In a wasteland filled with skulls and bones, a certain female dressed in a white hooded cloak walked past the corpses of humans, orcs, humanoid tigers and lions and grey skinned humanoids with pointy ears and horns that laid on the ground.
Arriving at a blood red sea, the woman sat on the ground and a little flaming red dragon arrived and rested beside her.
"Destiny works two ways: it is either made for you or you make it yourself. However with the current state of the world, i am no longer sure if this was our choice or the work of fate.
Signs were shown. Prophecies of the end were given, yet we all chose to focus on ourselves. In our greed for power and pursuit for conquest and destruction, we ended up dooming ourselves.
Was there no other way? Could we have chosen a different path? Was war and bloodshed the only way? Even i that am speaking... I am no better. My hunger for power and vengeance played a large part in this destruction. I saw what i only wanted to see and in the end, i helped bring the apocalypse.
In a world where might is right and a battlefield fought with Fists, there was a strange power that flowed in us warriors... Kan. A power that enabled us to break steel with our hands and move beyond what the eyes could see. This power also granted us full immunity to magic, telekinetic control and weapons. The stronger any of these three were, the stronger the immunity.
With this power, the might of many races increased but the human race stood supreme and as time passed, a nation was born from it... Agaroth.
The human race declared it as the first warrior realm of mankind, defeating and destroying all that stood in its way and within the human race, five mighty tribes were spawned. The Dreygar tribe, the Ripar tribe,the Kenar tribe, the Graundar tribe and the Tenplar tribe.
Though not every human came from these five tribes and not every human had kan. Those that had were seen as majors or ones from a higher rank and those that didn't were seen as minors. But there was a strange boy, a mysterious person with white hair who didn't come from any of these clans but defied the odds. A minor who had hopes of becoming a Phlgrm and the greatest warrior in not just Agaroth but all of the warrior realms despite his status, and his name is Cloud of the Sturmwhnd tribe.
Many would say that he is the cause of the tragedy that befell us but i disagree. As i said before, we all had our parts to play,each and everyone of us. So rather than a 'main character story', I would say this is an anthology.
The world never revolved round him but the actions he took affected us all, and i would say this.... Is where the story all began.
Years ago, within the bounds of Phlgrm Academy, nestled in a forest of blue-leaved trees, a seventeen-year-old boy with tan skin and wild, spiky white hair lay asleep on the grass. He wore a long-sleeved, cyan-blue, high-collared top, a fang pendant around his neck, and black armbands with white wraps around his wrists and forearms. A brown cloth was tied around his waist, complementing his black trousers and open-toed black boots.
As he slept, the boy's head tilted from side to side in a restless, frantic manner, as if plagued by unease.
"Cloud," a soft feminine voice whispered.
"Cloud," came a hushed masculine voice.
"Cloud. Cloud. Cloud. Cloud..."
The voices multiplied, echoing in his mind, each one quickening the movements of the sleeping boy.
Suddenly, a hand—radiant and feminine—reached toward his face, glowing with light.
"Young one, the time for what is to come is at hand," the woman spoke.
Cloud's eyes slowly opened, blue irises reflecting the fading light as he stared up at the sky. He watched the sun begin to set—until his eyes suddenly widened with a mix of shock and fear.
"…Huh?"
Cloud realising what the time is, shot up and ran.
"Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap! Crap!" Cloud said within while running, "I'm late! I'm late, again!
It was just a little nap... How could this have gone so wrong?!
What am i going to tell them now?... I know...! I'll just-"
Cloud halted as a man with a sand yellow skin, a neck-length messy brown hair with bangs hanging on his forehead, amber colored eyes and a trimmed beard, glared down at him. The man had a huge black earring on his ear and wore a black scarf round his neck, a burgundy-red red top that stopped at his elbow and was baggy at the edges, black fingerless gloves, a white cloth that covered round his waist that stopped that the back of his knees while having a black sash tied over the waist area, underneath the white cloth he wore a baggy black trousers and a pair of black open toe boots.
"Schroeder of the Graundar tribe..." Cloud said in his heart as he slightly shook with fear.
"Hey, Schroeder. Uhm... How is it going?" Cloud nervously asked, "Well, it's not what you think..."
"Come here!" Schroeder said as he extended his arm and grabbed Cloud by the ear.
"Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow! Ow!" Cloud said in pain as Schroeder dragged him by the ear while walking .
