Prologue - 3055
The mortal realm was fashioned from great technology. The inventions began small and imaginable like you can imagine. There were cars that could fly, gym apparitions which supplied the realms power grid, and virtual gaming that almost blurred the lines between make-believe and reality. Over time, the innovation of the Government grew past the point of one’s fantasy. At the centre of this was what was known as ‘The Mortal Key’ a powerful structure which worked against a large proportion of the new aged society.
Mans greatest fear had become that of the immortal. 2559 saw the beginning of their creation. They say that a God cast from a star flew to our earth, granting a mortal woman’s child with the gift of eternal life and the Power of Invisibilitas, and named him Lukas Cornell – the first born and consequential leader of the immortal beings. And when Lukas was of age, he began creating a line of superhumans much like himself. They became known as the original 4 – Emmeline, Fin, Vixen, and the youngest Atlas. Later, to his surprise Lukas discovered he wasn’t the only, that the Gods had gifted. And so, eventually the superhuman population crawled up to over hundreds of thousands.
They became a threat to humanity and thereby was cursed by the mortals. The Gods from above heard the mortals calling and so ‘The Mortal Key’ was forged in 2769, after a bicentennial period of immense fear amongst the public. Its purpose was to prevent the immortals from using their powers to inflict harm. Meaning for them to use what the Gods gave them; they were compelled to do so in no ill intention.
Lukas tended to mock the human terror and found beauty in his ability to unleash it. This did not prevent him from signing a truce with the mortal leader of their time, ensuring that he would punish those who meant harm towards the normal folk. In the year 2780 Lukas created a new realm, with the force of the Star Gods. A realm beneath that of the human world. So that their kind could utilise their powers freely, and humans could feel at peace. The tales say that although Lukas enjoyed the fright, he did not wish to cause death. He had a distaste for murder and frankly enjoyed the company of mortal beings. He was playful amongst them, and thereby became a great ruler, who prevented the war amongst man and the super.
His 3rd born, Vixen Cornell, however, grew tired of his foolishness. Over the years he birthed a hatred for his father and his forgiveness to the mortal realm. He despised how they banished his kind from using what the Gods gave them. Vixen was gifted the Power of Vipera. He was a dark and nuanced being, created to burn and suffocate his enemies, as he controlled and created toxins. The Mortal Key meant that he was ultimately unable to harness his powers within the human world, for he could not draw them unless he had ill intent. Instead, he spent his days dealing with poison and acid, burning paper and wood. In the immortal realm they called him the Toxic Screen, as a product of the duels held within their side of the world.
For years he sat by, watching his father’s failings. And in that amount of time, he gathered his own allies to work against him. At the beginning of 3055 after, hundreds of years in planning, Vixen started on executing his fate.
It began within his father’s office, where a meeting was taking place between the realm leaders.
“Lukas, it is a pleasure to be welcomed into the kindness of your realm.” President Locklen spoke with an eager spike. Both intrigued and fearful of Lukas’ presence.
“Ah Issac Locklen, I hope you have been treated with the utmost respect of my fellow immortals.” Lukas spoke, leaning back into his chair.
“Your people are too kind. Not at all what I had suspected.”
Lukas squinted his eye at Locklen. “And what did you expect?”
“Can I be honest?”
“Well if we are to build trust, we must be honest, shan’t we?” Lukas spoke, eyebrows raised.
“I couldn’t agree more.” He paused. “Well then, I had expected despair and sorrow.” He laughed. Vixen was sat in the corner, his eyes dark as he focused upon the scrunched ball of paper he was tossing and catching. “I couldn’t even imagine what a cluster of superhumans would entail, but it most certainly wasn’t harmony.” Vixen eyed the president, a grin replacing his nonchalant stare, only the greatest evil could decipher.
Lukas smiled only slightly. “Well, I’m glad we have beat your expectations.”
“So, you have.” Locklen agreed.
Vixen stood then, rising from amongst the shadows, his dark hair clumsily falling just above his eyeline. He was pretty and pale, his eyes a mean black that hurt to investigate. “You say this, though you have not seen everything of the immortal realm.” The presidents’ eyes perked up towards him.
