《The hands of the clock》 Prologue A firestorm rained down from the sky, destroying everything in its path. As blades collided, thunder cracked. Women wept as the monsters devoured their young. Soldiers stood where puddles of blood splattered. About 1,800 years ago, land and sky were engaged in war. Lightning struck from the sky after the crucifixion of Jesus Christ, causing a wildfire known as the Atlas Flame, which killed over 30,000 Roman soldiers in the wake of the crucifixion. There was an increase in that number on the day of the resurrection when Jesus rose from the dead, and half a million Roman soldiers were claimed by the dead. Although the sensible followers of Christ believed that his teachings were true, the Romans believed that their gods Mars, Uranus, and Jupiter were true. As well as the Christian and Roman cultures, there were other cultures that claimed different faiths of their own, such as the Greek, Muslim, and Nordik cultures, all of which were rich in their own culture, similar to the Christian and Roman cultures. They each had their assertion of god and how to worship him. In the sky, the land, and below, a war that would last thousands of years would break out in silence.Enjoying the story? Show your support by reading it on the official site. Chapter 1: The Atheists *Skrrrrt* The sound of a skateboard sliding across a stairway railing. The rider exclaims, "Wow, I''m going too fast.". *CRASH* he crashed into a hotdog stand.¡°Dang it kid,¡± says the vendor. He jumps up and dashes down the street as he says, "Uh, sorry gotta go!". Get back here, you little punk, who is going to pay for this? He gets back on his board and says to himself, "I''m late already, I''ve got to hurry." He finally arrived at his destination after about 10 minutes. "A church huh" he thinks to himself as he enters the abandoned building. His eyes scan the surroundings as he shouts "HELLO". From the shadows, a voice called out, "Stop.". The kid looked up. ¡°Speak your name,¡± says the voice. ¡°Just call me Kami,¡± he muttered. ¡°HA¡± says a feminine voice from the shadows. ¡°You want us to call you god? Pathetic¡± she says as she jumps out from the shadows. *CRASH* She lands in front of him. ¡°That was kinda a large fall,¡± he says. ¡°So you think you can join us huh¡± she says ignoring him ¡°You want to be an Atheist?¡± she says rudely. ¡°I mean I''m already an atheist, but I do want to join The Atheists¡± Kami states. 2 more cloaked people drop from the shadows. ¡°Speak,¡± says a ragged voice ¡°Why should you join us, WHAT POWER DO YOU HAVE!¡± the man says as he throws off his cloak and rushes at Kami. ¡°That''s a big man,¡± Kami yells in excitement. The man was about 7 feet tall and had a horn much like a ram. He had bright orange hair and the physique of a gladiator. As the man runs his hand begins to get infused with some type of aura, green and black. *BOOM* The sound of his fist clashing against Kami blows everyone back, and windows shatter. The whole neighborhood felt that for¡°HAHAHA I got him,¡± the man says, but as the smoke clears, Kami stands there unscathed, blocking with his arm, his body coated in lighting. That''s all you''ve got?¡± t?¡± he says before he pushes the man back ¡°My turn¡± The lights in the room begin to flicker. ¡°What''s happening?¡± says the woman. Kami begins to absorb all the electricity in the room and as he does a blue orb begins to form in front of him. ¡°Wait, what are you doing?¡± says the horned man. ¡°getting even,¡± Kami says as he releases the energy at the man *ZZZZZZ* the sounds of the orb shocking and sizzling the man in an instant. ¡°AHHHH¡± he cried laying on the ground missing his right arm. Kami walks over. ¡°I could have done much worse," he says as he steps on the man''s wound. ¡°Enough, let Llywelyn go¡±, says the voice from before. This man was smaller than the last. Enormous compared to Kami but small compared to the horned one. This man seemed to lack emotion, he had braids and beads around his wrists and neck. He wore a black and red headband. One side of his hair was golden brown and the other dark as night.This text was taken from Royal Road. Help the author by reading the original version there. "What''s your name?" says Kami. "Lutalo, but you can call me Lu" "What was that power, Kami?" "Lightning if I had to guess, I just woke up one day and could do this," says Kami, "Interesting," says Lu. ¡°So we all have powers?