SYSTEM ASCENSION

History and Heroes has always been written around raiders, portals and creatures. The portals are gateways to different world, and whenever worlds energy aligns, they open, connecting the world’s together for a certain amount of time. During that time, beings can travel from one world to the other.

Of all the creatures that pour out of a gate, the most constants were Nulls. Those creatures with a single eye and too many limbs were the most common threat, marked as D class monsters.

Standing here, and seeing the panel before them, Elias sharp nose could caught the faint scent of Nulls. Although, he had never seen one, the scent was unmistakably the same as the ones in the lab.

[OBSERVATION IN PROGRESS]

Then the number shifted.

[04:59]

His heartbeat quicken as his eyes locked onto the countdown. ”Observation?”

’Someone is watching us?’ He glanced around the dune. ’Where?’

People had began to panicked.

”Five minutes.”

”Five minutes for what?”

”Where is the safe zone?”

For a few seconds after the message settled, nothing happened. No sign of whatever ”annihilation” truly meant.

And that... was exactly what put them at ease.

The tension that had coiled tightly in his chest loosened just enough for doubt to creep in.

”Just another dream.”

Around him, the scattered voices began to rise again.

[04:04]

He turned slowly, scanning the horizon once more, forcing his dark eyes to focus beyond the endless repetition of sand. If there was a destination, it did not announce itself, but the smell of Nulls was still there.

Some stood still entirely, shielding their eyes as they squinted into the distance, as though the answer might eventually reveal itself if they looked long enough.

The countdown continued its silent descent.

[03:17]

The number reflected in his eyes as he swallowed.

[02:15]

Someone hiccupped. ”I want to —hick! Go home...I want to go home.”

He recognised the familiar voice, and somehow he felt relieved as he turned around. The familiar white short hair and green eyes.

”Ten..”

The terrified girl turned around, at his whispered tone, not because she was close to him, but because her ability make her hear things from even miles away.

”Five!”

She closed the distance in a blink, and crashed into his arms. ”I’m scared. Where is this place! Did the master bring us here?”

He was equally perplexed. His small hand went around her back to calm her down, even as he shook himself. ”A dream maybe? ... hopefully?”

”We can’t be in each other’s dream yunno,” she sobbed. ”I just want to go home. My real home.”

[01:03]

A few people started moving at last, picking random directions, their pace hesitant. He remained where he was, clutching tight on the girl three inches taller than him.

One thing was sure. This is not the lab.

[00:10]

He flinched.

A collective shift rippled through the participants, a shared realization crashing down all at once. The scorching sun was now hotter. A rumbling started in the distance.

”We’re running out of time...!”

”Move! Just move!”

Sand scattered as teenagers finally broke into motion, their earlier hesitation collapsing into frantic, directionless movement.

[00:03]

The air grew heavier.

[00:01]

And then:

[00:00]

Silence.

[First trial countdown complete]

[Number of participants in safe zone: 0]

[Initiating penalty for failure: Annihilation]

Then the desert answered.

The ground shook. It was a violent rupture, the sand collapsing inward in multiple places at once. The dunes burst apart, sending plumes of burning sand into the air.

Screams erupted instantly.

Shapes emerged from the collapsing sand, tearing their way out. Limbs. Too many, too long, forced through the surface, followed by bodies that seemed half-formed from the very desert itself and a single eye.

Their movements were aggressive. They were driven by a singular, violent purpose the moment they breached the surface. Kill.

The nearest one lunged without hesitation, toward the closest human presence.

The scream that followed didn’t last long. Blood splattered across the clearing, long enough for the participants to see, before the sun licked it dry.

”It’s a Null!”

”There are Nulls everywhere!”

He staggered back, heart beating violently against his ribs as instinct finally took over.

’So this is what they look it.’

”That is...a Null.” Ten shivered.

He gulped.

So that was ”annihilation.”

”RUN!”

He yanked her along with him, ignoring her startled scream. It didn’t matter. The reaction was immediate.

The desert, once still, became chaos.

”What the hell is this place?!”

”Where are the raiders?!”

”You’re an A rank raider, do something!”

”Are you nuts?! I cannot fight those monsters.”

They scattered in every direction, no longer pretending to understand. Sand kicked up beneath frantic steps as survival instinct drowned out everything else. Some tripped, some collided, some didn’t get back up.

The creatures followed, turning the open landscape into a hunting ground.

He pulled her along, their lungs burned as they ran. He could barely use his legs, haven’t been trapped in a floating tub since when he could remember.

He stumbled. Over and over again.

’Where was the safe zone?’

He glanced left. And then right, and left again.

’Nothing?’

He glanced back. The Nulls were closing in.

’How did it get to this? What is going on here?’

A flicker coincidentally caught his dark eyes. He squinted his eyes, taking a moment to observe the unnatural wave in the distance. Probably the safe zone, or just his eyes playing tricks on him.

Not in the distance everyone was escaping to, but to his left. A direction only a madman would take at this point. A direction already close to the horde.

”That’s it—!”

He changed direction instantly, forcing his exhausted body to respond and ten almost losing her footing. He turned left, and pushed toward the barely visible boundary.

”Are you nuts?!” She tried to wiggle free. ”Those creatures are coming! They will get us!”

”I think that’s the safe zone!” He yelled back.

”No! No! Five,” She glanced side. ”We’re supposed to run away from them! They’ll get to us in no time!”

”Trust me!” He yelled back.

She went silent.

Around him, others began to notice as well, their paths shifting, converging toward the same point. Some just found it absurd and ran blindly.

Behind them, the creatures surged into their direction, giving them a death chase.

The distance felt endless, each step heavier than the last as the boundary slowly sharpened into something more noticeable. A translucent barrier, thin but separating chaos from stillness.

”That’s it!”

One of the runners ahead of him reached it first.

For a split second, nothing happened. Then the teenager stumbled forward and passed through.

[Number of participants in safe zone: One]

Hope ignited in his chest.

He pushed harder, ignoring the burning in his legs, the dryness in his throat, the sound of something closing in behind them.

Closer.

Closer—

And as the shadow of something lunged behind them.

[Number of participants in safe zone: Three]

They crossed.

The safe zone cancelled out half of the noise and brutality, so they could breath. Despite the absurdity of the situation, Ten forced a laughter.

”Five! We did—”

A sudden scream cut through her hearing. A familiar voice.

”Aaarrrggghhh!”

The world slowed around Ten’s eye. She glanced side. An unfamiliar figure lay beside her, panting.

’Who is this? Where is...’

Slowly, she turned. He was still outside.

”FIVE!!”