1 Before The Ashes
As the sins of man began to accumulate, so did the Gods and their disdain towards showing forgiveness.
When that disdain became fury, that is when they arrived. The winged punishers. The angels. One by one, they slaughtered humans, their crusade for the New Gods started a war between the world of man, and a world vastly superior to the common man's.
"This world is unholy. Exterminatus!" Cried the angels as they beheaded people mercilessly.
It resulted in mankind clinging for life, being driven back towards the last Niflheim. It is 20th century, all that remains of humans is Niflheim. Although mankind was united against one common enemy, their combined might was not enough.
Nightmares of plague and sickness haunted Yin for as long as he could remember. Was this the future brought upon by the New Gods?
Yin could see the silhouette of a beheaded child. The green farmlands were tainted with blood. It reeked of death.
It spoke in a language which he could not seem to understand.
"Mortem?" asked an Angel in a beautiful voice.
It was always the same nightmare time and time again. He wanted to ask them why, what had they done to anger the Gods in such a way? Why were humans meant to live like the pigs that he tamed, to live like livestock?
His anger would consume him in these dreams.
He recalls touching the mere ground and having it decay and wither.
In these nightmares, he possessed decaying powers, everything he touched turned into ashes.
Every single animal he touched decayed in five seconds.
But before he could shout or fight it back, he jolted in his bed awake. The stench of pigs and other farm animals was something all too familiar for him, so much so that his nose had amazing tolerance for it. The perks of having worked as a farmer ever since he was a child.
A faint voice of a child could be heard knocking.
"Mr. Yin! My dad would like some fresh cow milk!"
It sounded like Jon.
He was the son of the stable's caretaker.
"I'll deliver it before lunchtime, Jon."
He is a man of medium build, in his early twenties. Yin had black hair and was quite small in his stature. The war was not a fight he could ever partake in, despite him wanting to.
Yin always did his best, he knew his place in society, he was meant to cultivate land, to raise animals. He was not meant to fight. Afterall, what could a weak peasant who could not even awaken his Anima Cells do in the war? You guessed it, nothing.
Due to fighting against Angels for centuries, humanity slowly evolved. Anima cells were found in their DNA. These allowed them to cast spells with their affinities, they could also enhance their physical strength with their aid.
Skies were as red as they are like any other day. Yin stared at it intently. Thinking about the only reason that Angels could not penetrate the Gates of Niflheim which was due to a barrier casted by the most gifted Slayers of the past.
To be able to serve as a Gatekeeper, you would have to be at least an S rank Slayer. Slayers are individuals who have awoken Anima cells and are regularly chosen by the government to pledge their lives to humanity's freedom. If you cannot awaken, you cannot die or live as a Slayer. That was their motto.
"Here comes the exception." Yin stared at a distance. A single horse kicked off dirt from the path hailing from the city. Suna waived smilingly.
"Are you still having those weird dreams?"
"Yeah, I prefer to call them nightmares though."
Suna lets out a sigh of relief as her horse gallops towards Yin.
Instead of wearing Slayer armor, she opted to use a light black armor coupled with a scarf at all times. A weird choice of apparel for someone fighting in a war, isn't it? She says she wears it as a way to honor her ancestors.
She had oriental features, short black hair which she tied in a bun. Well, she is an Asian woman. And Yin's childhood friend. Her slim and petite build allowed her to be as agile as a cat.
You wouldn't know from looking at her, but she's one of the strongest Slayers around. Her Anima cell count? Zero. None.
Suna stares at Yin with her grey piercing eyes.
"I'm off for a C rank conquest mission, try not to die of boredom!" She exclaimed as her horse rode into the sunset.
She's the only Slayer with no Anima cells. But she boasts a B rank. Suna relies on nothing but pure physical strength and athleticism. She dodges attacks based on instinct, like a feral animal.
Humans normally awaken their Anima cells before turning ten. Yin had waited all day until he turned eleven. Waiting for his Anima cells to awaken.
But they never did.
There was a time when he despised his very being. To be powerless in a fight. To be a noncombatant in a war. To watch as his friends died one by one.
As his heart settled down, he came to terms with the reality of everything.
Growing crops and living an honorable life as a farmer was not such a horrible thing.
Yin put on his hat to prepare to milk the cows.
His daily monotony was shattered when the Townhall's trumpets buzzed. This meant that an intruder has infiltrated Niflheim. It could be a lowly monster, or worst-case scenario. An Angel.
Protocol was to run, hide, or seek shelter. Yin panicked and ran towards his barn. He hid behind a kennel for goats. When suddenly a huge explosion was heard. His roof was torn off.
There it was.
Flying atop of where his roof used to be.
It was an Angel. It had humanoid features, except it had wings. Its hair was long enough to reach its knees. The Angel's eyes were white and empty. Though the face was human-like, you could not distinguish whether it was male or female. It held a large scythe with both arms. The Angel's skin was as white as snowfall.
As it descended, the flapping of its wings slowly stopped. It had not seen Yin as of yet.
Yin was sweating bullets. He was trying hard not to make the slightest noise or semblance which might cause it to know he was there. The suspended breathing was due to him covering up his mouth in sheer terror.
For what felt like forever, the silence was unbearable.
How long was this meant to last?
"Mr. Yin, I'm coming for the milk!"
It was Jon.
He was knocking on the door.
The Angel turned towards the door.
With each step, Yin's heart shook.
Jon opened the door. Carrying what seemed to be empty glasses to be filled with milk.
One second after the door opening was all it took.
The Angel had him by the throat.
Coupled with a Jon loudly screaming, he synced it with his breathing. He took large breaths and held it for as long as he could.
Yin wanted to help.
But he knew blind stubbornness would only get them both killed.
At what seemed to happen at the blink of an eye, it choked Jon against the wall. Blood splattered across the barn. The Angel proceeded to open its mouth. This was when the human-like comparisons came to a stop.
With one fell swoop from its scythe, it beheaded Jon.
The opening of its mouth was like a blackhole in space, sucking in every fleeting star that comes across its path. The poor boy just happened to play the role of a star. This was a sight forever etched into Yin's mind and ears.
It flew upwards.
Out of the hole in the roof that it created in the first place.
Yin was furious.
Furious at this abomination.
Furious at his own powerlessness.
This was the worst possible move in this situation.
Wind started to shake the barn as the Angel kicks down the door.
It knows.
"Exterminatus. End the defilers."
Yin knew it was futile to hide.
If he were to try to live, it would not have been probable to rely on a supernatural being's stupidity.
But he was willing to risk it. To rely on himself for once. He ran outside as fast as he could. If this seemed stupid, it's because there is no smart or correct decision for this situation.
As he ran, the Angel flew towards him, with his back towards it, it prepared to swing its sword.
He tripped.
Not like not tripping was going to make a difference anyway.
He chose to die with honor and dignity. To face his end like a man. As Yin watched the Angel draw its scythe closer and closer, he moved his arms that were shielding his face.
It was all futile anyway.
The Angel kneeled down. It was crying.
"W-what are you waiting for! Strike me down already! You kill and kill despite us not even knowing why! Exterminating us as if we were vermin, as if we were pests! What did mankind ever do to deserve this fate?!"
What the Angel did next will forever keep him up at night.
The Angel opened its mouth, guessing that it would suck him into a vacuum of nonexistence. Yin closed his eyes.
It threw up.
What Yin saw next was the beheaded child.
The green pastures of grain were drenched with blood.
"Mortem?" The angel asked.
Although the language was something incomprehensible to him, he knew what it meant.
"Mortem" meant death.
