As worshippers of Fate, the four Horsemen grew their influence by recruiting more and more men and women compatible with the crystals to their cause. To prevent aging, the four Horsemen eventually decided to put their original bodies into a permanent coma in the depths of a cave. Then, with the help of their cult members, sacrifices will be brought before the Horsemen to be possessed by them. Once possessed, the sacrifice adopts the general characteristics of the Horsemen's original body, while their mind is taken over by the Horsemen's consciousness. Like this, even thousands of years later, the Horsemen will continue to enforce Fate's will upon this world.
However, Fate did not grant them such a privilege and responsibility because they worshipped it. Fate is a concept beyond understanding, and such puny acts of worship are infinitely insignificant in the canvas before Fate's eyes. The real reason is far more complex.
The concept of Freedom has scattered its shards all across the existing universes, and though Fate was able to outplay those who try to ascend beyond their fate, some universes are simply fated to break free as a part of the great equilibrium. For this reason, Fate needed to use Freedom against itself. If a crystal user destroys another who's destined to break free, then by the rule of the universal equilibrium, one's freedom cancels another's fate. However, since such universes are fated to break free, Fate had to use Freedom to constantly prolong the inevitable eternally.
For this reason, the Horsemen adopted the names of ruination as the four Horsemen of the Apocalypse. They are Fate's will made incarnate, and they will dutifully serve their master's every wish. For the Horseman, Famine, his duty was to patrol the Asian continent to enforce Fate's law.
Appearing often as a big-bellied giant peasant on the back of a flaming horse to the relevant crystal users, Famine had been a figure depicted in many ways in Chinese history. In the form of art, he is referenced as the inspiration for 'Zhong Kui, the Demon Kweller,' as well as for depictions of the Earth God, the Judge of the Underworld, the Spirit Parade Paintings, and the Starving Buddha. In poems and literature, mortal men referred to him as a demon, while crystal users often referred to him as a great prophet.
In truth, Famine is a decadent and merciless manipulator. He was beside every Chinese emperor who has ever existed. He was there at the greatest triumph of each dynasty, and also the one smiling as each dynasty died in the fire of its collapse. Each emperor was a crystal user who, under Famine's guidance, rose to power. Each downfall was orchestrated by Famine under the order of Fate.
The crystal users who were fated to break free of their fate will only find themselves charred and forgotten by history. Yet, Famine would often content himself by burning the whole town or village alongside his target. Why? Because to him, this is all just a game where he is the only player. Famine knows also too well the psychology of power-hungry mortals. What is a burned-down village compared to the ambition of an emperor who needed Famine to unlock his full power? They need him, and he knows it.
Famine was a great favourite, both by the Emperors he endorsed and by Fate. Unlike his brother Horsemen, he executed Fate's will with a smile and an enthusiastic attitude. As bloodshed dyed the rivers red in a war of his design, Famine can only be seen dancing. He is dancing as fire burned entire villages to the ground, he is dancing even when the Emperors who considered him a friend died by his hands, and he will keep dancing because he knows he cannot be slain– Fate will not allow him to die.
*221 B.C., start of the Qin Dynasty.
As the Qin Emperor, Qin Shi Huang, finished his conquest and established the Qin Dynasty, his first order was to satisfy the request of the man to whom he owed his victory. Days after becoming the official Emperor, a huge gathering of young men showed up at the palace. These young men didn't know why they were wanted by the emperor to present to the palace. However, they knew if they were chosen, their family would receive a handsome reward in gold coins.
In the streets, many young women floked the streets as all the young men invited by the emperor were of perfect and handsome features. Many in the city suspected that the young men were there to be chosen as a husband by either a princess or a daughter of nobility, yet their presence was for a far more sinister reason.
By that point in time, Famine's previous body was getting old and frail, thus he required a new body to possess, so he could keep on living. For this, Emperor Qin didn't hesitate to gather up all the best-looking young men in the nation as vessels for him to possess. In the palace, Emperor Qin sat beside Famine on equal levels, each on their own throne. As the selection process began, the first young man entered the room and kneeled before the two men above him.
**The dialogue is in English for your convenience.
[Famine] - "I do not like the shape of his head. "
Said Famine in an unimpressed tone.
[Emperor Qin] - "Guards, take him away. "
Said the emperor with a flick of his hand.
However, just as the guard put his hand on the young man's arm, Famine suddenly conjured a column of lava that melted both the young man and the guard into ashes. As screams of pain and terror escaped the two charred men, the palace room rocked with surprised gasps as the guards expected an enemy attack. However, the glances soon fell upon Famine as he chuckled at the sight of the brutal execution he performed.
[Emperor Qin] - "Why? What did you burn them down, old friend? "
Said the Emperor, still hoping for Famine to offer him a just reason.
