The Chained Watcher

A Strange Portal

A short AN before the story chapter

So, I've not really been updating as much lately. I'm not planning on dropping this, but I'm running low on ideas.

Something I've been trying to avoid is rushing plot progression, but my pre-thought-out scenarios are nearly depleted. Perhaps one day I'll rewrite it to feel more smooth, but in all likelihood it'll remain as is. I'll note longer timeline skips, but it'll most likely end up feeling less smooth progressing through the different seasons than before.

If you have thoughts for a small little interaction, or want to know how something works, feel free to ask! Figuring out the finicky little details of magic has always been fun to me.

Also, unless I'm actually dropping this, I'll try not to make a chapter purely for an Author's Note.

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Noone's POV

The vast, all-encompassing darkness in between the different planes of existence is home to many creatures. Some large, others small, some bold, others reclusive. The dimension-bound creatures rarely interact with the extra-planar beings, yet a few species are seen frequently. Void Bugs are a fairly well known pest, as far as Void creatures are concerned, and a competent scholar should have at least heard of them.

In the emptiness of the Void, one might find their attention drawn to the sparkling bubbles of light floating around the expanse of nothingness. These are the dimensions, different planes of reality that almost never touch. The glaring brightness of what most know as the "main planes" accented by the weak glimmers of the various subdimensions as they form and fade.

Being so used to the darkness, the light frightens off most of the less intelligent Void creatures, though the smarter ones might find themselves taken by curiosity. Sapience is a rare trait, usually only gained with immense lengths of time or through the sacrifice of strength. Legends have formed from the intrusion of Void beings, instilling a deep-rooted fear into the inhabitants of those places.

But that is neither here nor now. There are certain anomalies that sometimes form from the subdimensions, where multiple weaker dimensions bond together without subsuming each other. These, are the portal hubs. Creating a new dimension between them for the sole purpose of bridging the gap, the new hub is extremely resistant to the corrosion of the Void. 

However, this resistance does not come without a cost. These hubs are incapable of forming their own intelligent life, instead requiring to connect with an inhabited plane to find residents. Should no residents be found before the hub drifts away, it will begin to collapse, as without intelligent life it falls into a never-ending cycle of mindless creation and destruction.

Our story lies with a certain hub, drifting back toward one of the main planes with its inhabitants none the wiser. As to what would be on the other side, well... Who could know?

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The day was proceeding much like it usually did.

Bases were worked on, doors went mysteriously missing, pranks were committed...

Then, the hub announcement system (recent upgrade) started making noise. It wasn't the easiest thing to activate, so it was mostly saved for situations like the Void Bug incident. We don't talk about the time the hackers managed to use it, spamming everyone with notifications. Anyway, back to the announcement.

<<<HubAnnouncement>>>: Alert!!! Important!!! A strange portal has appeared in the hub. Portal does not lead to a server. Volunteer explorers needed. Please remain on guard until the reason has been discovered. Do not proceed through any strange portals on your server!! Repeat. Do not proceed through any strange portals!! End Announcement.