Lord Shadow

SOMEWHERE IN THE ANDES PLAIN

A temple stand proudly on the vast flat lands. Around the temples are large trees providing shade to the tree.

The tree leaves was green and vibrant full of life, swaying left and right as the winds blows by the tree.

The wind was not gentle instead it was harsh and unforgiving.

Yet, the leaves only sways left and right like even the harshest win will not be able to pluck these leaves from it branches.

The tree itself was gigantic standing around thirty feet tall, its shade covered a large area of the Plains, providing protection from the heat of the sun.

Yet, what sunlight will appear in this area?

The skies on top of the temple was dark and produce thunder bolts with various colors with each of the thunderbolt possessing a mysterious power embed in each of the lightning.

Sometimes its red, Sometimes its blue, sometime it’s black and sometimes its purple. And once in a while silver lightning would also fall down.

But when it strikes the land, the soil did not erupt and the land did not shake. Instead it ripples the space and distort time.

This thunderbolts was violent and mysterious in nature. It is one of the Forbidden Zones on Earth after its discovery.

The only person known to make it alive out from the Temple was the Thunder Monarch Oreki. Rumor has it he even attain stronger power after returning from this thunder infested Plains.

But a man is slowly walking towards the temple, without any fear, calmness is etched all over his face.

The man look at the skies, looking at the raging thunderbolts and in his eyes gleams of excitement can be seen.

This man is tall and handsome, his blue eyes flashing with lightning, his entire physique radiated an aura that is unique and in tandem with the thunderbolts that is falling from the skies and strikes the space of the Andes Plain.

His hair is now slightly longer than before, his face is clean and different from his previous haggard expression.

He look like a clean shaved person ready to tackle the world.

His lean but muscly bodies cracking with energy and his Seed of Speed was rotating madly like it was trying to absorb the lightning above the Temple.

His Seed forms a certain resonance with the lightning all over the top of the Temple. It was then as that man come closer that he stop and his eyes turns dazed.

The Temple hums and a melody turns into a song. The song was a song of creation and destruction.

The man did not know how he knows this and why this song evokes this knowledge. He only knows this is a song that relates to the existence of this temple.

Only he could hear the humming and only he could hear the song forming a resonance with his Seed, and piercing his mind and bore into his soul nourishing his mind and strengthening his body and soul.

Even when Oreki was here, the Thunder Monarch did not hear anything. There is this thing called Fate and Destiny, Karmic cause and effect.

This is this man fate and Destiny, his Karmic Cause that will lead to his Karmic effect, so the Temple hum and sings for him.

It was a melancholic melody that make anyone hears it sad and on verge of tears.

All of that man fear and happiness was laid bare in front of this song that is coming from the temple.

Like the Song itself possesses sentience

The man steps was halted and he seems to be dazed.

The song was hypnotic in nature. But then a Bell sounded in his ears and his dazed eyes returned to normalcy.

The Bell sound was the manifestation of the energy someone left behind in his body to counter this particular calamity.

The man woke up and the melody could no longer be heard.

‘This temple truly have connection with me. My brother is not wrong’ the man smiles and thanks his brother for leaving that strand of energy inside him.

Then he roared to the sky

He activate his power as lightning exploded out of him and Time and Space distorted around him.

His body seems to be standing still but actually it was vibrating in such high speed that it seems he was standing still.

But the energy unleashed from his vibration energy repel the pressure that is emanating from the temple.

And the skies rages and the thunder boomed on top of the temple stratosphere, the winds scatter and somewhere in the Universe a Grand Will was awoken

The skies spreads its dark clouds, and a world of colorful lightning was created.

The white clouds roiled turning into mist of water that falls down gently before being dissipated by the violent thunder.

It strikes space and time, distorting and changing the fabric of reality and trying to rips portals to another world.

His energy dispel the pressure and he was once again in full control of his mind. He heaved a sigh of relief and smiles.

The man was Will the Dark Speedster the famous sworn brother of the Prince.

After Azief regain his health, Azief quickly advise Will to roam the world for lucky chances. The world is getting chaotic and the only way to survive the coming calamity is to become stronger than before.

Even though Will was not as strong as his brother, he was faster than his brother. He could even in theory rips a portal to another plane of existence if he reached enough speed.

