Magnus stood, back straight, his tired eyes focused on the intimidating masked figure before him, he had no clock for reference but he roughly estimated the time to be around four in the morning on this planet.
"Now many of you will be wondering what you are to do in this facility as our cadets, simply we preparing you for exploration of within the fractures, this opportunity will however, will only be given to those among you who score highly in all of our tests and examinations, you are also to comply with us instructors at all times otherwise punishment may be carried out this will be your only warning"
"For your time here I will be acting as your teacher on fractures their causes and the biology of the creatures that emerge from them"
With those words the instructor gestured for them to follow him, he led them into what looked like a large classroom with a podium in the very front.
As the instructor made his way to the podium everyone started pushing and shoving one another in a panicky rush to claim a seat.
Once most of the people were seated, a few still standing dazed at the sudden rush of people, the instructor pulled down a holographic screen and turned to the class.
"Before we start I will give you this light warning, you will not be given any of my or any other instructors names so do not bother us with that question, any attempt to pry into more than you are allowed to will result in unfortunate circumstances".
"Now can anyone here tell me what are fractures?"
Hearing this question the quiet murmur of conversation filled the room until a nervous looking boy stood up, interestingly his eyes seemed to have heterochromia causing them to be a gleaming greenish, gold.
"Uh, S-sir a fracture is whe... when excessive wormhole travel causes an area of space to become fragile or even break, this can caus-"
"Ok thats enough, sit down"
With a flustered expression the boy sat back down while fidgeting with his hair.
"As that cadet just said fractures are caused by the spatial distortions that appear after using wormhole travel, however the fracture is not our main concern but what comes from them, as I'm sure all of you know"
While the instructor spoke the holographic screen behind him changed to show a grotesque eel like creature with dozens of scarlet hued eyes running across its meter long body.
"This is what we have come to know as a wanderer, a classification for the otherworldly beings that first emerged from the fracture, these creatures often hold no physical similarities but have been grouped together based on their nature of appearing rather un-hostile unless provoked
intentionally, however there are a rare few wanderers that break this rule being either completely docile or hostile"
The image shifted through a few 'wanderers' with some being a giant tree with numerous bulbous red pustules, a large spider like creature made of bone and glass and a plate sized stone covered in writhing tendrils.
Finally the holographic screen switched to two vaguely humanoid beings, one was a tall pale being that had wings of bone protruding from its back, it wore a gentle smile that seemed to illuminate the room.
The other was a monstrosity, its cracked skin dripped with reddish pus and where its eyes should have been was a single fused toothy maw, from its chest seven gnarled hand-like protrusions grasped at the air.
Seeing these two creatures the room became utterly silent, a wave of repressed rage and fear rippled across the faces of everyone there, Magnus stared at the image eyes sparkling with childlike curiosity.
"I'm assuming you have all seen these creatures before judging by the fact you have taken the steps to be here, after all not a single one of you is here to 'research' or 'explore' you are here to avenge somebody be it your family or friends, you are here to make sure their lives end as miserably as your loved ones did"
The room kept its cold silence, that was enough of a confirmation.
"Now to introduce these beasts you are all so eager to intact vengeance upon, the first and most important thing to know is these are not animals, they are just as intelligent as us if not more and while they don't seem to have access to advanced weaponry they have advantages we don't"
He pointed at the being emitting a slight glow.
"This is a species we have classified as Angel a name originating from an ancient mythology long before religion was banned, they are one of the two species that we have failed to capture, not because we are unable although they are incredibly fast and strong seemingly having a max speed roughly equal to the speed of sound and have been seen ripping apart buildings not to mention the Angels ability of flight however the reason we are unable to contain these beasts is
because they are seemingly unable to stay within this reality for long only existing for an observed maximum of seventy to eighty hours."
The silence was broken then by a rush of whispered murmurs, however there were a few cadets who sat in silence either processing the new information or accepting the truth they had witnessed with their own eyes, Magnus however simply stared at the images contemplating the unique biology needed for such a
BANG
Before Magnus could continue his thoughts the instructor shot a Victorian style pistol that he had seemingly pulled from thin air at the ceiling, instantly quieting the room.
"Good now that I have your attention we will look at the next creature we have dubbed a Demon which according to a book recovered from the nuclear era were considered a mortal enemy to Angels, they were named this because of numerous recorded incidents of Angels and Demons fighting in habitable or populated planets owned by the Federation Council"
"However Demons are much more illusive compared to Angels and we have next to no confirmed recordings of one, they have been said to be seen using so called 'abnormal abilities' that defy all natural laws such as materialising fire or seemingly turning into shadows, while these rumours cannot be lightly dismissed against an intelligent otherworldly creature we suspect the abilities to more likely be evolutionary adaptations using some form of camouflage or flint like skin"
Looking down at his watch which was for some reason welded into the side of his pistol he called for class dismissal and guided them to the next instructor who nearly killed half the cadets with his physical training and lastly they went to a third instructor who taught them how to use all sorts of strange equipment he or she claimed they would need for fracture exploration.
This exhausting cycle continued for an unknowable time as there was no evidence of passing time inside the cold metallic facility, however that did not matter to the other cadets, driven by he promise of vengeance and fame they pushed themselves to the brink, and Magnus continued with the sheer will of curiosity until the day came for them to enter a artificial fracture.