0 - Prologue - Beyond the Threshold

I wanted to know what existed beyond this point.

A lone figure trekked through the dark stone tunnels, taking each step carefully.

I wanted to do the right thing.

Another step was taken. Blood fell onto the figure's shadow, trailing a long line of crimson behind.

I wanted to save them.

The figure finally came to a stop. Before them sat a mass of monitors, surrounded by thick cables and strange machines. Most of the displays were shattered, their images flickering uncontrollably between white and black as waves of static surged across the screens.

The figure took a monitor cable and forcefully jammed it into the port, its plug snapping into place.

I never expected it to end like this.

A world was being destroyed—mountains of stone collapsing under the pressure of groaning steel as the endless hallways were split apart and devoured by an unseen force that traveled faster with every passing second. The figure stood amidst the ruins, watching as everything once known disappeared into darkness.

The largest monitor showed a progress bar filling to completion. The surrounding displays flickered wildly with bursts of static, one after another.

And then, there was another one.

Deep in the collapsing hallways, a separate figure ran. Heartbeat pounding in their ears, this new figure frantically raced against the encroaching darkness. They were a shadow, flickering in and out of existence as the ground shook and the walls groaned, showing brief glimpses of the running silhouette before swallowing them back up whole.

Why couldn't you see the world the way I did?

Blood dripped from the ceiling, one drop following another. Dark red liquid splattered on the ground before finding its way into the tunnels, staining the stone and running off into its many paths. Very soon after, rivers of iron filled the passage, the smell of rust thick in the air.

As soon as the bar reached its limit, the monitors shattered, sending waves of static screaming across the ruined testing facility while glass spears of broken screens rained down from above.

And then suddenly, everything clicked into place.

I see it now...and so it ends.

All of the questions that haunted the mind had led to this very moment. All the doubts. All the fears. All the actions. Every decision played into this one final confrontation.

Shaking hands curled into fists.

I will save everyone.

The world rained down around them, the ruins collapsing and dissolving into dust.

No matter the cost, I would pay for everything.