The Manaverse

Year 2XXX

The yellow sun drifted through space as it had for billions of years. For the first time since its creation, a shift in the cosmic waves of stardust occurred and traces of Manaether flowed through the small solar system.

The mystical energy subtly altered the system, most notably expanding the Goldilocks zone. Yet, none of the people living on the third planet noticed a thing.

After a few decades, the density of Manaether reached a threshold. Vibrations in space created three rifts. From these rifts, the figures emerged. Each was considerably different from the next.

From one rift that expelled light almost as bright as the sun, stepped a feminine figure. Their nearly invisible skin mirrored the space around them, blending seamlessly with the cosmos. They had swirling shapes that resemble galaxies and bright pinpricks of light. Their hair flowed loosely down their back, resembling the Milky Way, and parted around glorious golden wings. Their eyes were a radiant yellow, like the sun that floated nearby.

The portal to their right expelled an empty black that almost absorbed light instead. The humanoid figure that stepped through was no better, almost a black hole. The only part of their shape that did not give off the impression of sucking everything in was their eyes, mouth, and horns. The scorching red eyes blazed like a red giant and were offset by the deep-water blue horns that erupted from their forehead. Their sparklingly white teeth were sharp and predatory.

The last figure to emerge from the final rift was the oddest of them all, if only because they looked so normal. They were an elf and not even a graceful one. Some would say they were a human with pointy ears instead. They wore a navy-blue dress skirt and blouse with a slender black neck tie. Their hair was a deep brown color and their nose was long and slender.

The three examined one another and a pressure that could destroy planets settled on each in turn as they felt the others' gazes. They each resisted the urge to shudder under the divine inspections.

Normally in the Manaverse, this kind of inspection was considered rude. Yet, a Divinity Ranker could never be too careful when dealing with others on their level.

When the black hole of a figure spoke, all other ambient sound the others heard was silenced. Their tone was deep and gravelly.

"Well, well, well. If it isn’t Ophelia. I see they’ve let you join the big leagues."

Despite the intent to belittle her, Ophelia smiled, and a wave of warm, comforting air brushed past the others, bringing new life. Their voice was melodic and brought with it a rush of pleasant impressions.

"I do not doubt that I am ready if I was tapped for the position, Enyalios."

Enyalios responded with a smirk. "We'll see. Being the Prime Deity of Death, Destruction, and Chaos is always easier. Especially for a new Prime." The words carried a subtle threat carried on fine Divine Control.

Not only were they calling Ophelia weak and saying they would be crushed, Enyalios was also implying Ophelia would fail and be returned to the Que, losing their Divinity.

Ophelia smiled. As they opened their mouth to speak, the elf spoke.

Their voice was flat and basically normal. At least, as normal as a being floating in outer space could be without there being air. "Clearly, you two are going to be a pain in my ass. Cut out the pissing contest and let's begin the Initialization process."

Ophelia’s form shifted, and she became a regular human woman. She became slender and exotic. Her hair was still silver but her skin was a deep blue instead of cosmic. Her eyes were now only a soft yellow. She was wearing an elegant evening gown that was a muted resemblance of her previous skin tone that revealed plenty of skin. "Thank you, Themis. You are quite right. The humans will start to notice the changes soon."

Enyalios sighed. "Fine..." They too shifted into a male Demon. Now he was wearing a black business suit. His skin was a dusky red color and his horns and eyes were black. He had a muscular build with broad shoulders. He added a soft word in a mocking tone. "Mom..."

Themis scowled at Enyalios before beginning the process of Initialization. Out of all the people to choose, did they have to pick a diva and arrogant prick? She asked herself as she felt the System reach out to her to approve her request, granting the three chosen new Authority.

"Just like that? You aren't going to warn them?" Ophelia asked in horror.

"Do so if you must. They won't listen." Themis said flatly. "No one ever does."

"Ready or not, here it comes! Real Magic!" Enyalios said happily, rubbing his hands together. "This is always my favorite part." He looked mischievously over at Ophelia before adding his Authority to Themis' to help the Initialization begin.

Themis scowled at the demon again but kept her thoughts to herself. She was a professional, but the beginning was always the worst. She considered the death and mayhem to be cruel, but it was unavoidable. If they did not initiate the System before the first Cosmic Wave, the death toll would surely be one hundred percent instead of fifty to ninety percent.

Ophelia regained her cosmic appearance and began broadcasting to the entire planet. Just before the connection was made, and she could project a sliver of her being onto the Earth, Enyalios whispered loud enough to be heard.

"Ten Champions per zone."

Both Ophelia and Themis spoke as one. "One."

Ophelia continued. "Shut it, Enyalios. This is hard enough. I don't want to kill any of them with my presence."

After a long moment where Enyalios was mimicking Ophelia silently, which he knew she could tell but could do nothing about while concentrating that hard on her projection, Themis kicked him. Thanks to her new Authority, the force of the kick would have shattered reality if she had not held back.

Enyalios only scowled at Themis before Ophelia returned to their small circle they had made and added the last bit of Authority needed to finish the Initialization.

The three Prime Deities watched as reality rippled and the System began to extend into this universe.

