Fire.
Blood.
Smoke.
Fuel.
Dragons.
That was all Klein could see. His eardrums vibrated like a thousand steel cymbals in his skull, and his head throbbed with more pain than he could fathom.
It hurt, but it didn't hurt as much as when he had to see his family massacred in front of him.
His wives and daughters - brutalised.
His dignified sons - whipped, flayed, and beheaded.
His heart was broken, shattered into a million pieces, as his eyes were empty of tears.
He was just an ordinary apothecary. Nothing special or grand. In this world, his skills barely merited a generous Calamity Class rating, and his achievements were hardly worth a footnote.
But Klein had always worked in silence, chasing truth through lies like fishing a needle from a mountain of adagar dung—waste from the fast-footed, horned beast that blanketed entire fields in filth.
The previous moment of the devastation was still fresh in his memories.
Klein arrived home late after his daily duties, excited to spend the night with one of his gorgeous wives.
It was a quiet midnight of the 3rd moon sumberlance, when the dazzling moon, Rui, Drew closer to our world. The moon's silver light was brighter, illuminating the star-filled sky.
It was taken as a good omen.
Of course, the other six moons are sacred to Klein's people, and all far and wide. But Rui...Rui was different.
Myths and fables surrounded the moon's origin; each speculation coming from different clans or cultures.
The astrologers—those cloaked fanatics who called themselves the moon spiders—theorised Rui simply appeared one day. Not through ritual or divine intervention, but just appeared.
The theories varied, with no satisfying answer, but people took what they were given.
As Klein entered his home, he was greeted with silence—and the naked body of his second wife, Moon.
Klein smiled, unaware it would be the last night with his lover.
They made love, unhurried and unashamed, clinging to each other beneath Rui's gaze.
Later, Klein sat peacefully on the bed as Moon slept peacefully.
He was reading a strange book, a book in tatters and ruins, with claw marks and burnt pages. The cover was charred with ash, and with an ominous title: Tales Of The Immortal God of Hundred Avarice.
Through the almost unreadable content, Klein devoured it with the hunger of a man possessed—eyes wild with curiosity, or madness, or both.
When Moon awoke, she teased;
"You read too much, my love. One day, your thoughts will burn from within."
Klein grinned and replied,
"It's already charred, sweetheart."
She was clever, born to be an astrologer, but denied her place. Her theory—that Rui was born of gravitational collapse—was dismissed, even ridiculed. Suspiciously so.
She loved her husband, but her joy for the celestials never faded.
Klein never deserved this, as he was admired by all.
He was known to be a diligent worker, always trying to break his limits, but today the limit broke him.
Through the chaos, only the book remained, clutched in fading fingers, as the warmth of Moon's embrace slipped from his skin.
The attacker's plot was devious.
A dark ritual conjured from their ranks destroyed the Bifrost, the gateway, and attacked near dusk.
Seven adult inferno dragons soared through the skies, trailing fire and destruction. Within thirty Brumites—each a mere sixty seconds—the town was gone.
The Rainbow Clan have been starved of war, and that hunger made them vulnerable.
They wore crimson armour, crowned helmets shaped like dragon fangs, carved from blood cane alloy.
Their steel-red robes hid bloodstains as if they'd never been there. They carried swords, sickles, cannons, jousters, rifles —even mounted bazookas.
The weapons killed anything that moved: The young, the old, the praying, the pleaders, the fighters ...Truly, nobody was safe from the carnage.
His hands trembled as he held the black book, the last remnant of his possessions.
The sounds of footsteps echoed as three attackers loomed over him.
One wore a helmet shaped not like a dragon—but a Hammer Bull. A giant red horizontal hammer with two curling tusks covered his face.
Behind him came two more: dragon-helmed and silent.
The flames still roared in the distance. Embers painted the sky blue, orange, and pink. Klein's breath seized, and his vision blurred from smoke and blood.
The Hammer Bull stepped forward and drew his sword. He declared in a voice so deep and eerie it sent a tremor through Klein's spine.
"For the love of the great King Otto the Third," he said, "I pledge to my liege my loyalty, as I bring the great Rainbow clan to extinction. Though lives were laid for this victory, we pray for their soul to rest with the Almighty, with no fear, worries, or sorrows. Amen."
