Author here, this chapter will be important a bit early in the story. Although it won't really have to much affect until way later on in the story. Yet I still absolutely recommend reading this prologue, fair warning the POV does switch immediately after this chapter. While if your confused on anything just read this chapter and if you still don't understand then it's a mystery :)
Humans believed the world to be normal, familiar, safe, and seemingly unchanging. Until something happened… and he appeared from nothing in the streets of New York. Everyone around him was shocked, as there was no warning to his mysterious arrival… but then the people of New York started to ignore him.
People began to continue on with their day, walking by him, not giving him a single bit of their attention. He seemed confused by his surroundings but was unchanged. As people kept walking by, he just stood there. Finally he moved, turning around, walking to the side of a building, and leaning against it, pondering.
People kept walking by as the sun scorched the sidewalk. Cars on the road honked at each other. Little pigeons ate the trash careless people left on the sidewalk.
Until he got up and began to talk.
"Hello, people of this world, I come from a world of magic and beasts. I have come to your world to teach you magic."
Many people ignored him, assuming it was a dare from one of his friends or someone who had lost their mind. Although some people stopped to listen to him, intrigued by his stature and words. Then he continued.
"It seems thou art intrigued. Let me demonstrate my mystical talents."
The number of people who stopped and listened to him continued to grow, all wondering what he would do next. Then he moved his right arm in an elegant pattern. In the next moment, many were amazed by what happened, but at the same time, many were disappointed.
As he had made a fireball appear and shoot out into the vast sky before fizzling out. The only problem was that the fireball was only the size of a small pebble.
Many people expected more for his manner of speaking and the way he moved his arm. Although even he seemed to be confused by the disappointing result.
"Thou art as surprised as I, Erevan the Great… you people must not have claimed the continent yet."
A bystander walking by tossed him a coin, mistaking his actions for a performance. Another bystander in the crowd began clapping, while another person made a comment on Erevan's outfit. It was a tattered brown robe with mud and dust occasionally appearing on its surface.
Erevan was taller than most of the bystanders, being about six feet tall, and he looked to be in his forties, having a few strands of white hair and a tired-looking expression on his face.
Erevan was especially confused by the crowd's reaction to his performance. Although its weak power was strange to him, their reactions were too strange to him.
"Are you really from another world, sir?"
Erevan was surprised by the question from the crowd, as he thought he had already answered that question when first arriving.
"Yes, I am from a world beyond "thou," but haven't I already answered your question?"
The bystander in the crowd was confused, as he did not believe in Erevan's earlier words and thought that it would be obvious that people wouldn't believe his claims.
"You did answer it earlier, but do you have any proof?"
Erevan understood the reason for the question and began thinking of a way to prove his existence in another world. Then Erevan pulled out a dove from his pocket.
"This is thy kin."
The bystander was confused by this act, wondering how this dove would prove Erevan was not of their world.
"How does this prove you're not of this world?"
Erevan did not understand how it wouldn't prove his otherworldly existence.
"Dost thou not know of kin yet?"
The bystander did not understand what kin was.
"I do not know what kin are. What are they, and how do they prove you're from another world?"
Erevan was about ready to explain what kin were and how they proved he was from another world. Then he decided it was not the right time.
"If thou doesn't know what kin is, then it is not for thee to explain. Rather, IT will explain when the continent has been claimed."
The reactions were much stronger from the bystanders, as they wondered what he had meant by claiming a continent. They also wondered many other things, like about the kin and what it was.
To the bystanders' dismay, Erevan would not explain what he meant, only ensuring that they would learn eventually. He did give another option to prove his mystical talents and otherworldly existence: to use stronger magic.
"To prove thy home isn't of thy world, I shall demonstrate stronger abilities."
At this remark, he began moving both arms at once, moving them in a complex shape that was oddly circular. This performance took much longer than the last, taking almost quadruple the amount of time to use his ability.
When he began to slow down, the crowd's attention was very focused, with even the people who did not believe showing great interest.
Subconsciously, people began leaning in closer to the performer. As they got closer, Erevans expression got more and more annoyed.
"May you back away from me."
At his command, the crowd moved back, and as they did, a wall of fire appeared in front of them.
The scorching heat caused some to back away quickly, bumping into each other, while the whole crowd was in awe at the beautiful wall in front of them. As the fire danced around, extinguishing the shadows, it began to die down, slowly falling to the ground before dying out.
This performance was so impressive and impossible to do, even with stunts, that those with doubts had none left. With such an exquisite performance, those who decided to record with cell phones were immediately impressed and sent the video to their friends.
Media coverage on Erevan started exploding, with many of the witnesses sharing their stories, with a few videos of Erevan's performances appearing too.
"I saw him create a whole wall of fire, and it was super scary but also really cool. I wonder if he could teach us how to do it."
"Magic could be real. I just saw a random dude on the street shoot a fireball out of his hands and summon a whole wall of fire. This gives me true hope that magic is real."
