Long ago, in the Valerius Star Belt, on a distant planet that housed another of their glorious Cities.
Where buildings of prestigious heights stood erect, threatening to tear the skies. Floating roads and cars littering its pure blue skies.
On the ground was its most lively attraction: the Slum Market.
A place choke full of greedy merchants, hoping to sell or scam. A place riddled with the disease of poverty and crime.
It stood, a great contrast to the vibrant inner city, where only the elites deserved residence in, with its grey and beige colours.
"Here." A young man squealed, running through the market.
His petite, malnourished figure easily gliding through the crowd of desperate merchants, conniving thieves, and innocently curious tourist.
Behind him, his brothers, not of blood,but of bond.
They all looked identical: rags for clothes, hollow cheeks, bloody dried lips, and sunken hungry eyes.
They ran desperately, each step resembling their last. However, the smell and imagined taste of the loaf was plenty motivation.
All four charted through the maze of the Slum Market like experienced explorers, tossing around the single loaf of bread.
"Catch, Valen." Oburn shouted, his green mane dancing with the rhythm of his run.
Cradling the loaf, Valen shouted a reply. "Our biggest loaf yet." Laughing, he continued. "It will feed us for days."
A loaf that could barely feed one for a day, was trophy they treasured.
Though House Valerius was noble at heart and strong at arm, as proven by their endless duty to their people, poverty was a disease stemming from the avarice of their own, a disease that knows no bound.
And on Maverick, it was no longer a disease; it was the way of life.
Valen and his brothers were the results.
They kept running, their laughs turning to chuckles.
Turning around, Valen asked. "Where do we sleep today."
"Watch out." Harven shouted.
However, it was for naught as Valen's fragile body slammed into an officer.
Bouncing off the officer's body, his bones fell onto the market's cold concrete ground. He groaned.
The officer loomed at a commanding seven feet of height, his figure carved out of authority and power.
His uniform, tailored black with splashes of silver accents that caught the light like broken blades.
On his chest was the Hexagon emblem, housing a mosaic of weaponry: the Valerius emblem.
"Look what we have here, the infamous thieves." The officer declared, with a laugh.
Crouching in front of the fallen Valen, he sneered. "Ninety-nine days to the thief, one to the owner." Raising his hand, he struck.
The slap met Valen's pale ashen face with a sting, sending his head into a spin; his nose bleeding.
Nevertheless, his eyes remained defiant, locked on the officer.
"We only steal to live." He declared, slamming his fist on the concrete. "You people took everything from us." He whispered, his slammed fist tainting the grey red.
The officer stood silently, jaw clenched.
Sighing, he raised his feet. "Of course it is always someone's fault." He muttered, dropping his foot like a hammer on an anvil.
It met Valen's shriveled ankle, shattering it with no resistance. Bone shards poked through his thin skin; blood following.
Valen's vision blurred, as piercing pain traveled up his leg, he clenched his teeth trying to silence his pained cries. Tears followed
Glancing back at his trembling brothers, he smiled, a weak smile as tears rolled down his cheeks.
Watching Valen's heartfelt performance, the officer grinned, snapping his fingers.
Another officer approached.
The second officer's uniform was purposely less detailed and tailored to signify his lower rank.
"This boy was caught with stolen goods, bring him along for processing." He ordered, tone flat.
"Just him." He continued, a grin spreading into a wide content smile on his face.
Turning around, he walked past the second officer, his smile evolving into a muffled chuckle.
Valen gritted his teeth. "Do not worry, I will be back soon just wait." He muttered, his tone low and soft.
Turning back around, he saw another shadow cast over him.
"Sorry kid, nothing personal." The second officer apologized, draping Valen over his shoulders.
Whilst he was being taken away by, his eyes remained locked on his three brothers.
They were everything to him, his only purpose, his only reason to live.
He kept looking until they blurred into the market crowd.
Valen was carried around the market through areas he had only heard of but never dared to tread. The areas were much more well maintained.
The walls were cleaner, the concrete sturdy, the air cleaner.
Arriving in front of a gate, the two officers paused.
It was a gigantic wooden gate. The two officers stood like ants before it.
At its heart was the Hexagon's emblem nestling the Valerius emblem.
Pressing the emblem on his chest, he spoke. "Patrol officer, Cain."
As the last word left his mouth, a crack could be heard, then another.
A chain of cracks rained down the middle of the gate, compressed air escaping as it began opening.
Raising his head, Valen struggled, trying to glance at the gate behind. 'Military compound.' He wondered, pushing against the officer's back.
"Calm down, kid." The officer ordered, shaking him.
Glancing at Valen, Cain spoke. "This is your home now." Chuckling, he continued. "Shall we."
As they stepped past the gate, Valen was able to witness its wooden prestige.
'Are they housing giants.' He wondered, looking around.
He saw bases small and large; officers with similar uniforms rushed around carrying weapons and information tablets.
Looking around, Valen saw the Slum Market, albeit more organized and coordinated.
He was guided through the compound, to the only building made of metal there.