The prayer ended with all the Attackers chorusing Amen.
The power of the great and versatile warriors of the Rainbow clan was undeniable, battling with their might and eyes.
A certain warrior was sure to change the tide of the Battle, but he got buried before he could release his Divinity, the gift of god.
The only member capable of satisfying his overwhelming gluttony and lust for war.
His name carried strength: The Black in the Rainbow, Jugram Quincell.
The Attackers were surrounding Klein, with the Hammer Bull preparing to strike.
Klein carefully hid his book.
The potential secret to Immortality? The last remnants of a dead civilisation? A forgotten god crying for worship?
Klein was just too damn curious.
"What have you..." Klein wheezed, "What have you done to my village?"
"Your village?" An attacker spoke up, squatting on a wooden pillar.
"This place is worthless to our Great King Otto the Third, our Order and Lord." The Attacker chuckled. "Consider yourself blessed that we showed mercy to carry out his dearest wishes in secrecy, or your people will die in shame..."
Before the Attacker could finish, a blur of red launched faster than Klein's bloodshot eyes could keep up and decapitated him.
The killer wore the same red armour, but with a helmet carved to resemble an Arachi, large, beastly spiders known for their insatiable hunger.
The Attacker's head fell, and nobody seemed to be bothered.
Klein was so petrified that even he wasn't moved by the death of the attacker.
Brutal, yes—but compared to what he'd just witnessed, almost merciful
"My dearest Apologies," The Hammer Bull Attacker calmly said, but there was a shift in his voice.
"Wait, why am I apologising? The soldier was right; your people are disgraceful. Our lord is furious with you, barbarians. Hundreds of men laid their lives for this mission to succeed, and the dragons were difficult to breed. And yes, we are to kill you also. And so what? What are you going to do about it, you lowlife, lowborn heathen!!"
Normally, Klein would be overwhelmed, but his attention shifted to the Arachni Attacker cleaning her sword.
Yes, it was a 'her' due to Klein having the innate talent of discerning genders. He couldn't just tell her gender; he saw her bloodthirst, wickedness, and malice.
The strong shape of the lady reminded him of his late timid but strong 1st daughter, Terra. The fierce woman died trying to protect children from the onslaught.
Klein tried to stay focused, so he spoke to prolong the conversation further to delay his death; maybe he felt hope at that time.
"If he was right," Klein whispered, "then why was he killed?"
"Because he had no authority to speak !!!" The warrior's screams echoed, "And disobedience comes with punishment, and your village serves as a prime example."
It was obvious the Hammer Bull was the leader. His presence, his power, his authority; they all commanded respect.
His presence was threatening enough, and Klein was forced to talk to the butcher of his people.
"Then grant me this, butcher," Klein rasped. "Tell me what we did. Let a dying man meet death with truth on his tongue."
The blood-stained soldiers laughed.
"Truth? What value is truth in the hands of a dead man?"
Questions scratched at the edges of Klein's brain, and he needed answers.
"My soul will wander," Klein whispered. "Do you wish to damn a man twice?"
Klein steadied his breathing, and his blood had stopped flowing profusely. He was still bleeding, but not fatally.
"Why not ask the Almighty when you get there?" An attacker joked.
Bang!!
A gunshot was heard, and the warrior was dead. A female attacker holstered her rifle. No authority to speak.
Klein knew the Attackers would kill him either way, but he needed just a few more seconds.
"Please, I beg of you, tell me our sins; this is my dying wish." Klein pleaded.
The manipulation skills of his 3rd son, Seigfried, were useful in this case. The intelligent and cunning youth was determined to be a great detective, the greatest in the world.
The comical memory of Siegfried successfully manipulating his brethren to lend him some money appeared in Klein's head.
The Handsome and patient lad was sadly buried alive. The gods are truly cruel.
The Attacker lowered his sword, a 3-meter-long blade made out of red steel that seemed to steal the hope of Klein's survival out of his mind.
"YOU PEOPLE LOOKED TOO FAR BEYOND"
Klein nearly let himself bleed out.
