The Dawn of Destruction, Chapter 1 (clean)

The Dawn of Destruction

Interitus 1 – Book One

            Chapter One

 

“Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. This is the law of the universe.”

Naomi whispered the words as waves crashed behind her. Tiny droplets set sail to the ocean breeze and danced in the moonlight. She stood in the wet sand with her right hand raised, and when it illuminated with a purple glow, a jagged dagger materialized in her grasp. As soon as the weapon finished forming, Naomi threw herself into a high-speed sprint. Her black hair flickered with every step, but her enemy was undaunted by the power she possessed. He pushed himself into motion; the two combatants rapidly converged in their moonlit battleground.

Saltwater splashed into the air when Naomi slashed her blade, but he threw himself aside and ducked beneath her slash. He desperately reached for her leg with his right hand, but she jolted backward to avoid his touch. Though they stood just a short distance apart, Naomi showed a sinister smile and threw her dagger with all her strength. Her enemy braced himself and then struck her flying blade with his right hand. But there was no cut, and there was no blood; the dagger instead disappeared into thin air with a faint flash of purple light.

“I won’t let you hurt anyone. Not while I have the power to stop you,” said Seth as his short afro danced in the ocean breeze.

As she materialized a gun in the palm of her right hand, Naomi asked, “How could you stop me? I have the power to Create everything I want.”

“Maybe so, but I’ve got the power to Destroy anything I touch.”

Naomi aimed her gun in the same moment that Seth threw himself forward. By the time she fired, Seth had already lunged to the side. A deafening bang echoed across the night, but Seth seized the chance to strike her with his destructive touch. He came so close that her eyes illuminated with panic, but she narrowly escaped and fired another shot. The bullet narrowly missed him, and then he threw his hand upon the wet sand below. By pulling his fingers together and slamming his eyes shut, Seth Destroyed a chunk of the beach. He fell into his makeshift trench, but he grabbed the edge and hoisted his head high enough to watch his enemy. With the help of the nighttime darkness, Seth managed to camouflage his caramel skin with the wet sand. The only flaw was that the moonlight glistened on his blue eyes.

“I already know what you can do, Seth Freeman. I wouldn’t have brought you here if I thought I could lose. It’s such a shame I have to kill you. Together, we could have brought this whole broken world to its knees,” Naomi answered as she walked to the water’s edge.

“I won’t pretend like I understand this weapon. I sure as hell never asked for it. All I can do is Destroy; I can’t help anyone with this. But the power you’ve got… you could really help everyone! Can’t we at least talk about this? It doesn’t have to end in a fight,” Seth yelled back from his moonlit trench.

Naomi shook her head and countered, “Yes it does. Everything always does. The world pushes down with immeasurable force, and I never had a choice other than to fracture. But now that I have this power, it is proof of my divine right to demolish this world. It is my duty. It is my destiny! This is the right hand that will rewrite reality; this is the weapon that will redefine reality.”

By clasping her fingers together again, Naomi used the power of Creation and forced her gun to illuminate with an amethyst glow. It changed shape and grew into a flamethrower. She used her other arm to stabilize the weapon, and then she unleashed a stream of fire at the trench which concealed Seth. He pinned himself against the ground and stared at the searing flames which sealed his only exit. Drafts of hot air ascended from the opening as embers rained down, but Seth caught and Destroyed every falling flame. In the moment that the fire sputtered to a stop, Seth grabbed the superheated edge of the trench. The fire partially vitrified the sandy rim of the trench, so he Destroyed the hot sand and hoisted himself back onto the beach. Distant streetlights revealed Naomi’s silhouette as she stood with one foot in the water and one foot on the sand.

As moonlight illuminated his anxious face, Seth said, “I knew it would come to this when we spoke for the first time, when you asked me to join you in your carnage. Don’t get me wrong; you’re scary as hell. But I know I’ve gotta stop you, so it doesn’t matter. Can’t say I ever believed in destiny, but at least I know I’m using my curse for the right reason.”

After passing the flamethrower to her left hand, Naomi coolly retorted, “As long as you see this weapon as a curse, you’ll never stop anyone. You irrationally hate your own power, so I doubt you’ve even seen its true grandeur. But that isn’t true for me! Just as my right hand can Create matter, my left hand can Create energy.”