"He appeared out of nowhere in the middle of the street. It caught my attention, so I stuck around, and after a bit he talked about how he came from another world where magic exists. Then he shot a fireball out of his hand, although it was kind of tiny, but then he created a huge wall of fire around him, and I mean huge. It was probably eight feet tall!"
Many stories and posts were uploaded to the media that day about Erevan the Great and his mystical abilities. Although many believed it to be fake and not real, some chose to believe it to keep the hope that true magic could be real.
Although it also sparked many people to create fake stories of other characters that weren't true. Those who were there in person decided to meet up that night and discuss what they thought had happened.
This might have just seemed like a get-together to fantasize about what had happened. Really, it was so everyone knew they weren't going insane, as what they had witnessed was out of this world.
"Hello everyone, we're all here after witnessing Erevan the Great and his magical performance."
Everyone nodded their heads.
"Great. Who wants to start us off with any questions or things we might've missed?"
"Hello, I would like to start off by saying that I am a police officer, and I searched up his characteristics in our database, and absolutely no matches popped up—not from our country or any other."
Everyone at the table looked confused; a few even looked scared.
"I have a question. What did he mean when he said our continent must not have been claimed yet?"
The table murmured to themselves, wondering the same question.
"I think it's possible that the reason we cannot use magic is because our continent is somehow unclaimed."
The table nodded in agreement.
"How do we claim a continent then, and don't you think the government has already claimed our continent?"
The table seemed to have a few answers to this.
"To claim the continent, it probably takes a more mystical and meaningful way of claiming rather than just saying they own it. Also, our government owns the USA but not the other countries in our continent."
The table seemed to agree with this answer.
The night ended with many ideas being passed around. There were no solid answers, and this fact had disappointed the group. Although they all agreed to go back to the same place, Erevan, the next day.
In the media, many were arguing about the credibility of the situation, with many disbelievers doubting what had actually happened, while witnesses argued that they saw what they saw and weren't making things up.
Both sides wouldn't stop, but they both agreed to show up where Erevan was supposed to be tomorrow, with the witnesses hoping he would show up and prove the doubters wrong.
The next day, many people gathered around the building where Erevan was last seen. After waiting, people began to doubt he'd show up. Even the witnesses believed he was somewhere else.
Those doubts were all washed away when a puff of smoke appeared in the middle of the crowd, rising from the ground like a phoenix. Then out of that smoke Erevan appeared.
"It seems many were waiting for your arrival."
The crowd cheered, and many doubters still believed it to be a magic act, even if they couldn't explain how he appeared there.
"Do some magic already. Prove you're magical or whatever."
Many people in the crowd seemed annoyed by the command given by a stranger. Erevan was also surprised by his audacity.
"Thou speakest in a bratty manner. Why should I listen to thee?"
The crowd seemed pleased by Erevan's response, putting the hater in his place, while others also had questions but decided to wait on Erevan's answer instead.
"I shall use thy talent, but you must all back away."
Erevan once again started moving his arms in a strange but elegant manner. While he never stopped moving his arms, something did happen.
A ball of fire, about the size of one's fist, then it started growing until eventually it was the size of a basketball. Instead of shooting out, it levitated around him, then started slowly moving up and down as its speed slowly increased. Once its speed got too fast, Erevan sent it straight up into the sky.
After three seconds of flying upward, the crowd watched as a magnificent explosion took place in the sky. It was a dark shade of orange splattered with black dust spots, while ashes fell from the sky like black snow.
It was a beautiful sight to behold, with the whole crowd stuck staring at the sky long after the explosion had dissipated.
This performance was greater than all his previous ones and expelled any doubt non-believers had. At once, many questions arose from the crowd, some very important.
"How do you do that?!?"
"Can you teach me how to use magic like you?"
"Where did you come from, and how did you get here?"
"How do you claim a continent?"
"What's your name?"
"Why was your first fireball so weak?"
These were all questions asked by the crowd, but most went unanswered, as Erevan decided to give the long-awaited, most important question an answer.
Right before he was about to answer, a van pulled up on the side of the street and a news reporter got out. She walked onto the sidewalk and scurried through the crowd.
While the crowd was obviously annoyed by her appearance, they were patient.
Then the news reporter directly asked Erevan a question.
"Was that beautiful explosion me and my crew saw from afar caused by you?"
"Indeed, I was the one who caused the explosion."
"How were you able to do it?"
"I simply used Nexis."
This answer caught the whole crowd's attention and made many wonder what Nexis was. Before someone could ask what it was, Erevan decided to answer the previous question.
"To answer your previous question, 'to answer your previous question,' thou is to locate the continent's core and lay their hand upon it."
This answer shook not just the crowd but everyone watching the news. As the broadcaster had been airing the entire event. Although they did not know what the continent's core was, they now knew how to get magical powers like Erevan's.
Another question from the crowd was quickly asked.
"Where and what is the continent's core?"
