《Heaven's Chain》


 The Aspirant

    Just after the beginning of time, there was a continuous warfare between light and dark, good and evil, Gods and Devils. The war would go for millions of years until finally the Gods defeat the Devils and sealed them outside space and time for eternity.


    After this war, called the War Of Everything, 5 Gods were chosen as Lords to govern the Universe. These 5 Lords where assigned different SuperClusters (group of several galaxies) to rule over. Their job was to prevent war between these SuperClusters and rule over their respective group of galaxies. One such group was the Laniakea SuperCluster. Though the Lord of this is SuperCluster doesn''t interfere with it''s God''s or people.This group of galaxies have a special geopolitical system. There are Gods who rule over different planetary systems. In the span of 50 years there is a war between these planetary system, and whichever planetary system wins gets all the resources and can rule the lost planetary system. This war is called, War of Gods.


    Among these planetary system, is our Solar System. All planets here is assigned to different Gods.


    Ignarion:- Ruled by Pyrathor (God of Fire??)


    Verdara:- Ruled by Sylva (God of Nature ??)


    Aqualis:- Ruled by Thalor (God of Water ??)


    Oneiros:- Ruled by Morvyn (God of Dreams??)


    Areskar:- Ruled by Valdrath (God of weapons ???)


    Aegis:- Ruled by Elandor (God of Protection????)


    Terrakon:- Ruled by Gaelith (God of Ground??)


    There exist one planet in this solar system called Seraphis which is not assigned to any particular God. And in this planet lives our hero, Kael Starborne.


    It''s the time of Summer, there are hardly any clouds in this serene blue sky. Ah, what''s that?. A guy in orange and yellow t-shirt and shorts is running down the road alongside this green field.


    "AAAHHH. What a great start of the day. I have to run in this scorching weather." The boy said."The alarm is so damn useless. It does wakes me up but I tend to turn off and go to deep sleep right way. Ah, it''s not even the alarms fault, heck it''s not even my fault! Why do I have to attend classes this time of the year. It''s too hot. I wonder if the God of fire feels the same 24/7, ahh this makes me feel more hot."


    *A mini truck slows down near him


    "Hey, Kael!, why are you running in this weather"


    "Oh, uncle Tim",while gasping, "I''m late so can you please drop me to school"


    *He sits in the truck


    "Ah, there''s no AC in this truck?"


    *A male teacher with glasses explaining Electromagnetic induction


    "So rate of change in magnetic flux creates an opposi-"


    *Door slams and open


    "Good morning sensei" Kael said while trying to catch his breath, "Now I know I''m late and I''m sorry and no I''m not saying this just for the sake and I actually mean it so please allow me to sit" *gasps


    "Oh god, you are drenched in sweat. Anyways have a seat. Hey Maria, give him your seat for a minute so that he can dry himself."


    *Maria who was seated under a ceiling fan let''s Kael sit


    "So, now that everybody''s here, let me announce something" the teacher said,"The date for GAT, God''s Army Test, has been announced"


    *The class, which was filled with gossips, turned full silent. There was pin drop silence. Every single student in that room were in awe. Except some students, who became dead serious when they heard that. Among those were our Kael, who is an aspirant of GAT. This exam is a big deal in Seraphis as this exam opens the gate of Heavens. This exam is the only way to get in the Army of Gods, which is the most reputed and respected profession. Those in the Gods army can serve Gods and can even fight alongside Gods in the War of Gods, which happen once every 50 years. This exam takes place worldwide every 5 years and people from all over the world participates in this mega test. As the number of participants are high and the positions in the army are limited, there is cut throat competition among them. This exam tests both strength and intelligence. Our hero Kael has been preparing for this test for past 3 years.


    The genuine version of this novel can be found on another site. Support the author by reading it there."The exam is will take place 1 month from now" the teacher continued,"The participation form has been issued. I''ll distribute it to you all after school. The day you guys have been preparing for so long is in one month. There''s not much time left for this exam, this exam can change your life so prepare well."


    *School bell rings


    *It''s 2:30pm, the sun has turned bright red. 10 students, Kael being among them, visits the teacher in the staff room for the form.


    "Those who will be participating for this exam will not be coming to school for tomorrow" the teacher said.


    "Ah, I''ll not have to worry about waking early from tomorrow, sheesh" Kael muttered.


    "Instead, you all be visiting mount Terra at 6 o''clock for your physical training" the teacher continued.


    "Whaaaat!?" Kael muttered in frustration,"First I have to wake up before 6, and then climb a damn mountain for God''s sake!?!"


