The Flash Battle [Signups and also Round One: Before The Flood]

When human beings began to increase in number on the earth and daughters were born to them, the sons of God saw that the daughters of humans were beautiful, and they married any of them they chose. Then the Lord said, “My Spirit will not contend with humans forever, for they are mortal; their days will be a hundred and twenty years.”

The Nephilim were on the earth in those days—and also afterward—when the sons of God went to the daughters of humans and had children by them. They were the heroes of old, men of renown.

The Lord saw how great the wickedness of the human race had become on the earth, and that every inclination of the thoughts of the human heart was only evil all the time. The Lord regretted that he had made human beings on the earth, and his heart was deeply troubled. So the Lord said, “I will wipe from the face of the earth the human race I have created—and with them the animals, the birds and the creatures that move along the ground—for I regret that I have made them.” But Noah found favor in the eyes of the Lord.

This is the account of Noah and his family.

Noah was a righteous man, blameless among the people of his time, and he walked faithfully with God. Noah had three sons: Shem, Ham and Japheth.

Now the earth was corrupt in God’s sight and was full of violence. God saw how corrupt the earth had become, for all the people on earth had corrupted their ways. So God said to Noah, “I am going to put an end to all people, for the earth is filled with violence because of them. I am surely going to destroy both them and the earth. So make yourself an ark of cypress wood; make rooms in it and coat it with pitch inside and out. This is how you are to build it: The ark is to be three hundred cubits long, fifty cubits wide and thirty cubits high. Make a roof for it, leaving below the roof an opening one cubit high all around. Put a door in the side of the ark and make lower, middle and upper decks. I am going to bring floodwaters on the earth to destroy all life under the heavens, every creature that has the breath of life in it. Everything on earth will perish. But I will establish my covenant with you, and you will enter the ark—you and your sons and your wife and your sons’ wives with you. You are to bring into the ark two of all living creatures, male and female, to keep them alive with you. Two of every kind of bird, of every kind of animal and of every kind of creature that moves along the ground will come to you to be kept alive. You are to take every kind of food that is to be eaten and store it away as food for you and for them.”

Noah did everything just as God commanded him.

And under the earth, in Hell, the Devil did abduct eight Battlers from other universes. When he gathered them there, he said to them, "I am the Devil. God my adversary will soon send a flood to wipe clean the Earth, on which I have toiled for all the ages of men since the Garden, sowing seeds of evil and discord and birthing terrible monsters. When the flood comes, every living thing that is on the earth will die, except for those things which have been placed on Noah's Ark. I so hate my adversary that I have set a Grand Battle upon this Earth to spite him. There are seven other beings, who you cannot see right now, who, like you, do not belong here. I will sow you as seeds across this world, and across the heavens and in hell and perhaps in other places, and you are to find one another and slay one another. Whosoever is the last to survive, I shall return home. Go now and do as I have said."

The battlers did everything just as the Devil commanded them.


---

Welcome to the Flash Battle! It's a Grand Battle that will only last one round, which will only last around fifteen posts, although the posts can be of any length. The rules:

1) Your first post will introduce your character. No profiles. After eight people have posted, new entries are closed, and players who have already posted may post again.

2) Your second post should end with another character dying. That character's player is then eliminated from the battle. If every remaining character's player has posted twice, or if it has been a week since the last post or the last reserve, you may post again.

3) If your character is the only surviving character at the end of your post, you may also write an epilogue.

Imagine, if you will, a flat rocky area atop a tall mountain. It is snowing, raining, hailing, and sleeting all at the same time, the worst possible weather. The mountain juts into the sky, surrounded by nothing but clouds and coldness. You should be dead, you think. You don't remember anything that happened before. By your naked feet, grass grows. Dandylions form, daffodils come after. Sunlight comes out of a tiny crack in the sky and hits a spot at your feet. It grows, and covers the whole area. You can see a bird's skeleton on the ground. Ants pour out of it and cover the ground. The bird's skeleton gets up, and starts walking around. With a muted peep, flesh covers it, then feathers, and it flies once more. The grass is growing quicker, spreading out. But the bird is faster than the grass, for it darts outside of its influence. It crumbles into dust and returns to the earth. The grass has stopped growing. Only... no. You look behind you, and the grass is still growing in that direction. The bird went the wrong way, you think. Unbidden, you walk along the grass, and it forms a path for you.