As his way of gaining power is related to the Speed Source and unlike his brother cultivating the Way of the Jade Palace to Perfection, he was limited in his option.

Once again Azief prevail for him. Katarina offer an information she got from the Broker. The Broker is a person known in the underworld.

No one knows his face. People knows he wears a black fedora and have a slightly chubby body and trade many information.

His identity was so mysterious that not even the Revolutionary army and the World Government have anything on him.

But both of these faction have a business relationship with the Broker.

To win Azief to the Revolutionary Army Boris hires the Broker to find any information that could entice the prince to join hands with them.

The Broker found an information but bit was not for the Prince. It was for Will. The Broker knows that Azief would do anything for his brother development.

No one knows how but the broker seems to know Will speed is derived from an otherworldly source.

And this Temple if the information of the Broker to be believed, is a Temple related to the Speedster race.

Will once went to the speedster home world in one of his journey when he accidentally hurls himself and Azief into a portal to another world.

The planet of the speedster was destroyed with only some temple stands on top of sandy arid lands of that destroyed planet.

Other than some temples and many monsters Will and Azief did not detected any intelligent life, like they were all wiped out.

This is his chance for improvement when he heard about the Temple. Azief did not hesitate to accept the gift and join hands with the Revolutionary Army.

Now, he escaped from the song of the Temple, he walk forward and he arrived in front of the temple.

The Temple look old and on the verge of crumbling yet for some, reason Will felt that even if today the skies were tear apart and the ground caved in , this temple will still stand regardless of how old and fragile it looks.

Will do not know why he felt like this but this feeling is strong inside his heart.

This temple will stand for all eternity until the true apocalypse engulfed the entire universe and all realities and dimensions.

This temple was something sacred but also unholy. This is what he felt.

Will look at the entrance of the temple.

He could feel the energy surrounds and binds around him.

It was not a chain but a blessing. This force of power connects all speedster in existence in every timeline past, present or future.

Will slowly enter the Temple being cautious and vigilant for any unexpected happenings.

The moment he enter he could feel the energy inside it, warm and gentle a sit courses through his soul and body.

His lightning ignited and purple lightning exploded out from his body as he look on the walls of the Temple, his lightning serves as his light source

On the walls were something akin of the ancient temple of Egypt. It was filled with indecipherable writing.

‘What is this?’

For some reason Will felt some familiarity with the writing. He traced his finger gently as a spark of lightning comes out from his finger and struck the walls.

The walls lights up and the hums begins again. But this time that song did not appear.

Instead somehow he was transported somewhere. Instead of transported somewhere it was more like he was being forced to watch a montage

It was clear this is some kind of video message.

But the opening scene was truly on a grand scale. What appears in front of Will eyes was the vast universe with billions of stars glittering in the distance.

It was like he was a speck of dust in front of such vastness.

He saw millions of speedster running all over the galaxies leaping over realities, creating portals with each steps and breaking fabrics of realities all over the vastness of myriad existence.

The stars and planet in the way of their running trails was sucked into the kinetic energy produced by these speedsters, making them wiped out from the galaxy.

There were many kinds of speedster.

Not all of them possess humanoid forms.

The race of speedster’s runs in a race that spans millions of light years in a single run, burning universes and creating blacks holes that devoured newly born universes out of existence.

They were anxious and were desperate as they ran and ran

Will see this montage like he was viewing a movie with a fast forward function yet at the same time it was like he was there.

It is a feeling he did not know how to express and describe.

It was unlike anything be ever experience.

It was like the Speedster roaming all over the vastness of myriad existence, running through the past, present and future in search of something.

They broke all Laws of the Universe as they ran and ran burning everything along their trails

And then a dark finger comes down from an unknown dimension. This finger was so large and vast that it covers all Universes.

Will could not even comprehend d how high and how wide that finger is because he could not the end of that finger whether its true height or its true width.

It was like the Universes was simply a dust and this finger is trying to sweep this dust of out of the way.

When that dark finger descend, the Universes screams and wails, planets disintegrated into a booming silence as it was destroyed without even uttering a whimper.

Zetallion of lives were lost.

And this dark finger was not even fully seen.

This dark finger seems to be imbued with all the destruction in the entire existences of every race and civilization that has ever lived and will live.

This dark finger broke through all realities, pierces through all dimension and ever present in every Time and Space.