“What do you mean by this?” He questioned, frightened by his intense stare.
“I mean that you think of our realm, forbidden from carnage yet you have only encountered us in our simplest form.” Locklen’s eyes narrow, as does Lukas’ who warningly grips at the paper in front of him. “You know, we are prohibited from using out gifts upon your arrival.”
“I was not aware of that.”
“Well now you are.” He continued, stalking closer to where the President was sat. “Punishable by death.”
“Vixen-” Lukas challenged, rising from his seat, Vixen ignored him lifting his hand, gas deploying form their tips, penetrating the terrain between Lukas and the President. Rendering the mortal realm leader powerless, for he was of course no match against Vixen.
“I have stood by and watched my father lose all dignity against you mortals for years.” He bellowed, watching intently as Locklen cowered into his seat.
Lukas spoke over him then - “Vixen, I demand you stop. The Gods in the stars forbid you to go against our treaty.”
“I defy the stars; I defy both heaven and hell. The universe gave us these gifts. And yet we allow you powerless peasants to take away our potence.” Vixen waves his arm forming a break within his toxins, so that Lukas can see him. “Look at me father. For once in your entire life, look at me, and see the fangs within my smile. Because I was never soft, like you thought. I was never on your side. All this time I was a wolf.” He paused, breathing heavily. “And you tried to imagine me as a sheep.”
Green gas soon started to engulf the entirety of Lukas’ office, as rage continued to rile within Vixen.
“So, what do you intend to do?” Lukas asked.
With a sheepish smirk Vixen replied, “I’m glad you ask father.” He consoled himself behind President Locklen, his hand pressed firmly around his neck. “I intend to battle you in conquest of the immortal realms throne, and after.” He grinned, his grasp tightening. “After I plan to cloud the entirety of the human world with my toxins. I will not be satisfied until the realms are filled with ‘despair and sorrow’ as Locklen so touchingly put it.”
Vixens plan seemed otherworldly considering the countless limitations. Yet somehow it had worked in his favour. Within the walls of his father’s work, he mercilessly murdered both the President and Lukas, their bodies found withered, a tint of mouldy green lingering in the colour of their irises.
The final stretch of his plan was ’The Mortal Key’. He entered the mortal realm, breathing in its sickly weak air. His head tilted backward, green gas emitting around each step he took forward. The humans screamed in terror, exciting the cortex of Vixens mind. He demanded humanity bend the knee to the new leader of the immortal realm, or find that the consequence be dear. He announced the death of President Locklen, and commanded that the ‘Mortal Key’ be shut off effective immediately.
“I killed one mortal within the comfort of the second realm, and I will continue to do so until there is none left.” He spoke to the Government. “That is unless you so kindly shut off the Mortal Key. If you do so I will show mercy and lead over both realms in peace and power.”
The council forbid to ever give Vixen such power to which he responded. “You mortals are foolish beings. Do you really think your Key can prevent the inevitable nature of my lead?
“You will bend the knee to me, no matter what.” And so eventually they did. Weeks had passed and the mortal realm became a sort of apocalypse. Vixen maintained his promise of ‘peace’ though he also did of ’power’. Those who stupidly fought against him were punished in ways that are unspeakable.
A mortal rebel, transported to the immortal realm was pushed towards Vixens throne. He turned towards the offending person; dark eyes alight with cold fury.
“You think because I show your people kindness, I will bend to your every vice? How undeniably stupid of you to even think your mundane powers could work against me.” Vixen stalked towards his prey, a cruel smile casting a predatory gleam upon his features. “Did you forget who I am? Did you forget I am only tamed for the forgiveness of your people? How foolish of you to be forgetful of what is beneath my skin.” Green begins to surround the two, the gas swimming around them as if it were a snake. Its aura one of malice and ancient power. “My veins burn with arrays of poison and chaos. I would destroy this entire place and everyone in it, if I had to.”
