The Great War

"204 years ago, on 16th June 2021, an alien spaceship silently entered Earth's atmosphere and hovered above the North Atlantic Ocean.

The spaceship was in the shape of a dome with a diameter of 4,000 miles, shrouding everything beneath it in total darkness. Fishermen at sea were unable to see the sky, trapped inside the spaceship's ominous shadow.

In the first stages, there was confusion and disbelief amongst the public.

To those who could see the spaceship looming in the distant horizon as though it were an approaching black void, their concerns didn't go unheard by those on the other side of the world, who saw the same scene on their mobile phones and TV screens.

When the news eventually broke globally on every broadcasting station, the skeptics assumed it was a hoax or a conspiracy. However, such thoughts didn't last for long.

The military troops dispatched on army ships to the location of the spaceship were all incinerated on sight by a giant beam of light.

Afterwards, the spaceship began to move for the first time since its arrival, descending soundlessly on American land.

Everything fell into disarray, and no one could stop the onslaught of mass hysteria the moment the spaceship opened its hatch.

The aliens that emerged were hostile to humans and their presence marked the beginning of a devastating war.

Martial law was declared worldwide.

The extraterrestrials had powerful weapons and projectiles, made from advanced foreign machinery. Compared to them, the technology created by humans was simply child's play.

Months went by, and it was clear the objective of these creatures was to eradicate human civilization.

They didn't hesitate to kill the weak, the strong, the young and the old, wreaking chaos and havoc, destroying countless buildings and the lives that resided in fear within them.

With militaries standing on their last legs, they had no choice but to send out their last and strongest nuclear weapon.

Hundreds of thousands of people in the vicinity would become collateral damage, however the decision had to be made, as it was all in the hopes they could finally put an end to the war.

This atomic bomb became their saving grace. It managed to catch the aliens off guard and blow up a crucial part of their mothership, killing the main hive and in doing so, caused a mass detonation.

An enormous mushroom cloud of fire and ash that anyone could see for miles and miles on end, if they were still alive to witness it.

Somehow, peculiarly, the explosion of alien technology was able to tear open a rift in time and space. A wide vortex formed in the middle of the sky, a gateway to the unknown.

The remaining aliens scattered around the world were slowly killed off and their numbers dwindled now that the mothership was no longer sending out more of their army everyday.

The population of 8 billion had decreased to 2 billion in the span of 4 years. When the dust settled and the threat of the aliens was no longer imminent, relief efforts took place.

However, the damage Earth and its people had taken was far too extensive.

Because of the war, many countries had been wiped off the map entirely. Those that remained, their governments, militaries and political parties joined together to form one central Union in order to avoid unnecessary conflicts.

They couldn't afford to waste time when upholding their positions of power and building back up infrastructure was their main priority.

Especially when they were fearful that the aliens would return. Who was to say that there weren't more of them out there?

While they did try to clean up the majority of the destruction, the Union didn't want to waste any more money and resources on what could no longer be salvaged, so they pulled back relief efforts and focused on the construction of a new country and safe haven.

The Union removed the names of all countries, making a new, singular country called Katafygio in its place. They divided this new country into 30 sectors.

Once you were assigned there, you couldn't leave. Your family had to live there, and all your descendants will live there. However, if you had the required money, you could travel between the sectors.

Although, there was something the mass explosion didn't account for. Other than the emergence of the gateway, there was the phenomena of the surviving individuals discovering they had supernatural abilities.

The lingering radiation from the nuclear blast had altered their bodies and changed their genetic information.

Now, they could do things they once dreamed of, something you would only hear in fairy tales and superhero stories.

Manipulation of the elements, flying, teleportation, telekinesis, enhanced strength and speed, and many more abilities.

This generation, known as the 'first mutants' passed down their abilities to their children.

The existence of these abilities made it safer for the exploration of the gateway.