"Alas, look at our Empire. We just conquered the Northern Continent of Klasalas, and slayed the Demon Queen, Omen. We have built a world of power and might. And you heathens dare threaten it."
The Hammer Bull removed his helmet slowly, and Klein's heart almost stopped.
"Seigfried?" Klein whispered.
The son of the apothecary made a wicked grin. His long, luminous hair that shifted colours was mesmerising; his eyes - breathtaking.
"You did this, Father; you caused it. Searching beyond the Dark Ages, researching fallen empires, trying your hardest to satisfy your damn curiosity. All you had to do was just accept this world. Live in it, accept it, drink in it, wine in it, for damn's sake, have sex in it!!! But you! You ventured too far. I love you, father, I truly do, but you wanted to know things that were never meant to be known."
Seigfried's eyes moulded into ones of pity. "You caused this."
His side throbbed with pain, warm blood soaking through the folds of his healer's robes. But his mind was elsewhere—numb, distant. He was supposed to be focusing, counting down to the plan. But how could he?
His own son sacrificed his entire clan.
He was a traitor.
His family. His friends. His unborn child. All of them—gone.
Siegfried glanced at the Arachi. "Prepare the sacrifice."
The warrior nodded with absolute obedience.
She used her blade to slit her wrist as blue blood began to pour from her wrist. The blood swirled and glided like a cobra as three other Attackers brought an object wrapped in a blue cloth.
As the Object and the attackers drew nearer, it began to vibrate and jerk around. The three attackers holding the object knelt to present it.
The Arachi reached forth as her blood lunged for the object, and the object reciprocated as it escaped its binding.
It was a long, curved blade with two chains orbiting around it. It was rusted and decayed, but it looked unnaturally sharp, and it glowed in a sinister, purple hue.
Arachi disappeared as a blur, too fast for the eyes to follow, as she lodged the sword into the chest of Siegfried.
The son of the apothecary convulsed, with a pillar of light escaping from his body to pierce the clouds. He looked like he was in pain, but the pain felt needed.
What was happening to the Rainbow Clan
"As the sky collapses into a singularity of pure malice."
.
The blood-soaked sky immediately faded into a black abyss devoid of all life and light.
.
"The overflowing Soul, the Saint of the God's Chalice."
.
The 7 Inferno dragons flew overhead as they attempted to burn the darkness. Their beautiful red scales enticing all those below.
.
"From the birth of the seed, tarnished by the love and noise."
.
The other members of the Rainbow Clan began to eject light into the heavens, their essence and soul being devoured by the overhanging blackness.
"With the death of light, LET THERE BE VOID!!"
A bead of tears fell from Klein's eyes. The pain and shame were too much to bear, and now an unholy ritual was unfolding before his eyes.
With his dignity shattered, Hesitation knew no place in Klein's heart.
He could feel his soul being drawn to the void, as something, or someone, was starting to emerge from the dark.
Klein needed 10 more seconds, and he could feel his muscles and bones healing under his flesh. His breath was clear, his mind less fuzzed, and his strength returning.
10
Behind the battlefield, a Storm Dragon—a beast of legend, grey-scaled and glowing - bathed the sky in lightening anf hurricanesa. The Wrath of heaven burst from its maw, washing the battlefield in flickering silver light.
An Inferno Dragon is estimated to take years to catch, just a young one. But these murderers arrived with 7 of these powerful creatures and more at their beck and call.
9
8
Klein's plan was almost over, and failure would be the most probable outcome.
The plan would be a 1 in 200 chance of being effective, but Klein was determined. It is now or never; the Rainbow clan shall die with pride.
From the tender age of 5, Klein wanted to gain the title of healing people on the battlefield and deciding the stakes of lives.
7
He feared the possibility of letting his companions die and saving the strong, but his willpower was impressive at his young age.
He was always destined for greatness, and it was going to be cut short by this red devil.
He was about to receive another child from his 2nd wife. Pain throbbed through Klein's heart realized that his unborn child would never see the beauty of his clan.
6
5
He had been days away from meeting the legendary apothecary Leywin Edger.
4
3
His own Son caused their whole clan to be partially dead, and the chances of him surviving are slim. He wants to make sure that the Attackers will sacrifice more before they leave.
