Mundus, 99,000 light-years from Earth
Bridge of the Destiny-One, a million miles above the surface
Noriko Null nervously taps her finger on the captain’s chair, keeping an eye on the reports from the sensors. Aside from the new warships orbiting the planet, they’re not showing anything.
<Something’s gone wrong. Eros should’ve reported back already.>
<Should I go have a look?> Quantum proposes.
<No, you’ll be spotted immediately. At this distance the cloaking systems barely cover us, any closer and they’ll launch an attack.>
<Let them. This vessel is mightier than anything Athena has.> Gilgamesh counteracts.
<I haven’t seen their specs, but the Praetor Warships should at the very least be comparable to the old Ragnarok. I’m not so sure we can take on fifteen of those, especially since they will probably have some sort of support.> Noriko explains.
<Why are we even here? You have the Genesis Armor. Just go down there and kick some ass!> Kari objects.
<I’m trying to win a war while minimizing collateral damage. I can’t think like a goddess!>
Just as the argument is heating up, Hermes materializes on the bridge. He’s holding a very distressed Doctor Catherine Kalama in his arms.
<Time to come up with a new plan, Sunshine: your old one just picked up and left.> he says.
<Take me back! I can’t leave her alone!> the doctor objects.
<What the hell happened down there? Why isn’t Eros reporting?> Noriko asks.
<That limp-wristed poor excuse for a god was spooked by whatever Athena keeps locked beneath Mundus and left. Everyone else is exploring the base.>
<Hermes, you idiot! You were supposed to take every mortal out of there!!!> Noriko yells.
<You wanted someone on the inside, you have them. I couldn’t look at what scared Eros, but I sensed one thing: it cannot be allowed to leave Mundus. If Athena wants you there, it would be suicide to fall into her trap.>
<Now listen to me, Hermes. Either you bring Eros back to me in the next five minutes or our agreement is off.> Noriko tells him to his face, her silver eyes shining.
<You mean…> Hermes’s voice trembles.
<Eros. Five minutes. Or I. Will. Kill. You.>
Hermes doesn’t even bother with a response: he’s gone faster than the blink of an eye.
<Noriko, we have to…> Doctor Kalama tells her, but Noriko raises a hand and interrupts her.
<Safety belts, everyone. I’m going to ram the ship into the fortress.> she announces, warming up the engines.
<What about the plan?> Torn asks.
<My sister is down there. F##k collateral damage.>
Beneath the surface, sub-level 120
With the sound of the alarm reverberating through the fortress, more and more guards are charging into the level. The good news is that the elevator is the only way to access this floor, as teleporters are strictly prohibited: this creates an easily exploitable chokehold point.
The bad news is that they are all equipped with personal shields: Kayla Black’s energy powers and Kiros Zel’s duplicates have been able to keep the first waves away, as well as destroying all the knockout gas emitters and sound blasters that were supposed to incapacitate them… but they won’t last forever.
<Are you sure it’s a good idea to open that door?> Kayla asks, briefly turning towards the children accompanying them.
There used to be four of them, but Kari’s three daughters have fused into a single grown-up woman using her increased strength to very slowly open a huge security door.
<If Athena’s keeping some kind of weapon in here, it could be useful!> Nalani Null replies, as the nine-year-old child prodigy is trying to use the opening to squeeze to the other side.
<What if it’s some big scary monster?> the merged Zel kids asks.
<Then we could convince it to help us! Unless you have a 3-digit IQ, I don’t want to hear any suggestions.> Nalani insists.
<What about us?> the merged being asks.
<You mean adding the IQs of all three of you? Can you even reach 2 digits? C’mon, leave the thinking to me and use that overgrown body of yours to give me an opening!>
<You’re… very… mean…> the Myridian fusion replies while using all her strength for a final push.
That’s barely enough space to allow the child to squeeze through, and Nalani finds herself admiring what’s on the other side of the door.
It’s definitely bigger than she imagined: it’s a huge structure, a squared pit larger than Central Park and deep enough to reach the center of the planetoid. Possibly even bigger than that.
<This doesn’t look like Olympian technology.> she reasons out loud, touching one of the walls.
It’s cold to the touch, with a metallic texture despite looking like solid rock; a dull grey material with irregular veins that faintly glow blue.
<Drylon. Guys, I think this is Drylon technology!> she shouts.
<Cool! What’s a Drylon?> is the response from the other side.
<Bad news. It’s always bad news.> Nalani says, getting closer and closer to the edge of the chasm in front of her until she bumps into an invisible force.
<What’s the point of this? Why would Athena want to lead my sister to…>
<MEAT.>
Nalani’s heart accelerates as she screams at the sight of a scaly tentacle emerging from the bottomless pit, attempting to grab her but failing to get past the invisible barrier.
<There’s something alive in here!!!> she shouts.
<SHE PROMISED MEAT. I AM WAITING.> the pit protests.
<Who is “she”? Athena?> Nalani tentatively asks.
<BRING ME A GOD. OR A UNIVERSE. I HUNGER.>
<Did Athena imprison you? She’s our enemy! We can work together!>
<I AM HIGHEST ABOVE ALL, THE GREATEST TERROR IN THE UNIVERSE, SCOURGE OF OLYMPUS, BANE OF ALL GODS. I NEED NO ALLIES.>
<And yet you’re in a cage.> Nalani mocks the voice.
That turns out to be a bad idea: something in the pit stirs, causing an earthquake.
<ZEUS WAS NOT GOD ENOUGH TO DEFEAT ME, TRICKING ME INTO THIS FORSAKEN DRYLON CAGE. RELEASE ME SO THAT I CAN FULFILL MY DESTINY: DESTROY EVERYTHING.>
<Why would I do that? Or better yet, why would Athena be insane enough to do it?> Nalani wonders, hurrying to squeeze back outside of the large door.
