1 Prologue - The arrival of singularities
── Year 100 according to the calendar of humanity (approximately) ──
A world of varied species.
Land of giant monsters, goblins, elves, humans and many other species live.
Although relationships between everyone are troubled, the world lives in peace.
One reason for this is because, after many wars against ancient evil beings that dominated all races, through painful and prolonged battles, humans and demi-humans finally prevailed over them.
As for heteromorphic beings, they mostly live in inhospitable places for other species, so they end up having so little external contact.
Humans and Demi-humans have troubled relationships with each other, but in general, are peaceful beings who maintain peace.
However, there are also many other species that survived the war and were extremely hostile like the others, and are called... Well, I don't think I need to talk about them now.
In the beginning, no race has any kind of special ability, except for some with some resistance to environments with harsh climates.
Some can live in extremely cold places to the point of freezing the body completely, others could withstand heat and so on.
Other than that, there is no great discrepancy in strength and military power between the nations established by the continent.
For this reason, they prefer to focus on peripheral battles than to engage directly in battles that could cost many lives. In fact, many conflicts were solved only through agreements.
Until something strange happened...
A huge, powerful and imposing winged being appeared before a human city called "Vóreia Póli (Βόρεια Πόλη)" located at the northern end of the nation of "Kosmos (κόσμος)" on the border with "Svetot (Светот)". Both nations are located to the south of the great continent.
It was a gigantic black and winged monster, covered with thick, pointed scales. Its stature was close to 120 meters from head to tail and its wingspan was around 110 meters.
It gave off a strong odor and a great presence, as well as blood stains on its paws and inside its mouth.
It was something of an extraordinary size and with a look that was deeply frightening and clearly evil enough to make men pass out in terror.
So this being, surprisingly, started talking directly to those people.
「Hvis du ikke gir meg gull, sølv og edelstener innen ti dager, vil jeg fortære alle kvinnene og barna i denne byen. (If you don't bring me gold, silver and precious stones within ten days, I will eat all the women and children in this city.) 」
The voice of the colossal being was audible in the entire city.
The low tone gave chills. And even if it was incomprehensible, he seemed to be trying to impose himself on those people, like a nobleman who squanders all his wealth in front of others to demonstrate his power and authority over them.
But he didn't want to do that just with his presence.
「He's talking… What the fuck is that!? Where does it came from!?」
The man who asked this said almost shouting at the other guy who was next to him.
「H-h-how do I know that!? We shouldn't run away... 」
The second man's voice was so shrill that it sounded like he was crying instead of speaking. But for some reason, no one was running away. And to their surprise, the monster started to speak again.
「Jeg beklager at jeg kommuniserer på et språk du ikke forstår. Jeg sovnet i så mange årtusener i Världen og hadde til og med glemt det. (I apologize for communicating in a language you don't understand. I fell asleep for so many millennia in Världen and had even forgotten about it.) 」
The way he communicated the second time was slightly different, it did not include the previous hostile aura, although it contained a certain disdain.
Suddenly, strange lights appear around the giant being. It was something that no one had ever seen, because in addition to this monster being unique, he was able to do things beyond the imagination.
When the lights went out, everyone in that city... No... Everyone from all over the world, both human and demi-human and heteromorphic. Surface, sea, sky and underground beings. Absolutely everyone felt something strange in their bodies.
A sensation that seemed to burn inside them.
No one knew what was going on, but it did cause fear, with good reason.
Then, something astonishes them completely, to the point that some are paralyzed like living statues.
「Don't be afraid, insects, this was just my singularity. They are secret and unique arts for each being and have been hidden for all this time from the mean creatures of the world. The one used by me aren't dangerous at all.」
People didn't know if they spoke, if they just listened, if they cried, if they ran... Nobody dared to move, afraid of what could happen in case they ended up angring this being in front of them. So they stay there, motionless, listening to everything in absolute silence.
