Interlude 1

“Are you sure this is a good idea, Daddy? A storm is coming.”

A middle-aged Asian man with a determined expression glanced at the night sky to find darkening clouds. Without a hint of worry, he directed his attention to his daughter curled up on the seat, cocooned in a blanket, then out at the increasingly choppy water.

His determination shifted to an almost insane reverend desperation. “Don’t worry, my little angel, Tempa came to me in my dreams. Something big is coming. She told me to take you out here and everything will be made right.”

The girl stiffened and stared up at her father in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Any remaining traces of sanity vanished as he stared up at the sky, now distorting as if being stretched. “Our beautiful Elysia will return, and I will return to my beloved’s side.”

Despite knowing her twin was dead, tears of hope gathered in her eyes, but she squashed them, refusing to let herself believe the impossible. Still, her gaze wandered upward as well, her breath catching in her throat as she watched a massive planet appear in the night sky.

Like watching a car crash despite wanting to look away, her eyes remained glued on the planet, looking not unlike Earth, though several times larger. Within seconds, it engulfed the entire night sky, plunging Earth into pitch-black darkness.

With the boat lights, the father and daughter pair watched as everything around them distorted as if to accommodate the massive planet. The water, previously only a dozen meters away, stretched to over fifty meters, leaving a black void in the gap. Fortunately, the water supporting their boat remained unaffected, though the water that remained grew choppier by the second.

As fast as it came, the planet vanished. The only reminder it ever existed was a glowing blue moon opposite Earth’s white moon.

The sound of rushing water reached Sereia’s ears, causing her to tear her eyes away from the pulsating moon. Their boat was once again shrouded in darkness, this time from a different cause. Confused, Sereia uncurled herself from the bench and flipped on the high-beam headlights, only to freeze in terror. Looming over them dozens of meters tall was a massive wave.

In a panic, her brown eyes shot to her father, but he was still staring up at the pulsating moon with a bright smile as if in a trance. Survival instincts kicked in, propelling her toward the steering wheel, but she was far too slow. With the force of a meteor, the wave smashed down on the small fishing boat as if it was the target all along.

The boat smashed to pieces, crushing the father and daughter duo instantly. Almost supernaturally quick, the water calmed. Where their boat once floated, no trace of the duo remained visible.