--- Date: 01/05/2020, Time: 05:00 ---
--- Mt. Jakarta,Jun'g'a Valley,Australia ---
--- Jack Legend, 8 ---

I sat in front of my master, the man who had raised me and trained me ever since I was a small boy, and simply waited. You couldn't Rush the Master, It just annoyed him.

He hummed, his weak eyes suddenly opening, and nodded. "Jack." He said calmly.

"Yes, master?"

"There is a storm coming... Take the animals into the cellar, and do not dawdle." He said simply, as was his way.

"Yes, master." I said, and started herding the sheep and pigs into our storm cellar, along with our chickens. The horses put up a fight, but I calmly dragged them in, my monstrous strength more than any horse, or even two, could handle.

That done, I returned to the Old Man. "And now, master? Would you like help inside?"

He hummed. "I will stay. I believe this storm will not kill me, but it will never happen again. I wish to witness this." He nodded.

I bowed. "Then I will stay as well, master."

He nodded. "If you wish. You will regret it shortly. Lock the cellar."

I locked the cellar, stuck the key in my pocket, and carried two blankets out. I draped one across my master's shoulders, and then the other over myself.

He chuckled, but remained quiet.

I looked at the sky, and saw nothing, though I felt the drop in pressure in my stomach. A storm was definitely coming.

Then, in the blink of an eye, the entire sky twisted, and I realized that there were winds so strong in that eye that they were refracting the light, like water.

I gulped, and master Hector laughed softly. "Describe it, boy."

"The winds are twisting the sky... The light is being reflected and retraced, as if the air is as thick as water... And it is spinning." I said slowly.

He nodded. "I see... Heh. I feel the air losing pressure... It is being condensed... Amazing. It is just like our Qui, hmm?"

I smiled. "Let us hope not. A handful of qui can kill a man. A storm?" I shuddered. "I'd rather not think about it."

"Well You'd better start, my boy." He said ominously, just as the storm touched down.

I'll remember that moment for the rest of my life. 05:30, January Fifth, 2020. I was Eight years old.

The shockwave was literally visible, even from miles away, and I watched as it leveled buildings, shattered villages. Master and I were far up in the Mountains, so the shockwave hit our mountain, eventually.

It shook the entire mountain, and started to travel up towards us.

In the blink of an eye, master had jumped forward, and spent every bit of qui he had into a palm strike that I knew could level buildings.

He struck the shockwave with his full might, and it shuddered, then collapsed in this one spot. The entire shockwave was ripped and shredded, then pulled back and condensed into one marble, before I could blink, and then it shot forward in the same direction as it had been before.

It slammed into my heart, so dense that it was physical, and then burned through me, dissolving into my body. I felt the qui sink into my muscles, organs, and bones, all at once reshaping and strengthening my already qui-enhanced body.

I was frozen, lying on the ground, until the master came over, and jabbed a pressure point on my kidney, causing me so much pain that I was suddenly able to move.

Master helped me stand, and then we looked out at the valley. The storm was still raging, sending out smaller shockwaves now, that didn't travel up the mountain, simply crashed into it.

"A... Qui Storm? Master, how is that possible?" I asked finally.

"Someone... Has spent a very long time, sending Qui into the clouds... To help seal the atmosphere..." He huffed, tired.

I helped him sit down. "What do you mean, master?"

"You are aware... Of the hole in the Sky, hmm?" He asked, referring to the ion displacement in the ozone layer.

"Yes, master, you've taught me of this."

"Well, I am ashamed to say, that in my arrogance... I believed I could seal it, with Qui. I have been sending my qui into the sky for almost six decades, along with several hundred other Masters, around China, Japan, and all of Asia. Even America has one or two... It seems that the Qui was bounced back, finally."

"Master... Are you saying you made that storm, even on accident?" I blinked, surprised.

