Round 01 - Present Tense

I had grasped the sheer power of the Jumpers. These creatures were virtually invincible, unless countered by the formidable weapons we had at our disposal. Yet, I was under no illusion; defeating one would be a monumental task. The shot Marie had fired, I believed, was a meticulously calculated move—a unique opportunity to hit the monster where it hurt.

At that moment, another Jumper materialized in the middle of the hall.

This one was evidently more formidable. Vitor had used the term "mature" to describe it, suggesting that there were developmental differences among these creatures. But this one was on another level altogether.

It had the uncanny ability to vanish and reappear at will. In a matter of moments, it had decimated a large portion of the battlefield. Our bullets were futile; they didn't even explode upon contact with its tentacles.

The lethal menace of the Jumper crisscrossed the battlefield. With each blink, the creature was somewhere else, bodies aflame soared through the air, our numbers dwindling at an alarming rate. "Seal the hall and initiate the purge!" Maxwell's voice boomed through the megaphone.

Purge? I had an inkling of what was to come—likely some desperate strategy to halt the Jumper's advance. It raised the question: why not just create a specialized chamber for this? It would save many lives. But then my mind churned out various reasons, and following Occam's razor, it was probably too costly a measure to be used indefinitely.

"Are you okay, Marie?" I gently caressed her shoulder with my right hand, still holding her in my arms, her back against me.

Marie's face slowly turned towards me, her expression calm, her left eye red from the recoil of her weapon, a thin, continuous line of blood trickling from her mouth.

"Thank you, Dante. Unfortunately, we won't be having coffee together tomorrow morning" she said, her words tinged with regret and sadness, yet she managed a gentle smile.

"You're not going to die today, Marie," I said, locking eyes with her.

Her smile deepened, and she brought her left hand to the right side of my face. "You know, Dante, you're the most interesting person I've ever met." My heart began to race, my breathing quickened, and my grip tightened around her.

In the background, I could hear the screams, the gunfire, the creature's guttural growls—all forming a cacophony of chaos and terror. But at that moment, I was at peace.

"My name isn't Dante, Marie. I'm sorry for lying. I shouldn't even be here," her smile turned into a look of uncertainty, her hand slightly pulling away from my face.

"My name is Ruri Marial. I am a doctor, not a soldier. It's complicated," I said, offering the most sincere smile I could muster.

"Indeed, you are the most interesting person I've ever met," she said, still in shock from my revelation.

In the background, the battle was drawing near. I shifted my gaze to the front and saw the nebulous blur of the creature—a distortion in space around it, a semi-invisible black smudge simply dematerializing and materializing elsewhere. Its form drew closer with every "jump" it took. 

The military might be simplistic in naming, but this one was aptly named.

Then I saw it. I believe a temporal spasm occurred at that moment. I could see where the creature would go before it even did. I saw an immediate future where it violently leapt, tearing through several fighters before stopping right in front of me.

"I'm sorry, Marie. Have coffee for both of us tomorrow," I said, throwing her to the side with all my might. She tumbled and rolled, stopping no less than 50 feet away. The armor really did wonders for our bodies.

I knew of a function I could use. During orientation with Marie, I had learned that the armor had a highly efficient protective mode, but it would last only one second. Upon the first impact, it would activate automatically.

I quickly navigated through the panel, pressing the protection option. One of those mysterious characters appeared on the screen. A shadow loomed over me at that moment.

I looked ahead, the Jumper was right in front of me, no more than three feet away. Its tentacles formed a blurred veil around us, all spinning and shielding the creature from any impact. It was taller than me, standing at least 6.5 feet high. Its eyes, or at least what I believed to be its eyes, were two small spheres emitting a blend of white and black smoke that danced in the air before dissipating into nothingness.

We stood there, motionless, observing each other. For an uncertain amount of time, we remained still, tentacles whirling around us, each peering into the essence of the other. Curiously, I felt no threat from the Jumper. Somehow, I sensed it was analyzing me, as if trying to understand me.

On the other hand, I was contemplating how I would die. I was looking at it to see my life leave my body. Not that I expected resentment from the creature; I was irrationally awaiting death.

One of the tentacles stopped, becoming static beside the Jumper. At that moment, I could see it clearly. It resembled a rebar, like those used in construction, with grooves running along its length. Black flames undulated over the tentacle's surface, a dark fire so potent it seemed the air around it was boiling.

The tentacle slowly moved toward me, and I remained still. The fire emanating from the tentacle faded until it was just an opaque black rod, no more than four inches in diameter. At that moment, I was certain it would be that tentacle. But that's not the last thing I wanted to see; I didn't think it would be fitting for my mind to disappear into the abyss of eternity with the last imprinted image being that of the monster that killed me.