More life forms exist now. You can make out a rabbit, some squirrels, even a silent snake lying in wait for the rabbit to come near. You move past them, just as the snake strikes. The rabbit is slain, and the grass around it wilts out of respect. The dirt around it freezes over, and a single shard of hail falls from the sky, splitting the rabbit's head open. The sudden cold causes the snake to shrink away, but it is too late. Death has overtook it. Feeling a profound sadness, you move on, the squirrels following you. You follow the grass around a sheer cliff, and finally you can see a cave ahead of you. There are braziers lining the walls, and they burst in flames as soon as you lay your eyes upon them. Some bees lazily float out of their former occupation around the flowers, and fly directly in front of you. All the ants and worms come out of the earth, only to be squished back in by your feet. But you don't care. You want to know what is ahead. The animals and plants all follow you into the cave.

It is a simple affair, really. A stone slab serving as a bed, and a table set in the middle of the room, also carved from stone. There is a human skeleton sitting in front of it, legs crossed. When the grass reaches it, or more specifically its toes, flesh starts growing on the skeleton. The grass grows around it, and it is reformed, made whole. The form is that of a human male, old, feeble, nude. Hair covers his whole face, wild, bushy, and grey. Only his eyes are visible, and they are closed. They remain closed as wildlife surrounds him. Ivy creeps around his body, covering him up, rooting him to the ground. The grass creeps into the cave, and finally the outside world is cold and lifeless once more. But here, in this cave, only life reigns. The walls become blue sky, the ground lush green. Finally, his eyes open. They are a moss green.

"Come closer, child. What brings you here?"

You were supposed to be dead, you recall. Back on that snowy mountain. That night, you died. Why were you on that mountain? Closing your eyes, you try to recall. You grab your head, and try to remember. Only five words remain, however. But... you mustn't. This isn't the time. You speak different words, instead.

"I... I don't know. Who are you?"

The old man looks at you kindly, perhaps with a bit of sorrow. His gaze makes you feel warm, loved.

"I am Urur. Some may know me as the Oracle of Life. Child, it is unfortunate that your life has led you here."

You look behind you, at what was once a grassy path.

"People often look to me for an answer, a solution, where there was only death. But I am only a small sphere of life. Where I go, life begins. When I leave, life ends. Such is the circle of life. Come closer. Tell me about your life. Perhaps I can bring about a more peaceful resolution."

Obediently, you sit down next to the old man, facing outside. You can only see harsh dark clouds and pouring rain. As you hold his hand, however, you can see what he sees. Life everywhere. All manners of animals cavorting. Deer leap to and fro. Foxes tussle, tumbling over each other. Bees happily transport pollen for the beautiful flowers, who in turn take in sunlight and supports everyone else. Yet there is death. A rodent corpse lies behind the foxes, saved as food for later. A wolf chases the deer with a hungry look in its eyes. Beneath the roots of great trees, great bones lie in wait. You see it all, from beginning to end, and from end to beginning. Suddenly, your life, whatever it was, feels insignificant. You sigh, looking away.

"I can only remember these five words."

"Yes, child? Anything is good. Don't be afraid, you are safe here."

Suddenly, you feel a fiendish energy filling your body. You look back at him, with an overwhelming hatred.

"I have come for you."

