"N-no!" I jolted awake in shock, flinching from phantom pain. All the recent memories flooded back into me like an avalanche, and I jumped up, breathing heavily, staring at the mountain landscape…
"Are these the Alps?" I croaked, then looked down at my clothes—or rather, what was left of them: blood-soaked rags. With my left hand, I touched my right… which should be… no, shouldn't be. I remembered it being gone. And…
"What the hell?!" I shot to my feet.
Why did this happen? What even happened? Why did they attack me? The Foundation usually tries to confirm an anomaly's abilities first, and only then acts according to protocol. But this… it felt like they had all snapped at once!
"Mom…" My heart clenched as realization hit me… she didn't survive. She died in my arms, and then… she was probably torn apart by the explosion.
"Damn it… you fu— aaah!" I screamed into the mountains and punched a nearby tree. It splintered from the force, collapsing to the side. "What the hell…"
I exhaled and pulled out my piggy bank, taking out the "Database Computer." My hands were still shaking, so I drank a Calming Potion, which actually helped, and then…
I froze.
SCP-001, representing all members of the species Homo sapiens, causes the destruction of the multiverse through the creation of infinitely multiplying parallel realities, whose number continuously grows, ultimately leading to collapse…
Our dimension R-42—or rather, the "Council," the main governing body of the SCP Foundation—decided… to eliminate most of humanity, as it was the only way to preserve humanity as a species. A "List-1" was created, containing individuals of absolute scientific or strategic value for SCP-001 research, as well as "List-2," which included personnel necessary for field operations during the transition phase of Operation "Minimal Growth."
"This is insane… they tried to kill me because I… wasn't on the list? Like everyone else in the city… or almost everyone."
Everyone was simply poisoned by a released virus. That must have been why my spider-sense was warning me earlier—I just didn't understand it. And it didn't affect me, probably because of my Spider-Man physiology.
"Bastards…" I clenched my fists. This was happening all over the world. The Foundation… was taking control of every country, and the vast majority—ninety-nine percent—of humanity would be dead.
This wasn't just unexpected—it… left me numb. The protectors of Earth, of humanity, were destroying humanity itself. I never paid much attention to the earliest anomalies, but now I checked… humanity itself was the anomaly causing the growth of parallel realities.
And me, like all "potentially dangerous objects," they decided to eliminate outright, without regard for casualties. And it all happened in just a few hours. Mere hours… and my mother could have been alive… if I had seen this information earlier… but… I didn't know…
"How pathetic am I… all this power, all these possibilities… for what?" I asked quietly. "For what?! I couldn't even save the only person who mattered! I… I can still save her." I suddenly realized. She's not gone—well, she is, but there are items that can bring people back. Resurrection items… like those from Overlord, for example.
"I… can still sa—"
My spider-sense screamed again. This time, it spoke of inevitable death.
Reality itself was cracking apart. I could feel it with absolute clarity, even if I couldn't explain how.
Death.
It was here. This entire world was going to die—that's what my sense told me.
I broke.
I pulled out the portal gun.
"Far away… I want to be as far away as possible from this… from this collapsing multiverse…" I muttered in desperation and fired in front of me.
An oval portal appeared instantly, its edges shimmering blue and violet. Through it, I saw… a building?
I didn't think. My sense was still screaming.
I just jumped.
"I'm pathetic… so damn pathetic."
The ringing in my head stopped immediately. I found myself standing on top of a skyscraper, looking out over a city. The portal vanished and… I felt that I wouldn't be able to return.
Call it a gut feeling.
"Shit… I… how…" I drank another Calming Potion and just sat on the edge of the roof, thinking.
In just minutes, I had lost everything… my mother, my future, my world… and what could I have done? The Foundation used anomalies that bent reality itself—and even that wasn't enough!
"I'm sorry…" I whispered, staring at my blood-soaked shirt and pants—or what was left of them.
I didn't know how long I sat there, staring into nothing, but eventually I looked around.
