Crossover

By Amilcar Ponce de Leon

Imponent figures appear in the major cities of six different races, the Ikanata, the Kyverz, the Ux-Uhl, the Alkeis, the Nachwir and the Ixyku. No one imagined that this event would change the course of each of the worlds that each of them

• Language: English
• Publisher: Crossover
• Release date: Dec 4, 2021
• ISBN: 9789564046914

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A.P.D. León

CROSSOVER

Fated Crisis

FATED CRISIS | Book one of The Crossover Saga

Copyright ©2021 by A.P.D. León

Published 2021

ISBN: 978-956-404-691-4

All rights reserved. No part of this book may be reproduced or transmitted in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system, without permission in writing from the author.

For additional information contact to [e-mail]

www.crossovernovel.com

Acknowledgments

To my best friend Felipe Medina. Because you pushed me to write this book and you were helping me being a critic and providing feedback without which I would not have been able to achieve this.

To my sister. Nicole Ramírez because you were a great support in different stages of this project and you were the one who had the most faith in me.

To Chloe Deaves. Because you were more than inspiration at the time of writing this book, you also accompanied me in both, the darkest and the brightest moments. Thank you for those memories.

Trigger warning:

This book contains graphic violence,

sexual situations and physical abuse.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments

A bitter beginning

Beyond the confines of time

Survivors

Beyond life

The New Travelers

The Machine

Elemental

The Machine and The Elemental

Necroengineering

The Technomancers

The Great Jump

Epilogue

Glossary

A bitter beginning

There are those who believe that every few cycles, the gods return to the worlds they once swore to protect to judge their children. This time the price was so high that many wondered again and again why. Had their sins been so heinous that they had to pay such a price? No matter how many times they cried out for answers, the silence of infinity was all they received as consolation for their pleas.

Like an unexpected storm, the gods covered the heavens with their magnificence, bringing both terror and death to the unfortunate souls who were anointed with their shadow. It was a sign. A warning. A punishment. The gods had spoken and the bearers of their dictates were the massive structures that now stood undaunted at the center of the catastrophe. Six-pointed stars with their upper apex extending towards the sky trying to reach the hand of their creator; the lower one, extending towards the surface, in hasty search of their goal: to touch the domain of the damned and deliver the missive they carried. An aspect that foretold the condemnation of the heavens upon the earth, like an army of shadows descending to cover creation on the day of judgment.

Everything that had the misfortune to be in the range of its other four vertices was expelled into the infinite void. Like a zrushitel consuming with its terrible balenid maw a herd of drannoys, those tiny beings predestined to be the food of the strongest; nothing was left in a spherical radius, not even the earth that once received them with such gentleness.

The Void was the seed that germinated after the execution of this sentence. The stars were left floating above the devastation they caused, rotating on their axis, as if observing the desolate landscape around them. To admire them was to witness the great finger of a god pointing at all those who would be condemned for their sins, or the sins of their fathers, or their fathers' fathers.

The survivors in the different realities tried to recover from the catastrophe. Each used their own methods, but no matter the race or the world, in all of them there were considerable and devastating casualties. The word of the gods, as always, was righteous, so it mattered not the severity of the fault, but the number of sinners. The greatest punishment was meted out in the capitals. Hundreds of thousands of individuals were the most severely scourged in almost every universe. The inhabitants of the larger cities suffered great losses, although the number of the damned was not so high. Even the small villages and ranches were purged, being the final demonstration of how just the gods were, for even animals and unreasoning beings were put on trial.

Once the judgment was passed, every race in every world would begin the quest: a way to atone for their guilt, to forge, once again, a destiny of their own.

Beyond the confines of time

It would not be wrong to say that we are one of the oldest races that ever existed in the Whole. Our nature was always calm, peaceful; we were always like clouds in a summer sky, carried serenely by the wind. Even so, curiosity set us apart from those like us, the hunger for knowledge. Like newborns eager to explore their environment, we traveled every corner of space that our technology could take us to. For some, eons may have passed, for others, mere seconds. For us, however, time lost its meaning the moment that Calling reached us and we decided to follow it.

When we reached the limit of our grasp, we began to evaluate all possibilities. We set out to leave our confinement, throwing ourselves into the discovery of something that would allow us to go beyond the barriers imposed by our reality. Then, out of a universe of statements and postulates a solution that would put an end to our predicament appeared, like a firefly in a dark forest. A form of travel that not even the most abstract of fantasies of the most chaotic of beings could have conceived.

We gave birth to the era of astral travel. And we were able to reach places that our imagination could not reach. We visited places where time and space were lost, as if both were consumed by a torrent of infinite chaos.