"I just hope they do better than Helic Prime did. Those Gerlax are extinct now." Ophelia said.

Across the world, men and women stopped and looked up. Floating in the sky, or in their offices or homes, a gorgeous and exotic woman appeared. Many men and women fell in love in an instant. Later, theorists would agree she looked like the cosmos and had to be the spirit of the universe

All fighting ceased, all work was halted, and those asleep, woke up to her words. The woman sent a feeling of reassuring bliss through every being, even those who were not human.

"Planet Earth. I am Ophelia, and I am here to warn you. The System and Monsters are coming. You must prepare!" Then her image flicked and she appeared to be speaking to someone off-camera. Then she turned back. "If you do not take precautions, you will all die. Please!"

Then Ophelia was gone, evaporating into the air like she was never there.

Over the next few years, the floating Goddess in the sky became a hoax, a scam. Interpol even arrested a European man and gave him credit for the "Ophelia Project" as a terrorist, saying he intended to cause mass panic across the world for the fun of it.

When the natural disasters started, no one connected them to the warning they had received. Those who did kept it private, quietly building bomb shelters or stocking up on food. Bottled water never sold faster.

Climates shifted and changed drastically. Animals went extinct and never-before-seen species cropped up. Millions more than usual died quickly and tragically.

Yet, it was nothing compared to what was coming.

If only they had listened, maybe they could have noticed the massive rainbow wave approaching them.

First Monster Manifestation:

Granite City

Magatha Williams shuffled carefully with her four-legged cane into Granite City Public Park. Her ankle-length, pink dress mounded over dirty slippers. She was lucky enough to get fresh bread crumbs for them today. The extra-large grocery bag hung from her free arm.

She found her usual bench and settled into the green metal seat with a groan. Being eighty-five, very little she did went without a groan or two. She began sprinkling the fresh, warm bread around her feet.

In less than seconds, four pigeons began pecking around her ankles scooping up the soft treat. Each bird came up to her kneecaps. She became concerned for them a few years before, not knowing if they got enough to eat being so big. She remembered them being a third their size when she was little. Now, she brought them food whenever she could manage it.

A sound caught her attention, making her look over at the entrance. Three children of various ages and an older gentleman scuttled into the park. The children immediately dove head first onto the giant, plastic, and metal jungle gym. The gentleman sat on the bench across from Magatha while he kept his eyes on the little ones.

Magatha closed her eyes, relaxed, and listened to the sounds of life. The birds scuttling around her feet mixed with the laughter and joy of the children brought back a sweet bouquet of memories. It was like a fine wine that paired well with dinner, putting a nice cap on the afternoon, and burning into her recollection of the great days she has had in her life.

Glancing at the sky, Magatha sighed out in comfort. She thought a prayer of gratitude. A warm autumn day, sunshine, and the sound of peace. She could not ask for anything more, nor would she.

Magatha’s brows furrowed in confusion as something strange caught her eye in the sky. To the east, the blue had drastically changed in color. It was far too early for the sun to set, so the red, yellow, black, and green were obvious to the naked eye, while the white and blue would be harder to see without the other colors in contrast. Swirling past her, the wave like colors ran over the park before they faded away, leaving only the deep blue of the afternoon once more.

"What in the world was that?" She mumbled aloud.

Could it have been the Air Force, doing a pass over? Nah. There were not any planes. It could not have been a giant light machine, could it? The light like waves did not hurt her eyes when she looked right at them. She let her thoughts wander, not coming to any conclusion that would make sense.

A sharp scream made Magatha's thoughts clear and her eyes snapped downward. The oldest of the children, a girl who had to be at least ten, was scrabbling backward on her hands and feet. Her sounds of terror cut through everything else around the park. When Magatha looked past the girl, a black shape was visible. It was hunched like a creature stalking prey.

Not on her watch.

Magatha reacted before she knew what was happening. She had her cane as was trundling over to the girl as quickly as she could. She moved faster than even she expected she could at her age. She reached the child before the cat made any drastic moves and began yelling and hollering at the blasted creature. It did not flinch or react in any way.

The creature was a house cat. It was not a normal house cat even though it looked like one. It was huge, the size of a large dog. Its eyes were pure yellow with blood red slits. Its black fur was a mixture greys and dark blues. The only thing Magatha could see in the cat was rage and hunger.

The cat began to prowl around them both, looking for an opening to attack. As it lunged for Magatha, she covered her face and bent her legs to embrace for impact. When said impact never came, she let herself look again. The gentleman had slammed his shoulder into the cat and knocked it off course, the beast tumbling head over tail a short distance away.

The man smiled weakly at Magatha then gestured to the children.

" Please, ma’am. Watch over my grandchildren. I’ll keep it here. "

The children cried and pleaded while Magatha stepped forward.

"I cannot, sir. You should do it." She went to take the man's hand and it came away from his side, bloody and dripping.

" You have to." He glanced past her and stepped toward the cat, which was already poised to pounce.

Magatha nodded reluctantly and scooped up the smallest child. She yelled at the other two to hold on to each other and follow her. They stumbled but followed.

It took all of Magatha’s willpower to keep moving when the screams began. Even more so when the children started crying but had kept moving anyway.