One Year Ago
"Men and women of the Leginian Continental Army," an aged, disciplined voice spoke out across the expansive courtyard of Fort Readon, "Thank you for your patience and cooperation despite these strange circumstances. You and all of your officers were summoned en masse here to the Jewel of Gaia with little-to-no preparation or information." Brigadier General Masshu, the commander of the entire Gaian military division, spoke less like a soldier and more like a politician than any officer Weston had heard. He was an older portly man, sporting only a half of a balding head of hair and wearing a highly-decorated officer's uniform that looked as though it had never been worn before. Despite his stature, the man still had a voice that commanded respect and attention, even if the words themselves didn't. Weston couldn't help but feel like the general's words were forced and apologetic.
"Here at Fort Readon," the short man continued, "we have a myriad of the greatest soldiers in this realm gathered in the interest of their country: In the interest of protecting Leginia and her crown gem." Masshu cleared his throat before continuing. "Now, a massive deployment such as this may seem strange, and may have some of you worried." Once again, the pig of a man paused in preparation, appearing to finally get to the point. "Many of you may have heard of the chain of core mine accidents in recent weeks that have sparked numerous rumors about the Cores of Legend. Similarly, many of you may have heard rumors about the ongoing construction projects on the perimeter of Sovereign. These rumors are why all of you are here today."
With this statement a massive chatter began amongst the legions of soldiers lining the courtyard. Most of it was incomprehensible, but it was quite obvious that nearly everyone was speaking about the End of Times; the prominent myth surrounding the recurrence of ancient cores of great power. Rumors and stories of apocalypse had always been popular on the net, but the recent mining incidents had sparked interest in even the biggest skeptics. Suddenly, the local conversation was halted by a stern, "Atten-TION!" roared by an officer in front of Masshu's podium.
Obviously worried by the implications of the speech he was giving, the general tugged at his collar and cleared his throat; a gesture rarely seen in such a political officer's speech. "Rumors of a massive project underneath Sovereign are true: A massive protective wall has just finished development around the city. The seventh, twelve, and fourteenth battalions of the Army's Central Military Branch have been gathered here in preparation for the worst case scenario of a large scale attack or natural disaster in response to a massive burst of core energy detected beneath the capital. In case of such a scenario, all military units stationed inside and out of the city will begin Operation: Spartan, where this massive wall will protect the capital from both the inside and out. To maintain order, we will introduce martial law and set up several communities of refugees in designated areas to distribute rations to."
Immediately the chatter began again. Everyone in the courtyard either thought this man was completely crazy or was scared for their life. It was easy to guess at this point that the general had been order to tell of these men that the apocalypse was on its way as softly as possible. Unfortunately for Masshu, the best soldiers on the continent weren't stupid. The organized military formation began to deteriorate into a mob as the legions roared in discontent. Fear outweighed discipline.
By now the general was visibly sweating, even from farther away, near the back where Weston and his company were. In the midst of the rising panic, it seemed as though a slight rumble had shook the ground ever-so-slightly. Dismissing the tremor and instead focusing on the uproar rising among his own men, he immediately flipped around to face them. "Hey!" Weston growled above the gaggle of worried voices. "All of you shut your cockholsters and fall back in li--!"
As if on cue, another tremor, much more real and noticeable shook the ground beneath everyone's feet. All at once, the uproar silenced in complete shock as most of the men populating the courtyard completely lost their balance. For a good thirty seconds, everything was completely quiet; only the sound of fear populating the air. Then the world changed.
The final tremor seemed to shake Aeros itself, sending every soldier in Fort Readon to the ground. The seemingly invincible steel walls around the base bent and broke as the ground shattered beneath it. Within seconds, the sky roared with thunder and wept tears of hail. Before anyone could react to the situation, the flooding had begun. Legions of men and women were thrashed against the twisting walls and cracking earth as water from higher ground threatened to bury Fort Readon.
Weston suddenly found himself thrown to the ground, then thrashed with what felt like a tsunami moments later. Unprepared for the spontaneous chaos, Weston was forced to fight for air, taking more than a few gulps of dirty water. Cries of terror filled his ears every time he pulled himself above the water, and not just from his soldiers: The entirety of Sovereign had become a dissonance of screams and crashes.
After several minutes of barely keeping afloat, the flood slowed, spreading its wrath into other parts of sovereign. The water was only knee-high, allowing Weston to gain some footing. Propping his hand against the contorted and cracked wall of Readon, he used this moment to survey his surroundings. Hundreds of men and women remained still in the water, while others clung to life, coughing up liters of water. Those that were alive and conscious were screaming in a panic. Weston himself tried to keep a clear mind, but the entire situation was overwhelming: The End of Times.
Suddenly, above the cries of agony and confusion, Weston could hear the distinct sound of tearing, twisting, and contorting metal growing louder and louder. At first, he assumed the fort’s wall was further warping from the unstable ground, but this noise was more massive—more threatening. A sense of dismay filled the captain’s heart as he rose his gaze to a tilted tower hovering above the military base. The frightfully tall skyscraper buckled under its own weight and began toppling over Fort Readon. Weston had no time to react; only enough to release a terror-filled, “Ruuun!” before turning toward the gate and wading as fast as his body would allow him through the flooded courtyard.
The rest was a blur: A massive clap of thunder shattering the world; a meteor shower of light…
An ocean of blood.
“If only you had the slightest clue of what real pain was then,” a familiar feminine voice mused on the other side of a tunnel of light. “Sovereign is still oblivious to true tragedy. You humans fall apart as your precious city falls to ash, but at least you still have a world to mourn.”
Weston, fading back into consciousness, chuckled against his better judgment. “You speak as though I know anything about you kage and your ‘world’. For an entity that claims to know true suffering, you sure do complain about ours a lot. Shouldn’t you be above complaints?”
“I care not about your species or its problems. I simply find your idea of an ‘apocalypse’ ironic. Here you sit, a man reaching his end, and all you think of is the bad in your short life, as if life itself somehow betrayed you. But yo-“
“I have no idea what true betrayal is, right?”
The onikage fell silent, put off by Weston’s mockery.
After a moment—and a small fit of coughing blood, the wounded former captain chimed in again: “Awe, did I hurt your feelings?”
