Nexus

"Aghhhh!" The screams of a man echoed throughout the street as the flying monster caught up to him. He was among the slowest as he carried a 2-year-old child in his arms.

Creeech!

Everyone turned back and looked at the man, but none helped.

The terrifying flying monster got closer.

It opened its beak and flew at the man.

"At least help my child! I'm begging you! I'M BEGGING YOU!" The man screamed at the top of his lungs, but no one looked at him.

Vincent looked back. He wanted to help. Seeing the struggling father, he truly wanted to help. But, his body moved on its own. His survival instincts prevented his body from stopping as he knew if he stopped, it would be a certain death.

'It's over,' Vincent closed his eyes in regret as he saw the flying monster was almost upon the man. 'I'm sorry!' He turned his attention before him and continued running.

Creech!

The scream of the beast rang behind the man.

The man's expression turned dark, void of hope. Only hate remained on his face—hate for the world and hate for humans.

"YOU BASTARDS!" He roared as he felt the impending doom behind him. "I hope you all die a horrible death! I hope none of you survives!!"

THUD!

"AGHHHH!" The man screamed as the monster's beak caught his head. Pain surged through his body as he felt his head almost burst under the clenching of the monster's beak. He felt his feet leave the ground.

Swoosh!

Just as the monster picked him up in the air, the man threw his child on the ground in one last attempt to buy his child one more second of life. One more second in this world.

"AGHHHH!" The screams of the man echoed in the ears of the escaping humans as the monster brought him higher in the sky, and the grip of the monster's beak tightened around his head.

The veins on his forehead popped up, and his eyes enlarged, almost bursting from their sockets.

"RrraaaAAACK!"

Splash!

The man let out one last cry. The monster used the full force of its beak, crushing his head.

The man's headless body started falling while the beast munched on the remains of his head in its beak. Parts of the smashed brain flowed out of the hollow holes in the beak.

Thud!

The lifeless body of the man fell to the ground, and the monster descended and started feeding on the man.

"WAAA! Whaaaa!"

The cries of the 2-year-old child filled the air. It cried in pain, in fear. The child cried for help.

But no one turned to help. Everyone continued running for their life.

The body of the man brought the running civilians some time to escape.

Vincent turned back for one last time, trying to see the monster feeding on the man in the distance. Luckily for him, there was no other monster in sight.

He ran in the direction of the marketplace. Even in the outskirts, many buildings had collapsed, but a decent number had survived.

The buildings around the marketplace were badly damaged. The roofs had collapsed into the house, and the outer wall had thick cracks all over, but they still stood.

The stalls of the marketplace were destroyed, fruits and vegetables rolled on the ground. The vendors smacked the fruits on the ground when they abandoned their stalls and ran for their lives.

Vincent separated from the running crowd and took a shortcut to his house.

He thought of nothing except surviving. He wanted to survive and focused solely on that.

The side of his abdomen hurt, and he felt his lungs burn with every breath he took. The years of smoking caught up to him and hindered his running ability. He had zero stamina but still didn't stop and pushed through the pain.

Vincent quickly arrived at his house.

A bitter smile spread on his face. 'As expected...'

His house has collapsed. It was one of the more fragile buildings around here, so Vincent wasn't surprised.

'But this isn't too bad,' Vincent thought as he looked at the house behind the remains of his house. He walked on the pathway and stopped before the house.

Behind this house was another, so the house was in between two buildings, which, in Vincent's opinion, made it safer for hiding.

Screeeech!

A scream rang through the air.

Vincent's heart skipped a beat.

He could tell by the sound that the monster was not far from his location.

Crash!

He broke the window of the house as quietly as he could. The entrance of the house was blocked by the rubble of his collapsed house, so he had no other choice but to break a window.

Slowly and carefully, to not cut himself on the glass, Vincent entered the house. Luckily for him, no one lived in this house.

Screech!

Another scream rang outside. It was now a lot closer. Cold sweat drenched Vincent's back, and as he entered the house, his body relaxed slightly. Thus, the amount of adrenaline produced lowered.

He thought quickly and ran to the bathroom of the house. The bathroom only had a small window, and it was high, so no monster could spot him through it. It was the safest place in the house.

Entering the bathroom, he locked the door.

Thud!

Vincent collapsed to the ground. The adrenaline supply stopped, and reality kicked in.

He crouched in the corner of the bathroom, hugging his knees. His heart was shaken, and his body trembled in fear.

The screams and curses of the dying man echoed in his mind.

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry, I'm sorry," He muttered continuously. A wave of nausea attacked him as he remembered the horrible death of the man. He felt a weakness in his legs and as if someone turned his insides upside down. "I couldn't do anything, I couldn't do anything."

Vincent felt guilty, guilty that he did nothing to help and watched the man die before his eyes.

Screech!

A loud scream of a monster came from outside.

Boom!

The sound of a building collapsing reached Vincent's ears.