"Finally, thou askest the greatest question of all. The continent's core can move, as the continent's core is a mythological creature. The creature depends on the continent's mythology."
As Erevan said this, a cloud of smoke rose up from the ground, concealing Erevan's presence. After the smoke cleared, Erevan was gone, leaving the whole continent in shock by his words and disappearance.
Many people began theorizing what the core could be and what Erevan had meant.
Unlike his previous answers, this one was relatively straightforward, although still foggy in places. Such as what he meant by the continent's core depending on mythology.
North America had many different mythologies and many mythological creatures. Did Erevan mean it depended on the most believed mythological creature, or something else entirely?
This left many stumped and without an answer. While many tried going back the next morning to find Erevan, it seemed he was gone.
Although news soon came of a person with the exact same features as Erevan appearing in South America, then Europe, Asia, and so forth.
A figure who seemed to be Erevan had visited all continents, giving the same final information on how to claim a continent.
He even went to Antarctica to inform the scientists stationed there. Although the scientists had heard about him and were prepared to ask questions.
"What is Nexis?"
"That is not for thee to know yet."
This was a disappointing answer and left the scientists unsatisfied, although they had expected as much. They had hoped he would answer the rest of their questions.
It seemed the best way for everyone to get answers was to claim a continent, although they still did not know exactly what a continent's core was.
Luckily, the scientists decided to ask the long-awaited clarifying question.
"How do we know which mythological creature our continent's core has become?"
"Whichever is thy continent's most believed."
This answered their question, although for Antarctica the answer remained hazy. It was in fact similar for all continents, as people held many different beliefs.
One thing was for sure—something big was going to happen everywhere once the first continent was claimed.
Many were scared, believing it would bring disaster and catastrophe, while others believed it to be an opportunity from the heavens to gain mystical powers.
Normal civilians were not the only ones intrigued; high-ranking officials also believed something significant was happening.
They had no way of explaining Erevan's powers or how he traveled to all seven continents in such a short time.
Some politicians began looking into the matter, although they only knew as much as the public. Many people also hired private detectives to search for Erevan's whereabouts.
No more information was found. It was as if he had disappeared from the face of the world. Many who believed Erevan's words thought he had returned to his own world.
Although it did not matter where Erevan had gone, as people were now infatuated with the idea of having their own mystical abilities.
This led people across all continents to begin searching for their continent's core. It was already difficult to find a single creature across an entire continent, like searching for a needle in a hundred haystacks.
Another problem was that most continents had multiple popular beliefs, leading to arguments over which creature was truly the core.
In North America, the two top contenders were the Sasquatch, also known as Bigfoot, and the Chupacabra.
Each side had many believers, and neither could conclusively win the dispute. This ordeal also encouraged many people to go outside and enjoy nature while searching for the mythical creatures.
The first group ever to see Erevan decided to meet up again, wanting to discuss what had been revealed in Antarctica.
The group gathered in a small café this time, with few other people inside, with the occasional customer starting their day with a coffee.
It was eight in the morning, and most of the group was drowsy and tired, some having driven for thirty minutes through heavy traffic.
None of that mattered, as something huge had been revealed in Antarctica: that the continent's core was the most believed mythological or mystical creature.
"Hello everyone, and thanks for coming. It's been a while since we last met. Now that we know more, does anyone have new questions or answers to previous ones?"
"I'd like to answer a question from our last meeting—what Erevan meant by claiming a continent. Scientists in Antarctica were able to ask him directly, and he answered that the most believed creature would be the continent's core."
The table nodded.
"I want to ask why Erevan, or someone similar, appeared in all seven continents."
The table wondered the same thing, as did the rest of the world. Stumped by Erevans appearances and disappearance.
"I believe it was to inform all continents equally, so one country wouldn't have too much power or knowledge."
The discussion ended faster than the previous meeting, as many questions still lacked answers.
Later that day, something incredible, astonishing, and impossible happened. The Chupacabra was sighted in the lower regions of the USA.
The land was covered in dust, completely flat, with occasional dead shrubs and boulders protruding from the ground.
A man stood in the middle of this barren wasteland in awe and shock, but most of all, excitement, like he had just won the lottery. In front of him, stuck in a bear trap, was the Chupacabra everyone had been talking about.
"Oh Lord, thank the Heavenly Father for this great deal of luck."
The day before, the man had heard from his wife that a Chupacabra had appeared in North America and that placing one's hand on it would grant mystical powers. At the time, he did not believe it, but now that he had seen it, he was utterly convinced.
It stood trapped in front of him. It did not howl in pain, instead it only stood still in a daze.
The man leaned in and placed his hand on the mystical creature.
The moment his hand touched the Chupacabra, a screen appeared in front of him, but not just him. Everyone in North America saw the same illusory screen, although no one could see someone else's illusory screen.
It did not matter, as every screen displayed the same message.
Welcome, inhabitants of North America. I will now send you into your being.