In that moment, Naomi imbued her flamethrower with a tremendous amount of kinetic energy. It erupted into motion so suddenly that it broke the speed of sound. A deafening boom echoed across the beach, and a vaporization ring surrounded the weapon as it barreled through the darkness. The high-speed flight forced the flamethrower to break as it flew past Seth, missing him only by chance. In a cacophonous series of clamors, the broken weapon struck a vacant shop in a nearby street. The glass windows and streetlights shattered on impact. Two long gusts of sand flew across the beach in the wake of the supersonic weapon.

With his whole body hijacked by fear, Seth took off sprinting away from Naomi. Sand flew up behind his shoes with every footstep, but Naomi did not chase him. She could tell with one glance that she could never match his speed in a footrace, so instead she Created a pair of copper knives. Seth saw the purple light of Creation reflect on a nearby wave, so he swerved around with both hands outright. Naomi used her energy Creation to launch both blades into supersonic motion, but Seth glared at her weapons and used his own power to protect himself. His right hand Destroyed one knife on contact, but his left hand merely Destroyed the other knife’s energy. The weapon became motionless, and Seth grabbed its handle with his left hand.

“I hate that I’ve been cursed to carry this power, but that doesn’t mean I’m too weak to use it. You can Create energy, but I can Destroy it with my left hand. Don’t you get it? No matter how much you throw at me, I can always defend myself,” Seth said as he stared at the silhouette of his enemy.

A wispy cloud drifted past the moon, and the white light illuminated Naomi’s face. Her soft brown eyes were shaped like diamonds, and her black hair waved in the ocean breeze. Seth was surprised by her beauty, but he resolved to not fall prey to any distraction. Naomi took a backward step into the saltwater and then used her right hand to Create a pair of hand-grenades. She narrowed her eyes and glared at the streetlights in the distance.

As a sinister smile arose on her face, Naomi retorted, “Then have it your way. I can crush anyone I want with this power. I can make you watch helplessly as I strike back against a world which only ever knocked me down.”

In a faint flash of amethyst light, Naomi launched the two grenades toward the nearest streets at a transonic speed. Sonic booms emanated from the projectiles, and sand flew behind the grenades as Seth watched in shock. He could hardly see the small shops on the street from this distance, but with a sudden pair of explosions, the night came alive in a flash of fire.

A car was blown backward through the street with a deafening crash, and the side of a gelato shop erupted in flames. Screaming voices flooded the street, and worried shouts echoed across the night. The silhouettes of civilians surrounded the fire, all searching for the source of the attack. Seth turned his attention back to Naomi, but he was almost too late to intervene; she Created another pair of grenades and clenched them in her hands. The moisture on her light skin shimmered in the glow of distant fire.

“How does it help you to do this? What’ll you possibly gain?!” Seth demanded.

With a dismissive scoff, Naomi retorted, “Help? Gain? Oh, Seth, you are so innocent that it makes me sick. I gave up on myself a long time ago. I am so far gone that there is no turning back. I wasted years of my life begging this world to finish me off when I should have fought back instead. I burned tragic memories just to make it through each day. But haven’t you heard? Every action has an equal and opposite reaction. I am nothing but the force of nature fighting for balance.”

Before Naomi could pull her fingers together, Seth threw himself into a full-force sprint. He raced down the beach with exceptional speed, so when Naomi launched her grenades into motion, Seth hurled himself in the way. He threw his hands outright and activated Destruction twice at the same time, annihilating one grenade while stopping the other. As soon as that grenade fell, he kicked it back at Naomi with his left foot.

Naomi winced at the sight of her own deflected weapon, but she quickly shattered her own stupor. She materialized a steel shield with her right hand, and she crouched behind it when the grenade detonated. An explosion of sand and shrapnel shot in all directions, bombarding her shield and vitrifying a ring of dry sand. The grenade summoned a small sandstorm which surrounded Naomi, but when she broke free with a backward jolt, she saw that Seth had not rushed her. He instead stood at a short distance with his luminous phone on the ground between his feet.