「Are you wondering why? Why am I revealing something that should be "secret"? The exact reason will remain a secret, but in a nutshell, I want to share what I know with all of you. Except that simply delivering it would be very boring. So I will sell this knowledge in exchange for wealth. If you don't have enough, then your wives and children will avail as payment.」
Everyone was so terrified that in that situation…
Well, after a brief silence, a beautiful woman with large breasts, who wore clothes that showed she was from a relatively wealthy family, encouraged herself and approached the scary monster. Letting out a deep breath, raises her beautiful face upwards and says in a high voice.
「Hi, majestic being... I-I-I would like to ask you something... When you arrived here, we didn't understand your words, but now it is being so clear... Your "singularity" did this...?」
The one who talked to the scary monster is called Bartha.
She stammered and trembled as if she were inside a lake in the eastern glaciers. Her teeth chattered, even though she struggled to calm herself.
At that time, the monster put itself in a resting position, lowered its head and looked directly into that woman's eyes. Then tell her.
「... Your intelligence is quite questionable, isn't it? I remember saying that before. This is a magic invented by me through my singularity, which allows me to make any language understandable. This has nothing special, until it was easy to use on such a large scale. But has become useless now, since it has a permanent effect even on the offspring of beings affected by them, and bla, bla, bla. But I'm surprised to see that males of your kind don't have the courage to speak directly to me. Or maybe you are a special case... So, as a reward, I will not touch anyone who is related to you by blood. What do you think?」
Cold sweat fell from her forehead when she saw the monster talking directly to her.
Still, she replied.
「… Well, I will accept your generous offer regarding me and my children. But I…」
「Enough! You have already accepted, no? I will remember your face when I come to collect my demand. So, hurry up to bring what we have agreed, ok? I will do my part, so you must do yours too.」
The monster gets up again.
(... This being can be scary, but he really talks a lot. Maybe he is very proud of his skills, but he has no one to boast about. And what did he mean by agreement? Nobody agreed with anything in the first place.) Bartha thought.
As if his previous speech wasn't enough, he continues to speak to that crowd.
「Ah yes, I had forgotten. Now I speak directly to all of you who live in that town. My name is Fafnir, the last living member of the dragon's clan. Well, as I said, in 10 days, I will come to seek my riches, and I will give you my divine knowledge.」
It was a really good lie, because that's not what he said the first time, since it was a threat and not an exchange of favors.
After that, citizens struggled to collect treasures. Others simply left the city, fearing the worst scenery.
Unfortunately, there was no way to collect everything that was demanded by the Dragon, and for that reason several women and children were devoured.
However, as a gesture of awkward consideration, the Dragon spared some families for their efforts and for the slightly large amount of silver and gold.
After that, the dragon Fafnir kept his promise.
He gave not only to the residents of that city, but to everyone in the cities he visited, the location of a special temple.
The location of this temple is currently unknown, which is why many believe that it is nothing more than a tale.
Soon after that, the Dragon vanished into thin air.
Legend says he was killed by a hero named Sigmund... right? Or Siegfried? I'm not sure. But it is quite doubtful anyway.
Several countries went into battle to get there first. A violent battle for absolute power.
All nations, whether human or demi-human, have started an ambitious race to this location.
After a long time and many struggles, a mixed group of humans and demi-humans arrived at their destination. And these brave ones were called Apostles.
The place was a temple made of stone and with an architecture never seen before and it didn't resemble those of other nations or tribes that lived near that place.
Along the way there and inside, deadly traps were also found, which took the lives of many brave adventurers.
However, this didn't stop them, and they went on to find out what the "treasure" was stored there.
When they reached the heart of the temple, something unexpected happened.
A bright light engulfed the people of that place. This light flew and dispersed in the sky, going in countless directions.
After that everything changed and things would never be the same again.
People, one by one, began to show unique skills. Skills that would change the course of history. That made the impossible possible. These are the Singularities.
