Prologue
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...No...this couldn't be the end...
The once-thriving city of Adelaide had become a scene of chaos and despair. The sky was a terrifying shade of blood red, casting an eerie glow over the ruins. Buildings, once towering and proud, lay in ruins, reduced to crumbling rubble. The streets were filled with the injured and the dead, their cries and moans mingling with the distant roars of destruction. Amidst the carnage, countless people ran aimlessly, their faces twisted with fear, their eyes filled with desperation.
In the midst of this devastation stood a girl, frozen in place, her gaze fixed upward. Her small frame was barely noticeable amidst the chaos, but her stillness set her apart. She had short brown hair that fluttered gently in the wind, pale skin that almost seemed to blend with the ash-filled air, and blue eyes that shimmered with tears. She wore a simple brown sweater and blue pants, clothes that once might have been comfortable but now clung to her like a reminder of everything that had been lost.
Her hair whipped around her face as she continued to stare at the sky, her eyes wide with horror. Above her, looming like a nightmare made real, was the source of all this destruction—a monstrous being of unimaginable size and power. Its skin was fully dark, absorbing light and casting an ominous shadow over everything it touched. A long cape trailed behind it, shifting from black to a deep purple gradient that seemed to bleed into the red sky. Where a face should have been, there was only a smooth, faceless mask, with a single purple star marking its center—an emblem that radiated malevolence.
"...No..." she whispered, her voice trembling with fear and disbelief.
Before she could say another word, the monster began to move. Its massive hand, shrouded in darkness, rose into the air, gathering energy with an almost effortless motion. A huge orb formed in its grasp, swirling with dark, chaotic energy. The orb grew rapidly, pulsing with power, as if it contained all the malice and destruction that had befallen the world. The air around it crackled with raw energy, the ground beneath it trembling as if the very earth was afraid.
Suddenly, the orb descended with terrifying speed, hurtling toward the earth like a falling star. It was a seething mass of darkness, tendrils of energy spiraling outward, tearing through the air with a deafening roar. The orb's surface was chaotic, writhing with shadowy forms that seemed to scream in agony. It was as if the orb was alive, filled with the suffering and hatred of countless souls.
The moment the orb struck the ground, the world exploded in a blinding flash of light and heat. The shockwave that followed was devastating, ripping through the city like a tidal wave of destruction. Buildings disintegrated in an instant, the earth itself cracking and shattering under the force. The sky turned black as the orb's energy consumed everything in its path.
Sara felt the heat before she saw it, a scorching wave that hit her like a physical blow. Her skin began to blister and peel away, the pain unlike anything she had ever felt. She screamed, but the sound was lost in the chaos, drowned out by the roar of the destruction. Her body began to melt, her skin bubbling and sloughing off as the orb's energy consumed her. The pain was excruciating, overwhelming every sense, until there was nothing left but agony and the darkening void.
In her final moments, as her vision blurred and the world faded to black, a single thought echoed in her mind.
"...no...pl...ease..."