Nth Life - Prologue

“Alright students, settle down. You know what day today is. I don't like it any more than you do but we've all got to get through it together.”

In an average school, filled with average kids, an average-looking middle-aged man in an average suit stood at a podium and addressed his class of average teenagers. His opening sentence at the beginning of morning class causing all of them to groan in annoyance. He shared their annoyance but it was his job and he had to do it. He let them groan for a bit before he continued.

“Yes, yes. At least you all only have to hear it a dozen times. I've had to repeat it every year for twenty years and will have to continue to do it every year for the next couple of decades.”

That earned him a few looks of pity from some students. The majority just entered their own little worlds in their minds, while the remaining few pulled various books out to read. Only a single student ignored everything around him and quietly stared out one of the classroom windows. For his part, the teacher ignored what the class was doing. None of them wanted to do this but it was the law. It didn't mean they had to focus on him with the utmost attention though. After all, all of them heard the same thing year after year on the anniversary.

“On December twenty-first two thousand and twelve, the day the Mayan calendar ended, superstitious people believed the world would come to an end. Obviously, this was false since we're all still here over two hundred years later. However, that day the world did change, we just didn't know it. While for most of the world it was just another day, two events happened simultaneously that put all the major world governments of the time on edge. Two massive explosions happened at the exact same moment that originated on the north and south poles. The explosions had a strength greater than the biggest nuclear bomb ever detonated. They were estimated to be equivalent to one hundred megatons. This scared the hell out of everyone with a seismograph as every single one across the world was set off at the same time.”

In the middle of his government-mandated history lesson, the teacher yawned. This speech was boring but he and every teacher in every school had to repeat it every year on December twenty-first. It was tedious.

“For obvious reasons, this sent shock waves through political and military circles and everyone scrambled to figure out what was going on while pointing fingers at each other. Though they were all suspicious, the United Nations began investigations into the explosions. At both sites, they discovered massive craters but there was nothing to indicate what made them. No shrapnel from explosives, though you wouldn't expect any, no radiation that you would expect from a nuclear explosion. There was nothing to indicate what had happened. They spent nearly three years investigating the incidents and nothing ever came of it. It became an unsolved mystery. Though it continued to draw some interest, it was quickly and easily forgotten by most of the world.”

“For years nothing changed and everyone moved on with their lives, forgetting all about what happened. Sixteen years after the explosions the world changed forever. In the country of Turkey, an incident took place. A kid no one would look at twice suddenly burst into flames incinerating the area around himself and killing a dozen other students. His body was emitting flames yet he wasn't burning. At first, they thought it was some sort of attack until he passed out and the flames died down. By then the news was out and people, on live TV, saw the kid on fire one moment and the flames going out the next. It didn't stop there though. Around the same time, in a school in the United States of America, another kid had an incident. Without rhyme or reason, when he shook the hand of a friend, his friend’s hand began melting as if hit with the world’s strongest acid. As days went by more and more incidents began to happen the world over. Naturally, this caused panic in the public as no one knew who would have an accident next. One thing about all the incidents that stood out was the simple fact that it only happened to sixteen-year-old children. It didn't happen to all of them, just a mere five percent of the total worldwide population of children aged sixteen.”

“Naturally, this caused complete and utter chaos. Everyone was trying to figure out what was happening to the children. As incidents and dead bodies began to pile up, people began to notice that every child who had an incident was conceived after December twenty-first, two thousand and twelve. The twin explosions that everyone forgot about were a silent precursor to what happened. Though, no one knew how or why. All they knew is that before those explosions, no human had been able to conjure fire with just their bare hands or spit acid that could melt almost anything. Every day a new child would gain a special ability. Some were utterly benign while others were undeniably lethal. It was utter chaos.”

