Heart STEALER
Episode 0: The Heart of Darkness
Premise:
[CSS-DIV="background-color: #F2F2F2; background-opacity: 0.5; padding: 20px; border: solid; border-color: #000000; border-width: 1px; color: #000000; text-align: left; width: 650px"]"They say that darkness lurks in every person's heart. It is the primordial ability to do evil, ingrained into even within the kindest of beings. In turn there is light within each person, representing the ability to do good despite past sins. Humanity represented a fragile balance between the two which had, against all odds, stood strong.
And then world came tumbling down.
The blame for this fall… The Fall weighs on the shoulders of the figure only known as the Dark Presence. A being that has lingers in this world for an eternity, waiting and watching as generation upon generation of human being passed it. Fuelled by the evil within the hearts of every being it gathered strength, growing stronger and more capable by the day. Yet it still waited, biding its time, like snake analysing its prey. Despite this we were completely oblivious to its existence, content with the society that we had built from the ground up. The Dark Presence punished our arrogance by fracturing the Old World into pieces.
This Fall was the breakdown of the governments of the world. The cumulating pressure of mass rioting, economic collapse and the creeping forces of the Dark Presence. When its existence was revealed, followed by the knowledge that the authorities were helpless to stop its advance, people panicked. With no control over their civilians, their military or the economy the world's leaders clung to a planet they no longer ruled. As the Dark Presence proved its corruption had spread far further than anyone had realised nations began to fall, piece by piece. The world lost order.
And so the New World was born from the bloody ashes of the Old. It bore a world of anarchy where survival was law and the people were just as vicious as the Hollows that now stalked the streets. As humanity weakened, losing more and more by the day, the Dark Presence only grew stronger. Its spawn were powerful and never lost resolve, unharmed by our efforts to slay them. As the blackened tendrils of this demon spread out across the known world there seemed no hope.
But humanity had become a trapped rat. With nowhere to run it lashed out, teeth bared and with new weapons or war. It had nothing to lose and so risked everything.
The hearts of those corrupted by the Dark Presence, Hollows, had become solid and black, pulsating with a mysterious blue energy. When treated properly these Heart Shards possessed huge amounts of usable energy, fuelling these new and extravagant contraptions that humanity brought into battle. For the first time in seven years since the Fall, humanity fought and humanity won.
Their successes did not stop there.
As more of the taint was cleansed, Heart Shards could be found in great abundance. With no oil, coal or nuclear energy to provide for the people the Shards took their place, finally bringing industry and power to the world once again. Cities grew on this new discovery, bringing together the remnants of humanity and civilisation. The Heart Shards would later even be discovered to be able to impart some of the power of the Dark Presence itself onto individuals, giving them abilities far beyond the scope of ordinary beings which only strengthened the cause.
As much as it tried the Dark Presence no longer had the advantage. The tables had turned, allowing the surviving men and women to stand tall in this apocalyptic world. As days whittled into months and months into years, humanity had triumphed against its foes. Even as sixty years passed, humanity had not faltered. The human race was no longer prey. It had become the predator.
Despite this the war was never over, even if many could live in relative peace in the New World. The battlefield was merely levelled, giving both sides an equal chance. The forces of the Dark Presence, while not nearly as strong as they once were, still linger outside of the city walls and strike whenever the opportunity presents itself. Men and women dedicate their lives to fighting, utilising or studying the Dark Presence, and the New World is built up around its very existence. While torn and scarred the world still lives.
But every good tale needs a twist. Old wounds are bound to be reopened."
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