Once we had seen, felt and experienced all that our universe had to offer, once we had reached its confines, we encountered a barrier that extended in all directions, as if it were a great dome containing the Whole. Once again destiny put us to the test. But this time, as possessors of all the knowledge and understanding we had accumulated throughout our existence, we were better prepared.

Thus, we began a new odyssey, which at times became a titanic task. The protagonists were our most brilliant minds, whose objective was to unveil the mysteries surrounding that frontier barrier. We could not allow something unknown to limit our possibilities. We felt the urgency of overcoming that obstacle that prevented us from continuing our journey.

There is no way of telling how long it took us to understand exactly what that barrier was; at a certain point, we lost track of how many stars we saw being born and dying. When we finally understood that the wall containing our universe was nothing more than condensed entropy, we discovered that within it was a very subtle pattern, a pattern that moved through it without belonging to it and that we narrowly missed. We identified it as the signature of the entity that had created it. And that discovery only fueled our curiosity, transforming our fantasies into a sea of questions that could only be answered by the one who forged it.

What we didn't understand at the time was that sometimes barriers aren't used to protect something from the dangers that lurk outside, but to keep it inside. Unfortunately for us and for Existence, it was too late when we understood this. It was too late.

With a new purpose on the horizon, we were forced to overcome our existential limits of mind and possibility.

Again, we created the technology to go further, and in a display of ingenuity and wonder, we invented probability holes. We based our advances on the principle that every option we discard generates a new universe. The existence of infinite universes in constant creation led us to invent an artifact that would help us travel between them safely: dimensional sextants, quantum devices capable of showing us all the possibilities depending on the parameters we entered.

We embarked on our journey anxious and excited about the wonders we would find. Our appetite for exploration would be satiated for all eternity; but with it, ignorant of our actions and immersed in our arrogance and pride, we signed the act of condemnation for all existence.

Our adventures were pleasant until the moment we arrived at a hidden and forgotten universe, abandoned in omission. That place was a prison of unprecedented darkness, a void unlike any other. It was there that we encountered a beast, a force condemned to exile; its nature was in itself the antithesis of Existence, its raison d'être was non-being and oblivion its banner. We call that race born of nothingness, which tinged the Whole with absolute absence, Nilaí.

Our arrival opened their eyes to the existence of other universes. Having believed themselves to be the only inhabitants of their world until that moment, the first contact with beings from beyond the horizon showed them their reality. When they understood that they had been confined to that reality, an uncontainable fury filled them and, as happens with the waters of a dam when it breaks, they rushed to consume everything in their path, driven by a hunger so immense that it easily rivaled our curiosity. At that moment we understood what the real motive of that race was, its purpose and raison d'être. Their mission would be to plunge everything into Non-Existence, into true eternal rest.

The naivety of our actions cost the lives of many of our people. This was our condemnation and the condemnation of Existence. It was too late to reverse the damage we had caused, but we had to make amends somehow. We had broken a barrier that not only separated universes, but sheltered us from those who ignored their prison. We had awakened the greatest of calamities upon the Whole, the scourge of misfortune that would sweep away what we had discovered.

After the Nilaí consumed some of our people, we realized that they possessed the ability to assimilate and learn through the experiences of those who fell into their jaws. Thus, the worst-case scenario began to take shape in front of us. With the knowledge they had stolen from our brethren, they were able to deduce the possible existence of a matrix universe, just as we had theorized. They quickly came to the conclusion that if they devoured that primary universe, like a domino effect, all the other universes would cease to exist.

If we were not able to stop the Nilaí, we should at least try to buy time. Delay them until we could find an answer to finish them off or, in the worst case, confine them again. We started by permanently disabling the dimensional sextants of all the vehicles they had taken from us, even though we knew that with the knowledge they had assimilated, it was only a matter of time before they found other sextants in the realities where they had also been created.

Not having a definitive solution, in our condition of dimensionless beings, without an alternate version in any dimension besides the one we came from, despair suffocated us. We were in a drowning pit, with a rope hanging over our heads, just out of our reach. In this forest of uncertainty were born the mysteries that would change everything. Why weren't there more races with the destructive power of the Nilaí? Why were they, like us, the only version of themselves? No matter how much we consulted our technology, we found no answers to these questions. It was then that a light illuminated a path in front of us and we understood. It was so simple and obvious that we had overlooked it: the barrier that contained the universes had the ability to limit certain probabilities, restricting the number of possibilities of existence to a minimum of one.

