Enchained WATTPAD VERSION [Inter-Universal Protectors: Book 4]

Prologue - Ibana

There was nothing particularly special about this world. It had been dead for millennia. The Sun had died long ago – no one knew how, exactly – and all life had been lost. It was a dark frozen wasteland with air which remained reminiscent of the toxins which had once plagued its surface. There were features of this world which remained from its days of glory. Crumbling skyscrapers littered the land, surrounded by smaller hovels which the inhabitants had used to try and continue to survive.

Although, strangely, it was not the loss of the Sun which caused the world to become lifeless. That was merely an aftereffect. A final triumph of one of the many nations which once roamed this world. The ultimate power had been solar in the end. It wasn't deadly. Well, not unless someone decided it should be. If anything, solar power had been a part of what allowed this world to last so long. Once it had been the main source of life in this Solar System; the greatest and smartest race to live within the confines of the Galaxy.

Or so they thought.

There were plenty of others. They just didn't know.

It hadn't been the solar power alone which destroyed this famed world. A leader of one of the many nations had decided to corrupt it. To use it in a way to defeat their enemies once and for all. The power of the Sun was harnessed in a way which no one had even considered before. No one knew exactly who made the first move, but it would not be a wrong guess to say it was this nation. What provoked them was lost in the fires that ensued, along with the technology they thought would be their saviour and the bombs which scarred the surface for eternity. It was safe to say the remnants of the planet were a warning to all of what would happen if the power which could be used to save an entire race was given to a selfish leader hellbent on world domination.

The toxins from the explosives had been what brought about the end of the world in the end. The rain from the sky burnt when it fell. Day became night as the final remnants of the Sun were stolen from the sky, causing crop failure. Even so, the inhabitants of the world continued to survive on what little they could. They adapted to continue on.

Unfortunately, not even the famed human race had been able to outrun Death.

Cockroaches was probably a more accurate term for the species. Though, now, what remained of the human race was not what one would refer to as human. Humanoid, yes, but no longer human.

In the end, they too had been affected by what had been done to the world. Those who survived the war, the famine, the pollution, and the loss of the sun had adapted into something new. Something primal. They had de-evolved to survive the harsh environments of their new world. Their new Earth. The few who survived generations of exposure found themselves with eternal life and the inability to breed. To grow. It was both a blessing and a curse. Some even remembered the lives of their ancestors. Of the horrors they experienced in the final war. The Third World War. It drove them to the edges of sanity. Beyond.

There was nothing left which could be considered living. Only hollow shells and ruins.

The perfect hiding place for someone looking for an ultimate power source.

The hallway of a crumbling skyscraper echoed as two women ran across what remained of the concrete floor. One woman was dark with star-white hair. The other, while also dark, had hair of fire. The second woman grasped a glowing pendant hanging from a chain around her next. The first grasped a knife, its silhouette visible in the constant glow around the second woman's body. They had been running for so long that neither of them could remember exactly how long. To them, hours were flashing by like seconds. Time was strange that way. The first woman was panting, glowing crimson eyes betraying the weakness she felt. The second showed no signs of tiredness. Only anger rested in her swirling violet eyes. Anger, and just a shred of fear.

Mechanical laugher followed the pair as they raced down another hallway. Knowing they were being chased, that their power could be taken, made them move faster. The second woman knew it would be useless in the end. They would be caught. Still, her hand would not leave that pendant. There was no way in all of Creation she would give up its power. Not now. Not ever. There was even less way she was going to let some fucking magic book forcibly take the power from her. She cursed under her breath. Why do I never listen when these people are right about something.

A metallic voice echoed. "You know you can't stop me. Wherever you hide, I will find you." It was unclear as to which woman it was addressing. They assumed both.

The second woman spotted something ahead. It was, perhaps, an escape from their prison of glass and metal and concrete. "Left!" She shot around the corner, her partner stumbling momentarily at the sudden change in direction.

They approached the most fragile section of the building; the broken glass having fused into the rock below to create sharp stalagmites. The sight of what was below gave away the plan. The first woman gaped. "Are you insane?"

"That has been established!" the second laughed, though it was a weak attempt at humour.

They reached the ledge and–

"Jump!"

The figured following them stopped where they had been standing mere seconds ago. An old book was grasped in their hand as they leaned over to watch the two women fall. Though they could not see it, their purser's face twisted into a smile. The book was opened, the pages facing downward toward the second woman. The metallic voice spoke again. "Let the story of the Photon Core end." The book was closed.

The two women could do nothing as a blinding beam of light covered the second woman's body. Her pendant and form lost their glow. She screamed; her power being torn from her body until not even the smallest drop remained. The first woman's eyes widened as her own power jolted in response, though it remained inside her. One was now powerless, the other unsure of what to do. The second woman was the one with experience in escaping these situations. The first was new to the game, still learning the rules.

The figure remained leaning over the ledge, watching with anticipation as the two women plummeted to the mixture of sharp stone and glass waiting below . . . 

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AUTHOR'S NOTE: Ibana = Universe