Brilliantly colored luminous bands filled the cosmos. Countless bands, as if guided by some mysterious force, wove intricate patterns across the universe beyond the planet. The marks left by these bands were sharply distinct, perfectly symmetrical, sketching some arcane design upon the cosmic canvas—like a vast magic circle unfurling in space, its "barrel" aimed squarely at Earth.
As all the luminous bands settled into place and the gathered heat reached its zenith, above the Arctic continent, in the distant reaches of near-Earth orbit, a massive halo resembling a solar corona took form, shimmering with golden and black radiance.
This abruptly appearing halo completely replaced the sun. The heat radiating from its core bathed the earth like the genuine sun—or perhaps, it was annihilating the earth!
The entire world descended into chaos.
The colossal luminous ring that had replaced the sun was overwhelmingly vast, intensifying the heat of day and brightening the nights. Anyone who wasn't blind could see this cosmic force spanning the universe, as if poised to annihilate entire planets!
"Aliens are invading Earth!"
"Dear God, Earth is doomed!"
"We're all going to die, we're all going to die!"
"The governments must take responsibility—they must know something but refuse to speak! Maybe those high-ranking officials have already fled, selling out the entire planet!"
"Lord, please save us!"
"Allah above!"
"..."
Chaotic cries of despair and panic spread like wildfire, mirroring the ancient chaos of pre-Christian India. Every facet of human nature manifested across the globe: streets filled with looting, the screams of women and children, the impotent rage of men, cities ablaze, mothers and daughters trembling in fear behind locked doors as the sounds of shattering glass and violent shouts echoed outside.
Amidst the turmoil, devout believers prayed, kind-hearted souls attempted to help and rescue, and hopeless young men sought to confess their love to their crushes before facing death. The full spectrum of human emotion—bitter, sweet, sorrowful, and joyous—played out in this moment of crisis.
Governments worldwide were unjustly accused; they, too, knew nothing. Experts and scholars hastily issued statements, attempting to explain the phenomenon as an unusual natural occurrence. But no one listened—no one wanted to listen. Because anyone who gazed upon that luminous band and ring was overcome with an inexplicable grief, tears streaming uncontrollably down their faces.
Could a natural phenomenon evoke such profound sorrow? Anyone with even a shred of rationality refused to believe it. They were convinced—this was an alien invasion, the harbinger of the apocalypse!
Meanwhile, government agencies and detectors stationed across the globe relayed a devastating report: the heat radiating from the massive luminous ring in the sky was potent enough to obliterate the planet Earth.
No—not just Earth. If other planets existed along Earth's celestial plane, the concentrated release of that heat would pierce through and annihilate them as well.
Even high-ranking officials began to wonder—could this truly be some alien civilization's "planet-destroying cannon" in the making?
...
In the northern reaches of Canada, near the Arctic's Thousand Islands, the creator of the luminous ring—the mastermind behind this "planet-destroying cannon," Roy Crowley—laughed maniacally. Above him, indescribable hues of light clashed in a dazzling spectacle, while terrifying heat churned and condensed.
Roy stared ahead. The form of the Last King, Veeraj, had nearly faded into nothingness. After the incineration of ancient Indian civilization, the myths of India had fractured. As one of the most renowned figures in Indian mythology, Veeraj should have vanished entirely. Yet, because his legends had spread far and wide, leaving traces in the myths of other civilizations, he barely clung to a human form.
Roy's incineration of human order did not destroy other civilizations. He was not capable of burning away the entirety of human history, nor would he do so even if he could. By merely incinerating India's history, under the effect of 'historical correction,' this portion of human order would eventually be restored. However, if the entire human history were burned away, even historical correction would cease to function, leading to the complete disappearance of humanity.
Burning just over two thousand years of India's history—a minuscule fragment of the grand human timeline—granted Roy power sufficient to annihilate entire planets. And not just one planet at a time; with precise aim, his light cannon could obliterate multiple celestial bodies in a single strike.
Had he incinerated the entirety of human history, the terrifying power obtained would have made destroying the solar system a trivial feat. Yet Roy felt that wielding such power to annihilate the solar system would be wasteful. If harnessed and focused properly, it could allow him to 'reverse the river of time,' returning to the planet's birth billions of years ago and attaining a power akin to 'creation' itself.
At this moment, Roy's thoughts and consciousness seemed to envelop the entire planet, like an aloof deity gazing down upon humanity.
This was the residual power left by the ashes of incinerated human order, allowing Roy to borrow its perspective and observe mankind.
The world's turmoil reflected in Roy's eyes. The ugliness and wickedness of humanity drew wild laughter and scorn from him. But then, slowly, his laughter ceased. No longer mocking or lamenting, his godlike, indifferent eyes gradually filled with something else—pity.
"How truly... ugly and pitiful."
He no longer ridiculed these wretched mortals, no longer scorned their actions. Deep within, Roy instead felt pity for them—pity for their hatefulness and wretchedness.
This was an 'evil' far more profound than mere mockery. In this moment, Roy fully grasped the essence of this 'evil'—it was, from beginning to end, an 'affection' for humanity. This was the most fundamental emotion that made humans human. Without it, mankind would be no different from beasts. Yet when such emotions spiral to extremes, they ultimately bring about humanity's downfall.
····················
'Pity' was originally a noble sentiment, filling the world with 'love.' But when 'pity' reaches its extreme, it becomes the strong's condescension toward the weak. When the divide between strong and weak becomes absolute, the natural law of survival of the fittest takes hold, and humanity, in this reversal of extremes, marches toward decline.
In this fleeting moment, Roy found himself entertaining the thought of wiping out all of humanity. It was not that he harbored any apocalyptic tendencies—rather, he 'pitied' the world, grieving for these pitiful mortals.
Look at them—these pitiful mortals, with their fleeting lifespans of less than a century, beginning and ending their lives in pursuit of base desires like food, clothing, and shelter. Against the boundless river of time, how insignificant is a human life? And yet, within this insignificance, they spawn so much wickedness, so much ugliness.
.....
Such pitiful lives—should they not be granted equal death by him? Such wretched lives—their existence has already lost all meaning.
He should indeed 'pity' their insignificance, sparing them from further suffering in this world for those crude desires. Humanity ought to thank him!
As this thought emerged, Roy instinctively moved his fingers. The Halo in the sky began gathering heat, aligning the core of the 'solar corona' directly with this planet.
A mere snap of his fingers, a pull of the trigger, and the immense energy condensed from the History of India would instantly annihilate this planet, reducing it to cosmic dust.
At this moment, Roy had nearly lost himself. His fingers slowly activated the Halo.
Outside, Veeraj, Luo Hao, and Athena all sensed something amiss with Roy. Despite their previous enmity, they now cried out in unison, striving to stop him.
But grievously wounded as they were, they could not intervene in time.
Just as Roy was about to pull the 'trigger,' countless arcane insights flooded his mind—knowledge from the Book of the Law, the Book of 777, his own Holy Right, and the unnamed ship in his right hand. Interwoven, these comprehensible and incomprehensible truths resonated, gradually restoring Roy's spirit and freeing him from the extreme emotions of Human Evil.
"Ha... this is the evil of humanity, yet also its love... the building blocks of prosperity, yet the harbinger of destruction."
Roy took a deep breath, closing his eyes to calm himself before murmuring the name of the spell he had devised—the symbol of his pursuit:
"—BEAST777, 'I shall transcend the evil of humanity!'"
The Halo contracted once more. Now, Roy could gaze upon 'Human Pity' from an even loftier vantage.
***
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