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World: Post-Comet Earth
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In 2017, the first interstellar body coming from outside our solar system was detected. It was an asteroid named 'Oumuamua. That same year, 'Oumuamua passed by Earth. Two years later, in 2019, a second interstellar body entered our solar system. This time, it was a comet named 2I/Borisov. This comet was supposed to pass Earth just as the asteroid had before; however, at the last moment, something unexpected happened, and 2I/Borisov collided with Earth.
On that fateful day, Comet 2I/Borisov plunged into the vast expanse of the Pacific Ocean. Its impact was momentarily obscured by a colossal splash that reached kilometers into the sky. The collision sent reverberations through Earth's crust, detectable by seismographs across the globe. A series of concentric waves radiated outward from the impact site, growing into a modest tsunami. As the waves approached distant shores, their height diminished, ultimately reaching no more than a few meters at most coastlines. Some low-lying island nations experienced minor flooding, while sailors and coastal observers worldwide reported unusually choppy seas.
In the impact's immediate aftermath, a localized rain of seawater and comet debris fell back into the ocean, creating a misty haze that hovered over the area for hours. Unbeknownst to the world's scientists, who were busy analyzing the surprising lack of major damage, an invisible energy began to seep into Earth's core, initiating a gradual, magical transformation that would unfold over the years to come.
The first signs of the unknown were noticed a few years after the comet collision when newly grown plants showed characteristics straight out of fantasy books. It started slowly with unusual coloring of the plants. Then, some grass suddenly turned blue and radiated cold below freezing levels even in the hot summer. After that, larger and larger vegetation underwent sudden transformations.
A year passed before changes began appearing in animals. These changes were relatively small but made no sense scientifically. Some aquatic animals living in the Arctic suddenly began generating cold from their bodies, while other animals began to move at supersonic speeds or breathe fire.
The first confirmed case of human magic occurred in a small hospital in Tokyo. A newborn girl, barely an hour old, sneezed---and in that instant, every light in the maternity ward flickered and changed color, bathing the room in a soft, pulsating rainbow. The attending nurse, her hands trembling, reached out to touch the child. A gentle static shock jumped between them, and suddenly, the nurse found herself floating a few inches off the ground.
Word spread quickly. Within days, similar incidents were reported across the globe. In New York, a toddler's tantrum caused all the fire hydrants on his block to explode open. In Rio de Janeiro, a grieving widow's tears at her husband's funeral transformed into shimmering butterflies that danced around the mourners before dissipating into mist.
Scientists scrambled to understand these phenomena, but traditional instruments seemed useless in measuring this new energy. It wasn't until a physicist in CERN, frustrated with failed experiments, angrily slammed her hand on a malfunctioning particle detector---only to have the machine suddenly spring to life, displaying readings that defied all known laws of physics---that the scientific community began to accept that they were dealing with something beyond their current understanding.
As weeks turned into months, it became clear that this wasn't a passing anomaly. Humanity had entered a new age---an age of magic. The scientific community worldwide was stunned by these changes.
Everyone could cast spells to produce various phenomena; however, each individual was limited to only a single type of spell, be it the ability to control fire, ice, wind, or create illusions, etc. While it proved impossible for a single human to master more than one type of magic, it was possible to hone skills in their specific type of magic to a high degree.
Over the next few years, a global conflict erupted between existing governments and individuals who, emboldened by their newfound powers, decided they should be in charge. However, as much as one could perfectly control fire or ice magic, stopping a bullet from a gun remained impossible. By the time these would-be attackers figured out how to deal with modern military forces, governments around the world had already created special units of mages to maintain peace in their countries. After a few years of chaos, world order largely returned to what it had been before the fateful comet impact.
Ten years had passed since the comet's collision with Earth. Life had settled back into a new normalcy with occasional magic use when suddenly, all over the world, mysterious structures appeared. These structures were filled with different creatures, some reminiscent of fairy tales while others seemed to have stepped out of science fiction. These creatures did not venture outside the structures; however, their presence unsettled everyone.
