teth·er gre·nades
/ˈteT͟Hər ɡrəˈnāds/ – noun
Specialized explosive devices that selectively detonate against tethered targets only, leaving untethered individuals completely unharmed even within the blast radius.
These weapons fundamentally transformed warfare by weaponizing the metaphysical connections between souls, creating precision strikes that blur the line between technology and spiritual manipulation.
In the twisted laboratories of Proxus Ballistics division, where ethics dissolve like sugar in acid rain, military engineers achieved the impossible: they turned the sacred art of tethering into a weapon of selective annihilation.
“The moment you feel that tug, you know death has called your name specifically.” These words, carved into the walls of The Catacombs by an unknown survivor, capture the primal terror that tether grenades unleash upon their victims. Unlike conventional explosives that kill indiscriminately, these devices create a metaphysical leash between weapon and target—a connection that transcends physical space and marks souls for destruction.
The technology operates on principles that would make philosophers weep and physicists question reality itself. When activated, a tether grenade establishes what military tacticians coldly term “selective targeting protocols”—but survivors know it by another name: the tugging. This isn’t merely a sensation; it’s the universe itself whispering your doom directly into your consciousness.
“I felt it pull at something deeper than my bones,” testified Colonel Marcus Vex during the infamous Newark Proxy Wars. “It wasn’t just telling me I was going to die—it was showing me the exact moment my soul would be ripped from whatever body I was wearing.”
The psychological warfare component proves as devastating as the physical destruction. Untrained combatants experience what field medics have dubbed “tether paralysis”—a complete nervous system shutdown triggered by the realization that death has formed a personal, inescapable bond with them. Veterans describe watching enemies literally freeze mid-stride, their minds unable to process the metaphysical violation of having their soul directly targeted by an explosive device.
But the true horror emerges among seasoned combat specialists who understand tethering mechanics. These warriors face a nightmarish race against time: break the tether connection before detonation, or experience a death so precisely calibrated that it bypasses every defense except the soul itself. Some legends speak of masters who can redirect tethers back to their attackers—turning the grenade against its original thrower in a twisted act of metaphysical revenge.
“In the old wars, you could at least see your enemy’s bullets coming,” reflects General Omodo in her banned memoir Blood in the Etherverse. “Now they form a soul-deep connection with you before they kill you. It’s intimate. Violating. Like being murdered by someone who knows your true name.”
The weapons’ precision capabilities have redefined military strategy across The Surface and beyond. Tactical units can now eliminate specific targets in crowded spaces without harming civilians, clear hostile areas while preserving infrastructure, and conduct psychological operations that leave enemies questioning the very nature of their existence. The mere knowledge that tether grenades exist in an enemy’s arsenal has proven sufficient to break entire military formations.
Yet perhaps most disturbing is how easily the basic technology can be operated. Military reports indicate that “a child could learn to use tether grenades for simple targeting scenarios,” though maintaining complex multi-target tethering schemes demands extensive training and psychological conditioning. This accessibility has led to black market proliferation among proxy sharing cartels and rogue deep world inhabitants.
Treacherous battlegrounds throughout The Surface warp tethering mechanics in unpredictable ways—what works in murky streets of AetherPoint might prove catastrophically different in the bone-crushing frost of The Helix Sky Villas in northern Greenland or among the deceptively paradise beaches of Los Demonios. Combat engineers must account for dimensional physics that can amplify, nullify, or redirect tether connections without warning.
The technology’s ultimate implication transcends military applications. By weaponizing the connections between souls, tether grenades represent humanity’s darkest achievement: the ability to commit murder through metaphysical bonds rather than mere physical force. They’ve transformed warfare from a contest of bodies and machines into a violation of consciousness itself.
In a future where death has become negotiable through respawning and proxy bodies, tether grenades offer something far more terrifying: the promise that nowhere on The Surface is your soul truly safe from those who know how to call its name.
Access restricted tether grenade technical specifications and survivor testimonies in the classified Military Arsenal Database – clearance level OMEGA required.
