Start of Volume 2: Era of Beasts
The world was beginning to stabilize after the fall of the slaver mosquito. The threat had been neutralized, yet a strange unease hung in the air. Satellites and sensors began detecting unusual movements: abnormal patterns in ocean currents, thermal anomalies in glaciers, seismic rumblings with no clear epicenter in the oldest mountain ranges.
The Survival System, silent since the last great battle, once again issued a global S+ level alert. No one knew exactly what it meant. It wasn't a new creature… but multiple irregularities that broke all known patterns.
In response to these signals, an urgent global summit was called on the Mediterranean Floating Base. It was a neutral ground, built to withstand even a nuclear war—now serving as a meeting point for what little organized humanity remained.
Rob was invited as the representative of South America. Though he didn't seek the spotlight, he knew he had to be there. He accepted, accompanied by a minimal escort: Lucía, Thiago, and a small tactical delegation.
While flying over the Atlantic, Rob stared at the horizon in silence. He wasn't thinking about politics or power. He thought about his family, his people, and everything that had yet to be saved.
And he knew, deep within, that what was about to begin wasn't a confrontation...
It would be a revelation.
The Summit
The Mediterranean Floating Base was a remnant of another era. A structure built to survive nuclear wars, now repurposed as the only neutral ground accepted by the global bastions. Suspended by a network of thrusters anchored to the seabed, it bore no flags… yet every nation watched it closely.
That morning, world leaders arrived one by one.
Without their armies.Without their Guardians.Only with their voices… and their fears.
Rob disembarked from his aircraft without pomp. Wearing his black combat coat, his emblem—a vertical line split by a dot—was discreetly embroidered on his chest. At his side: Lucía and Thiago. Behind them, the new representatives of the Southern Cone. Serious. Alert.
The main hall was a dome of reinforced glass, equipped with sound-absorbing technology and multi-layered shielding. Each leader was assigned a podium. Rob was the last to enter.
The silence broke with restrained murmurs. Some gazes were respectful. Others, pure fear.
—"That's the one who killed the mosquito."—"Him? Without weapons?"—"They say the system recognized him as more than just SSS."
Rob didn't reply. He simply walked to his place, gaze steady.
The host was the High Representative of the Northern Territories, a German diplomat named Von Halder. Thin build, but a commanding voice.
—"This meeting is unprecedented. We're no longer discussing politics. We're discussing the survival of our species."
He projected a hologram showing all active zones marked by the system:
A S+ beast emerging from the Tasman Sea.
Another moving through the Tibetan range.
A third… awakening beneath the Antarctic ice.
Von Halder continued:
—"These entities do not respond to conventional tactics. They show no reaction to radiation, fire, or advanced technology. In short… no human weapon has been able to hurt them."
The silence thickened.
—"The strongest Guardians of each nation are on high alert," added a Japanese leader. "But they're not here. They're protecting their bastions."
—"And others…" interrupted an African representative, "are still training. Many of us don't have a Rob. Not even one."
Several eyes turned toward him.
Rob spoke for the first time:
—"I didn't come to offer salvation. I came to warn you that what we're facing now is nothing like before. The mosquito was a system error. These things… have no consciousness. Only instinct."
An Israeli commander folded his arms.
—"So what do you propose, then? Surrender?"
Rob met his gaze.
—"I propose we prepare for what we truly are. Humans. Not legends. Not gods. And that means acting together, or dying apart."
But before Von Halder could close the session, the system screamed:
[Red Alert – Immediate][S+ Entity approaching the outer perimeter of the floating base][Recommendation: Full evacuation in 5 minutes]
The glass of the dome vibrated. The floor trembled.
Thiago went pale.
—"It can't be…"
From the horizon line, something was rising from the sea.
Massive.Unthinkable.And heading… directly toward them.
The Arrival of the Beast
The alarms didn't blare like a siren—they whispered, crawling into the bones.
[Red Alert – Immediate][S+ Entity approaching the outer perimeter of the floating base][Recommendation: Full evacuation in 5 minutes]
The walls of the dome vibrated. The floor—built to withstand nuclear detonations—groaned beneath their feet, as if something were trying to tear through reality from below. The holographic panels began to flicker, not from malfunction, but from data overload.
From the observation tower, a scout screamed:
—"Visual contact! Dear God… that's not a creature, it's a mountain with legs!"
A colossal silhouette rose from the sea, displacing water in all directions. As it climbed higher, the sky seemed to darken beneath its shadow. It had the shape of a giant turtle, but its shell was composed of hexagonal plates, slowly rotating like living gears. It had no visible eyes, but everyone present felt it watching them.
In the main chamber, panic didn't strike like lightning. It was a slow, heavy wave, like molten lead spilling into their chests. High Representative Von Halder gave the order with a broken voice:
—"Initiate defense protocol. All guards are authorized to use A-rank abilities or higher."