It is ever-present, in every timelines, in every dimension and nothing will ever escapes it.

Nothing escaped this finger when it decides to destroy.

And when it descend, the Universe exploded and all Speedster that was roaming, running, hiding in some pocket dimension, turning themselves into Time Paradox and running in parallels with various timelines was annihilated, destroyed and knows true death.

No matter what these race of speedster do whether it be turning themselves into the consciousness of speed or hiding in the streams of time or creating a separate timeline for themselves, all of this schemes were broken and they all fade into nothingness.

This dark finger annihilate as all that is unreal and turns unreal into real, turns life into death, turns creations into destruction.

Their essence was scattered to the winds, their souls was extinguished and was denied reincarnation and rebirth.

They simply did not exist. Every memory about them was erased, their Karma thread was cut, their Karmatic causes and Effect were overturned and faded and all memory about them disappeared from everyone mind.

The finger annihilate everything. The finger was destruction. That finger was the finger of the Destroyer.

But then how could Will inherit the Speedster will if true destruction befall the Speedster race?

It was then a new scene appears in front of Will as Will understand why the Will of Asargan lives on.

And then a Bell toll amidst the darkness of the Universe. It was a Golden Bells that radiates golden holy light that nourishes life and spreads enlightenment of the Path of Creation.

The tolling Bells spreads light and life all over the vast myriad universes and nothing stops it, not the dark mist shrouding the dark finger or the darkness of the cold dark universe.

The sound could be heard through all the expanded Universes and some creation even attain enlightenment when they heard the tolling Bells.

A monkey underneath a stone erupted form a stone and leapt from the sky and become a Rakshasa and creating havoc as the monkey gained enlightenment on the path of slaughter.

But that was not all.

The sound travel faster than the speed of light breaking the barrier between universes.

The Bell sound tolls ringing all over the dark expanse and the light spreads.

The Will of Asargan created Ten Temples that appeared out of the darkness of the Universe. It was then Will gained an understanding of Asargan.

The Etherna of Speed.

And as the montage keep playing in his mind, information slowly fills his mind. He suddenly knows the name of the race of Speedster.

They were Savi’krian race. When Asargan died trillion of years ago, his strong attainment on the Laws of Speed, Time and Space embed itself in the essence creation of the Universe, turning into one of the Laws of the Universe

Those who blessed with the ability to stumble into the power of Asargan were given a lot of abilities.

Many races all over the Universe could feel the Will of Asargan and was blessed to possess divine speed that defies the Laws of Universe.

As this information flooded inside Will mind he was also at the same time seeing the montage.

The Temple floats in the darkness of space and then it hums a song of defiance against the order of the Universe and at the same time a song of repentance sounded out, singing out in the Universe.

It was like Asargan was revived and singing the song of his race of defiance against the Supreme Being and at the same time repenting against his race actions.

The dark finger wanted to descend again but another finger push the dark finger. This finger was light embodied.

When the finger appeared all creations sings in happiness and joy, as life bloomed and happiness fills the universe.

This light travels through every ends of the Universe and birthed millions n of new galaxies and stars.

The dark finger did not insist but strike one of the Ten Temple with a dark aura.

One of the shining golden temple turns white and pale and the Universe screamed in terror as from the Temple of the Will of Asargan an embodiment, an avatar of the dark finger was formed.

The Temple exploded and forms into a pale white lightning.

The pale white lightning turns into a humanoid figure but was primarily made of lightning. Then an understanding dawn into Will mind.

That is the Grim reaper for Speedster.

The Cosmic Speedster, the Pale Speedster.

For those Speedsters who are too fast for Death to catch, this embodiment of the dark finger, this embodiment of the Will of the Destroyer, will reap it in behalf of Death.

Will was shaken internally as he saw the creation of the Death Reaper of Speedsters.

When the Pale Speedster was born, a thousand planet was turned into desolate barrenness as it inhabitants withered paying Karma for their associations with the Speedster race.

The Universe screams and inauspicious signs manifested in forms of darkly winds that will cover the universe for one millions years and bring disaster and misery for that amount of time

Understanding fill his mind from the images and the mysteries information that keep streaming inside his mind.

That dark finger was the finger of destroyer and that white finger radiating with holy light of creation is the Creator finger.

