⁕ Fate's Horsemen

Around 10,000 years ago, when civilization began to take shape, human understanding of nature and its inner workings was still vague. All that could not be explained fell on the shoulders of religious beliefs and deities. Amid this era, a large secluded tribe in South America, which would eventually evolve into the Incas, began a form of human sacrifice to worship their Gods. 

The process had its roots when one of their children who fell and impaled her chest on a crystal not only survived but gained divine powers. Thinking that the child became a vessel for Gods to take physical form, each year, one to three babies would be impaled with the same kind of crystal so either a God could take his or her body as a vessel. If the baby dies, then the sacrifice would be deemed instead a necessary evil to appease the Gods above. 

However, aside from the initial divine child, no others were blessed with the same luck as her. That is until, one day, a trio of babies were also blessed with the same kind of power. When the crystals entered into contact with their hearts, it instead fused with their bodies instead of letting them bleed to death. 

This trio, along with the initial blessed girl, became objects of worship by the tribe. As they grew up, their power increased exponentially as well to the point where they became comparable to actual Gods. Armed with such power, their mere presence forced other tribes' submission to their clan. Soon, they founded the first empire in human civilization. 

Despite everything, however, they weren't able to control one thing that ended civilization and empires: The rotten self-serving nature of human beings. They might be able to control the physical but no one could influence the mental. And just like that, despite their effort, their empire collapsed from within. 

As a great fire burned over the large city that used to be the Gods' utopia, the old woman who used to be the blessed girl simply sat on a hill and watched the flame engulf everything she had worked so hard to build. 

**Of course, they are speaking their native language but it's easier for you, the reader, to read in English. **

[Pachacuti] - "Great Sage, why have you ordered us to not intervene in this great tragedy? We could've saved the people, saved our city, saved everything we loved and worked for! "

Said Pachacuti as he kneeled in front of the frail old woman. 

[Great Sage] - "Because we lost. We are nothing but powerless creatures in service of something... Grand and terrifying... "

Pachacuti noticed the expression of pure fear on the Great Sage's face. 

[Pachacuti] - "I don't understand, Grand Sage. What are you talking about? "

The Great Sage simply pointed her finger at the night sky while the three brothers raised their gaze under its guidance. Although they saw nothing, a feral fear immediately filled their heart through the crystals embedded in their chests. It was not their eyes which deceived them, it was their mind which failed to comprehend what they saw. 

It was a treat which directly brushed against their survival instinct. It was infinity, void and eternity manifested in a single word, it was everything and nothing put inside one image. Something that was above space-time chose to show itself to these few chosen by the crystals. His message was simple: Even as reality-altering Gods, you are nothing in the face of fate. Even with broken chains, your playground is still the prison grounds. 

[Great Sage] - "We aren't Gods, we are nothing but servants; Slaves which enforce his will. "

Whispered the Great Sage as she collapsed to the ground. 

That day, the trio lost their Great Sage. For her old age, that kind of fear was too much for her frail body. However, unlike the Great Sage, Pachacuti's will was not crushed by that encounter. Instead, he was emboldened to find a way to defeat whatever enforced its will upon the human race. With a combination of their power and later experience, the trio first created a shared ability which repaired the DNA damage in their bodies. This in turn granted the trio immunity from old age. 

Then, as a pact, the trio spread around the world and tested distinct individuals' sensitivity to the crystals in hopes of finding someone who was particularly gifted with the crystal. Their ultimate goal was to find an individual who possesses an ability capable of challenging the divine enemy...

*Back to the present day.

[soldier] - "Sir, why are we moving so much heavy weaponry into this cave? "

[general] - "Sigh... I don't know why. Admiral Jack's order. Apparently, according to him, these statues are alive. I don't fucking get that madman. These darn statues are just stone. "

Said the general with crossed arms and a frustrated expression on his face.

Heavily armoured tanks and missile systems lined up to enter the massive cave system. Meanwhile, soldiers with full-on bodysuits and heavy-calibre weapons replaced all the regular soldiers on site. Finally, all the way at the back of the line, missiles armed with nuclear warheads were placed at the entrance to the cave. 

[general] - "What a fucking ridiculous situation. All these resources should be allocated to where the frontline is and not to here, some backwater cave with not even a hint of enemy presence. "

Said the general as he spat on the ground. 

[soldier] - "I'm sure all this has a solid reason. Maybe this cave holds something we don't know. Some secret weapons maybe? "

[general] - "I don't give a damn. Secret weapons or not, I only know Jack's getting fucking demoted after this. And I'll be next in line to take his spot. "

[soldier] - "Well, in any case, take care, general! "

Said the soldier as he ran out of the cave to join his platoon. 

Flanked by two navy seals, the general advanced to the deepest part of the cave where the massive murals were situated. Three-dimensional statues stuck out of the murals as an artistic choice to give the mural a realistic look.

One of the murals depicted the carnage of a battlefield where a single seven-foot-tall soldier stood amidst the chaos dressed in peace-meal military attires from different famous conflicts in history. Another mural depicted the scene of a rural area in the Middle Ages. However, while all the other peasants starved with thin bodies and skins wrapped around their bones, one peasant stood out in the middle with a massive body which indicated obesity. Finally, the central mural displayed the view from a tall mountain with a Buddhist temple. A single monk was depicted deep in prayer while being flanked by the Ying Yang symbol. 

[general] - "How's the work with these statues? "

[CK] - "Unremarkable so far, comrade general. "

Reported CK with a salute. 

