An Open Gateway... Impending Doom

The monster, surprisingly, didn't resist. It lurched forward, a grotesque, decaying marionette pulled by invisible strings. It stumbled towards the facility, its every step a test of the weakened field. My heart pounded in my chest. This was incredibly risky. If I lost control, it would be a massacre. But I had no other choice.

I focused, visualizing the monster's path, anticipating its movements, keeping the field tight enough to control its trajectory but loose enough to allow forward momentum. The air crackled with displaced energy as it lumbered closer to the reinforced steel doors of the facility.

The doors, designed to withstand extreme pressure and radiation, wouldn't hold against something like this for long, not if it truly wanted in. But I wasn't planning on letting it smash its way through.

As the monster reached the doors, I shifted the field again, this time aligning it with the access panel. The decaying creature reached out a skeletal hand, its touch somehow bypassing the security measures. A jolt of energy coursed through the air as the door hissed open, revealing a dimly lit corridor beyond.

It seems that the monstrosity actually wanted something within the building, something that it could not obtain on its own due to security measures. So it needed a guide, and I was that guide.

Inside, the air was thick with the smell of ozone and something ancient, something indescribably foul. I maintained the field, guiding the monster deeper into the facility, past rows of silent machinery and blinking control panels. The tremors from the aerial battle echoed through the corridors, growing more distant as we descended. We were heading down, towards the deeper levels of the facility, towards the source.

The corridor opened into a vast chamber, dominated by a massive, circular pit. The air here was colder, heavier, pregnant with an oppressive silence that swallowed all other sounds. In the center of the pit, a swirling vortex of inky blackness pulsed, radiating a palpable sense of dread. This was it. The source.

The monster strained against the field, its growls escalating into a guttural roar. It was desperate to reach the pit, to immerse itself in the darkness.

I tightened my grip on the field, using all my will to hold it back. "What is it?" I whispered, my voice barely audible above the creature's rage. "What's down there?"

The monster thrashed, its decaying body contorting in unnatural ways. Then, a voice, not my own, echoed in my mind. Cold, ancient, and utterly alien.

"Release me," it hissed. "Let me return to my origin."

I stumbled back, reeling from the force of the mental assault. This wasn't just a monster; it was a vessel, a conduit for something far more malevolent. The pit below wasn't just a source of decay; it was a gateway.

I looked up at the swirling vortex, the blackness that seemed to drink in all light and hope. The tremors above had stopped. Either the battle was over, or it had moved on. Either way, I was alone with robo-girl keeping Dawn at bay.

"No," I said, my voice trembling but firm. "I won't let you."

The voice in my head laughed, a chilling sound that echoed through the chamber. "You cannot stop what is coming. The world is already breaking. I am merely the first wave."

The monster lunged forward, breaking free from the weakened field. It tumbled towards the pit, its decaying limbs flailing. I lunged after it, desperate to stop it before it reached the edge.

But I was too late.

With a final, triumphant roar, the monster plunged into the vortex, disappearing into the inky blackness. The swirling darkness intensified, growing larger, more menacing.

And then, silence. An even more profound silence than before.

I stood at the edge of the pit, staring into the darkness, my heart pounding in my chest. What had I unleashed? What was about to come through that gateway?

Then, a voice echoed within my mind- "Thank you". Followed by silence. And then, the ground began to shake. Not from the battle, but from something deep beneath the earth. The facility was collapsing. This time, I needed to run.

"Fuck my luck!"

I spun around, my blindfold offering no visual information, only the crushing weight of the seismic tremors ripping through the facility. The "thank you" still echoed in my skull, a ghostly residue of the entity that had just been reborn. Me and my foolish curiosity would have gotten killed long ago without my Sensory Overload. Seismic senses had always been both my curse and my strength.

Now, they were screaming at me – run.

The floor buckled beneath my feet. Sections of the ceiling collapsed, showering debris around me. The black vortex still pulsed, but it was shrinking, drawing itself inwards like a dying star. The air grew thick with the scent of ozone and something…else. Something acrid and toxic, like burnt bone and ozone.

"Urgh!" I groaned, clutching my shoulder while jogging my way out.

"Right. Another crazy story for the kids!" The seismic information was overwhelming, a cacophony of collapsing structures and churning earth. Focus, Daniel, focus. Find the path of least resistance.

I moved, not blindly, but with a strange, almost precognitive grace. My bare feet, toughened from years of hostile landscapes and trainings, navigated the shifting debris with acrobatic grace... Flipping through debris like I was spiderman or something. I didn't see obstacles; I felt them, the vibrations in the floor telegraphing their presence before they could crush me.

The facility was a labyrinth of metal and concrete, designed to contain secrets, not disasters. But I wasn't a tourist. I knew the general layout from the mission briefing, and my seismic sense helped me fill in the rapidly changing gaps.

I sprinted down the corridor, avoiding falling debris and collapsing sections of the ceiling. Emergency lights flickered erratically, casting grotesque shadows that danced to the rhythm of the failing structure. The air grew hotter, thicker, making it harder to breathe.

As I navigated a sharp turn, I felt a shift in the vibrations. Ahead, the corridor was blocked by a massive pile of rubble. I veered sharply to the left, instinctively seeking a less obstructed path. This route led me to a service tunnel, a narrow, claustrophobic passage barely wide enough for one person.

*BOOOM!!!*

An earth quaking boom erupted from my rear as I sharply turn, just enough to catch a glimpse of a female signature crashing through the already crumbling walls.

"Seriously!! The damn building is collapsing and these b**chest are here throwing punches..." I complained, but my expression changed as I dodged the hand that shot to my shoulder, intending to pin me down, slowly backing away from the sudden guest.

"Ada! Is that you?" I questioned, unsure as this certainly doesn't feel like Ada.

*SHRING!!!*

*POW!*

From behind me where the figure had crash, two bright blue beams shot out, blasting Dawn through the building, causing the building to quake once again, hastening it's crumbling process.

"Master, do I have access to hold you intimately, in other to fly away safely?"

"Intimately? What the hell! Grope me if you want, I don't want to die yet!!"

"Affirmative."

Her figure blurs before me, picking me up princess carry and blasting through the shattered window, opposite where Dawn had crashed.

But it seemed she took my word too seriously as I felt her hands crawling my butt sensually.... *Sigh* things we do to survive.