The Third Convergence Day

Toronto

Toronto, Canada

December 31st, 2053

12:40 PM

Maybe Ryan's parents had been right when they told him to save his money, or maybe he should've listened to his gut and moved to Hollywood when he dropped out of high school. Both of those little diversions in the timeline would have prevented him from being in the predicament he found himself in now. Ryan slammed his fist against the metal surface of the bunker's door until his knuckles were bloodied and his hand was numbed. He yelled at the door, pleading with whoever was inside to open up, to let him in before it was too late, he screamed until his throat was raw and his voice was rough. He took a step back and looked over his shoulder, towards the smoke starting to billow up into the air in the distance. His eyes fixated on something within the smoke, something solid, something moving. A batch of writhing, squirming, pitch black tendrils emerged from deep within the black fog, and remained motionless for a mere moment, before stretching forward, their bladed tips digging deep into a handful of nearby buildings.

Ryan screamed some more as he turned back towards the door.

With tears in his eyes he lifted his leg and kicked the door as hard as he could, but all the strike did was knock Ryan off balance, sending him tumbling backwards and onto his back. He quickly scrambled to his feet, in the process, his gaze once again fell upon the black cloud, and the tentacles protruding from it. He saw more of whatever was in that cloud now, he could see its body, large and bulbous with long, segmented legs, like those of a spider, he could see its chest, wide like a man's, covered in thick black armor. Its face remained hidden within the smoke, all except its eyes, which burned a brilliant yellow, those shone like headlights through it all.

"Fuck that!" Ryan yelled as he got to his feet and ran. He had no end goal in mind, he just ran in the opposite direction, maybe he'd find a ditch he could hope in somewhere, or a tunnel, or basement, he didn't know, nor did he care in that moment, all that mattered was getting the hell away from whatever was in that cloud. He rounded the corner onto Yonge street, just in time.

In the distance, towering over the buildings, and the cloud of debris rising around him, stood something that made Ryan's sprint slow to a sudden halt. It was enormous, titanic, words didn't do the creature, if you could even call it that, justice, it was like a mountain, and it was moving. Atop the thing's vaguely pyramid shaped body, floating like the all seeing eye, burned a radiant, glowing white orb. The orb shifted and rolled in the air, as if floating in zero gravity, before it stopped.

Ryan watched wide eyed as the behemoth's march came to a sudden halt, and to the man's amazement, the floating, glowing sphere started to change, first it glowed a light pink, then a bright salmon, until eventually, the orb radiated a blinding crimson light. Then the world went red.

Ryan woke up on his back. The sky above, that only moments before had been overcast, was now devoid of clouds. Ryan groaned as he sat up, his eyes adjusting to the light that surrounded him. Where there had been towering skyscrapers and highrises, were now burning towers of crumbling rubble. He looked towards the distance, and there, towering above the smoke and flames, the mountain stood, its radiant eye returning to its original stark white hue. The earth shook and Ryan was sent tumbling forward as a new sound filled the smokey air. An ear-splittingly low howl, like that of a banshee, drowned out the roaring flames and crumbling buildings, and Ryan's head snapped around in time to see its source. The creature emerged from a wall of solid black smoke, its gargantuan spider legs struck the ground with enough force to smash through the asphalt and concrete below. Its many tentacles, which protruded like the arms of a man on its humanoid torso whipped and swirled in the air, their bladed tips cleaving through what little remained of the buildings surrounding it. Its maw hung agape, the horrible howl emanating from deep within its throat. Its jaw snapped shut, and its head leveled, and Ryan watched as its glowing yellow eyes fell upon the mountain in the distance.

A bellow from behind forced Ryan to shield his ears, as the Mountain took a challenging stomp forward, it's all seeing eye already turning a light shade of pink. The Spider-like monster's jaw flew open again, as another terrible howl escaped past its serrated, shark-like teeth. Ryan watched as the creature's writhing tendrils shot out to its sides, stabbing into and wrapping themselves around the burning husks of what were once hotels and office buildings. With the greatest of ease, the tentacles retracted, pulling chunks from the buildings, before like a start pitcher, it threw them forward with great speed.

Ryan stumbled to his feet as he ran towards an alleyway, or more accurately what remained of an alleyway, only looking up long enough to see the chunks of debris smashing against the titanic mountain's surface, its eye already a brilliant crimson. Ryan spotted a dumpster laying on its side and felt a twinge of relief wash over him. Maybe he'd survive this, oh if he did he swore to whatever god was watching from on high that he would turn his life around. No more drugs, no more begging on the streets, he'd get a job, get a girl, whatever, if he just-

The shockwave sent Ryan tumbling forward, face first into the side of the dumpster. He felt his nose shatter on contact as his body rolled to the side and he landed into a pile of rotting, wet garbage. Ryan sputtered and moaned as he looked forward, vision blurry, but he didn't need perfect 20/20 vision to see what had happened. The monster's spider-like leg had landed at the alleyways entrance, and the footfall had sent him flying forward. Ryan's eyes gazed upwards as he blinked away tears. He looked up towards the monster's face, just in time to see crimson reflecting off its obsidian carapace.

Then the world went red.