RISE OF THE SWARM

Liam's head spun in the dark abyss, searching for the origin of the voice. The voice was faint, almost ghostly, as if it were a plea from beyond the grave. He shivered; he had never experienced anything like this.

"Save us..."

The words came again, echoing in the dark, sending shivers down his spine. This time he realized it wasn't just one voice, no it was many. A chorus of screams and pleas all overlapped into one desperate cry.

"Who are you?" Liam shouted out, his voice engulfed by the darkness surrounding him. "Where am I? Is this real?" He asked himself, beginning to question his sanity.

"SAVEE USSSSS!"

The voice echoed again, only this time it wasn't like a desperate cry, no this time it was shouting, demanding to be saved.

"FROM WHAT?" Liam screamed back into the darkness.

No direct answer came. Instead the darkness around him began to shift, swirling like ink in water. It began to converge on it self. It gathered itself to a singular point. Liam looked at this scene worry marking his face, he had never heard of anyone or anything experiencing whatever this was. A black orb had been formed from the gathering darkness.

Ethan stared at this orb, he didn't know why but it felt familiar, but he couldn't recall from where he had ever seen it. The orbs began to crack. white spiderweb crack spreading across it's glossy surface.

"Save uss....from.....the.....swarm...."

The voice uttered, only this time the voice came as a whisper. As if it was afraid of even mentioning whatever it wanted to be saved from after the voice the orb imploded, which was followed by a bright white light. Liam brought his hands to his face, covering them. The white light slowly faded afer a while. Liam slowly opened his eyes and what he saw shocked him.

In front of him, a large planet floated in the darkness. Only it didn't look like much of a planet at all. It was bland lacking the vibrant colors of green and blue he associated planets with. It was a deep brown in color, large spots of black and grey covered the planet.

Only then did he notice them, large metal cubes floated besides the plannet numbering in the hundreds of thousands. They were all aligned perfectly in neat rows. Every few second they would float towards the planet, falling through and disappearing. More metal cubes came in from the surrounding darkness filling the gaps that had appeared.

A tear suddenly fell from his eyes, freezing instantly. He looked at the crystalized tear as it floated in front of him with confusion. Suddenly he clutched his heart as more and more tears fell from his eyes instantly freezing. He didn't understand, but seeing the planet in such a state brought him to tears.

"Is that....my world?" He whispered into the darkness.

"Yes, yes it is." A voice replied.

A figure materialized beside him. She was so beautiful that it almost seemed to not be real. Her silver fair fell with grace down her back, reaching her feet. Her skin was pristine, not a single blemish could be found anywhere, she wore a loose-fitting silver dress that matched her hair. That released a soft glow into he surroundings. She turned to face Liam, silver tears dripped down her face from her shining silver hair. The tears glimmered like diamonds in the dark. On her head a silver ring a glimmered in the darkness.

"Who...are.....you...?" Liam stammered, still awestruck by her beauty.

The figure smiled. Liam felt the surroundings got slightly brighter just from that gesture alone.

"I can't tell you yet." She said, her voice soothing.

"But i'm glad, we have found our savior." She said.

Liam's head spun; he didn't understand what was going on. Had he died while fighting the heretics and been transported to some alternative reality? And savior? What exactly did this woman need saving for.

"Saving from what exactly?" Liam questioned.

The woman lost her smile as she tuned back onto the devastated world. Raising her hand and pointing her dainty finger at the swarm of cubes entering the planet.

"From them" She said.

Liam looked over at the cubes still in confusion.

"And what are those?"

"They are the enemy, we call them the swarm. They came from deep in the stars, landing on our world, they built their strength in silence, and then they attacked. They took the world by surprise as we have never faced an opponent like this before. They swarmed the world, taking it by storm. They ravaged continents, killing every single living being. No force could oppose them, the more the conquered, the stronger they became. Eventually, no one could defeat them." The woman said darkly.

Liam turned to face her.

"But how does all of this affect me?" Liam asked still confused.

"You dont understand Liam, this is the story of your world, this is you future. These creatures have already landed on your planet. They are already there if you don't stop them then only death and misery is in store for your world." She said.

Liam eyes widened as he turned towards the planet. This was the future, more question piled in his mind, And how did she know his name.

"And how do you know all of this?" Liam asked.

"I am from the future Liam, when the world was destroyed, me and my comrades who were the only survivors, worked hard till we figured out a way to stop the swarm, we developed a new brand of magic capable of stopping them, but we couldn't use it, so we sent it back to the past, you found that magic and you are now the only one capable of stopping the invasion." She said.

"But h-"

"Liam we are running out of time, i know you have a lot of questions but we dont have the time, next time your here i promise to answer all of them. But right now im telling you, go grow stronger faster i fear, they have already awakened." She said.

Before Liam could could refute, his figure began vanishing, disappearing into white dust.

The woman then turned back to the world, as a silver figure materialized in front of her, silver tendrils flaying behind him, as he gazed into her with red burning eyes.

"I won't let you win this time....father." She said.