It was a consideration between the Creator and Destroyer.

The Destroyer annihilate the entire Savi’krian race. But The Will of Asargan muster its strength and created the Ten Temples to aid the Savi’krian race and make sure His Will did not dies out.

The ten Temples stores all the souls of the Savi’krian, distorting space and reverting Time as the extinguished soul was reformed as time moved backwards and their soul was stored inside those ten Temples.

The Creator also could not let the legacy of the Savi’krian race lost in the annals of Time that only they know.

But the Destroyer also could not let his punishment defied so easily.

So he shoot a dark aura form his finger, destroying one of the Temple and as the souls inside that temple screams it was formed into the avatar of Destruction and Death, turning into the Cosmic Speedster to chase those Speedster who too fast for death to catch

The Cosmic Speedster look all across the Universe and with one steps it traverse trillions of universes and arrived at the Divine Dimension and emerged with the Cosmic Source, only to descend when it is time for him to reap.

The Ten temple were reduced by one and turning into nine temple.

The Destroyer exited the scene and the Creator also retreated, disappearing from this part of the Universe.

But the Bell sound of tolling did not yet end as it travel back from another end of the Universe and the sound waves hit the nine temple and one of the Temple exploded.

But instead of screaming soul crying in pain, the soul sings in praise as their soul were released by the sound of the Bell tolling and the light of the bell to become a planet.

From nine temple it now reduced by one. Now there is eight temple.

The Eight Temple floated on the darkness of space as the planet was being reformed.

When the planet was fully reformed it was full of life and lush with green forest and evolved creatures from the sea.

Then the eight temples slowly floats down.

But as it was floating down a boy was flying around this part of the Universe running from an army of Asuras when he saw the eight temples descending down.

Using a Cauldron he sucks one of the Temple and refines it into his Divine residence.

The moment he did that, the boy forms Karma with the Will of Asargan and one day he has to pay it back

This young boy was Yu Wang who one day will become the Jade Emperor of the Jade Palace. Will knows who the boy is because he bears the same resemblance to the face of the Jade Emperor.

After all Will once enter the Thousand Worlds of the Jade Palace with Azief. From eight temple, now it becomes seven.

The seven temple slowly floated down and when it reach down and landed, the energy coming down from the Temple was so malevolent and overbearing, it washed over the entire planet turning the world arid and destroying all life , transforming the animals into monsters with its energy.

The Temple hums and sing a song, as the Will of Asargan once again take roots in the Universe and those who could feel the Will of Asargan was granted the ability of a speedster.

All over the Universe, those who hears the song were awakened with great power.

And that is where the montage ends as Will suddenly kneel down as he felt his knees weakened.

He was sweating all over his body but he could feel the qualitative change in his lightning.

It was like his lightning becomes denser, compressed in each particle and more powerful as it explodes with traces of what makes kinetic energy, positive ions collided with the lightning and with it traces of ancient magic changing the makeup of this ion energy.

Will felt something changed about him. Like he was being acknowledged by a Grand Will of the Universe.

He felt the force of speed all over him, connecting all things. And suddenly his other Seeds he formed merged into his Seed of Speed.

The other Seeds melted as it was absorbed by the almost unbelievably fast rotating Seed of Speed.

BOOM! An explosion rock Will body and his inner consciousness.

‘I couldn’t believe this’ Will said to himself. He was still kneeling and slowly getting back up but his body emitted power that as ancient as this ancient Temple.

The explosion happened because he was promoted into Seed Formation Middle Realm.

The skies on top of the Temple rain down thunders and lightning that causes the Time and Space around the Temple to be distorted heavily like they were acknowledging Will.

A Speedster that has inherited the Will of Asargan has appeared again. And in the Temple one red lightning emerge as it forms an illusory image of a person.

If Will could see the face of this illusory image he would surely recognize it as the Red Speedster that chases him before.

The Red Speedster was full of anger and regret before he died and was supposed to be disintegrated entirely but this Temple is special.

It disregard Karmatic Cause and Effect, disregards Time, Fate and Destiny.

It stores the soul of that Red Speedster but now Will has been acknowledged and the Will of Asargan wiped the Karma between those two.

So, the illusory image slowly dissipated and its resentment disappeared. Will on the other hand realizes something after his lightning become more vibrant

His Path is different from his brother.