The U.S. government was the first to send a group of special forces to investigate the structures. Those who returned from the first expedition reported multiple underground floors filled with creatures. Each floor had progressively tougher enemies, and three floors down, there was a singular enemy that was unbeatable by modern military means. Magic spells had more effect, but after losing more than half of the squad to that singular enemy, the special forces retreated. Later expeditions would discover that these structures descended fifteen floors deep, with similar powerful enemies guarding every third floor, each stronger than the last.
Due to the structures' similarities to modern gaming environments, it was decided that these structures would be called Dungeons, with tougher enemies designated as Bosses. All enemies in the Dungeon, upon their defeat, left behind a small crystal instead of a corpse. Initially, these crystals were only collected by eccentric enthusiasts, but it was quickly discovered that they could be used as a power source. Boss crystals proved particularly potent, containing significantly more energy than those from regular enemies. With this new discovery, a global race began to collect as many crystals as possible, heralding a new energy revolution. This also triggered a large-scale political shift worldwide, with Green parties rising in popularity.
As demand for the energy crystals grew, civilians who had managed to hone their magic and physical abilities to a certain degree ventured into the Dungeons alone or in groups. Realizing potential conflicts between nations, multiple governments agreed that Dungeon explorations must be regulated. They began establishing Guilds to ensure only prepared individuals could venture into Dungeons.
Continuing with the gaming logic used for Dungeon naming, each Dungeon was assigned a rank starting with F for the simplest and progressing to A for more complex ones. In rare cases, extremely challenging Dungeons received an S classification. The same logic was applied to Explorers, people who wished to explore Dungeons. Each person's magical and physical abilities were measured, and a rank was assigned to the Explorer. While both physical and magical abilities were important, higher-level Dungeons, especially A and S rank, required more offensive magic. This became a prerequisite for Explorers to achieve a rank above B.
Initially, a party of at least 12 people was needed to fully conquer a Dungeon, which would reset daily. However, as people's experience grew, it became possible for some strong individuals to clear entire Dungeons solo.
One night, after Dungeons had become commonplace in the world, new mysterious structures suddenly appeared. Top-level Explorers went to investigate, but their efforts were as futile as the first special forces team's attempt at a Dungeon.
These new structures were similar to Dungeons; however, instead of having floors with regular enemies and occasional Bosses, these structures had multiple Boss-level creatures roaming on each floor and an extremely tough Boss at the end of each floor. Using the already established logic, these new structures were dubbed Raids, as they mostly contained formidable enemies.
While not everyone from the first team in the Raid survived, they managed to defeat the first Boss at the end of the initial floor. The magic crystal they obtained from this Boss was at least twice the size of what one could get from an entire Dungeon.
Raids proved to be a deadly addition to the Dungeons. Over a year after they appeared, no one had managed to go past the fourth floor. It was rumored that Raids might have the same number of floors as a regular Dungeon, but the challenge was too extreme. Despite this, higher-level Explorers often cleared the first few floors of the Raids, requiring fewer and fewer people to do so. However, attempting to solo a Raid, even just the first floor, remained suicidal. A few people tried, but their remains were later discovered inside the Raid. As the years passed, humanity adapted to this new reality of Dungeons and Raids. The energy crystals became the lifeblood of a new economy, and Explorers rose to become the heroes of this changed world. Guilds established strict protocols for Dungeon and Raid exploration, emphasizing the importance of teamwork and caution.
Yet, as in any era, there were those who defied convention. Whispers began to circulate of solo Explorers---lone wolves who dared to challenge the dreaded Raids on their own. Most dismissed these tales as mere bravado or exaggeration. After all, everyone knew that soloing a Raid was tantamount to suicide.
But in a small Guild office in London, a young woman with eyes that seemed to shimmer with barely contained power studied a Raid classification document. Her B-rank Explorer badge glinted in the late afternoon sun as she traced a finger down the list of warnings and cautions. The air around her subtly shifted, as if reality itself was uncertain in her presence. A slight smile played on her lips.
Tomorrow, she would prove them all wrong. Tomorrow, she would attempt what no one thought possible.
Tomorrow, she would solo a Raid, at least the first floor.
📡 End of Transmission
Oliver here - That was quite a chapter! Our dimensional frequency is picking up intense emotional resonance from Aria's world. What did you think of her decision? The comments below are buzzing with theories from other interdimensional travelers...