Taking advantage of our new discoveries, we used the same universe barriers to delay the arrival of the forgotten ones in the mother universe. We counted on such an action to give us enough time to find a permanent solution, because we knew that the Nilaí would find other sextants sooner or later. To do so, we had to evaluate our possibilities by recreating the scenario countless times. Unfortunately, we always arrived to the same disastrous results: the destruction of the multiple dimensions. Fortunately, one of us noticed a variable that we had not considered, abandoning our existence as Tanmai through the barrier to have a new beginning as a race. Based on this, we gambled everything on a non-existent future to increase the odds of success.

At first, from among our number, six groups were formed, embarking on a journey to six universes in the far reaches of Existence. Then other groups followed in their footsteps, each to a different destination. The travelers were equipped with the necessary technology to begin the great experiment, erecting new civilizations, abandoning their identity to become the forerunners of new races. When the time came, we would send out dimensional gates in order to communicate and share the knowledge we had acquired. In this way we hoped to find a way to stop the plague that threatened existence.

And so, we began the odyssey called reality and the search for the last hope for the multiple dimensions.

Survivors

Forged in flesh and steel, bastard children of a forgotten world, wild animals that bear their sin and the mark imposed by the same gods that turned their backs on them, these beings hide from the light inhabiting the ruins of a city consumed by lust and greed. Remnants of a lost paradise, shadows of what they once were, they are the vestiges of their deeds. But, in the end, it is the victor who survives and the victor who writes history. No matter how much they are punished by the gods or how many evils scourge them, one and a thousand times they will rise from among the bodies of their fellows. One and a thousand times they will raise their roars to an unholy sky that watches them with disdain. For they are the tenacity, the cursed children of the god Nol'shoy Zber. They are those who refuse to disappear into the annals of time, hopeless warriors seeking the chance to reclaim that which was ripped from their entrails. They are the Kyverz.

At one end of the city, Zaka Enaya, a silhouette and ashen fur with small black spots, was discussing the fate of his world with his second in command. His brown eyes rested on the table in front of him, a miniature replica of his city that showed with pennants the most critical points. Both soldiers wore more than one implant, improvised for the most part, and clear battle scars that evidenced vast experience.

Syny Fiyolet, a slender Kyverz with thick tawny fur, watched her comrade in arms curiously and silently. The hard face of her superior showed no sign of the guilt he bore; the death of his subordinates in the war had been with him ever since and, were it not for the fact that she had witnessed them with Zaka, she would not know what was really hidden behind that mask of severity.

In the distance, gunshots and explosions could be heard, signs that the raw battles had not yet ceased.

So, you mean to say that all the Medestra has done is send our companions to serve as living shields, while she and the nobles take refuge in their homes under the bed? Unbelievable! Not only did we give our lives so that those scum would survive, but now we're being sent to die again —said Zaka, burying his claws in the edge of the table, unable to contain his annoyance.

—The truth is that the scouts we sent out have informed us that this is the reality we are facing. I don't know what else to tell you. We're doomed —Syny replied, taking a couple of steps away. Despite the heavy acid rain hitting the glass, she tried to look out the window, as if looking at the unprotected instruments out there in the rain would keep them from getting damaged. They had to find a solution to that problem and soon.

Zaka punched the table hard with one of his fists. The impact knocked down some of the miniature buildings covering the surface. The scenery left him engrossed. Everything around him disappeared for him, the sound of rain, the thunder of explosions in the distance, his second in command Syny. His mind focused on the possible solution that appeared in front of him, something that would bring them a light of hope and peace.

I got it! Syny, call a scout! Let's send a message to that fool, so we can settle this once and for all. I won't let any of our people die today —Zaka exclaimed, still looking at the model of the city. He picked up one of the fallen scale buildings with his battered metal hand, then headed for the coat rack in the corner of the room.

The military woman with sea-colored eyes saw Zaka take his rain cape with renewed confidence. Not since the first skirmishes had she seen such confidence and conviction in her superior's face, such strength in his gait. She did not understand the sudden change, but the assurance projected by her superior was the living image of that war hero left on the battlefield. His confident countenance gave her to understand that there was a way to save his battalion.

All right, leave it to me. He'll be here in fifteen minutes —replied Syny, inspired by the aura of leadership emanating from her superior.

No, not here! Tell him to go to the roof of the main tower. I'm on my way there! But first I have to make sure I put a mark big enough for that coward to be able to see the whole picture —Zaka told her, as he opened the main door.

Understood, I'll meet you there in thirty minutes, then! —said Syny, as she watched her superior disappear in a mist of raindrops.