[general] - "If there are any secret weapons hidden here, it better be worth all this damn trouble. "

Said the general as he watched the men who carefully worked to remove the statues piece by piece. 

As his stare moved up to the statue, the general stopped to look at the statue of the soldier in the eyes. However, at that moment, the statue's eyes suddenly moved to meet his gaze. A chill suddenly ran down the general's spine as he was paralyzed with fear. A stone couldn't possibly move, he thought, there could be no way for a dead object to move on its own. He must be imagining things. 

Suddenly, a drop of water fell on the general's hand, followed by another. Soon, a heavy rain began to shower the general and his troops. All this would've been normal if they were outside and not inside a cave with no opening on the ceiling. Slowly the rain washed the grey colours off the monk which revealed the lively shades of his skin and orange clothes. As soon as the monk opened his eyes, the scenery behind the statues abruptly sprung into reality. 

The general, which stood the closest to the monk, was immediately transported to the battlefields of WWI. He looked around himself and felt the mud below his feet. Suddenly a bullet shot through his arm and caused him to fall to the ground. Upon inspection, the general realized that his wound was real while crimson blood covered his forearms. 

[general] - "Heh... haha... hahahahaha! "

Laughed the general as insanity gripped his mind. 

Meanwhile, soldiers and personnel eyed the general with confused expressions as he simply stood while laughing for no reason. It was all inside his head but it felt so real that he completely believed the illusion. Suddenly, inside his imaginary scenario, he was shot in the head by a stray bullet. However, the illusion became a reality as the general dropped dead with the parts of his brain where the bullet hit completely shutting down in tandem with its imaginary reality. 

The rain soon grew into a massive storm with raging wind. Before anyone could even care about the general, rocks inside the cave began to collapse before one of them trapped CK beneath its weight. Thanks to his armour, CK was still alive but he could only watch the others panic while his body remained immobile. 

The massive soldier suddenly stepped out of the mural, his boots splashing into the pools of rainwater on the ground. He was soon followed by the monk and the farmer who both also in turns, stepped out of their respective mural. 

[War] - "These men aren't lord Sniper's soldiers. "

Said War in a cold monotone voice. 

[Famine] - "Heh! Then they can only be the enemy. "

Said Famine with an enthusiastic smirk. 

The monk stepped forward and eyed the men who all stood shorter than his massive stature. 

[Death] - "Anyone beside lord Sniper who dares disturb our slumber possesses no intentions worthy of our mercy. "

As the frightened soldiers raised their rifles, water suddenly filled their lungs and caused them to choke and gag for air. No matter how much water exited their mouth, more seemed to follow. As the tanks prepared to fire, Famine suddenly stepped forward and snapped his fingers. In an instant, the tanks and missiles all melted into pools of molten steel. 

Meanwhile, CK watched in horror as men choked to death with water pushing out of their eyes and nose. Although there were no screams were uttered, the gags and barfing sounds proved more psychologically challenging to bear. To CK, it felt as if he was drowning alongside the men. Then, to add insult to injury, the charred bodies of the tank crews crawled out of the pool of molten steel, driven by their instinct to survive, only to succumb to their grievous injuries moments later. 

During all this, CK could only bear witness to the terrifying scene in silence. As the men at the entrance received orders to launch their nuclear missiles, Death simply raised his hand before a different reality replaced theirs. Instead of what was in front of their eyes, these men perceived a thousand small worms which dug holes inside their bodies. In desperation, they scratched, stabbed, and then finally shot at their completely intact bodies. By the time the trio of horsemen made it to the entrance, not a single being was left alive in the vicinity. 

[Death] - "Something must've happened to lord Sniper. Only he knew of our secret location. "

[War] - "The landscape changed ever since we last roamed this Earth. "

[Famine] - "However, humans seemed to be still as fragile as we remember them to be. "

[Death] - "Come, horsemen, we need to check to see if our prodigy is alive and well. Nothing must happen to him or our thousands of years of work would be in vain. "

Said Death as he summoned his horse, a semi-transparent beast with red glowing eyes. 

[War] - "Perhaps this is our fate, Death. Why fight against fate when he will always win over our efforts? "

Said War as he mounted a white horse spawned using clouds. 

[Death] - "We made a promise, War. We've seen what awaits this world if we don't stop it. "

[War] - "Perhaps this world deserves this fate. Humanity proved its savage nature in wars, so why should we fight for those barbarians? I say let it die. "

Said War with apathy in his eyes. 

[Death] - "Who is responsible for these wars and savagery? If we defeat that thing, then all this will end. You need to have faith, War. "

[War] - "We won't win, Death. Has over 9000 years of experience taught you nothing? "

Said War in a cold voice. 

[Famine] - "Or we can end this ourselves. "

Said Famine as his horse, made from molten lava, raised from the ground. 

[War] - "We can't. Haven't we tried that idea enough times already? "

[Death] - "For now, we are still spinning within its wheel but we will find a way out of the loop. The crystals, as Great Sage taught me, are not just a tool for oppression but also a tool of hope. We do this for the world and Great Sage. "

The two other horsemen looked at each other before nodding their heads at Death. 

In an instant, under a strong wind, the horsemen disappeared into the storm. Meanwhile, inside the cave, CK remained stuck under the rock surrounded by a sea of floating bloated bodies. He could do nothing but watch helplessly while his cries for help fell on deaf ears. It was only two days later before he was rescued by a team of Allied soldiers. 

To be continued...