¡± Kami says, ¡°It seems so.¡± ¡°This is Chimalma,¡± Lu states. The woman was short but fierce, Her eyes a bright yellow. She was covered in piercings and tattoos and carried a Spear with the tusk of a boar as the head. She wore leather pants and a tank top with spots resembling blood splatter. Her hair was short to her neck with one long braid on the side and a headband made from the claws of unknown animals. ¡°it appears you and Llywelyn have already become good friends,¡± Lu says with a chuckle. ¡°So am I in?¡± Kami asks confidently. Llywelyn chuckles on the ground and begins to stand up. His arm begins to regenerate quickly as if nothing happened. ¡°You''re in,¡± he says as he chuckles. The 4 of them stand there pondering what will happen. ¡°So are you guys gonna show me your powers?¡± Kami asks, annoyed. Lu begins to demonstrate. His hands are a bright blue color and there¡¯s a mysterious aura between them. Huuhhhhhh¡± he yells out as his power grows. *Boom* a ball of smoke forms around his hands. When the smoke clears, he¡¯s holding a yo-yo. He laughs loudly as he plays with it. ¡°You can create a yo-yo?¡± Kami asks annoyingly. ¡°I can create objects roughly the size of a laptop among other things, I will show you when I trust you¡± he exclaims. ¡°Interesting,¡± Kami says ¡°What about you?¡± Kami says to Chima lacking confidence. Chima begins to growl and yell like a Ferocious animal. ¡°Gggggrrrrrraaaaaaahhhhh¡± she yells at the top of her lungs. As she yells she begins to split slowly. ¡°What¡¯s going on??¡± Kami exclaims. Chima starts producing a purple glow from her body. Her body splits more and more into 4 distinct versions of her. One red, one white, one black, one blue. Each of them chants confidently in unison. ¡°How¡¯s this for power?¡± ¡°Woah, I bet I can take all of you,¡± Kami says confidently. Chima turns away angrily while blushing. She begins to absorb the clones. ¡°You already seen my power,¡± Llywelyn says jokingly. ¡°You guys are a cool bunch¡± Kami states ¡°I can¡¯t wait to join¡± he exclaims. ¡°You''re not officially in till our boss says so¡± Llywelyn exclaims. ¡°Well let¡¯s go see him¡± Kami exclaims. ¡°Hahaha, you think it¡¯s that easy¡± Llywelyn cries out in laughter. ¡°What?¡± Kami asks. ¡°You have to defeat me first,¡± Lutalo says. ¡°HA! What¡¯re you gonna do? Make a laptop-sized baton¡± Kami laughs out. As he laughs Lutalo begins to hum again ¡°Hhhhhhuuuuuuuuhhhhh¡± he hums as loud as a lion and starts doing some type of dance or ritual. His body begins to glow again, a golden aura. ¡°What¡¯s going on?¡± Kami asks as he begins to coat his body in lightning once more. ¡°Ahhh it is complete¡± Lutalo mumbles to himself coated in a golden aura. 8 golden orbs rise from him and float behind him in a circle. ¡°The sun is my savior¡± he chants. ¡°Enough of this¡± Kami yells as he rushes at Lutalo. 4 orbs of light shoot at Kami. Kami crouches down to dodge them and then jumps. He hits the roof and bounces off. He begins to bounce off every wall in the room, continuing to charge up an attack. Lu keeps shooting orbs, holding the same stance he charged up with. ¡°futile¡± he states as he charges up an orb bigger than all the others he made before. Kami yells ¡°I¡¯m ready¡± ¡°Aaaaaaaahhhhh¡± he cries out as he flies before Lutalo. Lutalo cries out, ¡°Protect me, Mother¡±. He shoots the orb at Kami and as they clash a bright light flashes. The sound of the collision was so powerful it didn¡¯t make a sound a mortal could hear but the Heavens and below did. Chapter 2: The Clock Strikes Twelve ¡°Tick tick tick,¡± a deep voice says with a chuckle. The man sits on his throne in a cloak made of feathers with his face unseen. The man was gigantic, somewhere around 15 feet tall. His hands were rotten and falling apart. Maggots were crawling all over his arms and hands. ¡°The time is coming soon Akan,¡± says the man ¡°I am your hand,¡± says the girl standing before the throne. She wears a cloak much like the giant figure, with feathers all over it. She wears bronze armor under the cloak and carries 2 macuahuitls infused with some type of powerful aura. She has long black hair on her back and a sling with a bow and bolas. She is armed for war. ¡°I am Akna, your hand of the clock, the clock will strike 12.