the legend of marl

In the window display of a television store, a large screen broadcasted the news. The images showed a devastated city, buildings in ruins, and streets filled with debris, while the presenter's voice tried to instill hope.

—…After the sudden loss of the hero Ergos, City One suffered severe consequences. However, by the mercy of the gods, they have sent us another hero. His name and motives are still unknown, but we know one thing: he is our new savior.

The image changed to a panoramic view of the city undergoing reconstruction. Workers were raising structures, hospitals were operating normally again, and people were smiling once more.

—Since the arrival of the new hero, crime has decreased by 71%. Medical services are no longer in crisis, and the city is on its way to recovery. City One, our world has returned.

Suddenly, the broadcast was interrupted by breaking news.

—Breaking news: the hero's name has been revealed. In one of the few questions he has been able to answer, he said his name is… Ego.

In a clandestine laboratory, a remote control turned off the screen of a television hanging on the wall. The room was spacious, filled with high-tech equipment and test tubes bubbling with substances of uncertain colors. A short, round man in a lab coat exhaled the smoke of his cigar with a sigh full of frustration.

—Ego, Ego, Ego… —he murmured disdainfully—. They never get tired of talking about him.

The automatic doors slid open with a hum, allowing the entrance of an imposing man. Tall and with severe features, he wore a perfectly tailored dark suit, his black hair precisely combed. Each step he took echoed with authority on the floor.

—Mr. Yerner —the scientist said with a tense smile, hastily hiding his cigar—. What brings you here?

—You don't have to hide it, Cris. The smells get trapped here anyway —he said while covering his nose with a silk handkerchief. His sharp gaze swept across the room—. It's been two months since that self-proclaimed hero appeared. Everyone worships him, as if he were a messiah. —He slammed a nearby table, making the instruments on it tremble—. Doesn't anyone see the danger he represents? He's a walking bomb!

Cris slowly stood up from his worn leather chair, exhaling the smoke from his cigar calmly.

—I think the same. If we couldn't contain the villains, we certainly won't be able to contain him. —His twisted smile deepened—. We need our own weapon. Something truly human.

Turning his gaze.

—What have you discovered?

Cris's eyes gleamed with dark excitement as he walked toward a reinforced door. With a calculated movement, he typed a code into the security panel. The locks released with a click, and the door slid open, revealing a hallway illuminated by a whitish light.

—This research has cost a hundred thousand lives, sir —he said as they advanced—. Sick people, the weak, those with physical and mental issues… They all failed. Element 119 deformed them horribly before they could even manifest abilities. —He let out a brief chuckle—. But among all my attempts, I found one exception.

He pushed open another door and, with two claps, the room's lights flickered on. Yerner stepped in, his eyes widening in a mix of horror and bewilderment.

At the center of the room, a large glass capsule contained the body of a young girl, immersed in a deep sleep. She floated in a greenish liquid, connected to multiple cables and tubes. Her hair, once golden and bright, had taken on a grayish hue, as if it had withered. Her skin, once smooth and well-kept, now looked dry and lifeless. On her right cheekbone, a code was tattooed: P.12.

Yerner's breathing turned erratic as he recognized the face behind the glass. He turned abruptly and grabbed Cris by the lab coat, slamming him against the wall with overwhelming force.

—What is my daughter doing in that capsule?! —his voice trembled between fury and despair.

Cris, far from showing fear, smiled with superiority.

—Sir, she was the only survivor. Her body accepted Element 119 without deformities. What you see before you is perfection. —He raised an eyebrow with a triumphant air—. Her strength, speed, and endurance are unmatched.

Yerner slowly loosened his grip, his gaze lost in the figure of his daughter. Something inside him shattered. The image of his little girl, the same child he used to embrace before bedtime, now looked so foreign, so distant.

—Do you think she's the one? —his voice sounded weak, almost a whisper.

—I know it for certain —Cris affirmed, placing a hand on his shoulder—. Don't see her as a weapon. See her as the savior the world needs. And remember… —his smile twisted into something disturbing—. We can't trust anyone, least of all a hero who isn't human.

Yerner turned his gaze toward the capsule, his fists clenched. But before he could say a word, he felt a sharp sting in his stomach. His body froze, and an unbearable burning sensation spread through his veins.

He opened his mouth, trying to speak, but only a strangled sound came out. Looking down, he saw a needle embedded in his abdomen. He lifted his gaze in horror toward Cris, who watched him with a look of satisfaction.

Yerner tried to move, but his body began to swell grotesquely. His skin cracked, his flesh expanded until, with a sickening sound, his torso exploded into a formless mass of blood and viscera.

Cris calmly wiped his lab coat and looked at the capsule with a chilling smile.

—Seems like he wasn't really family after all… —he whispered mockingly.

He approached the capsule and placed his hand on the glass, gazing at the young girl with sick delight.

—Hello, little one. Eggface will make good use of you. —His eyes gleamed with a demonic light as his smile widened in the laboratory's dim glow.

Nightfall loomed over the city, and the cold breeze slithered between the skyscrapers, carrying with it the distant echoes of sirens and the murmurs of a recovering metropolis. Atop an old red rooftop, a solitary figure stood.

Ego closed his eyes for a moment, feeling the city's pulse beneath his feet.

—Two months have passed… and not a trace of Rinn. —His voice faded into the void—. The city is rebuilding, people are moving forward… but I…

His fists clenched. A hollow sensation gnawed at him from within. Being a hero didn't fill him.

The air around him grew denser.

A shiver ran down his spine.

His instincts screamed danger.

He turned at the last second, but he wasn't fast enough.

A devastating blow struck his guard with the force of a storm. Shockwaves burst around him, lifting tiles and shattering the concrete beneath his feet. Marl was hurled away with brutal violence, skidding across the rooftop until he stopped right at the edge.

