{I've wasted enough time here already, it's finally time for me to leave this hellhole. I wonder how much the world has changed?}
A man clad in a pitch black armour stood atop a mountain, this mountain was so tall that it overshadowed everything in sight. It stood alone, tall, majestic, insurmountable and indestructible and yet this man stood atop it. It was as though he was proclaiming that for him, there was no hurdle too difficult for him to overcome, no mountain too high to climb and no adversary too strong to defeat. He stood atop this mountain, taller than the mountain itself.
The sclera of his eyes was completely black without even the slightest bit of light while his pupils glowed in a beautiful milky white colour as though his pupils were two crater-less moons stuffed into his eyes. His shoulder long dreadlocks were but a bunch of turquoise blue flame pillars, his skin was a beautiful dark brown with blue cracks all over his body resembling thin roots of a tree. His height was 5'7 but his aura was deep and imposing, making him look much larger than his actual height.
Behind him was a vast plane of absolute darkness that didn't allow even the smallest amount of radiance to pass, a strong stench of death permeated the air. In front of him was a boundless domain of "Nothing"
There was no life, no death, no creation, no destruction, no time, no space, absolutely nothing. After look for a while, he turned around and disappeared from sight, only leaving the echoes of his deep voice.
{We're leaving!}
…
A black man looking to be in his early thirties stood naked in a desert, he had shoulder length dreadlocks, normal black eyes and refined muscles. He basked in the sun with his eyes closed and body dirtied by the sand. Behind him was a hole that was completely black that it absorbed the light around it, if people didn't know better they'd think it was the Abyss or the gateway to Hell. Fortunately it was shrinking at a rapid speed and in no time disappeared completely.
{I'm finally back! I'm finally back after countless years of battling! Years of digging and even more years eating and drinking dirt! Seven, "Numbers", we've made it!}
Voices sounded in the man's head but he didn't seem surprised at all as though he was used to it. He then opened his eyes after enjoying the warmth of the sun for a few hours and stared at it for a few minutes before uttering worlds that literally shook the world.
{It's too bright!}
Just these three words caused a phenomenon that many would remember till the end of their lives. All the moons in the world converged towards the sun, seeing so many moons shocked the man because in his memory, Earth only had one moon. An eclipse began to occur as the whole world watched with incredulous eyes at this phenomenon. While on the other hand, one question was on the black man's mind.
{Just how much time has passed since my disappearance?! What has happened in my absence?!}
…
Somewhere in the world, there was a forest in the middle of nowhere and at the centre of this forest was an old dilapidated temple. Some of its brick walls had collapsed, some materials corroded by passage of time and the only thing that remained intact was the gold plated floor that still shone with a beautiful light whenever the sun shone on it.
Although the temple was old and dilapidated, it was still the perfect place for someone who simply wanted to escape the cruelty of reality, forget all their sufferings, all their worries, all their problems and simply live a simple life. It was the perfect place to relax one's mind and find their purpose in life again, a true paradise for those who have struggled to live.
It was quite spacious inside the temple, there was even the smell of incense that eased one's mind and soothed their souls. There was a huge statue made of gold, the statue of a sleeping elephant, wearing beautiful jewellery all over its body. Sitting in a meditative position was a dry corpse of an old man, this corpse was so dry that it seemed like it would crumble with but a landing of a flower petal on its head. This dry corpse also exuded an ancient aura, clearly indicating that it was very old. The corpse wore a simple white dhoti as though a Buddhist disciple and peace was evident on the corpse's face.
If this picturesque scenery was on public display, the greatest artists would fight tooth and nail to get a seat in the front row as they tried to turn it into a painting or drawing.
Then, something shocking happened to the dry corpse of the old man when all the moons in the world converged towards the sun and in parts of the world where it was nighttime, the residents in those areas clearly saw how the moons simply moved at a fast pace towards the opposite direction.
