PROLOGUE I: Desolation, Resiliency and the Battered Boy.

The Bifrost.

A marvellously iridescent bridge of cosmic energy in the mythologies of old Norsemen. The medium of transportation used by the gods to oversee the Nine Realms. Now that we've come into this modern age, it is believed by many to be merely a thing from ancient mythologies and folklores.

But great balls of fire… thousand beautiful beams in red, orange, yellow, green, blue, indigo, and violet covered in loops of electromagnetic field fell down from the sky as if it pierced the atmosphere and its burning force seared on the Earth's surface. It's out of nowhere, utterly random, sudden of all sudden…

Even so, it is dazzlingly beautiful. Every soul aiming its eyes onto it are unfathomably flabbergasted and baffled at the same time. Everyone thought that it was just a cosmic natural phenomenon happening these days. But little does everyone know, that phenomenon is deliberate.

The date is December 23, 2012. Two days later after the rumoured 'end of the world' or 'doomsday' based on the conspiracy theories made from the Mayan calendar and two days before everyone celebrates the most awaited annual occasion… those light beams appeared.

Meanwhile, in the alleys along the polluted slums of Manila; the capital city of the Philippines. There is a young brown-skinned boy wearing a besmirched and torn oversized shirt, his face covered with snot and dust, has messy hair and infested with lice and his whole body is battered and wounded. It is obvious that the world hasn't been good to him, including the people he encounters every day. But despite all those, his eyes shone in admiration as the light beams falling from the sky reflected in it while he stood in the middle of the reeking alley.

While fascinatingly looking at the sky, his father shouted at him in a drunken and infuriated voice; "Banoy! I told you to buy a fucking gin not look like a goddamn idiot looking at the sky!" Banoy, still fascinated at the light beams, doesn't seem to hear his father's furious voice.

Consequently, his father, whose judgement is clouded by alcohol, grabbed a steel pipe and walked as fast as he could toward Banoy. He brutally struck the steel pipe on Banoy's delicate six-year-old body, worsening the bruises he already got from his alcoholic and abusive father. Of course, Banoy's body fell down to the ground after being hit by the steel pipe. When his father is about to hit him again, a light beam sears the ground behind them. Not expecting the light beam to appear so near in from of him, Banoy smiled of admiration but his face immediately frowned out of terror when a cavalry of nine-foot-tall, pale, ghastly and covered in pitch-black armour humanoid beings came out of the iridescent light beams.

His father, unaware of the unearthly beings behind him and continues in beating Banoy, is shot by one of those beings using its rifle blasting his father's head, splattering the pieces of his skull and brains around. Banoy thought that he was saved by those beings from being beaten by his father, not until the same rifle that blasted his father's head pointed towards him while the others started blasting and slaughtering every person around him.

However, as soon as it pulled the trigger, Banoy disappeared and the beaming bullet only hit the ground. Behind the cavalry of the unearthly beings, an adult brown-skinned woman with long black hair and a muscular body build, wielding a kampilan sword, wearing a wide-brimmed straw hat, a white long sleeve shirt, a red scarf around her collar, a robe made with dried leaves woven together, a red pair of pants and a pair of sandals with steel soles; started muttering while striking a stance with her sword; "Heart sun, searing blade technique: slicing ray of incineration!" Then right after she muttered those words, she released a powerful flaming solar wave as she swung her sword in a horizontal pivot, incinerating the bodies of the unearthly beings whilst cutting their bodies in half.

The young and battered Banoy behind her is stunned by what she just did. "You alright, kid?" The lady said. "I… want to be strong… Please teach me how to be strong like you… so I won't have to be beaten by anyone anymore." Banoy said. The lady patted his head and said, "Survive… that's what all it takes, show your determination to live and you shall be strong. But right now, you have to do as I say and follow me until we evacuate." Banoy, out of gratitude, replied; "I will follow you for the rest of my life, ma'am—" The lady replied, "Just call me Dolores. If you want to follow me for the rest of your life, start by saving it and getting inside this freighter."