[Famine] - "Because first, I don't approve of him. Secondly, what will this young boy say once he is released? That the Qin Emperor is sitting on equal level with a mysterious man who is much taller and stronger than him? Do you truly wish for your nation to know that you are not an emperor appointed by God, but just a mortal man sitting beside a God? "
Said Famine, a discreet grin on his face.
Qin Shi Huang thought for a moment, his eyes wandering to stare at the two barely recognizable charred bodies before him. Then, reluctantly, he turned toward Famine, an expression of both fear and determination in his eyes.
[Qin] - "You have a point, my friend. I must keep my integrity. This nation needs a perfect picture of its emperor more than the lives of a few thousand young men. "
Said Qin as the ruthlessness he bore during his conquests returned to his eyes.
[Famine] - "I knew you were a man of reason, and a good friend. Let's continue, huh? "
Said Famine, an enthusiastic smirk appearing on his cheek.
Then, the process continued with Famine incinerating every single young man who entered the throne room, each time citing a reason why he didn't approve of the vessel. The guards, many fighting the nauseating smell of charred flesh, shovelled the remains off the throne room floor without lifting their eyes to stare at Famine. They knew the Horseman was a God of some sort, thus their best bet would be to simply submit and not ask questions.
Yet, at one point, one of the guards, sickened with the scene before his eyes after dumping the ashes of a few hundred young men, decided to do something about it. As a crystal user himself, he felt confident in his ability to defeat the evil warrior on the throne. As he entered the throne room with his fellow guardsman, he waited until the right moment to activate his ability. In an instant, his ability made one of the guardsmen explode from the inside out in a gruesome display.
However, the man who exploded was never his intended target. Confused, the brave guard tried again to detonate Famine, yet his ability missed once again, and made another innocent guard blow up instead. By now, Famine began to laugh as he stood up and turned his gaze toward his assailant.
[Famine] - "Fate itself bends around me. I'm a great favourite, and I will keep dancing until the end of time. You are a worthless nothing in the great machination of the universe. What is your defiance before the will of Fate itself? "
Said Famine as he began walking toward the guard.
The guard trembled with fear, but he steadied himself and used his ability one last time, only for his friend to be detonated instead. As Famine's shadow obscured the guard's face, the poor, defiant man could only dread as the gore of his dead friend dripped down his face. At that moment, as he felt Famine's gaze in his soul, he felt a feeling of hopelessness so overwhelming, it broke his spirit. It felt as if Fate spoke to him through Famine's gaze.
The poor guard kneelt before Famine, having lost all sense of purpose in life as he submitted to the crushing weight of Fate's vision. To his understanding, his defiance and life are so meaningless that nothing is worth living for anymore. It's the ultimate truth that destroyed the meaning of life, through the fact that nothing mattered in the end with Fate's design. With an empty look in his eyes, the guard raised his hand toward his head and used his own ability to detonate himself.
Without even flinching as the guard's blood splashed all over his face, Famine turned around and glanced at the emperor. Though Famine didn't say a word, he made Qin understand that he would always hold the one in control in this relationship. Understanding that, Qin quickly got his emotions under control and smiled at Famine as if nothing had happened.
After three days, a mountain of ashes containing the remains of over five thousand young men lay behind the palace. As the last young man entered the room, even Qin was worried that Famine might do something radical if they had run out of vessels to present to him. With sweat dripping down his face, Qin tried to say something before he was abruptly interrupted by Famine.
[Famine] - "He shall be my new vessel. "
Said Famine without hesitation.
While the room breathed a sigh of relief, Famine moved toward the young man before placing his hand on his forehead. Though shocked, the young man remained still and didn't resist the Horseman's touch, which he will soon regret. After a few seconds, the young man suddenly collapsed to the ground in agony and began to roll around as if being burned alive.
Qin, watching from his throne, forced himself not to look away to avoid offending Famine. Yet, even as the man who slaughtered his way through China to unite the nation, Qin Shi Huang flinched at the scene before his eyes. The gruesome way the young man's bone shattered because of his body's convulsion was simply horrifying. Before long, his young and smooth skin melted away, exposing muscles and blood as the transformation continued.
Soon, his fit abdomen became fat and bloated, followed by his frame growing by several feet. In the end, the handsomeness of the sacrificial host mattered little as Famine's chubby and atrocious features replaced it. For a moment, Qin wished that Famine would die or the young man would live, but the smile on the new vessel's face was undeniably Famine's. In a loud crash, Famine's old body collapsed to the ground as soon as his new body sat up.
[Famine] - "This is deserving of a party, don't you think, old friend? "
Said Famine as he adjusted to his new body.
By coincidence, Qin noticed a sliver of fear in the eyes of the new host, a leftover from the young man's dying conscience. However, that expression was quickly swallowed by Famine's greedy cheeks as he licked his lips.