He nodded. "I am almost proud, honestly... I tasted my own Qui in the shockwave. My qui makes up almost a quarter of all the qui in that storm. And now it is in you." He nodded at my chest, and the small blackened Shrub pattern over my heart, where all the qui had entered.

I rubbed it, nodding. "At least the initial devastation will not continue, only this." I gestured at the tornado, which we were just barely above, at the top of the mountain.

He nodded. "Indeed. But it will not be the only storm. This is one of many places that the qui was sent from. They will go to all of them, I think." He sighed.

I blinked slowly. "Master... That level of destruction..."

He nodded, and sighed again. "Yes. Let us go inside, there is nothing more to see today... We will watch the news tomorrow." He said.

I nodded and followed him inside.
-
-
-
--- Date: 01/05/2020, Time: 05:00 ---
--- Mt. Carolyn, Rock Mountains Spine ---
--- Jillian Von Der Bergen, 5 ---

"But I want to, Mama! Why can't I go into town? You know I don't like this Stuffy House!" I shouted, pouting.

Mother raised an eyebrow, unaffected. "Watch your tone, Jillian. For all that I love you, I am still your mother, and the Leader of this Clan. The weather forecast says there'll be a storm, soon. You will not be outside during it." She said firmly, and walked out, slamming my door.

I growled in annoyance, and kicked my door.

"That's not going to do anything except break your toe, Jillian. You're the one who wanted 'extra thick Medieval Doors', from what I recall." She said simply, and I could detect the slight smirk in her voice.

I screamed in annoyance. "You can't do this!"

"I can, and I will. Get some sleep." She said simply, and walked away.

I grumbled and kicked the door again dejectedly, as her leaving had shorted out the fire that had kept me going. I went to the window, and sat in my window seat, watching the sky.

"It's so clear out, there's no way-"

The sky started twisting, in the distance, and I blinked, rubbing my eyes. It was still there, though, and now it was twisting down, like a tornado.

I felt the tornado touch down, more than I heard it or saw it.

The ground shook, and a giant wave issued forth, slamming into mountains and towns, and I gasped, watching as the trees were uprooted and the rivers exploded.

The shockwave had died down quite a bit when it reached my mansion, and so only the windows cracked a little.

I squealed and fell backwards, my chest burning like I'd been shocked, and then mother charged into the room. She picked me up, and started running down the stairs. I'd never been this far down.

"Where are we going, mama?" I asked, clutching her.

"We're going into the wine cellar. And we're going to wait until the storm passes, and then everything will be alright after that, alright pumpkin?" She asked, forcing a smile.

"But what about all the people in the town? I saw it get flattened... Do you think they got out okay?" I asked her hopefully.

She nodded. "Oh, of course, darling, they're the ones who warned us about it. They'd already evacuated." She said airily, and then opened a thick door, carrying me into a dark room. She set me down, and lit a candle, then a few more, effectively lighting the small space we were in.

I looked down at my chest, through my nightie, and saw a pattern, burnt into my skin, like a brand. It looked like a lightning bolt, almost. I looked away, watching people come in.

More people came, and I smiled when I saw my nanny, miss Melinda May. She was a very pretty southern woman, with long golden hair I loved braiding.

"Miss Melinda!" I shouted, and hugged her leg.

She smiled and picked me up, sitting next to mama. "Well Hello, sweetling. Are you alright?" She asked, looking me over quickly.

I nodded. "Are you scared, Miss Melinda?"

She shook her head. "I ain't never been scared of a little storm like this. Why, if your mama hadn't told me I had to be here, I'd still be cleaning." She huffed, her nose turned up at the storm.

I giggled and hugged her. "Then I'm not scared either, Miss Melinda." I said definitively. I looked at mama. "Where's papa?" I asked, afraid for him.

