Zenith: Last Revenant - Chapter 60

Under the starry night sky, only one building had its lights still turned on. It was the Library of the tribe. Although the building was supposed to be closed up after hours, due to the direct order of the Elder, the Keeper of Records had to begrudgingly allow the long-haired man to study their sacred records.

Inside the building, one of the tables had a mountain of scrolls piled up against each other in a disorderly fashion. In front of them, Spencer, had his brows creased, he was focusing on the current historical record, stating the “Great Clash of the 5 Great Powers”.

The scroll told the story of how the current landscape and political situation was created. It said that about a million years ago, the landscape of this planet was much different than it is now. While it was still mostly dominated by a never-ending lush jungle biome, with 2 large oceans separating the 3 continents, there were thousands if not millions of tribes of all sizes and cultures present. While they were usually not comparable in terms of socialization to the modern era Earthlings, their borders weren’t closed off. There were trade caravans, adventurers, explorers…

Tribes used to form colonies, acting similarly to Kingdoms, Countries, and even Empires. While each tribe had an Elder, a being that at the bȧrė minimum started to comprehend his or her own Divinity, the colonies had a Grand Elder to lead them. These supernatural, godly beings were all in the later stages of their Divinities, each governed their own laws of power that they comprehended.

The landscape began to change, as the smaller colonies were engulfed by the larger ones, in the end creating 4 Great Colonies, or 4 Great Powers. These Great Powers were all attuned to one of the 4 basic elements: Fire, Water, Earth, and Air. Their younglings, when Awakened, could have an affinity to only that particular affinity. Everything was in order, a tranquil peace ruled over the planet.

Or so they thought.

There was one man, born amidst the flames of war and chaos. One person that defied logic, that never tasted the loving embrace of his mother or the teachings of his father. He was a product that was created through violence and was shown only hatred and disdain throughout his childhood. As a half-breed, as the other children labeled him was eventually exiled just before his Awakening ritual and became an Outcast, a Filth of the People.

He was weak and battered as he crossed through the plains, finally settling in the southern region.

On a dark rainy day, inside a damp cave of the mountain, a bright double-colored pillar of light burst into the sky. The Dark and Golden colored ray sent through a terrifying ripple across the entire planet. On that day, the being later known as Aethros, the lord of Time and Space, the Reaper of Great Powers was born.

The Great Elders and Elders were all shaken as they felt the great, unknown energy pass through them. This was not something they ever felt before… But it sent a chill through their spines, and they could feel their own blood boil. At that time, they didn’t know if it was because of expectations of the future, or because of the coming dark times…

Time passed by, and while all 4 Powers sent out their scouts trying to locate the source of the energy, none were successful. Whoever or whatever sent out that energy has seemingly vanished without a trace.

Spencer rolled up yet another finished scroll and threw it on top of the already huge pile next to him. He leaned against the chair he was sitting on, and let out a loud yawn.

Looking over at the window, a wry smile crept up on his face.

“Heh… it’s so late already? I really should take some rest, but there’s still so much to learn… I should take some air to freshen up.”

He stood up and walked towards the door. He didn’t put away anything, he still wanted to come back and read-up this people’s history. If he wanted to reach his goal, he had learned more about this mysterious tribal race.

The situation was different than with the Martians. There he already had a general idea about the different races through the memories of the previous life. With these people, he had no clue, no previous knowledge. They weren’t present in modern times and had not affected the universe in any way, despite that incredible potential. What could have happened? Did they face a global extinction event? Maybe they simply faded out from history due to the low birth rate? Whatever the reason was, he had to know more.

Without an appropriate understanding, he wouldn’t know which path to take when trying to strive for the apex, and wouldn’t be able to successfully merge his own energy with the Fasha.

Crossing through the silent, empty streets, Spencer eventually reached a clearing, that the people most likely used as a sort of park. He sat down on a rock, and gazed up above the skies, looking at the countless stars.

So many things happened in such a short amount of time. His original plan to travel the stars came from his thirst for more power. It was a selfish reason, and he left behind people he started to care about, but he had to. Essentially he himself is immortal, while they aren’t. Their lives were only a small drop in the endless ocean; inconsequential in the end.

The smiling face of a young girl, eager to learn more about the world, resurfaced from his sea of memories as he kept gazing at the sky. What could she be doing now? Did she forget him already?

“Eh…” Spencer let out another long sigh and shook his head to clear his thoughts. No, he has to move forward. He has one goal, one dėsɨrė that he has to strive for, nothing else matters in the end.

“What are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the library still?” A familiar female voice woke him up from his troubled thoughts.

“I just needed some fresh air so I came out. What are you doing here so late?” Spencer replied as he kept his eyes on the sky.

“You wouldn’t believe me even if I would tell you, so…” She walked next to him and sat down on the other end of the rock. She looked up at the sky, trying to find the place Spencer’s eyes were gazing at.

After a while, she spoke again.

“You know… I used to come here often when I was little. I sat on this very rock and tried my hardest to meditate and be stronger. I remember I spent whole nights out here…” She reminisced with a conflicted tone. There was sadness and a tinge of happiness mixed within her voice that was caught by Spencer.

For the first time, since she arrived, he looked at the girl sitting next to him. A small smile could be seen on his face as he looked over the girl.

“What was the reason?” He asked, looking at her face.

“I lost my father early on, he had an accident during a hunt. My mother wasn’t a warrior, so she couldn’t contribute to the tribe that much, and we didn’t get much in return. Life was hard for us��” She kept looking up at the sky, even as a small drop of tear escaped the corner of his eyes and snaked through her face towards freedom.

After a few breaths’ time, she continued.

“Shortly after my awakening, my mother got sick, and could no longer do the work she was ȧssigned to. She had no way to contribute anymore. Me on the other hand had potential. My Awakening was rather powerful, I was scanned to 455 FE at the time… That was an astonishing number at the time…”

She took a brief moment to pause and then continued.

“I could once again see the light. There was hope for us. I only needed to be stronger and become a respected warrior, a Ranker of the tribe and my only family would be set. So I did my best, I trained hard. Harder than anyone. I fought and trained during the day, and came here to meditate through the night.”

For the first time since she began, a small smile crept up at the edges of her lips as she looked at the man listening intently to her story. There was nothing but an honest, childlike interest on his face. She saw the glint in his eyes as he wanted to know more about the person in front of him.

For the first time, she did not feel apprehension, anger, or hatred when she looked at this mysterious man.

For the first time, she only saw a man, a fellow tribesman, and more importantly; a friend.