Martin Mati's War of the Worlds

In 2022, no one would have expected that beings higher than us would be observing our species: the Infraworld. They came through the Earth via temporal rifts that tore the fabric of space-time continuum called "Tears", the main of them being Black Sun located in the Russia–Ukraine border. What resulted was a 4-year long conflict that culled Earth's population from 7.9 billion to 95 million. Initially, humanity stood no chance against this alien race, however, in an unlikely turn of events, the humans ended up victorious in this war, but at a cost never before seen.

What is the Infraworld?
Nobody would have believed that in the early years of the 2020s, that Humanity was being watched by an intelligence greater than mans.

The Infraworld (or called the Nebora Dimension) is a place that appears to exist parallel to or partially in tandem with our own. It is not explicitly described as another dimension/galaxy, but this seems to be a reasonable description. It is believed to be the location where souls and other entities reside, though it is not clear if all souls stay in the Infraworld or move on.

When approaching a rift to the Infraworld (especially Black Sun), the visitor is accosted by the wailing voices and images of lost souls. It is known that vicious entities reside in the Infraworld, and if a condenser is used to create a rift without a containment field, they will escape and slaughter living beings.

The exact nature of the Infraworld is not clear. Yet all we know is that in the depths of the Infraworld, there are evil entities and it is still unclear of what else might be lingering down there, since the alien force was defeated in 2026.

Infraworld Fauna
The Infraworld is heavily dense with life and is controlled by an hierarchy. The lowest is the Knights, which are mainly Sectoids, Floaters, Infraworld Dragonflies, Chryssalids, Mosquitoes, Bulls, Infraworld Werewolves, the Infraworld Vampire & Infraworld Infiltrators. The middle is called the Controllers, mainly Infraworld Hounds, Mutons, both Heavy & Normal Jolts, Whisperers & Outsiders. The top is the Drones - common are the Cyberdiscs, Drones & Tripods. The Drones have made it seen that not only the Infraworld contains an heavy amount of fauna. The only one unraked are Infraworld Zombies.

However, on top of the Drones are the Elders, with one and only species in - the Etheral. Also called the Infraworld Elder

Sectoid
Sectoids are weak and die quickly against heavy conventional weaponry, but were still dangerous early in the war. They are usually found in groups of two or three, alongside other enemies like Infiltrators, Dragonflies or Vampires. They are intelligent enough to use cover and flanking tactics, unlike some aliens. As the war progressed, they were phased out in favor of more dangerous foes.

According to classified autopsy reports made by the UN in cooperation with the CDC, only obtained by Freedom of Information Act requests, their unusual structure suggests that Sectoids are genetically manipulated and their identical genetic info implies that they are cloned.

They also posses the ability to Mind Merge with one another, increasing their health and combat effectiveness. However, one of the large downsides to this ability is if the Sectoid that initiates the Mind Merge dies, the other linked alien soldier dies as well.

Floaters
Floaters are monstrous cyborgs powered by pairs of twin back-mounted jets, which give them the ability to hover (gaining a height bonus). This also grants the Floaters the Launch ability, which allows them to fly into the sky and land behind your soldiers' lines.

Floater autopsies made by the UN hints that they may be the invaders' incomplete cybernetic and genetic experiments. They have received extensive mechanical implants, including ones that replace the internal organs. Due to its modifications, there is no distinguishing line between mechanical and biological to describe the Floater. According to UN, the Floaters were cybernetically modified using something called Infraworld Minerals after "their organic forms failed to evolve" and the modifications reduced their intelligence, thus turning them into mindless killing machines.

Infraworld Dragonflies
TBD

Arrival at Ground Zero
Meanwhile on Earth, the world was still trying to recover from the end of the COVID-19 Pandemic. The United States of America was the sole world superpower since 1991, and was only rivaled by China. By this point, America had withdrawn from Afghanistan and Russia was planning to invade Ukraine. It appeared the onset of another World War was coming, but that would all change.

On the early hours of February 24th, 2022, several rifts opened up across the world, from the Appalachian Mountains to the Russia–Ukraine border.