After the agreed time had elapsed, Zaka trotted to the main entrance of the tower. Despite his cloak, he sought shelter from the toxic rain that was pouring down relentlessly. The military used the same material in their battle suits and protective cloaks; it protected their soldiers' implants from the corrosive rain.

As he tried to open the tower door, he noticed that the circuit board at the entrance was damaged, corroded by the inclement weather. He took a connector cable out of his arm, linked through the panel to the building's central system. The programming code that would unlock the door's security slid across his eyes, until the interruption of static announced to that he had succeeded. After this brief delay he made his way to the roof to wait for his companion. Fortunately, the sky in complicity gave them quarter. Minutes later she arrived with company. The diffuse silhouette, covered with a hood and cloak, immediately revealed the presence of one of the Ithunzi, experts in stealth and espionage.

You and your companions did a great job of intelligence work at the front. Without your expertise we would not have made it. You have our gratitude —said Zaka, solemn in his capacity as army leader.

The newcomer nodded wordlessly

He will not answer you, General. He took a vow of silence for his fallen comrades —Syny explained to her superior, looking towards the horizon, in the direction of the site of the last battle.

I understand. Then in that case you are the right one to carry out this mission. Like you, I made a vow not to abandon our people. Neither on the battlefield, nor here in the city, that's why I need you to deliver this message to the Medestra. It is the only solution for this city, and probably our race, to survive —said Zaka observing the Ithunzi, handing him a projection device. He tried to convey in his voice the conviction he felt for the plan—. It will not be easy to reach her, but the fate of our world depends on it.

The Ithunzi nodded again, retreated a couple of steps and disappeared into the shadows, as if they had devoured his presence, swallowing even his scent.

If that damned noble bootlicker accepts my proposal, we will have found salvation for our people. Our comrades can no longer be food for those monsters that appeared after the war —said Zaka, looking angrily in the direction of the noble area of the city.

Syny watched him happily without saying a word. The general she admired so much, who had been mired in guilt for a long time, had returned. She could only nod her head, as the lump in her throat prevented her from getting the words out.

Now what? —she asked after a long silence.

Now we wait, my dear friend. We can only wait. —Was the general's answer, while rubbing his right shoulder. From time to time the low temperatures caused him a slight discomfort in the area where his implant was located.

After a couple of hours on the roof of the building and after the sky reminded them for a brief period that this was not over yet, several lights appeared on the horizon and began to approach in the direction of the tower. Syny, alert, grabbed the rifle she carried with her whenever she went outside. She linked to the weapon using a cable she pulled from the back of her neck and leaned it against her shoulder. The approaching threat was unknown.

Relax, that's who we've been waiting for. As usual, that fool makes a grand entrance. —said Zaka, when he realized that his partner was already pointing at the lights that were approaching.

Syny relaxed a little, though without letting her guard down. Once the lights in the sky were close enough, they could both make out the shape of a convoy of black, oval, semi-flattened vehicles. The vehicle in the center, however, was ivory white in color and cylindrical in shape. Without making the slightest noise, they landed on the rooftop next to the army leader. The right-side hatch of the white vehicle opened, from where an imposing figure full of authority proceeded to make its appearance. The Medestra smiled as if in anticipation of her victory over whatever the subject of the meeting she had been summoned to.

Well, well, well. I must admit I was surprised to receive a message from the war hero Zaka Ennaya, slayer of Vreditel, Great Vanquisher of Invaders. Quite a name you have made for yourself, I must admit —said Korishne Anko, matriarch of the fortress, in a sarcastic tone as she walked to meet the one who had summoned her.

And me, what should I call you? Medestra, Mother, Korishne Anko? Or, simply, the nobles' pawn of the day? —Zaka answered with a smile.

Don't push your luck or the glory that invests you. Even heroes disappear to become martyrs for a cause and, believe me, it is easy to manipulate the masses when you give them a hero to cry for —warned the medestra Korishne, showing her teeth, waiting a moment for her threat to take effect before continuing—. In your message you said you had a solution to stop the aberrations that appeared after the war and I thought it was worth coming to hear your plan first hand. By the way, I don't know if you have been informed, but that mist they now call zlobnos was the parting gift from the Vreditel, we discovered that it is precisely that which is transforming the fauna into creatures worthy of the worst nightmares. Apparently, a simple touch from the mist corrupts. That's why we closed the noble area of the city. If you had accepted my offer you would be safe and in charge of one of the three forces we are forming —explained the Medestra arrogantly, hoping to see some reaction from the general.

What are you talking about? What three forces? —asked Zaka, amazed. According to the information available to Zaka, there were supposedly not enough units in reserve to provide support at the front. Is that what Korishne was using them on, the nobles?, Zaka asked himself.