And his final task: he must read the last sentence of the book.
2
You must be wondering why I said the Clan was partially dead.
1
That is because Klein is trying to bring back a warrior from the brink of death.
0
The black in the rainbow.
The wrath of the Rainbow clan has awakened.
An Attacker was jammed with a hurled 10-creter stone sculpture. The unfortunate warrior was crushed under thousands of pounds of force.
All Attackers stood guard as the Storm dragon flew closer.
The warriors drew out their swords, guns, and any weapons at their disposal. They were faced with a man baptised by blood.
Standing on a jutting cliff was a shirtless man.
The shadows hid his face, but his grin glinted.
His flesh was sliced with bloody cuts, his breathing was coarse, and his multicoloured armour was ripped and smouldered. But he smiled as Rui's spotlight hit him.
Jugram Quincell was brought back from the brink of death.
"Don't let him disturb the ritua....!!!" Seigfried commanded with unimaginable agony.
His soul was partially being siphoned by the ritual, his mind was wrenched from the gnaws of death, and his Grace had been drastically reduced.
But that didn't hinder him.
Jugram said nothing in the face of battle; that's because he understood the assignment.
In a flash, He launched forward and pierced his hands through the armour of two Attackers. Even though the Blood-Cane alloy burns up to 600 degrees Malcey, the standard temperature unit, when hit with sudden impact, Jugram laughed.
A jouster was launched at him, but it was pitifully slow in Jugram's perspective.
Jugram's pupils flashed indigo as he caught it mid-air, spun, and hurled it back, impaling three enemies at once.
"I see it now," Jugram whispered in a Polished voice.
His eyes flashed a deep indigo as he vanished. His speed was immaculate, simply too quick to keep up with.
Klein's body froze. No wonder all dragons went after Jugram; his strength would have been enough to prevent the extinction.
"Have you now, you feral beast." An Attacker screamed behind Jugram.
Jugram looked back with a sarcastic smile. "Are you sure?"
The Attackers suddenly felt fear. Her heart was thumping through her chest, and her ears rang loudly. She fell to her doom as she grabbed her head.
Jugram was wounded—cuts along his ribs, arrows in his thigh, smoke rising from his flesh. And yet he moved like death incarnate.
"We have slayed demigods before, you animal!!" An Attacker whispered as he stabbed his sword into the Rainbow's ribs.
Jugram pulled the blade out and licked some of his blood off it.
"What a marvellous splendour. A truly great time to get fresh blood."Jugram's eyes drifted towards Klein. "You have my thanks, Klein. Using your Divinity to track and heal me, Impressive for a Calamity Class."
Klein's body finally stirred. Strength returned, even if pain still lingered. His wounds were severe—but not fatal. Not yet.
Jugram's eyes flashed black, and a strange wave of fear washed over the invaders.
"Now, you malevolent demons killed my 3 wives, my 15 children, and proceeded to bury me under my own house." Jugram slapped his chest. " I hope you enjoyed yourself, because I don't care if I die, as long as I am bringing you bastards with me."
The Attacker dashed forward at Jugram, but he jumped over him and landed forcefully, shattering the Attacker's spine.
"I ain't a demigod; I am Jugram Bountiful Quincell."
The Arachi warrior appeared over Jugram and brought her sword with titanic force. Jugram leapt away before the sword would land, but the storm dragon followed and blasted him with lightning.
Jugram's eyes flashed green and withstood the burns.
He swiftly escaped the ambush, but the dragon was swift as well.
Jugram was chased by the dragon, who continuously rained volleys of thunder at him.
"This will end in nothing!" The Arachi commanded. "The ritual has started. The stars are falling, the depths are singing. YOU CAN'T FUCKING STOP IT!!!!!!!"
Klein tried to track and heal Jugram, contributing as much as he could in the battle. As he looked up, his heart sank.
Out of the void were multiple hands emerging and seemingly clawing at reality itself. Klein felt like he could see the past, present and future perfectly.
"Caesar Nova Percival?"
As Jugram dodged a wave of attacks, a bullet got lodged in his thighs. Arachi clocked a rifle and shot again.
She and the Storm Dragon chased Jugram, who was dodging bullets, lightning, sword, and claw swings.
