The Dawn of the New World

"Secondary Detonation, initiated."

*BOOOOOM*

The first thing he felt was his body being pulled further in towards the center of the expanding light.

Then came the pain. Hao Xuan couldn't see anything but he could still feel it. It was a burning sensation so intense that his nervy endings gave out instantly.

It was a sudden burst of pain followed by weightlessness.

He didn't need eyes to see what was happening. His body was deconstructing, melting away cell by cell.

He tried moving away but it was like he was pinned to the mass of blue light. He just wanted to see what was happening around him but now that very same light source was about to devour him completely.

'Devour!'

Hao Xuan's mind jolted awake as if a bolt of lightning had just pierced his brain stem. A single word repeatedly echoed in his ears, getting louder each time.

It sounded like his own voice overlapping with another, something...inhuman.

'Devour'

'Devour!'

'DEVOUR!"

By the fifth time, the word was being shouted into his ears. It was the only thing keeping him conscious at this point.

It sounded like a chant and a spell at the same time.

Both his hearts beat in unison with such strength that a shockwave pushed him away from the center of the light, just enough for him to gain a little control of his body.

Hao Xuan opened his eyes, glaring at the mini sun right in front of him.

His corneas lasted only for a single moment before being burned away, but that was enough for him to acquire his target and get a grasp of his surroundings.

His vision was gone but the vocal cords remained. He opened his dried mouth, the first layer of skin on his face already gone.

"DEVOUR!" he shouted, and the light vanished.

If God had willed the light into being on the first day, now Hao Xuan had taken it away.

The creatures that were standing some distance away watching the show in levity suddenly turned serious.

They looked towards the glowing figure in front of them.

Hao Xuan was lit up like a Christmas tree. He was glowing with a blue light intense enough to lit up every single tissue in his body, illuminating everything around him.

The light was getting stronger by the second.

The creatures all floated up. Those that had weapons came to the front and pointed them towards Hao Xuan.

Black hexagon shields materialized in front of them, each one seamlessly connecting with the others around them.

In less than five seconds they had completely sealed off the entire right side for hundreds of meters.

Hao Xuan continued to pulse with the blue light. He was trying his best to contain it but it was far too strong and still getting stronger.

And now that it was inside of him, he could clearly feel that it was building up to something, and he did not want to be there when it set off.

His body was trying to absorb it as quickly as possible, using the energy from it to heal him but it was too much to handle.

Hao Xuan had only absorbed less than 0.000003 percent of the total energy coming off of that thing. He might as well have swallowed the sun itself. Actually, that would've been less dangerous.

Hao Xuan's eyes had been partially healed, just enough for him to see vague shapes around him. He looked towards the creatures that had barricaded themselves behind their sturdy shield formation.

He could feel the power thrumming through them from where he was. They were not as simple as they looked.

He couldn't help but smile.

They looked like turtles hiding inside their shells. He gave them one look before turning away and facing the cliff.

The light was reflecting off of it. There really was some kind of a field covering the whole thing, almost like a bubble.

Previously when he had put his hand through it felt like he had passed through some kind of boundary, and that was true in more ways than one.

The temperature around him had started to boil the water. If he held onto it any longer then he would be dead very soon, so he let it go.

Hao Xuan closed his eyes and made bent forward, regurgitating the whole thing right on top of the field covering the cliffside.

As soon as the creatures saw that they went mad. They disabled the shields and shot forward with such speed that stunned Hao Xuan.

Before he could blink tens of them were right next to the light. But as soon as they got close their bodies started burning away, yet that did very little to diminish their enthusiasm.

With maddened fury they charged the light, using their own bodies to push it away before being turned to ashes. They were using their own lives to keep the light source away.

It made Hao Xuan wonder what exactly was down there, but he did not stay there to get the answers.

He took this opportunity and swam straight up while the creatures were busy.

Ten seconds had passed when Baracus's voice came into his ears.

"Critical point reached, meltdown imminent."

"Fuck fuck fuck!"

Using every little bit of energy he could muster, Hao Xuan swam as fast as his injured body could handle.