Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Dao Zang Moua | Narration: Alicia Ingram (AI)

 

A few days ago, everything was normal on Earth. Yes, there was international tension, many going hungry, and all the different things that usually plagued humanity. But there were people solving these things, there were paths to solve these issues because humanity knew what it was up against and had dealt with these things before.

Now Seattle had rivers of lava running through it, Mount Rainier spewing smoke and molten rock like it was from a myth. Colossal, alien crystals tore their way out of the ground, dotted around the city like pox sores. And trudging through the city was a colossus of stone, a boiling furnace of molten rock within his black shell.

Seattle was not alone in its suffering. Meteor showers had occurred all over the planet, bringing the strange crystals which settled in and sprouted forth. The effects they had were varied and harsh. Tokyo was horrifically flooded, Paris was wrapped in thorny vines, San Francisco was rocked by freak earthquakes, and so many more were undergoing so much.

Giant monsters roamed the planet, turning the whole of Earth into a battleground. Earth’s guardians, Humanity’s constructed warriors, the forces of the Vortaak, and power hungry mutants warred for dominance, adding to the calamity and death toll.

It seemed like the end of the world.

But for Obsidius, it was the beginning of his.

And like any newborn lifeform, he had no idea of what he would do in this world. Roaming the volcanic wasteland of blackened rock and steel structures, the magmatic creature scanned the landscape. He lacked eyes, his face consisted of a cavernous hole which dripped lava, but he was still able to detect what his environment looked like.

As he used his bulky hands to push a building aside, just to watch it crumble and fall into a burning river, he was unaware that he was being watched.

In the planet’s atmosphere, its exact location hidden from humankind’s sensors, a grand ship shaped like a saucer observed the world below. It was made of dark metal and illuminated by pulsing green and purple lights, and that was how its innards looked as well.

The Vortaak Mothership was also a city, and within the tallest building located in its very center, their queen watched. A gigantic monitor displaying numerous video feeds showed her all of the affected cities, scenes of chaos and battle playing out all over the world. But she had underlings to let her know of any major developments she missed, so she chose to focus on one city.

With the push of a button, Seattle was the only thing displayed, taking up all the space on the monitor.

“Another creature spawned from these crystals? How intriguing,” Vorticia spoke to herself. “Perhaps you will be more receptive to us than your ‘brother’ was.”

Her hands moved back to the panel of buttons. With two presses of a button, one to call upon one of the Vortaak’s war beasts and the other to tell it where to go, she set one of her kind’s servants on the path to Seattle.

Down on Earth, a signal reached the mind of a strange creature, born on another world. It shifted course towards its target, obeying the will of its rulers.

Back in Seattle, Obsidius began to walk out of the city limits, into the nearby lake. He looked out into the horizon, lost in the vastness of it all. He turned, going back into the comfort of familiarity. The water sizzled into steam and rose off his legs as he went back to the heated environment.

He wanted to venture forth, but was scared at the same time. What was out there waiting for him? He knew other life forms existed, some had wandered nearby but not entered since his arrival.

Would the world reject him, attempt to destroy him?

A strange growl broke his train of thought, drawing him to turn. Entering the city was another colossus like him, but quite different at the same time.

Four spider-like limbs jutted from its back, hypnotically waving through the air. They framed an elongated head with a wide, toothy maw. With a purple body and a grey head, it fit the aesthetic of the Vortaak perfectly, even though they had not created it. But when they found the fierce creature, they made it their own with no hesitation.

The Visitor, also lacking eyes, roared again to intimidate. But Obsidius let loose his bellowing call in response, smacking his chest with his thick fists to punctuate his display.

“So, this one refuses to bend the knee. Oh well, the Vortaak were never ones for mercy anyway.” Vorticia laughed haughtily. “Beat it down and drag its unconscious body to us.”

Charging forward, the alien beast quickly closed the distance. He dragged his claws across Obsidius’ chest, throwing out sparks as a few shallow grooves were carved into the stone. The magma beast replied with a strong punch to the Visitor’s chest, forcing the alien back a few steps as he groaned. Obsidius lunged forward, swinging an arm towards his foe. This time, the alien hopped out of the strike’s path.

