The river of Diverlo is the most significant landmark on Terra which has existed since the Ancient Times. Named when a unified structure for communities did not exist,its name was passed down through spoken word for generations. Countless hypotheses and theories had been published surrounding its formation and nomenclature, but none have been publicly accepted.

It cuts across the two major continents of Oerther and Ousthur in a lightning pattern, serving as a natural barrier dozens of kilometres across. It alone was the reason as to why there was never a single dominant nation or superpower, for the unification of the two continents that was nigh impossible without the capabilities of modern technology.

This, however, didn’t dissuade either powerhouse from attempting such invasions, which ultimately led to the failure of both and the demise of many.

This lead to several early cultures referring to it as the Blood River due to the copious amounts of blood spilt in and around it. As such, countless gods of death or sacrifice have been worshiped along its banks, with the body of water becoming a hub for cultural anthropologists and cultists alike.

If not for the acidic properties and the effects of time, the riverbed would provide an invaluable resource for historians, with near-perfect recollections of various eras and civilizations. However, the biggest obstacle in regards to any kind of exploration is the Diverlo’s immeasurable depth which, with a conservative estimate, is hypothesised to be beyond twenty kilometers.

National Geographic: An Introduction to the Diverlo.

Dated 2045.

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‘Shit, what was that?!’

I spun around and took a few steps backwards. A grey blur shot towards my shoulder. On reflex my right hand lifted itself to intercept the object.

[Defence Mechanism Activated]

‘What th-what defence mechanism?’

Another growl came from my right hand, the darkness made it hard to see, but the outline of a creature was clear.

‘Did this thing just attack me?!’

Careful to not bring it close to my body, I extend my arm behind my back and throw the thing as far as possible. As soon as I released my hold on it, a red glow replaced the previously green indicator of my arm.

‘What happened? Is there something else on me?’

I brought my arm in front of myself again to see the same creature climbing upwards!

‘Oh god, oh god,

Get off of me!’

I shook my hand, but it caused the thing to only dig in deeper and my arm indicator to light up a darker shade of red. There was no pain transmitted, only a heightened sense of emergency, that something was wrong.

With my right arm in front of me I use the other to grip the dark critter by the neck and hold it away from my face. It was hard to examine it in the darkness, but it had a slim shape and its body was no longer than my forearm. Fur covered the struggling creature, its claws lashing out in wild directions.

I flicked my wrist to send it flying away from me once more.

‘Thank god.’

Watching it scramble up the tree I leaned on sent a short wave of ease through me. I took a short step back to get a bit more distance and consider what to do next when a low, threatening growl came from the same tree.

‘Is that the same creature? Damn, if I could just have better night vision…’

[Night Vision Activated]

The sudden increase in clarity of my surroundings left me dazed for a second,

‘Glad to know I can activate things with just a thought.’ The enhanced vision wiped out any notion of colour, leaving behind a distinct black and white contrast between objects. Despite this, I could see all around with the same clarity as in daylight.

I lifted my head to follow the multiplying growls, all coming from the same tree. There, from atop the lowest branched countless of such creatures made their way down, inching closer by the second.

‘Oh shi-’

I took a single step back but the movement stirred them into a frenzy. Seeing the mad, dark-furred monsters leaping at me with their claws spread left me stunned. I couldn’t do anything as the distance between me and them closed in and -

[Emergency Evasion Activated]

My body lurched to the side in a single motion, throwing my senses in disarray.

‘Shit, shit, shit. What am I supposed to do?

I can’t fight them-

Then I can only run away!’

The growls transformed into soft howls as they chased my through the trees.

‘If it hadn’t been for me turning on night vision, there’s now way I could have survived…’

More than once I was about to hit a tree but my body avoided it of its own accord. Even still, it was not enough, this forest was their home, there’s no way I could outrun them. As their shouts neared, I took a sharp turn to my left and kept going; pushing myself to the limit.

Soon enough I saw a clearing, the forest was ending!

‘If I can just draw them out into the open, then I’ll stand a chance.

A chance to do what exactly?’

I put even force into my legs to carry myself out of this hell-hole as fast as possible, pushing the thought aside.

Through some miracle I made it back to where I came from, the same clearing that all of us arrived in. Once I rejoined with the others, I doubted these things would continue to attack…

A look behind me showed the creatures approaching me with hesitation, there were about five of them. Without the vegetation to leap from, they had no choice but to crawl across the parched dirt. Not one of them was over thirty centimetres tall.

Without sparing another glance, I continued towards the group that remained behind. Only that there wasn’t a group anymore. A small cluster of robots surrounded by even larger monsters was all that remained. Monsters that resembled mutated crabs, with shells that looked like... jagged rocks.

Even from the distance of about twenty metres, I could make out the ravaged remains of metallic bodies shining in the moonlight.

‘If half of the original group couldn’t survive, then there’s no way I can!’

I brought myself to a sudden stop, not daring to get any closer to the rock crabs surrounding the others. The miniature monstrosities slowed their approach must be just as frightened of them as me.

‘Death by crabs or claws… not much of a choice here.’

Facing my pursuers once more, I raised my fists and lowered my stance. Even if I had no clue how to fight, this body of mine did. It was my only hope.

‘Please let this work... Activate Command List!’

A blue list appeared in my vision. I skimmed through all sections as fast as I could.‘Yes!’

My focus shifted onto a single line, ‘Found it-! Activate!’