His hand releases your grip, and he jerks it away. In his eyes are sheer terror. He scrambles back against the wall of the cave. He looks around, and already, everything is wilting away. Wolves fall to the ground, maggots eating them from inside out. Bees explode in a slime that kills any plants it touches. Screaming rabbits are devoured by their own children, who in turn devour themselves. When Urur left, it was cold and lifeless in that cave.

~~~

So this was to be his fate, a battle to the death. How... petty of the Devil. But, perhaps more petty was the revelation that God would bring down a flood upon the Earth. He had always considered himself a friend of the Holy Father, as blasphemous as that was to say. To know that God had grand extinction plans, and did not inform him ahead of time, or even to make him responsible for the preservation of life, instead of this nobody Noah, it was... well, rude. Sighing, he opened his eyes.

He was on a deserted rock in the middle of an open sea. In his presence, the rock had already grown over with corals and barnacles, and fishes of all shapes and colors were swimming merrily among the coral reefs surrounding the rock. Yawning, he stood up and stretched. He leapt in the water then, and remained there, floating in shallow water. Seaweed grew up and covered his modesty. He then exerted his will, and in his sphere of influence, two dolphins leapt out of the water towards him and chittered incessantly. He grabbed the two dolphins by the fins and they swam off, leaving death in their wake. Flying fishes followed him, and skimmed the water.

It was an overcast day in Mermaid's Tail. Nobody noticed, as overcast was the norm in this tiny fishing village. There wasn't anybody out today, except for two fishermen standing on the dock, hauling in today's load. One of their crewmen came up from inland, and hollered. He was saying something about a mermaid. They exhanged skeptical glances. Old Raph was known for his wild sea tales. Still, they were bored, and so they followed him back around their boat to take a closer look. At first, they saw nothing. Then they saw a shadow in the water, one that perhaps resembled a human. Old Raph gibbered, and their jaws dropped open. The tales were real after all! They ran closer to take a look. ...Needless to say, when Urur rose out of the sea, his hair and beard sopping wet with salt water and his body barely covered in seaweed, it was not what they expected. One of them, Barley, closed his eyes shut and inwardly cursed God. This old man stood up, and stretched his arms wide. Finally, he turned and waved goodbye to the dolphins, who excitedly squeaked then swam off before quickly dissipating into a bloody mist.

"My children," he said. "It is a fine day today isn't it? The birds are singing." Indeed, there were several bluebirds flying around him and tweeting their happy songs. The sky split up, and revealed the sun, which shone onto him. It was majestic, and the men started to have doubts. Barley even opened his eyes. Urur reached down and touched the earth, and a sapling sprouted out of the spot. It quickly grew into an apple tree, which should have looked quite out of place on a beach, but it somehow fit in here. Urur reached up, and plucked an apple out of it. He reached out to the men.

"Want a bite?"

The men nodded, and they passed the apple around, each taking a bite at a time. With each bite, they felt full of energy. Old Raph leapt in the air and whooped, even with his bad knee. Where their hair was gray, the color grew back. Their skin rippled, and any wrinkles and blemishes had gone. They were young and handsome again. They gaped at each other, then they went to the water to gape at themselves. Suddenly, today was looking like a good day. Still, Barley could feel a niggling doubt. Ordinarily, people did not swim out of the water and bestow people with the gift of life.

"Are you a merman?" Barley asked. "Or are you, perhaps, a messenger from God?"

"Hmm," Urur thought on that a little. "I suppose you could say I'm both. I have come to deliver good and bad news. Which would you like to hear first?"

They took a brief recess to discuss, and the consensus was decided. They would hear the bad news first.

"Ah. Well... it pains me to have to tell you dear folks this, but... you will all die. That is God's will. It will rain for forty days and forty nights, then the flood will consume everything."

The men moaned in despair just then. Perhaps it was not a good day after all. Old Raph piped then, "So... what's the good news?"

"You should already have noticed this, but the fruit I have given you will bestow upon you eternal life. You, as well as the rest of this hamlet, shall survive the flood. As long as you stay near me, that is. Sadly, there are more bad news. If any of you should leave my side, you will almost certainly crumble into dust. Such is the price of the Fruit of Life."

As they spoke, Urur's circle was gradually expanding, as made clear by the grass growing outwards. Where once there was only dirt, there were now grass growing out from between the rocks. Worms poked their heads out of the dirt, and burrowed back underground. Although Urur remained by the tree, his influence grew, no doubt fueled by his new servants' life energy. Over time, his influence would grow to cover Mermaid's Tail. Frowning, Urur thought. He would have to get the word out. Nobody leaves his circle, or they would return to death. He didn't want them to panic and attempt to run away. He would need more servants. The more people he had in his influence, the bigger the circle could grow. Hopefully, he could save enough people before the flood came. Then Earth would be reborn. With him as its ruler, there would be no more death. He would not have to suffer another death of a loved one ever again. Nor would anybody else on his Earth.

