12000 Years Ago: The Supreme Deities and Major gods of all pantheons disappeared for an unknown reason.
10000 Years Ago: The Demonic Races fought a war against the Celestial Races. The Celestials lost the War. The Demons take control of the universe. The surviving celestials make their last stand on the Milky Way Galaxy.
7000 Years Ago: On Earth, humanity unifies under the banner of the World Federation, ushering in a new era of peace and progress.
4500 Years Ago: Demonic Creatures known as Skarn started to appear all over the galaxy, bringing the Age of Apocalypse to the planets with sentient life in the galaxy.
3000 Years Ago: A segment of humanity evolves into Neo-Humans. Born with an energy core, Neo-Humans are capable of harnessing solar energy for various purposes; some use it to make their lives easier, while others weaponize it. When these individuals form an elemental core, they can harness the power of elements such as fire, water, earth, lightning, ice, etc. Everyone calls them elementals.
2600 Years Ago: The World Federation terraforms the Moon, turning it into a place exclusive for the elite and the wealthy.
2100 Years Ago: The World Federation collapses due to a civil war. From its ashes, hundreds of regional powers emerged.
1500 Years Ago: A boy named Kaal, a human raised among Skarn, discovers Asi, the Primordial Sword.
1000 Years Ago: Kaal leads an onslaught against the celestial races, exterminating the last of the old gods.
800 Years Ago: Kaal ascends as Sovereign Xyrian, striking a deal with the demonic races: in exchange for continuing to maintain his dominion over the entire galaxy, he will deliver celestial-blooded individuals as tribute.
700 Years ago: Religion fades, and Xyrian is worshipped as the sole deity over the galaxy, which was roughly left with about three thousand active civilizations with humanoid-intelligent creatures.
646 Years Ago: The last surviving Sun Deities from across different pantheons merged their essence to create Sol, the incarnation of the Sun. Alongside a handful of surviving sages and warriors, Sol forges two hidden academies—places where celestial bloodlines are secretly trained to challenge Xyrian's rule, or at the very least, protect themselves to survive in a world where their kind is being purged.
Present day:
In the very center of the hall that burned red like a dying sun, a three-headed and six-armed giant with crimson skin stood swaying on his feet. His majestic, muscled figure is now reduced to a trembling frame gasping for breath.
Across from him, a barefoot old man was standing. His expression seemed so casual as if he had just strolled in from a morning walk. His gray hair hung loose, reaching down his waist. His lean body splattered with divine ichor. A massive broadsword, taller than he was, rested easily on his shoulder. Despite the destruction around them, the old man's grin stretched wide, almost like he was filled with joy.
"Kaaa... Haaa!"
A crazed laugh tore out of him as he swung the blade again. The air split open with the force of the strike, and another of the giant's arms flew off, crashing onto the ground.
"Now this... this is a fight!" he roared with his eyes shining like a man savoring the glory like he was tasting a delicacy in a slow way. Each swing carved deeper into the giant's flesh, not enough to directly kill him but just enough to injure him greatly. As dark and corrupted energy was released by the blade and poured into the body that the blade cut, the giant's healing was cut off.
Soon, the red giant could do nothing but kneel. His limbs were gone. His two heads were severed. The pool of his gold ichor formed around him. Only one head remained, glaring up at the old man who pressed the edge of the broadsword against his throat for the finishing attack.
"No power left to entertain me," Kaal murmured in a bit of disappointment. "There's no purpose left for me to let you live. Any last words, Agni?"
The giant's body shrank, pulling the flames back while reverting into a battered humanoid form. He sucked in painful breaths. With hatred burning in his eyes, he growled. "You may kill me, Kaal. But as long as our bloodline survives, a warrior will rise to defeat you. Darkness can only stay as far as the night. But eventually, the sun rises to illuminate the world."
Kaal chuckled softly at that. "You original celestials fell before my blade, Agni. What hope do your possible future descendants have? Once you're gone, my ruling begins. There will be no more chaos. No more rebellion. I will bring peace to the galaxy. From today onward, the world will not know me as Kaal. I will be called as Xyrian, the sovereign of this realm."
Agni, the fire god of the Hindu pantheon, laughed in spite of his pain. "Enjoy your night, Kaal... Oh... sorry, my bad... Sovereign Xyrian."
As his laughter became bigger, his body suddenly erupted into a furnace hotter than a star's heart. An immediate explosion took place, blasting away the old man.
Boom.
"Hah—!"
Agastya jerked awake at once. His heart hammered as if he had been the one caught in the blast. Sweat dripped down his forehead and stung his eyes. For a moment, he could barely breathe, "That dream again…" he muttered in a shaky voice. "When will it stop?"
*Ugh*
Letting out a groan, he dragged himself out of bed and stepped onto the dusty balcony of his small shop. As the morning light crept across the empty street, he sighed, leaning on the railing. "Teleportation gates will open soon. I hope someone rich from the moon will show up this time..."
Later, after washing up, he got down and unlocked the front door of the store.
Roughly three hours later;
It was almost 9:30 a.m., yet the street still looked half-asleep. Forget about a customer, not a single passerby could be seen in sight.
"Another zero day, huh…" the twenty-five-year-old muttered, shaking his head with a sigh. He pulled a chair outside, sat down, and let the sunlight warm his face. His eyes closed for only a few minutes to rest.
But his nap was disturbed by a shadow that fell over him.
Agastya opened his eyes and straightened his back. His eyes spotted a hooded figure standing there, wearing a mask that hid every hint of expression. Without a word, the stranger tossed him something small.
Agastya caught it in reflex and saw it. It was a broken half of a silver coin. "Hmm?"
A distorted voice then came from behind the mask before he asked. "In two days, someone will come with the other half. You will take her to Western Celestial Academy."
"Western Celestial Academy?" Agastya frowned, rising from the chair. "Who are you?"
The stranger didn't answer. Instead, they pulled out a black card from their storage ring and handed it over. "One million Earth credits for the job. Full payment in advance."
Agastya's brows tightened at once. "One million? That's enough to live on the moon for a year. Who exactly am I escorting?"
"You'll find out," the stranger replied. Then their form dissolved into mist and vanished before Agastya could ask anything else.
He stared at the empty air for a long moment, then at the black card in his hand. There was a sense of unease in his mind as he looked at the silver coin. "Bounty hunters will chase this one for sure. I can handle a simple escort mission even if the Raiders come at me, much less Bounty hunters, but why hire my guild that isn't even top two hundred?" He flicked the broken coin into the air and caught it again, in wonder. "Do they select me because the authorities won't likely pay attention to our guild, or do they know what I am capable of?"