1 Twelve Scientists

Ember, City of Birth, Seventh Street.

Year 2355.

Inside a basement of two-story building, a shocking experiment was currently being held by twelve scientists!

"This will never work. We are insane!" A spiky-haired scientist shouted with a hoarse tone. He donned the usual getup of a crazy scientist and was currently carrying a vial of strange-looking liquid. Before him was a small cubicle-shaped machine, and there was a small hole where he could pour the liquid.

"Correct. We most likely will die." A stoic-sounding man spoke behind the table. His words didn't reassure the other scientists, not that he had any intention of trying to do so. At first, he was happily working with them to finish the project. However, all of them realized midway that what they were building wasn't what they had first agreed upon.

"Mister Medica, Kuolema, you may leave if you are too afraid to peek into the secrets of the universe. I thought we created our small study group to learn more. Is this the limit of your desire?" A man who seemed the most senior of the twelve spoke up. He had short, grayish hair and a powerful temperament. Even as he neared his sixties, he had the vitality of a middle-aged man.

"Mister Gertman, maybe we should do a few more tests? Should we really hurry this experiment?" Mister Medica said while the vial of liquid continued shaking. They had worked on this project for over a decade and done hundreds of tests. It wasn't far-fetched to say that all of them were done with tests and it was time to finally use the machine.

However, at the moment of activation, most of them got cold feet. But there were also others who had waited for this moment for a long time. They continued sharing glances until one of them snatched the vial from Medica's hands and poured it all into the tiny hole with one fluid movement.

Instantly, Medica jumped to the corner and buried his head in his embrace. As he continued cowering in fear, everyone saw that the liquid did what it was supposed to—activate the machine. It was actually a special fuel that was created to work alongside the machine. They created the fuel for this specific purpose, and before this, it hadn't existed anywhere before!

'We are all dead! I shouldn't have joined! I knew this was a mistake!' Medica regretted his life choices, but it was too late. The sound of a machine purring resounded in his ears as if it were the sound of death bells ringing.

Gertman and the rest moved closer to the machine and watched with intrigued expressions. One of them even reached into his pocket and pulled out a notepad and pen to record everything. However, after several gasps of breath, they noticed that the machine wasn't doing anything. It was only purring menacingly.

'Why is nothing happening? It should be activated... Did something happen during the building phase that caused it to malfunction? We've been waiting for this moment for so long, and now we've messed up?' Gertman's eyes were turning a shade redder as rage welled up inside him.

His red-tinted eyes were drawn to Kuolema, Einsamkeit, and Hiraeth. They were the ones who had the responsibility of building the machine. However, they had a very detailed blueprint; therefore, they couldn't have messed up except if they worked with their eyes closed!

Before Gertman could roar in anger, a flash of light happened beside him. In shock, he turned to the machine, which finally showed signs of mysterious activity. The rest of the scientists looked excited and nervous. Even Medica had risen to his feet to witness history.

Then, a beam of white energy burst through the machine's shell and struck the solid concrete wall of the basement. The entire house started shaking, causing the previous serene neighborhood's mood to vanish. All the surrounding houses shook as if they were suffering from a severe earthquake. The windows were being shattered as if they were punched to smithereens.

Gertman heard the distant screams and shouting. However, his gaze was fixed on the spot where the white beam struck. He couldn't care less if people got injured because of the sudden "earthquake". This was the most important moment of his life. The birth of his first son vanished from his mind, as if his family didn't even exist in his memory. This moment shadowed every memory of his prolonged life.

The twelve scientists inched closer to the wall, where the white beam struck. It was charred black, and the concrete was cracked in the shape of spiderwebs. However, in the middle of the crack, a small sphere suddenly appeared. The scientists couldn't react in time, and the sphere suddenly grew bigger until it was the height of an adult male.