No problem, I'll tell you. Once we rebuild the cities, after solving this little problem of course, we will create an internal order force. The first, Voldat 1, will be in charge of ensuring the safety of the inhabitants. Another, Voldat 2, will escort the merchant caravans. Taking into consideration the current geography, we took for granted that we will have to trade with the remaining resources. The Ithunzi will be the third, we will reassign them to exploration and recovery of war debris. Furthermore, just so you can see that I am a generous and benevolent leader, I am offering you and your partner, of course, a position. Work for me and I will allow you to be at the head of the unit of your choice. I could use a war hero among my ranks to boost the morale of my men and to carry my banner, after all we are the city of Lunyzbet, the beacon of Logov. What do you say? —asked Korishne, changing her tone of voice to sound more conciliatory.

It's a pity, but I'll have to decline the offer, no matter how attractive it may seem —Zaka replied, with the same arrogant tone the Medestra had used with him. Seeing her negative reaction made him swim in satisfaction.

Are you sure? With the technology we possess we can even give you a better implant than whatever you have for an arm or whatever your second in command has for legs —Korishne continued as she tried to hide her frustration. As usual, the Medestra was trying to manipulate him by involving Syny, appealing to his sense of responsibility to his subordinates. She was right, the improvised implants they both wore were not of the best, as both warriors had received them in the midst of the battlefield. However, accepting an offer from the Medestra would have been selling out themselves.

I appreciate your concern for my subordinates, but it is not necessary. They are my responsibility, not yours. And you know me well enough to know that I have never been one for luxury or opulence —Zaka clarified, sounding proud and hiding the regret in his voice. Remembering the fateful event that cost his second-in-command his limbs always plunged him into guilt. Syny had lost her legs for saving his life, which is why it was his responsibility to find a way to upgrade those implants without having to sell both of their freedom.

General Ennaya, as austere as ever! But well, there's nothing more I can do. Apparently, it's going to rain again shortly and as you'll see I'm not wearing proper attire for the rain, so tell me, what did you summon me here for? —asked the medestra with disgust and disdain, as she gazed at the sky.

Do you see those white marks? —Zaka pointed out, handing his visor to her.

Yes, I see them, why, what's so special about them? —Korishne asked, looking through the scopes. She was convinced that the General was wasting her time.

Well, those marked buildings have a peculiarity, if we detonate them, they would reduce the size of the city to a third of its current dimension. Due to their location, they would generate a domino effect, knocking down all the buildings in the area and creating a makeshift wall, which would give us time to build a wall around the remaining territory. In addition, with the dwindling population, it would be useless to have uninhabited areas. They could serve as hiding places for these beasts. I understand that you have a machine for recycling materials with which you could take the debris and reuse it to build a wall —explained the general.

—Yes, we have it. But what's in it for us? —replied the Medestra, nodding her head in agreement.

Can't you see the situation in a broader perspective? If you want to negotiate with other cities, wouldn't having more than one way out of the city make things easier? Otherwise, it's easier to defend the city from those monsters from a wall, and it wouldn't cost you a single soldier. We would take care of the defense while your machinery builds the wall. —Zaka paused, preparing to present the most difficult part of his plan—. But since we would be putting our lives at risk, I ask for three guarantees: water filters, power generators and help to rebuild the homes of our people. It's a small price to pay when you consider how much you stand to gain. We would be the shield between you and what's out there.

I had forgotten that one of your nicknames was the Steppe Fox. You have always been a sublime strategist, you leave your opponent no choice —said Korishne after a laugh. She had fallen into Zaka's trap the moment she agreed to attend the meeting—. Good. Regarding the machinery, the filter and the reconstruction there would be no problem, but getting you a generator is more complicated. Remember that the zero-point engines are gone.

Without generators there is no deal. We need power to be able to live a relatively normal life— Zaka told him, serious and somewhat annoyed.

All right. I'll see about convincing the nobles to release one or two of those devices. General, it's a deal, for old time's sake. I'll send you a messenger with the details to begin the operation. Oh! It's starting to rain, I'd better get back to my duties. As you know, there's more to being the matriarch of a fortress than sitting around and going through old files —Korishne replied after sighing and shrugging her shoulders. The Medestra hurried back to her vehicle without waiting for an answer and, in a few minutes, she disappeared into the horizon.

Are you sure she'll keep her end of the deal? —Syny asked Zaka, grabbing his shoulder from behind. Her reddish ears struggled to escape the hood, alert. The verbal battle she had witnessed made her nervous.

Yes, she will. Not because of