A tremor was felt in the frozen valley on a freezing night with black clouds covering the sky.
"Boom!"
"Boom!"
It was as if a giant battering ram was hitting the earth. The frozen rocks and soil around were beginning to crack. There was no one in sight. There was neither a human nor a being that could make this sound.
In fact, even though the source of that sound and shaking was not visible, it was right there. It was coming from a higher dimension there. This dimension consisted of a pure white void. Neither a sky nor a horizon... The floors were paved with white marble, and in the middle of this space was a magnificent palace made of jet black bricks that seemed to absorb all the light.
This palace had neither an entrance nor a window. The inside of the palace was made of a thousand and one materials, consisting of stones of different shades of black and white. In the middle of all the rooms and corridors, in a very large hall, a white-haired, white-bearded old man in a black robe stood out. He was sitting on a magnificent throne, stretching out his hand and waving his index finger up and down.
With every movement of his finger, a huge hammer made of red flames was beating a rock about 11 meters in diameter in front of him.
"Boom!"
Each blow of the hammer was strong enough to shake the entire palace. So much so that it could even be heard from the outside world. This rock, which had been beaten for days, was initially 140 meters in diameter. Finally satisfied, the old man's finger stopped moving. As he shook his hand, the hammer shrank until it was the size of a normal hammer and was thrown aside.
The old man stood up and started walking towards the rock in the middle of the hall. He stopped half a meter away from the rock. He was standing tiny next to the rock. But he squeezed the rock with his palm as if he were going to hold a small ball in front of him. Suddenly the rock appeared in his hand.
Normally, the giant rock with a diameter of 11 meters had shrunk to the size of a small marble. After holding the marble towards the light source on the ceiling, which looked like a round sun, and observing it, a satisfied expression appeared on his face.
He laughed briefly in a deep voice and added:
"I've been trying for all these years, but it's a pity that I'm too old to see the results."
His tone showed sadness and disappointment.
Then he glanced up at the ceiling and the palace began to shake. The bricks on the ceiling moved like a puzzle, revealing the pure white sky. There was neither a cloud nor a sun.
He stretched his arm back and threw the marble into the sky, as if throwing a baseball. The marble, moving at tremendous speed, disappeared into the sky. It may be the size of a small marble, but its weight was still the same. It was a rock with a diameter of 11 meters and a density 200 times that of water. That was about 140 million tons! Without any expression or strain, he took out the other marbles from his pocket and began to throw them, one by one, as if he were throwing pebbles into the sea.
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The autumn breeze was blowing the yellowed and fallen plane tree leaves on the faculty. A leaf floating in the air stuck to the forehead of a student who fell asleep at the foot of the tree. The student, who woke up with a start, threw the leaf off his face and looked around. The last rays of the sun painted everything red.
"Wow, I was reading a book here after being expelled from class. I must have slept for so long."
Eren was a 22-year-old senior university student. Normally, he would attend all classes and try to get along with everyone. But the professor of this course was obsessed with him in a strange way. His daughter was in the same class, but she was second after Eren, who was first in the school.
Fortunately, it was an unimportant course and it was impossible for the professor to fail him. Because Eren's environment and connections were extremely strong. He couldn't afford to get bad involved with Eren.
Eren stood up and stretched, throwing the book in his hand into his bag. Everywhere was numb. While walking towards the exit, he was listening to his lecture repeats with his headphones on. He had a great talent, he could memorize everything he listened to carefully twice. Even though reading seemed a bit boring to him, he would never forget a text he had read 3 times. This was one of the reasons why he was the top student in university.
He asked for his helmet from security and put it on before heading towards his motorcycle, which he left at the exit. Eren was 1.80 meters tall and had long white hair. The whitening of his hair was caused by a genetic disease. The red sunlight made her hair look slightly orange.
While he was sitting on the motorcycle, he noticed that the motorcycle was shaking. Thinking that the engine was running on its own, Eren panicked and took off the headphones. Neither the engine was running nor was the only shaking thing the motorcycle. The signs around and the large wall with the university's name were shaking slightly. Before we had time to think that there was an earthquake, a tremendous brightness appeared in the sky. A second sun was appearing above the setting red sun, getting closer and closer.
Seeing this chilling sight, Eren's pupils shrank and he stared in horror. Everyone at the university was in a panic, and there were even people who fell and fainted. It looked like a huge disaster was coming.
Eren, who regulated his breathing to come to his senses due to his relatively calm personality, began to think about ways to survive in the worst-case scenario.
"I'm not exactly sure, but if it's a meteor, it means an incredible event is taking place. The consequences will be devastating."
The siren started to sound at school, but Eren didn't care much. Everyone who heard the siren was running somewhere.
"The university campus was 50 km away from the city center, on a hill at an altitude of 500 meters. At the exit of the campus, there was a winding road leading to the city. There was a lake behind the hill. If we look at the direction of the meteor's arrival, it seems like it will fall into the city, but there is no way to know this exactly. For now, the facility next to the lake seems to be the safest area nearby. "Since the lake is in the opposite direction of the city, the hill can prevent the force of the explosion like a shield."