"Do you know what today is?" Schroeder asked Cloud, "Do you have any idea how many times you have done this now? Today that is supposed to be the day your phlgrm candidate ranks will be announced, you're out here sleeping. You did this once in the exams and now... Cloud... You already know you are not on good terms with 'her' and with you coming five months late out of the nine months isn't helping. "
A flashback takes place four months ago as a man with ghost-white skin, long black hair with a single strand hanging on his forehead, purple irises with no pupils and black bags under his eyes, stood in front of a classroom. The man wore a black coat, a red qipao-style inner shirt, black trousers and black open-toe boots.
"You have all come a long way." The man said to the students, "I know these five months that just passed were tough for you. From your intense trainings, to the brawls among you.. Even the deaths during your tasks and trainings. Yet you here you are. I congratulate you all.
The first phase of your phlgrm trainings and tasks has ended. Now these remaining four months will be the second and final. But before i continue, will anyone want to remind us what a phlgrm is? "
A female with fair skin, orange hair and pointy elf-like ears, raised her arm and the man took notice.
" Yes. "
The female stood on her feet and bowed her head.
" Thank you, Zotek of the Ripar tribe. "
" Just Zotek. " The man replied.
"Oh, yes. Zotek." The female said, "A phlgrm is an elite warrior of Agaroth, chosen to go on dangerous tasks and missions that benefit the nation, whether it's protecting it from external threats, escorting, gathering information, retrieving stolen items or carrying out tasks requested by the higher ups or the tribal chiefs."
" Yes. Correct. " Zotek replied," Now-"
" Zotek! " A masculine voice called.
Zotek turned and saw a man with brown skin, red hair and pointy elf like ears, walk towards him. The man leaned closer and whispered into Zotek's ear.
" He was allowed in?" Zotek asked.
"Yes. The chief requested for him to join despite the months that has passed." The man replied.
"Fine, then. If the chief says so, then i can't argue with that." Zotek replied.
The man nodded his head and walked away.
Zotek the returned his gaze to the class and spoke.
"It would seem you are going to have a new classmate, today."
The revelation brought confusion to the class and made some murmur among themselves.
"What? A new classmate?"
"Isn't that a bit late?"
"Not a bit. It is late."
"Who is this person? What tribe does this person come from?"
While they were talking, Coud walked into the classroom and stared at his new classmates.
"Everyone, this is your new classmate." Zotek said, "I would have introduced him but i prefer to let him do it himself."
Zotek glanced at Cloud and Cloud exhaled.
"Hello. My name is Cloud... Cloud of the Sturmwhnd tribe." Cloud said as he scratched the back of his head, ".. And it is a pleasure to meet you guys."
However the class kept quiet and continued to stare at Cloud.
"Anyway, i just want to say i have two goals." Cloud continued, "The first is to be the first person in my tribe to become a phlgrm. And the second..."
Cloud stayed quiet for a while and grinned deviously.
"Is to surpass everyone and become the greatest warrior that ever lived!!" Cloud said as he raised his fist in the air.
In that moment, the entire classroom burst out in laughter and began to ridicule him.
"Are you for real?!"
"Please tell me this is a joke!"
"It has got to be a joke!"
"Yeah, like a minor could ever compete with one from a higher ranked tribe!"
While the class laughed at Cloud, Zotek stared down at him with a raised brow.
"Hey, what's so funny?!" An annoyed Cloud asked as he placed his arms round his waist, "Laugh all you want now, but one day you will be the ones looking at me in awe!"
"Take a seat, would ya!" A male voice sounded.
"Stop embarrassing yourself and sit down!" A female voice sounded.
"Man, this might be the best thing i have heard all day!" Another male voice sounded.
"Talk about delusion!" Another male voice sounded again.
After remembering that moment, Cloud saw some of his classmates holding their results in their hands and staring at it. Some with shock, some with indifference. Some smiled at their rankings and some stared at theirs with sadness. Seeing the emotions of several of his mates, Cloud exhaled and entered the class.
"Wow. You actually arrived." A masculine voice said to Cloud, "Though I'd say you came quite late."
Cloud turned to the direction of the voice and saw a ghost-skinned 17 year old teen with a wild messy pale yellow hair and a bang that coverd his right eye. The boy had purple irises with no pupils and wore a dark green hooded coat with a tattered tail, a purple inner shirt, black trousers and a mid-length opened toe boots, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed while holding a paper in his hand.