An eclipse, none like anything that had ever happened before took k on place, two hundred and ninety moons converged in one place to create an eclipse that some deemed impossible while others described it as the beginning of the apocalypse. The world was engulfed in complete darkness as everything that emitted light simply stopped emitting it. Complete darkness descended upon the world and none knew why it was so.
When the eclipse occurred, the chest of the dry corpse began to move, then followed by its hands and legs and finally its mouth and eyes began to twitch. And very slowly, the eyes of the dry corpse opened, these eyes seemed to transcend space and time, peer through even the most hidden secrets, pry open the secrets of the universe as though reading a book. It seemed that the dry corpse wasn't a corpse but a dry body of an old fossil, an old man who was still alive and kicking.
The old man's eyes also glowed in a blinding light, illuminating a small portion of the temple but just after a few seconds, the old man's eyes became completely black without any white colour in them. It had only taken a few seconds but the old man was now blind but he didn't seem to care, what he instead cared about was what had been shown too him.
[Just what capabilities does this person have to affect not just this world but the entire galaxy or even universe on such a massive scale. Since when did one's words have so much weight, so much weight that the world broke its own Laws just to satisfy this person. I guess it's time for I, Rishi Gupta, to appear again in the public eye.]
…
In another place, where a beautiful futuristic city was build, there was a skyscraper standing tall there. This city looked so advanced in technology that it seemed to come straight out of a sci-fi movie. On the last floor of this massive skyscraper, a single man adorned in a black suit stood on the balcony while seeping wine. He had long silky black hair, his pupils a mixture of gears and levers as though he had replaced his eyes with that of a robot's.
[Susan? Analyse the cause of this event and give me a detailed explanation including who or what is causing it.]
An AI voice sounded inside this luxurious room with appliances and tools that many if not everyone didn't even know what they were. It was technology had one would find in the most advanced of civilisations but this man seemed to have it as just decorations for his house.
[Hahaha, I can't believe that you Susan, the greatest AI that this world has ever seen, to have even been acknowledged by those Entities, don't know something, hahaha! If it's a person then I have to meet them and if it's a creature then I must study it. Use everything to find this creature or person, I permit all Authority to accomplish this mission.]
…
A man with a bear-like stature, young looking with a composed expression sat in his office which was completely built from wood, it was a simple office with a desk, his chair on the other side of the desk and facing the door and two other chairs on the opposite side facing his. Behind him was a small window that was currently open. The man was holding a cigar in one hand and a half full glass with vodka inside.
"Galina, what's the commotion outside about? Why is everyone suddenly in a weakened state?" the man spoke calmly as he looked at the woman called Galina.
"Sir Smirnov, it seems that the moon's have suddenly changed course and are now moving in the opposite direction towards a specific location. There's word that the Laws are manipulating themselves to cause this phenomenon, as for who or what is behind this, we still looking into it." said Galina.
"This can't be allowed to go on, our enemies are growing stronger by the second while we're growing weaker. Call back the entire pack, tell them that it's not safe outside for now."
"Yes Sir!"
She saluted before walking out, when she opened the wooden, a vast view of thick white snow appeared and the freezing air entered the room but neither the woman nor the man seemed affected by it. Galina was even wearing a short green sleeve T-shirt, tight pants and black leather boots. This freezing wind should have at least made her shiver and goosebumps to appear on her skin but nothing of that sort happened. Instead, it looked like she quite enjoyed this freezing cold weather as though she was strolling through the park on a sunny day.
"World peace, why is so difficult to obtain? Or is it that me and my predecessors were simply asking for too much? Human greed really knows no bounds it would seem, to even discard your race just to satiate that greed of yours, disgusting!"
…
Chiing! Chiing! Chiing!
The sound of a sword being sharpened resounded as a man wearing simple kung fu uniform sat close to the man made pond with lotuses floating at its surface. He had his eyes closed as he continued to sharpen his sword, even when darkness engulfed the place, he remained unfazed and continued to sharpen his sword as though nothing had changed. He had long silky black hair and a full beard, his skin smooth and features delicate yet mixed with masculinity. He seemed like a nice and gentle guy who wouldn't harm even a fly.