Most of all you are probably wondering how Vixen came to lose all this power. How his ‘reign’ lasted only 4 weeks. That story begins with his siblings. Emmeline, Fin and Atlas had mourned the death of their father. Atlas was only young at the time and so seemingly understood less. Though Emmeline was fuelled with agony. She was her father’s favourite and successor after all. When she found him laid dead within his office her battle cry echoed across the realms in time to slashing steel.
Emmeline was a great power, gifted with the flow of life and death itself – The Power of Vita Vi. She had never truly liked Vixen, he was more a horrible brother than he was a person. And so, she craved the day he died by her hand. She was the only Vixen truly feared, in her ability to sense, create, shape and manipulate the essence of one’s life force.
His older brother Fin was similar in how he cried for his father. The Gods gifted him with enhanced physical speed – The Power of Corporis Celeritas. Not as threatening as Emmeline’s yet it still came in handy. He had the ability to possess continuously increasing speeds, moving faster than the usual members of his species, making it difficult for one to react to him. A skill Vixen found infuriating when they were once young and playful.
The day Vixen was dethroned, Emmeline entered the courtroom, anger written upon her face. “Brother.” She spoke.
She found him leant across his throne, his dark eyes marking her own. “Oh, dear sister, have you finally come to your senses? Will you finally bend the knee to me?”
Emmeline snarled at his arrogance. “Do not underestimate my ability to turn you to ruins, Vixen. I will shatter your soul into pieces like you did mine when you killed father.”
“I don’t doubt your abilities Emmeline, I praise them. Father was a coward; he turned his nose to our gifts. I am choosing to uplift them.”
“In such destruction? If you wish for this then I will burn your sanctuary and destroy everything you own.” Vixen only laughed. “Do not bother asking the Gods to help you, for they are afraid of me.”
“And you are happy for this?” He laughed again.
“Their fear will rain upon the earth your kingdom is over. And I will wear your crown too.” The next moment teems down in the history of the immortal realm. Where Emmeline became the presence of death itself, producing death-force energies that surrounded Vixen. His eyes grew with fear as green gas forged from his own hands in defence. All till a ghast of air sizzled from around him, Fin tying him onto the throne, his hands bound from behind, incapable to harness power.
“You must stop at once, Emmeline.” Vixen bellowed. Her head twisted to the side, a smirk upon her face as she relished in his pleas of life. “I beg of you. Have mercy on me.” Emmeline was no longer listening to his appeals; Instead, a dark energy had been forming between her hands. It was as if there were a shadow bouncing amongst her palms. And in a final breath she shot the lethal ghast towards his direction
“What was that?” Fin asked, walking over to Vixens now lifeless body.
“Death.” Emmeline deadpanned.
“What kind?”
“Instant. No sound, he just died.” Fin almost laughed at her response.
“You truly are terrifying.” He replied.
Although this saw the end of what seemed like an eternal war, the mortal realm showed no mercy to that of the superhumans. They were punished to exile, and death. President Locklen’s young daughter Kassandra Locklen took over as a leader and declared that supernatural beings were once again a threat to humanity. Emmeline – the newly crowned leader of the immortal realm – argued against this and demanded reasoning. Kassandra did not consider a truce, refusing travel to the immortal realm’s court. Instead superhumans that were caught amongst the mortal world were executed for the crime of merely being immortal.
Emmeline grew angry of this and took it upon herself to enter the mortal realm, knowing full well the weakening of her powers within their reach. The people guess she believed Kassandra was more reasonable, instead Emmeline found herself to be kept prisoner by the mortal government. She was tortured and examined in their power. And remains there to this day, hidden deep within its walls.
The aftermath of the short-lived war found mortal life back to its normal. They lived amongst only those alike themselves, in peace and harmony. The superhuman race had been nearly extinct, the remainder hiding somewhere within their own realm.
The new world was forbidden of the Star Gods gifts: “I am coming for all the monsters that ever touched the mortal realm in vain.” The crowd harmonically cheered as Kassandra spoke from the podium. “I am coming for all the ones who twist the stars into shadows. They turned our world into a nightmare.” She paused. “So, I am going to be theirs.”
