章節 3: The Day It All Began

December 2nd, 2019

Edinburgh, United Kingdom

5:55 AM

Nathaniel sat on the edge of his hotel room's neatly made bed, eyes fixated on the news broadcasted on the room's flatscreen TV.

"The elusive international terrorist known as The Fundraiser was apprehended just hours ago by a joint task force between the United States and the United Kingdom." began the blonde anchorwoman presenting the news, "Officials state the insurgent will be trialled in the International Court of Justice in Hague. Charges against the terrorist include…"

The anchorwoman fell silent, her animated smile struggling to stay on her face.

"I…", struggled the anchorwoman before regaining some composure and continuing.

"This program has been cancelled due to a national emergency. An unexplained phenomena has begun sweeping the globe, starting from Hawaii, and is expected to reach the United Kingdom within the next four hours." began the anchorwoman with a trembling voice, pausing to take a shaky sim from a glass of water, "Deceased humans are being resurrected through unknown means. Additionally, power grids and electrical devices are also becoming inoperable. Currently there is no determinable way to prevent electronics from being rendered useless. Satellite feeds reveal this is causing global blackouts and no affected parties are yet to recover. The problem is only Earth is affected; however, anything above the Karman Line in space - such as satellites and the ISS - remain unaffected."

Nathaniel nodded slowly. [Same as last time], he thought to himself.

"Queen Marien has declared martial law. All citizens are to remain indefinitely indoors until government or military officials direct you into fortified safe zones being set up across the country. If you encounter any zombies, any Undead, immediately vacate the area and lock yourself in a secure location. They are highly aggressive and cannot be reasoned with. Do not attempt to subdue them in any circumstances." continued the anchorwoman, frowning slightly after reading the notice.

[They actually declared martial law this time], thought Nathaniel, [that should buy me the time I need to find the Nine Demons].

"WHO, the World Health Organisation, has conducted emergency studies and testing on the reanimated persons - the Undead. They have found no traces of foreign material, bacteria, viruses or inconsistencies that could explain this disaster. Undead can seemingly heal from any injury and testing shows only complete molecular destruction, like fire or acid, can permanently kill them. The Organisation has also established the conditions required for a person to be resurrected and become an Undead." the anchorwoman paused, her lip and voice trembling as she continued "Any and all persons that die, for whatever cause, regardless how long they have been dead for, are reanimated. This means all deceased humans have also been reanimated. Currently there are an estimated 110 billion Undead on Ea-" the anchorwoman was cut off by an off camera scream. Almost immediately, all the lights and electronic devices in Nathaniel's hotel room simultaneously flickered and faded to black - filling the room with darkness. Grudgingly, Nathaniel stood up and walked cautiously to the closed curtains of the balcony. Then the world exploded.

A fiery shockwave of force threw Nathaniel against a wall - showering him with shattered glass from his balcony's destroyed door. Nathaniel collapsed, writhing in pain and blood on the broken glass covered floor. He may have retained his memories, but his body had been reset. Blood spilled from the cuts he gained from pained squirms. Blazing agony filled the entirety of Nathaniel's mortal mind. Suddenly, time slowed to a crawl - prohibiting the inferno of the encroaching gas explosion from devouring the man. To an outside observer the scene was cinematic, even beautiful. To Nathaniel though, it was painful and overwhelmingly hot.

"Open your eyes, Child." echoed a thunderous feminine voice. Nathaniel did not comply; his eyes remained skewed shut in absolute agony.

"Child. I said, open your eyes." repeated the voice, rising in tension. However Nathaniel's pain was too great for him to even respond. After all, his body had been all but shredded and staying conscious despite his shattered ribs and broken legs was a feat within itself - only possible through countless near-death experiences.

"Child, I command you to," shouted the voice, "Ȏ̷̳̹͠P̵̡̾̉E̴͍̥͑N̸̜͘͝ ̶̮́Y̷̙̙͐̐Ǫ̸̇Ṳ̶̦̉͂R̸̖̄ ̴̗̈́͜E̴̠̋Y̵̠̠̎Ě̶ͅŜ̴̤̜".

