1 The Laymanns

"Listen, my children. When you have the chance, save and protect our fellow humans. The world is harsh, and the truth will always be the truth. We want you to live your lives full of happiness and satisfaction, away from pain and chaos. That is our dream for you, do not give up, there will always be hope, so we must protect what is most precious to us. We have the power to do so."

This was said by Grucius Laymann, the Warlock of Great Strength, to his children to inspire them. With his wife, Althea Laymann, the Warlock of Alchemy and Magic, and their four children, Christopher, Lorraine, Aiden, and Ellaiza, they lived in a simple yet elegant hut, standing alone on a hill near the kingdom of Estral.

They lived a simple life, hunting and farming for food, no monsters, no war, no violence. The perfect place to nurture their children.

The Laymanns are a family of warlocks, the supreme form of humans, they can wield power far incomparable to that of an average man's. Grucius is specialized in physical enhancement, while Althea is more on alchemy and magic, and their children will more or less inherit the original or mutated powers.

They were hailed 'heroes' by most human kingdoms for defending them against invasions of non-human races. They even trained and taught the people of those kingdoms.

A few years passed, a miracle happened. All the other humans who trained with the Laymanns awakened powers, and that of a warlock's. They celebrated their success, as well as the start of a new beginning, with the Laymann family. It was truly, the liveliest and happiest celebration humankind has ever had.

Alas, their joy was cut short.

"Burn it! Burn it!"

"Don't let them escape!"

"Kill those demons!"

Shouts filled the area, the gleaming light from the torch held my the mob, and the smell of smoke. A mob from the Estral Kingdom was rioting outside the home of the Laymanns, cursing and threatening the poor family.

"What's going on out here?!" asks Grucius, confused and enraged, while Althea helps their children escape.

"You demons have been meddling with us for too long! It's time for you to end your reign!" exclaims a man.

From that point, Grucius knew that the day of judgement of the human race has arrived, the day their fate is decided, whether it's hope...or hell.

"Have you forgotten our deeds for your survival?! We have not done anything bad to you nor your peers!" shouts Grucius, steadily getting ready to fight.

Meanwhile, Althea sent off their children into the woods, and directed them to the small cabin they occupy when hunting. She promised them that they'll come after them, right after they speak with the people there.

The children set off to the cabin they were directed to, Chris, who was already 15, was leading them, helping climb up large stones, and protecting them from wild animals.

Though their journey was tough, they had no hesitation, they were determined to reach the cabin and wait for their parents there.

When they reached the cabin, they settled in, fully aware of the intense flow of mana coming from their house. They had suspicions, but they're confident in their parents.

-Back at the house-

Bodies lay cold on the ground...it was a fight. Two Warlocks, and a mob of Awakened humans, their power was observed from long distances, no race dared to interfere.

"See?! This is the curse you demons have brought upon us! Our lives are not for you to have at stake! Don't underestimate us!" exclaims the only man left out of the entire mob.

A dark cloud covered the sky, it emanated a dark and nefarious aura. And just as they were about to retreat, a sharp stone in the shape of a scythe's blade had ran through them.

Their bodies started decaying, and all they can see was a dark and gloomy figure, standing above their bodies, until they faded away.

"Greetings, your Lordship." says a knight clad in armor. "Have you accomplished your goal?"

"Do not underestimate me, a swing was all it took." says the wicked figure.

That moment, Chris and his siblings felt intense loneliness, as if a piece was chipped from their souls. They knew, they were all alone.

...

Months have passed, lead by Christopher, the children learned how to fight, hunt, farm, forage, protect, and survive, they were alone, and had only themselves to worry about. Their seclusion was lonely, but it was inevitable, in order to survive, just as how they were ordered to.

Then one day, Chris awakened his powers, it was Fire Magic. It became somewhat easier for them, one after another, they had each awakened, but it was strange.

Normally, a human would awaken skills equal to his or her age. Considering this fact, it was indeed strange for these children to have awakened a number of skills greater than their age.

But the strangest case was Chris', as he awakened all powers, counting basic magic and common skills, it was 84, and with advanced magic and special skills, it was 128. Such a special case. His siblings were at awe, seeing their elder brother have so much power

After this dazzling event, they trained coordinately, harder than ever. But that's not the only thing that changed, it took them a long time, but the knights of Estral Kingdom caught up to them.

It was a bloody fight, the knights did not expect for them to awaken, nor for them to have so many. It was one-sided to an extent, but not when the knights used some dark barrier to supress their powers.

"Hahaha! We've finally caught you demon brats! How dare you kill us humans! You're the filth in this world!" says a commanding knight.