[Famine] - "And bring plenty of women. I'm feeling quite hungry for action, being this young again. "
[Qin] - "For sure, old friend, haha. But... I wonder what exactly made this candidate superior to the others. I simply am intrigued by your choice. "
Said Qin nervously.
[Famine] - "Nothing– Nothing about this young man is superior to the others before him. The appearance and physicality don't matter anyway. I simply am in the mood to burn people today. "
Said Famine in a casual voice.
At that moment, the colours drained from Qin's face as he realized what kind of monster Famine truly was. Qin wanted to scream, but he remained silent. Subsequently, Qin left a warning to his future heir to the throne and to all future emperors about the evil that is Famine. Yet, all his warnings did was simply draw more power-hungry men to seek deals with the devil.
As a last stroke of irony, Qin himself will be destined to break fate's design as a crystal user, thus causing Famine to slowly poison him with mercury by playing into his desire for immortality. On the day of Qin Shi Huang's death, his 'old friend' Famine was nowhere to be seen. Instead, Famine was in another part of the palace, dancing and drinking with a large smile on his face. At the climax of Famine's bliss, Qin finally died as he reached the apex of his agony.
In the mid-2020s, Famine, following a command from Fate, united with his brothers to ascend a man named Charles Mundy to Godhood. He is to be fate's ultimate design, a man destined to lead this universe toward its fated path. The Horsemen have ever since served Sniper as his most loyal servants, as they viewed him as a Messiah sent by Fate.
In the modern day, under CR-455's orders, Famine showed himself to the world once again after nearly a decade in Sniper's service. As he reached the North American continent, he immediately got to work, incinerating a coastal town as an appetizer before he brought his arsonist fury upon an Allied shipyard nearby.
As the Allied Forces desperately tried to stop this warrior with unnatural power, they were only met with failure after failure, as all projectiles would simply get vaporized upon getting near Famine. On top of this, the Allied Forces were unfamiliar with the cyberknights and crystal users as a whole; thus, most didn't even understand what they were dealing with.
Inside an Allied conference room, Dane and McCree's team moved around a map while trying to figure out the root cause of these events. They were aware, thanks to Kadyn's insights, that a cyberknight of some sort created these catastrophes, but what they didn't know should they deal with the situation.
[Dane] - "We ain't equipped to deal with this damn thing. Any ideas, boys? "
[McCree] - "Well, this is quite the conundrum considerin' how we ain't got shit in terms of cyberknights on our side. "
[Kadyn] - "Well, if we consider you guys and that bastard Arthur... "
Said Kadyn as she looked up at McCree and the rest of the team.
[Dane] - "They ain't ready. I barely installed their crystals a week ago, how can ya expect them to fight such a threat? "
[Kadyn] - "Well, looking at how pathetic Arthur is even in that fight against that other cyberknight, I don't figure it would be wise to send him on this one. "
The room erupted into panicked chatter among the present individuals. To the normal individual, the power displayed by crystal users was simply beyond imagination. Many clung to science and logic to try to explain what Famine was doing, yet their theories only ended up making them tear out their own hair. There was fear, dread and desperation in the room as news of another Allied base was wiped off the map.
[Kadyn] - "If only Mike were here... "
Said Kadyn as she stood on the edge of joining the panic.
However, seeing how she was the only one in the room who knew a fair bit about the enemy, Kadyn took a few deep breaths and tried to come up with something to say. With a few taps on Dane's shoulders, Kadyn signalled for him to calm the room down.
[Dane] - "Shut yer damn mouths, folks! She's got something that could help us. "
Yelled Dane as he banged on the table.
As the order was reestablished inside the room, Kadyn cleared her throat and spoke.
[Kadyn] - "People, I know this is a bad situation, but you all need to calm the fuck down! Panicking isn't going to help! Though you are not familiar with the crystals and the cyberknights, we are not hopeless! We have here four men capable of channelling the same ability as that creature. "
There were looks of doubt and relief on equal parts as the room's gaze rested on McCree and his team. However, McCree quickly stood forward to speak on behalf of his team.
[McCree] - "We are not afraid to fight, but we need to learn how these damn things work first. "
Screamed McCree, his eyes looking at Kadyn for an answer.
[Kadyn] - "Well, you'll figure it out... I guess... "
Said Kadyn, her voice uncertain.
[technician] - "You don't even know how these things work? "
Yelled a technician in the crowd.
The crowd immediately began to panic again as they feared what might come next. Many quickly got onto their knees in prayer as they figured that only divine protection could save them by this point. Meanwhile, another group floked Kadyn, urging her to try to figure something out. Seeing how things are getting out of control, McCree signalled to his team to move out of the conference room.
After moving to a quieter place, the team sat down, but all eyes remained fixated on Kadyn.