[Automated Defence Initiated]

The blue message appeared at the top of my vision, a reassuring blue. I felt control over my body diminish,as it made adjustments to my stance. I placed the legs wider apart, turned diagonal to the enemies, lowered my centre of gravity and shifted my first placement. The slight changes were empowering, no matter how minute they were.

The creatures must have noticed the change, and grew wary, hesitant to approach. Neither one of us moved. What seemed like an eternity passed as we fell into a stalemate, neither one of us willing to make the first move. Well, I couldn't and they refused to. But I had to move before the remainder of my group were picked off and the crabs decided to scurry over.

‘Shit, they’re not leaving me much of a choice…

What the?’

I couldn’t move forward, my legs, arms or anything! Was something wrong with my body?

No, it must be the defence mode, in that case…

‘Move forward.’

I moved forward only a quarter of a metre. Since it follows my orders instead of giving me control…

‘Approach the five creatures until they attack, then defend.’

There was a short pause, but it seemed to have understood. With cautious strides, the distance between us decreased one step at a time.

‘Three metres... two metres... one metre.’

The growling stopped, the previous aggression was nowhere to be see-

‘Move in now! Attack and grab the smallest one!’

My body lurched into action and rushed at the one in the back. It was only two-thirds the size of the others, perhaps not a full-fledged adult yet. The sudden movement caught them off-guard and they dove to the sides, I caught the one singled out.

Before I could even register everything a short crack ran through my arms.

‘O-oh god. I-I killed it.’

That was the feeling of its neck being snapped. The sensation sent shudders through me.

‘I- I didn’t mean to kill it, just capture it and-and get the others to attack me instead of retreating to the forest where they would have the upper-hand.’

I was still holding onto the limp body with my hands. There wasn’t any struggling, whimpering or growling. Just death.

Sure, I didn’t consciously kill, I wasn’t in control - but it was still my fault. I couldn’t control my hands to release it,

‘Drop it.’

Without a second thought, my hands released the body which collapsed onto the ground with a quiet thump. The fleeing figures turned and stared. Stared at their dead brethren. They lost all of previous caution and fear, something clicked within them. No growls escaped their snouts, but their eyes turned a darker shade.

They stopped fleeing and rushed me all at once. Their bodies turned into a blur as did my body. Countless punches, kicks, dives and rolls were used as the fight progressed. I couldn’t process everything in time, if it wasn’t for this defence... there was no doubt I would be long dead.

The bright blue glow of my body's indicator faded into darker colours, some parts turned yellow, some orange others red. There wasn't a moment of rest, the monsters kept leaping at me, even if I caught two with both my arms, the others were free to ravage me.

It was a brutal battle of attrition. They gouged parts of my coverings revealing the wiring and mechanisms below, but each gash cost them several injuries inflicted on their number. That number had dropped to three, with two of them struggling to remain upright.

The largest, no doubt their leader, was staring at me with fury seething from its eyes. Yet, for once he did not charge in with reckless abandon; instead he chose to circle around me. I looked at my body indicator, both arms were dyed red, with my left no longer functioning. My legs were a bit better off, a pronounced yellow and my body a deep orange.

I couldn’t look around but there were no doubt countless gashes all over.

‘There’s no way I could keep going like this, but it doesn’t seem like they could either.’

Their leader lifted his striped tail and roared. The remaining three charged at me once more, a final charge.

‘Focus on the big one!’

My message seemed to get across as my body rushed in to kick him. Instead, he was determined to slow me down and grabbed on, refusing to let go. My good hand jerked (note need better word - 'flew'?) towards his neck but he bit into it, cutting it short. The other two had just made it and jumped onto me.

I must have messed up the commands because my body did nothing to stop them, instead it brought my other knee down onto the leader and pinned him against the dirt. With his teeth still biting into my hand, he couldn’t even let go in time as the same hand twisted and forced his neck to an impossible angle.

Another crack echoed into the night.

[Warning: Back-up power disconnected]

Another red message popped up as the last ones kept trying to kill me. They sought vengeance for their dead. With my left hand useless, my body used the right one to reach behind and grab one of the weakened creatures.

It didn’t have the strength to resist and died due to a crushed throat. The last one was under my left arm, trying to burrow inside. Just like the creature before it, with its airway cut-off, it collapsed onto the ground.

[No Hostiles Remaining. Deactivating Defence Mechanisms]

[Automated Defence Deactivated]

[System Report: Left Arm: Non-Functional]

[Right Arm: Extensive Damage]

[Lower Torso: Medium Damage]

[Upper Torso: Minimal Damage]

[Both Legs: Sustained Extensive Damage]

[Back-up Power: Offline]

‘Is it- is it finally over…?’

The countless red messages popped up once more, reminding me the cost for survival. I turned to look at the remainder of my group in the distance. There were five standing, while dozens of crabs surrounded them in a moving in a circle.

Several were breaking off from the main group and travelling... moving in my direction!

‘Dismiss.’

With them out of the way, I shuffled into the forest. Struggling to stay upright with my body not working the same and my left arm being a dead-weight. I lost track how long I walked for, it could’ve been a minute or an hour.

It was not until a grey message popped up that I stopped.

[Mental Exhaustion Detected: Sleep Recommended]

‘Sleep…?’

Walking up to the nearest tree, I sat down on the roots not having the energy left to climb, leaned back and closed my eyes.

‘Perhaps... this is all a dream.’