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weirduox · 6 years

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Prelude - The Last Thorne

There was nothing but silence after the onslaught.

The air had a harsher bite, and was polluted by the stench of blood from creatures most of the survivors didn’t know had existed until today.

Tons of bodies laid crippled, dismembered, or incapacitated around them. There had to be thousands of corpses on the previously vibrant city. Blood pooled on the floor, weapons of different kinds were scattered on the cratered concrete, broken and incapable of getting used again.

In the middle of it all, stood Jerome Graham Thorne, assessing the damage that had transpired in just a few hours. The towering buildings around them were in complete ruins, complementing the storm clouds overhead.

It had been a while since Graham fought that long, and his stamina had never felt emptier than it did now.

Sighing in exhaustion, he could feel the stares of his classmates on his back. He had a lot of explaining to do.

He avoided their stares as three animals came running towards him: an owl, a wolf-dog, and a gyra.

They pounced towards him, but before he could get assaulted by the three creatures, they transformed into humans with animal-like characteristics, landing on their feet with immense gracefulness.

The Trifecta bowed in his presence. They were his father’s former experiments. But now, they were his protectors, and only friends.

“Master,” Frida greeted. Just like Graham and the rest of the Trifecta, she was wounded from fighting the monsters earlier. Her cat stare was penetrating, and she seemed unbothered by the dead bodies around her.

The young Thorne sent her a friendly smile, always amused by how the three looked up to him as their senior. The three were a few years younger than he was, but their growth spurt was sped up after his father’s experiments. Now, the Trifecta looked more like adults than Graham, who was only 19.

“You don’t have to say that,” Graham replied to the Trifecta’s leader, his unwavering smile looking out of place given their situation.

Frida immediately dropped her guarded look, although her cat tail never stopped waving around, as if trying to assess if there were still some trouble left.

“I know,” she smiled back. Looking around, her stare regained its earlier sharpness. “Any idea who’s behind this?”

“The onslaught? That would be me,” Graham tried joking. “But whoever it is behind this assault had to be someone powerful to get an army this large.”

Romero, the wolfdog, growled lowly and sniffed the air. “I’ve never seen giants and dark elves work together like that.”

How the man-dog could stand the stench of blood in the air, Graham didn’t understand. But the wolfdog had probably sniffed worse in the past.

“Me neither,” Graham replied, looking around as well, stopping at the pile of giants on the other side of the street. “Have you found out where we are?”

“We’re inside a pocket dimension, Graham,” Avira, the owl-shapeshifter answered.

“What’s that?” Romero cut off.

Graham also heard the questions from their companions inside the place—in his head anyway. He could still feel the lingering terror in their minds, the growing confusion. Earlier that morning, none of them expected what was going to happen today in their field trip.

Then again, neither did he.

“It’s a parallel place of some sorts,” Graham began explaining out loud, making sure the rest of his classmates heard it. It was time he began answering questions.

“A dimension that completely copies the surroundings, capable of enclosing, even imprisoning people inside,” he continued.

He faced his classmates. They looked like survivors from an apocalypse movie. It was just pure luck that no one died yet, or no one was critically injured. He tried to smile.

This was not supposed to be part of their college field trip to the most corporate area in the Metro. The brochure surely didn’t mention anything about giants, dark elves, and more monstrous creatures.

Not to mention that they were regular mortals—monsters were not something they see everyday.

His poor classmates unfortunately got caught in the crossfire. Graham knew it was only supposed to be about him, and whoever was behind this.

Because apparently, his family still had debt to pay. And with Graham being the last Thorne, the burden of paying for it fell on his shoulders.

And it looked like his running away tactic didn’t work either.

“Have you seen any exits?” Graham asked, growing more uncomfortable knowing that they were stuck inside a pocket dimension—someone else’s pocket dimension.

“There aren’t any,” Avira grimly replied. “We searched the entire place. Just like every pocket dimension, a barrier protects the borders and prevents anyone from easily entering and leaving here.”

Great, Graham thought. Now, they were trapped.

Pocket dimensions were usually found in remote areas, so people would not accidentally enter them. Chances of finding them in urban areas were close to none for two reasons. First, it was difficult to enter a pocket dimension. And second—

“But who did this?” Romero asked what was in his mind. The Elders—the first of Graham’s kind—were the only known people who could create pocket dimensions. Creating a mirror reality such as the place where they were in was very difficult, in fact, it was even regarded as impossible.

Until now, that is.

Turning around, Graham frowned as a strong presence made itself known to them. His familiarity to the young Thorne made him raise his guard, too.

Of course, if there was someone in this world who was capable—no, greedy enough to want to create a world of his own—it would be him.

The Trifecta bared their fangs to the approaching newcomer.

“Stay back,” Graham immediately instructed. “Protect my classmates. I’ll handle him.”

Frida redirected her fangs towards him. “Are you crazy? He can kill you!”

Graham, despite the situation, smirked.

“Don’t be silly, Frida,” he said. “He’s my ex-fiancé. I should know him better than anyone.”

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