Step! Step! Step!
He stopped sharpening his sword when he heard the sound of footsteps approaching and slowly opened his eyes that were surprisingly full of greed. Everything about his appearance was ruined by his eyes. It was like his eyes were the way they were just to prove everyone wrong, a man with such eyes didn't even know how to spell kindness, he was a dark being that could blend in with the light when he needed to, a wolf in sheep's clothing.
"Lord Fang, we've discovered something."
[What is it?!]
The person who just made the report didn't answer and instead activated his high tech wristwatch and a holographic screen soon appeared.
"You want might to look for yourself." said the person as he pressed the 'play' button. This Lord Fang was at first annoyed but the more he watched, the more excited he became and the more his greedy eyes shone.
[Is it authentic?! Are you absolutely certain that it's authentic?!]
"Yes."
[Make preparations… we're going to the Dry Plains!]
…
"Is everyone in position?"
"Affirmative!"
"Affirmative!"
"Affirmative!"
"Affirmative!"
"Eagle-Eye, what's your status?"
"Eyes on target. Repeat, eyes on target!"
"Good, now remember the plan and don't do anything stupid. The importance of this mission is more important than our lives, failure means death. I don't want any mistakes, since you have eyes on target, move out!"
An extremely tall fat man with a bald head sat alone in a dark room with many screens projected in front of him, it was a total of five screens showing different scenes. This fat man was wearing a white suit with a red tie and black shirt, he was smiling while watching what was happening in the screens. You could tell just by looking at him that he was nothing but bad news, smoking his cigar, he observed everything in the screens with calmness.
…
Atop a building was a man clad in all black and even his face and head were covered, only showing his literally eagle-like eyes. Without a doubt, this was the man codenamed Eagle-Eye. He lay flat on the roof whilst holding a sniper rifle , it looked exactly like the Nr.1 Barret M82 but far more advanced in its frame, design and type of materials used to make it. Eagle-Eye had his one of his eyes closed and the other one on the Sniper-scope. The man didn't move an inch, he didn't blink, didn't breathe and even his heart wasn't beating, it was like he had died in this position.
'I didn't believe it at first when he said buy now… I wonder how the boss got his hand on the number one sniper rifle in the city, the Nr.1 Barret S-15! What a monster, I feel ecstatic just by looking at it, hehe!' he thought.
The place he was currently viewing through the Sniper-scope was approximately about ten thousand miles away from the place. It was a fancy restaurant with marble floors, diamond tables and gold chairs, a place for high class citizens. The place was currently full with diners either eating or chatting or seeping fine wine.
Eagle-Eye's gaze was on a man who was sitting alone in the restaurant. He wore a business suit and had a black umbrella placed on the table. He seemed at ease and quite carefree as he dined alone, his mood changed when a lady in a red dress decided to join him. She was absolutely gorgeous, her beauty even exceeding that of models and movie stars. Carrying with her was a small purse.
"I'm glad you could make it, even though you're late, it's still better to enjoy good food with a beautiful woman than alone am I right?"
"Right you are, so tell me about yourself."
The man and woman began to converse while they enjoyed their meal, they talked about random stuff like; what do you like, where do you see yourself in five years, what's your drive or what are you passionate about. It was just a simple conversation that couples would have when on a date. Thirty minutes passed just like that and it seemed like the two were still enjoying themselves.
"It wasn't nice knowing you Mr Umbrella, I hope we won't meet again, ever." said the lady as she took out her business card and gave it to the man. She was saying one thing but her actions said the opposite. She then stood up and left without looking back.
"Same here. If I were to see you again then… I'd have to kill you. It was fine though while it lasted." the man said as he stood, payed his bill and left. It was already evening and quite dark, what made it worse was the rainy night. Opening his umbrella, he walked unhurried through the bustling streets where flying cars, robots, flying buses and all kinds of machines filled the lanes with blue lights in the sky.
Five minutes after the man had left the restaurant, two people wearing hoodies walked in the same direction and caught up to Mr Umbrella in no time but still kept their distance of about a hundred metres from him. Mr Umbrella took all kinds of twists and turns until he finally disappeared in a dark alley.