The top pair of blades on the extraterrestrial’s back lashed out, punching dents into the stone hide of his foe. Crying out, the spawn of the crystals grabbed one of the blades before the Visitor could draw it back. Obsidius lifted up, carrying his odd foe over his head. The alien cried out before being slammed head first into a building, crushing the structure of steel and concrete beneath his bulk.

Dust obscured the Visitor’s body, but despite the blow he had just taken, he was not out. Two of his extra limbs reached out, swiping Obsidius’ legs out from under him. The magma beast roared and flailed in shock, releasing the limb in his grasp. The Visitor rolled out of the debris pile, swiftly straddling Obsidus’ chest.

The molten monster roared, only to be punched across the face. The side of his skull hit the ground, and as he looked back to his foe, a second punch from the opposite side had similar results. The Visitor roared, putting both fists together then smashing them into Obsidius’ chest. It cracked the black stone.

From the void of the magma beast’s face came a geyser of bright lava. The Visitor shrieked as it crashed into his chest, sending him tumbling back and off of his foe. Obsidius pushed himself up, keeping the high-pressure stream focused on the alien as he got to his feet.

When the assault ceased, the Visitor was left with a large, black mark on his chest. Lava dripped down from his body and onto the scorched landscape below. His extra limbs pushed against the ground, holding him upright enough to bend his head down and have his cranium face Obsidius.
The alien grinned as a purple glow formed on the top of his head, captivating the magma beast for a moment. It was time to return the favor.

Obsidius’ stupor ended when a beam of violet, surging energy shot forth, blazing into his torso. He was forced back, feet dragging across the ground. The Visitor’s glee faded when he realized how well his foe was taking the Brainspasm. It did not push him off his feet, and while Obsidius did cry out in shock and pain, little damage seemed to actually be occurring to his shell.

Growling, the alien kept feeding power to his attack. Obsidius began to walk forward, holding up an arm to block the psychic waves. He felt exhilarated, powerful. He was learning just what he was capable of, and he was loving it. Unknown to either, this was the result of the crystals that spawned him, which were naturally resilient to energy attacks.

The magma beast hopped forwards, curling up to turn himself into a ball. The Brainspasm’s concussive force was not enough to hold him back, allowing him to crush the Visitor beneath his weight. The beam faded, the alien gasping.

Four blades sank into the sphere of stone, earning a muffled bellow of anguish from within. Despite the weight crushing down on him, and the heat assailing the ends of his extra limbs, he continued pushing. He had to hit an organ or vein at some point, and he had the durability to withstand this pain.

Part of the ball unfurled, revealing a hulking right arm. It gripped one of the spider-like legs, throttling it and attempting to pull it free. The other arm emerged, slamming a closed fist onto the Visitor’s chin. With his foe caught off guard and staggered, Obsidius pulled one of the blades from his back. He fully unrolled, groaning as both lava dropped from the wound and the blades in his back were jostled by his movements.

The Visitor growled, ripping his other right blade free. He flipped Obsidius off of his body, smashing the magma beast against the ground beside him. The impact freed the spawn of the crystals from the remaining limbs, allowing him to quickly climb to his feet.

Soon, both were back on their feet, staring each other down. Four miniature streams of lava poured down Obsidius’s back, and a massive bruise formed beneath the already present burn on the Visitor’s torso.

Growling, the alien re-evaluated things. Ranged combat was not an option, for his psychic assault was feeble against this foe. In physical combat he was at a disadvantage. His flesh did not hold as well against the heavy blows of his foe as the magma beast’s rocky hide held against his own strikes. Merely trading blows was not a path to victory here.

Obsidius did not let him think more as he vomited forth another geyser of molten rock, putting the Visitor on the defensive. Crossing his arms, he shielded his damaged body. From the extraterrestrial’s cranium came another psychic attack, which struck the lava and ceased its current. Droplets of glowing fluid soared as the geyser broke before the Brainspasm.

Both beams ceased, prompting the stone colossus to charge. He slammed his fists into the ground, then lifted himself up and sent his legs forward. The Visitor leapt into the air, avoiding the dual kick as he sailed backwards. Obsidius kept charging as soon as he regained solid footing, viciously bellowing.