It was revealed that the gateway in the sky led to a parallel world, another planet Earth just like their own, yet the difference was humans didn't exist.

In this secondary planet named 'Mirror Earth', there were dangerous animals. Animals that were similar to the ones in the original, however without the existence of humans, they were not hunted down or domesticated. And so, they had evolved with the passing of time.

Tigers were the size of elephants, with sharp fangs and claws that could tear you apart in a single strike.

Swarms of millions of blood hungry insects that surround you and suck you dry in an instant.

Enormous birds of prey with razor-like talons, easily able to swoop down and pick a human up from the ground, flying off with them in the sky.

They were wild, vicious and deadly. Mirror Earth was a planet dominated by these rampant creatures, as well as ruled by Mother Nature.

Jungles were dense with foliage and home to towering skyscraper sized trees.

Oceans were deeper, darker and vast with no pollution to limit the growth of sea creatures.

Deserts were scorching and plagued with savage sandstorms where not even the coldest of nights could dampen the heat of the sands.

Every geographical terrain you can imagine on the original Earth, but dialled up to the extreme. A vulnerable abilityless human is not guaranteed to survive in such dangerous environmental conditions.

The military formed teams of people with the most powerful abilities to explore Mirror Earth. Many thought this planet was a blessing, a sign to start and rebuild civilization all over again, so they wanted to map out the land and determine which area was best to build a base.

However in doing so, they unravelled something strange.

It was a smaller version of the gateway in the sky back on Earth. But there wasn't just one of them, there were hundreds, thousands of these small portals scattered far and wide across the planet.

And this is where the discovery of subdimensional dungeons was written down in history.

My name is Petya Romanov.

I'm 22 years old, born on 1st September 2203, and I'm abilityless. Part of the 0.00001% of the current population that was born without an ability.

Sector 19 is the sector I was raised in. It also happens to be one of the poorest and crime ridden sectors, known for hired mercenaries, drug cartels, gang raids and more.

The only family I have is my elder brother. My father died a year after I was born and my mother had to take more shifts working at the Crater just to support her sons.

The Crater is the infamous tipping site for anything that needs to be thrown away, a large hole in the ground, outside the sectors. The land outside the sectors is called the Barren Ground.

My mother had a license that permitted her to enter this area, as you normally aren't able to come here. The Barren Ground is an empty and desert-like place.

But when I turned 8, my mother died in a work accident and her body was never recovered. The situation was fast and sudden and threw mine and my brother's worlds upside down. We had no one else apart from each other.

My elder brother had to take care of me all by himself, and we grew inseparable. However, my brother got promoted in the military a few years ago when I turned 17 and had to leave home permanently.

I haven't heard from him since. I sent him letters, but I never received any replies.

I used to get 1,000 credits each month from him to help me pay the bills and rent, so I thought he must be fine, since he was still sending me money. However, those payments stopped a few months ago.

In my spare time, I enjoy creating pills and elixirs. A hobby I've had since I was young. I relied too heavily on my brother for income, so now I have to depend on myself and resorted to selling my homemade creations to get by.

I'm not exactly a popular choice to buy from. After all, my path in apothecary started as a hobby and I haven't had proper training or education in it.

Therefore, many are distrusting of my products and much prefer to go to pharmacies or renowned apothecaries instead. But how could I complain? If I was in their shoes, I'd probably be the same.

In order to make up for the lack of customers, my selling prices are extremely low for similar products on the market.

A professional usually sells C grade healing pills for around 1-2,000 credits, but mine only cost a few hundred. It's a sacrifice I must make if I want my shop to be more appealing and draw in potential buyers, even though I'm hardly gaining the desired profit.

But alas, even after that, I can count the number of customers I have in a month on one hand.

It's mainly due to my reputation. Everyone thinks I'm crazy, the weirdo on the top floor, the mad scientist.

This field of work is highly expensive, some materials alone can cost more than a few months' worth of bills.

