The sky crackled loudly.
'Thunder?', Lucian thought as he looked up.
The sky was clear and there were no signs of a storm coming. Just as he started to look away, there was another loud crackling sound followed by a crack in the sky. Lucian focused on that spot, wondering if he was hallucinating as the sky was fracturing like glass under pressure. As the cracks grew larger, everyone on the block looked up in confusion.
"What's that!?"
"Are they filming a movie?"
"The sky looks weird."
"What's going on?"
As people around him continued to make conjectures while staring at the almost beautiful fracturing sky, it began to spread. It was at this moment that the air changed, and the wind seemed to stop. Car alarms started roaring one by one. Animals began to whimper and hide. It was almost like the city understood what was happening before the people did.
As the fracture widened, there was a thick darkness that pulsed behind it.
Lucian's stomach dropped. There was no sky behind the darkness. It was just endless darkness that seemed to threaten to devour everything. In that darkness, something tore through the fracture and fell like a meteor just a few blocks away.
The impact made windows explode outwards, and the ground shook wildly as a plume of dust swallowed the intersection.
Everyone screamed as the city was engulfed in panic and ruin. Lucian's body moved before he could think. The direction he was running was towards the disaster.
***
When he reached the crater, he could see just how much devastation it caused. Cars were overturned, concrete was folded inward like paper, and smoke coiled into the air.
Through the smoke, he could make out a vague silhouette in the center of the crater. Lucian squinted as the smoke cleared to get a better look at it and he was horrified. It was about three meters tall, had bone-plated skin layered like armor, long arms ending in hooked talons, and its eyes burned a deep vermillion red.
As Lucian stood there, too stunned to move, staring at the creature. It began to look around curiously. Just then, a woman stumbled backwards near the edge of the crater. The creature turned towards her and titled its head.
In the next moment it was standing in front of her.
'Too fast', thought Lucian.
The monster swatted her aside like a fly.
Startled, Lucian shouted and ran away at full speed while taking a glance back at the motionless body of the woman. He had to get away as quickly as possible. As he turned the corner, he noticed a little girl crying under a collapsed streetlight in the distance and decided to run towards her. He stopped the moment he got to her, examining her situation as he panted heavily to catch his breath. She was trapped under rubble while blood leaked from her leg.
"It'll be okay," Lucian comforted the girl-or himself-he didn't know which.
He moved the rubble trapping the girl. As he moved to lift a larger piece, straining his muscles, something heavy shifted behind him. He didn't need to look back to know what it was. He ignored it and continued to lift the rubble as a cold shiver ran down his back.
The creature approached slowly while looking at Lucian curiously. As he dropped the final piece of rubble to free the girl, the creature stopped only a meter away. The creature watched him like a predator watching its prey. Its jaw split wider than it should've. Was it smiling?
Lucian's heart started pounding. It was pounding so hard and loud that it seemed to drown out the chaos all around him.
And then—
A cold, emotionless voice rang in his head.
[Compatibility detected.]
[Host candidate identified.]
[Initiating Sovereign Protocol.]
Immediately after the voice, a blinding pain shot through his body. He screamed as white light began to burn beneath his skin, gradually turning gold.
The creature tilted its head confused for a moment, then raised its massive arm intending to crush this seemingly glowing man.
At that moment, Lucian's vision blurred and a transparent rectangular interface shimmered in front of him.
[Sovereign Protocol: Activated.]
[Assimilation Slot: Empty.]
[Minor Authority: Locked.]
The world seemed to slow down as the creature's arm was viciously aiming for his life. He moved instinctively stepping forward as a faint golden ripple pulsed out of his chest. The golden ripple, like a shockwave, struck the creature's arm and fractured it-splintering its bones like brittle ceramic, and continued to flow outwards causing shattering nearby windows and dust to rise. As the dust began to settle, the monster staggered backwards while staring at its destroyed limb.
At this moment, Lucian stared at it in shock also. He hadn't physically done anything in that moment. He simply willed it. Then the interface flickered again.
[Authority Manifestation: Minor Dominion (Unstable).]
[Assimilation Available: Bone Density Reinforcement.]
[Accept?]
Lucian didn't understand what was going on, but he sent a mental message to accept. At the same time the creature roared in fury and lunged at him.
He only knew he couldn't let it reach the child, so he stepped up and willed the golden ripple again. This time he focused on the monster as it crossed the edge of the field to attack him. It slowed as if it was moving in quicksand while Lucian moved and drove his fist forward.
His knuckles struck the creature's chest—and something inside it collapsed. Its bone armor caved in and the creature froze. Life flickered out of its eyes as its massive body crumbled into brittle fragments at his feet.
The golden ripple faded and suddenly, the world rushed back in. The sound of sirens, screams—chaos resounded in his ears again as Lucian stood in the crater, panting heavily.
The interface hovered quietly before him.
[Target Eliminated.]
[Assimilation Confirmed.]
[Sovereign Protocol Online.]
Ignoring the prompts, he looked down at his shaking hands as he slowly realized. Slowly lifting his head, he looked towards the sky where the fracture was still growing wider and there were more silhouettes falling from the sky. His thoughts were running wildly with attempted explanations until a soft whimper brought him back to reality.
He turned to the injured girl, kneeled and said softly, "You're okay."
The ground beneath them shook as impact after impact shook the earth. Lucian Sol finally understood something. The world had changed and it wasn't going back.
The interface popped up again.
[Candidate Status: Active.]
[Survival Probability: 3.2%]
[Assimilation Available: Bone Density Reinforcement]
[Integrate?]
"Yes." Lucian said under his breath.
Heat spread throughout his body. This time it was more of a comfortable, warm feeling that washed over his body. He had never felt anything like it before, it was almost euphoric.
"Can you stand?" he asked mildly as he examined the girl covered in dirt and blood.
She shook her head while tears streamed down her dirt covered face, "No, it hurts."
Lucian reached out to pick her up. She flinched but didn't refuse him. She was so frightened from the previous fight that her whole body was shaking. He pulled her into his arms and let out a heavy breath as he stood up.
"Don't worry. I'll get you to safety...." Lucian said softly as his words trailed off. His shaking eyes finally became firm with resolve. "...We'll survive this hell."