The Visitor side stepped his foe, swinging a backhand across the magma beast’s face. Momentum sent Obsidius rolling onto the ground. Before he could recover, his extraterrestrial foe rushed towards him, grabbing the molten creature.

Holding his foe up, the alien’s extra limbs began rapidly stabbing and slashing. One crashed into the side of the volcanic berserker’s skull, tearing a chunk out of the rim of his maw. Molten blood oozed from various cuts, and the haunting bellows of Obsidius echoed across Seattle.

The volcanic berserker’s hands shot up, one slamming into the Visitor’s upper jaw and the other into his lower jaw. Teeth flew from both, along with blood and saliva as the jaws went in opposite directions. Reflexively, the alien hurled his foe away, then stumbled back as he growled.

Obsidius crashed into a river of lava, splashing it across the nearby block. Glass shattered as the globs crashed through them, smoke rising as metal began to sizzle and warp. A shadow fell over him, prompting him to quickly roll. The Visitor slammed feet first into the lava where his foe had just been, and immediately regretted it.

He attempted to run away, relieve his feet of the burning pain, but a thick hand gripped his ankle. The alien tripped, falling into the blazing river. Obsidius dragged himself forward, trying to get onto his foe. One of the Visitor’s extra limbs swept back, bashing the magma beast across the skull. Despite hearing the sound of stone being sheared away, the alien still felt his foe pulling on him.

Pain filled Obsidius, a sensation he had not even known an hour ago. It drove him forward, compelled him to do whatever he could to cease this horrid sensation. The panicked cries of his foe filled him with determination. Not just because he knew he had a path to victory, but also because of what it meant. He was powerful, immune to things that gravely endangered most creatures.

If the wider world wished to destroy him, it would never be able to.

He grabbed two of the extra limbs of his foe, taking them in one hand. Their flailing brought him closer, allowing him to reach up and wrap his other hand around the Visitor’s throat.

The alien’s skin was coated in burns. His home world was cold, so it was frigid that his body was used to. As his foe’s grip tightened, he tried to fight back, but the pain and panic made it too hard to focus. His thrashing tossed lava onto his back, preventing his anguish from numbing.
Obsidus forced his foe’s face into the lava, spewing his own molten rock out to fully submerge the head. He ceased spraying the molten fluid, urged to by a strange sensation. It compelled him to focus on his arm and the energy within his core. Was he capable of something he did not know of?

Even as the blades of his foe crashed against his back, he remained still and centered. Besides, the strength of the blows was quickly fading.

The Visitor’s power waned even swifter when glowing energy began to leave his body, traveling down Obsidius’s fingers and through his arm. The alien’s flailing grew more frantic and sluggish at the same time, a desperate attempt at survival where the body could not match the spirit.
The volcanic berserker stared, transfixed as life faded from the Visitor. The spider-like limbs went limp, as did the rest of the body. Obsidius felt no remorse for taking a life. It had tried to take his, so he defended himself. Such was the basic instinct found in all lifeforms. If something else tried a similar assault upon him, he would kill it as well.

Standing up, he looked into the horizon. He began to walk, confident that he could handle whatever life threw at him. Obsidius barely regarded the corpse he left behind. It had served its purpose to him, a test to determine if he could survive and thrive.

Soon, he left his birthplace behind.

“You have made a powerful enemy, Obsidius. You believe yourself to be invincible for killing one of my pawns? I have many more, those far better equipped than the Visitor to destroy you. You will never be safe!” Vorticia practically growled from her throne, plotting out what move to make next.

Far away, on the opposite side of the country from Seattle. New York City had not been afflicted as heavily as other major cities, aside from the colossal crater near its heart which glowed with crystals.

Crouched low to the ground, a creature coated in purple crystals crawled around the crater’s rim. It seemed to be listening with how it tilted its head, baring teeth in a malicious grin. Suddenly, it straightened up, getting on two legs. Flexing its thin yet muscular arms, Krystalak began to run. He soon left New York City, compelled by a command from an unseen menace stalking creation.

To find his newly battle-hardened brother.

Winner: Obsidius

K.W.C. Kaiju War Chronicles