    "You guys have learned all the theory needed and bit of fighting as well." The teacher continued,"But now it''s time for the next level, a new teacher will be waiting for you all somewhere in the mountain. He''s extremely talented and masters magic, you''ll be learning a lot from him. He says he had worked with God''s in the past"


    *Everyone in the room went silent


    "Worked with God''s? Do you mean he was in the army of Gods?" Maria, who was also in that room to receive that form, asked.


    "You''ll have to ask him" the teacher replied,"Anyways, I gave you all the form but listen carefully, you only get 2 attempts in this exam so think carefully again. Ask yourself if you are ready for this exam, if the answer is no then don''t fill the form and if the answer is yes then go all in. You all are dismissed"


    *Every one leaves the school building.


    "Hey Kael, manh I''m so excited. The exam we''ve been preparing for 3 years is finally here. Even holding this form feels unreal" Maria said


    "Ya it sure is" Kael replied nonchalantly, "I''m tired, and all I''m currently thinking about is that trainer we''ll be facing tomorrow. He worked with God''s, can you imagine it?. Manh, I can''t wait for tomorrow"


    "Make sure you reach there by time you sloth" Maria replied


    "Whom are you calling a sloth, sloths are ugly. I don''t hate them but don''t call be a sloth!" Kael replied


    "Come on, you are so much like sloths. Lethargic and ugly" Maria replied playfully


    "Whom did you call ugly???. Seems like someone doesn''t have a mirror in their home!" Kael replied


    "I have a mirr-"


    "Hey, kids. May I have your attention?" a stranger ,probably in his 30''s, in the gate of the school premise wearing an oversized white t-shirt asked,"Is the form for GAT being issued?"


    "Yes, it is" Kael replied," Don''t tell me you are also preparing for GAT"


    "Haha, no no I''m not. I was asking this fo-"


    "Whatever it is, I answered your question. Now I''ll be leaving" Kael said while interrupting the stranger


    *Kael then left for his home. At night time, Kael left the window of his room open as it was too hot. He looked outside the window, staring at the stars with his own starry eyes. Trying to comprehend the vastness of the Universe.


    "All these stars, each have their own set of Gods. There may be someone in a planet in that distant star going through a similar or entirely different experience than I am. Maybe, I''ll have to fight that guy someday to protect my home." Kael thought to himself," But for that to happen, for me to fight for honour and to explore and conquer those distant stars, I, Kael Starborne must clear GAT and reach the HEAVENS"

 Mount Terra

    "Hey, wake up. Stop sleeping like a dog, you''re late!"


    "Huh, it''s morning already ma? But I just slept"


    "It''s 8 o''clock. You''ll late to your training"


    "What it''s freaking 8 already!"


    "Go take a shit, your breakfast is ready"


    "No no no ma, I''m too late. I was suppose to be in the foot of mount Terra by 6, I ain''t got any time for shitting"


    "At least eat up"


    "An average human can survive upto 2 months without eating at all. I can survive a day atleast"


    *Bamm!


    "This bread is a bit soggy ma, ah it hurts. You didn''t had to hit me this hard"


    "Of course it''s soggy. You were supposed to leave at 5"


    *Kael wore a black oversized t-shirt with beige shorts and tracking shoes


    "Best of luck Maruti"


    "Don''t call me by that name" Kael replied, "I have no association with a fugitive who betrayed our Gods so I refuse to be called by the name he gave me. I hope to meet him someday in a distant planet where I can kill him, my father, by my own hands"


    "Calm yourself Kael, let''s not talk about ''killing'' for now. But, you must understand that he loved you more than anyone in the Universe"


    "Are you kidding me ma?"Kael replied angrily, "Have you forgotten how much we had to suffer because of him? He was a goddamn terrorist! We had to endure all those insults for being related to that man. That man is the reason I''m preparing for GAT so that I can find him and kill him with my very own hands"


    "I thought you had interest in stars and that''s the reason you were preparing for GAT"


    "Well ya, but killing that man is the second most important reason for GAT" Kael replied


    "Ok ok, now leave before that mountain melts" Julia said


    "Alright ma, I''ll leave"


    *Footsteps approaching


    "Bie bie dumbo, come home soon" Anika said


    "Oh, you are awake sis. Good morning and bye bye everyone"


    *Kael leaves for mount Terra


    Fortunately for Kael, the weather is pretty good. There are few clouds in the sky, but overall it''s sunny weather. Kael takes a bus and leaves his village, Doma, for a nearby town of Terra.


