The sky above the ruined shore churned with unsettling energy, a swirling mass of gray and purple that seemed to twist reality itself.
The totem, newly erected by Surreal's four deft hands, began to glow with a faint purple hue.
Its carved runes shimmered like liquid light, growing in intensity until a single pulse erupted outward—a ripple of disruption that warped the air, shaking the ground, and sending tremors across the shoreline.
Forreal staggered slightly, shielding her face from the sudden force. "What the hell was that?" she demanded, her voice sharp as she steadied herself.
Surreal, standing calmly before the totem, brushed invisible dust from his gloves. "A beacon," he said simply, his closed eyes tilting upward in his usual smile. "An invitation, you could say."
Forreal narrowed her eyes. "Invitation for what? Actually, don't answer that. I already know it's something bad."
A minute passed in heavy silence before the atmosphere began to shift.
The once-calm sea turned violent, waves rising like jagged towers before collapsing into endless torrents.
The winds roared to life, howling across the ruins with an unnatural fervor.
Overhead, the sky dimmed, the light bleeding away as if consumed by some unseen force.
The ground beneath them trembled, cracks spidering across the shattered concrete of the shore.
Forreal instinctively took a step back, her staggered by the constant lightning and storm. "This feels apocalyptic. And considering we're the only ones left alive, that's saying something."
"Sounds like a recency bias. My judgment is more intense than this."
Surreal raised his hand, summoning a protective barrier that enveloped them both.
His extra arms extended outward, fingers tracing complex sigils in the air, weaving layers of protective spells, strong enough to prepare a nuclear attack.
Forreal glanced at him, her unease barely masked by her sarcasm. "So, this is the second extinction event, huh?"
"Yes and no," Surreal replied, his tone steady. "This isn't the event itself, but it's the catalyst. The cause is the same."
"And the cause is…?" she prompted, her voice edged with irritation as she glanced at the chaos unfolding around them.
Surreal turned to her, his expression briefly serious. "Humanity's crimes against nature. From the moment humans began to dominate Earth's landmass, they disrespected what was given to them—chipping away at the ozone layer, poisoning rivers, massacring wildlife, and stripping the Earth of its resources without thought for tomorrow. These actions did not go unnoticed."
Forreal's expression darkened. "Noticed by who?"
Surreal paused, then smiled faintly. "By something older and far more powerful than humanity. A being that existed since the foundation of this Earth, forged amidst cosmic dust and ancient stars." He gestured at the storm above. "A being many cultures have worshipped by countless names. But for me…" He met her gaze. "I call her Gaia."
The name lingered in the air like a weight, and before Forreal could respond, the storm seemed to part, the entrance of the divine.
From the heavens descended a figure—a towering feminine form, three meters tall, radiating a presence that dwarfed everything around her.
Her youthful face was impossibly beautiful, almost unnaturally so, with natural black hair cascading in twin tails that seemed to defy the storm. Two unique horns, resembling tall bat ears, jutted from her head, golden liquid swirling within them like eternal rivers of molten light.
Her body was thin, her chest modest, yet her hips and thighs were wide and motherly, exuding a strange blend of elegance and compassion. She wore little more than translucent veils and silk, her form outlined against the chaos of the storm.
And finally, each of her limbs, from the elbows and knees downward, was composed of transparent glass-like material. Within, golden blood flowed visibly, an unnerving and mesmerizing sight.
Forreal froze, her voice caught in her throat. "That's… Gaia…?"
Gaia's deep, regal voice boomed across the ruined landscape, carrying a tone of authority that made the air itself seem to tremble.
"You. Mortal. Was it you who performed the mass genocide in this planet…?"
Surreal's smile didn't waver as he replied with a simple, "Yes."
The atmosphere shifted immediately, Gaia's golden eyes narrowing.
Without a word, she raised her hand, and the sky itself reshaped, a massive spear of swirling clouds and golden light forming above her.
With a graceful motion, she hurled it downward, the air screaming as the weapon descended.
Surreal acted instantly. He grabbed Forreal by the arm and teleported them both away in a burst of black energy.
They reappeared several kilometers away using the same teleportation method that Surreal often used.
But when they appeared there, Gaia was already there, menacingly emerging from a golden portal with intense hatred.
She summoned another massive spear, this one radiating golden energy so intense it seemed to warp the air around it.
Without hesitation, she hurled it at them with devastating force.
Surreal reacted instantly, conjuring a miniature portal that swallowed the spear whole. A heartbeat later, the portal opened in front of Gaia, sending the spear hurtling back toward her.
However, another golden portal materialized, redirecting the weapon back toward Surreal.
Within the timespan of 4 seconds, the two of them exchanged blows in a deadly game of cat and mouse, with a single spear of death and constant usage of portals redirecting in rapid succession.
Finally, after fifty exchanges, Surreal caught the spear mid-flight, his hands glowing with black magic as he corrupted its golden energy of the spear.
With a sharp motion, he hurled the corrupted weapon back at Gaia.
Undaunted, Gaia summoned another portal, but the corrupted magic spread like a virus, shattering her divine construct.
Gaia's eyes widened slightly before she summoned a second spear, colliding it mid-air with Surreal's attack.
The resulting explosion lit up the sky, momentarily dispersing the clouds into a clear blue.
Before the dust could even settle, Surreal teleported again.
Lay before them was a barren, silvery expanse, where the ground shimmered with fine, powdery dust, untouched by time.
The horizon curved gently, meeting an infinite void of black, speckled with distant, unwavering lights. Each step they took left a delicate imprint in the soft terrain, as if the air—or lack thereof—resisted them, reminding them they were far north on Earth.
The Earth's fragile blue orb was hanging in the sky.
"Where… are we?" Forreal finally tried moving her body after the intense action that she witnessed.
"The moon," Surreal said casually, adjusting his gloves.
"How can we talk and breathe then?"
"Black magic," he replied with a faint grin.
"... At this point, I don't know what a black magic is meant to be anymore…"
Before she could argue further, another golden portal appeared, Gaia stepping through with an unrelenting presence.
Her towering form dwarfed them, the swirling golden liquid in her limbs glowing brighter as she raised her hand.
Surreal turned to Forreal, his expression calm but firm.
"Stay put."
Before she could protest, he cast a spell, placing her in a spectral state.
From Forreal's perspective, the world seemed muted, her movements slowed, and her voice silenced. She could only watch as a massive force of golden energy erupted from Gaia's hand, blasting Surreal head-on.
The shockwave sent lunar dust billowing into the void, as the impact carved a deep crater into the moon's surface. But when the dust cleared, Surreal remained standing, his smile replaced by a focused intensity.
The two beings collided in an instant, their movements too fast for Forreal to track.
Black and gold energy clashed violently, illuminating the lunar surface with bursts of light.