Special 2 - Close Encounters with the nth Kind

  After her discussion with Phanes, Gaia has just taken Aether to attempt to recover some of their diminished energy.

  The easiest way for them to accomplish this would be to just wait, but it would take far too long. The fastest way is to find a star and drain its energy, but this method comes with risks. If the energy is not consistently taken out at a very precise rate, it could very easily explode, potentially damaging the gods with the resulting supernova.

  Yes, even the gods of the Earth can be harmed.

  For now, they are going for the least dangerous yet most efficient route. Instead of taking power from a random star, they are targeting a low-energy red dwarf that lies relatively close to our own sun, Proxima Centauri.

  Approximately four light-years away, the journey there would be quite boring if traveling at lightspeed, the lawful maximum speed for any object in the universe. 

  The gods, however, are above the law.

  Gaia and Aether race through the cosmos, space and time bending around them as they continuously ignore the laws of physics. Proxima Centauri is quickly within sight, but Gaia is first to notice something strange. All around them, stars are disappearing, one by one. Soon, they are cast in complete darkness, surrounded by a ceaseless void.

  Inside the emptiness, both gods still have sight of each other, allowing them to keep cool in this situation. Their calm is swiftly broken.

  Something begins to stir in space. Blacker than black, a strange mass protrudes from nothing itself, and begins to speak.

  Absolutely incomprehensible. Horrible. A cacophony of what they both assume to be the true sound of death.

  Slowly, the invisible glob begins to take shape. It first gains color, revealing an emorphous white splatter of energy. It speaks again.

  Even worse. This time, Gaia and Aether understand one thing.

  "Moment. Learning."

  Amidst the mind-shattering noise, those two words can be heard. The raw power stretches out, now similar in height to our two gods.

  Silence. Hours, minutes, possibly seconds go by. Its hard to tell the passage of time. It's also deafening, just waiting. Waiting for it to do anything at all.

  Then all at once, it does everything.

  All around, the stars light back up. A wave of relief washes over Gaia and Aether at the same time as they gaze upon the vastness, but they quickly redirect their attention. In place of where floated pure energy, a man now stands. Clad in a black suit, and a matching tophat.

  "Was it you?"

  Antithesis. The clarity of its new voice is incomparable to the horrors subjected before.

  Perfectly transmitted along with words, is emotion. Its tone is refined, but has an underlying tinge of anger. This kind of anger demands an immediate and clear response, but the gods don't understand.

  "What?"

  Aether blurts out.

  "Perhaps I should have been more clear. I noticed the sudden appearance of a planet in one of my solar systems. Did you create it?"

  "Y-Yes."

  Gaia stutters out a response. She contemplated lying for but a moment, the thought of what would happen if it found out was overbearing.

  "Wonderful."

  This being is impossible to read. One moment it gives off an aura of malice, the next is an air of camaraderie. 

  "I also noticed, the intelligent life on this planet. They are quite similar to those on your home. Though it is hardly worth anything in comparison, they have power akin to gods. I find this amusing, thus I would like to make a deal. Because this world lies within my territory, it belongs to me. However, I find your design interesting, and will allow you to be the 'Moderators' of the world, in reference to the 'Role-Playing Games' the planet is clearly based on."

  Gaia and Aether stare at each other. They could easily throw everything away and go back to Earth, but in a situation like this, they can't. Though it isn't Earth, they created a world populated with humans, and they have a duty to oversee them. This is the one piece of knowledge engrained into their very existence. And so they agree.

  "Wonderful. Your names?"

  "Gaia."

  "Aether."

  "Based on the mythos of the Greek, or their mythos is based on you. Interesting nonetheless. I find the Norse tales to be quite interesting, perhaps my first act as 'Administrator' will be to incorporate an event from their mythology. Oh, it appears I have gotten distracted. You may call me... oh, this word sounds nice. You may call me Dapper. Pleasure to work with you."