Prologue - Statera (Full updated version)

Religion: a system of dedication and belief to a higher power, an organization that unites and divides the human society. This belief has led to millions of lives being saved and taken. There are countless religions in the world and all of them share common beliefs. Some believe in one God whereas others believe in many.

One must not take a life. This is one of the outstanding beliefs in each and every religion. However, if we look at the statistics on reasons a man or woman is murdered, the numbers raise religion to the top. Religion is centred on the core idea of civilizing humans; to stop them from stealing, committing crimes, cheating, taking a being’s life and so forth. It aims to teach them to be caring, humble and grateful.  

Religion is peace. This is what humans have been told since its deliverance. Religion is the way to God. Without it every soul is damned to Hell, a creation religion has brought upon the world along with Heaven. There are many guidelines, rules, laws and commandments to find the way to God and his paradise but it is a troublesome journey. As troublesome as it is the human society has also come to believe the laws are optional in some way as if the Holy Books state ‘pick five out of ten commandments’ you wish to follow and the rest is history.

Is religion real? Should humans trust their lives on an empty promise, never having proven itself to any extent in reality? Religion unites and divides. It unites those within the same religion and divides those who aren’t. This issue has always raised questions from believers and non-believers. A question one particular angel asked himself since the creation of religion.

“It makes no sense. Why not create one simple book?” he pondered but failed to receive an answer from his creator. “Why cause tension among the humans? There are wars breaking out because of you, because you created three separate paths to you. What sort of test is this?”

Since the beginning of time, when Adam and Eve first set foot on Earth the angel watched the humans worship false Gods, the sun, the stars and the Earth. The problem with Adam and Eve was that they were an unexpected twist to God’s plans. Due to their treachery, he exiled them there but not in their human form. In a world where nature was on top of the food chain he cursed both Adam and Eve, deforming them into ape-like creatures, erasing their memories in the process; a curse that simply baffles humans in the technological future.

It tormented him not being able to help them, show them the true way. And then the day came when Moses rose to power with the aid of God to help the slaves against the Egyptians. And then there was Jesus who was named the son of God, who sacrificed himself for the sins of the humans. Then there was Mohammed who united the troublesome east. Three men... given the task to spread the holy words of God.

“Three uneducated, unintelligent, unqualified and inexperienced men!” the angel roared as he watched the sands of time. “And these men have turned their followers against the others. What is the purpose? What is the purpose!?”

The angel never received an answer. He, who tried everything to satisfy his creator, was let down. Distraught and disapproved, the angel descended to the mortal world, mingling with the humans. He entered a church during the Crusades, an era he despised, and felt an unnerving power hold him back. Confused at first he stayed away but curiosity compelled him in, wrestling with the invisible force holding him back. There on a bench, a black book lay with golden letters, Holy Bible.

The angel finished reading the book in one sitting, constantly dismissing the priests who asked whether he needed help. There were pages, even chapters, he reread numerous times. He was horrified. An angel by the name Lucifer was mentioned several times described as the physical entity of evil. Throughout the book there were many verses that spoke ill of Lucifer, calling him a Devil, Satan, a fallen angel.

The angel finally closed the book and walked out of the church, questioning his existence. He didn’t understand any of it. The book didn’t make any sense. Perhaps the prophet had misunderstood God. But that was not what bothered the angel. In God’s vast kingdom there were countless angels and only one had that name but the angel Lucifer was nothing like how he was described in the Holy Bible. He would know… because he was Lucifer.

He was nothing like how he was described, he repeated to himself. Lucifer was the ‘Lightbringer’, the first of all angels and the eldest archangel. Had God betrayed him, creating a necessary evil for there to be a need of a saviour? He had to know but the gates of Heaven were locked, suddenly inaccessible to him, feeding the fury within.

Lucifer had his own followers within Heaven and with their help, he tore down the pearly gates. Forcefully entering the realm of the almighty, Lucifer urged God to answer his questions. As he and the angels supporting him awaited an answer, a well deserved one, God simply brushed him aside, exiling him from Heaven, never to step his foot again. 

The Archangel was furious, promising that he would find a way to get to the truth and set a course through specific points in time, dates and events important to Judaism, Christianity and Islam, unwillingly and unknowingly committing every detail and more mentioned in the Holy books.

At the end of his journey, Lucifer realized religion wasn’t a test of faith for the humans but for him and he had failed it miserably. The Archangel felt betrayed once more and decided never to trust God again. The new timeline he had created was the same as the original except this time the stories were true; he had committed what was once a dirty lie. To that day he still never understood why God had turned on him, creating the monster he was now but the anger inside him didn’t want to find out. He only wanted revenge. At the end of his journey, the Archangel found out only one thing… That he was no longer Lucifer the Lightbringer.

Lucifer rallied up his forces to wage war against the almighty God, not once, not twice, but countless times. The wars decimated both sides but God had created a new white knight amongst his best Archangels, Michael, who was as powerful as Lucifer was, perhaps even stronger. God condemned Lucifer to the depths of Hell after each victory, creating new horrors for the angel, plunging him to new depths each time. At the end of the last war, God finally sent him where there were no eternal fires, dooming Lucifer to an endless and silent darkness.