At first, the sphere was vertical after increasing in height. Then, moments later, it fattened till it was as wide as a doorway. The scientists witnessed a miracle—something out of their realm of knowledge. This wasn't supposed to happen. The machine wasn't created to be a weapon, nor was it created to shoot projectiles!

They, alone, pondered inside their minds about what had just happened. However, then another mystifying thing happened. The glowing white sphere suddenly began to show something. At first, it was blurry, as if someone had drawn on it but then erased it in a hurry. Soon, it turned clearer, and it showed a block of rock... in space!

The crazy scientists wondered what happened and why the sphere suddenly showed an image of starry space. But then, a strange suction force appeared, and because of their frail mortal bodies, they couldn't resist it and were forcefully pulled inside the sphere.

In the basement, the sphere didn't vanish just yet. As if it were alive, it turned to the machine and sucked it into the vortex. As soon as the machine disappeared from the basement, the sphere grew smaller until it vanished.

The orderly-looking basement turned dark while the sound of police sirens echoed from outside...

...

Beyond the Known Universe, Meteor of Unknown Origin, Somewhere Floating...

Twelve dark shapes appeared out of nowhere and crashed into the floating rock. However, this block of rock actually had a diameter of ten kilometers!

"Ouch..." Medica crumbled and was the first to open his eyes, and what he saw silenced him entirely. Through his blurry vision, he saw an endless sea of stars and, in the middle of that, a massive bubble of some sort. Inside that bubble, hundreds—no, thousands of smaller bubbles drifted. However, it looked like there were planets inside those soap-looking bubbles!

His entire knowledge, which was filled with what only humans and his friends had discovered, was flipped upside down. He also had wide and ridiculous thoughts. Was one of those soap bubbles their home, Ember?

It was an utterly ridiculous thought. However, there was something nagging in his subconsciousness. His theory might actually be the truth... But there were also thousands of those soap bubbles, meaning that they might not be alone in the universe after all...

'This can't be real. We should have seen those weird soap bubbles a long time ago. It isn't like they are far off! However, we have only discovered cold, desolate planets near our planet. That's why this all must be a hoax and we are actually hallucinating... or worse, dead!' Medica's face paled, and he then noticed that the rest of the scientists had woken up and were also silently staring at the vast view.

"I knew it... The universe is a brilliant place!" Gertman shouted through his snot and tears. Unlike Medica, he found this view brilliant and beautiful. He couldn't stop his tears from flowing. Other scientists had varying reactions. Some smiled through tears, others stayed silent and pale-faced.

"Beautiful view, isn't it?" They suddenly heard a strange, unknown voice behind them. They turned their heads around slowly, as if their necks had suddenly started rusting and they had difficulty turning around. However, when their eyes caught a sight of the unknown existence's robes, their eyes started burning, and they had to snap their heads back around.

Their faces were covered in blood as their eyes began to bleed. It felt painful. They immediately realized that the existence behind them wasn't supposed to be looked at!

"Oh, sorry, my bad." The existence chuckled softly. Not because of ridicule but instead because of his own error. "He" wasn't used to making mistakes. "He" forgot that mortals came from Ember; therefore, they had never been in the presence of a higher being before.

Usually, mortals from other realms were used to the presence of higher beings, even if they had never met one before. Therefore, they wouldn't have an as extreme reaction as the scientists had. However, it could still be painful if they stared directly at God!

"Don't look at me. Your eyes might burst." His words brought a newfound fear into the scientists hearts. They didn't dare to move, and even their breathing slowed down. They realized that they might have accidentally provoked a higher being because of their machine. They usually relied on science, and their science proved that the Gods couldn't be real. However, it appeared that they were mistaken... and they were now paying the price.

"Now, now... how did twelve mortals from the Human Realm... I mean from Ember, enter my kingdom?" The unknown existence caressed his chin while he looked at the twelve scientists. His gaze was so powerful that the scientists couldn't breathe or move. They thought they were going to die, but then "His" gaze moved to the strange cubicle.