And so began the desperate dance.
Each country activated its elite escorts.
The United States deployed their A+ ranked psychic twins, known as Polaris and Redline. France sent a woman who manipulated atmospheric pressure, while China unleashed their elite gravitational controller. Russia released their spectral summoner, and India let loose their bearer of ethereal weapons. Egypt, silent until now, summoned its solar commander—a man who could condense sunlight into plasma.
They all attacked at once.
Lights, explosions, distortions. The sky filled with impossible shapes. Bursts slashed through the air. Claws of darkness climbed the monster's walls.
And nothing happened.
Not a crack.Not a dent on the shell.
The beast advanced as if they were flies beating against a rock.
Despair began to take human form.
The first scream came from the Australian delegation:
—"We can't stop it! It's going to kill us all!"
From the North American enclave, General Ashton clenched his fists and spat:
—"This is worse than the mosquito. At least that thing made sense. This… this is a cataclysm with legs."
At the global communications hub, connections to the world's most important bastions activated. The recently improved internet and communications systems—made possible after continental stabilization—allowed millions to witness the attack in real time.
From the Southeast Asian System Base:—"This is Bastion Lotus. Transmission live. We're watching the feed. That thing… it's invincible! We're doomed!"
From the Valkyrie enclave in Eastern Europe:—"Resistance is crumbling just from seeing it. This isn't a warning. This is a death sentence."
From the Nevada desert, Station Turing:—"We're scanning the structure. Its density… is higher than tungsten compressed at a molecular level! No known technology can penetrate that!"
At a protected base in the Himalayas, three Guardians watched the scene unfold on a projected screen. They had all survived the mosquito era. They had all known Rob before his sacrifice.
—"He's there…" said one, recognizing the figure among the delegations.
—"He hasn't moved. Not yet."
—"Do you think… if we were there, we could even hurt that thing?"
Silence.
No one answered.
In the dome, some began to break down. Germany's representative stumbled back, eyes wide. A diplomat from Saudi Arabia fainted. Several turned to Rob as their last resort.
—"Do something!"—"You killed the mosquito! Stop it!"—"If you just stand there, we all die!"
But Rob remained still.Watching.Feeling.Waiting for the exact moment when global desperation reached its breaking point.
And then—only then—he stepped forward.
The Void Cut
The world held its breath.Even the beast seemed to pause.The waves fell silent.The wind ceased.
Global cameras zoomed in on a single human figure walking toward the edge of the floating platform.
Rob.
His steps were slow, deliberate.His eyes locked on the creature.
—"What is he doing?" —asked the Prime Minister of Canada.—"Is he going to speak to it?" —a Nigerian representative asked, her voice trembling.
But Rob didn't speak.He simply drew his sword.A black blade, simple, unadorned… until the air around it began to distort.
From the rear, Lucía whispered:
—"Oh God… he's going to use it."
The system, without warning, activated a global notification on every screen:
[Ability Activated: Void Blade – Level SS+][Monthly Use – Spatial Slash – Pierces all known matter]
Rob closed his eyes.Breathed.And then… he cut.
He didn't scream.He didn't spin.He didn't summon fireworks.
He simply moved the blade in a straight line.As if slicing through the air itself.
A second later, space before him opened as if it were paper.A perfect cut.No sound.No impact.
The beast stopped.Its shell vibrated.And then… it split in two, from head to tail.
The creature didn't roar.It didn't fall.It collapsed—like a mountain hollowed out from within.
The system spoke again:
[S+ Entity Neutralized][Combat Duration: 0.34 seconds][Global Record Saved]
Silence.
In the dome, no one moved.Some leaders wept.Others simply sat on the floor.
In bases across the world, transmissions cut out.In some, people were heard screaming and cheering.In others… reverent silence.
The Himalayan Guardians rose to their feet, wordless.One of them murmured:
—"We are not enough… yet."
And in that moment, the world understood:A new standard had been set.
Rob sheathed his sword.Walked back with the same calm he had stepped forward.
Before reentering the chamber, he paused, looked at every leader… and said:
—"I didn't come to show power. I came to show that there's no room left for improvisation."
Von Halder approached, voice trembling.
—"The summit… must be postponed. We all need to bring our strongest Guardians. This… this changes everything."
And so it was.
The global summit was suspended for 30 days.The entire world… had to prepare.
Because the era of judgment had ended.Now began… the era of beasts.
Echoes After the Cut
The news crossed the planet faster than any satellite.Rob, the Guardian of the South, had eliminated an S+ ranked beast with a single slash.Not with weapons.Not with technology.With an ability that no one in the diplomatic halls could fully comprehend.
The world did not celebrate.The world trembled.
In France, the Defense Council called an emergency meeting.
—"If a single person can do that, what does it mean for global balance?" asked the foreign minister.