“As always, when there is chaos, some will seek to take advantage of that chaos for their own gain. Five years after the first awakening, a man rose to power in Africa and named himself Indomitable. Though his exact ability is unknown, we do know that he was immensely strong and virtually invulnerable to normal weaponry. It's speculated his ability allowed him to control the strength and density of his own muscles. He rose as a warlord and much like Hitler in Nazi Germany, he waged a war of race. His chosen victims? Anyone over the age of twenty-five that hadn't awakened a special ability.”

“He was just the first of many. A whole new global conflict broke out. Pure and utter chaos ensued as it was the first war of its kind. Instead of countries fighting for their own interests, it was power-mad people with abilities versus the rest of the world. Records from that time are scarce. The whole world was embroiled in conflict and the unique abilities of those who awoke them made things difficult for everyone. Unlike someone carrying a gun, it was far more difficult to tell if someone carried a deadly special ability.”

“The wars raged for over a decade. Half of the world’s population, over three billion people, died in the conflicts. It was the worst conflict in recorded history. Everyone experienced a loss. Governments all over the world collapsed. It was pure and utter chaos across the globe. Officially the wars never ended. Officially there were no declarations of peace. Rather, the fighting had to stop. It was forced to stop by a greater threat.”

“On December twenty-first, twenty forty-two something new happened. In the middle of Times Square in New York City, something appeared. Out of nowhere, a giant stone gate appeared. Its center was a green swirling vortex of energy. No one knew what it was exactly but they all assumed it was someone’s ability. Why wouldn't they? Thinking it was an incoming attack from someone, the gate was surrounded and guarded. Everyone was on high alert but for nine days nothing happened. It wasn't until the tenth day that people recognized the mistake of not investigating it more thoroughly.”

“On that day the swirling doorway changed from green to red and the direction it was swirling in reversed. Moments later little monsters that only existed in fantasy previously came pouring out. The men guarding the portal panicked and opened fire with their weapons. The small monsters were easily killed but kept coming out regardless of how many died. The creatures were later officially named as Goblins. Despite the number of people and guns opening fire on them, the tide of goblins never seemed to stop. Once the men guarding the spot ran out of ammunition, chaos ensued. The little monsters were as weak as a human child but a thousand times more vicious.”

“The battle raged until a unique looking larger goblin left the portal. He was later designated as the boss. He was immune to conventional weapons and couldn't be killed until someone with a combat-oriented ability arrived and killed him. The very next day another portal appeared in Moscow in Russia. It was the exact same as the one that appeared in New York. The Russians didn't waste time. If the monsters were going to come out anyway, it might be better to go in and kill them first. They assembled their strongest ability users and sent them through the portal. Six hours later they returned after killing all the monsters inside of the portal. Their descriptions of what it was like inside led to the portals being named 'Dungeons' like those found in video games. Once they left, the portal faded away. From then on it became standard practice for a group of ability holders to head into dungeons whenever they appeared to keep civilian casualties down.”

“Since then, all wars have stopped as dungeons appeared more and more frequently across the globe. There is no rhyme or reason for their appearance and it's always random. The only constant is that they appear in a place with enough space. Either outside or inside of large buildings such as warehouses. Since the wars stopped and a larger threat came to light, those who awakened special powers became known as Magus, their powers granted by the thick columns of mana being pumped out from the two craters on the north and south poles. We discuss this every year on December twenty-first so that we never forget and always remember.”

As he finished speaking, he noticed that no one was paying him any attention. He didn't complain. There was more to the story but this was all he was required to tell. Nearly two hundred years of conflict-filled history could never be disclosed in just a few minutes of speaking. The point was to get the major events covered and remembered, not that anyone would forget after hearing about it yearly for twelve years.

“Alright students, I know we go over this every year to remember how the world came to be what it is. We should never forget that despite all the hard work of our ancestors and the people still fighting to this day, that more fighting is always around the corner. We must also remember that any one of you could awaken a power at any moment. Never forget and always be prepared. Now, Mrs. Gordon will be here in a little bit for your philosophy class. I'll see you all tomorrow.”