As the sands of time resumed at its normal pace Earth entered the 27th century with a bang. The Big Bang, the second of its kind in the Milky Way. Billions of particles, in the form of white light, scattered across the universe, millions striking Earth’s population. No one knew what caused it but it left a mark of terror, a disease to the humankind further spreading a line of divide as a new race was born.

Scientists called them God Particles as they mutated and enhanced any living thing it touched. New types of animals erupted into the ecosystem, some terrible and dangerous while others were innocent with random powers. As the world tried to rebuild in solidarity the new species were under tight surveillance and criticism.

Around the year 2615, humans started to show symptoms that animals started to show. A new wave of enhanced humans swept the Earth, helping with their special abilities. However, leading nations planned to keep them all at bay but the affected percentage was over 30% of the human population.

Humanity tip-toed into the 28th century. Enhanced humans were told to use their powers less frequently but the notion was not taken positively as they felt suppressed and pressured by the ordinary humans. The enhanced were given the name Immortals as they lived longer than the average human but they soon lost the name after an extremist pro-human group had murdered an Immortal. Once they understood that they could be killed the extremists declared war upon them. As international debates circled the topic of enhanced humans, more people were admitting that they were terrified of them. The religious passionately hated them, believing their existence was a test of God.

The term “Living Weapon” was thrown in every direction as hatred grew towards the enhanced. The enhanced soon organized themselves into one group as they held a stronghold in France. War was inevitable but one woman tried to maintain peace. A couple had claimed themselves the leaders of the Immortals. The man was once among the highest ranked generals and the woman was a leading staff member of a global peace organization, an organization that helped bring down the borders of the world after the Second Big Bang. Their names were Arcadeus and Tasia Mara.

Tasia brought forth a plan called the Treaty of the United Humans. A date and location was set but the humans had no intention of going along with it. In the year 2702, June 15th, the Immortals met with the humans in the land of old Denmark. Arcadeus, Tasia and twenty other Immortals were present at the meeting with the European leaders. However, the Immortals soon discovered that the leaders were actors as the building was soon swarmed with armed forces. Tasia died that day as Arcadeus and the remaining Immortals fought their way out of the Danish region. Arcadeus sent word of their condition to their stronghold and so began the ‘Demigod War’.

Two days later, Arcadeus broadcasted a live signal to the entire world. He declared war upon every mortal human being on the planet. He proclaimed that the enhanced humans were a far superior race and dismissed the Immortal name they had been given. During the long speech on the broadcast, he announced what they really were, Demigods, and demanded respect from the inferior races since the God Particles had ‘chosen’ to bond with them. Moments after the speech, the war had started.

The war lasted for two months as the humans took on a defensive strategy. Demigods from all over the world swarmed in to help. War broke out everywhere in the world but Europe was central. The Demigods had infinite power but they were not all soldiers. Many died due to their lack of experience in war. They were not immortal but many still seemed to think otherwise, constantly pushing their durability to intense levels. Having endured heavy losses, Arcadeus called for a retreat back to France. Humans declared Armageddon, launching Atomic bombs towards the area. Arcadeus and his people were cornered until an unknown Demigod found a way to escape. The Demigod divided the Atlantic Ocean for the rest of the Demigods to pass through towards the Americas. No one had seen the man among them before but they were thankful. The people were chanting his name, Lucifer, as their saviour. Having survived near extinction, the Demigods and Arcadeus never looked back as they made plans for a new home.

2702, September 20th, every Demigod in the world had reallocated to America. A short-lived war had erupted and they were victorious. The American Demigods had begun battling the humans long before Arcadeus and his people had arrived. They were reinforcements to the battle and within three weeks they had gained control of the government and the entire continent with their numbers and powers. Arcadeus had started a holocaust, to rid the humans off the face of America but brought it to a halt as he realized a flaw in his future plans. A continent where everyone was a Demigod would not have worked well in terms of workforce. With that said, the human population in America was let free to decide on their fate. They could either flee to Europe or they could stay and continue living and working for the Demigods. As the humans chose their sides, Arcadeus declared a state of isolation from the rest of the world. No contact was ever to be made. The humans too had declared that they will isolate themselves from the American region.

The history books educated people of the wars until 2704 when the world leaders chose to seize all information about the Demigods. People were restricted from talking about them. The law stated it as treason to ever speak of it, to teach the newer generations of their recent history. As they declared the law, no one protested. It was for the better good. People were constantly living in fear of a new attack. They wanted to take away the fear and forget.

The year is now 3000. Demigods are a myth. America is told to be a nuclear wasteland, restricted to everyone. The Demigods and humans held to their isolation. However, the human governments continue planning for a day of inevitable war. Every information and historical record has been kept safe and continuously studied.

Almost 300 years later Arcadeus is still alive and finally ready for battle. For years he trained to perfect his Godly powers, and with his previous skills as a General, he has been at the helm of a well-trained army. America was his domain, now called Empyrean, but he wanted the rest of it. He wanted the world under his feet, bowing to his command. Arcadeus Mara did not forget and he did forgive. They had taken Tasia away from him. They were going to pay for that and more. He was coming and now was the time.

But there is a balance to the system God created and that scale is crooked, the fourth time it has happened since the dawn of man. A compulsory reaction must be taken.

It is time for a new prophet.