Unification

Iteration 0: The Panther

The panther stalked its prey through the jungle underbrush, its bright intelligent eyes pierced through the thick, green foliage, and directly at its prey. The unsuspecting boar continued to drink from the quiet stream between two walls of mud and damp leaves, crushed beneath the paws of other creatures. The sunlight struggled to break through the jungle canopy, appearing like misshapen stars upon the shade-filled ground below.

The panther lowered itself ever so slightly, its hind legs coiled and ready to spring at any moment, just waiting for that opportune time to strike. Its pupils narrowed as its vision focused. The hairs upon its back were brimming with exciting electricity and tension. The boar raised its snout from the stream and looked around tentatively. The boar's eyes were alert; its senses and instincts knew that something was amiss; not quite right; not quite safe, yet its simple brain could not understand the messages it was receiving from its body. Standing there in the soft, muddy banks of the stream, the boar froze. Not even the jungle flies seemed to distract it from the unknown sensation that had gripped its full and undivided attention.

The water continued to trickle along the mineral-rich stream as the frogs and insects sang their various songs. The air was thick and heavy with heat and humidity and tension; an invisible veil that could strangle those not acclimated to the environment.

A static, ambient silence shrouded the area: the perfect stealth. The panther's whiskers twitched over so slightly, yet the boar still did not know what was out there, hidden in the jungle. The perfect opportunity was nigh; the panther sprang into action and leaped onto the scene.

The boar's body reacted before its brain could comprehend the reason why. Now it was running through the underbrush and wet foliage. Its hooves splashed in the small stream, soiling the clear water. It could hear the crashing footfalls and pant of its pursuer. It was getting closer, ever so closer, and it dared not look back. Its squeals of distress echoed through the dense jungle, disturbing frogs, lizards, insects, and birds of all varieties.

The panther continued to gain on its prey, inching its way closer to a meal. Its hot breath bounced off the boar's fatty rump; its mouth was watering with hunger as another shot of adrenaline erupted through its veins, just enough to give it an edge, just enough to close the gap between the predator and the prey. The panther risked a swipe with its powerful paw, barely making contact with the boar's thundering hind legs, but contact enough to cause it to trip and falter, coming to a dramatic crash through the mud and river debris. Without a moment of thought, the boar tried to get up again and continue its escape, but the panther sensed this and pinned its prize under its muscular frame; claws digging deep into the boar's hide, piercing it, drawing its blood into the mud. The boar could feel the hot breath of death traveling up its spine and to its fleshy neck. Soon, it will feel the fangs of its destiny latch around its windpipe, as the end draws to a close.

The boar's vision began to blur as death enveloped its life, only to be distorted by a deep and heavy buzzing sound; an ungodly humming swarm of hunger searching for its sustenance, filling the air like a flood. The panther's eyes rose up to see what was the source of the tingling sound, only to behold a black, rectangular monolith, with sharp angles. Darker than the deepest shadow or the coldest night, it merely stood where it was in the middle of the jungle as if it had always been there, but the panther's memory recalled this to not be true; this thing was definitely new.

The boar's life had already expired and remained limp within the mighty cat's jaws, yet the predator could only stare at the mysterious monolith. Its reverberations echoed through the air; million of monotone dronings drowning out the world until it was the only thing to be heard, and therefore seen; the only focus; the only object worth giving any attention to. The panther held its gaze, snared in the sight, unable to look away despite its greatest mental protestations and chemical reactions telling it, screaming at it, that this was dangerous. The monolith just stood there, unmoving, simply buzzing as it had been the entire time.

The strange umbral slab suddenly began to twist; three equal parts: top, middle, bottom. The middle piece rotated to the left, as the other two twisted to the right, shifting and molding the leaves and mud which came into contact with the structure. Slowly, agonizingly slow, the separate pieces moved, but gradually gained speed. The insectile hum rang higher with each revolution, exponentially reaching and surpassing crescendos beyond the hearing of the panther, or any other creature of the jungle for that matter. The sound became layered, multitudes of swarms all flapping their numerous wings, overlapping chaos muting and ascending until they became a single, maddening and numbing note.

The panther's body let out a shiver as its fine fur stood on their ends. Its simple mind could not comprehend that which was before it, yet all of the biological alarms pointed towards danger. The ebon cat's heart rate rose as its panting increased; its instincts anticipated something unknown coming; something dangerous; something threatening.

Without warning, the gyroscopic monolith erupted in a flash of negative light; a tear of darkness in the fabric of reality; a fissure of violently exploding stars; a fireworks display of supernovae which transformed into a cascading reaction throughout the galaxy and beyond, bringing about devastation everywhere, and destroying everything it came into contact with, leaving nothing behind. 

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