Cold. It's a cold and chilly day with clouds blotting out the night sky. Not many birds are singing their tunes as usual. They sense danger in a presence nearby, so they hide and watch and cower in fear.
A man is standing on the edge of a building with a stern look upon his face. He watched as the streetcars below moved about like ill-organized ants.
If anyone were to look upon him from below, they would think of him as a jumper readying himself for his inevitable suicide. But no, he wasn't a jumper — far from it.
Deep in thought, he smiles, remembering a song he was fond of. A song he grew up listening to as a child, and eventually taught his children, who would never have had the chance to hear it in their generation without him.
He whistled a song that was repetitive as he repeated the same tunes almost endlessly for forty minutes straight. A song that seemed to never end was whistled by him until the flapping of wings could be heard behind him, causing him to stop.
"You know... that song is very annoying now that I know where you got it from," a man with wings said while landing several feet behind the man on the ledge. This statement made the man on the ledge briefly chuckle and smile before he returned his face to the stern demeanor it was before.
"As I told you before, the song has a much deeper meaning for me than it will for you, Gregory. It's really a matter of perspective and understanding. It's a song, although meant for children, that could — with all technicality put aside — be applied to so many things it makes you wonder..." The man on the ledge spoke with a deep Victorian accent while looking up at the sky, at what little stars were visible.
Gregory walked the distance just right behind the man on the ledge and to his right. Looking at his watch, he said, "Ignoring the fact you just lapsed back into your own mind, you know it's gonna be about that time, right? You think you can handle it? You know with the implications that can be drawn from this, this could stir the pot and get shit back on track with heavy repercussions. Let's not even talk about the shit that'll hit the fan, let's talk about the shit that's gonna happen after your little hail mary."
Coming back from within his mind, the man on the ledge leaned his head to the right and gazed at Gregory with a brief hint of annoyance. Ending his gaze and looking back at the scenery of the city, he said, "Whether or not it works, you'll be there to ensure it goes as smoothly as possible. All we need is for them to transmigrate or be reborn and it will all play out as needed. Doing so, they will adjust. They will change. They will become more than what we could have been! They will hopefully not make the same mistakes that we did."
Standing in silence, Gregory stood. The silence was ever prevalent when the mood became like it was when this man near the ledge became this erratic. Usually as calm as a tree but now as dangerous as a bomb on a hair trigger. To Gregory, this man was... unstable, but he cared not, as this man was his friend and brother from the beginning all the way to their end.
The sky, black with a slight hint of blue even with the city lights drowning out the stars, looked beautiful. That beauty slowly died as that dark blue slowly became a dazzling pink before it settled on the sharpest red that any human alive had ever laid their eyes on — at least some of them.
"It's about time you left, Gregory. You know that between me and you, currently, you're the only one who can prevent this from happening," Marcus said before he turned his head back at the alarmingly red sky. The sky was terrifying, as if it was a red-hot iron. Then they descended from it. Giant structures that were moving slowly across the sky from the perspective of those on the ground. These were ships, and they were massive.
Looking at his friend with eyes low and mouth closed but solemn, Gregory looked from his friend to the sky, covered and peppered with ships of massive proportions. Each one dropped small tear-shaped objects that crashed into buildings with such great force that small buildings crumbled and exploded as they released energy shielding that blew away the rubble that would have covered them, like the occupants within. The other objects landing in taller and sturdier buildings crashed through multiple floors on random levels depending on how sturdy the building's flooring was.
It didn't take long to see the small squads of clearly alien troops, in black and grey armor, leaving the objects — which were obviously drop pods — and beginning to shoot at the civilians below on the streets or in the buildings. Above, the giant colossal ships released smaller ships, some of different sizes and some clearly transporting either equipment or vehicles. There were so many that the sky, despite the colossal ships, looked as if large and small birds were flying in both chaos and organized formations in their sleek black armor. It was truthfully more comparable to that of an insect swarm, depending on one's perspective.
"It was such a beautiful night too. I guess they caught on to what we were attempting to do... well I guess it's goodbye, my friend. I guess we'll meet again in some way or another," Gregory said as a flash of light began emanating from his chest. Just as the flash was about to consume him, his friend turned around, sensing something he had not earlier, and with quickness lunged — not to attack Gregory but to save him from harm. An entity that had not been present had made itself known with intent. An entity he knew very well.
Suddenly a large blade was plunged through Gregory's back out his chest. A surprised look of confusion lay upon Gregory's face as he lost focus on the light he was creating. The light dimmed for a moment before Gregory's friend placed a hand on his chest, making the light brighter, causing a small explosion of light mixed with blood.
"Now was that really necessary? He was already leaving?" the man said mockingly.
"He was always in the way. I just made sure our stage was clear, darling." A blue-skinned woman wearing white and shining armor, in complete contrast to the black-clad soldiers that flanked her, stood face to face with the man who had sent the god she had stabbed in the back elsewhere.
"Darling? Have you forgotten we haven't been 'darlings' since you left me, Cremiel," the man said, taunting the young woman of unmistakable beauty.
The green-skinned woman's eyes quivered, first up then down, as she fought back the need to avert her eyes. Not of shame, but of guilt. After mentally shaking the feeling away, she approached him further and said, "You know why this is happening and why I'm here, and I need the answer to my question, Marcus. Will you leave with me to my world? It may still be under their control but… we can find a way."