While glaring at Naomi, Seth yelled to his phone, “It’s the vessel of Creation! Her power’s just like mine. Phil, you gotta get to Seventh Street! She’s attacking civilians. You gotta get them outta here!”

“You are such a righteous moron. You throw your life on the line for people whose crimes you can’t conceive. You haven’t seen the true face of the darkness you’re protecting,” Naomi muttered with a hateful grimace.

With a pair of flashes, Naomi Created a sword in her right hand and a javelin in her left. She then ran across the sand at her fastest speed, swinging her sword wildly at Seth. But instead of running away, he charged intrepidly at his enemy and threw his right hand at her sword, aiming to dematerialize it before it could strike him. However, Naomi jolted back and twisted in the moment before contact. The edge of her sword did not touch Seth in any way, but her javelin pierced through his right hip as she flew backward.

Blood splashed from the wound and soaked his torn shorts, but Seth counterattacked with a forceful spinning kick. He struck Naomi in the stomach and threw her back so swiftly that she tripped and stumbled to the ground with a roll. But by using her Creation of energy, Naomi then launched her javelin at an exceptional speed. Seth tried to block the projectile since it was too fast to evade, but he narrowly missed; the blade pierced through his forearm with a splash of blood.

As the javelin crashed into the sand behind him, Seth clenched his bloody wound and said, “Really? The darkness? They’re just regular people! They’re probably just trying to get through the day like anyone else. I’ve got no idea why you hate this world so much, but it doesn’t matter! You got no right to take it out on anyone.”

“No right…? Every word you speak reveals the reality that you know nothing of the world you fight to save. The only right in this world is granted to he who holds the biggest stick. It’s always been that way! No one gave a damn about rights or reasons when I was too weak to defend myself. So now that I have this power, I simply match the mercilessness that put me in this place. I have the greatest weapon this world has ever known. I have the right hand that rewrites reality,” Naomi professed as she dropped her sword.

As the light of distant fire illuminated her face, Naomi activated Creation and materialized a submachinegun. She swiveled the weapon, aimed at her enemy, and pulled the trigger without hesitation. With no other choice, Seth threw his hands forward and used the Destruction of matter and energy simultaneously. By guessing the trajectory of her bullets, Seth managed to defend himself from an onslaught of twenty-six shots; the last four simply missed him altogether. He then threw himself onto the bloodstained sand and dematerialized the earth beneath his feet, carving another trench. He fell into this hole and glared at Naomi from his fragile safety.

“How many times do I have to tell you? It won’t be easy to strike me down. You can’t just push me around,” Seth shouted from his trench.

“Be that as it may, you still detest and lament your own power. You were given half the power of a god, but instead you decry it as a curse. We were blessed with the power to change this crumbling world, but you would rather squander your gift and stand on the sidelines. What more could you possibly want? You are the avatar of Destruction itself. I can’t imagine wasting a power so fearsome,” whispered Naomi as she glared into the trench.

But Seth evaded her gaze and held his eyes in the shadows. Since he showed no signs of verbal response, Naomi shook her head and resolved to end their beachside fight. She Created a new magazine of ammunition, aimed her weapon at the sand before the trench, and then fired every shot in rapid succession. Every bullet barreled through the dry sand with an explosive burst; the sand failed to halt their supersonic flight. Every bullet pierced the trench and sank into the earth. Every gunshot echoed across the night sky and startled the onlookers in the distance. Even the rolling waves seemed to shy away from the clamor of her weapon. When she ran out of bullets, Naomi dropped her rifle and stared at the trench in silence. She clenched her left hand and took a deep breath, fighting back a pang of sadness.

When Naomi stepped up to the trench, she Created light to illuminate the darkness. But with a shock, she quickly realized that there was nothing in the trench. Large holes pierced both sides of the dugout, but she could not see her enemy. She then brightened her luminous hand and noticed a second trench at the bottom of the first, carved as a narrow cavern through the underground. A faint footstep sounded behind her, and Naomi realized in that moment that Seth had burrowed his way behind her. She desperately threw herself forward by Creating a sudden jolt of kinetic energy, but Seth lunged forward at his fastest speed. He failed to strike her with his destructive right hand, but instead he cut her leg in mid-flight with the sword she discarded earlier. With her left leg torn by his blade, Naomi dropped her rifle and slammed onto the dry sand. She rolled several times and glared at Seth with terror, but she fought her fear and counterattacked instantly.

