March 10, 2007
Elias Vander felt the air being pulled from his lungs as the shockwave from the explosion tore through the facility. The world around him was consumed by chaos—sparks flying from shattered machinery, screams echoing in his ears, and the deafening roar of the rift expanding.
He tried to shield himself, but the force of the explosion hurled him backward. He hit the floor hard, his vision blurring. When he opened his eyes, the lab was gone.
Everything was gone.
Vander staggered to his feet, his heart pounding. Around him stretched a vast, otherworldly landscape—twisted and surreal, like a nightmare given form. The sky was a roiling mass of dark clouds, streaked with flashes of crimson lightning. The ground beneath his feet was jagged and blackened, pulsing faintly with an eerie blue light.
"Where... where am I?" he whispered, his voice barely audible over the distant wails and whispers that seemed to come from everywhere and nowhere at once.
As he stumbled forward, he realized the ground wasn't solid—it shifted beneath him like liquid stone, forcing him to steady himself with each step. In the distance, massive structures loomed, their shapes unnatural and ever-changing, as if they defied the very laws of physics.
A voice, deep and resonant, echoed in his mind. "Intruder..."
Vander froze. "Who's there?"
The voice didn't answer, but the air around him grew colder. Shadows began to coalesce, forming into towering figures with glowing red eyes. Their forms were indistinct, flickering between shapes like smoke caught in a gale.
"You..." Vander muttered, his breath hitching. "You're the ones from the rift."
The largest of the shadows stepped forward, its voice dripping with malice. "You dared to open the veil. You dared to disrupt the balance."
"I-I didn't mean to!" Vander stammered, his knees buckling. "It was an experiment! I was trying to... to..."
"Your arrogance has doomed your kind," the shadow growled, its form towering over him. "You tore open the barrier between realms. Now the curse of our kind will infect your world."
Vander fell to his knees, tears streaming down his face. "I didn't know... I didn't know this would happen. Please, let me go back. I can fix this!"
The shadows circled him, their whispers growing louder. "You will remain here, mortal. Your world is no longer yours to save."
Before he could protest, the ground beneath him gave way. Vander screamed as he plunged into darkness, the shadows closing in around him.
---
The Aftermath
March 11, 2007 – Coast City
The dark energy explosion from the research facility sent shockwaves across Coast City, leaving destruction in its wake. The skies darkened unnaturally, and a strange, oppressive energy lingered in the air.
At first, the effects seemed purely physical—collapsed buildings, blackouts, and widespread panic. But soon, reports began to surface of people changing.
Some developed extraordinary abilities—strength, speed, control over elements. But these "gifts" came at a cost. Many became unstable, their minds consumed by anger, fear, or madness.
The city's infrastructure crumbled as the gifted wreaked havoc. What began as small skirmishes turned into full-blown chaos. The police force was overwhelmed, and the government declared Coast City a quarantine zone.
Among the chaos, whispers began to spread. Whispers of dark figures appearing in the shadows, of people vanishing without a trace. Some claimed the jinn themselves were walking among them, hidden in human form.