Jumpchain - a unique concept in the world of fanfiction and role-playing, where a traveler, known as a "Jumper", explores multiple universes and worlds through a series of interconnected adventures.
Each Jump typically involves entering a new universe, gaining unique powers, equipment, and abilities native to that world, then moving on to the next destination after ten or more years—often with a carefully crafted goal or challenge in mind.
The journey is guided by a system of choices, limitations, and rewards, allowing the Jumper to customize their experience and grow stronger with each Jump. Ultimately, they can even "spark"—completing their usually 100-year-long Jumpchain and gaining power akin to the being that sent them on this endless series of adventures, reaching god-like levels of strength!
For many, Jumpchain is a way to test creativity, strategize growth, and experience a vast array of stories and worlds in a continuous, ever-expanding journey— a means of self-insertion into their favorite stories.
This time, however, Jumpchain turned out to be more than just a power fantasy. It became the source of one man's destiny—a reality he could shape, a path that was truly his own, and a journey that would define who he was and what he was truly capable of. And it just so happens that this particular "Jumper" is a huge fan of a certain beloved novel: The Legendary Mechanic!
Let's begin.
...
Click.
The sound of a lock being opened echoed in a vast, quiet, pitch-black void.
There was no end, no horizon to be seen, only a seemingly infinite abyss—black, unconceivably huge, never-ending—spreading out in each direction. Every now and then, soft ripples of color emerged, gentle pulses of blue, red, purple, and silver, like fleeting thoughts, forming briefly before fading into nothingness.
A beautiful doorframe, adorned with intricate carvings and crafted from dark wood, suddenly appeared in the empty space. Illusory at first, it slowly came into focus and solidified.
It glowed softly in the void, a small yet brilliant speck of light in the infinite darkness. The door within it swung open, releasing a body into the emptiness before slowly beginning to close once more.
Missiles and other explosive projectiles erupted nearby or zipped past the figure through the door as well, accompanied by energy beams, glowing in vivid colors and flickering with varying intensities.
They struck the brightly glowing red and purple aura that surrounded the figure, propelling it forward at greater speed, or scattered in all directions off the multiple layers of barriers and radiant energy shields that made up this aura.
Some attacks missed completely—potshots taken from the furthest pursuers—leaving bright trails before fading into the darkness.
Bang! Boom! Boom!
"We're almost there! Blast it open!"
"It's disappearing!"
"Nooooooo!"
After the door closed, it began to blur and fade. The sounds of things violently slamming against the other side, along with the desperate, furious shouts of the creatures who had arrived just a moment too late, slowly dwindled away until there was nothing left at all.
The still-smoking figure rolled violently through the weightless, empty space, displacing all of the inertia he had just borrowed from the previous attacks that had 'landed' on his aura-like forcefield.
Emerging with only some small scratches—already nearly repaired—his armor shimmered like a fragment of the universe itself. Its surface swirled with iridescent shades of deep indigo, violet, and glimmering silver dots, as if the very stars had been woven into its fabric. The cosmic hues rippled across sleek, segmented plates, faint lines of luminous energy tracing constellations across its form. Some parts of the armor near his back resembled the limbs and pincers of a beetle.
In fact, if you looked directly at his back, there was indeed a large cosmic beetle made of armor clinging to him!
Smoke curled off the surface of the topmost layer of the force field, and remnants of energy blasts and projectiles that had 'battered it' dissipated into the void as the armor's glow pulsed steadily.
He hadn't even activated all the force fields at his disposal as he was chased to the doorway earlier—letting some of the blasts propel him forward instead of stopping or neutralizing them—which had been his main goal.
The helmet's smooth, nearly seamless black surface reflected the glow of the aura flowing around it, interrupted only by a few ghost-like patterns of cosmic markings and two blazing, slightly angular lenses that radiated fierce orange-gold light—like twin suns ignited in the night sky. They pulsed softly, alive with cosmic fire, giving the impression of watchful, unblinking eyes. No mouthpiece was visible—just a sleek, featureless visage that exuded calm confidence at the moment.
In his hand was a long, thick, futuristic-looking weapon that shimmered with blue energy. It wasn't just glowing; the blade of the weapon itself was forged from an unusual blue alloy.
