, while a thick red liquid continued to pour out.

The young man breathed heavily, as he glared at the corpse, his fingers firmly gripped on the handle of the dagger.

“I will no longer let you walk over me uncle Balo, I'm tired of being your slave, and tired of being walked on.”

He slowly walked over to the man, and quickly searched his pants, pulling out a wallet filled with cards, and notes.

“I'm tired of following their rules, and their ideas, I'll do what I want.”

As he walked away with the wallet, an overbearing piercing sound in the wind could be heard, which caused him to shudder violently, followed by a wave of energy that caused him to stumble back into the mud.

What the hell is happening!

The young man could feel and overwhelming sensation envelop him. He was scared, and frightened, he had no idea what was happening to his body.

Shit! Am I dying? Impossible! Just when I finally killed that bastard!

As his mind started to become cloudy, and his body started to numb, a fierce burning determination was imprinted into his mind.

If I had another chance, if I could be reborn, I will never allow anyone to step all over me again, next time I'll be the one to take from others, next time I'll be the one with power.

As his red eyes started to lose it's luster, a final thought leaked from his mind.

If I had a next time, I'll take, and own everything I desire, and absolutely nothing will hold me back.

…

A large mansion built in an abandoned factory, was located near a cliff in the far west, where a cluster of islands were linked together.

In the mansion a lot of men with artificial limbs guarded various point in a newly refurnished mansion that merged with an abandoned factory. They were thick, muscular, and armed with heavy weaponry.

Inside the mansion were decorations filled with cheap art, and normal furniture. An old fat man was in a large velvet room, sitting on a chair, his aged face broke into cheery grin as he watched someone enter the door.

Her red hair was long and lustrous, her thin lips formed an awkward smile, and her delicate face blushed furiously, this sight caused his blood to burn, and something to rise. She was wearing the silky white coat he bought for her, her delicate pale hands slowly took off the coat and dumped it lightly unto the floor, revealing her plump white breasts, hidden under a thin piece of black fabric.

The way she moved emphasized her tight but soft body, and he could see her shame barely hidden by the light fabric.

The old man laughed lightly.

“I went to a lot of trouble to obtain you, if you please me, I'll also return what you desire.”

Her father was murdered, her family business was slowly destroyed from within, and her mother disappeared. All that she cared about was her little sister. As long as she was safe it didn't matter what happened to her.

Before the old man could stretch out his arms, the glass around the house shattered, followed by a powerful noise.

“What! Who dares to spoil my fun!”

As soon as he finished that sentence, another wave of power caused him to tumble to the floor, the half naked lady also collapsed.

The old man was furious, if he could get his hands on the culprit endless torture would be the result.

The young lady could only think about a single little girl in her mind, as she slowly succumbed to the sleep.

…

In a small village close to the sea, in an unmarked location far to the south lay a young girl. Her grandpa was sitting on a rocking chair, while the girl sat on his lap. The grandpa was missing a few teeth, and had short white hair, his face formed a kind, and weathered smile. He patted the little girl on the head, ruffling her short black hair.

“The world used to be a better place you know, we had clean water, bright skies, and warm beds. Humanity had dominated the world, we traveled the stars, and changed the planets we lived on. We originally thought that there was only humans and nothing else.”

The old man merely shook his head and sighed, leaving a musty smell that caused to girl to wrinkle her nose.

“We created miracles and countless geniuses, I wonder if things would have changed if that catastrophe never happened.”

The little girl looked starry eyed as he listened to the old man.

“Grandpa tell me the story of the eighth.”

The old man smiled again, and nodded.

“Ah he was an eccentric loner that liked to ramble on about how our reality was too limited, and how the seven sages were too preoccupied by the norm. He opened his own research lab and delved into something that wasn't looked well on.”

The little girl leaned on the old man's chest as if she was tired, and asked, “why?”

“Parascience delved on principles, and ideas not supported by rules of the world, it's a field filled with hoaxes, frauds, and no accomplishments. It could be said he had never contributed anything to the world, and only hid away in his own lab.”

The little girl wrinkled her brows, but continued to listen.

“One day the eighth was encountered by one of our ancestors, our ancestor found the eighth buried under a collapsed house, and rescued him, as thanks, the eighth gave our ancestor an amulet.”

The old man took out a purple amulet that gave off an iridescent glow, and placed it on the little girl. The little girl happily stared at the amulet, hanging on her neck in wonder.

“The eighth said the amulet was special and would help our family in the distant future, and now the amulet is yours.”

“Wow, can I really have it?”

The old man laughed lightly, as the little girl hugged the amulet with her two tiny hands. After that he continued the story.

“You see, while the eighth was not renown, and had nowhere close to the resources, and accomplishments as the others, he was for some reason always invited to the meetings between the seven sages, this alone gave him a small pocket of fame.”

As the old man continued his story, a powerful wave enveloped the tiny far off island.