"Curse you! Traitors!" exclaims Lorraine.

"You brat! You don't have the right to judge! Trash has no right!" exclaims another knight.

Curses and insults, hatred was exchanged in a back-and-forth fashion, as if it was a bullet shot from close range and caught in mid-air. But one hatred so vicious and vile, it shot through their argument.

"HUMANS. I CURSE THEE, THOU SHALT NOT LIVE TO DAYS AFTER MY RETURN! I CURSE THY BRETHREN! I SHALL KILL YOU ALL!" exclaims Chris in a very evil tone, one that would render doubts of hesitation meaningless.

Then a dark, evil, and detrimental lightning struck down on where the children were kept, they screamed in pain, thinking why such fate has befallen upon them.

"HEAR YE, THY RUBBISH BEINGS, I SHALT RETURN, AND THOU SHALT SCREAM IN DEMISE. I, SHALL BE YOUR END." hollers Chris as he disperses into ash.

The night was dark, the land was filled with fear, anger, hatred, and iniquity. It fell silent, the dark cloud recedes, but not the gloom.

...

-In the void between heaven and the underworld, the Void of Judgement-

Chris awakes, as he find himself floating in empty space, directionless. He doesn't know how it's been, or how he got there, but was sure that some cursed lightning hit them that day.

Then he recalled those humans who committed treacheary against them. He was furious, his presence turned into aninosity, it was like hatred in a physical form.

Then a dark figure appeared, slowly seeing it more smoothly, he saw a huge man, wearing a black, torned robe, holding a huge scythe, and no face.

"Ho? You stayed?." said the man, in a surprised tone.

"You know me? Who are you?" asks Chris.

"I am the Angel of Death, Haedios. You died, and now your soul is what's left." exlpained Haedios.

"Where am I? Why am I here" asks Chris, confused of the situation.

Haedios told him that he wasn't supposed to stay there, nor to wake up before entering a ream. But both rulers of those realms rejected your entrance, so now he was stuck there.

But Haedios thought that that was not thr case, but that perhaps he wasn't supposed to enter eternal peace yet, and that it was probably his anger that made this happen.

So he made an offer to Chris.

"I'll bring you back to life, not at the day you died, but a few thousand years after that." says the evil-looking angel.

"In exchange for what?" adds Chris, who caught up to the angel's plans.

"Sharp mind. Then, the price is your soul, you'll be a resident of this void, and you will have powers similar to mine." offers the angel.

"Can I have my revenge on the humans?" asks Chris straightforwardly.

"That is up to you, human." answers the angel with a sense of sarcasm.

"I am not like those filth. Deal."

...

-Back on Earth-

"Yaay!"

"Cheers!"

"Next shot of that beer!"

The humans were vivaciously celebrating for a festival, and for their king's return from a foreign country. They drank, ate, bought, and embraced, they had bright lights and fireworks. And many of them were at the streets, where stalls and shops filled its sides. Smiles and laughter emitted such an energetic vibe.

But little do they know, the cause of their demise, the prophet of their destruction, had returned.

Chris wakes up in what he could remember as a forest, but life shed not a single sign. He was in a dead forest, but not because of some curse or monster nearby, but him. He had the power of death, so all forms life would die near him.

But he recalled a technique taught to him by Haedios, one that's for concealing his powers. He didn't decided on using that, he instead let it be and walked straight.

And on where he trod, it was not path, but a grave, because life had ended there. Chris did this not to intimidate any spectators, but to intimately clear a path, because he realized which forest he was on.

Initially, it was not a forest, but in fact, the hill they once lived on, which had been covered by the forest after 2000 years. He held his fury, walking towards the ruins of his previous home, and there he made a tomb, for his parents and his siblings.

After reminiscing about the life they once had, he opens a strange compartment, that was apparently the secret chest her mother left for her. It had a concealment spell on it, not to open, break, nor rot until the set time. But since it was buried in cold ash, it was probably conserved.

But once he opened it, he stood corrected. It had inside, the magic left for him by his mother. The powers of Light, Concealment, Identity, Reality, Space, and Life. They were some of the most advanced and powerful magic that her mother once practiced, so he took it to practice them. But one of them remained in the chest...and that is, Life.

After a few weeks, he has mastered all of those powers, and after making his plan of revenge, he exited the forest, with some of his powers sealed, including death. He then sees afar, the kingdom, no, city of Estral, and he begins his journey towards the urban city.

But then knights swarmed up upon him, just in time for him to seal his face, and kills all the knights in a flash. Blood was spiled, he missed killing humans, one could tell from his evil grin.

How will the world face him?