Not to mention it's very easy to fail during the creation process and waste all your materials in an instant.

Who would be stupid enough to invest so much money into producing goods that 1. might not even be any good, and 2. don't guarantee you money in return, especially when you're broke as f*ck and impulsively spent 3,000 credits on a measly handful of Ebony Magicka Shards?

It's me, I'm stupid enough."

"Oi, kid. Did you break into my apartment again? Just because I'm blind doesn't mean I want to sit here and listen to you yapping on about your life story."

"C'mon, Granny. I need you to be the judge! Was it interesting enough? Captivating? Do you think any future soul who stumbles upon my recordings will listen to them in full? I can just imagine them saying, 'Ah, this mysterious person from the past, has truly lived a tragic-'"

"If they can bear to listen to your voice for more than a few seconds, then sure."

Petya pouts, slumping his body across a ratty worn down sofa. Granny is sitting opposite him in an armchair.

"Nobody else wants to talk to me."

"There's a reason why, kid. Who wants to be associated with the mad scientist?"

"How many times do I have to say this, I'm not a scientist, I'm a self-employed apothecary. And anyway, aren't you associated with me?"

"Unwillingly. Ever since we met you've stuck onto my side like a leech and haven't left since."

"Aw Granny, you don't mean that. You love me secretly, right?"

"No."

"..."

"Alright, I've had enough of your presence for one day. Out. Out out out, I've got things to do, I can't be entertaining kids in my old age-"

"How old are you anyway, Granny?"

The blind granny shoves Petya's back with her walking stick and clumsily pushes him out the front door.

"Ow, okay, okay! I'm going! And be careful, I don't want you to accidentally pop a hip bone. Make sure you're taking the pills I gave you! I promise it's the best batch I've ever made, I spent months working on the formula!"

Granny slams her door shut in his face, and Petya hears the door lock. And another lock. And then lock once again. How many locks does this old woman have?!

Petya sighs, oh well. As long as she doesn't lock her window, he can always sneak back in later.

He walks over to his apartment that's right next door to hers.

*****

Granny enters her bedroom and accidentally knocks something off her bedside table when she places her walking cane down. It's the pill bottle that Petya had given to her a few days back.

To be honest, she forgot about these. Granny slowly reaches down to the bottle touching her foot and shakes it beside her ear, hearing the rattle of the pills. How many are in there?

Petya gave these to her, saying that it would relieve her pain. In her old age, her muscles are sore and worn down, bones weak and fragile. Not a day goes by where she doesn't remember how close she is to death's door.

However, given Petya's skills in apothecary… sigh. It's hopeless. But since Petya insisted on her taking these pills, begging with that annoying innocent voice of his, saying that he's improved… she gives in.

"Ah, whatever. If I die, I die. I'm getting too ancient for this sh*t anyway."

She pops a pill into her mouth and it dissolves immediately. Granny doesn't expect it to taste like strawberries, her favourite fruit from childhood, and it momentarily surprises her.

Normal people don't have access to such delicacies anymore, ever since the war.

Fresh fruits and vegetables are only grown in environmentally controlled farms in the upper sectors, and if they ever happen to be exported down to the lower sectors, the selling price is astronomically high.

And yet, Petya somehow managed to imitate the taste. It wasn't perfect but it was close enough, kind of like artificial strawberry flavoured cough syrup. Was he able to buy strawberries?

"That kid." she shakes her head with a small smile. Tasting such a familiar thing that she associates with the happiness of her younger years makes her feel warm and nostalgic.

She always considered her ability a curse, but sometimes… sometimes it's not all bad. Because of her ability, she was able to meet Petya.

As she slowly settles down into her bed, a soothing feeling envelopes her body.

Under her unseeing eyes, a gentle glowing stream of energy flows through her sore and aching limbs.

A wisp of light settles around her old heart in a protective manner.

For the first time in years, she sleeps peacefully without any haunting dreams.