Klein couldn't keep up with the pace, and he collapsed. He overdid himself, and his heart was beating rapidly.
Klein felt dizzy, seeing numbers and letters in his vision.
Jugram noticed Klein's fatigue and abruptly stopped.
"You devil have done it," Jugram murmured.
The Storm Dragon dug its claws into Jugram's chest, which made him cough up blood. With an open maw, a large thunderbolt struck the Rainbow, charring his skin.
"Just die already!!" The Arachi rushed for a finishing blow.
Klein's eyes shook, and he could feel his injuries opening up. Has his plan failed? Will the Rainbow clan die in shame?
Instead of Jugram collapsing or screaming in pain, he laughed. A sudden wave of fear washed over the entire army, and the Arachi warrior backed away.
"You better run, Klein!!!!" Jugram screamed.
He ripped off his index finger, blood gushing everywhere, and ate it. The attackers froze, confusion and fear etched across their bloodstained faces.
Klein knew what Jugram was about to do and ran for it. As Jugram was indulging in his blood spray, Klein used the opportunity to heal himself.
His skin paled, his limbs twisted, and a new mouth bloomed on his forehead. This was Jugram's "Fear Devil Mode," the ambassador of Fear, Absolute Fear, and Nothing but Fear.
"Which of you bastards would like to die first?"
Klein automatically laughed, as Jugram had just brought back his fleeting hope, now and in previous battles.
As Jugram finished his transformation, a big explosion happened. Jugram called this his Dramatic sequence, and it damaged some of the Attackers.
The Arachi's armour glowed scarlet, as her will returned.
"Grace blocking Runes?" Jugram asked with his hoarse, hollow voice that sounded like a million insects trying to form a voice. "That's cheating!!!"
The two engaged in battle. Jugram's attack was faster and faster, with his bloodlust almost making Klein throw up.
"I know your fear!!!!" Jugram laughed.
"Impossible." The Arachi caught a lightning bolt from her beast and infused it into her blade. "I lack fear. Everyone in my rank does."
"Oh, nothing but courage?" Jugram questioned as he grew shorter- more childlike. "What about in your dreams?"
Jugram turned into the Toyol, the child spirit of trickery and horror.
Long, stained golden hair shaped like wings, a twisted smile accompanied by large canines that contradicted his dwarf stature.
Jugram was immediately fond of his new form as he laughed hysterically.
"THIS IS GONNA BE FUN!!!!"
Two moons appeared behind Jugram, both having the same maniacal smile.
The moons' laughter shook the earth as they fired golden jets of energy that scattered into smaller rays of death, as the two warriors engaged again.
Klein stood in fear as he stared at Siegfried.
His eyes rolled over, and his muscles twitched uncontrollably as the light devoured him. Klein knew that he must do something, but what exactly?
He decided to look up again, and more hands spewed out from the blackness. His existence felt wrong, or rather misplaced, as the hands grabbed reality, shattering it into chaos.
It was as if Klein's brain refused to comprehend what was occurring.
"The sword of Zion has blessed this land," Siegfried suddenly whispered, his muscles relaxing. "And you decided to curse it."
The son of the apothecary emerged from the light, each photon gripping his body like a thick liquid.
His once scarlet armour was now stark white and bulkier, with hands melded onto the metal itself, shifting around, forming hand signs that created runes and hexes that floated around him.
His hair grew knee-length and turned crimson, with multiple dilating pupils on it, resembling a painting on a canvas. His eyes and 2 new ones underneath were covered in pink and orange flames.
He sprouted 8 angelic wings from his back, each feather shifting from physical to ethereal- mortal to godly.
A cyan halo manifested over the Attacker's head as he smiled in satisfaction.
"I am reborn," Siegfried inhaled sharply, his fiery eyes fixed on his father. "Don't I look like a god now, father? This is the fruit of our clan's labour. The Rainbow have turned white."
Before Klein could fully process his son, Jugram appeared behind the angelic figure. Both of his hands were covered in the same golden energy from his moons, aimed at the head of the traitor.
As the attack landed, the ground shattered, throwing rubble into the sky. But Jugram's heart sank.