Unlike his brother way of creating ten seed to call upon the Purifying Fire, Will path is to merge all of his Seed and gain the approval of the Will of Asargan.

He was smiling amidst the glistening sweat all over his body.

Because he knows where to walk right now and what his direction is. He was lost before and this visit to the temple has shown him the right path.

Like Azief enlightenment regarding the right path of his development, today Will also gain an enlightenment about his path.

He then look at the Walls and then were surprised to see that the Wall full of inscription is now empty.

Only smooth surface could be seen.

Will look at the wall for a moment before he said

‘Thank you for your guidance Asargan’

He said this and then with one steps forward, lightning arcs trails behind him as he traveled tens of kilometers in one step.

He did not even run but only take a step but he traveled tens of kilometers in only one step.

If he runs, one could only imagine his speed.

On top of the tree outside the temple, perched on one of the branches was a black raven. One of its eyes were green.

Its eyes keep blinking, gazing like a watcher.

After that raven saw Will has disappeared from the area, the raven flies away to the skies amidst the lightning filled clouds.

When the lightning was about to strike down the raven, a green smokes halted the lightning and an aura that resembles a God appeared and the lightning bolts recede.

The raven flew away, its green eyes flashing intelligently.

As Will runs reaching an almost unbelievable speed to the Mediterranean Ocean, something happen inside the temple he left.

Part of the wall where he touched the wall before is now glowing with purple lightning.

BBOOMMM!!!

Then the Wall crumbles and reveals a large room the size of a football field. The room was dark and there was an altar in the center of the room with a small hole on top of the ceiling.

The hole seems to provide light from the sparks of lightning outside the temple.

The altar has a stone sarcophagus which is inscribed with the same undecipherable writing like on the wall.

The purple lightning was absorbed into the sarcophagus and then the inscription on the sarcophagus slowly disappear

The sarcophagus top moved and then the sarcophagus exploded. Dust filled the room. When the dust recede, a figure of a naked woman appears. She was humanoid form but she has pointed ears and fiery red hair.

Slowly lightning comes out from every pores on her body. Her lightning was pale white and it was gentle as it coils around her like a snake.

She closed her eyes and when she opens her eyes, lightning flashes inside her eyes.. Then with a smirk she look around the temple.

‘I’ve been looking for you many lives before you’re even born. And so it began’ Her voice was hypnotic and with each word, the laws of this area ripples giving way to the power of the Laws coming out of this woman.

And then still naked, she step forward.

She step forward as the Laws of Speed underneath her feet ruptured and the land beneath her spirals and eating itself and dissipated into particles.

With one step forward she travelled thousands of kilometers away and the temple was destroyed.

Now, there is only six temple of Asargan in the Universe and it signifies something to the many hidden powerful Beings in the Universe.

Peering from his realm of myriads worlds, the Great Emperor of Three Thousand Worlds, The Jade Emperor look at the destroyed temple and release a sigh.

It will not be long before he has to pay his Karma.

Meanwhile while this was happening somewhere in Peru, flying out from his Tower of Golden Bones, an Eight Horn Weronian is rushing to France after the devastating aftermath of a great battle between a human expert they called the Prince and an army led by a Seven Horn Weronian.

This Weronian is a Great Golden Warrior of Golden Horn tribe, the Great Warrior Purunghasa.

From what he has learned the person that led the attack against the army sent to eradicate human in that region was called the Prince.

Further information also detailed that person to be a Great Warrior of the human race.

Purunghasa after learning of this matter offer himself to the Great Divine Warrior who led all of the Tribes of the Weron to eradicate this so called Human race greatest warrior.

He was smiling as he imagine himself gaining merit in war.

In France however, the cheering of the human race shakes the land as the Prince floated down from the sky with Jean the Time Master behind him riding a Pegasus.

Great heroes and heroines were riding behind the Prince, slowly descending down like Saints.

The offensive led by the Prince has proven successful and it began the declaration of resistance of the human race.

As Azief floated down from the sky, he could feel there is a great calamity that is coming for him.

As he form his Eight and Ninth Seeds that deals with destiny and Fate he could sense this thing. But as his feet landed on the ground, there is no use worrying about it.

He will overcome whatever calamity there is.

And so….it began.

***