The man looked down into the girl's eyes, which were a pair of glowing irises that shifted between odd colors somewhere between purple and magenta. A color that often sat somewhere between the shades of fuchsia depending on her mood. He knew it was a physical representation of who gave her the power. For all of its worth, it was something he found beautiful regardless of where she chose to drive her glaive through his chest like she did Gregory.
The man raised his left hand and placed it on the left side of her face, which, more out of instinct, she leaned into slightly. A comfort amongst the destruction and death occurring around them.
A silence between them was louder than the massive explosions happening in the background. Despite just being a small touch, the warmth shared between his hand and her cheek was all the other could think of at the moment.
The man could have stayed there for time untold if he hadn't noticed the massive wave of darkness that had swallowed the sun. It wasn't something that could easily be missed.
The sky darkened and everything seemed to silence besides the small amount of screaming from those that were still frightened out of their minds. The alien soldiers looked both surprised and scared. The gestures from one another hinted that what was happening wasn't a part of their plan.
A soldier that arrived with Cremiel took a step forward and kneeled before saying, "Your Highness, we must escape. Whatever the vile residents have done to their star, it seems to be quickly spreading outward towards the rest of the solar system."
Cremiel opened her eyes slightly and then closed them again. A small, happy grin appeared on her face despite it being strained with sorrow. She closed her eyes and once again proceeded to wrap her arms around the man and said solemnly, quietly, yet enough for the platoon of alien soldiers behind her to hear, "Men, it's too late to stop what's happening. That Shroud of Darkness is not going to stop with just this system… isn't that right, Marcus?"
The man now known as Marcus looked down and kissed Cremiel on the top of her head and said, "You know what I did and why I did it. We, like the other planets including yours, would be nothing but vassals and food for them. As soon as they woke we had already lost the war. It was only a matter of time before they repeated the cycle, and forever it would repeat. So why not flip the board and say sorry after and start a new game. One where we have a chance. I only hope we do more than meet again in the next life, Crem. I... really did love you. So much so I can't bear the idea of you dying with me."
With those last words, he separated slightly, surprising Cremiel, and opened his mouth wide as he slammed his jaws down upon her neck. The guards behind her readied their weapons but stopped themselves from unleashing a volley of alien energy. Their worry was high; they knew their queen fancied the monster with its mouth, now moving from her neck, as her lover. But they had limits to how much they could allow a creature they felt should be kneeling to their queen to violate her.
Before anyone could move further, Cremiel held her neck in pained surprise and looked at her lover with wide eyes as he placed his right hand on her chest. His hand began to emit a white light that shined as bright as the light that sent Gregory to who knows where.
She knew what he was doing. She usually enjoyed his selfishness, but at the moment she was stunned as she found it unacceptable. The unraveling of reality meant death beyond death, and if she was to die due to her lover's plan she would do so gladly, even if she was given the role of invading his home world for preparation for those she was forced to serve. But she knew what was happening. He was saving her and potentially dooming her to eternity without him, and that was hell in itself compared to who she, as a queen, had to bend the knee to.
She tried to grab his hand, then his arm, but his bites always left her euphoric and greatly weak. She tried to reach and clutch the leather jacket, anything to hold on, but her desperate attempt led nowhere. She was soon taken by the light in another explosion of light. Where she was taken was a mystery to her soldiers, and worry laced some of their faces, but none moved other than the one who kneeled before.
The soldier looked at Marcus, both silent for nothing more than a matter of seconds, before he asked, "I take it you have spared our queen whatever fate is to befall this... our reality. Presumably the same place you sent the other alien god."
Marcus looked at the soldiers with a small, satisfied smile before nodding and turning back around to face the Shroud of Darkness that had already made its way to Earth. So much so that it was already devouring the planet and the city before him. At peace with his soon-to-be end, he began to hum the song he was humming before. The feeling the song gave, following his past actions, compelled him to sing the song aloud, although only loud enough for himself and a few of the aliens to hear.
Some of the aliens found it strange that the vampire before them was singing before their deaths. Most were only focused on their own thoughts of their queen's words of reality being reset, or better yet the idea that none of them would see their families again. The weight was heavy, but as their queen's royal knights, Queen or no Queen, they would die with pride and elegance, following in their squad leader's footsteps, who had placed their left hands under their hearts as if meant to catch something falling from their right shoulder.
Marcus, looking forward, still singing the hyper-repetitive song, continued to sing softly and solemnly:
"This is the song that doesn't end. Yes, it goes on and on, my friend. Some people started singing it not knowing what it was, and they'll keep singing it just because..."
The words of Marcus came to a quick end as he was quickly consumed by the Shroud of Darkness. Soon, the alien soldiers saluting their farewell to comrades, their families, and to life were swallowed up, and soon to follow the planet, and afterwards all of reality.
In a void of light devoid of anything but the color white, Gregory slowly clutched his bleeding chest as he awoke to absolute quietness. His white and gold-colored ichor seeped out. It was serene, a stark difference from where he was previously. It was something he knew — he had a mission, and so did the alien woman who arrived after him, who slumbered upon a grand bed he summoned.
He didn't blame her. He knew she was nothing but a pawn used by those who held her leash, and found comfort in knowing that he would not be alone in his mission. A mission to reset the world and even the board.