¡± She says with confidence and anger. ¡°The mortals will die¡± ¡°This is a grand city, I¡¯ve never been to the States before,¡± Llywelyn says with his eyes full of wonder. ¡°It¡¯s not as bad as they make it seem,¡± he says while laughing. Lu stands there with disappointment in his eyes. ¡°Have you forgotten why we¡¯re here?¡± he says with anger ¡°There¡¯s something wrong in this city¡±. ¡°Wait, I thought you guys came here to see me?¡± Kami says. ¡°There are much more dire matters than you kid,¡± she says rudely. ¡°There''s rumors of people going out to a farm outside of New York City and disappearing for months, next thing ya know the person shows up again acting all weird¡± she exclaims. ¡°So what do you think it is?¡± Kami asks. ¡°HA, this guy a eejit¡± Llywelyn says while laughing. ¡°Enough!!¡± Lu says. ¡°We have to head there now¡± The 4 of them hop in a car and head toward the town¡¯s border. *HONK* *HONK* ¡°Get out of the way asshole!¡± a man screams at the car in front of him. ¡°I hate America,¡± Lu says with anger in his eyes. They were stuck in traffic and weren¡¯t gonna get out soon. An hour passed by, then another, then another, and the sun had fallen before they made it to the farm. It was 11 o''clock exactly. ¡°You guys need a bigger car,¡± Llywelyn says jokingly. ¡°Quiet,¡± Lu says as he walks to the door. The other 3 follow. As he approaches he sees a herd of goats in the field eating. He stares them down and ponders. He knocks on the door and while he waits Kami decides to go see the goats. ¡°Where¡¯re you going you idiot¡± Chima whispers to him. ¡°Shhhh I just wanna pet one,¡± Kami says like a child. Chima quickly follows him to stop him. ¡°No you idiot¡± she yells. While those 2 are away Lu and Llywelyn wait for the farmers to open the door. ¡°Why hello,¡± says an old man as he opens the door slowly. ¡°What''re you doing out so late? You get a flat tire?¡±. Lu looks him up and down. The man was in a nightgown and had little to no hair on his head. His eyes were slightly yellow as if he were sickly, his teeth were rotting and falling out. But oddly enough, he stood tall as if he were perfectly fine. Lu kept glaring at him not saying a word, Llywelyn sat there confused wondering what was going on. The man began to speak. ¡°Is there a problem-¡±. Before he could finish his sentence Lu blasted him away with an energy sphere. All that was left was his lower torso and legs. Llywelyn looked at Lu and saw he had no expression on his face. ¡°WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU DOING!!¡± he yells out. Lu continues walking in. Chima finally grabs hold of Kami and begins to punch him in the back of the head. ¡°You goddamn idiot what¡¯s wrong with you¡± ¡°I don¡¯t know I just like animals¡± He says with no expression on his face. ¡°Hey, I have a question,¡± Kami says. ¡°Aren¡¯t you all children of gods?¡±. ¡°Yes,¡± Chima states in a dry tone. ¡°So why do you call yourselves ¡°The Atheists?¡± Chima says ¡°We believe in the gods Just not The God,¡± she says. ¡°What?¡± Kami says with a confused expression on his face. Before she could answer they heard Llywelyn yell and the sound of the blast. ¡°What the hell going on?!¡± She yells out. As they start to walk they hear a voice behind them. ¡°The moon is so beautiful tonight,¡± says a woman. ¡°Who the hell?¡± Kami asks and as they turn around they see the herd of goats standing on their hind legs. One giggles ¡°I¡¯m hungry¡±. ¡°What the hell is that?¡± Kami asks. ¡°A P¨²ca¡± she states. ¡°A what??