The aforementioned blade was attached to a rectangular, white-colored hilt with a closed bar covering the grip, shielding the fingers and thumb where knuckles would normally be exposed—resembling a high-tech space saber.
The armored man swung the blade once, looked at it, and said, "Nice fight." Then released it to float in the void beside him.
Light engulfed the sword, shining so brightly that its details vanished, leaving only its outline as it shifted shape. Slowly, it darkened and transformed into a massive bird—looking like an especially fluffy ostrich or emu to the untrained eye. However, any 'Final Fantasy' fan would instantly recognize this creature as a Chocobo.
"Hehehehe..."
With a slow, confident chuckle that echoed through the void, the figure 'dusted' off his cosmic armor—the shimmering particles settling as if caught in a gentle breeze. The glow from the lenses on his helmet intensified briefly, energy rolling off him in waves as his condition went from pretty good and unfazed to refreshed and better than good.
Unscathed from the recent action, he stretched his back and shoulders, grinning to himself beneath the suit's helmet as the massive black bird brushed up against his side.
"Wark!"
Cooing and other bird sounds were made as the man raised a hand to pat the large black creature on the head, ruffling its feathers.
After a few seconds of petting, the chocobo started glowing brightly again and turned into a ball of light, which scattered into nothingness. The man's body glowed gold for a second, then he threw his head back and laughed.
"Ha-ha-ha-ha! Too slow, losers! Better luck next time!"
A voice responded to him telepathically.
'We were lucky indeed. That was a frightening amount of opponents to evade... Ah, Max, this is the 'Loading Screen'? 'The dark world between worlds... it's empty as far as I can tell. All my scans picked up earlier were the attacks that missed us when we entered, flying off into the distance until the door closed. Then they just disappeared completely... this 'Jump-Chan' has to be a reality-warping entity of the highest level... Oooo, that feels nice!'
This psychic message echoed in the mind of the man wearing the space-adorned armor. In fact, it was the armor itself speaking—a very special version of one of 'DC Comics' Reach Scarabs, from the same line as the one bonded to the current 'Blue Beetle'.
Sentient and bonded to the man currently cracking his neck and stretching his upper body, the armor shifted subtly along the points where it was grafted to his spine. As he twisted his waist from side to side, it relished the satisfying stretches, releasing a telepathic sigh of comfort.
The armor then retreated into Max's body until none of it could be seen anymore. His eyes flashed with multiple energies as the final traces of the heavenly exoskeleton disappeared.
In its place was an extremely well-built man, appearing to be in his early thirties at most. His build was that of an Olympic-level athlete—not too massive, but with dense, clearly defined muscles. Unbelievable amounts of raw physical power already coursed through his body, even before the piece of technology meant to conquer planets had melded with him.
His body was free of markings except for two striking tattoos—the heads of two dragons, one violet-blue and the other scarlet-red, prominently displayed across his broad shoulders, both looked as if they were ready to jump off of his back.
Max had a thick head of brown and white hair, styled at medium length, with most of the white concentrated around the sides of his head, above his ears. If he had facial hair, it would likely have a few streaks of white mixed in as well, reminiscent of characters like Reed Richards, Ra's al Ghul, or Omni-Man. In fact, during his first jump years ago, Max had even met Reed Richards!
He possessed a strikingly handsome face, and though his features were mature, not a wrinkle or shadow darkened the skin beneath his vivid green eyes.
After a moment, underwear and socks materialized on his midsection and feet, followed by a loose-fitting white T-shirt. A black-and-white striped tracksuit with a hood appeared next, the look was completed with a pair of matching high-top sneakers.
His eyes glowed with a bluish-green light, a soft green aura flickering around him for a moment. He extended his hand, conjuring a sphere of brilliant, white-hot fire that formed a flawless, perfect circle and hovered in the air, illuminating the darkness now that his living armor had withdrawn back into his body.
It might be more accurate to say he conjured a pocket-sized sun, given the radiant fireball's heat and intensity.
Next, a strange 'steam' started rising from his head until it formed a thick mist above him.
If there had been outside onlookers, it would have looked like Max had just sweat out a cloud...