[Kadyn] - "Ugh... Stop looking at me. I don't know how this works either. My husband was a cyberknight, but not me. "
Said Kadyn as she shyly looked away.
[Dane] - "Well, there must be something ya can remember. My dad only gave me instructions to install them, not how to use 'em. "
[Audrey] - "Hey, take your time, dear. We'll figure something out. "
Said Audrey as she tried to comfort Kadyn.
[Dane] - "Didn't y'all test your abilities after ya installed it? How can ya still be clueless about it? "
[Oltevin] - "Testing is one thing, but figuring it out is much more difficult. "
Meanwhile, Kadyn breathed heavily as she tried to look for something from her past that might be useful to the team. After a while, something finally clicked inside her head as she stood up and grabbed everyone's attention.
[Kadyn] - "My husband used to have an apprentice, Karson, and he managed to figure out his ability rapidly. It seems to click with your mind once you start using it more freely. I don't know the process, but that's what he did. He went down to the city and started using his ability on his first day with his crystals. "
The team seemed to be skeptical of Kadyn's proposition, but after looking at each other, they figured that there might not be a better way.
[McCree] - "Ain't nothing seems to be a better way to me. What ya people think? "
[Audrey] - "But we could just end up all dead if things don't go our way. Did you know what that monster can do? "
Said Audrey, concern flaring on her face.
[Oltevin] - "We'll have to take Comrade Kadyn's words for it. It's our only choice. We wait any longer; more men will die. It's either we act, or he continues to kill. "
Said Oltevin with determination as he got up from his seat.
Though the rest of the team hesitated for a second, McCree, Audrey and Senju all gradually stood up as well. However, Kadyn couldn't help but see the worry on their faces. Though she was not a natural speaker, she nonetheless tried to say something to reassure them by reminiscing about Mike's speeches in the past.
[Kadyn] - "There was an event in the Empire called the Luciferian Sundering, where my husband's fleet sieged a traitor fleet for eight months straight... "
Muttered Kadyn before raising her gaze.
After seeing that the team respectfully remained silent and waited for her to continue, Kadyn felt confident enough to tell her story.
[Kadyn] - "There were cyberknights that harassed our men with their abilities on the traitors' side. To counter this, Mike created the subjugator squads of cyberknights and specialists to deal with them, but our number of loyalist cyberknights was too few. Thus, he made the liquidator squads, composed of mortal men like the Imperial Marines... "
Kadyn paused and observed her friends' reaction before continuing.
[Kadyn] - "Many of them died, but it's possible for them to kill a cyberknight. The cyberknights might seem like Gods, but I've seen mortal men slay them. So... I just wanna say– we are not hopeless! If these men, armed with no such powers, can kill a being like that, then so can we! And you four are not alone in this, I'm also coming with you! If we die, we die together! "
Yelled Kadyn in a sudden burst of confidence.
The team and Dane remained silent for a moment before suddenly snapping out of their trance and applauding for Kadyn. The team appreciated her attempt at inspiring them. Her words not only set an example of courage and resilience, but also affirmed to the team that their task was not impossible. As they cheered for Kadyn, the dread on their faces vanished.
[Oltevin] - "Well said, Comrade! Like the proverb said it: 'The husband is the head, but the wife is the neck.'! "
Said Oltevin with his fist raised in celebration.
[Audrey] - "Or two women could work too. "
Whispered Audrey on the side.
[McCree] - "How about this? I think ya should take command of the team for this mission, since ya are clearly more knowledgeable in this field than the rest of us. "
Said McCree as he patted Kadyn on the shoulder.
[Kadyn] - "Me? But I'm not a commander or something. I don't know how to lead... "
Said Kadyn, a hint of embarassement on her face.
[McCree] - "Just like your husband before ya, I believe ya can lead us. When I couldn't say anything to change the mood, ya did. Those are the qualities of a great leader. "
Said McCree, an approving smile on his face.
Kadyn, unsure of how to feel, peeked behind McCree and stared at her friends in the team. Only when both Oltevin and Audrey gave her their approving nod did Kadyn feel confident enough to nod at McCree.
[Kadyn] - "I'll try... "
Muttered Kadyn, her voice still carrying her uncertainty.
[Dane] - "Good luck to ya. Whatever happens, I thank ya for your contribution on behalf of the Allied Forces. "
Said Dane as he placed his hand on Kadyn's other shoulder.
After taking a few steps back and joining his team's ranks, McCree showed Kadyn a salute.
[McCree] - "Your call, Captain. "
The others soon joined McCree and presented their salute toward Kadyn. There was a feeling of excitement inside Kadyn's heart as she watched all those salutes being sent her way. With a confident smile, Kadyn raised her hand and saluted her team and friends back. Before long, the team began to move toward a hangar where a gunship was already waiting for them.
To be continued...