The hover mobiles zoomed through different locations, savings thousands of stranded lives as they did so.
So no one expected what came next. One moment, they were working fine, the operation was going reasonably well despite the chaos.
In the midst of it, they all suddenly shut down and stopped working. No malfunction signal, or error messages on the drive interface. All the vehicles just malfunctioned at exactly the same moment.
"Captain, we've lost power! we are going down!"
"What! What do you mean we are going down!"
He got his answer as he felt the altitude suddenly change and they started plummeting through the sky, and the vehicle was loaded, full of evacuees.
"We are all going to die!!!"
"God save us all!"
"No! No! No! No! No! No! Please, I don't want to die, please no!"
People in the vehicle were thrown off balance and rattled around the reinforced walls. Innocents, comprised of women, children and old aged people found their life suddenly forfeit. They found their world falling apart before them.
Then they found relief when they were rescued, only to lose all hope afterwards. If one of these people survived beyond this day to tell the tale, surely, they would cease hoping in anything or the ability to even hope.
Hope was a dangerous thing after all. It gives you a false sense of ease and comfort even when you are in a dire situation. People who lose all sense of hope in a desperate situation are the most delicate.
Some of the people died from the shock and constant rattling even before the vehicle hit the ground as they hurled downwards. Maybe they were the luckiest in the group, because those that lived through the impact experienced the worst pain of all.
The shockwave from the impact crashed their bodies into meat paste. Leaving nothing but blood and gore and adding an eerie and horrific sight to the already ghastly scene. It was like a scene straight out of a horror movie.
...
Daniel held Mel and his daughter's figures close to his chest, Mel held her palm to her mouth, unable to believe the sight before her.
Alex, turned to look away from the devastation as she buried her face in Daniel's chest. her frame trembled non-stop, she could not imagine the kind of situation her friends and acquaintances were in right now, or what will become of everyone after all this was over.
Such was everyone's thoughts. At least that was supposed to be the case.
Adrien's mind was elsewhere. Most likely everyone's minds were occupied by everything that was happen before them, he was mostly worried by something else. Not to say that he was not aware of the kind of danger they were in, or that he was not scared or worried about it.
But that he was more concerned about the cause of their current situation and what was still to come. He was sure of one thing though, that voice definitely had something to do with whatever was going on.
It was a conclusion anyone who had the time to calmly think about it would come to. But who would remain calm in this sort of condition their world was in. Adrien was thinking inwardly, his eyes still focused on the scene in the city.
'The keywords in the little she spoke would be the number that is probably assigned to our planet, and she mentioned a sector and something about a world seed. From this I can gleam that there are other planets and beings in the wider universe, they are aware of our existence, enough to assign a registered number, as well as a sector, meaning multiple planets organised into multiple sectors.
And the world seed's activating whatever that means, initiated a convergence sequence that is responsible for whatever is going on right now.'
'Apart from that, what is this feeling in my chest, I feel so full, like someone stuffed a ball in my heart.' He was getting goosebumps all over his body, he felt like someone was slowly pumping his body full of adrenaline. 'I feel so healthy and stronger, like there's a foreign energy in my body'
'Wait, A foreign energy? Could that be tied to what is going on right now?
It can't be a coincidence. There are just too many questions right now, and the more I speculate, the more questions that come up. The answers should come eventually I think, when everything settles down. As for what we should do now however.'
Adrien shifted his gaze to the three people huddled in a comforting group hug. Then he turned to look at Sarah's horrified expression.
'There is still no guarantee that we will survive this, I wonder what this means for us, this convergence sequence or whatever surely entails more than just an apocalypse?'
When the rumbling suddenly stopped, the little family found themselves surprisingly expecting more trouble.
"Is it over?" Alex asked meekly
"No I don't think so" And oh how right he was,
"Is it safe to stay here? I mean, everything is falling apart, what if the house comes down?" Alex spoke out loud. she was visibly afraid, but it looked like everyone had their wits about them now
"Its walls are reinforced, so I hope it holds. Is everyone okay? " Mel replied, looking around
"For now, let's wait here and see how the authorities respond." Sarah suggested.
"That's a good idea"
...
Meanwhile, on a distant high tier world,
Syfrit casually strode through the air, covering millions of miles with each stride, he was headed to a secluded mountain in the north where a well-known hermit lived.
They were old childhood friends who grew up together and were part of a generation of young cultivators who should their sector with the unmatched talent they displayed. Syfrit and Lyria, however, were even a cut above their 'talented' peers.
Syfrit eventually grew powerful enough to become a councilman at a very young age, a role reserved for the most respected of experts. And considering that Lyria was even more powerful than he was, most expected her to eventually inherit the Grand elder's seat.
Which was why there was a major outroar when Lyria announced that she would become a handler. Many citizens spewed things like 'a waste of talent' or 'disrespectful' but the elders and her close family and friends, knowing how quirky she was let her do whatever she wanted, assuming it was just another of her rebellious phases.