That cloud then swiftly circled around him several times in excitement, brushing against his face for a quick nuzzle before taking the form of a scarf. It hung behind the hood of his tracksuit, flowing over and down his shoulders like a 'hagoromo'—a mythical divine shawl from Japanese and Chinese lore, made of clouds or smoke, said to grant deities some abilities—with flight being their primary function. This one resembled more of a scarf or perhaps a ninja-style muffler than an actual shawl.
A more modern comparison would be characters from One Piece, where some with unlocked devil fruit powers appear to have clouds hanging around them.
This was a variation of the Nimbus Cloud Max acquired during his visit to the Dragon Ball universe several decades ago.
That had been a somewhat relaxing Jump, despite the nature of the world he was in at the time. Max had taken a more scientific approach. On that note, he snapped his fingers, and a small case appeared in his hands.
He opened it carefully and selected one of the small cylinders inside. It was one of the many capsules he manufactured long ago during his Dragon Ball jump in West City.
The small, silver-and-white capsule sat silently in Max's hand, its smooth surface gleaming softly in the ambient light of the brightly burning fireball.
With a press of the button on top of the capsule, Max tossed it aside. A hissing sound followed by a small cloud of compressed gas was produced. As the cloud dissipated, a compact refrigerator appeared. Gripping the handle, he opened it to reveal an assortment of beverages—sodas, beer, juice, and water in various containers. He grabbed a lemon-lime flavored soda can and popped it open.
Ka-Chick!
He lifted the can to his face and drained it in a flash.
Crisp bubbles and sweet flavor combined as the cold liquid flowed past his tongue and rolled down his parched throat.
Max finally responded to the earlier telepathic message with excitement now that his thirst was quenched.
"Ah... That's damn refreshing! Yeah, buddy, this is it. I've always thought of it as a loading screen or something similar. Pretty cool, huh? This should be the second last time visiting this place, too. The next jump is a double one, but we'll get to take a quick rest in between 'iterations' and come back to this 'loading screen' again... You know, I bet even now we could survive in 'Galaxy'... Just wait until you see what's about to happen to us... we're about to upgrade ourselves, big time! Hahaha, it's going to be frickin' awesome!"
'...I still struggle to accept the reality of it all. My existence, aside from yours, is the only one that isn't an illusion in the 'reality' we just left behind. It's hard to believe that entire simulation no longer exists right now.'
Max paused, not needing to wonder too hard what the living AI bonded to him was thinking. He had explained what was happening to this consciousnesses inhabiting his body several times over the last decade. Even though it could read all his parameters and memories, it was still skeptical at times.
"Ah, your 'Simulation' theory again? Yeah, you get used to it. That's why I've been so nonchalant with my dealings with people and living beings in those Jumps... Only these next two will become "real"—really real—for keeps..."
It was strange and unnerving—each time he transmigrated to a different universe or reality—to think that everything there felt completely real to him.
But those things and places and people weren't real.
Billions, no, trillions of beings brought into existence in an instant, only to be quickly erased as if they'd never been. Made and unmade, just for him.
Over the years, he had grown somewhat numb to seeing familiar faces vanish, especially in the last couple of decades. At this point of his journey, he had enough strength to do what he wanted—with the exception of the prior month, which he spent nearly non-stop fighting, running and hiding in the DC Universe Jump he had just left from, or rather, barely escaped from.
Max had stopped trying to figure out what defines a soul, along with all the theological questions and implications tied to his existence and the one behind it all—the one making this happen. It genuinely gave him a headache whenever he tried to make sense of the logistics.
"...If we manage to get through this, it will be very, very real. Besides Prompto, Zephyr, Gyoro, Ururun, and you, Jet—nothing else from those previous Jumps really exists anymore. If you don't count this creepy guy, of course."
He pulled out a peculiar-looking playing card from thin air and spun it on the tip of his finger. A strange armored figure flickered into view as the card twirled quickly enough to glimpse both front and back at the same time before Max made it vanish with a small flash of light—just like the Chocobo earlier.
Max's smile faded slightly as he thought about all the adventures he'd just had in the DC universe. His expression was the very picture of bitter sweetness. As always, after hitting the ten-year mark, he began his usual routine before choosing the new options for the next stage of his Jumpchain.
It was nearly a ritual at this point.
He thought back to how it all began, and his travels up to this point to center himself.