By harnessing the Creation of energy, Naomi unleashed a light so radiant that it blinded Seth. Even with his left arm over his face, he could feel the light searing his skin. He stumbled forward and fell into his trench, so he concealed himself in the shadows and held his eyes shut. Through his eyelids, he could still see the glow of the overwhelming light. A layer of sweat settled on his skin as he recognized the enormity of his disadvantage, but he knew that he still had to fight back. For that reason, with his eyes still closed, he passed the sword from his left hand to his right. While still hiding in his shadowed trench, he pulled back his right hand and blindly aimed at Naomi, hoping he could somehow strike her by throwing the weapon. But in the moment before he threw the sword, he accidentally activated his power of Destruction. The sword dematerialized, stealing away his only plan to fight back.

With a cackle of laughter, Naomi ended her blinding light and exclaimed, “Now it makes sense! I think I finally get it. I haven’t had this power for long, so it stands to reason… that you haven’t either. It’s barely been a week! I couldn’t control Creation when it first became mine; I formed sunflowers without even trying. I didn’t know I had this power when I used it for the first time; I didn’t even understand the power I possessed! So it stands to reason, then… that the same thing happened to you. You Destroyed the first thing you touched because you didn’t understand the weapon you wield.”

Although his eyes were still burned by Naomi’s light, Seth hoisted himself out of the trench and stood upright on the beachside. He stared at Naomi even though everything looked like silhouettes cloaked in darkness. The light of the moon and distant streetlights illuminated her fair skin; he could faintly see the place where his sword had struck her left leg. Blood still soaked her skin, but the wound itself was entirely gone. With the power of Creation, she managed to regenerate the damage to her body. Seth groaned as he saw this evidence of her near impregnability, but then he clenched his right hand and glared at it with somber eyes.

Seth muttered, “It doesn’t matter. Destruction is a curse on this world; anyone could figure that out. The accident just made it obvious. We’d all be better off without it.”

Unable to hide her malicious grin, Naomi mockingly begged, “You have to tell me! Please. I really have to know! Did you Destroy a car? Did you Destroy a house?! Did you Destroy some poor kid you thought you were saving?”

But Seth narrowed his eyes and confessed, “It was a friend who came to me for help. She was heartbroken when I found her. She just needed someone for support. I Destroyed her before I even knew I had this power.”

“Then it finally makes sense. You killed your friend with the power of Destruction… how tragic. Misfortune truly dances in the darkness all around us! If I’m being honest, I’m surprised you dare to use your power at all,” Naomi answered.

“I have to, at least for now. But when this is over, after I Destroy your power, that’ll be the last time I ever use it. These powers have no place in this world,” said Seth.

But Naomi shook her head and teased, “I think you overestimate your own power. It is strong, make no mistake! But you are limited by touch, and proximity does not limit me. I’ll prove it! You were the only one who could save those people standing around, but you moved yourself out of the way just to fight me. You were blinded by your own avarice, and they will pay the price.”

In that moment, Naomi materialized a dozen grenades in the air behind her body. Her sweaty skin shimmered in the light of the stars, and she fought to suppress her own panting; the radiant flash of light had clearly drained her stamina. Nevertheless, she Created a sudden burst of kinetic energy and launched her grenades into high-speed motion. A scattershot of explosives flew toward the city streets, spurring Seth to shout as he threw himself into motion. He raced across the beach at his fastest speed, jumped over the trench, and barreled toward her with his right hand outstretched. As a symphony of explosions assailed structures in the distance, a fiery glow illuminated the night. Naomi saw the fierce determination in his bright blue eyes, and it distracted her momentarily. Seth managed to strike her with his right hand at the same time that she touched him with her left hand, and then both powers activated at once.

