Five Years Later

*****

“Keep digging!!” Hojo barked. “I’m very close to the ultimate power!!”

The workers grumbled, but did as they were told. They had been working on this small island off the coast of Mideel for weeks now, continuosly digging day and night.

Hojo grinned at their work. With the aid of some fake papers, he was able to convince the men that this was a government job. That the new President Reeve expected results. What he didn’t tell them was that he wasn’t Hojo. At least not the original Hojo. He was a clone, engineered by Hojo in the event of the scientist’s death. He has all of Hojo’s memories, and he’s prepared to do anything in order to discover the ancient secrets his creator spent a lifetime searching for.

“Sir!! I found something!!”

“Good, good,” Hojo said, walking over to the man. The object the man hit was indeed made of some type of metal.

“We’ve found the entrance,” he said. “Keep digging so we can access it.”

*****

A few weeks later, the men called Hojo to inform them of their progress.

“Splendid!!” Hojo exclaimed, arriving at the dig site. Before him was a large metal object. A door of some kind. He ran his bony hands over the hieroglyphics.

“Hamana su disara!!” he exclaimed. The door slowly opened.

“What the hell?” the foreman asked.

“Come this way,” Hojo ordered. “We’re very close.”

*****

Another large metal object, this one rounded, though. The door opened once Hojo touched it.

“Come on,” he said, walking inside. It appeared very technological. Far beyond anything he had ever seen. Various moniters activated, displaying symbols which were no doubt part of some ancient, or even alien, language.

Then, he came to a chamber.

“Who dare interupts my slumber?”

“I do,” Hojo said. “You are the Bringer of Destruction, correct?”

“I am the ultimate equalizer. You have summoned me. You are one of the Harbingers. As it is written, a Harbinger shall die, return, then awaken me from my slumber. You are that Harbinger.”

“Yes,” Hojo replied. “I have spent my entire life searching for you.”

“Then the Ascension is upon us. The time has finally come!!”

The chamber opened with a mechanical hiss and deep inside was a large slab of amber. It glowed brightly until it melted away, revealing a creature with a long, flowing cape, a flaming head, and a mask-like face.

“I am Helspont!! The Bringer of Destruction!!”