She looked down. "He's... Away, dear. He is in the islands, in South America. Im sure he's fine, dear." I nodded and laid my head down, while Mama petted my hair, and soon I fell asleep in Miss Melinda's dainty arms.
-
-
-
--- Date: 01/05/2020, Time: 03:50 ---
--- Black Forest, Germany ---
--- Theron Von Himmel, 28 ---

I smiled at my five year old son, who was playing chess with my wife in our living room, next to the giant, blazing fireplace. "Ooh, almost, son, you've almost got her!" I cheered him on in German softly, and she scoffed and smacked my arm.

"Oi, I'm your wife, cheer for me!" She said, playfully offended.

"Ah, but he's my son!" I countered.

He giggled and placed his queen exactly two spaces diagonally from her cornered King, then tipped her king. "Chakmet." He mumbled, smiling. His English was still spotty, but he was learning.

I cheered, and switched to German. "And so she is conquered! Well done, my son! Now, I must go into town, I've got some errands to run. Let Harden in if he gets cold, hmm?" I said, referring to my dog, who guarded the large front porch of our winter cabin, and also our mansion yard, in Berlin.

He was a shaggy mountain dog and wolf mix, so he probably wouldn't get cold, but it was always best to be sure. The nearest town was an hours drive away, so I didn't want to have to be in two places at once. He'd keep them safe while I was gone.

He smiled at me. "Okay papa!" He smiled.

I kissed his forehead. "Alright. Be safe. I'll be back soon, my love." I kissed my wife. I called over my shoulder as I put on my jacket. "And next time don't go easy on him!" I called, chuckling.

She laughed, and he squealed in annoyance, making her grab him and start tickling him. I laughed and smiled at the last sight I would ever have of my wife and child.

I petted Harden. "Be a good boy, hmm? Guard." I said sternly, pointing at the door.

He growled to show he was ready, and started slowly scanning his surroundings, sharp eyes flickering between the shapes in the trees, mostly squirrels.

I got in my truck, and started the engine. I let it warm up, my hands on the vents to warm them, and looked up. "Hmm... It looks like it might snow again... Ah, well. Erik will enjoy the snow." I shrugged, and started driving.

---

I got to town, and then looked up as I was about to get out, in front of the small general store.

The sky was... Twisting. I quickly shut my door, and started driving back to the cabin. About five minutes later, the world shuddered, and something hit my truck so hard it was send tumbling and reeling.

---

I opened my eyes, groaning, and unbuckled. My body slammed into the roof of my truck, and I groaned a second time, crawling out.

My whole body was sore, but especially my chest and head. I looked down at my chest, and noticed a small burn over my heart, in the distinctive shape of a knight, the chess piece. I covered it up, confused, and shaken, but very much alive.

I gained my feet, and started walking, and then jogging. I had to get to my family.

The forest looked mostly fine, after the first hundred feet or so, fallen trees only every hundred feet or so, which gave me hope.

The trees were shattered up until where I wrecked, which meant I was right on the edge of... Whatever that was. The town was flattened. The freshly fallen snow was all awash with Crimson, telling me all I needed to know.

---

I stumbled into my clearing, and gasped.

A tree had fallen on my cottage, and Harden was furiously digging at the rubble, tearing planks away with his giant jaws. I heard a Small, muffled cry, and dove in next to him, literally roaring with effort as I hauled logs away from the pile. I smelled Blood, and cursed myself. If I'd have taken them with me, we could've all survived that wreck, even Erik...

I shook myself and dug in again, and gasped when I saw Erik's face. I cleared away the rubble, and pulled him from it, making Harden whine and lick him all over.

I checked him for injuries, and gasped. He had a burn on his chest, in the pattern of a wave. He coughed, and started breathing normally.

Assured of his relative health, I turned back to the wreckage, setting him down. "Olivia!?" I cried, moving more planks.

I found a single chess piece, a Knight, soaked black by her blood, and stopped digging. It was next to her left hand, and I gently felt her pulse.

I slowly placed her wedding ring on the Knight's neck, and tucked it into my pocket. I picked up the unconscious Erik, and simply cradled him to my chest, while Harden laid his massive head in my lap, occasionally smelling Erik and I to make sure we were still there.

