End War

Chapter 0 : Child of War (Prologue)

Gifted, was a call for those who had the ability to manipulate natural phenomena or had super strong physiques. Actually, they were people who have the ability to manipulate science law, either physics, biology, or chemistry. But at the time, people considered Gifted as a person who could do illogical things. One can transfer thermal energy from one thing to another. When water loses the thermal energy inside, it can freeze so it becomes ice. Therefore, he could create ice even in heated land. People at the time didn't understand science yet so they thought he could do magic by creating ice. Even some the Gifted themselves didn't understand the process behind their ability. They just felt that they could transfer something he didn't know the name and then an ice can be created.

Some Gifted had the ability to strengthen their physique too. One had ears that could hear infrasound. Infrasound is a sound with low frequency, below 20hz. Some animals could hear infrasound like the sound of earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, and atmospheric phenomena. That's why animals run away from land because they know when a disaster will be about to come. The Gifted who could hear infrasound knew when a disaster would come. The people at the time didn't know the concept of infrasound yet, so they just thought the Gifted as a seer, someone who could predict something would happen.

Only 1% of people that was Gifted. Imagine you have that kind of power, what will you do. Some use their gift to bring warmth to the world, some use them to bring harm. Some are worshiped as a prophet, some become heroes of people, some are being instruments of war.

In this alternative world, Ancient Earth, there was a continent, divided into 5 kingdoms with different kinds, ideologies, and characteristics. They were the kingdom of mankind, dwarfs, and elves. Two big kingdoms that were at war were Exovia, a kingdom of elves with massive army, ruled by an absolute yet powerful king and Ivra, a kingdom of humans with lot of resources and great economic.

Exovia was located in the north of continent. It had big region with pure-blood Elves ruling it. Pure-blood Elves were the origin of Gifted. That's why Exovia had a lot of powerful Gifted in their army. Its king were chosen from the King lineage since ancient time to keep their blood pure.

Ivra was located in the west of the continent. Fifty percent of the world's resources were located in Ivra. They used it to strengthen their economy and became a great yet powerful kingdom. They are ruled by a king, too. The King was chosen from its lineage. But unlike Exovia, sometimes there were internal conflicts that made the King chosen from another family.

In the annals of time, a war of colossal magnitude hath claimed hundreds of thousands, nay, even millions of lives. Amidst this somber epoch, a prophecy, uttered a years hence, foretold the advent of a cadre of divine messengers, heralds of the Almighty, destined to quell this infernal strife. It was spoken that among them would emerge a child, who will shake the world and, in so doing, bring an ultimate cessation to the ceaseless conflict. Alas, despite the prophecy's ancient wisdom, the conflagration of war rages unabated, persisting for an interminable span. The flames of hope have dwindled in many a heart, as the enduring shadows of conflict cast a pall over the collective spirit.

"Waaaah waah waaaaah", a baby cried in the middle of the forest, in the middle of the night. The sky was crimson because of the burning forest. The forest was dense, making the path winding. The baby was wrapped in a white cloth and was being carried by its mother while running and panting. "Chase them!!! Don't let them escape or we will be punished", a man shouted while his group was searching for a baby and his mother. "Shuuus, shuuusss, it's okay little sweet", the mother stopped running and tried to calm his baby behind a tree. She wore a black robe to hide her presence. Her hair was black, as black as her eyes. She was panting because of running.

"I heard a baby voice, through this way", the man shouted again and told his group to the direction of the voice. They wore white iron armor with sword and torch in their arms. The swords was made from white steel. Moonlight could reflect on the blade of the sword as if the sword was emitting light. There was a sketch of eagle on their armor. There were four until five man of them.

The mother continued running in hurry but she arrived at the edge of a hill. There was no longer path to follow unless she could fly. She turned around but there were soldiers's voices. There wasn't a way to run anymore. She was panicked, didn't know where to go. She slipped as she stepped backward.

"Grsssk grsssk" she rolled and fell down from the hill to a ravine. She hit several trees and rocks as she fell down.

"Uuurgh, are you okay?" The mother worried about her baby. She checked his body in case he was wounded. "Waaaah waaah", the baby was still crying so she felt relieved. She crawled slowly and leaned against a tree. The area was surrounded by trees and rocks. There was the sound of water flowing. It seemed they were in a river bank, at the bottom of the hill. There was no sound of people chasing them. The mother used her Gift to calm her baby.

She used to be a war nurse. She can free her patients from pain, make them calm, make them hallucinate with her breath. But, there was an accident with one of her patient. A patient was addicted with her Gift. He went crazy and asked her to give her Gift again and again. When she decided to stop giving her gift, the patient had a seizure and died with white foam in his mouth. Since then, she stopped using her Gift to anyone. But this time, she had to use her Gift to her son so that his voice didn't attract the men chasing them. Then, he was calm and stopped crying.

"My sweetie, you are so pretty, just like your father. I hope to see your pretty face when you grow up. If only this world was peaceful, I'm sure you would be famous enough with the girl in kingdom. I wish the war would end soon, so we can live happily", the mother whispered to her son. Her face turned pale. Her sight started to became blur. She felt so sleepy. Then she bit her lips until it became red. She tried maintaining her consciousness to give the baby her breath so that he remained calm until nobody chased them. The white cloth covering the baby turned red.

The hush prevailed until the break of dawn, a stillness that marked the cessation of the blazing war and, alas, the quieting of the mother's breath. Upon her countenance lay an expression of solace, for at last, she could find respite in the arms of eternal repose. The cloth concealing the infant was unveiled, revealing a baby whose locks mirrored the purest white of his silk. His pupils, akin to the obsidian, continued to shed tears that echoed through the silence.