<Big scary monster?> the merged Myridian asks.
<Big scary monster, yes. I don’t think Athena really wants to release that thing… I’ll bet that she wants to trap Noriko inside its cage. We have to keep her away from here!>
Kayla and Kiros aren’t paying much attention to Nalani, being too busy dealing with the guards. Until they are defeated with brutal efficiency by a combination of a laser bouncing around as if it has a mind of its own and glowing red energy weapons.
<Everything okay down here? The sensors picked up an earthquake.> Noriko asks.
<Nori? You can’t be here!> Nalani protests.
<Sure can. I used the Destiny-One’s phasing technology to get through the upper levels, materializing it inside… I had calculated that the structure would survive the damage.>
<No, you don’t understand, this is a trap! Athena wanted you here!>
<There’s a big scary monster that wants to kill everything.> the Myridian fusion informs her.
<You don’t say.> Noriko raises an eyebrow, making Nalani realize just how well Athena understands her sister.
Praetor Warship One, above the planet
Nike expected Athena to be mad at the sight: the viewscreen is showing the fortress collapse on itself, now that the uppermost subterranean levels have been demolished.
Instead, her goddess stands emotionless, arms behind her back, side by side her secret ally.
<See, what did I tell you? She could not resist rescuing her family and she won’t resist proving her worth against an impossible challenge. Every flame has its moth.> Rei Null smugly points out.
<I concede you are right. Proceed to your part of the plan.> Athena orders.
<I’m already on it. The advantages of having copied Myridian powers: I can be in more place than one. And this duplicate would rather stay close to you to make sure I will receive my payment.>
<As agreed, Rei. You will get the full schematics of the Genesis Armor after Noriko is dead.>
<Hmm. You sure were quick to hack into her systems to gain this knowledge…>
<You doubt my skills, Rei? Every cell of my body is part of my divine power. When Noriko absorbed my blood to power up the Genesis Armor, she gave me full knowledge of its functionality.>
<And yet you’re going along with my plan, and agreed to give me the armor, instead of building one for yourself. Which means two things: one, you couldn’t figure out a way to use the armor for yourself. Two, you devised a way to stop me if I ever try to attack you with it.>
<Your point being?>
<Just making sure you don’t try to double cross me. I am not Noriko, Athena.>
<I’m under no impression that you are. Nike, what is the status of our invading forces?> she asks.
<In position, Your Majesty. A massive, simultaneous attack on Earth, Myridia and Boreas can be launched as soon as the intangibility shields protecting them fail.>
<Excellent. Upon my command…>
<Is that wise, though?> Nike asks.
Athena and Rei slowly turn towards her. The goddess in anger, the mortal visibly amused.
<We have enough ships to launch a debilitating strike against thousands of other worlds. Even if those three worlds survive, the resistance will still be crippled.> Nike objects.
<Destroying Myridia and Boreas will crush the will of the rebellion, and destroying Earth will rid Noriko of any fallback plans. Leave strategy to ME, Nike, since you are no longer capable of achieving victory on your own.>
<Yes, Your Majesty.> Nike dejectedly agrees, no longer looking at her goddess.
<Don’t be too sad. This will be over quickly.> Rei reassures her, looking at her watch: she just received a message from one of her duplicate bodies.
<It shall. Nike, raise shields to maximum and bring us out of this system: I’m releasing the beast.>
Boreas, 30,000 light-years from Earth
A different Rei Null is looking at the planet from orbit. There are hundreds of spaceships orbiting it, like vultures waiting to descend on a prey.
The only reason they don’t is that the planet is currently completely intangible, with its image fluctuating like a ghostly reflection.
Until she flips a switch.
Hundreds of phase modulators, modified by her necrobots working on Amazon technology, begin twisting the planet back into its original state.
It will only take a few minutes for Boreas to become tangible again, and a few more to reduce its surface to a molten mass of flaming rocks.
Mundus, 99,000 light-years from Earth
The planetoid shakes much worse than before. In fact, it’s only thanks to Vesta rushing to hold the roof that it doesn’t collapse on top of everyone else.
<Okay none of you can sense energy, but I’m not the only one who just felt the mother of all power surges right?> Quantum asks.
The massive door is torn from its hinges. Tentacles break through everything: creeping from floor to ceiling, as something far too big for this celestial body shifts its weight underground.
<This is bad. Everybody out, NOW!!!> Noriko orders.
And not a moment too soon: a combination of the ship’s teleporter and Torn’s portals bring everyone back on the Destiny-One.
Just in time for everything around it to be pulverized. Not just the fortress: the planetoid itself is being devoured from the inside out, as everyone looks in awe and terror at what is reforming outside of the ship. Only one person has something to say.
<Holy f##king s##t.> Vesta exclaims, becoming pale with fear.
Nobody around her remembers her ever swearing. But considering what they are witnessing, they can’t exactly blame her.
A colossal contradiction of nature, a living catastrophe whose body seems assembled from every terror the universe can imagine.
Only humanoid in the broadest sense: every limb is made of a plethora of monstrous shapes. Muscles made of intertwined serpents, vast leathery wings that can eclipse any star, and innumerable heads twisted together to form a horrible cranium crowned by a writhing assembly of dark tentacles.
<That’s Typhon!!! Athena has gone mad!!!> Vesta shouts.
The monster god stares at the ship with its seven burning eyes, distributed unevenly across its mockery of a face, and it opens a gigantic mouth filled with multiple rows of fangs to declare:
<THE AGE OF GODS AND MORTALS IS OVER! I WILL EAT THE FLESH OFF THE BONES OF THIS UNIVERSE AND RULE OVER ITS ASHES!!!>