¡± She sighs ¡°A shapeshifting goblin¡± ¡°Enough talk,¡± the goat says as it begins to transform, it grows a scorpion¡¯s stinger on its tail, grows up to 20 feet tall, and has the body of a gorilla, its hind legs stayed nearly the same only they were larger. He grew 2 more heads, one a lion, and one a dragon. His hands were like lions but much sharper, capable of cutting steel. Dragon wings sprouted from his back and as they did he rose. The 3 other goats transformed. One a chimera, one a basilisk, one a banshee. You might be reading a stolen copy. Visit Royal Road for the authentic version. As Lu enters the house Llywelyn tries to ask more questions but Lu quickly tells him to be quiet. ¡°Stay on guard, remember your training,¡± Lu says. Llewellyn stands guard and reaches towards the floor. As he does grass begins to form and rising out of it is a sword made from grass but sharp as steel. It retracts and wraps around his wrist. As Lu rushes up the stairs Llywelyn turns back to the old man¡¯s body only, it wasn¡¯t there anymore. ¡°Wha-¡±. Before he could finish a creature drops on his head. ¡°Ouch ouch,¡± he cries out while a baby-sized creature tears at his head. He backs up against a wall and prepares to run. He sprints as fast as he can at the brick fireplace and he clashes with it. As his gigantic body clashes with the fireplace, every brick comes falling. He flies through like wet paper. ¡°Let¡¯s go¡± Kami cries out ready for battle. He coats his body in lighting and prepares to fight. ¡°Hey I wanna try something,¡± he says as he picks up 2 pieces of the broken fence. He begins to charge his energy into the stick making it glow a bright blue. He raises his arms and says ¡°Alright let¡¯s do this¡± and as his arms come down an axe head made of lightning forms on both of the sticks. ¡°Badass¡± he exclaims Chima begins to transform into a cipactli. She grows slightly smaller than the first p¨²ca. Her head transforms into a fishlike crocodile. Her legs become toad-like and bouncy. Right before they leap into battle they hear the crash from Llywelyn. ¡°That big idiot,¡± Chima says in a gnarly voice. As she¡¯s distracted the amalgamation of animals rushes at her and punches her so hard her head should¡¯ve come . As Kami¡¯s distracted, the basilisk rushes at him and tries to wrap around him. *zzzzz*. His lighting shocked the basilisk and as it flew back he jumped at it ready to strike but before he could the chimera jumped at him and knocked him back. ¡°Dammit, 3 on one,¡± he says in an annoyed tone. There he stood surrounded by 3 bloodthirsty creatures waiting to taste godly blood. Chima quickly recovered from the creature''s attack. As she jumped back up she noticed Llywelyn getting back up. ¡°He¡¯s fine I need to worry about myself,¡± she says to herself while she stands before the creature. They both begin to rush at each other but chimas much quicker. The creature flies at Chima and as he does he shoots fire from the dragon''s head. She blocks the flames but becomes blind and immobilized due to the smoke and fire around her. He circles her, incinerating every life form around her. But as the smoke clears, there she stands with her fireproof scales. She leaps from the smoke directly at the creature and smacks it with her tail. She bites its leg and slams it on the ground not once, not twice, but three times. She stands over the creature catching her breath but before she can it crabs her tail. It stands back up and begins to spin her around in a circle. It goes round and round and round and releases her slamming her into a tree. She then returns to her original form and sits against the tree with blood leaking from her head. ¡°Tch dammit,¡± she says ¡°I''m getting rusty¡±. She stands back up and transforms into the same creature as the p¨²ca. ¡°Let¡¯s box asshole,¡± she says as she wipes blood from her mouth. While this was happening Llywelyn was in a battle of his own. The small p¨²ca from before was no longer so small. It was the same height as Llywelyn and took the form of a frost giant. It stood there with its ice sword and shield grinning at Llywelyn. His grass sword came out again. He stared at it and then laughed. ¡°This is pretty fun¡±. He rushes at the creature moving as fast as a cat. He swung his blade at the giant and before it could connect, the shield stopped it. ¡°So you''re fast too huh? This is so fun¡± he exclaims. The 2 start swinging their swords, they swing so fast no mortal can see their blades. As their blades clashed once more they both jumped back. Not a scratch on either of them. Llewellyn pulls out a flute and begins to play ¡°This is taking too long¡± he says to himself. The giant begins to run at him again but before it gets close¡­. An elk crashes right into the giant. The sound of the giant