In a secret facility, at an undisclosed location:
"Has the device been completed?"Asked a rough voice emanating from a three-dimensional hologram of a featureless black figure, addressing the man standing before it.
"The construction is finished, but the testing phase is not yet 100% complete. We still don't know if there are any potential risks,"replied the man with a worried tone.
"It doesn't matter. Just proceed with activating the device,"the holographic figure said calmly.
"But the risks are immense, sir. I fear that—"
"Enough!"snapped the hologram, its tone sharp."The directors already believe this project has taken too long. They're displeased with the delays."
The man in the room sighed in surrender."As you wish, sir. Where do you want the device to be activated?"
"I've already sent you the list of countries and regions where the waves will be deployed. Study the effects that occur in each area carefully."
"Understood, sir. How many people are we going to use for the experiment?"
The holographic figure turned, seemingly speaking to others off-screen in inaudible tones. After five tense minutes:
"Ten million should be a good number. Begin the operation as soon as possible."
"Yes, sir."
The connection was cut. The man remained alone in the room.After about a minute, he accessed his personal email and reviewed the list of targeted areas. He then instructed his assistant to relay orders down the chain of command.He leaned back in his chair, thoughts heavy.
"I hope this device works without complications... The smallest malfunction could have consequences far beyond these regions or countries. We're talking continental, perhaps even global or species-level impact..."He let out a deep sigh.
21st Century – 2024Hillburg University – Faculty of Social Work
A student sat in a lecture hall, half-listening to a professor discuss social psychology.His pen moved across the paper, but his mind wandered, more focused on what he'd do once class ended.
As the lecture concluded, students began filing out.Azure packed up his belongings, preparing to leave.
But as soon as he stepped outside the hall, something caught his eye—The sky had turned red. Not just red—blood red, with a crimson moon hanging above.
He stepped closer to the window, trying to get a clearer look.No one around him seemed to notice. No comments, no concern.
"Can't they see the sky? The moon? Or am I hallucinating…?"It felt like his vision was playing tricks on him, the scene fading whenever he tried to focus.
"Maybe I'm just overthinking… I really need to cut back on reading too many novels."He rubbed his eyes. "I just need some rest."
Azure headed to the train station and boarded his usual route home.He pulled out his phone and started scrolling aimlessly through the internet, yawning out of boredom, counting down the minutes until he arrived…
Then the lights inside the train began to shift—from bright white to a dim, eerie red.The carriage trembled slightly. Screams of panic erupted from the passengers.And suddenly—silence.The lights died. The shaking stopped.
Before anyone could catch their breath, claws ripped through the train door.The entire side of the carriage was violently torn open.
A monstrous creature, around two and a half meters tall, stepped in. It looked like a massive lizard, but its eyes—They weren't normal reptilian eyes.They were eyes that knew...Eyes that waited...Eyes that watched.
And in that glowing silver gaze, Azure saw a reflection of himself—Small.Fragile.Powerless.
The creature pounced on a young woman, likely in her twenties, slashing through her body effortlessly, spraying blood in every direction.
Azure's body froze.His legs refused to move, as if they'd been nailed to the floor.The woman's scream shattered the silence, but his ears now heard nothing but the deafening thud of his own heartbeat—Loud. Fast. Terrifying.
"This is real… This is REAL!"He tried to convince himself, but the terror ran deeper than logic.Every drop of blood was a slap to his consciousness.
People began running in every direction, screaming and shoving one another in pure panic.Azure stood motionless, overwhelmed.Time fractured—A girl fell.A man was trampled.The creature's screech tore through his senses.
"I have to run… I have to survive."The thought echoed in his head, as if someone else had planted it there.His mind screamed, but his body barely responded.
Desperately scanning for escape, Azure noticed a crack near the lower side of the train carriage.It hadn't been there before—"The intense shaking... and that monster breaking through the door—it must've weakened the structure enough to cause this crack."He examined it closely.It was just wide enough.
"Good thing I'm small and slim,"he thought as he crouched, ready to crawl through.
But a piercing howl stopped him cold.
He turned and saw another creature—this one with a birdlike head and writhing tendrils—bursting through the train window.Its tendrils slashed through more than ten passengers in a blink.
Azure didn't hesitate anymore.He forced his way through the crack.Even with his light frame, the sharp edges tore at his skin, leaving cuts and bruises as he squeezed through.
Outside the train, the world felt… wrong.The air was heavier, darker.
He looked up—The blood moon still loomed above, casting its eerie glow over a city in ruin.Blackened buildings crumbled.Silence hung thick, smothering even the wind.
"So… it wasn't a hallucination."Azure thought, trembling as the images of torn bodies and rivers of blood replayed in his mind.
"I need to get away. Now."He started running, knowing the monsters would soon be after him once they finished with the others.
But something was… off.
"Where am I? This... this isn't Earth."
The city was beyond destroyed—No, this wasn't destruction.This was obliteration.Every building around him was reduced to scorched rubble.
Even the air… wasn't the same.Something inside him whispered—He hadn't just moved through space…He had crossed boundaries far deeper.
"How could this happen in just minutes?Monsters are one thing… but this level of devastation?A dead, twisted world…?"