Chapter 2: Rebirth
The System recognized the inherent unfairness in sending an infant mind to the shattered Earth. Dumb and incapable of understanding, how would she survive, especially since Earth had been remade?
The continents, fractured by chasms tens of miles wide and saturated with radiation and broken wrecks, were gone. Decimated cities of charred metal and bleached concrete filled with the shadows of humans were no more. Beaches of glass that bordered the cratered and dry oceans, now nothing but basins holding what little water remained, had been erased.(The sentence structure seems a bit off, and doesn't really make sense) Blackened spots on the Earth, the ember and bone filled remains of forests, they all disappeared.
Earth made anew by the System, with one purpose. To challenge what little remained of humanity. To see if it could work together, chose leaders, and rise to the top of this new world. The System would not allow weakness. And if humanity fractured apart, formed factions, and wiped itself out? There would be no more chances.
The new world was different. Islands hundreds of square miles were the new landmasses. The material that surrounded the islands was not water, but black, jagged volcanic stone. Beneath the inch-thick stone was a deadly sea of lava and radiation, survivable by only the most powerful and extreme creatures. The islands moved dozens of miles per hour, tearing the stone around them and releasing the lethal heat and radiation. This made them tempting targets for those that fed off heat and light. The islands were uninhabitable by humans.
But that wasn't the only hazard of the remade world. The island-filled area of the world was where the old continents had been. Between the distant continents was an uncrossable ocean of lava. Massive rafts of obsidian sailed the oceans of lava, manned by short, red-skinned creatures that rode birds of ash and obsidian. Living winds filled with microscopic shards of stone filled the air over the oceans. Colossal humanoids of magma and rock slumbered further beneath, closer to the inner core. An obsidian serpent the size of the moon wrapped around the core of the Earth, absorbing immense quantities of heat, light, and radiation. As it fed, its power grew.
Due to the consumed heat by the serpent, the high atmosphere was freezing cold with the abrupt temperature changes lethal to most creatures that entered it. The elementals born of the cold killed anything that survived. The Storms caused by the clashing heat and cold could block off parts of the world for weeks and could give birth to new creatures of lightning and water. Anything beneath the storms died quickly, whether it be from thermal shock, the creature that controlled the storm, or the creatures born of the Storm.
The two glacial bands on the surface were even more dangerous than the islands and the lava. A powerful creature ruled the northern band, freezing it further and dropping the temperature into the negative two-hundred degrees Celsius. Endless snow fell from the overcast sky, constantly blanketing the continent-wide band while erasing all evidence of the creatures that inhabited it. The continent-sized band was a death trap.
The second band was far different. Instead of near absolute-zero temperatures, this band was about five degrees Celsius, warm enough for liquid water to occur. This band was filled with apex predators. One of the creatures that controlled the storms had stopped directly over the band, because the climate was perfect for keeping the storm alive. The lightning that struck was hotter than Sol, Earth's star. The continuous bursts of heat caused large quantities snow and ice to instantly melt, turning to steam. As such, the entire band was covered in a thick fog, making it near impossible to see.
But to balance the scales against the infant mind and its impossible odds, the System made a world. A world of Earth before the meteorite had been detected and exploded.
Her first memory was that of the cold. The blanket that kept her warm had fallen off. She grasped around herself, feeling for the blanket. Not finding it, she wailed because it was frigid, the cold painful for her. Fat tears pooled in her eyes and rolled down her chubby face.
In response to her cries, a massive human ducked beneath the doorframe, into the room. He looked around for a moment before taking a knee and picking up the yellow blanket of the floor. He dusted it off and walked straight into the doorframe. He stumbled back with curse, rubbed at his head, then ducked under the frame. After a minute or two, he returned with a new blanket, this one blue. After gently tucking in the baby, he left.
Now warm and content, the baby fell asleep.
She woke with a start, intense pain gnawing her stomach. She cried out, her tiny voice screaming out. She was extremely hungry.
Another human, cold and dark in the faint silver light, was attracted by the racket. She grumbled "Must be hungry," beneath her breath and walked away. She walked past a window spilling the silver light of the moon into the room and to the pantry. Carrying a jar of baby food, a spoon, and a bib, the human returned.
Carefully unscrewing the lid, the human set it on the squat nightstand next to the crib. She grabbed a large stool in the corner of the room and dragged it across the floor. She reached in, grabbed the baby, and pulled her out.
Getting the bib on the of the baby while keeping the baby wrapped in blankets proved challenging and it took several minutes for the human to tie the bib around the infant.
"Hush now little one. It's time for you to eat."
Upon saying that, the human dipped the spoon into the open jar. The spoon came up filled with thin baby food. She brought it close to the baby and let her take notice of it. The baby obediently opened her mouth, and the spoon was gently inserted into it.
As the mother walked out of the room, she paused in the moonlight, revealing her features. Light-toned skin glowed faintly in the light and jet-black hair gleamed.
She turned and walked away.
Weekly Power Status
-- Power
Ranking 
-- Power
stone