Prologue
This is the story of something that happened outside of our own time. It occurred before the creation of our own Universe, and before the Universe that preceded it, and the one that preceded it, and so on. These events took place long before the Paradox caused time to bend backwards upon itself, forcing the lifespan of creation to repeat without rest.
In fact, this is the story of how a troubled young girl became that very Paradox...
The Second Hyperspace War lasted exactly 21 years. When the storm cleared, over 15,000 inhabited worlds had been burned, crushed, exploded, silenced, pulverized, shattered, or otherwise annihilated. There was no possible way to count the dead.
During the final battle, fought both on the ground and in the skies above Earth, 15 Stormbreakers, each one the hero of other stories I don’t have time to tell you, rose from the island of Kyushu and led the combined forces of every galactic civilization in a colossal offensive against Agamemnon itself.
10 Stormbreakers fell to the Invaders.
4 Stormbreakers vanished and were never seen nor heard from again.
And Jericho stood alone against Agamemnon.
The storm became more intense and vicious than ever before. Their battle shattered planets, killed millions, and caused permanent damage to the Hyperspace Network across the entire galaxy.
And then it was over. Neither Jericho nor Agamemnon remained. The Invaders, having lost their nerve center, became lethargic and vulnerable. All across the galaxy, Invader fleets were outmaneuvered and crushed by forces less than half their size. Within a year, the Invaders were completely purged from all creation.
The war was over, but the damage was still done. The Invaders destroyed three quarters of all populated places in the galaxy, while Jericho and Agamemnon disabled every Hyperspace Gate in the galaxy. Without the Network, great star nations like the Kingdom of Partoga, the Levakian Confederation, Amadiio, Vania, the Micore Empire, Kelta, and the United States of Assuria simply ceased to exist.
While the political powers of the galaxy died, tens of millions of tons of battle debris rained down on the Earth. The impacts thrust clouds of dust into the air. Shrouded in clouds, the Earth fell into a long winter, returning humankind to its isolation from the rest of the galaxy. Unable to call upon their new extraterrestrial allies for help, the people of Earth vanished into silence, and soon, the Sol Star itself became lost.
Which brings us here:
This desolate world is Earth. Once, it was the home of legendary heroes, the site of epic battles and adventures, haven for a wide and diverse array of life. Now this world is on the brink of death. The skies are choked with ash, the soil and water fouled by radiation. The stench of death is everywhere, and a horrible silence hangs over the ruins of once-grand cities.
To think this husk of a planet is where the savior of all creation was born.
But this is not the story of Jericho. That tale has already been told. Between these pages you shall find a much different kind of narrative. This book does not seek to entertain you or teach you a lesson.
If you press on, continue into the dark chapters beyond this warning, you will not find an uplifting tale of heroes triumphing over evil. There is no joyful story of a young girl learning to love her family. You will not witness a legend of creation, nor a moral lesson shrouded in entertaining antics.
This book will serve only one purpose, to answer the following questions:
Who is the Paradox and where did she come from?
The answer to this question is dark and tragic. Finding it will bring both enlightenment, sorrow, and some frustration at what could have been. But this is a question that must be answered, and it will be answered.
Twenty-four years after Jericho gave herself to the final victory, someone else’s story is about to begin...
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