Three days later.
In the center of the city, there was a stadium, wrapped by a transparent barrier that could even handle the attacks of an “ordinary” Alpha.
“All preparations are complete.”
On an underground floor beneath the stadium, a middle-aged Dharma Monk reported.
Ksitigarbha nodded.
To his side, Hansen and Stina nervously glanced at each other.
“You can start now,” Ksitigarbha turned towards them. “Let Dharma see fruition after countless years of struggles.”
“As you wish.”
Hansen and Stina bowed and left.
…
The stadium could host over ten thousand people, and presently, there were not even a hundred in it. But these people were far more important than a city of people, not only this city but countless others.
Over twenty Dharma Monks silently meditated on the field as Hansen and Stina stepped out. The couple walked towards Ashlyn, who was at the center of the stadium, looking at the glass container.
“My love, this is the time we all have been waiting for!” Hansen started. “After today, no child would ever suffer untouchability, no innocent would experience social boycott, and no special child would be called Cursed One!”
Stina took Ashlyn’s face between her hands and said, “You will change the world for better…”
Ashlyn silently stood without showing any reaction.
Her adopted parents then turned towards the researchers.
“Start!”
The researchers nodded and opened the console system.
Crystalline tubes and wires stretched out of the container and locked with Ashlyn’s full-body black suit.
“Ashlyn… don’t resist!” Stina urged. “You have to be willing; otherwise, we will fail! So accept them like they are a part of you!”
Ashlyn nodded. She gave up all resistance.
Simultaneously, the container opened, exposing the malevolent virus that was locked in the spaceship from where Ashlyn retrieved it.
The virus flew through the tubes and entered Ashlyn since the suit was biologically fused with her.
From the ground, impenetrable glass walls emerged around her to protect those around her.
Her beautiful face turned ashen, and beads of sweat started dripping off her forehead.
As a Cursed One, she has unique compatibility with the virus to become the perfect host.
The virus directly merged with her genes, making them emit rays that were known as Anti-evolution Radiance.
The researchers rapidly issued commands to make sure the virus worked as they wanted. Behind the virus container, another container appeared, filled with nano-bots. They entered Ashlyn’s body to take control of her and the virus.
Swoosh~!
A thick pillar of radiance burst out of her and shot straight into the sky, unhindered by the barrier.
“Argh!” Ashlyn dropped to her knees as the virus started using her powers and even her lifeforce to surge out more radiance, most likely to expand its range of impact.
That shocked her as this wasn’t what the virus was supposed to do, at least as per her parents. She forced herself to open her eyes and look at them, and her heart broke.
They looked back at with scorn, ridicule, and amusement, just like how a scamster would look at his victims.
“Sorry to break your little heart!” Stina winked at her. “But we are modifying the plan! And to do that, we need everything your body has!”
“Don’t you worry, though!” Hansen added with a smile. “There would be no more untouchability for those as cursed as you! Because now the world will be uniform!”
Stina crouched before Ashlyn, separated by the glass wall. She traced the reflection of her adopted daughter.
“My love… don’t feel I deceived you,” Stina said with a sincere smile. “I was honest when I called you a Blessed One! Because only a truly blessed could have the power to bring the entire world to its knees!”
“Indeed! And today, the world would learn the proper use of a Cursed One!” Hansen added again. “So rejoice that your life is bringing a change!”
Ashlyn didn’t say anything. She was neither angry nor bitter at them.
Only sad.
The fears she had since her birth parents discarded her into the orphanage were real – She will always be a Cursed One for everyone.
There was no one for whom her existence ever mattered enough to care for her. Even those who did, they only did it for her beautiful exterior shell.
No!
Two persons were exceptions! They cared for her – the genuine her.
One of them she got to meet again, but the other…
A tear left her eye.
“I’m sorry, Kiba… we will never meet.”
She closed her eyes.
At the same time, in the sky, as the pillar emerged, radiation rippled out at the speed of light, spreading throughout the globe.
…
In Holy City, the newly appointed President of World Government was exercising by battling war tanks and fighter robots. Like a beam of explosive light, he shot through them, smashing the obstacles with his bare hands.
A war tank aimed at him, and he appeared before it, ready to punch out with strength that could be only described as apocalyptic.
Just then, the radiation spread in the area where he was. His fist that would not even suffer a single scratch from smashing a mountain burst apart as it landed on the tank.
“!”
He was frightened, to say the least, as the tank was about to fire, and his strength has practically vanished.
“Stop the tank!”
