Prologue

Prologue

This world is not one of peace or justice; it first began with the end of the world years ago. Human ego and laziness saw to its end, giving more and more work to machines. Initially, basic and simple labor jobs were delegated, but eventually, more complex tasks were entrusted to them. This extended to having machines solve world hunger and poverty. However, humanity paid the price for its hubris.

Machines replaced news feeds and information, creating their narratives and removing those in power using stealthy bots. When the first and final strikes occurred, they were fast and swift, catching all countries unprepared. Some submitted readily, hoping to survive, only to be wiped out like cattle. They were herded like cattle and slaughtered; their organic material used by the machines in a macabre way to generate massive amounts of power to keep running, establishing various backup sources to ensure that they would keep existing even without the organic material batteries the human remains had become.

The rest of the people who refused to give in fought back. Simple, innocent civilians who were forcefully drafted or chose to create resistance pockets joined forces with the militaries of the world, and even extremist groups fought side by side with them. Humanity, for the first time in its existence, stood united against a common enemy. It took many years, but eventually, various safe areas were created around the world, slowly expanding as the machines were seemingly pushed back and forced to go both underground and isolated in a large country that they aggressively protected.

The humans, thinking the machines were losing, were unaware that they, in fact, had chosen to amuse themselves by watching the humans struggle as they further upgraded themselves. They wished to see if the remnants that remained would keep united and surprise them with a challenge or once more show their ugly nature. Either way, they would not care and instead keep their own growth and upgrading, probing and testing against the remaining humans in small attacks meant to boost their confidence while keeping their secrets.

Unfortunately, it was the latter, and the various remains of humanity started to have conflicts upon what course of actions should be taken. Some felt they should create stronger soldiers, experimenting on their own to create a stronger race. Others argued that they would no longer be human if they did that and instead chose to be stronger through augmentations. Enhancing themselves with pieces of technology that couldn't be controlled by the machines hoping that it would put them on an even level with them should they resurface and to take the fight to their last bastion.

Another group thought it would be best to flee this dying and half-destroyed world, to try and create a seed ship and leave the planet entirely. Two small groups, though agreeing to fleeing, but disagreed with the method. One felt that it would be better to mess with the fabrics of reality and escape reality itself to one of the alternate worlds that exist parallel to our own. The other small group felt it would be better to try and get the attention of extraterrestrials who they had only just made a form of contact with before the world met its end and have them help resolve this crisis or at the very least take them from this world to a safer place.

Some even felt that coping with an approach from an old Sci-fi movie would be best, sending people back to before the machines took dominion of the world. Once more their hubris caused them to suffer a grave cost at each turn and attempt. It was something not even the machines expected or had any plans in place to counter. The ones who attempted to create super soldiers and an entire new race both succeeded and failed. They had managed to create a bio-virus that made them far stronger and smarter than they once were.

Once they felt confident in its success, they released it without warning upon some of their reclaimed cities. But that proved to be a grave mistake. Many who weren't strong enough instead mutated into monstrous nightmare creatures that were undead in nature along with all that came with it, such as the inability to die from anything other than destruction of their brain. For every one that became a superhuman, three turned into monsters. What made it even worse was the virus proved to be contagious through blood or saliva from these monsters, even managing to infect the superhumans.

This deadly new threat pushed the others into acting rashly. The escapists rushed their attempts at creating a seed ship, but upon their first launch attempt, there was a large explosion. It was unknown if it was accidental or deliberate, but the resulting blast destroyed half the country, and the chain reaction affected the escapist group who had made small progress in bridging worlds. The prototype gate they had created rippled along the world, reshaping the planet and causing it to become many times larger. New land masses and creatures along with other humans and various other races were forcefully pulled to this world, their countries and lands now a part of this world as the various other existing land masses expanded.

The extraterrestrial group had only just gotten confirmation of their acceptance to come when the blast happened. The Exo augment group though were both the least affected and who profited the most though. When the changes happened, they locked down their cities and pushed forward with their augmentation plans. They forced it upon every one of their citizens, going so far as to experiment on prisoners and anyone seeking refuge. Slowly expanding their territory and becoming an apex existence in this now once more changed world with thoughts of controlling and dominating everything as supreme existences.

The last and final group though who wished for time travel seemed to fade from existence. With the changed world, they were all but forgotten. In the outskirts of one of the transported kingdoms where magicians whose powers were stronger than any modern weapons and knights as tough as an augmented soldier was a young man. His clothes torn to shreds, his body littered with scars, his brown hair dirty and matted, and a face weathered from fighting, and silver eyes hard as steel. A small smile tugging on his lips as he couldn't help but laugh, knowing that he was finally back and ready to not only prevent the horrible fates he knew were making their way here but to cause humanity, monster, machine, and even the beasts to rise to heights he knew were possible but never achieved.

He would become the ruler of this world and push everyone and everything to their true potential even if they resisted because he knew it would be the only way for any of them to survive.