I held my son, and cried for my wife, but thanked God that at least one of them survived that... Purge. It was like God was wiping the planet clean again, and starting anew. The next Flood.

--- Date: 01/05/2020, Time: 05:30 ---
--- Yangtze River,Southern Gobi Desert ---
--- Young Man, 16 ---

I hummed, watching the storm touch down, and stepped out of my all-weather tent for a moment, squinting.

"Well then... That's a new one." I hummed, and stepped back into the protective shielding of my tent, just as the shockwave hit.

I was blasted into the river next to my tent, and slowly fell unconscious, the mark on my chest burning anew. 'Of all the things to kill me... A tornado. Ha. Take that, irony.'

---

I woke up suddenly, and someone tipped me over. I puked up half of the Yangtze, and spat one last time.

I looked up at my savior, a short old woman, and nodded. I softly thanked her in choppy mandarin.

She smiled. "Mm. Get up. Things to do." She said in equally choppy English.

"Things? What?"

She laughed sarcastically. "You tink I save you fo' free? Ha! Nuffing free in dis world, young man. Carry dis, yes." She tapped a bag.

I stood, and cracked my back, and picked up the bag easily. "Wow, what's in here, air?" I asked.

"Yes. Keep up, young man. Many things to do." She snapped.

"Yes ma'am." I said, catching up, not wanting to be alone in a place I knew nothing about.

She smacked my ear. "No, you caw' me Teacha'! I teach you many, many tings, young man!" She commanded.

I grinned and nodded, deciding to go with her. She seemed like an interesting person. "Yes, teacher. What's your name, can I ask?"

"I caw' you young man. You caw' me Teacha'. You no need name, I no need name. Mm?" She nodded, the matter apparently settled.

I smiled. "Mm." I nodded.

She chuckled. "Young man is Sm'rtass, huh? See how sma't you is, ha? How many sheep?" She pointed at something in front of us.

I turned, and gasped. The entire valley was shredded, crushed, like it hadn't ever existed. In the far, far distance, Hong-Kong looked like it was a sand castle that had been kicked by a toddler. Most was still standing, but...

"It did that to a city? What was that storm?" I whispered.

She smacked my ear. "No, I ask how many sheep, stupid!"

I ignored her, and took a step forward.

"Where you go, hmm?" She asked.

"I have to help!" I said.

She shook her head. "That? Many hundred mile away. Cross desert. You no get there before you die. Help here. Dey have people to help. Fireman, Powrice. You? You wander. Nomad. You no help them." She gestured for me to step back.

I gritted my teeth, understanding that she was right. I nodded, and looked up. I saw four sheep. "Four sheep." I said.

She nodded. "Go catch, hmm?"

I sighed and started off towards a sheep, and quickly caught it, picking it up. "Wow, you're all wool, huh buddy? Let's go, easy does it." I carried him back to her, and she nodded, wrapping a rope around its chest, under its front legs, and attached that to her walking stick.

I got all four, and she nodded. "Good, you can catch sheep. You are not stupid! Very good." She nodded, chuckling.

I sighed. "Yay."

She laughed, and sat down. "Now. One thing I teach you today. Chi. Watch, listen, learn." She said, tapping her eye, ear, and temple.

I nodded, copying her, and she nodded. "Good. Learn." She pressed her hand against the sand under us, and raised it.

Under her hand was a small dust-devil.

I gasped, and she nodded. "Now you. Reach, inside. You find much Chi." She said, nodding.

I gulped and pressed my hand to the sand next to her still-spinning cyclone, and reached into myself.

The sand suddenly exploded, and I was thrown back.

She laughed loudly, patting her thigh, totally unaffected. "Too much Chi, Young Man! HAHAHAHAH! But good, for idiot first try." She nodded.

I sighed. "I'm not an Idiot."

"Proof." She pointed at the sand again, smiling.