11 32, November 18, 3194
Outer Circle, City of Zade, Planet Earth
A thunderous roar filled the air, a giant Kraken-like beast rampaging across the Outer Circle. A lone figure could be seen dashing across the rocky earth, running at an erratic pace. If one looked closer, one could see the sickly purple patches where the beast’s acidic saliva had dripped down from its open mouth. The behemoth stamped on the ground, tentacles dragging the large body forwards. The stench of smoke and blood filled the air, clogging, polluting.
Corpses dotted the fields, some ripped open, and others sucked dry of their insides. Organs and body fluids covered the area, drenching the soil with gore. A single man stood, tiny when compared to the monster he was facing. A large gun was held in his hand and he was firing away at the snake-like, writhing tentacles. Neon green blasts of plasma occasionally hit his attackers, making the flesh sizzle. Recoiling, the beast hissed but still continued its barrage of attacks. But it was bound to end eventually.
A tentacle had managed to sneak past, unnoticed. It lay low on the ground, safe while the others around it were being massacred. And then, it struck. With blinding speed, it flew towards him. The spikes stiffened and the poison sacs under each sharpened tip began to activate. The tentacle, in an area without spikes, just barely brushed the man’s side before knocking the weapon out of his hands. The man cursed quite explicitly as the weapon flew through the air and landed with a thud. That was his last weapon!
Auke scrambled for his plasma shooter, trying to dodge the shadowy tentacles racing towards him. Metallic spikes gleamed dangerously in the fading sunlight. They skimmed low over the ground, darting like snakes equipped with tri-boosters. He gasped out in pain as he overstretched, probably ripping another muscle. Cursing, a hand instinctively flew to his side- he absently noted the smooth feel of his battle suit- while he continued to run. Doing his best to outrun his pursuers, he dived down, fingers just barely brushing the barrel of his battle-worn weapon.
Unfortunately for him, he felt a cold, scaly tentacle wrap around his right knee. It held him tight and he stumbled, hitting the earth with a loud thump. The air rushed from his lungs and his stars erupted in his vision for a split second. His eyes widened in both surprise and fear. He yelped out as the tentacle swiftly jerked back, pulling him along with it. His hand made one desperate, final attempt to grab his gun. Failing, he could only do his best to resist, futilely, as the monster dragged him back, towards its gaping maw of a mouth. The monster started to do some twisted victory dance, lashing out and wriggling about.
“No!” he yelled. “No! Let go of me!” Auke’s voice went just a slightly bit higher in his frantic yelling. His gloved hands dug into the earth, trying to at least slow down the beast’s snake-like limbs from dragging him back. Another tentacle wrapped around his waist, the spikes digging into his skin. Almost immediately, the venom began to take effect. His vision turned hazy, he could feel little else besides a dull throbbing in his temples, and his arms felt heavy and leaden. His heart was slowly failing, the thumps echoing in his mind.
‘Move!’ his brain commanded. ‘Do something!’ However, his sluggish body could not comprehend what his head was telling him. He felt himself get tossed around like a rag doll, and at this range, he could feel the hot, moist breath of the Khismertan. Involuntarily, he shivered, dreading the thought of being crunched up into tiny bits, the many rows of sharp teeth biting into his flesh, the agony of living through that pain.
Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed his pack opening. Trying his best to do something about it, with all his willpower, he slowly and clumsily raised an arm. Reaching towards the bag, his fingers twitched sporadically every few seconds. He inwardly cursed when something fell out. Strangely, the Khismertan also seemed to stop, just to watch the arc of the quickly descending object. It was in a trance-like state, its many obsidian eyes following the arc of the object. But that wasn’t possible, was it?
It was a silver, antique-looking watch. Shaped like a candle flame, the actual face of the watch was reflective and gleaming. Easily able to be held in his palm, the watch looked, and actually was, very delicate. A slender braid of black thread trailed behind it, flapping in the breeze. If his reflexes were functioning at regular speed, he would have winced as the watch roughly struck the ground. But, seeing how the venom affected his body, he could only watch on in a daze, not really absorbing any information.