    This beautiful planet, Seraphis is free from all kinds of magic¡­mostly. All seven Gods together put a restriction magic on all the humans in Seraphis so that they can''t use their magical powers to full extent. This was done to prevent chaos among the Seraphians. Only those with power, like the rich and world leaders and their subordinates are allowed to use magic. Also some veterans from higher positions of the God''s Army are allowed to use magic. Normal civilians can just use a tiny bit of magic, for example teleporting small objects, self levitating or make other tiny objects levitate and to create small scale fires.The story has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    *Kael reaches a metro station. The station is very crowded as it''s the only station in this town. Kael somehow manages to get past the crowd, takes a ticket and gets on the train where he left for mount Terra.


    *After a few minutes on the train, the ticket checker arrives.


    *Whistle blows


    "Show me your tickets everyone. Hey boy, show me your tickets"


    "Ah ya, here it is"


    *While he checked for his ticket he found that his phone wasn''t in the pocket. Kael looks around and sees a guy trying to get away from the scene. Kael knew that this guy had his phone, so he lunges towards that guy pushing everyone to make the way


    "Excuse me¡­ excuse mee. There''s a thief and he stole my phone I need to catch him"


    *Kael catches up to that thief and grabs him by his shirt''s back collar


    "Where are you running to with my phone mister?"


    That thief reacted quickly. He summoned a sapphire blue knife and rotates around and slashes Kael''s arm with it


    Kael launched himself back, looking at his arm which suffered a small slash. They both are face to face now


    "So you can use magic it seems" Kael says while grinning


    *That thief also grins and looks at Kael with cold eyes. And without exchanging any more words they began fighting. That thief attacks with a right hook but Kael sees it coming and blocks it, knocking out that blue sapphire knife from his hands.


    Many strange golden shiny threads appear from Kael''s right elbow and cover his lower arm and his fist. He then punches the thief''s solar plexus, right below his chest and it launches that thief back. While it happened, the phone dropped from his pocket. The thief slides back and looks back at Kael and grins.


    "I''ll handle you later"


    He then summons another blue knife, Kael thought that he was planning to throw that knife at him so he dodges but actually the thief throws the knife in the nearby window and breaks it. He then jumps through the window and escapes


    "Are you hurt?" The old ticket checker asks in concern


    "Ya, a slash in my arm" Kael replied


    *Kael picks up his phone


    "Shit, the phone''s glass is broken"


    *The ticket checker brings a first aid kit and a stranger uses it to treat Kael''s wound


    "These thief are increasing in Terra town, they are definitely a whole gang working cooperatively" a passenger said


    "Yeah definitely. Recently there have been few extortion cases in this town as well" another passenger replied


    *After 30 minutes the train reaches its destination. That is,near the foot of Mount Terra. Mount Terra is said to be created by God Gaelith. This mountain soon became a tourist attraction which helped the town financially, which was earlier suffering economically. This town then worships Gaelith. It has several temples dedicated specifically to Gaelith. And households in Terra town also worship Gaelith as the main God. Even the town''s name ''Terra'' is taken from ''Terrakon'' which is the planet assigned to Gaelith. This mountain usually stays as a tourist attraction but schools and research centres can rent it for a few months for their own purposes. This time the Lotus Senior Secondary School, the school where Kael studies, has rented the north facing part of this mountain for training.


    "Ah, so finally I''m here. Let''s climb this"


    *Kael drank a mini bottle of energy drink, which he bought from a store back at the station, and began the summit of this non-natural mountain created by a God


    After 15 minutes of climbing Kael realises that the training had already begun for him as he was supposed to find that mysterious coach and his classmates.


    Kael is very grateful in nature. During his trekking he started to look at his surroundings in appreciation. He looked at the green, lush leaves shimmering. He heard the buzz of bees, fluttering wings of birds and the look from above.


    He looked down at the houses from there which got smaller and smaller as he walked forward. Then he came across a rock wall to climb. He wasn''t used to climbing but he did take precautions as he knew this would happen. He found a crack in between the rocks, he inserted his fingers in it and pushed the rock downwards. He then placed his left foot in a crack and pushed downwards. He began climbing.


    "How many years has it been since we climbed it, dad?" Kael said to himself


    After 15 minutes of struggle he successfully completed that rock wall climb.


    "Uff, I did it. Sure it was tough"


    Kael then took a rest under a tree. The sunrays peeping from between the leaves fell on Kael. He took his backpack off and rested his back against the tree.He popped open a can of energy drink and while he was about to drink¡­.


    He heard a screaming sound from not so far away.


    "What was that noise? Gotta check it out first"


    Kael left his backpack near that tree and left in a hurry. After a few steps he saw a distant figure of a girl walking towards while limping.


    "Is she someone from our class?"


    As the mysterious figure walked closer, Kael realised who she was. She was covered in bruises and cuts. She was covered in blood.


    "Maria! Is that you??"