Now a couple thousand years later, no one had seen a glimpse of Lyria in public since. The higher ups knew she was in seclusion, so they wrote it off that way.
Appearing on a snowy, and big mountain range, Syfrit seemingly vanished entirely only to reappear just outside of a small Japanese style house.
The exterior features a sloping roof with elegant eaves that extend outward, providing shade and shelter. The roof is covered with dark, weathered tiles that contrast beautifully with the light wooden beams and white plaster walls. Large sliding doors made of shoji screens open up to a spacious veranda that wraps around the house.
He casually opened the sliding door and stepped inside. He took a moment to admire the interior. Tatami mats cover the floors, and the rooms are adorned with minimalistic furniture made from natural materials like bamboo and cedar. A central hearth, or irori, served as a sitting place. The walls are adorned with delicate calligraphy and traditional artwork, done by Lyria herself.
Syfrit only chuckled lightly as he gave the house a scrutinizing look "What a fitting setup for that lazy oaf."
"Who are you calling an oaf?"
An extremely beautiful woman who appeared to be in her mid-twenties appeared from behind one of the rooms, taking light steps. She had long beautiful black hair that cascaded down the small of her back like a flowing river. It wove around her oval face, complementing and contrasting her pale white, flawless skin.
She wore a grey kimono that hid her bountiful curves ever so slightly, her hourglass figure was quite a feast for the eyes. Her beauty was the kind to cause wars in modern times. Maybe if she wasn't so powerful, men in their sector would be more active in their approach to courting her.
But she he had castrated more men than most cared to count in her junior days. So she mostly referred to as the untouchable flower.
Her dark blue eyes matched her features quite well at that. She gave Syfrit a look, her deep gaze looked like it could see right through him.
He couldn't help but feel like he was being stripped naked every time he stood in front of this woman, and that she could. Syfrit gulped audibly at the sight of her alluring figure 'Good thing I have nothing but good intentions'
"Oh, so you agree with the part about being lazy. Good to see you are doing well" Syfrit smiled lightly and exchanged a handshake with her.
"Save me the rumbling, so why are you here, surely you didn't come just to pass rude remarks?"
"Lyria, I heard the fledgling world you are assigned to, invoked their ascension to a tier 4 world, how did that happen, I thought worlds in that particular sector rarely evolved, the last one was 2 billion years ago, knowing your lazy tendencies, most assumed you chose that particular world because you 'knew' it would never ascend, and your calculations are never wrong?"
"Well, that's the thing, there was no sign whatsoever that this world had the potential to ascend every time I have checked on it, I was just as surprised as the guys at the monitoring department when it did. So, I suspect the world might have given birth to a Spark in the last twenty years or so."
Syfrit's eyebrows rows slightly "A Spark huh, from your words should I assume that you haven't scanned the world in over twenty years?" Syfrit smiled wryly "That is so like you"
Lyria cleared her throat in embarrassment
"So, what did the higher ups in your in the handler headquarters say, I'm guessing they were not happy?"
"Yeah, I got an earful"
"That's it? Normally you'd be exiled for negligence, hahaha"
"Well, this is me and so on."
"I guess you are right, but a Spark, those haven't been born in ages, and there are less than ten of them at present including you. How are you so sure a Spark was born."
"Just a feeling. The convergence sequence has already been initiated, and aether is being injected into the world right now. As usual most will die, something like ninety percent"
Syfrit raised his eyebrows, "Huh why so high with this one?"
"Well this world is one of those unique ones, even though the inhabitants were weak before due to the absence of aether, their civilisation is very advanced. They had something they call technology, quite intriguing if I do say so myself."
"Technology? What is that?"
"Kind of like our traditional crafting but they could create weapons of mass destruction capable of destroying a whole planet. But the problem is in the way they built their homes, building so high they touch the sky, and many of them. So, as the world expanded, these structures are collapsing as we speak, taking billions of lives. They are only mortals after all, a little bit of rubble will crush them to meat paste. I think adding that to those who will inevitably fail to evolve and ascend ninety is a good number."
"It's like their world is punishing them for polluting it, they have their own wills after all." Syfrit replied
"What I am most curious about however is this Spark. By the time I noticed the something was going on, the world had put up that annoying protective barrier so there's nothing I can do now but wait till the ascension is done with. Even I would take a major hit if a try to forcefully enter their space."
"Wow, even though you are the laziest and most eccentric person I have ever met, your curiosity never ceases to amaze me, what crazy person would even consider entering an ascending world while that barrier is up?"
"Well, aren't you curious about this Spark, I want to meet another of my kind?"
"I'll admit I am a little bit curious, but enough to get myself killed. I will see you some other time then, I think when that world has finished ascending, and we get to pay a visit our new Spark, I will keep in touch."
"Yeah yeah, now get going, before I cut down one of your legs" Lyria only smiled coldly as she watched Syfrit literally run from her small house before vanishing entirely, leaving her to her thoughts.
"I guess I'll take another long nap." She yawned and walked back into the bedroom.