hitting the ground was so loud and hard that the people in the city could feel it.. the giant got back up and saw a group of animals swarming Llewellyn. ¡°Let¡¯s finish this you freak¡±. The banshee shrieks at Kami immobilizing him. ¡°Holy shit!!! My ear¡± he cries out. His lighting begins to weaken because of the pain and as it does the basilisk gets ready to attack once more. Right as it rushes to attack, Chima and the creature step right in front of it in a power struggle causing the basilisk to crash into chimas leg. They both hold each other''s arms and attempt to overpower one another. As the creatures are distracted Kami jumps at the banshee and punches it back. He begins to charge the lightning in his hands and around them gauntlets form. He then jumps at the banshee and begins to punch as hard as he can. He punches into the air, then jumps up and hits it right back into the ground. He lands on top of the banshee and just stares. There¡¯s nothing behind his eyes, not a shred of emotion. He punches and punches and punches and punches until the banshee''s entire upper body is gone. He stands over her with no expression on his face with blood leaking from his ears. He charges his energy into his hand and releases a beam of energy so powerful it burns a 20-foot hole in the ground. At this point he has stopped thinking, his body is moving on its own. His eyes start glowing blue and clouds start forming in the sky. Thunder strikes the ground around them. When a thunderbolt strikes Kami he starts to float. He dashes at the basilisk and stops right in front of it. It leaps at him trying to attack and before it can he grabs it by the neck. He shocks the basilisk with the power of a thousand thunderbolts. He shocks and shocks and shocks it till it turns to dust. Chima lets go of the creature and jumps back to dodge the lighting. ¡°What is happening? Kami, are you okay?¡± She screamed out to him But he ignored her. The p¨²ca turns into a rat and scurries away. ¡°Shit¡± She says to herself. She then rushes to Kami. The animals Llywelyn summoned run away in fear and as they do the p¨²ca transforms into an animal and runs like the last. Llywelyn stands there confused. While he stands there Lu comes out of the house. ¡°What the hell is happening¡± he yells at Llywelyn. Llywelyn shrugged. A thunderbolt struck right where they stood but they quickly jumped away. ¡°It¡¯s Kami,¡± Lu says. They both then rush over to help him. Chima rushes to Kami and right as she arrives she watches him incinerate the basilisk. She transforms back to her original form and tries to touch him but she gets shocked. He doesn¡¯t even look at her. He flies at the chimera grabs its tail and then flies into the sky. Lu and Llywelyn arrive just as he flies away. They asked Chima what happened and she explained. In the sky, the p¨²ca was getting the worst beating of its life. As Kami rose above the clouds he let go of the chimera tail and let it fly up; he then flew up at lightning speed and began bouncing it around like a pinball in a game. He keeps bouncing it around and with every hit, its body gets destroyed. More and more and more until there was nothing left. Kami passes out and falls from the sky. They see him fall and rush to help. Before he lands Llywelyn uses his powers to make a giant pillow made of plants to save him. They all run up to comfort him. They swarm him with countless questions. ¡°What was that?¡±, ¡°was that your full power?¡± and much more. But he was unconscious. Llywelyn laughed. ¡°I have no idea what just happened,¡± he said as he continued laughing. He then picked up Kami and got ready to head back to the car and just then the clock struck 12 Chapter 3: The Dead Have Fallen As the clock stuck the 3 of them stood still. They heard loud shrieking sounds. It was like a battle cry. Kami remains asleep, unaware of what¡¯s to come. Chima stands there in fear quivering like a deer in headlights. ¡°What is this Chima?¡± Lu says. ¡°The cries of death¡±. Bodies started to rain from the sky. ¡°Is this Kami?