The two men didn't immediately follow but wasted a few seconds before also disappearing into the dark alley.
"I need visuals on Shadow Three and Four! I repeat, I've lost my eyes on Shadow Three and Four!"
"Roger. Shadow Two on the move!"
"Roger. Shadow One on the move!"
Mr Umbrella came out of the dark alley about a minute later with his shirt tinted with blood, his suit was also shabby and coldness filled his eyes.
[Information has been leaked, requesting the termination of the mission!]
[Request Denied. Mission too important to be left incomplete. If mission is successfully completed, you shall be rewarded with an 'audience'.]
[I understand.]
Mr Umbrella spoke while running at a fast pace, not far behind were two more hooded figures running after him. Mr Umbrella ran without looking back with his speed continuously increasing but so were his two pursuers. The three people ran for about three hours where Mr Umbrella finally saw the gate entrance to this place. Two humanoid robots were screening everyone that was entering but stopped what they were doing when they saw a figure running towards the gates at fast speed.
[Close the gates!]
Unfortunately for the two robots, they were a little too late. The man increased his speed and passed through the gate while they were half closed, the two pursuers barely made it out as the chase continued.
"Target has entered the Wilderness. I repeat, target has entered the Wilderness!"
"Shit!"
…
Mr Umbrella currently stood in the middle of the forest where tall trees blocked most of the light from the sun, tall grass also grew on the ground. He pulled out a cigarette, lit it up and started smoking right in the middle of the forest whilst being chased.
Two figures appeared not long after as they stood on the thick tree branches, their eyes showed relief of not losing their target but also vigilance since they didn't know if the man had prepared traps for them but considering the time they took to get here, it was impossible to plant traps in such a short amount of time.
"It's an honour to be target of the legendary Shadow Underlings, don't worry, there aren't any traps."
Even though Mr Umbrella insured them, they still wouldn't take his word for it.
"Don't waste our time, we can either do this the easy way or the hard way. Give us the card and kill yourself or fight for your life, get captured and tortured before being killed by us. Your choice."
"My mom used to say shortcuts lead to dead ends so I'll…"
Mr Umbrella didn't even manage to finish speaking when the two took out hand guns and shot at him. These guns weren't ordinary hand guns of old where metal bullets came out of them. These guns released thin blue bullets that caused the wind to whistle and exploded upon contact. And it wasn't just an ordinary explosion that occurred, it was the type that could completely obliterate a large creature like the megalodon into tiny bits. That's how advanced hand guns now were.
Opening his umbrella, the umbrella blocked all the bullets without making the bullets explode but the bullets were powerful enough to push Mr Umbrella back. The two figures then took out their main weapons after emptying out the guns. Each figure held two black daggers and jumped towards Mr Umbrella.
Mr Umbrella was unfazed by the two versus one and even seemed excited for it. Taking out his gun, an upgraded or advanced black revolver with a beautiful sheen. He didn't bother to shoot at the oncoming enemies but instead chose to face them head on, with a gun on his left hand and an umbrella on his right, he had nothing to fear.
Pointing the gun at one of his opponent, he had no choice but to retreat, this gave him the chance to fight one on one with his opponent. The opponent pushed the gun to the side while his other dagger aimed for Mr Umbrella's neck which Mr Umbrella easily blocked with his umbrella. Seeing that his attack was blocked, the hooded figure changed his strategy. One of his daggers focused on not allowing Mr Umbrella to aim at him while his other one kept looking for opportunities to inflict damage on his opponent.
Mr Umbrella then turned around, his back facing the hooded man and his gun pointing at the person that appeared right in front of him. The hooded woman quickly dodged the bullet by falling on her knees as her back was in direct contact with the ground while on the other hand, the hooded man was about to back stab Mr Umbrella when suddenly Mr Umbrella's umbrella opened and blocked the daggers. The hooded woman had already taken out her gun and pulled the trigger but Mr Umbrella reacted before she pulled the trigger.