"Come with me, boys. I think it's time we established a new world order."

A couple of miles away from a certain fishing village, Jesús Cirrostratus looked on in confusion.

A few seconds ago, he waited in rapt attention for the sacrificial dagger to plunge into his chest, for his glorious lifeblood to spill over the altar he was laid upon. Of course, those seconds are long past – he let out a nervous laugh at that realization – and here he was now, stuck in the Rain Gods know where, near a settlement with a rapidly expanding ring of grass, and wearing these sacrificial robes – these ridiculous sacrificial robes no less, he realized.

He laughed again.

- And stopped, silently admonishing himself for nearly slipping. The Rain Gods work in mysterious ways, he thought to himself. Even if the particular Rain God in question looks like the very avatar of evil. Everything has a purpose. It was not a sound train of logic, but everything was so cold and new and he could not think straight. The tenuous reasoning was adequate enough, like a morsel of bread between prayers. Perhaps, he thought upon this more, this was some sort of intermediate realm? A last battery of challenges before he could be proved worthy to live in the Celestial Realms? It would certainly explain the sheer humidity of the weather, the command bequeathed upon him and the others by the powers that may be.

Find the others.

Slay one another.

Jesús is – was – a holy man. The grisly task was unpleasant to his pious sensibilities, but he acknowledged it as a butcher acknowledges the necessity of slaughter. If the Rain Gods deemed it, so be it – he shall carry this divine task to the best of his abilities.

Jesús looked at the village, more verdant than ever. Initially, he thought to go to the heart of the matter and deal with it in person but he decided not. He did not know the strength of this mysterious target-to-be, let alone what sort of strength they wielded in their hands. Besides, there was others. It would be wise to scry but there is no time to gather information and to be frank, Jesús was impatient, but he justified it as efficiency. Efficiency is just impatience with a purpose, he mused.

Fortunately, there was another village, just a half-hour walk. He smiled, tasting the storm on his teeth, and took a soggy step towards his destination.

--

Bartender Buckwheat remembered the halcyon days, when everything was rosier and so much better in comparison. Although to be fair, everything was better in comparison to the dismal present. The tavern suffered more brawls than it could tolerate. The furniture was from piecemeal sets – only half could be judged as tolerably intact. The windows were shattered, a dangerous reminder that the hard-earned money disappeared just yesterday night. Buckwheat looked down at the tavern cup he was persistently polishing – more splinters than container – and sighed. The thieves even took every tankard of ale along as interest. By the love of all that is good and green on this wretched, wet place, it wasn’t even good ale! Buckwheat swore the entire world was going to the wolves, no holy shepherd or prophet in sight –

Suddenly, the last remains of the door splintered open.

- And in came a strange man. The intricacy of his strange robes and the resplendent jewelry on his person made Buckwheat suspect he was some noble from overseas. In a less dramatic setting, Buckwheat would had turned up his nose – he was not a big fan of the upper-class, let alone upper-class foreigners – but there was something mesmerizing about the new guest. It was definitely not normal, and in fact, if he thought of the following word in time, rather supernatural. Like he was chosen by some sort of awesome power, a power that demanded fear and respect, a power invested by a g-gh-gh-God.

Gods even.

“Hello there!” The stranger was suddenly close to his face, too close for comfort in fact. Buckwheat stared back, stared up, and stared back again.

“How…can I help you.”

“Storm’s a coming.”

“Yes.”

“It’s going to be a big one.”

“Uh-huh.”

“I think it might as well end the world,” the man nudged an elbow into him. “God told me.”

“…Oh,” Buckwheat deflated. “I see.”

Buckwheat knew the world was going to end one day. He often fantasized the terrible and creative ways the end might come in but the fact he heard that statement from another person was pretty devastating. A more rational person would had laughed it off, but honestly? Buckwheat was not in a good position right now. He saw the sins of common man, he just got robbed for the umpteenth time, and his door is destroyed yet again. Also, he can’t drink on the job. Buckwheat decided the most tactical decision at this moment was to stand there with a vacant stare. It was so depressing the strange man was getting a little concerned.

“You look like you need a drink.”

“I can’t drink. I’m on the job.”

“The world’s going to end.”

“Well, fair enough but I don’t drink alone. It’s kind of pathetic.”

“Want to drink with me?”

“I just met you. Also, no.”

“What if I invite others? The entire village? If you ask me, everyone needs a drink.”

“I was robbed,” Buckwheat snapped. “Fuckers stole my beer.”

“Look again.”

“Can you not – ”

Buckwheat met with a strange yet wondrous sight. Barrels upon barrels haphazardly stacked upon each other. Not typical barrels either, but made from planks of rich blue stone and banded in pearlescent metal that screamed luxury. From the distance, Buckwheat could practically smell the contents. It was strange – an earthy, watery scent after rainfall, intoxicating and pleasant. He took his cup to the barrel and indulged himself a sample.