¡± Lu asks. Llywelyn and Chima just shrugged. ¡°Run¡± he yelled. The 3 of them ran as fast as they could to the car but before they could get to it, Akna landed on the hood. Her landing was so strong it tore through the engine. ¡°Dammit,¡± Lu muttered. ¡°The hand has struck twelve, your time is up,¡± she says with confidence and ferocity. Lu charges up his energy spheres but they¡¯re much weaker as the sun has gone down. Body¡¯s continue to rain from the sky and the ones that have hit the ground begin to rise. The dead stand before the group, they stand still around them surrounded. Lu looks at Akna ¡°So this is your power?¡± ¡°What is the meaning of this?¡± he asks. She just smirks. ¡°Go¡± she whispers. They all stand there confused. Lu prepares to ask the questions once more but before he can the dead rush at them. ¡°Shit, we gotta go,¡± Chima says, overwhelmed by the numbers. As the dead close in they prepare for battle. ¡°Undead surge¡± akna yells while laughing. ¡°Your souls will pass through the veil and belong to the lord¡±. Llywelyn starts to make a dome of plants around them but it doesn¡¯t stop the dead from rising from the floor. He trapped them with the dead. Chima transforms into a dragon and starts knocking them back. ¡°We need to go,¡± she urges. Llywelyn sets Kami down and covers him in plants. ¡°Hope this works,¡± he says to himself. He then reaches down and pulls a battle axe made of plants from the ground and prepares for battle. Chima and Llywelyn focus on defending Kami, but Lu is too distracted by questions in his head. ¡°Who is this?¡± he keeps asking himself. He¡¯s frozen in one spot staring in the direction of where they last saw Akna. A corpse jumps at Lu but before it gets close he shoots it back with an energy sphere. He''s still distracted but his guard is on point. ¡°This is too much¡± ¡°Jump on¡± Chima yells out. Llywelyn grabs Kami and jumps on her back. ¡°Lu it¡¯s time to go¡± he yells out. Lu quickly snaps back and rushes to them. He tries to get to them there but the corpse stands in his way. He charges up his energy and then jumps on a corpse¡¯s shoulder. He bounces from corpse to corpse like they¡¯re stepping stones. He gets closer and closer until.This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings. A corpse grabs hold of his leg as he jumps and causes him to fall face down on the floor. ¡°No no no¡± Llywelyn yells as he pulls out a grass-made cannon. It begins humming as it charges up and begins to shoot green and black energy beams like a railgun. ¡°Leave me¡± he yells out. He gets back up, creates a Morningstar, and begins to infuse it and swing. The plant dome starts to decay from the top. The 3 of them look up to see Akna falls through the roof and lands right in front of Lutalo. Lu just glares at her. He dashes at her hoping to get a quick attack on her but the dead are overwhelming him. The dead fall from the sky again filling up the dome like water. Chima and Llywelyn start to fly away and dodge the raining dead. ¡°We can leave him,¡± Llywelyn says with worry. ¡°Don''t worry¡± she says as she prepares to fly to Lu and help. Lu fights for his life as the dead attempt to grab onto him. ¡°Help us,¡± says a voice ¡°Help up please¡± another voice cries out. ¡°These souls, are mortal,¡± he says with a sad look in his eyes Lu stops fighting and begins to charge up again. ¡°I¡¯m sorry lost ones,¡± he says as he touches the face of a corpse attempting to eat him. He focuses his power on the energy around him making it burn brightly. His power is so powerful it starts burning the corpses around him. He begins to say ¡°release¡± but before he can finish Akna yells out ¡°undead explosion¡± and as she does each corpse begins to scream and cry. The shrieking was so loud Lu lost concentration and then. *boom* *boom* *boom* explosions everywhere. Each corpse exploded one by one. Lu was in the middle of the corpses and was lost in the smoke. Chima and Llywelyn look for him once more but settle on the worst. They get ready to fly away, but before they exit the dome they see Lu flying up through the air unconscious. Llywelyn uses his power to grab hold of him using a plant vine. He pulls him in but before he can Akna jumps up and cuts the vine. The vine starts to decay. Lu drops down once again. Chima continues flying away as she knows what could happen if she attempts to help. Lu falls into the sea of death once again and is seen no more. The dead have fallen.