The beast was somewhere near Vincent's house, and it was attacking a nearby house. A house in which it spotted a human hiding.

The scream and the loud sound of a building collapsing snapped Vincent back to reality.

'No, I can't think of that now,' He frowned and suppressed his feelings. 'The right thing to do now is calm down and think things through. What's the best course of action?'

...

The hours passed, and Vincent took his time thinking. He had no experience in fighting or any experience in wars, so he had to think about his actions and what could go wrong.

'It's a good thing I left the group,' Vincent thought. 'In the fear and the heat of the moment, many would think it's better to stick with a larger group, but it is safer to be alone. In a large group, we are just a bigger target.

And if a monster attacks, we would just be relying on our luck to see who gets plucked out first. The rest won't help and will continue running. Like that, it won't be long before everyone is dead.

I saw several more towers fly the sky, but I doubt they are the only ones that fell. There might be more. However, considering the tower's height, it can be spotted from a distance. So there shouldn't be any outside the city.

And that is the first thought everyone will have. To go outside the city.

The military bases are outside the city. They might think the military will protect them, but they will need resources. A lot of resources. I don't want to risk it. Yes, that is safer, but what will one eat if they don't have resources? Forget about the food. If the body has enough water and fats, it can survive a long time without food. But where to find water out there?

If I go to the miliary, they might protect us for the first few days. But inevitably, they will put us to dangerous tasks. I will just be waiting for my death. But If I play things right and live cautiously, I think I can survive on my own.'

Vincent looked down at his body and grabbed his stomach. He had a small amount of fat.

'With this, I can survive for about a week without food. If I have water, that is,' Vincent's frown deepened. 'But I doubt the water network or the electricity network survived. The tower crash must have destroyed everything. So I can only hope there is some bottled water in this house or the adjacent house.'

Vincent doubted that there would be water in this house. No one has lived here for a long time. So his only hope was the adjacent house.

'If there is no water, then I would have to make the trip to a store.' He thought, remembering a store he passed by when he ran through the alleys. 'Luckily, it has not collapsed.'

'Since the monsters were let loose just now, they are rampaging and killing everything in their way. But the situation should calm down in a few days. I don't doubt the danger, but I just hope they won't run around the city like now.'

Vincent had taken a long time to think this through. A lot could go wrong, and the risk was high. But he needed to get supplies. It was the only way to survive.

Vincent stayed vigilant, not daring to fall asleep even as the night fell. The screams of his kin would occasionally reach his ears, and the roars of the beast would shake his bones, keeping him awake throughout the night.

As the sun rose, the exhaustion slowly caught up to Vincent, and his body shut down. He fell asleep on the cold floor of the bathroom.

...

On one of the moons.

A tower was stationed in the huge crater it created when it fell on the moon.

The tower protruded up into space, almost reaching the dimensional rift. The atmosphere of the tower warped the fabric of space itself as if the universe itself opposed the existence of the dark tower.

The dark tower was an anomaly, but as if it bent the rules of space and time around it, escaping from the laws of the universe.

The tower asserted a dark, gloomy aura of demonic holiness capable of corrupting the purest and holiest beings, swaying them to the demonic path.

The tower gates were wide open, reaching dozens of meters in height. A pathway of dark violet bricks led to the entrance of the tower, the sides of the pathway lighted with violet flames burning inside skulls that stood on white spines.

An otherworldly pressure released from the tower, capable of crushing any being that dared approach the tower. But the open tower gates were as if they welcomed any being that dared enter the tower.

One could not see anything beyond the tower gate. It was pure darkness, with three pairs of red eyes occasionally appearing.

...

Inside the top floor of the tower, a throne stood alone.

Throne dozens of meters tall, purely made of white bones, bones of beings with strange skeletons. A throne of fallen foes.

A being sat on the throne with its lower half visible while immense darkness covered the upper half of the entity's body. The lower half of the entity was fully covered in dark violet armor. Demonic spikes protruded from the knee area of the armor. Dark power had gathered on the spikes, releasing the aura of doom. As if just a single touch could cast a being into oblivion.

Demonic holiness released from the being, and the banners hung from the ceiling of the top floor swayed without any wind. The banners telling the story of great battles of a being covered in shadows fluttered from the sheer pressure released from the entity sitting on the throne.

And behind the throne hung a banner of a celestial map.

Just the sight of this entity could kill even the strongest person. The power of the entity on the throne was unfathomable.

At the foot of the throne, a being of 2 meters height stood. A demoness.

The demoness had fiery red skin. From her black hooves to her tights, everything was revealed. She only wore a black mini-skirt around her waist, covering her utmost private area. The mini skirt had a scaly texture all over, made of the skin of a scaly being. 

Her waist was naked, revealing her faintly visible abs. A similar cloth covered her chest but couldn't hide her endowed chest.

Long silk like black hair flowed down her back, and a pair of short red horns protruded from her head. She had pure red eyes and violet lips.