—"It means," replied the president, "that we are defenseless… even against our own."
In China, the leaders of its five bastions began to compete among themselves to send envoys to their strongest Guardians. Soldiers were no longer enough. Symbols were needed.
In India, the High Protection Council launched a secret internal tournament to evaluate its inactive Guardians. Some called it a talent search. Others, a prelude to a purge.
In Russia, the president appeared on national broadcast:
—"Today, we saw the future. Anyone who doesn't understand that… is already dead."
And in England, chaos came before strategy.
From coastal scanners, a mass migration of creatures was detected, emerging from the North Sea.They weren't singular beasts.They were hundreds.Mutated.Enormous.Directed.
A horde.
The island, with no land escape route, entered lockdown.For the first time since the global collapse, the United Kingdom requested international aid.
But no one responded.Not yet.
In South America, the reaction was different.
The leaders of the bastions of Argentina, Bolivia, Paraguay, and Uruguay didn't meet in sealed rooms.They gathered in Rob's home.
No uniforms.No titles.Just coffee mugs, tired faces, and a warm fire.
—"What you did… changed everything," said Lorenzo, leader of Paraguay.
—"Not just the landscape," added Gabriel from Argentina, "it changed the perception of power."
Rob sat holding Amélie, asleep in his arms.
—"I don't care what they see out there," he said without raising his voice, "I only care that no one uses this to impose fear."
Lucía, leaning on the window frame, crossed her arms.
—"They're going to try, Rob. They already are. Did you see the messages from the north? Some are calling you 'Judgment Incarnate.'"
—"Then we must act before the myth becomes dogma."
Thiago spoke up:
—"What do you propose?"
Rob looked at the fire. Then at Amélie. Then at all of them.
—"A month. That's what they gave us. Let's use that month to unite the real Guardians. The ones who fight for the world, not for flags. We'll find them. Call them. Talk to them. Show them that strength without justice… is nothing."
Silence.
Ramona, from the back, raised her voice:
—"And what if they don't want to join?"
Rob stood. Calm. Firm.
—"Then they should step aside.Because this time… I won't fight alone."
Meanwhile, in a forgotten underwater laboratory, a figure watched the recordings of the dimensional cut.
—"Interesting..."
It had a human shape, but its eyes did not blink.
—"So he survived."
Behind it, hundreds of capsules with sleeping creatures began to light up.
[Observation Phase Terminated][Reaction Phase Initiated]
And high in the atmosphere, a satellite orbiting outside traditional system control reactivated its signal:
[Dormant Cores – 3 of 12 – Spontaneous Activation Detected]
The cycle hadn't ended.It had only changed its name.
The Weight of Choice
The waves gently lapped against the sides of the floating base.The sea, which just hours before had been the stage for a nightmare, now seemed asleep.Only the wind and the murmur of quiet internal conversations broke the silence.
Rob stood on one of the outer platforms, watching the horizon.The sunset painted the sky in shades of orange and violet, and for a moment, the world seemed at peace.
Lucía approached without saying a word and stood beside him.After a few seconds, she asked:
—"Did you know it would work?"
—"Not completely," Rob answered, eyes still on the water. "But I knew that if I didn't try, no one else would."
—"And now?"
Rob lowered his gaze. His hands were still trembling slightly from the energy surge of the Void Blade.
—"Now… the world is going to search for answers. And we have to make sure they don't choose the wrong ones."
The next day, in the most remote regions of the world, signs of response began to appear.
From Ethiopia, a blind woman emerged from a hidden temple, surrounded by blue flames that did not burn.
From Greenland, a young man walked among glaciers, his skin hardened like stone.
From Mongolia, a monk broke his vow of silence after twenty years to say just one phrase:
—"The Guardian of the South has taken the first step. The rest of us must follow… or be left behind."
And from South America, the envoys of Rob's council began to depart.They weren't looking for the powerful.They were looking for the just.
At home, Rob watched Matthew train in silence.Not with a sword.But with words.
He read books.Studied maps.Listened to his mother.
Victoria approached with a serene smile.
—"I don't know if the world deserves what you did, Rob."
—"It's not about deserving," he replied."It's about making sure my children get to choose what kind of world they want to build."
She hugged him from behind, and for a moment, he felt it had all been worth it.
That night, while the bastion slept, the system issued a notification visible only to certain high-level users:
[Core Update: Incomplete Analysis of S+ Entities][Warning: Irregular Behavior Detected][Possibility: Presence of Unregistered Unknown-Origin Entity]
And in the depths of the Arctic, far below the surface,a faceless figure watched the dark monitors of a sealed, ancient facility.Its presence was not physical.It was an intention.A will waiting for its turn.
The creature did not roar.Did not move.It simply waited.
Because it was not time to reveal itself.Not yet.
End of Chapter 27 – The Slash That Divided the World