"If I get into the cold storage of the cafeteria of the facility located by the lake in time, my chances of survival will increase considerably. I can hide in the university building, but it would be most logical to make my decision in this direction, as being behind the hill will reduce the future shock wave somewhat. The speed of the motorcycle can take me to the lake in a short time. I can reach the lake in 1-2 minutes at an average speed of 80-100 km/h. However, the shaking caused by the meteorite can create cracks in the ground and disrupt the road. I have to be fast, but I also have to drive carefully."
There was a possibility that the building would collapse, but Eren didn't want to think about it too much. If there was a shelter nearby, he would go there. But there was no shelter.
All this thought process happened in just 2 seconds. He immediately started the engine and started driving on the path in the opposite direction of the asphalt road leading to the city. He would take a shortcut and reach the lake road directly.
Since his family was very rich, he had a very expensive motorcycle. However, he could not think of the engine or anything else right now. He sped through the bushes and grass and reached the paved road leading to the other end of the hill. Eren, who was moving rapidly, was driving the motorcycle with great attention. Because the shaking was still continuing, cracks were appearing on the road, and he could lose his life with the slightest carelessness.
Time was passing quickly, the shaking that was initially light was gradually increasing. It had been 1 minute since the meteorite was visible. He finally reached the facility when the front wheel of the motorcycle burst. It didn't seem like a good decision to go through all that brush. He rolled over and hit the tree on the side. Feeling his ribs broken, Eren almost fainted from the pain. Although he slowed down, he fell very badly. If it weren't for his helmet and protective suit, he would have been dead by now. At the critical moment, he showed great willpower, quickly stood up and started walking towards the facility. With the adrenaline at that moment, he neither felt the pain nor saw the people running out of the facility. 2 minutes had passed since the meteor appeared when a great tremor occurred. Although behind the hill, he saw a huge pillar of dark red flame rising into the sky.
After the momentary shock, he quickly came to his senses. The explosion effect would reach there soon. While heading towards the facility, he saw the round air balls in the entertainment pool by the lake. People could get into it and travel in the pond or pool.
An idea flashed through his mind. He quickly began to look around. He embraced a rock that had been separated from the road by the earthquake and headed towards the balloon by the pool. He grabbed the balloon and ran to the lake. The shock wave of the explosion was approaching as soon as he barely reached the lake.
Meanwhile, a terrible sight dominated the city. When the meteor hit the ground, a huge explosion suddenly occurred. A dazzling fireball formed in the center, reaching thousands of degrees in temperature. The city instantly burst into flames. A huge flash of light covered everything.
Within a few milliseconds, a giant mushroom cloud began to rise.
After the explosion, a huge shock wave began to expand. A ring-shaped pressure wave was advancing rapidly in the atmosphere, just like in historical nuclear tests.
All the buildings in the city were collapsing with the wave, and a huge cloud of dust and debris was rising. The mushroom cloud was 20-30 km high and contained colorful gases and ash.
A dense redness covered the surroundings, the sky turned into shades of yellow, orange, red and black.
There was thick smoke, evaporating metal and stone fragments in the air.
From a distance, the city looked like a volcano. A giant column of ash rising from the ground to the sky and an area engulfed in flames.
If someone had been on the hill and seen this view, they would have prayed to God before dying in cold sweat. If Eren had stayed on campus, he would probably have died. Although there was no guarantee that he would live now.
Even if we looked from 100 km away, orange-red reflections were visible in the sky. The shock wave would arrive even here 5-10 minutes after the explosion and burst the windows with a perceptible pressure. A strange darkening and fog would occur for days due to the ash and particles in the air.
Within a few hours, the ashes would begin to spread hundreds of kilometers with the wind.
Eren made one last effort and entered the balloon and jumped into the lake. Just as it sank to the bottom, the shock wave reached the facility. It is wise to dive quickly into the lake before the shock wave arrives, as the wind effect will be very dangerous in open terrain.
Entering the inflatable balloon and diving into the water with weight will give you a chance to protect yourself from thermal radiation and sudden temperature increase. It is wise to go deeper as the shock wave will cause much more damage on the water surface. The air inside the balloon can provide oxygen for longer periods of time underwater. However, if it stays close to the water surface, the shock wave can apply incredible pressure to the water and knock Eren unconscious, so he took a heavy stone. If the balloon bursts, it may get stuck in the water. Going deeper increases our chances of survival, but there must be a plan for staying underwater for a long time. Unfortunately, there was no time for the plan.
Thanks to the balloon, there is an air reserve, so Eren can stay underwater for at least a few minutes. After the shock wave and debris pass, it can come to the surface. However, the temperature of the water may increase and the steam may scald Eren. If oxygen is insufficient, unconsciousness may occur under water. According to Eren, if he stayed at the bottom for 2-3 minutes, he could escape the most devastating effects of the explosion.
If we make a realistic evaluation, the chance of success is 50-70%. The plan made sense, but there were some risks.
The biggest danger: The temperature increase and the impact of the shock wave after entering the water. If he can stay under water long enough at the critical moment, his chances of survival increase considerably.
This plan offered better odds than surviving on bare ground.
If the balloon is strong enough and can descend under the water fast enough, Eren still has a chance of survival!
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