Chapter ninety four

That day the universe changed forever.

All over the world people woke up to find a world that was fundamentally different from the one they had fallen asleep in. They felt the change in the air, there was something there that wasn't just nitrogen, oxygen, or any other gas. They couldn't see it nor could they smell it, no they felt it as a wave of goosebumps going up and down their bodies, they noticed it as a tingle on the back of their necks , some previously dormant part of their soul recognized it and that caused a shiver inducing shock to go up and down their spines. Most people discounted these feelings as a result of the cold or just their active imaginations but some people were different, for them it was the start of something life changing. For some it would be wondrous, a source of happiness and boundless beauty. For others it would be terrifying, a source of pain and unimaginable suffering, but for those with ambition in their hearts and greed on their minds it was a gateway to incredible power, a way to get what they wanted , be it money, more power over others , or revenge against those who they thought had wronged them...

....the deep black darkness of the winter night had settled over the city of New York like the thickest of velvet blankets but New York was the city that never sleeps and the many lights of the city warded off the unnatural darkness. One of these lights came from a twenty four hour convenience store, inside of the empty store an Indian woman named Charvi was mopping up some puke in one of the isles, just another normal night in the convenience store. She was just finishing up when she heard the 'ding-ding' of the automatic doors opening. It wasn't uncommon to have a customer this late at night, it was a twenty four hour store after all, but when she saw that the man who entered the store was wearing a hockey mask and brandishing a gun , she knew that this was no customer. The man pointed the gun at her husband who was behind the counter and ordered him to give hand over all the money in the cash register. Charvi could only look on as their hard earned money was taken away. In her mind thoughts of her mortgage payments, her children's tuition fees and other expenses flashed through her mind. As the bitter realization that they would probably have to ask for money from their relatives to make it through the month sunk in she couldn't help but curse under her breath . When the English curses she used just weren't enough to express her anger, she turned to her native language but her parents had been careful not to curse in front of her when she was young. The only curse she knew was one that her grandmother used to say. Not even knowing the meaning of the words she was speaking she muttered the rough sounding words with all the anger in her soul. The masked man who had finished his robbery took a couple of cigarettes and was about to exit the store when a translucent snake appeared out of thin air and wrapped around him before ripping his neck out then vanishing back into thin air leaving behind the bleeding wide eyed corpse of the robber and two wide eyed store clerks...

....It was a bright sunny day in Istanbul Turkey. A single father whose wife had died in a car accident only a year before was taking his young seven year old daughter to the playground in the park. Life had been difficult for Ishmael and his daughter Fatima since the passing of his wife but he tried his best to eke out a living while taking care of his only daughter. That day he was pushing her on the swing when his mobile phone rang. He took a few steps away from the noisy playground to talk to one of his precious few customers. He made sure that he kept an eye on Fatima at all times as he talked on the phone so he had a clear view as his daughter continue to swing higher and higher by bending and straightening her legs, he saw as one of the screws on the poorly constructed swings come loose, releasing the swing that Fatima was on and launching her like a catapult. He dropped his phone and started running desperately towards his daughter knowing in his heart that he would never make it in time to save her but incredibly Fatima suddenly reversed her trajectory in midair and slowly floated down into his arms. He didn't even question the impossible thing that had happened, he was just happy that his daughter was giggling happily and was safe in his arms...

....in the outskirts of Addis Ababa the capital city of Ethiopia a young couple entered a fancy house that looked out of place in the ramshackle neighborhood. Once inside they were warmly welcomed by many middle aged women who offered them coffee and other snacks. They were led into a room that was filled with smoke and through the smoke they could just make out the outline of a man. They sincerely begged the witchdoctor, because that is what the man was pretending to be, to help them get a child. They had been trying for many months but were unable to conceive. They begged the great Tamerat for his help. Tamerat was just a swindler, he took all of their money and performed a fake ceremony to 'make them more fertile'. He had seen the ceremony on the internet and thought it was cool so he decided to use it today. Unfortunately for Tamerat the ceremony he was performing wasn't fake and after he was finished he fell onto the ground and started to convulse because he felt as if something was eating him from the inside. The couple didn't try to help because they had heard stories of Tamrat's ceremonies and how people who interrupted would get cursed. They patiently waited until he stopped convulsing and got back on his feet but they noticed that his eyes had changed color from black to a glowing light brown. They assumed that this was also a normal part of Tamrat's ceremony but what they couldn't have guessed was that Tamrat was long gone , replaced by something ancient and powerful....

.....in a comic-con convention being held in Montreal , a group of teenagers that were usually beat up and bullied because they were 'nerds' were playing an epic game of dungeons and dragons that they created themselves, it combined elements of several video games and books plus it was played by larping. They had been so detail oriented when they created their game that they even used 'real' magic circles from the internet. When they drew said circles on the floor using chalk they attracted the attention of a powerful being that was slumbering in the ether. This powerful being looked on these mortals through the connection that the magic circle created and at first he considered destroying them but he found their game to be quite entertaining. After they finished he thought that it would be a shame if the game ended and granted them all the powers of their characters so that he could continue to observe their 'games'...

.....in the dark depths of the red forest inside of Chernobyl Russia, something evil and sinister stirred restlessly as it felt something familiar while it slept...