With the power of Destruction, Seth dematerialized a large chunk of flesh above her left hip. With the power of Creation, Naomi imparted him with so much kinetic energy that she launched him into the ocean with a powerful splash. A cascade of saltwater flew into the air and shimmered from the distant flames; every falling drop of water became a tiny bead of fiery light. Seth surfaced a moment later and pushed himself toward shore, but Naomi was nothing more than a silhouette standing before a background of fire. Police sirens sounded in the distance, and the flash of blue lights pierced the smoky sky. He could tell that she had already Created flesh to regenerate the wound he had inflicted upon her.

“I don’t see why you even bother to help them. They are complicit in a failed reality and hopeless at their very best. They are brainless dolls just waiting for another puppeteer, and I intend to weaponize their fragility. After all, have you not seen the power I possess? I can enact miracles with mere thought! Once I kill you on this beach, there will be no one to stop me. I will amass worshippers in a matter of minutes! I could make factions slaughter each other just for fun. I can weaponize their faith and burn this world to ashes. I will demonize your memory as a destroyer of hope. Ha! Even if you somehow survive this fight, I will make you a monster in their eyes! I can Create crosses in the palm of my right hand. They would do anything I say—the same people for whom you’re wasting your life to save,” Naomi said with an enthusiastic glow in her soft brown eyes.

Seth stopped in his tracks at the edge of the ocean. Saltwater splashed behind him and receded from his feet. The light of police cars illuminated the smoke that lifted from damaged shops in the distance. Flashes of red and blue light danced across the beach, revealing the malevolent smile on his enemy’s face. He stumbled forward, but he was too far from Naomi to attempt an attack. If he could not defeat her here, Seth knew that she would invariably crush him. One way or another, his life as he knew it was over.

“You would turn people against each other? You would turn the world against me…?” Seth asked as he trudged forward in a state of shock.

But a third voice said from the darkness, “That ain’t never gonna happen.”

Naomi swerved around to find the source of the voice behind her, but it was already too late by the time she found him. A dark figure lunged across the sand with two knives clenched in his hands, both gleaming in the light of distant police cars. He charged forward and slashed his right knife through her side before she could lunge away. She screamed with both shock and pain, but when she lifted her left hand to counterattack, a knife flew through the darkness and pierced through her palm. Blood burst from both sides of her left hand, and then the unknown attacker unleashed a flying kick.

Naomi exclaimed with fear and Created a tilted shield with her right hand. The dark figure hit the shield, landed on the sand, and then struck it with two punches and another kick. Every strike pressed her backward, forcing Naomi to adopt a different approach. She pressed the shield forward, pushing her attacker to a short distance, and then she jolted back while Creating a revolver.

In the moment that the shadowed man knocked the shield aside with a spinning kick, he and Naomi both unleashed a simultaneous attack. He threw his knife while she fired her gun, though they both managed to dodge the other. A bullet and a knife both struck the ground on opposite sides, but Naomi regenerated her wounded hand while her enemy unsheathed more knives. He then rushed Naomi, but she Created a spiraling bolt of lightning in the palm of her left hand. She clumsily blasted her attacker with the thunderbolt, knocking him backward with a tumbling roll. The electricity surged through his system with a paralytic pain, but it failed to inflict serious damage. He struggled to his knees and then climbed upright, though he was too far away to retaliate. Distant flashes of red and blue light illuminated his face.

“I know you! You’re Phil Williams. You’re his best friend! Why did you come here?” demanded Naomi from a safe distance.

But the attacker ignored her question and said to Seth, “I don’t care if she turns the whole world against you. Seth, you my brother, so if everyone’s against you then they against me too. I got your back no matter what.”

With an arrogant scoff, Naomi said, “How adorable. You came to save your friend, but instead you’ll simply share an open grave.”

Naomi Created another charge of visible electricity in her left hand, finally snapping Seth out of his stupor. Knowing that his best friend was defenseless, Seth launched himself into a full-force sprint. As he rushed toward his friend, he lifted his right hand and Destroyed the air itself so that it would not hold him back. As soon as she reached a lethal voltage, Naomi shot the thunderbolt at her new enemy, but Seth threw himself in the way and neutralized the strike with his open left hand. He stood defensively in front of his friend, breathing heavily as saltwater dripped from his clothes.

