Chereads / Fractless / Chapter 8 - God From the Machine

Chapter 8 - God From the Machine

Everything was silent, except for the low-pitched hum of the green auras that surrounded our enemies. There was no communication over the frequency over what currently happened, only simultaneous awe from me, Eighth, and Seventh. Everything that glowed green—the Invidian soldiers and the tank bullets—began to move slowly towards the sky. I noticed that they were all being drawn towards the single figure who stood above the clouds. In time, the hundreds of Invidians, and the five tank bullets, had gathered into a singularity directly above the floating figure. The green aura that previously outlined each subject individually now conformed to outline everything as a whole. The outline inflated into a ball of green wavering energy that circulated the subjects, as if a force field had been formed around everything. Then, the figure controlling these items clenched their open palm into a fist.

Fwoop—!

The tank bullets inside the force field imploded, causing a chain reaction of explosions to occur between every Invidian.

BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—BOOM—!!!

Mass destruction took place inside a ball the size of a bedroom. Blood could be seen splattering against its transparent walls, instantly followed by its evaporation from the sheer heat and pressure of the explosions themselves. Within mere seconds, the explosions stopped, and all that was left inside the force field was shaded smoke and ashes. The figure reopened their fist into an open palm, and the force field ceased to exist. A mound of ash and dismembered limbs dropped to the ground, while the smoke dispersed into the air across.

What had I just witnessed?

"I—" Seventh struggled to speak. "I have never seen something like that before…"

I was heaving. My breath was shallow. The little comprehension I had of what I'd just witnessed made me feel small, clamped, claustrophobic even. Eighth on the other hand had his mind twirling.

"What the hell was that!? Who the hell is that?!" Fractals like that exist?!?"

"Were we just saved…?" Seventh asked.

I watched the figure as they remained afloat in the air, my heart racing with a mix of emotions "I don't know if I should feel thankful, or afraid…"

BANG—BANG—!!!

Two shots came from two tanks over at the hill. I'd nearly forgotten that they were still there. Before nearly striking the figure, they raised their arm, stopping the tank bullets in place as they suddenly brimmed with green.

"Some sort of a telekinetic Fractal…?" I realized I was bearing witness to a borderline anomaly. From all the Fractals I'd seen throughout my life, nothing had ever come close to resembling the power this person had.

With a slight hand motion in the direction of the tanks, the figure launched the two tank bullets back towards them, blasting the entire lineup of artillery. All in mere seconds, the Invidians and their five tanks had been eradicated.

"Holy shit!" Seventh couldn't believe what she'd just seen. "A-Are we next?!"

As if on queue, the figure suddenly turned to face us. Our backs were against the walls, and we were down hundreds of Angels. With enough power to take on Invidan on their own, there was nothing we could do to defend the border from this figure and their god-like Fractal. Back at the hive mind control room, I was drenched in sweat. Even if I wasn't there in person, it felt like they could see me through my Angels. Even miles away from the battle site, I could feel the sheer aura from this person's presence. I tried to say something, anything, but the pressure from their gaze alone was too intimidating, even if I couldn't see their eyes. Their face wasn't visible. They bore a black cloak that drooped over their head, leaving only a shadow to fill-in the void of their face. If it weren't for the glowing green aura that surrounded them, their dark attire would easily blend into any night sky.

After staring at us for just a few seconds, the green-lit sky suddenly went mute, and the color faded away. In the instant it disappeared, so too did the constant hum of its aura. In a blink, we'd all witnessed the figure vanish on the spot. Nothing remained to indicate it was even there at all. There was no trace of its previous existence, except for the complete destruction it had left on the field.

I had absolutely no words.