Falling Upwards
1279 Words
Falling is usually a terrifying thing. But falling upward into a violet sky while the city screams beneath you is a whole different kind of nightmare.
Xin soared through the air, surrounded by floating cars, chunks of asphalt, and screaming office chairs. The gravity of Earth-1 was losing the tug-of-war with the Earth-6 spire.
"Host," the voice in his head hummed. "Approach velocity is too high. You will hit the spire at 200 miles per hour. This will result in a very flat Window Cleaner."
"Not today!" Xin gritted his teeth.
He didn't use his blade. He looked down—or up—at the thousands of people being sucked into the sky. He saw a school bus hovering dangerously close to a swirling vortex of energy.
"I have to fix the gravity first!" Xin roared.
He pulled his knees to his chest and focused every bit of his Level 5 power into his gauntlet. The silver mark on his chest burned so bright it shone through his shirt.
[Initiating Kinetic Discharge...]
Xin slammed his glowing fist into the air itself. A massive, blue shockwave exploded from his position. It wasn't a destructive blast; it was a "Gravity Reset." The ripple hit the floating debris and the people, wrapping them in a soft silver glow.
Suddenly, the "upward" pull snapped.
Below him, the school bus and the cars didn't crash; they drifted slowly back to the ground like feathers. For a few miles around the spire, the world felt heavy again.
"Warning: Energy levels at 15%. Gravity Reset has drained the Core."
Xin didn't have time to worry about his battery. The momentum of his blast had kicked him like a rocket toward the top of the spire. He smashed onto the metal observation deck at the very peak, rolling through the dust until he hit a jagged crystalline throne.
"A brave choice," a voice purred. "Saving the insects while your own life-fire fades."
Xin stood up, his boots clanking on the alien metal.
Standing before him was the Elemental General. He was different from the others. He didn't look like a monster; he looked like a tall, regal man made of living quicksilver. His armor was white and gold, and he carried a spear that seemed to be made of a captured star.
"I'm not a life-fire," Xin panted, his gauntlet sparking. "I'm just the guy who’s going to kick you off my planet."
The General laughed. It was a beautiful, terrifying sound. "You humans are so small. You find a piece of our trash—the World Engine— and you think you are kings. That 'mark' on your chest? It’s not a gift, Xin. It’s a parasite. The more you upgrade, the less 'Xin' is left."
Xin looked at his arm. The silver metal of the gauntlet seemed to be creeping higher up his shoulder. He pushed the thought away. "Better a parasite than a coward like you, hiding behind a big ship."
The General’s smile vanished. He moved faster than Xin’s Pulse Sense could track.
CLANG!
The star-spear hit Xin’s gauntlet. The force was so immense that the metal floor beneath Xin’s feet shattered. Xin slid back, his heels sparking against the deck.
"You are Level 5," the General sneered, spinning his spear. "I am Level 20. Do you see the gap, little window cleaner? You are trying to fight the ocean with a cup."
"Host," the voice whispered. "The General is correct. Physical combat is 0% successful. You must access the Spire's terminal to Level Up. The Spire is an upgrade station."
"Where is it?" Xin dodged a thrust of the spear that melted the air where his head had been.
"Directly behind the throne. But it requires a blood-sync."
Xin looked at the throne. It was guarded by two more sentinels made of pure lightning.
"Mei! Are you seeing this?" Xin yelled into his comms.
"I’m watching from the bike!" Mei’s voice crackled through. "Xin, the Captain says that throne is the heart of the Spire. If you touch it, the General will lose control of the gravity field. But you'll be wide open for an attack!"
"Sounds like a Tuesday," Xin muttered.
He didn't run at the General. He ran at the throne.
"Foolish!" the General roared. He threw his spear.
The spear whistled through the air, aimed straight for Xin’s back. At the last second, Xin didn't dodge. He used his Rebounder power—not to push the spear away, but to pull it closer and use its own speed to launch himself forward.
He caught the spear's energy wave and flew like a bullet, slamming into the throne.
His hand hit the cold, alien crystal.
[External Interface Detected...]
[Downloading Earth-6 Archives...]
[Level 6... Level 7... Level 8...]
Xin’s mind exploded. He saw images of a dying world—a place called S6 where the sun had gone out. He saw the Elementals as they used to be: scientists trying to save their families. He felt their desperation, their grief, and their cold, hard cruelty.
[Level 9... Level 10 reached.]
[Title Unlocked: World-Changer.]
The silver mark on Xin’s chest surged. The gauntlet grew, forming a full suit of lightweight, shimmering armor that wrapped around his torso and legs. A helmet snapped into place, and a HUD (Heads-Up Display) flickered to life in front of his eyes.
"System Fully Integrated," the voice was no longer in his head—it was everywhere. "Welcome, Commander Xin."
Xin stood up. He felt... heavy. Not with weight, but with authority. He looked at the General, who had stopped in his tracks, his silver face twisted in shock.
"You... you survived the sync?" the General whispered. "No human can hold that much data."
"I’ve spent my whole life cleaning up other people's messes," Xin said, his voice echoing with power. "This is just a really big window."
Xin raised his hand. He didn't fire a blast. He simply closed his fist.
The gravity in the spire flipped again—but only for the General. The silver leader was slammed into the ceiling, pinned by ten times his own weight.
"The war ends now," Xin said, walking toward the controls. "I'm sending you all back to Earth-6."
"Wait!" the General gasped, struggling against the gravity. "If you reverse the Spire now, the rift will close forever! Your friend—the old man—and thousands of others are already on the fortress! If you close it, they stay with us as slaves!"
Xin froze. His hand was inches from the "Shutdown" button.
"He's lying, Xin!" Mei’s voice screamed over the radio. "He's just trying to save himself!"
But Xin’s Pulse Sense told him otherwise. He could feel life-signs—thousands of them—inside the golden fortress floating above the spire. Chen was down here, but hundreds of others from the building had been taken.
If he shut it down, he saved the city, but he lost the people.
If he kept it open, he could save the people, but the Elementals would keep coming.
The General laughed through the pain. "What will it be, Hero? The world... or the neighbors?"
Xin looked at the button. He looked at the silver armor fused to his skin. He realized the "World-Changer" title wasn't just about power. It was about the burden of choice
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