“Phil! Why are you here?! Didn’t I ask you to get everyone away?” Seth asked, both frantic and relieved to have Phil at his side.

“Course you did, but I called the cops and told them to do it! I couldn’t jus’ leave you all alone out here, man. I’d never forgive myself if somethin’ happened to you. You know that! Besides, you ain’t no good at fighting if you don’t got my help,” Phil answered with a wide grin.

With five bullets left in her revolver, Naomi took quick aim and fired a pair of shots. Seth managed to Destroy one and halt the other by Destroying its energy, but it was now that Naomi realized her advantage. With Phil hiding behind him, Seth could no longer let gunshots miss; he had to block everything. She therefore tilted her gun and fired another shot, forcing Seth to dematerialize it. But before she could attack again, Phil jumped into the air by pushing off Seth’s shoulders, and then he threw his knife straight at his enemy. Naomi watched the blade fly toward her face, and she reflexively tried to deflect it with the side of her gun. But she failed to block it, and the blade stabbed through her left shoulder with a splash of moonlit blood.

As she reformed her gun and Created a submachinegun, Naomi glared at her enemies and said, “This is where you both end. This is the night that Creation goes unrivaled.”

After jolting back and pulling her gun upright, Naomi narrowed her eyes and unleashed a barrage of countless bullets. Seth shouted with a grunt and threw his hands at the bullets, ready to Destroy each shot by guessing its trajectory. The first four bullets missed him entirely, through the fifth grazed Phil’s arm behind him. Seth caught the sixth and seventh shots with his left hand, Destroying their energy to save himself. He then annihilated the next six shots with his right hand, and the next two bullets flew past his right shoulder. In the background, police sirens roared so loudly that they pierced the clamor of gunshots. Naomi glanced aside for a moment, just long enough to see police cars race toward the beachside, and then she redoubled her onslaught.

The next three bullets whizzed past Seth, but the fourth shot cleanly through his right side with a jolt of pain. He nearly collapsed, but he threw his hands forward and deflected the next eight shots with the power of Destruction. Naomi still had a few bullets left in her magazine, but she stayed at a short distance with her weapon upright. She knew that Seth would not dare to make a move, since he could not outrace her trigger finger. Both fighters fell still and silent for a moment, but the lights of emergency vehicles illuminated their battlefield. Sirens wailed as police converged upon the beach.

“A normal person couldn’t hit a bullet with their hands even if they wanted. Regardless of your good intentions, the power of Destruction has infected you. It wants to serve its only purpose; it wants only to Destroy. The only way it can save itself from being wasted is by making you an engine of Destruction. Maybe you truly will join me in the end,” said Naomi.

Naomi dropped her weapon on the ground and swerved to face the sea. As bright lights flashed in the distance, she walked toward the ocean without another word. Seth stood his ground and demanded, “Where the hell do you think you’re going?!”

“I ran out of time. Even with my miracles, I can’t get entire cities to worship me if they see me kill a bunch of cops. It looks like this is your lucky day, Seth Freeman! You get to live for now. Just don’t pretend like you can stop me,” Naomi answered as she walked away.

When Naomi reached the edge of the ocean, she used the Creation of energy on herself. She launched her body into motion and flew out over the rolling waves. In seconds, she practically disappeared and camouflaged with the night. Seth turned to face his friend, but he could tell with a single glance that Phil knew they had to escape. As emergency vehicles raced onto the beach, Seth threw his right hand onto the ground and Destroyed a tunnel through the earth. It was only large enough for them to crawl, so they ignored their injuries and threw themselves into the cave. Every time Seth reached the end of his tunnel, he activated the power of Destruction to extend his burrow.

Seth muttered as he crawled, “I can’t believe that this is my life now.”

While flying beneath the moonlight over the ocean, Naomi said, “Nothing will ever be the same. Not since the night this power fell from the sky.”

With a deep breath, Seth confessed, “I can still remember the night everything changed.”

Naomi whispered, “I always wished I was someone else. It was on that night my prayers were answered. I can still see it all in my head. I can taste the memory like it was yesterday.”