1 The end of everything

Shin remembered the day the world ended. His parents died, so did his sisters, grandparents and all of his friends. He was alone in a sea of death when the Supers came. The kind of destruction they unleashed was beyond human imagining. Old prophecies predicted the world would end in fire or ice, but the Supers unleashed Fire, Ice, Lightning, Electromagnetism, Tectonics and other powers that people still didn't understand.

Some rare video footage still existed on the remnants of the old web, somehow simul cast to the cloud even as the videographer was incinerated (or worse). These short glimpses show perfect humanoid beings battling each other across the globe. Punches whose shockwaves knocked down buildings, energy blasts that destroyed an entire block, speed that destroyed the ground under their feet. These were just the Supers whose power wasn't so overwhelming that the battles didn't blow up sections of a City at a time.

It was only ten years ago that the world was remade by their battles. In the aftermath, the strongest surviving Supers, and their retinues, divided the world into 13 kingdoms. Cities and Countries had been decimated, the death toll was in the billions. No one was sure how many Supers arrived on Zero day, or how many had perished... in fact, the remaining number of Supers was unknown too, but humanity had learned to keep their heads down and not ask questions.

No one knew where they had come from, but there were a million rumours: aliens, military experiments gone wrong, gods, demons, alternate reality visitors, etc... Shin didn't care. He was now 15 years old, and his only focus was surviving military school, then getting off this planet.

The Supers had decimated humanity, but, strangely, had improved technology, science, and the environment. A lot of the New Humanity, what the Supers called the survivors, praised them for improving the world! The world was built around the 13 main cities; each were beautiful, clean and efficient centres of learning, commerce and military might. The air was clear now, the ocean's pristine, and the vacuum of space was being explored like never before.

Shin just had to think about his younger sisters though, and the fire of hatred would flare up in his belly. If hate was power, he could have destroyed all the Supers, or so he told himself.

"Shin, let's go," said his classmate, Mimi. She was the head of their class, and gorgeous. Her dark brown hair glimmered with highlights, and her smile could calm down any situation. She was more likely to snap at Shin though, she expected everyone to follow her orders and his lone wolf attitude got on her nerves.

"Where are we going again?," he said, a smile playing across his lips. He knew, but he couldn't help teasing a bit.

"We volunteered to be referees in the seniors' tournament today, and have to get there early for orientation," she said with a little exasperation. She looked over at Shin as they walked. He was a mystery, and that made her want to understand him more. Always near the top of the class for academics, but he seemed to have no friends and never signed up for anything. She found herself volunteering him, or ordering him, to do extracurriculars all the time, as if it was her mission to improve his standing in the school. 'How will he get the position he wants in the military if he doesn't distinguish himself?' she thought. 'As a Corporal of Class 4 in the Northern Empire Military Academy, I need to promote everyone to their full potential', Mimi told herself. She wasn't sure if she was being completely honest though.

"Right... the martial arts tournament" he said unenthusiastically. "I know this is important for the school, because Gertand's representative is here... but I feel like the Super of the North doesn't really care how good we are at Karate or Kung Fu."

"Come on, faster," but Mimi almost smiled.

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Damien surveyed all the shiny, excited faces of the students gathered in this modern facility. The sun streamed in through the magnetically modulated, blast proof, glass-crete. It created the illusion of almost being outdoors when the opacity was set to transparent. 'These kids don't even really remember what the world was like before. Sure, they probably all have some memories of The Great Purging, but the world has been completely transformed in just a few years,' he thought, looking at these kids of diverse backgrounds all brought together for the greater glory of the North Kingdom. He smiled. These children would be the foundation of the next phases in Lord Gertand's plans. Most adults' potential was already expended, and their minds and emotions weren't flexible enough to adapt to the new reality. This was exactly why people over 30 were purged more thoroughly than youths. Damien himself was only 25, and already was a trusted advisor and Lieutenant in the Army of the North.

"Hajime!" Shin called out, and then the two senior students started circling each other. They were in white gis, while Shin's was black. The military school fighting style was heavily influenced by Karate, but used techniques from many classic martial arts. Shin was there mostly to keep the two contestants from killing each other. The tournament was pretty important to the seniors, as it counted towards their grade and overall ranking. 'Which is freaking crazy. How does being better at punching matter in leadership,' Shin thought.

Perhaps he should have been watching the fight more closely though, because suddenly one of those larger seniors was flying towards him. Shin stepped forwards at an angle to the boy, grabbed the back of his gi, and spun counter clockwise, back foot swinging out wide, to absorb and redirect the force of the boy. "Woah. You ok man?" Shin said, helping him up. Shin didn't think too much about it, he had always been great at martial arts. He just didn't believe that a talent for rudimentary fighting mattered in the face of overwhelming Super powers. Still, he practiced all the time, because he knew it would further his goal of getting a space faring commission.

Mimi wasn't officiating a fight at the moment, and she saw Shin's effortless grace. 'He never does well in the combat tests, but I know he's holding back. I wonder why?' She thought, not for the first time. She wasn't the only spectator that noticed, though this was just one of 10 simultaneous bouts. Damien saw too, 'He didn't learn movements like that in the academy, that is for sure', he thought. His gaze soon went back to the other bouts, doing his best to seem interested, though he wasn't seeing anything spectacular here. Not that he was expecting to, these visits served two purposes: scout talent, and to inspire the students to improve.

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"Cadets, this was an extraordinary display of your talent and perseverance. I think I can say on behalf of all the Northern Empire Military Academy instructors, that we are proud of your efforts here today", General Hamish said. He was a large man, and, though only in his 40's, these days he seemed ancient. "We are thankful that one of our leader's representatives was here to witness it, so I'd like to invite Lieutenant Damien to say a few words as well."

"Thank you General Hamish," Damien said as he stepped forward, his voice carrying effortlessly. "I am proud to see the level of all these cadets, and know that they will be welcome additions to the Northern Empire Military. As you've all heard, I'm sure, I'm not just here to watch you. I'm also here to demonstrate how much more you can accomplish and achieve as you progress through the Academy and the Military." As he spoke, equipment was being moved onto the raised stage. He walked over to the free standing concrete slab that was now there, and still in his dress uniform, threw a deceptively simple punch. His hand quickly fell back to his side.

He turned and looked at the students, smiling.

"Crackkkk" and then the slab broke in the middle and crashed to the stage.

"I'm not even close to a Super, but we are pushing the bounds of human achievement in the Northern Empire Army, and, when you become enlisted, you'll be amazed at your further potential."

Then he jumped down from the stage, walked to the nearest ring and pointed at Shin. He needed to show more than strength, and after seeing the winners of the tournament, the ref in the dark gi was still the most interesting person he'd seen. His economy of motion, power transfer, grace, all suggested a master level of martial arts accomplishment. These kids needed to see that even their best would be easily beat by a regular soldier. (Though Damien thought he was much better than a regular soldier). He assumed that Shin must be well known for his prowess, anyone could see it in every move he made. He would be surprised to learn that Shin had hidden his talents very successfully though.

"Now, for the second half of my demonstration."