Chapter 127: The Fall
The early fall of the meteors was indeed the butterfly effect.
The insectoid race might not be technically intelligent in the way humans were, but they had their own advantages.
For one, even if they were all hibernating at this time, they had mechanisms that would send signals to their main ship— which was also an organism, in a sense—if a major abnormality was detected.
When Naia and Kael were transferred there, the humans might not have detected it, but the aliens did. When the anomalies in the space-time caused by their arrival were detected, the ship’s mechanism determined that it was better to move in advance.
Fortunately, it still needed energy to do so, otherwise, the aliens could’ve attacked the moment Naia and Kael were pulled back to this time period.
In any case, at this time, three massive asteroids—each one as big as a large mountain—headed straight to the planet.
The planet’s atmosphere resisted their approach, pushing back against the big space rocks, causing the outer layers to crumble as if peeling its outer shells.
In the end, this created smaller meteorites that spread out, hitting even more parts of the world.
The big asteroids divided into hundreds of smaller pieces, some bigger than others, bigger than large cities, while a few were obliterated by the atmosphere.
Despite the planet’s natural defenses, hundreds or thousands of meteorites spread all over the globe like morbid fireworks signaling the ’deadline’ for millions of people.
The smallest one is the size of a building, while average the size of a small town. Combined with the natural impact caused by its landing, even the smallest one was incredibly destructive.
The remaining main bodies—now much smaller, but still very deadly—seemed to be driven specifically to target certain spots of the planet. Of course, the current citizens had no idea why this was.
From below, everyone looking up could indeed see at least one of them, regardless of what time it was. Some saw them against the night skies, but even those with daylight could see them clearly.
People looked fascinated at first, taking out their phones and cameras, capturing the beautiful sight. There were also many who put their hands together as if making a wish.
However, it did not take long for people to realize that this beautiful sight would not have a beautiful ending—only tragedy.
It was as if another sun was barreling straight at them, growing bigger in perspective. For people who had this unfortunate perspective, no matter how fast they tried to run—it was too late.
At least their death was swift.
BOOM!
It was as if the sky sent a deadly punch that tore a hole in the planet.
Within kilometers of impact, buildings were obliterated, forests were razed, and living creatures—in a blink of an eye—were eradicated.
The dozens of blasts all over the world directly slammed down on millions of people, and each shock wave flattened tens of kilometers beyond that.
In these areas, except for very, very few exemptions, only death existed.
Not every meteorite hit civilization directly. The planet was made mostly of water, and several big and small pieces smashed down on the seabed.
The horizon lit up as if it were dawn; columns of steam climbed to the stars all over the world. For those immediately nearby, the steam ejection or the blast was enough to kill.
The ocean heaved, lifting entire surfaces as if the world tilted. Ships tilted on a slope of water, fishing boats and cruise ships alike. For example, in the middle of an ocean, a few boats were lifted at odd angles; it was a miracle they hadn’t been eaten by the waves yet.
"What—" Issu gasped as he felt the world shift, and he suddenly slid down from the floor to a side wall.
He grabbed the nearest fixed thing he could hold, and grabbed onto it with his dear life.
Clank!
Crank!
CLANK!
The boat was angled so oddly. Combined with the strong waves, it felt like a wall of water continuously hit the deck.
He could hear the crewmembers from their small fishing crew scream as they were either thrown around the ship or thrown out of it.
Right next to their fishing boat was a naval boat.
It was embarrassing to say, but they were deep fishing, and they had reached another country’s waters. The other boat’s navy was a mix of polite and arrogant people, and they were just about to head back when it happened.
The meteor shower happened quickly and because they were busy, no one noticed it immediately. At best, only a few saw the spark in the sky. Even if they did, they might not realize what it was.
Their boat was small. Compared to the massive ocean, they were mere specks of dust. Heck, even the massive naval ship next to them was the same.
"Hold on!" He screamed as his companion was smacked to one of the windows, and he could see him bleeding from the impact.
Everything was shaky and unstable, and anything that wasn’t fixed—including humans—was thrown around everywhere. Issu saw him not struggling anymore after a while, and he was unsure whether his companion was alive at all.
He was not out of danger either. No matter how hard he gripped whatever he could grip, he was ultimately helpless against nature.
And tableware. He was useless against those, too, apparently.
Issu felt a bottle smack on his head, and he felt dizzy from the concussion. Then he felt a plate or something smack his stomach, and it felt as if his intestines got displaced.
He slid to the hallway, finding the fixed cabinet and locking himself there. He didn’t know what would happen, but it was better to be trapped in a small space rather than be thrown around wall to wall.
On the other boat, they were also taken aback, but they were not entirely without direction. The naval commander officer gritted his teeth as he bellowed out orders.
"Point the bow directly into the incoming wave!" he bellowed. "Maintain control!"
"DO NOT TURN SIDEWAYS DAMNIT!"
"YES SIR!!"
But things were too sudden, and he could only do so much.
Hopefully, at least some of them would actually wake up from this nightmare.
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