"Patrol officer Cain, return log." A scanner announced.
As the scanner announced, the door next to it hissed open. Glancing back at the other officer, Cain nodded.
''Understood, sir.'' He replied, walking into the base with Valen.
Glancing around the inside of the base, Valen stiffened.
He could not see or hear a thing. The entirety of the space was a shadow his senses could not pierce, only his nose.
A sharp, metallic tang clung to the air like rusted iron.
'Blood.' He thought, his heart beating like a war drum.
Clenching his fist, he asked, his voice a trembling whisper. ''Where are w-we.''
Pausing mid step, the officer clenched his fist. ''You idiot.'' He cursed, scanning around.
Valen tightened his grip on his uniform at the reaction, his heart beating violently.
''Help.''
Valen heard a voice rasp.
Then suddenly the once sileny space was flooded with a cacophony of metal clangs, screams of horror, betrayal, and exhaustion.
''You said I was to be in here for two weeks.'' A voice roared.
''It is a mistake, I am not meant to be in here.'' Another pleaded.
Shielding his ears, Valen cries joined the cacophony.
'Will I never leave.'
The thought rang like a bell in his head, louder than the cacophony outside.
Having heard enough of their cries, the officer roared. ''Silence.'' Eyes radiating crimson.
His voice traveled like a wave through the space, extinguishing the screams and cries.
Grunting, he continued through the darkness, silence reigning again.
''Please, I only stole bread.'' Valen begged in a whisper.
Ignoring Valen's plea, he kept walking.
After a few more steps, he came to a stop. Bringing Valen down, he crouched before him. ''You will be here for a while.'' He said, tone flat.
Looking up to where he assumed the officer was, Valen begged, trembling. ''P-please.''
However, it was for naught as he received only the sound of a cage closing.
Dropping his head low, he began to sob quietly. 'Oburn and the others. How, how can they survive without me.' He thought, tears trailing down his cheek.
Even with his relentless struggle and strive, they barely had anything to eat or a place to sleep.
The streets of the market might have been glamorous to the tourist and merchants. However, to the rats of those streets, it was hell.
Every aspect of their life was a constant struggle: from food, home, clothes, and safety.
To think they had the longer end of the stick in that regard all because of him, and now he was gone, never to return.
He sobbed, eyes throbbing, and swelling but, did not care. His sobs echoed through the lightless space, when suddenly an image flashed before his eyes
An image of his siblings trembling on the cold streets of the market, hungry, and scared.
'No.' The thought rang.
Clenching his fist, he mumbled. ''I will continue protecting them.'' Attempting to rise to his feet.
However, his shattered ankle would not allow it as he fell back on the cold floor of the cage.
Dharp, numbing pain radiated from his ankle, resulting in muffled screams.
He remained seated, processing the pain, beads of sweat dropping from his forehead.
Clenching his jaw, he tried again and again, with each attempt the pain grew, along with his determination.
Taking another deep breath to suppress his aches, he tried. Again
The throb struck again; however, he had grown used to it.
Tears and sweat streamed down his cheeks as he stood.
Running his hand through his drenched silver hair, he smiled. ''I will ma-'' However, before he could finish his declaration, his legs buckled, and his vision blurred.
His eyes rolled to the back of his head as gravity pulled on him.
As he fell, Valen felt something tear through his body seeping inside of him.
Agony, torment, ache, throb. In its every form, Valen felt pain, unimaginable pain.
A primal cry tore through his lips, echoing through the space. A cry that seemed too loud to be made by his fragile body.
As he roared, his eyes tinted m turned lifeless, his body shutting down.
Landing, his body began to rise, surrounded by a light invisible to the naked eye: Nether.
As the light swirled around him, it began seeping inside, fusing with his muscles and organs.
''Chosen.'' A whisper resonated in Valen's mind.
....
Inside another base.
Cain sat on a wooden chair, his legs resting comfortably on a table.
''That will serve as a great less-.'' Before he could finish his chuckle, an alarm blared.
Officers rushed out of the base.
Following in suit, Cain ran out of the base. As he did, he froze.
The sky was no longer clear blue; it had turned an errie shade of purple, clouds swirled in its center like a hurricane.
''What...is...that.'' He mumbled, hands and legs trembling.
The swirling clouds moved faster, tearing through the sky and reality itself to open a gate.
Contracting his eyelids, Cain attempted to look beyond the gate.
He saw an empty, lifeless void; however, he could feel deep within him there were something or things in the void.
He was not wrong, as hordes of grotesque, crazed Chaos Monsters flooded out of the gate, shrieking as they did.
Instantly, the once vibrant city of the Valerius erupted in chaos and destruction.
Skyscrapers crumbled in flames, stalls crushed underneath clawed feet, citizens of all classes and stature were eaten and torn.
The once pristine walls of the city turned a dark shade of red.
Officers in arms battled against the abominations, guiding citizens to safety; however, they were more dead than alive.
The once glorious city of the Valerius, turned into an apocalypse.
...
''Run.'' Oburn roared, pushing Veyric away from a flying claw.