Twisting his head to one side as he let go of the umbrella, then his body followed as he used his elbow to switch sides with his umbrella while using his gun to block the hooded man who was to stab him in the head. Once he achieved that, his right hand grabbed behind him, at the umbrella that was now in the hooded woman's sight and aimed it at her as though he had eyes on the back of his head.
"One to go."
Bang!!!
The ferrule of the umbrella opened as the bullet blew up the woman's head off, brains splattering all over the grass, dying it red.
"NOLA!!!"
The hooded man was so angry that he lost his cool, he let go of one of his daggers while the other one clashed with the black revolver, he was planning on stabbing Mr Umbrella through the heart since he could not protect himself with the umbrella. The two watched as the black dagger slowly fell in a spinning motion. Seeing the surprise and anxiety that filled Mr Umbrella's eyes, the hooded man became elated. It was obvious that he would kill the man before got the chance to protect himself and at such close distance, there was nowhere to run.
"Hahaha, so this is the expression one makes when they know they fucked… aaahhh!!!"
The hooded man's was suddenly replaced with grimace as he screamed in pain, his eyes bloodshot with veins and the shaking of his knees as he fell on the ground while holding his crotch. This was because Mr Umbrella had landed a heavy kick on his balls, a blow so heavy the hooded man even forgot about Nola, the mission and even his current situation.
Bang!!!
Mr Umbrella also blew his brains out and could now finally relax, his body was filled with adrenaline this whole time so after he escaped the dangerous situation, he was immediately exhausted. This battle had lasted for about a minute and a half, based on this, he could tell that his opponents had greatly underestimated, if they had instead sent Shadow Warriors, he would have long died.
"Thank goodness you're still here! I…"
The sudden voice didn't get the chance to finish speaking due to Mr Umbrella's sudden attack. 'When did this person get here? Was he always here? But why didn't I feel his presence nor footsteps?!' thought Mr Umbrella as he attacked. While in midair, he got the chance his ambusher and was quite shocked by what he saw.
A naked black man with dreadlocks stood before him, short in stature but well proportioned and defined body, quite good looking too but the most important thing was how ordinary this black guy seemed. He didn't feel threatened by this 5'7 black guy, unfortunately he had already unleashed everything in his arsenal. Multiple bullets fired from his black rifle, an explosive umbrella and finally himself. Black shimmering wings appeared from his back with feathers so sharp they cut the wind and everything was aimed at this weak naked black man.
BOOOOOM!!!!
A loud resounded as everything was engulfed in flames, a huge mushroom cloud formed in the sky. A huge crater, at least two hundred metres in radius had formed after the explosion, engulfing everything with a mixture of fire, dust and debris.
"Haaa… Haaa… Haaa… Man, that was close. Even though he didn't seem intimidating, he was quite dangerous. For a professional like me to suddenly lower his guard against someone I couldn't even coming, very dangerous. Fortunately I killed him but I'm now completely drained mentally, I need some rest." he said softly to himself.
"Hey… Did you just try to kill me..?"
Mr Umbrella could see a shadow of a human at the centre of the crater but when he blinked, the shadow had disappeared. Mr Umbrella was so scared that he started to sweat profusely as the temperature rose.
'Why is it suddenly so hot?!'
"I asked you a question pigeon man, did you just try to kill me?"
Looking to his side, Mr Umbrella saw flaming dreadlocks, dreadlocks that burned in a searing orange blaze. Looking further down were those eyes, eyes that literally looked like two massive suns stuffed into this man's eye sockets.
"I… I… It wasn't my…"
Bang!!!
Not just his head but the entirety of Mr Umbrella's body was turned into a puddle of blood. The black man's gaze moved from the puddle of blood to the direction in which the bullet came from and smiled. And the person who was looking from the Sniper-scope blinked once and the black man was gone. Eagle-Eye had heard the whole conversation through lips reading, and now, when he felt that it was far hotter than normal, he knew what he had done.
"Boss, I think I fucked up."