And… what now? Where even am I?
Looks like a normal city…
"San Francisco?" I realized, spotting the Golden Gate Bridge in the distance. My vision let me see it clearly despite the distance. This wasn't Canada anymore—it was the U.S.
"We wanted to move to America once…" I muttered without knowing why.
Then I stepped off the roof, sticking to the wall with my foot. I walked down the vertical surface, not thinking about anything. Something inside me had burned out. I didn't want to think. Didn't want to care.
What was the point?
"Yo, what the hell is that guy doing…" I landed in an alley between buildings. There were a few young people there with their girlfriends.
"Fuck off," I said, walking past them.
"Joe, leave him alone…" a girl said.
"What did you just say? Hey, say that to my face, clown—"
He grabbed my shoulder and turned me around. Drunk. Showing off.
"I said—"
I grabbed his arm and squeezed, feeling the bone crack under pressure, then grabbed his face so he couldn't look away.
"I… said fuck off. Hard to understand?" I asked, lifting him slightly.
He screamed in pain, then panicked as I raised him. His heart started racing—I could hear it. The alcohol seemed to vanish from his system in an instant.
I slowly took off his jacket and then—
"Ahh!" one of the girls screamed before being cut off as I threw his body into her, knocking her down. Not fatal, but it would hurt.
"Scream again, and I'll kill you," I pointed at them. One covered her mouth, another froze, and two guys rushed to help their friend.
I turned and walked away, putting on the leather jacket that smelled like alcohol and cigarettes.
I stepped out onto the street and noticed a Starbucks. I went inside.
Pulling money from the piggy bank, I paid for a hot chocolate and sat in the corner with my laptop.
It took me seconds to confirm—I was very far from home.
The year was 2013.
Everything else seemed normal. No signs of the Foundation. No mention of it.
Too bad.
I would have… liked to destroy them.
Make them suffer. Make them watch their loved ones die…
My spider-sense tingled again.
But the danger wasn't close. Not directly threatening me. Not yet.
Then I felt vibrations.
Something massive. Heavy.
Honestly… I didn't care.
"Another large hot chocolate, please," I said to the barista. She gave me an uneasy smile.
The vibrations grew stronger. Even normal people started noticing—there were ripples forming in drinks.
I took my drink, stepped outside, and jumped—about eight meters—sticking to the wall, carefully holding the cup so it wouldn't spill, and climbed up.
Soon I was on the roof again.
From there, I saw it.
Something rising from the ocean. Massive. Towering. Capable of toppling skyscrapers with ease. Moving toward the city… toward the Golden Gate Bridge.
"Giant monsters… not impressed. Not compared to the destruction of a multiverse…" I muttered as it crushed the bridge, killing thousands instantly.
I felt… nothing.
Just emptiness.
And I didn't even recognize the creature.
"Raaagh!" it roared, and I remembered my recent nightmare… but this wasn't Godzilla.
I didn't care.
It was massive—around a hundred meters tall, with a huge axe-like crest on its head, long arms, powerful legs, dark green in color.
Before I finished my drink, fighter jets and helicopters filled the sky. Missiles struck—but only angered it. Machine guns did nothing.
Explosions and gunfire triggered panic. Sirens blared like nuclear warnings, telling people to hide in shelters and subways.
With my enhanced senses, I heard everything.
Screams. Panic. People trampling each other, abandoning others, acting like animals.
"Hm… it's heading into the city…"
The creature ignored the jets and entered the city, destroying the port. The more it was attacked, the more destruction it caused. Trying to hit a helicopter, it crushed buildings and killed hundreds.
People weren't ready.
Of course—they didn't have a Foundation used to dealing with anomalies.
"Big…"
Up close, its size became overwhelming.
But I just sat there on the edge of the roof, laptop on my knees.
The emptiness didn't fade.
It was almost… satisfying to watch the missiles fail to harm it.
Because not long ago… something like that almost killed me.