"Sting of the Ripar tribe." Cloud said in his heart.
"So, what made you come late this time?" Sting asked.
"Well, I... Uh..." Cloud said while scratching the back of his head.
"You know today is supposed to be the day we collect our ranking results." Sting said with a raised brow, "I was given a B+."
"Honestly, this means i didn't do well enough." Sting said as he turned his gaze away and tilted his head down, "I was thinking I'd be lower but... Oh well."
"Anyway, Zera is still here, so if i were you, whitehead, I'd go meet her right now." Sting said as he returned his gaze to Cloud.
"Zera of the Ripar tribe is still here?" Cloud asked.
"I think i just said that now." Sting replied.
Cloud spotted Zera who happened to be a woman with ghost-white skin, long red hair with a single braid that draped over both shoulders and bangs hanging on her forehead while possessing green eyes and as a traditional Ripar she had no pupils.
Zera wore a qipao-styled deep grey colored robe that had a baggy sleeves ; the chest area down to the belly of the robe was open, exposing her inner brown midriff top that had an brownish-red lace underneath the top. Underneath the baggy sleeves of Zera's arm were long metal bands, a red colored bead on her left wrist and a dark brown fingerless glove. Zera had a red sash tied round her waist and wore a dark brown opened toe boots that had three large dark brown coils round it (the top, the middle and the bottom close to her ankles) while the soles of the boots were white in color.
As Cloud approached her, Sting stared down at his results again and sighed.
"Damn. A B?"
While Cloud was grinning nervously at Zera, Zera handed him his result. Cloud stared at his result for a while and raised his head in shock.
"A C?! Why am i-?!"
"Shut up!" Zera interrupted as she slammed the side of her right fist on Cloud's head.
"Ow!" Cloud said as he held his sore spot in pain.
"It's more than you deserve." Zera continued, "You came five months late, failed a lot of physical activities and did poorly in your exams and here you are, complaining about a C? You should have been given a D minus, but we gave you a C not because it was what you earned but because we took pity on you and there was no other C class candidate.
So don't go whining about your rank, YOU DAMNED WHITEHEAD!!"
Sting, seeing how Zera was yelling at Cloud, turned his face away and chuckled. After Zera had left, Cloud stared at his results and pouted.
Cloud turned his head and caught sight of a group of students of whispering among themselves while staring at a particular direction.
"Is it true?"
"Yeah, she got it."
"She is the highest among us."
"The SS class phlgrm candidate."
"I heard the big ones got an S but she is the only one with an SS."
"Of course she would be."
"That's Karma of the Dreygar tribe."
Cloud turned to the direction of the person they whispered and saw Karma, a tall 17 year old female with fair skin and long jet-black hair that has jagged and spiked layers at the sides of her hair, several bangs over her forehead and long locks draped over her shoulders.
Karma wore a small black scarf that hung loosely around her shoulders, a black sleeveless tailcoat-style dress that extended to her thighs and a short red skirt. A thick white vertical stripe ran down the front of the tailcloth-styled dress. A white sash hugged her waist, and long black arm band while her legs were wrapped in black thigh-high, open-toe boots.
Cloud observed Karma staring at the window with crossed arms, carrying a plain expression on her face.
Meanwhile group of students were still whispering about Karma.
"I knew she would rank high but i didn't think she'd rank this high."
"Well, I'm more surprised that she has stayed this long in the academy despite her actions."
"Yeah, the things she has done makes her seem inhuman."
"Well, she is called the 'Blackscales' for a reason."
"That doesn't mean she should be kept."
"Yeah, i agree. If she caused this much problem here at the academy, how much problem will she give the phlgrm organization?"
"Then again, it won't be fair to throw her out when we have the likes of Van and Onak."
While the group were still whispering , Karma turned her emotionless gaze at them and her red irises glowed, causing the students to instantly turn their faces away.
"Karma of the Dreygar tribe. A survivor of the unknown slaughter just like me." Cloud said in his heart, "While i never spoken to her, i learnt that she is an arrogant pain in the ass... And crazy too.
She may be the best for now, but one day, I will surpass her."
Karma's cold eyes then shifted to Cloud and stared at him for a moment before returning her gaze to the window.
"One day." Cloud said in his heart again.