If one overlooked her red skin, thin whip-like tail ending in an arrowhead, and the black pair of bat-like wings on her back, she would be considered a top beauty even in the human world, able to enchant any man.

The demoness held a black scroll.

The demoness stood by the throne, looking as harmless as any woman. As if she didn't have tremendous power. She was suppressing her strength, suppressing even her presence. She didn't dare show off her power in the face of the entity.

"Your majesty, I have the report," The demoness bowed. "According to the investigation, the beings inhabiting this planet are called humans. Their body doesn't contain any special ores or any valuables. They are made of flesh and blood, similar to us. But they don't have strong physiques, so we can't use them as labor slaves. We suspect them to be related to the beings of world 1111, but we'll conduct further research to confirm.

But while they might not be valuable, they are delicious. Our lower-ranked clansmen enjoy them. We can lock them in a farm and breed them. They will make good livestock.

This galaxy is a low-level galaxy with the lowest amount of mana. This planet is in the outermost part of the galaxy. There is barely any mana in the air.

The mana sweeping from the dimensional rift will introduce mana to the beings of this planet. They will be exposed to mana for the first time. The mana will certainly cause mutations, but the results of the mutations are unpredictable.

Because the mana in this galaxy is scarce, there are restrictions. We, as higher existences, can't leave the protection of the towers, or we'll face the consequences of the universal rules.

The vice commander, Gallion the Shadowwaver, has paid a heavy price for resisting the universal rules. Currently, he is recuperating in the 3rd tower.

Right now, only the lowest and low-grade clansmen can leave the towers. They are not bound by the restrictions. But to implement our plans of plundering the energy of the planetary core, we need at least a Greater Demon to leave the tower.

But my king, rest assured. With the mana sweeping from the dimensional crack, it's only a matter of time before the restrictions weaken, and we can leave the tower."

"How long will it take?" A deep voice rebounded off the walls of the throne room. A voice so deep and dark, as if it was coming from the abyss itself.

"Your majesty, for a greater demon to leave the tower, it will take at least several years. As for your majesty," The demoness lowered her head. "I'm afraid this galaxy can't handle your power. It may take several decades, even a century. I am afraid the power of the nexus will long be exhausted before that can happen."

"How much power does the nexus have?"

"Your majesty, the nexus is at 76% of power, and it's stably supplying energy to the dimensional rift, keeping it open. It will last approximately 30 years."

"This galaxy is a waste. We'll have to go through the same process for every planet and star in this galaxy. It will consume too much power. The nexus will consume too much power. We won't be able to plunder enough energy from the planets to feed it.

The profits are not enough. After we conquer this planet, we'll plunder the energy of the planetary core and the core of the star of this system. After we charge our nexus, we'll leave."

"Yes, your majesty," The demoness bowed.

"Leave,"

The demoness bowed again and slowly left the throne room while walking backward to the exit, not daring to disrespect the king by turning her back.

...

Crack!

A crack startled Vincent awake.

'Am I imagining things?' Vincent thought as he glanced at the high window. Judging from the light entering the bathroom, Vincent could tell it was dusk.

But he didn't consider the dimensional rift which devoured the sunlight. It was barely past 3 pm. Because of the dimensional rift, the day has been shortened by a huge margin.

Crack!

Another crack sounded. A glass breaking under the pressure of something heavy. It came from the other side of the bathroom door.

The hairs on Vincent's body stood up in fear.

'Did the monsters enter the house?' Vincent thought in panic, his heart racing. 'Could it be they found me out? But how could it be?'

Adrenaline rushed through Vincent's veins as his fear intensified.

He looked around the bathroom in panic. 'I messed up. I should have found a weapon. At least a steel pole,' His gaze landed on the bathtub and the frame of pipes from which curtains hung down.

But he could not take the frame down. It would create too much noise, and if the monster is outside, it would only spell his doom.

Not that he had the courage to face a monster, but if he had a weapon in hand, it would make him feel safer. It would give him a false sense of security.

Quietly, he approached the door and peeked through the keyhole. It was the first thing that came to mind because he had used this a lot to check if the debt collectors had come for him. He had avoided them a lot of times with this method.

'What is that? A human?' Vincent thought uncertainly as he could see a figure walk past the keyhole, but the keyhole was too small to get any details.

Vincent took a step back and closed his eyes. 'Let's calm down and think logically,' He took deep breaths and thought about the possibilities for a few moments.

'No!' His eyes flew open. 'It's not a monster. If it's a monster, not to mention how it has entered without causing a huge commotion, if it walks around, with its weight and size, the sound of his footsteps would be far louder.'

With a trembling palm, Vincent extended his arm and touched the door handle, hesitating. Though his deduction seemed logical, he didn't know the weight of the creatures. He might as well be wrong. It was a gamble.

'Ahh. It's a fifty-fifty. My chances are not bad. I can get this,' His gambling mindset struck.

Soundlessly, Vincent opened the door slightly and peeked.