After saying that, an evacuation freighter with four anti-gravity engines in every corner and a manufacturer logo on its shutters saying 'Luminous Industries' lowers itself towards them as the shutter opens. Two enforcers march out of it and take Banoy from Dolores to escort him inside the freighter, one is a female enforcer who asks Banoy if he's okay, he nodded. The female enforcer lifts him up and then marches back to the freighter while the other enforcer covers him. The way the female enforcers lift him is Banoy's head above her shoulder where he could see what's behind her, so while bringing him to the freighter, his eyes are still locked towards Dolores.

Two extraterrestrials spotted the freighter, hence, they tried to shoot it with their rifles, however Dolores, immediately deflects it by releasing a shockwave from her fist to the beaming bullet mid-air. The other extraterrestrial then tries to shoot the freighter but she deflects it this time by dashing to the beaming bullets' way then slices all three of it with her swordplay. The extraterrestrials then finally sees her as a threat so they pointed their rifles towards her, but before they can even shoot, Dolores dashed towards them in a split second with both of her palms on each of the extraterrestrials' heads, thus, decapitating them in an instant barehanded.

Ever since, Dolores has been saving as many people around the country and putting them on evacuation freighters that all fly to a massive airship that serves as the main evacuation area, having the same logo of 'Luminous Industries' on its side. The unearthly beings, on the other hand, who call themselves the 'Xyazarians'; wield and point their rifles and halberds as they cold-bloodedly murder every single helpless and unfortunate being that happens to have the identification of 'homo sapiens'.

The darkest and most malevolent chapter in the history of humanity happened that day, considering that they completely decimated the whole Central, East and Southeast Asia in just a month. Every man, woman, or child of any age will never forget the horrendous instant death and devastation once a tall, pale and armed-to-the-teeth Xyazarian stands in front of you. For they have no regard for whether a man is a threat or not, running or fighting, capable or incapable. The moment you are caught within the two crimson spheres of gaze in their heads, you are bound to meet your maker.

Nevertheless, various people with anomalous capabilities like Dolores who never embraced the light of the common eye are obligated to sacrifice their concealment and covert schemes to prove their humanity while they save who they can save. Thus, the exposure of those like Dolores who are immediately called as 'human anomalies' put a red herring to all the global issues and conflicts humanity was facing before the invasion happened.

Wars within the continent of Albion have somehow ceased. Territorial disputes within the countries of Asia have become pointless. Conflicts between the Saksan Empire and the insurgents of Vladislava precluded in the meantime. Because if they don't and ignore the appalling threat of the sanguineous foreign adversary that brings wrath due to their megalomaniac desires… They might lose every meaning of the fight they had and still have all this time.

Henceforth, in the year of 2015, a mysterious secret society along with the most powerful private military organisation and the wealthiest industry in the world established the world's largest city of Vogelstadt; a large city enclosed in an arcane dome-like barrier generated by an unknown force, encompassing most of Central Asia. Moreover, it was built for the surviving people of the decimated countries in Central, Southeast and East Asia (except Japan) where the Xyazarians commenced their attempted genocide the most.

The city is named after Hermann Vogel, the fifth head of the Saksanian monarchical family of Vogel and also the chairman at that time of the covert intelligence agency and military organisation; 'Bureau of Intelligence Operations and Mandatory Enforcements' or simply known as 'BIOME'. He became Vogelstadt's first chancellor and the Vogel family as the city's reigning monarch.

Little do the world know, all it takes is a spark of flame and a gentle gust of wind to ignite a firestorm. It's a butterfly effect; doing something that seems easy or beneficial to you, could be immensely devastating to others. Hence, if you take everything away from someone who only owns nothing but themselves; it gives them a greater form of freedom which could lead to your downfall.

You never know what a battered boy like Banoy might do in the future if you give him a spark of flame and a gentle gust of wind. The firestorm might just be as scorching as the tropical heat of the archipelago where his infant body first lies down to. The archipelago is near the equator just as the flame in his heart is nearing its radiance. All it takes is a spark of flame to bring warmth… even so, we never know if it's the comforting warmth one or the burning destruction one. Who knows?

Still and all, the society came back diving to their cesspool when the slaughtering of the Xyazarians calmed down a little. Triggering humanity's instinct of resiliency and the worsening of this foolish race's cruelty.