Chapter 1: The Chosen?

  May 29, 1453.

  In a final night of prayer, the bells of Byzantium tolled for death. The air was thick with the scent of iron, innocent screams, and the clash of swords. Constantinople, the holy city, the gateway between East and West, fell to the Ottoman sword. But beneath the darkness of smoke and spilled blood, it was not just the empire that perished… but something that had never been human, something that could never be human.

  In the dead of night, there were no clouds in the sky, no strong winds. After a brutal siege, it seemed that everything had returned to normal. Above the Hagia Sophia, the sky cracked, and 55 luminous entities descended, like lanterns shining over entire cities. They were not seen by all, only by the marked ,named the Chosen. They chose the bodies of men hungry for glory, for gold, for peace, or for blood—promising them exactly what they lacked, what they desired, but not what they truly needed.

  This is how the first Chosen were born—people who shared a common body with these spirits. At first, they were symbiotic, granting them inhuman strength, but they would soon become parasites.

  They did not yet seem like monsters. On the contrary—they were makers of miracles. They increased crops and brought rain at will, they stopped wars and calmed hatred among men, gathering crowds and telling them their truth. People praised them, worshipped them as either messengers of God or returned gods. They were powerful, benevolent, confident, and had a purpose, as noble as it was corruptible.

  The Six Great Chosen of the Beginning:

  Midies, a simple merchant from Constantinople, who gathered money for the healing of his parents, accepted such a proposal, and the spirit promised him more wealth than armies could carry—armies larger and more glorious than all others. He became the first Chosen, turning sand into gold dust, gold dust into gemstones at a touch. At first, the Ottoman Empire prospered with this power, Midies believing himself "The Chosen of Allah." But as time passed, the value of gold decreased, and the Ottomans no longer had use for it. They began to build houses of gold and pave roads with gemstones.

  Siudeibai, a horseman and warrior surrounded by enemies, wishing to restore the Mongol Empire, accepted the offer of such an entity and became one of the first Chosen. He rekindled the warlike fire of the steppes, becoming stronger than tens of hundreds of men in moments of rage, making him the most feared warrior in the Asian steppes, beginning to restore the Mongol Empire created by his distant relative.

  Levait, a warrior from the far deserts of Africa, wishing for her tribe to be like the others, also accepted the proposal and became Chosen, a warrior who copied the powers and tactics of other Chosen.

  Kamota, driven away by Siudeibai with her family to distant lands, a sleepy daughter of the south, seeking peace and tranquility, accepted the offer of a spirit, which promised her respite from the evils of the world and peace. She too became Sloth—bringing peace, but also the paralysis of will.

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  Afreditia, an orphan from Europe, abandoned by her parents at the gates of a monastery, grew up in the cold walls of the monastery, knowing nothing of true love, neither from her parents nor from the nuns there. One rainy night, weeping alone in her solitude, she accepted the offer of a spirit, which promised her that she would make anyone love her, and that she would be free to love anyone, anywhere, anytime. The orphan of Lust—she filled cities with adoration and decay, seducing kings, emperors, empresses, and princesses with her beauty.

  Vanities, a hungry boy from the jungles of the New World, an uncharted land, discovered by the previous Chosen, revealed that the world was not just Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia—it was also a Chosen—bringing bread, but never satiety.

  For six years, each day, 55–56 entities descended, until there were a total of 122,000. In silence, in shadow, in dreams, or in fire, they possessed souls and grew their influence. Some knew what they were. Others believed they were blessed. And all demanded worship.

  In the second year, a spirit appeared from the heavens, its light piercing the sky, as if a small sun had risen in the night. Its Chosen became the most powerful of all the Chosen—intelligent, cold, calculating, physically strong like Siudeibai, able to transform into a giant dragon. No man could compete with this titanic force. But as time passed, this Chosen’s pride grew.

  By the end of the six years, the world was transformed. The Chosen, slowly but surely, were corrupted by their own power. The first Six Great Chosen of the Beginning and the most powerful Chosen in the minds of men were less and less human. Over time, people began to call them simply by the sin that defined them:

  Midies – Greed   Siudeibai – Wrath   Levait – Envy   Kamota – Sloth   Afreditia – Lust   Vanities – Gluttony

  The most powerful Chosen, whose true name no one knew, became, in the minds of men, simply Pride.

  The Seven Kingdoms:

  A world torn into seven realms, each dominated by one of the Seven Lords of Sin. Only one place remained untouched—Israel, the land where no Chosen could enter. It was silent, shining in the darkness like a dim flame.

  The Chosen discovered that one Chosen could not fight another—spirits within them refused to fight each other. Therefore, the Chosen were united, forming a primordial monolith, desiring to subjugate humanity, to make humanity worship them as gods.

  In these six years, Christianity, once the world religion, became a forbidden cult. Its followers were either converted by the Chosen or their soldiers to new beliefs, or executed mercilessly and cruelly. Many Christians fled to Israel, the only place untouched by the madness of the new world.

  The Chosen extended their influence over the entire Earth, discovering two new continents, named North America and South America, respectively. Slowly and subtly, yet surely, they twisted God’s perfect creation—Earth and mankind.

  The world was divided by the Lords of Sin like a torn piece of cloth.

  The Ottoman Empire was under the influence of Greed; Europe and the cold northern wasteland were under the influence of Lust; the steppes of Asia and the southern parts belonged to Wrath; Africa, excluding the northern part of it, was claimed by Envy; Australia, initially part of Wrath’s territory, fell to Sloth and its desire for rest. South America was claimed by Gluttony, and North America was claimed by Pride, the only Chosen in the entire continent, standing alone in his power.

  The armies of the Chosen, simple men who had to cross the border into Israel, deceived by the Chosen and sent to conquer this land that refused to submit to the new global order, all died on the way—either from disease or the forces of nature. Everyone believed that God’s hand was over this country, protecting it directly from Him.

  And far away, among the high mountains, hidden from the eyes of all, there was a small village of about fifty people—old Christians, with hand-written Bibles and prayers every evening. They had no weapons. They had no glory. But they had faith.

  And here lived Emanuel.

  A 17-year-old boy, with hair as blonde as wheat, one blue eye and one brown. He was the youngest son. His older brother, Yudah, had been taken or killed five years ago, in the first wave of the Chosen. No one knew the truth. Yudah had been everything that Emanuel was not: strong, beautiful, noble—a young man destined to lead. Now, he was just a memory in their prayers.

  The village was too small to be noticed. Only some whispered that Pride sought to destroy it without judgment or contest, but no one knew why. Many believed that the people of this village posed a threat to the new society, and thus, for the common good, they must be exterminated. Yet, no one could find this village, for it was well hidden. Its location was known only by the inhabitants themselves.