1 Prologue

Act 1: Prologue

8/5/2021

Act 1: Prologue

In 1705 everything changed. Descending from space was a massive wave of a mysterious energy which slammed into the planet Earth and in doing so changed what the whole world viewed as impossible. This energy seemed to be beyond all understanding and its existence could not be defined in any word nor phrase except for it being an energy but that could only describe its appearance. Every other aspect of it could not be defined. The mysterious energy seemed to be harmless, and life remained relatively normal except for around 48% of humanity. The mysterious energy infused with and mutated this 48%, transforming them into superhuman beings that have abilities and powers that were only thought to be things of fiction. The mysterious energy was later named Ethos. The Ethos that descended from space altered the 48%'s physiology, mutating and changing their bodies so that they could produce Ethos themselves which led to thought to be impossible things. These mutated humans were named Ethereals, and it was soon realised that Ethereals were like nothing the universe had ever seen. It became very clear that Ethereals were not only different because they produced Ethos within their bodies, but that the Ethos they produced gave way to them having abilities called Skills, which came in many different variations and what gives an Ethereal their powers. The Ethos acts as fuel for the Skills that an Ethereal owns and this led to another discovery. Not all Ethereals are on the same level and they can range in power. Some of the weakest Ethereals are considered only slightly superhuman with advanced senses and physical abilities etc. While others can be considered as living natural disasters that could wipe out entire nations, threaten the planet or even the whole universe. But it doesn't end there. 

Among Ethereals exist a rare ability that makes the Ethereal be the incarnation of a of mythical being throughout ancient history and mythology which could range from a monster, Hero to even mythological Gods. The Incarnation of the Ethereal grants the user an ability/power they are born with that relates to the being they are the incarnation of. These unique Ethereals were unoriginally called Incarnations.

If this was not frightening enough, besides naturally caused old age, it is impossible for an Ethereal to be harmed or killed by anything or anyone that does not contain or produce Ethos. This is because the Ethos mutated the Ethereals cells by defying laws of reality so that they would only be damaged by Ethos or by the natural process of ageing.

These superhuman beings known as Ethereals did not just pop up all at once in an instant. It was a gradual process over multiple years meaning there must have been a first Ethereal. 

Viro Cosmos was the first and is currently the most powerful Ethereal to exist. He possesses the Skill known as Universal which allows him to control the laws of the universe, Space, Time and much more leading him to be nigh-omnipotent, immortal and a godlike being.

Humanity was quite shocked when they first saw the appearance of Ethereals and in turn became very hostile, and understandably, felt very threatened. Viro was smart and when he saw all this. He knew that a portion of Ethereals would let their power go to their head and run rampant causing chaos which would then more than likely lead to a war with humans. Although he knew the humans would lose, he also knew that among those humans, billions of innocents would die. So, using his godlike power, Viro created Valhalla, a separate dimension/universe for the majority of Ethereals to live in and stay away from humanity. However not all Ethereals wanted to leave the dimension/universe they were born in so after creating Valhalla, he created a whole section on earth for Ethereals who still wished to live in the same realm as humans. This also led to him creating Ethereal society/law, as well as the Ethation Schools and how they would be run. No one dared to question or defy him for fear of his power.

Ethation schools are where the young Ethereals go to learn about their power, how to control it, get stronger etc. They can join the schools at the age 13 and live there before graduating at 19. These schools however are very risky and dangerous at times.

This is because students can be seriously injured or killed. This can happen for a multitude of reasons like a student is very strong but couldn't control their power, a fight breaks out between two students, and the most common reason is that the students took part in a festival. Festivals are events that take place in Ethation Schools where students can show off their strength and skill through fighting tournaments, battle royals, duels, etc. This usually leads to the students getting hurt or killed in these events. Unless it was purely cruel, mindless and unprovoked murder, it's not uncommon for killing to be only lightly punished or even go unpunished. Although Ethereals are very civilised they live in a society where the strong reign supreme and only the strong will survive. The lack of punishment in the schools are to prepare the students for the harsh and sometimes cruel way of life as an Adult Ethereal. Around 1/3 of the world is designated for Ethation Schools and the Ethereals that live in the human world so the Ethereals way of life doesn't affect the rest of humanity. After creating all this Viro watched everything unfold in the universe without interfering, like a god watching his creation. Around this time, he also had three children, an identical pair of twin boys and a daughter, with a Human woman who he married and then gifted with anti-ageing similar his immortality. Viro raised each of his children until they were 11 before leaving, only occasionally coming back to visit his wife and sometimes his children. He now lives in separate dimension that allows him to watch his creation like the godlike being he is. These three children of Viro, were special. They all gained power that could maybe even rival the power of their own father. They became the three strongest Ethereals ever to exist, minus their Dad. One of these three however, would later cause an event that would change everything once again. They are nicknamed the Hybrid Mage.