When he looked up, his heart stopped.

Before him, bathed in the pale moonlight, stood Mian… or at least, something that resembled her.

—Mian…? —his voice trembled for a second.

What he saw froze his blood.

Her skin, once warm and radiant, looked withered, as if life itself had abandoned her. Her eyes, once filled with fire and determination, were now empty voids, devoid of a soul. Her hair, once golden and silky, hung in charred and brittle strands. Her mere presence made the air feel heavier, oppressive… unnatural.

Marl swallowed hard.

"No… she is not Mian."

He took a combat stance, igniting his energy. But she moved first.

Before he could react, he felt a fist piercing his abdomen.

Pain exploded inside him like wildfire. The impact not only shattered his guard but also launched him into the sky in a golden flash. Layers of the atmosphere shattered as he ascended, wind roaring in his ears as his body spun out of control.

But she didn't let him escape.

From below, Mian leaped after him, breaking the sound barrier with a deafening explosion.

Marl barely had time to see the shockwave beneath her before a spinning kick struck his torso.

The world went dark for an instant.

The blow was so brutal he felt his organs compress inside his body. The air was forced from his lungs, his vision blurred, and his mind spiraled into pain.

He plummeted back to the earth like a blazing meteor.

Gravity claimed him with fury. Like a falling star, his body, engulfed in fire and uncontrolled energy, broke the sound barrier. The city disappeared beneath him in the blink of an eye, and in a fateful second, he saw his destination approaching.

The God Mountain.

The impact was catastrophic.

The ancient rock, a witness to millennia, split in two as Marl's body struck. A massive explosion of dust and debris darkened the sky as enormous cracks spread through the land like broken veins. His body pierced through the mountain, sinking into its depths, buried under tons of stone.

The pain was unbearable.

Every bone in his body was broken. His vision blurred with blood. His mind teetered on the edge of unconsciousness.

And then, she descended.

Like a vengeful deity, Mian crashed onto him with a devastating impact. The ground trembled. The blast shook the mountain, finishing its destruction. The rock crumbled to dust.

Marl felt the earth collapse around him, and his body was swallowed by darkness.

For a moment, everything was silent.

Lying on his back, staring into the void, he felt the warmth of blood filling his throat. He was drowning.

Then, he heard footsteps.

An echo in the darkness.

Through his blurred vision, he made out a silhouette moving among the rubble. A man with an imposing presence, whose skin gleamed with an unnatural glow.

The stranger approached leisurely, his gaze cold and unreadable.

Ego tried to move, but his body didn't respond.

The man leaned over him and, with a single motion, tore off his necklace.

—Let's go, Rinn. Leave this false hero behind.

The power of Ego's body was stolen from him.

His body began to fade, returning to normal.

The physical pain disappeared… but the horror and helplessness remained.

The hero, the savior, had fallen.

And the darkness claimed him.

His mind was hazy, but a familiar voice spoke to him.

—How can my champion be defeated like this? Wake up and claim your happiness.

The world returned in an instant.

Marl felt a pull on his existence, as if his soul had been forcibly returned to reality. His body was back to normal.

His lungs filled with air in a ragged gasp. His skin tingled with the sensation of having been dragged back from the void itself.

When he opened his eyes, darkness surrounded him.

Around him, mounds of dust covered ruined structures. Fallen columns and fractured arches stretched across what had once been a majestic civilization, now buried by time.

He tried to move.

His body responded, but his mind didn't.

Though his physical wounds had vanished along with his Ego body, the mental scars persisted. His hands trembled with memories of the brutality he had suffered. The echo of pain still pulsed in his consciousness.

He forced himself to move forward.

Before him, a partially collapsed structure loomed among the ruins, its roof caved in and walls cracked. He entered cautiously, his steps kicking up clouds of dust that danced in the beams of light filtering through the cracks.

In the center of the room, he found an old chair, worn away by time.

At the mere touch, the wood crumbled into dust.

Beside it, a small table still stood. On its surface, covered in ash and neglect, rested a thin, aged book.

Marl picked it up carefully.

As he opened it, the pages crackled like dry leaves.

The text inside was incomprehensible. An ancient, illegible language.

But then, something fell into his hands.

A small necklace with a red stone slipped between the pages, as if it had been waiting to be discovered.

Marl held it curiously.

On the next page, an illustration caught his eye.

It was a colossal kingdom, with towers that seemed to touch the sky and streets brimming with life. In the foreground, a young girl with brown hair smiled radiantly.

As soon as he looked at her, the stone in his hand began to glow.

The light immediately expanded, blinding him completely.

His heart raced.

The radiance engulfed him, and for an instant, time seemed to distort.

When his vision returned, everything had changed.

The ruins around him had been restored.

The cracked walls now gleamed. The fractured columns stood tall and imposing. The room, once swallowed by abandonment, had regained its former splendor.

Behind him, he felt a touch.

Marl turned immediately.

Standing before him, wearing a playful expression, was the girl from the illustration.

Her brown hair swayed gently, and her gaze shone with an enigmatic warmth. She was the same girl he had seen in the book.

—"What are you doing in my room?"

Before he could utter a word, the warmth in the girl's eyes faded into sheer horror.

—"Aaaaaah! A traitor!"

The moment he heard that scream, the door was blown open.

A deafening crash shook the room.

A towering giant, over two meters tall, entered with steps that made the ground tremble. His gleaming steel armor reflected the torchlight like a mirror of war.

Without warning, he raised his fist and struck Marl with overwhelming force.

The impact was absolute.

The air around them exploded.

Marl felt his body lift from the sheer force of the blow before crashing against the ground with a dull thud.

Coughing up blood, he slipped back into unconsciousness.