The watch cracked. Literally, it split into two halves a moment just after it hit the ground. Miniature springs and gears burst off in all directions. A few parts flopped about strangely on the ground, warning his mind that something was wrong. A greenish gray liquid spilled out from the core of the watch, hissing and turning into wisps of smoke. It faintly smelled like a citrus fruit. The curls of smoke twisted around each other, dancing as the flew higher and higher into the sky. Auke and the beast watched this show, intrigued and unable to look away.
The tendrils of teal colored smoke formed the vague outline of an oval shape. Even after the liquid had long disappeared, the hissing sound was as fresh in his mind as the beats of his heart, perhaps even more so. Even with the toxin flowing in his veins, he could feel something wrong. An unsettling feeling of dread was forming in his stomach, making him nauseous and queasy.
The oval-shaped figure began to spin like a wheel. It spun hypnotically, making the Khismertan sway as if it were a tree in the wind. The slow rocking motion, after being tossed about and thrown earlier, made Auke feel as if he were to throw up. Thankfully, he managed to keep the bile from leaving his throat. The icy cold wind began to pick up, definitely unusual for this part of the city.
Eventually, the outline had formed into a full block of color. It was a mix of the richest shades of blue, shimmering like the ocean in the sun. All of the wind began to focus on that particular spot, further alarming Auke, though he could do nothing about it. His breathing started to get heavier, despite the fear and panic. Dimly, he was aware of his lungs shutting down, the slow paling of skin to a corpse white complexion. He could almost imagine a scythe swinging down on his neck. He could see a bony, skeletal hand reaching out to him, and he seriously considered taking it. He really did consider raising his arm, taking the hand, and ending his pain.
Then, at that moment, the gale force winds ripped him free of the monster’s embrace. He was faintly aware of losing a limb- was that his left arm being flung away?- before being jolted back into his senses. The pain was finally recognized and he screamed out. He gasped in an attempt to get more life-saving oxygen but he knew it was too late. The blood loss, the failing heart, everything was conspiring against him.
And then, blue. He was immersed in a watery world of cerulean, sapphire, azure, and aquamarine. A sensation of coolness flooded his body, and he felt rejuvenated, like he had just woken up from a deep, refreshing sleep. Hazy figures were outlined in the distance, and briefly wondered who, or what, they were. He felt no pain; in fact, he didn’t feel anything at all. Vertigo was setting in, and he could no longer tell up from down, left from right. ‘Is this Paradise? Am I finally dead?’ he asked himself.
A smiling face suddenly appeared in front of him. The familiar tanned skin, the familiar scar over the left eye, the vibrant electric pink hair. He could not put a name to the face but it felt so comforting, so welcome. He couldn’t hear words, but he could feel the raw emotion. He could feel sorrow, pain, and joy, all at once in a rushing torrent. More faces appeared. They crowded around him, filling his head with soothing emotions.
The faces morphed. He couldn’t tell where the changes began, but they were there. The faces slowly became bloodied and deathly pale. Expressions changed to death masks of agony and bitter sorrow. There were splatters of squashed organs and shards of bone all around. The scent of decay and blood wafted into his nostrils, sickening him. Once again, the bile rose. It felt hot and made his throat burn. Auke’s breathing hitched. ‘They died…they died like this…’ And he could feel them blaming him.
The silver watch melted into the background. Auke hadn’t even noticed the first signs of its appearance but it suddenly popped out one moment. It was as fine and unbroken as the day he had first received it. The faces, in turn, melded with the background until they were all but invisible to his eyes. The watch seemed to bulge and pulse as if it were alive. But he noticed none of this. The only thing that held his focus was the second hand, ticking. Backwards.
The second hand quickly gained speed, whizzing around the face at mind-numbing speeds. He could see the previous events clearly play out, only in reverse. The Khismertan, the death of his team, the disastrous mission, everything. They were played so quickly that all he caught were flashes of color, but they were enough to flood his mind with memories. He could feel himself beginning to hyperventilate. Heart rate increasing, breaths coming in short bursts, all the usual symptoms. Curling in on himself, he tried to stop the images from coming, tried to stop his shivering. He was a soldier! He shouldn’t be acting like this. But for all his willpower, for all his effort, he couldn’t stop anything.
The watch stopped.
Black.
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