Dokkaebis were a proud, noble race, blessed by the Star Stream herself. They were made in her image, created with four arms, two legs, and three eyes; the perfect form to manipulate aether and essence. Born with the ability to change reality, dokkaebis were given responsibilities to carry out her will, such as corralling gods, managing scenarios, or monitoring the many rivers that stemmed from her main body.
One such task was the induction of new planets, and over Reign’s millennia-long tenure, she ensured each one was met with success. Four hundred and forty-three iterations went off without fail or hint of any deviation.
Yet the 444th Induction was different; for the first time in her long life, Reign was met with defeat after crushing defeat. She slouched in the Captain’s Pit, letting her domain class voidship, Prologue, drift across through space.
“Captain Reign, take a look at these readings.” Coal said from her station that sat in a far corner of the cabin. She pulled up a screen that showed the energy composition of the planet that seemed to be the source of their troubles. “Do you see it?”
“See what. Inspector Coals?” Reign shot back irritatingly, “I have better things to do than to look at charts.”
“The energy spectrum of the planet the locals call Earth is odd to say the least! The civilizations are producing enough energy to rival a tier 1 star system, yet aether only accounts for less than a tenth of the total artificially produced energy composition.” Coals rambled on.
Reign’s third eye twitched, “Meaning, Inspector?”
“Meaning that these people, despite their ignorance, are on a different level compared to the rest of humans littered throughout the universe. They—”
“Is that all, Inspector Coals?” Reign asked, exasperated. She pushed away the screen, and got up from her chair. “It doesn’t matter which bloodline they have, or which constellation created them, barbaric humans pose no risk or threat to our duties.”
“That’s the thing, Captain. These humans are different.” Coals said, marveling at what she saw through the scanners. “They have their own Rules which binds the vast majority, they have technology similar to our voidship capable of crossing through space, all while bearing no traces of a progenitor’s bloodline or creation of a high being.
These humans are Godless.” Coals declared, to which the rest of the cabin gasped.
Reign snorted. “There is no such thing as Godless. Sapients can’t survive in the void without the light of the divine.”
“But the prophecy—” A spike of otherworldly pressure slammed onto Coals from all sides, immediately shutting her up.
“Don’t you dare talk about that blasphemous prophecy again. And that goes for the rest of you.” Reign yelled at the rest of the crew, most of which were too scared to even glance in her direction. “If I catch anyone talking about it, or anything that goes against the great teachings of the Star Stream, I will personally throw off this ship.”
She waited, giving everyone the chance to voice their dissatisfaction, but when no one did, she released her hold on the ship’s aether, allowing Coals to breathe.
“We will conduct this round like every other; the leadership will have a single day to prepare, the general population will be notified once integration has reached 100%, and 5% of the sapients from each planet will be given the opportunity to become Challengers.”
“You can’t do that!” Coals yelled. “Every second that we pump essence into that planet is another moment that will give more aether to the Raids. By the time the integration is done, Earth won’t be able to stand a chance.”
“Inspector,” Reign said with an ice-cold voice. “I shall forgive your impudence this one time because I know you care for your duties, but there will not be another.” She warned, pinning the young dokkaebi to seat with a stare.
“I will not let an induction fail to live up to complete success on my watch for petty reasons. WE shall conduct this fairly, entirely by the Rules.”
“Yes, ma’am.” The crew answered in unison, returning to their frantic duties that came with seeding a planet for integration.
“Now, Dallier Passion, give me a report on the Challenger prospects for each planet.” Reign commanded.
“Yes, Captain.” Passion said with a salute, sending Reign a brief on an insect and a fairy.
Just because the Rules haven’t changed since you took command, doesn’t mean they’re always fair. Coals thought as she regathered herself. She was a prime example; if she wasn’t given a chance, then only the Star Stream herself would know where she would’ve ended up.
Probably on the Frontlines, dying in some monstrous war.
Coals shuddered. I can’t just sit back, and let this injustice happen in front of me. I need to do something.
She looked around the command block to make sure that Captain Reign wasn’t paying attention to her before she started to do something extremely reckless, even by her standards.
It’s only to even the scales for both sides. If monsters were allowed to wreak havoc, then that chaos would only spread towards the three other worlds that were also in the induction.
Coals crafted a carefully worded message as well as enacted several protocols to further help the population adjust to the new reality. Only a few will gain the power to protect the many. I just hope they are wise enough to make use of it. She thought as she watched a few humans through the voidships scanners.
They were very precise, able to see through obstructions to give a clear image of anything she desired. These humans were an odd bunch, wearing clothes that seemed oddly cheap despite being well-made, eating foods that were made from disgusting animal byproducts yet seemingly delicious, while engaging with endless forms of entertainment.
Only one thing was the same here as it was in the rest of the universe, conflict. Whether on an individual level, or national, people fought and died over the most inane reasons. Even the inductions were nothing more than a system to control the overflow of aether and essence in the Star Stream.
Someday, I would like to see this cycle of violence end, Coals thought wistfully as she commanded a scanner to zoom on one specific human that seemed to listen to her message.