I slowly turned my face to the side until I found Marie. She was still lying on the ground, one of her arms straining as she tried to get up. That's when she saw me. I saw her expression of terror, her mouth, still tinged with her own blood, slightly ajar.

I smiled serenely. I closed my eyes and gave a nod of my head.

I felt a burning sensation in my abdomen. Opening my eyes, I spat out blood. The tentacle had pierced straight through my torso. The world became blurry, and my senses stopped responding. I felt my arms go limp.

I guess the armor's protection had no effect. The creature was indeed too powerful, a level of power far beyond what I could have imagined.

I felt myself being lifted, my body levitating, impaled on the creature's tentacle. My senses were struggling to recover so I could see what was happening. Still able to move my neck, I tried to look around until I could finally see again.

I was several feet off the ground, the creature trotting swiftly, its other tentacles easily deflecting incoming shots. The other effective, further ahead, was engaging in combat, as if it had just returned from a break, ready to resume the massacre.

The monster carrying me emitted a different kind of grunt, one with intervals, similar to dolphin clicks but monstrous. The other responded with a similar grunt.

I saw the other effective appear in front of the gate, which was nearing the point of being swallowed by the hatch and disappearing from the floor. Its tentacles then wrapped around the ring of the gate, and it propelled itself through the veil of the gate, vanishing from sight.

On the other hand, the monster carrying me quickly headed to the area where it had entered and took an incredibly high leap, clinging with its tentacles, which still deflected projectiles, to the gate and also disappearing through the veil. The last thing I remember hearing was Marie screaming, "No!"

The sensation of passing through the gate is indescribable, especially for someone on the brink of death. Complete darkness dominated the scene, menacingly deep. Around me, points of light sped by—what I still believe were stars—all surpassed at a speed that defied any convention physics could describe with its formulas.

Everything around me converged in a way that made it seem like I was traveling through a tube with a spherical horizon. All space was distorted, spinning rapidly, trembling in its entire structure as it swallowed us into a ravenous vacuum.

The creature was curled up, spherical in shape, all its tentacles gathered, mimicking the swimming motion of a jellyfish. Only one tentacle was parallel to the creature: the one carrying me.

We began to react to each other. My body twisted and contorted, while the creature trembled and suffered what seemed like convulsions. Its eyes slowly turned towards me, both enormous, two orbs with fading white flames. The creature was afraid of something; I could feel it in its eyes.

It tried to remove the tentacle from me, unsuccessfully. It just kept forcefully pushing, trying to rid itself of me. I could see the creature's growing desperation that something was not right.

I wondered if it was common for these creatures to retreat via the gate; perhaps this was the first time one had done so and it supposedly shouldn't happen. On the other hand, all that technology wasn't from my home planet; how else would it have gotten there if not through the gate?

The creature began to fragment. Small black shards slowly broke off its structure and orbited around us. What were a few grains soon became a cloud of minuscule pieces of the creature.

It vanished bit by bit, writhing, its tentacles spasming as they were shredded. Until nothing remained of the creature, just the piece of the tentacle that impaled me.

My senses began to fade again; this time, it was death. I lay in space, surrounded by a black cloud of the creature's mortal remains orbiting at an absurd speed. They gradually clustered together with the remnants of the tentacle that impaled me.

My nearly lifeless eyes began to darken; I could say so because I felt everything dimming. I felt something crawling beneath my skin, in my muscles, my organs, and finally, my brain. Something was merging with my body. Finally, I took a deep breath; my senses returned, and I could feel everything around me. I moved my hands and looked around.

I was hovering over a flickering mist that transported me through the infinite cosmos. My hand touched the wave of smoke, surrounded by electric reactions, and a sense of peace overcame me.

The journey wasn't very long. Just a few minutes where my only functioning sense was vision. Everything gradually became clearer, eventually turning into pure light.

I assumed a position that I could consider upright, facing whatever my destination might be, preparing to cross over. I had an idea of what was happening: I was heading to the place where these creatures originated. Why the Jumper captured me and returned to the portal is something I don't know. Why on earth did it behave so differently when it encountered me?

Everything turned into an absolute blaze of light, and I saw the image of a place, very distant, rapidly approaching until my vision was completely consumed.

I exit through a gate, similar to the other one. This is where I find myself now. In a vast swamp of dark waters. In front of me are various creatures that I can only assume are part of this place's fauna.

The gate is in motion as I come out; it soon moves, disappearing into the swamp's foliage.

What the hell is going on?

Instinctively, I assume a combat stance, starting to rip the armor off my body with brute force. Pieces begin to fall around me, disappearing into the thick swamp water.

The creatures react and start to circle me, ready to attack.

Inside me, everything functions like a powerful machine; my heart pumps blood with absurd force. All my veins bulge with the enormous flow of blood, taking on a dark hue.

"Bring it on, you bastards!" I shout with determination.

END OF PROLOGUE