The president shouted just in the nick of time, saving himself from dying. Ignoring the shocked supervisors, he examined himself.
“What type of radiation is here?! It definitely wasn’t something generated from Ability Nullifying Technology!”
Just like him, albeit by a short delay, the supervisors too realized they have lost their powers.
…
In House of Hestia, Lord Harley was scrolling a file on Zed. As per it, Zed left The Ivies a few days ago, and his whereabouts couldn’t be tracked.
“This kid sure has ways to clear his tracks!” Xalion said as he also scanned the file. Pointing his finger at the file, a beam of blue fire surged out of his fingertip. Just before it could make contact, the fire faded, and he coughed out blood.
Lord Harley’s expression changed as he noticed the incoming radiance. Acting at light speed, he melted the fabric of space to teleport himself to another dimension.
“That was… Anti-Evolution Rays?! No… they were mixed with something extremely potent to spread the rays on such scale! The only thing that could make such a thing possible is Plague of Decay!”
He muttered as he appeared in what seemed to be an ancient shrine. A female was asleep in the middle, her body protected by countless Life Power Shards.
Lord Harley kneeled before her.
“Ancestor… You warned that the Gods of Celestial Elysian Plan – The Titans – would launch a plague every two million years… to maintain the balance between life and death… to ensure evolution reached the next stage!”
“It would seem a mortal is trying to play God here!”
…
Throughout the globe, radiance spread, turning every mutant into an ordinary human. Even the one called Gods on this planet – The Alphas – were no different. Only a dozen few Alphas with the power of space, time, reality, or some extremely bizarre ability could protect themselves from such fate.
But there were exceptions where entire regions were saved!
The chief among them was the place called Heaven on Earth – Eden.
As Anti-Evolution radiance spread through the oceans, on the islands that formed Eden, everyone was clueless of what was coming, except for their ruler – The Ice Queen.
Sitting on the ice throne, her eyes snapped open as she sensed a presence that served a threat to her subjects. Her snowy-white hand lifted up, making a gentle motion in the air, and an icy mist shot out.
At speed faster than light, the icy mist spread through the perimeter of the islands, turning into ice shields that seemed to carry a power that radiance couldn’t penetrate through.
…
The second exception was Lizenea – The Nation of Terror. The giant tree that spread vitality throughout the nation suddenly twisted. Its branches and roots gushed out, locking the entire country into its protective embrace, shifting it to another space.
The revolutionaries, especially the Elders – were stunned by the development.
“What’s going on?!”
…
The third exception was Atlantis. Its source of exception came from the teenage princess. Perhaps it was due to her bond with Rhea – The Holy Seer- but when the radiance was about to spread here, her powers acted, twisting the flow of time around Atlantis.
…
In the stadium, radiation continued to surge out of Ashlyn.
With her newly-enhanced lifeforce, Hansen and Stina knew she could maintain the supply of radiation for two day. That was enough for the plan to take fruition.
On the underground floor, Kstigharbha chanted mantras while tapping his prayer beads.
“Despite decades of efforts, a few exceptions remained!”
Smiling, he dropped the beads and rose. His senses passed through the ceiling, and he observed Hansen and Stina as they secretly started another part of their plan.
“Fools don’t understand nothing can hinder the path of Dharma!”
Just as the words left his mouth, the night sky turned incomparably dark, as if painted by ink, shrouding the stars and moon.
People down were startled, and they quickly raised their heads to see past the transparent barrier.
Thunderous rumblings followed as the clouds exploded and spitted out a bolt of lightning.
It smashed through the barrier and landed amidst the crowd of dumbstruck Dharma Monks. By now, they should have been hearing the cracking sounds of the barrier splitting apart, but what they heard were their own screams as the shockwave of lightning destroyed them in body and spirit.
“What on Earth happened just now?!”
The middle-aged Dharma Monk from before was taken aback by the screams, and he looked in the direction of the miserable sounds.
There was nothing there except a cloud of dust, and through it, a golden-hair man emerged – dressed in casual black t-shirt and jeans.
The monk’s eyes squinted as neither the dust nor the shockwave fluctuations touched him.
“Who is he!?”
The Ivies and the remaining forces of Dharma Chakra turned in his direction, their faces solemn.
It was clear to them that his arrival has split the barrier and destroyed the crowd of monks, not leaving behind any traces of their existence, not even a droplet of blood.
Stina’s eyes widened, and her legs started trembling as she got a clear view of his face.
By her side, Hansen didn’t show such extreme reaction, but he was equally shocked as he knew the identity of the intruder.
“Dr. NTR?!”
