Chapter Two - The failed Saviour of humanity

Isaac Woodman

T1 2045 - Sebastian's slender form stood unwavering on the grassy plateau, his gaze fixed on the dark mass approaching. Simplicity, was a word I would use to describe this final challenge, it was to simply kill all of the opponents in front of you. There was no hidden objective, simply kill everything. However, to us all watching, this simplicity, was a curse. A horrible reminder of the unfairness of everything we have struggled through, but in the face of the oncoming swarm of green skinned humanoid creatures, Sebastian's face never once showed defeat. All of humanity watched the final challenge with a sense of unified duty. At this point, everyone knew how serious the situation was and thus everyone's full attention was on the televisions displaying the challenge. Sebastian stayed still as the approaching mass swept across the once untouched field, trampling the blades of grass under foot. As the thunderous footfalls and screams of bloodlust came ever closer, Sebastian raised a hand condensing light into a solid beam that fired out, piercing through the vanguard. Bodies dropped as light tore through them painting the green grass purple with blood. Snarls and shouts echoed out over the sound of the advancing army as the nearby enemies witnessed their allies falling. Sebastian never gave them a chance to recover from their shock and confusion. He sprung forward leaving a crater where he once stood. He swung his arms, his hands morphing into long serrated steel which slashed through the opposition as if they were no longer made up of flesh and bone. Waves of enemies fell as Sebastian tapped into his seemingly endless array of powers, all belonging to a different person at some point in time. To put it simply, he was scary to watch. Eyes glowed a magnificent purple sending out a ravaging line of crackling energy that burned everything that made contact with, from his outstretched palms, he released barrage after barrage of different long range abilities, sometimes beams of ice and others balls and spears of condensed fire. Explosions rattled amongst the battlefield as the unending spawn of monsters seemed unceasing. After night fell, Sebastian was no longer standing upon grass but instead dancing upon the fallen corpses that he had mercilessly butchered. Each time he suffered an injury, due to carelessness or happenstance, those in the room with me gasped before shouting and screaming back with supporting words that Sebastian couldn't hear. Everyone witnessing his unbelievable show of power knew he couldn't hear, but we didn't care. We stayed up through the night, shouting, chanting, wishing him luck, some prayed for his success, and others kept a stoic silence as they watched him annihilate everything. As the amount of enemies started to dwindle, Sebastian had fought for three days, he had lost an arm and his left eye in the violence. Sweat drenched his figure, mixing with his blood. He had slowed, but had kept fighting and he ended the last wave with an explosion that rocked the air. We, in the building, didn't cheer, nor cry. I, amongst others, just kept watch on Sebastian, the so- called saint. Just why, why had he kept these abilities silent for all this time, why did he let so many people die. Everyone in the room had these same questions, we didn't air them because we also knew the answer. Selfishness. Not from Sebastian, but humanity. Deep down, we all knew that the reason he stayed quiet and hadn't shown us this power was because of us. Humanities warriors. The same warriors that had so easily fought each other, killed each other. We knew that no one here would willingly give someone their power, knew that no one would let him amass this strength. So in the face of his victory, we kept silent, waiting. Sebastian collapsed, the adrenaline gone from his body after his remaining eye had confirmed what he had thought, It was over. Tears fell from his eye as he welcomed the victory. But through the smoke and ash, Death stalked forwards applauding Sebastian's sacrifice.

T2 2025 - That final day played through my mind as if on a movie reel. I remembered how truly frightening Sebastian was, how easily he had cut through the forces of about a million fiends. At that moment, he was no longer human, but a physical manifestation of Humanities will. That was until that thing appeared. Death given form. Even now, thinking back on it, I couldn't remember anything about what it did, what it looked like, I just remember that Sebastian lost. His body ripped apart, and along with it, the planet dying, swallowed by flames. I slipped off of the bed, walking to my computer and powering it up. I had forgotten what using a pc was like, something so normal, gone from my memory. Luckily, I hadn't set myself a password and was able to search for the address that Sebastian had given me. The map pointed me to a small farm on the outskirts of London and I printed off the directions. Before I left, I trimmed my stubble and changed into a shirt and jeans, aiming to look somewhat presentable. I admired my reflection in the mirror for a few moments later, before leaving the normal world as I pursued the man who would be saviour.