None of them noticed that the machine had followed them through the strange portal.

"What is this..." The unknown existence picked up the machine from the ground and examined it carefully. He soon noticed that tiny hole and peered inside with his amethyst-colored eyes glowing brilliantly, almost as if they were a pair of stars. He noticed the liquid, which smelled like mushrooms and wet dirt.

"Fascinating. What does this machine do... uhhh, you, there." His long finger pointed at Medica's back. The frightened scientist felt it clearly, and suddenly heavy pressure enveloped him. The rest of the scientists didn't dare look in the direction of Medica.

Medica lost control of his body, and he suddenly turned around. After remembering the previous pain, he buried his head deep into the rock in an attempt not to gaze at the "Being".

"You, what does this machine do. You may speak." The existence ordered the mortal before him. His voice was so commanding that Medica, with his primal instinct, immediately answered.

"It was created to see what is behind the Dark Side of the Universe! With help from our satellite and this machine, we believed we could see through the thick mist that had stopped our exploration before. W-We thought... thought... it..."

Medica's breathing slowed down drastically, and then, through gritted teeth, he spoke.

"B-But... it sent us here... why... why..." He slammed his head on the rock and felt like screaming. However, his primal instincts told him that doing that in "His" presence would be a blasphemous act.

The existence didn't say a word. They all listened to his soft breathing, but even that almost burst their eardrums. They were standing at the borderline of death and had no way out. At last, they began thinking of their families and whether they would be sad... they would never know what happened to them if they vanished here. Most would think that they fled because of the humiliation they had suffered for the past decade...

Many ridiculed their attempts at creating the machine, and most of their fellow peers thought they should have quit a long time ago. All these twelve scientists used to be celebrities in the scientist world, but now they were laughingstock, and so were their children...

However, then they heard laughter, and suddenly all pain disappeared from their bodies. They could again breathe and move their bodies freely.

"Hahahaha." The existence laughed and laughed. It felt like his laughter lasted forever, and once it stopped, "His" voice again rang. "Amazing. Utterly amazing. I never bothered to create gateways between realms because it would be very bothersome and difficult. However, twelve mortals from the forbidden realm created a portal-traveling machine... no, it is still random, but once its honed... the possibilities are limitless."

The scientists listened quietly, but it sounded like this higher being was actually... impressed? Without them knowing it, they felt a surge of pride from their subconscious. They had actually impressed a God!

The existence turned his star-like eyes toward the scientists. Once again, the atmosphere turned extremely heavy. They knew that God was about to say something. Therefore, they stopped breathing and listened.

"Continue working on this. After each Azure Moon, I will come visit your realm to see your progress. You, twelve, have one goal, and that is to create a successful realm-traveling device that can be used accurately. If you make this work... you will be handsomely rewarded."

The scientists felt their cheeks heat up. They actually created something so awesome that God "Himself" wanted it to be finished?

"For now. I will bestow upon you the Human System. Heh, I never thought I would bestow this on residents of that forbidden realm." The existence chuckled humorously. "If you twelve succeed, this Human System will be bestowed upon every Human and your status as a forbidden realm would be removed, and Ember would be changed to the Human Realm...

"However, if you fail, Ember shall cease to exist."

The twelve scientists paled with horror. The amount of pressure couldn't be described in words. They could only feel the suffocating feeling and think about the consequences of their failure. They imagined an Ember world engulfed in flames...

"Heh, no pressure, though. Good luck." The existence waved his hand, and the twelve mortals disappeared. Once again, the floating rock turned silent. Then, "He" sat back down on his throne, which was black in color and filled with strange engravings.

"My friend, what is their chance of success?" The existence addressed the empty space in front of him. However, he was patiently waiting for an answer. Then, the throne suddenly moved an inch, and it was almost as if "He" heard "His" throne speak.

"Hah, that small? You are ruthless, my dear friend."