June 20, 2023, in Riverside, a private estate in Limpopo, life proceeded as usual. The evening sun cast a warm glow over the dining room where Ethan and his family gathered for dinner. Tonight was special—his sister Veronica had taken over their father's business. The family of four was ecstatic, their laughter filling the room.
Suddenly, the lights flickered and went out. "Wha... What's going on?" Ethan's mother exclaimed, her voice tinged with alarm.
"Hang on, I'll go check," his father said, rising from his chair. As he stood, a horrifying sight unfolded—his head split from his neck, falling and rolling to the floor. The room erupted in screams. Ethan froze, unable to process the gruesome scene. Next to his father's body, a blue circle lit up, hovering in the air.
From the circle emerged humanoid dog creatures, one of them wielding a sickle-like sword. Veronica quickly pulled Ethan under the table, covering his mouth to stifle his cries. She trembled in fear, tears trickling down her cheeks and dripping onto the floor.
A thud echoed through the room as Ethan's mother collapsed, her lifeless eyes staring at them. The creatures walked slowly, scanning the room with cackling sounds that resembled hyenas. They grinned mischievously, resting their weapons on their shoulders. One of them bent down, peering under the table as if playing a cruel game.
Ethan and Veronica tensed up, startled. Veronica pulled Ethan behind her, trying to shield him. The creature flipped the table, cackling as they surrounded the siblings. Veronica's body began to crack with a bluish-purple light glowing from the fissures. The creatures halted, wary of the growing light.
The floating circle in the dining room started to wobble. Veronica turned to Ethan, picking him up and kissing his forehead. The creatures sensed the danger and tried to flee, but Veronica could feel the transformation within her. "Run, Ethan," she cried, pushing him away.
"No!" Ethan screamed, clinging to her. She pushed him further, trying to distance herself. The last thing Ethan saw was a blinding white flash. Veronica ran from him, and as he tried to chase her, two explosions occurred—one from Veronica and one from the wobbling circle.
The force of the explosions knocked Ethan back. He was caught in the middle of the chaos, and everything went black.
"M... ar... Y... K. I was worried about you, don't scare me like that," a woman's voice echoed, waking Ethan up. "I can't believe you pulled it off," she said as Ethan's vision stabilized, revealing two people hugging each other.
"I wish I could agree, but I'm not sure of the drawbacks my trick might've caused," Michael replied, exhaustion evident in his tone.
"What did you expect? You took him on alone for five weeks straight, no less," she said.
"Where... Where am I? And where's Veron... No! No! Nooo! It can't be real. I want my sister back. Where's my sister! Veronica!" Ethan cried, drawing Michael and the woman's attention.
"A little boy? When did he get here?" the woman pondered, reaching out to touch him.
"Hold on, wait!" Michael cried. "Look carefully. He's quantumly unstable. If you touch him, he'll die," he said as Ethan glitched while crying.
"Can you help him?" the woman asked.
"It could be a trap," Michael replied.
"Look at him. How can that be a trap?" the woman said. "If you won't, I'll do it then," she added, seeing Ethan still crying. "Hey there, little guy, are you alright? Does it hurt?" she asked. Ethan, his body glitching, shook his head. He only wanted his family back; his current state meant nothing to him.
"Haa," Michael sighed, kneeling down, his eyes turning cosmic green as he reached slowly towards the boy. "You're still recovering. Let me do it," he said, touching the boy. "Help me a little," he said, reaching his hand to the woman. She held his hand, sharing some of her powers with him.
"So... What did you see?" she asked.
"The consequences of my last resort," he said. "I sent a ripple through space-time, causing multiple universes to collide together, leading to a series of events that caused an explosion, sending this boy here just outside the merged universes," Michael explained. "Although the merged universes are now stable, the boy lost his family during the process," he added. The woman beside him gasped upon learning this.
"I'm sorry, kid, for what I caused to happen to you. I can't amend things for you, but I can restore your condition," Michael said, getting up and extending his hand, releasing his powers. "I'll stabilize his body," he said as the energy wrapped around Ethan, lifting him up. "Is this... Guess it'll be your gift," Michael said as he reconstructed Ethan's body. He raised his other hand, opening a spacetime gate and sending Ethan through it. "Although time has passed, I've sent you to a stable time period," he said, sending Ethan through the gate.
"Hey kid. Hey kid, what are you doing here? This is an open dimension field; you aren't allowed here," a man said, waking Ethan up.
Ethan lay on the ground, his eyes fluttering open. Unbeknownst to him, they had turned a crystalline purple. As his vision cleared, he recognized the world around him. The vegetation was lush yet felt strangely alien. The forest had an otherworldly aura, and standing before him was a human, holding a gun and looking like a character from a sci-fi game.
"What's the hold-up? The boss said we should pack up and leave," another person, clad in a high-tech green suit, approached. The person who woke Ethan was wearing a blue-black suit.
"I know, sir, but I saw a purple light flash around here and found this kid," the person replied, pointing to Ethan with his gun.
"What's this? A kid? Why's he naked? Don't tell me..." the man in green raised an eyebrow.
"What... No, sir, I don't swing that way," the man defended himself.
"It seems you've been taking your sweet time, Hector. I promote you, and this is what you do?" Suddenly, a woman appeared with ten others, carrying bags filled with materials and some slimy, pale green substance.
"No, boss. I was just checking the G68 to see why he's been taking so long, and I found him here with this boy," Hector, the one in green, replied. Ethan, scared and confused, sat quietly.
"Oh. Well, what do we have here?" the woman smiled. "Bring him with us. The fact that he's here already means he's special," she said as she walked away.