"You might not be a demigod," Siegfried smiled as Jugram's attack didn't even scathe him. "But I am more of a god..."
The traitor plunged his arm into Jugram's chest, bursting the Rainbow's heart.
Jugram had been defeated that easily.
"I AM A HARBINGER."
Klein was helpless. He ran out of any feasible plans or intricate ideas to save himself currently.
Was it over?
Were his plans just to delay the inevitable?
Slowly and surely, like the final act of his fleeting life, the apothecary flipped his book to the last page. His eyes were blurry, and the words were hard to read with ash, holes, and tears, but Klein made out some of the text, and it read:
"The mortal man is nothing but a vessel, and the immortal man is nothing but an empty vessel. Order and love, Justice and hope, were worshipped throughout the lands. The Mortal Man embodies these emotions and is filled with them, like water in a pot. But the immortal Man is different."
The Storm dragon rained thunder on Jugram's limp body.
"No Order in his existence, as death is a necessity; no love for his humanity, as he sold it; no Justice to his ideals and his ways for eternal escape, and no hope, as he believes he is invincible. They are the same, Mortal and Immortal, but they are different in volume and quality.
Spears, bullets, and swords were buried under Jugram's skin.
"My story ends here, as these are the end of my days, but dear reader, never stop thinking. This world is filled with the brim with countless secrets. For I am ventured into the darkness and have come out with enlightenment. But this world doesn't like enlightenment.
The hands were close to touching the soil of the Rainbow Clan's land.
The Throne Engine, demigods, The Gears of Infinify, The Paradoxes, Emperor Zolomon, The 5th Heaven, Prophet Elijah... It's basically limitless. So I usher thee, the reader, to go out and find said secrets. Just leave with these words: to all Ozworld residents and those who cherish it, I wish you great success..."
A pulse escaped Jugram's body, one of pure grace and life force. Klein felt Jugram's fear, and also his pride and joy, in killing the killers of his clan.
Jugram was about to do his last push. "The Nightmare Bomb".
Even though Jugram and Klein would die, at least the Rainbow clan went down fighting to the bitter end, and Siegfried might even be sealed.
Klein read the last quote :
"...To those that seek the mysteries."
The end. No more pages to turn. The story of both the book and Klein was over. Klein closed his eyes and...smiled. His multicoloured rainbow eyes glistened, and he felt his heart light.
"To those...that seek the mysteries."
The book vibrated.
The universe shifted.
The Pantheon awakes.
Klein felt uprooted from reality, but his heart had stopped.
[Who art thou??]
He started to remember all the best times of his life, when he got accepted to be an Apothecary.
[A worshipper... Is thou most worthy of Immortality?]
Marriages with his wives, his heroic act of saving his team and killing the predatory 4-striped Hozzilla, the large reptile with 4 large poisonous glands.
Peace was what Klein wanted now.
"What's happening!!!" Siegfried screamed as the hands began to convulse; the dragons fell from the sky one by one, and the boundary between reality began to decay.
[The Pantheon awakens...I ask, are thou most worthy of Immortality?]
Jugram's body exploded into a violent flash of luminescent light. The destruction, capable of destroying at least 2 worlds, was being contained by Jugram's fleeting soul.
He must make sure his sacrifice is fruitful.
Klein died staring at the shocked face of his son, Siegfried.
And he stared deep into his godly eyes.
That love he boasted of.
That love he treasured.
It turned into seething hatred.
The wrath of the explosion reached Klein.
His life ends here, but his story is just starting.
. . . . . . . . . .
Pray thee to the god of the end
Pray thee to the god who slayed death
Pray thee to the god who bathed in the stars
Praise thee to the god who lives eternal
Art thou most worthy of the majesty's grace?
Art thou most worthy to bear his fruit and skin and blood a nd bone
Will the venom of the divine destroy thy soul
Will the hearth of the blessed scorn thy existence?
If thou dare to carry the mantle of the blessed one
The righteous one
The Forbidden man of Life and Death
The vessel of the quadrants.
. . . . . .
Pray to the God of the beginning and End
Praise be to the one who bathed in the stars
Praise be to the one who slayed death
Praise be to the one who commands Immortality.
And praise be to the one who seeks the mysteries of this world....