“It’s…delicious.”

“Rainwater,” the man winked impishly. “Straight from the Rain Gods.”

“Bullshit.”

“It’s the truth,” he shrugs. “More where it came from.”

“More?”

“Yes, but this isn’t free.”

“I suppose so,” Buckwheat sighed as he filled the cup to the brim and mulled on it. “What do you want me to do?”

--

Jesús Cirrostratus took a dainty sip out of his tavern cup.

He asked the bartender to host a festival to cheer the spirits of men, although the Chosen of the Rain Gods greatly insisted upon the choosing the decorations. Jesús wondered why no one question his choice of party favors – the geometric iconography, the black-on-blue ceramic sculptures, and other most definitely out-of-place ornaments – that his gifts may not be truly given freely out of his heart.

The atmosphere must be absolutely disheartening if they could accept this kindness without questions. Jesús felt a little guilty about utilizing the festival as a ritual-circle to call in his Gods, but that feeling soon passed. They acquired much needed levity and the raucous din and tumultuous emotions contributed much needed power into his divine quest. Their lives would be brief and joyous, and in time, they too will earn a place in the Celestial Realms.

Jesús saw the surface of his drink rippling, ring upon rings. The rain had come early. Some say prematurely, but if you asked Jesús, he would argue it came right on time. For now, the rainfall was extremely weak – he could barely feel it on his face – and extremely localized but he knew it soon be stronger, stronger than even he could imagine. And it will spread.

How…how many other outsiders did the Rain Gods send? Six? Seven? Did it matter? The world was going to get washed away, absolve of its wretchedness. Every plant and creature will drown and only those who will be chosen will survive. Chosen by the Rain Gods to live in a clear and beautiful world to come. Jesús let out a nervous laugh, but it was less fear of the unknown and more excitement at the things to come.

Everything has a purpose and he just completed his own.

In a different realm of existence entirely, a war was raging between the forces of technomancy and a massive demonic incursion. In this war, the technomancer's primary units were clockwork automatons, sent into battle so that the entire civilian population could focus on manufacturing more war machines.While it was surprising when one of the newly manufactured automatons suddenly disappeared, the unit's presence would not ultimately be missed in its home dimension. After all, as formidable as it was, the Titan of Steel who had ordered the unit's manufacture viewed them as expendable.

Mk. 17.1 Clockwork Knight Activation Sequence Start
Primary Systems Check
-Primary Processor: Online
-Backup Processor: Online
-Checking Hull Integrity: Nominal. All armor layers at full integrity
-Main Reactor: Operating at nominal capacity
-Backup Reactor: Operating at nominal capacity
-Cooling Runes: Active
-Visual Sensors: *Checking Resolution* 40 megapixels resolution, receiving electromagnetic wavelengths between 2400 nanometers and 410 nanometers; thermal imaging active
-Auditory Sensors: *Checking range* full auditory spectrum receivable, minimum detectable sound 0.001 Db, maximum tolerable sound 210 Db
-Motor System: Nominal; all joints capable of rotation at 260 degrees per second, maximum sustained force of 12.4 Meganewtons
-Self-Repair System: Operating at nominal capacity

Auxilliary Systems Check
-Chest Mounted Plasma Dump: Active; Sodium-24 salter is online for area denial
-Integrated Backup Autocannons: Active; ammunition conjuration systems operating at full capacity
-Combat Tower Shield Projectors: Fully active; energy required to penetrate estimated at 24 Megajoules
-Plasma Edged Rad-Sword: Fully Active; maximum temperature achievable at cutting edge of 2.1 million Kelvin
-Proton Beam Rifle: Fully Active
-Scouter Drone: Fully Active, deploying

Assigning Targets
-All Target Profiles Assigned
-Engage Hunter-Killer Mode

With the integrity of all systems assured, and its mission assigned, the metallic monstrosity hauled itself out of the crater it had been deposited in. Strain was placed on immensely durable carbon nanotube enhanced alloys as the machine climbed to its feet, a pair of nuclear flames burning in its chest as impossibly unstable nuclei were magically conjured into existence and just as quickly flew apart to release immense quantities of energy.

Above, a smaller machine flew forwards, scouting the landscape with immense detail in order to ascertain where the Clockwork Knight's targets could possibly be located. Soon, the drone happened upon a small fishing village, relaying this information back to the Knight. With a bounding, leaping stride, the 2.4 meter tall war machine began sprinting towards the village, covering ground at a pace no ordinary human could possibly keep up for long.

As the killing machine got closer and closer, it soon became clear that the village was in the middle of some variety of celebration; there was loud music being played, and several alcoholic beverages making the rounds. Quickly, the scout drone compared the faces in the crowd to those listed in the Clockwork Knight's current target database. It took mere moments before the drone found a match, with one target of seven now having its location confirmed. That said, the Clockwork Knight did not attack just yet; there were still several targets with unknown locations, and to charge straight in with incomplete intelligence on the situation risked total mission failure. So the machine lurked on the edge of the village just out of sight, as its drone continued to search for the other targets.