…

“Murderer, no that would be inaccurate, I guess I could be labeled as a genocidal maniac.”

Saia quietly ridiculed himself as screens of different black islands popped up in view in front of the chair he was sitting on.

“From this, roughly 10% of the surface population has been filtered.”

Another screen popped up that showed grand light displays, and energy being released. The sky was decorated with bright explosions, and objects falling to the earth. Thousands of shadows danced in the sky, while many more fell in ruin.

The sea, the land, and the sky was all drenched in a swirling chaos of flames, smoke, and ash.

“Looks like they really are going at it, even if they discover the islands, I doubt they can halt their conflict anytime soon to move against me.”

From atop the black islands, green balls of light grew more, and more numerous, as more people began to fall world wide. Nearby empires, criminal organizations, mercenaries, militias and all sorts of neutral entities began to stir, as they realized a new incoming threat.

Saia stared coldly at this scene, without a hint of emotion.

“The others should have noticed this by now, I wonder how they plan to move, even the second seeds should be able to see the green lights now.”

Just as Saia was muttering to himself, a hazy screen popped up in front of him, a hooded figure could be seen on the static filled screen.

A cheerful voice greeted him,“surprise.”

“Oh? You managed to track me down so soon, I estimated it would take you another day at least.”

“That's because you have a habit of underestimating people.”

“So, whats your response, to what I'm doing?”

Maya brought up a single device and showed it to Saia, he could only stare at it in confusion.

“It's natural you have no idea what it is, since you spent most of your time just wandering around lately, and away from our constant experiments.”

She casually dialed a few buttons, “Saia this is my promise to her, try and survive.”

On the screen with the black Islands one of them was met with a series of explosions, which caused the Island to rattle, and the energy around it to weaken. From that scene countless shadows could be observed rushing to the black island.

Saia could see several different types of air crafts with different symbols, and flags on it. A large smile appeared on his face as he stared at the scene.

“Well it is their lives after all, it's only fair they fight back, with everything they have.”

Maya nodded gently.

“Well, good luck Saia.”

“Thanks, did you receive the present?”

“Yes, a lot of the second seeds disagree with the first seeds, there's going to be some conflict.”

“Sorry for the trouble, Maya.”

“It's ok, I expected trouble from you to begin with.”

After that short conversation, the communication was cut off. Saia watched as a large swarm of shadows left the island, to defend the air space. As he casually watched this scene, another image popped up, a single vessel was heading directly towards where he was, the small and fast air craft had a glowing sword grafted unto the ship.

The energy emitted from the ship was actually visible in plain sight, as the air around it was incredibly distorted, making it seem like the sky was made of water, as waves of power continued to cause ripples in the scene around it.

“The entity know as The Paladin made it's move, I didn't expect that thing to come to me, when it's organization the Paladins was in conflict with Byrantine.”

Saia didn't bother to move, he just sat still and watched how everything progressed. To him the success of this operation did not matter, all he simply needed to do was try his best. Eventually explosions, and bursts of lasers barraging the black islands from different screens showed up.

Some of them belonged to criminal organizations, some belonged to tyrants, and dictators, and some from well established empires, and mercenary groups.

“Hmm, normally speaking, I guess that makes me to evil sub-boss huh?”

Saia stood up, and slowly walked towards the cane, buried deep into the ground.

“I usually enjoy rooting for the underdogs. but, since I'm on the other side; I guess they should be stopped.”

He stood in front of the plain walking cane, and whispered gently.

“Apocalypse, start.”

From the depths of the dark waters thousands, upon thousands of mechanical abominations surfaced, some as small as a human sized adult, while others were the size of mountains, all over the world these machines surfaced.

“Genova really is quite the monster, even a few centuries after her death, she still managed to create these things through automation.”

As Saia muttered to himself, more distortions started to appear around him, this time the slimy monstrosities resembled humans, fused with tentacles, and curved hooks, unlike previously, the distortions were endless, and dense. Every second, more would show up, each one bulkier, and more grotesque than the one before.

From the depths of the floor, a single shadow could be seen covered in black armor, bluish energy sizzled, and laced around the shadow, constantly like snakes.

“Once again sorry, I'll leave this to you.”

The humanoid merely nodded as it dove into the constant swarm of disfigured monsters.

“I guess that thing is getting a bit desperate.”

A dull light shone on his left finger tips as a giant black hulking beast, towered over Saia.

“Honestly I'm just a small fry in this, pretty much everything is automated, but either way, it is a consequence of my own actions, so I guess I should take responsibility. But, it's a shame though, you shouldn't be at your peak condition, since this isn't your era."

Saia casually talked to the monster as it dove in, black hooks merged with the shadows, lunging at him from the behind, Saia gripped a few syringes in his right hand, while a dull glow in his finger tips exploded, enveloping them both in a nova of dull light.