Their world, like most, was ordinary. Or at least it used to be.
Citizens went about their lives, while the governments acted under the guise of bettering the nations.
The rich had it easy, getting richer and looking down on the unfortunates, while the poor strived to make ends meet, going about their little paying jobs and farms, and remaining the stepping stones for the rich to climb.
It was a world where your fate rested in your own hands. The fate to either make things good or bad for yourself.
Opportunities were bought. And that was why the privileged soared higher, while the less privileged struggled to remain at the bottom where they were.
That was how it was, until—
A certain day.
Beings of mysterious origin, never seen before, and never heard of, appeared across the globe.
Several and countless. More than one in every country.
These beings, male and female, were draped in ancient, butter yellow robes. Akin to those worn by Greek gods in temples.
A thin white cinch gathered and wrinkled the robe around their waists.
The air around them was bleak. And they carried along the kind of energy that couldn't be described.
They floated above the ground on a circular board that was as dark as charcoal.
Their faces were otherworldly, and their eyes held something that couldn't quite be explained.
On that day, they garnered the attention of every living being. Every eye was on them. And the questioning voices of shock and curiosity from the nations were loud and rough.
But, simply with a loud voice and in a chorus, the mysterious beings spoke and returned silence.
"Be quiet, mortals!"
Their voices echoed loud and far. It was chilling and reverberating in the ears of everyone.
"We bring to you the beacon that will save you from doom."
Everyone was disoriented. They were curious and confused. The whispers and noises couldn't be contained.
They were more focused on finding the answers among themselves than focusing on the beings before them.
But these beings, annoyed by their disregard, took matters into their own hands.
With a simple stretch of their palms forward, a faint glowing wisp whipped forward. It penetrated the chest of one person, burst out from their back and continued on to pierce four more people, stretching as it went and linking them in a jagged line.
Then the beings retracted their hands and called back the wisps. Along it came the hearts of the five people, ripped out of their chests and impaled on the wisps.
The five people dropped instantly to the ground, dead with blood pooling beneath them. Only then did everyone realize the weight of the situation.
Fear gripped them all. They began trembling, some fell to their butts, while some went still.
Some covered their mouths to swallow back their screams, while some gagged out of horror.
This happened across the world at the same time as it seemed the beings were coordinated. Or rather, it was just human nature to often listen through the hard way.
The wisp curved around itself, and formed a circle with the five hearts hanging from it. It floated toward the beings and took place beside them.
Patter! Patter!
The drops of blood from the hearts hit the ground repeatedly.
In the midst of this chaos, the beings remained calm and unmoved. They were as graceful as they appeared from the beginning.
The governments and law enforcement couldn't stand by and watch this happen. Those who could, opened fire on the spot.
They fired at the beings, threw all sorts of weapons and did all they could, but not a single harm came near them.
All their ways to defeat the beings were expended with no result. Their wills were shattered.
Then the beings asked.
"Will you continue such futile efforts, or do I continue to rip out your hearts to make you listen?"
The people had no option than to stop and listen. Although with fear, they stood silent.
Then these beings, came to be known as the Celestials, spoke.
In one voice, they chorused words seemingly stripped from a scripture.
"Brethren, I say unto ye: the hour for mankind to prove their worth to live is nigh"
"If ye wish to continue living and secure thy hearth, ye will fight"
"Be warned!…. of the dangers lurking quietly in place, waiting to be unleashed upon ye. Verily, I say unto ye, if it be thy wish to secure thy peace and those of thy children, ye will start preparing"
"Prepare for the crossroad hour! Prepare!… for the impending minute where thy swords will cross theirs. Where thy blood and theirs will flow."
"Ye who shall save your kind shall be found amongst ye when the time is right. They shall bear the mark of difference, for they are the 'Chosen'."
"They shall walk the paths that open. There, they shall battle."
"Let it be known that every danger can be conquered, be it that of heaven or of earth. As long as ye are prepared to face it."
"Let ye draw thy swords and every weapon seen fit to secure thy own. Lest thou crumble like dust underneath the earth."
"Let this be remembered as the warning for the imminent threat that is to come, as the way out of the danger that lurks, ready to quench thy lives."
"Oh, I say unto you, harken unto these words and ye shall keep thy peace. For blessed are those that heed this warning. Saved shall they be in the time of catastrophe."
"Be warned!"
Their last words echoed like the toll of a great bell, gradually fading into the ears as they themselves faded away.
The world was in an uproar for a while until it settled.
Due to the traumatizing experience etched vividly in their minds, they couldn't doubt how real the encounter was.
So they listened and heeded the message. And thus, waited for the said Mark of Difference to start appearing.
Seven months after the prophetic encounter, mysterious marks started appearing on the bodies of people.
It wasn't shocking but baffling.
In order to save their world from destruction as told by the Celestials, the government of each country constructed facilities to train and prepare the Chosen.
The ones who bore the mark of difference.
It appeared mysteriously with no order. Although not on everyone, the young and the old bore it.
As compensation for the Chosen because no one knew the danger they would face, the government pledged to provide for both them and their families, and also pay them for their services.
The Chosen saw themselves as unlucky to be thrown into such fate. But they were without option, as this was already foretold by the Celestials.
They ought to train to survive. And to protect humanity. And if they would start earning from it, that is, if the government would start paying them, it was a plus.
During this time, several agencies were built. They were homes to the Chosen, and they oversaw everything relating to them.
The Chosen registered at any agency of their choice and went under their management. And as time passed, they became well known, loved and respected by people.
They were seen as Saviors.
For so long, they trained. They grew their strengths, built their bodies and honed their skills, waiting for the impending battle.
Then two years after the mark appeared, the awaited Paths had now finally appeared.
It appeared across the world. In a country, more than one Path opened and they were segmented into zones.
Im Yuin arrived at one of the Paths. It was a massive pale blue gateway that shimmered like ice. It stretched tall and wide like a colossal door to heaven.
Only that hell was what they were promised.
The Path was crowded all around with families of the Chosen, the media, security guards, agencies, bloggers, onlookers and so on.
Im Yuin stepped forward, attempting to enter the Path but was blocked by a security guard.
"Sir, you can't go in there. It's obvious that no matter how many times we try, non-Chosen like us cannot enter."
Yuin raised an index finger and pointed to himself.
"I'm a Chosen though."
The man stared exasperatingly at him. He wasn't the first to come claiming he was a Chosen just to touch the Path.
"Yeah, and I'm a Celestial," he fired, pushing Yuin backward.
"No, sir, I am though. Look, look at this."
Yuin stretched his hand to the man, spreading his fingers and shoving them up his face.
The man took one look at it but saw nothing and was more exasperated.
He concluded Yuin was lying because the Mark could always be noticed right away. It was a mysterious symbol that was always bold and inked in black.
Nothing of which could be found on Im Yuin.
And, the Chosen had been teleported automatically to the Path the moment it appeared. But Yuin, on the other hand, came here manually.
"No, it's really there. It's just faint. You have to peer hard," Yuin protested.
"Yes yes. This old man is just blind."
The man pushed Yuin back further.
Funnily enough, the bicker between them wasn't drawing any attention. It looked as if it wasn't happening for the first time since the paths appeared. So no one really cared.
Seriously, this old man…
Fed up, Yuin maneuvered to the side and slipped past the guard.
Then he dived straight into the shimmering Path and got swallowed, leaving the guard dumbfounded.