Immediately Nathaniel's eyes snapped wide against his will, forcing him to drink in the sight in front of him.

A woman wearing an abyssal black judge's robe stood proudly in the centre of the slowly burning hotel room. Chains of celestial golden steel snaked around her arms, torso and neck - glowing dimly in the fiery half-light. Her icy eyes blazed with a cold, calculated, fury that permeated judgement. She stepped forward towards Nathaniel before speaking.

"You, Nathaniel Marshall Torres, are at the beginning of an apocalyptic event known as the Divine Tournament. It is a competition between Gods to cultivate their power," began the goddess in a marginally softer voice, "this is done via pacts between mortals like you and Gods like me - granting them a fraction of divine power." The goddess now paused, thinking before choosing her next words carefully, "I am offering you such a pact. I will grant you one ability and heal you to your fullest if you follow my very simple rules. You shall be known as an Angel - one who wields the power of Gods. Over time you will become stronger and I shall grant you even more of my divine power. However for now I can only grant you one single ability. Do you accept my generous offering, Mortal?"

Nathaniel did not reply. Instead he kept writhing around in his own blood as his life force slowly faded. Sighing heavily, the goddess snapped her fingers. Instantaneously, golden light shone out of Nathaniel's wounds - healing him back to full health. Gasping he sat upright, looking up at the goddess towering above him.

"Do you require additional explanation, mortal?" questioned the goddess with a sigh, crossing her toned arms.

"No," replied Nathaniel as he climbed to his feet and dusted himself off, "The Undead have risen and are killing people, creating more Undead. Gods are making deals that increase both their powers over time. These Angels can gain more abilities over time as they become stronger. But I do have a question; what are you the God of…?"

The goddess laughed with genuine amusement, "You are as sharp and collected as they say, Mr Torres. You do need to know the full terms before agreeing to my generous offer, per the rules. I am Minerva - the Goddess of Law, Judgement and Justice."

"And," continued Nathaniel "what ability are you granting me?"

"You are very forthright Nathaniel - I enjoy that. I am offering you one of my weaker abilities, but a useful one nevertheless." elaborated Minerva, "It is called the Mark of Judgement. How it works is quite simple. First, you choose a target and utter the ability's name - Mark of Judgement. That individual will be incapable of committing certain crimes until you either run out of mana or Mark someone else. Oh, and mana is the innate energy humans generate internally. Some elite athletes and a handful of mystics prior to the Divine Tournament have managed to utilise it on a basic level to enhance their abilities. In your case, it is like fuel for your powers. It will also get stronger with time, but for now you can only use Mark of Judgement for short durations - approximately for ten minutes before several hours of recharging mana. As for what crimes it prevents individuals committing, it prevents murder and theft. In the future it may extend to more crimes, but for now it is just those two. Regardless, if used correctly you can become a most annoying combatant even at your current abysmally low level."

"Interesting..." replied Nathaniel, stroking his non-existent beard, "and what are the rules you require me to follow?"

"Yes, of course," began Minerva with a smile "First, you cannot kill anyone who has killed less than two individuals. Ultimately, all my Angels must spread justice. Second, you must reprimand every thief and cheat you see. Third and final, you must aid every worthy person who asks for your assistance. If you are ever genuinely unsure whether someone is a murderer, a cheat or innocent, I will inform you of their nature so you can carry out your divine duties. If you break any of the rules, I will warn you. However if you break them more than three times our deal and any future deals will be terminated effectively. In short… you will lose your borrowed powers and title as an Angel of Minerva and become a mere mortal once more."

Nathaniel nodded. [Although Minerva has strict rules to follow but I know from experience her Angels are some of the strongest fighters,] thought Nathaniel [a deal like this is too good to give up]. "Deal" said Nathaniel, reaching out to shake Minerva's inhumanly perfect hand. She replicated his gesture, the two shaking hands.

As time began to accelerate back to its normal rate, Minerva gave Nathaniel two pieces of advice. The first was rather obvious - simply to not die. The second was strange, bizarre even. As Minerva faded out of existence she told him not to forget his blue light filtering glasses.