Shrouded Seascape

Gray snowflakes continued to descend from above and steadily accumulated on Charles and Anna. It didn't take long before the two figures seated on the stairs were completely draped in snow. 𝚏𝕣𝕖𝚎𝚠𝚎𝚋𝚗𝐨𝐯𝕖𝕝.𝕔𝐨𝕞

With a huff, Anna's body split open. A dozen tentacles shot out and vigorously shook off the accumulated snow before retracting back into the husk of Anna's human form. Now spotless, Anna stood up, grabbed Charles by the arm, and pulled him up.

"Let's go inside and eat something. You haven't eaten anything since this morning."

"Go and have some food. I don't have any appetite," Charles responded in a heavy tone.

"Then what's on your mind now?" Anna asked.

Confusion suffused Charles' gaze as he stared at the gray snow before him. He remained silent for a long moment before he slowly spoke, "Many things... I thought of many things from the past. My mind's a mess now..."

Before Anna could offer any words of comfort, the rapid buzzing of helicopter blades grew louder as they returned from the distance. The reconnaissance team was back.

The wind from the propeller bales scattered the gray snow to reveal the cracked, brown earth beneath.

Holding something in his hands, the pilot disembarked and rushed toward Charles.

Charles quickly got to his feet to take a better look at what was in the pilot's arms. It was an elongated worm-like creature curled up like a circular disc; its shell didn't appear to be chitin but instead resembled semi-melted, crimson flesh.

If it hadn't been for the rows of legs underneath, it would have been hard to identify it as an insect at all.

Reaching out with his prosthetic limb, Charles grabbed the insect's head and gave it a forceful shake. The bug's coiled body rapidly straightened and to their astonishment, its length measured up to a meter and a half. It was clearly not a creature from Earth; at least, it wasn't a known creature from the Earth of the 21st century.

"Where did you find this?" Charles asked in a hoarse voice.

"We discovered this twenty kilometers to the east, at a three o'clock direction. It appeared to be dead and about fifty meters to the left of it, there was an expanse of black mist with no boundary in sight.

"I didn't dare to enter as it seems like there's something alive lurking within," the pilot reported.

Charles nodded in understanding and tossed the bug back to the pilot.

"Isolate it first then have someone dissect the bug to see what's inside its stomach," Charles instructed.

The pilot left with the bug. Soon, more and more helicopters returned.

Of the sixteen that were dispatched, fifteen had returned. The pilots brought back photographs of the nearby terrain, along with various peculiar plants and animals. However, all of them were drastically different from those living creatures known to Earth; they looked bizarre and twisted.

Charles seemed to have regained his composure, and he carefully studied the items the reconnaissance team had brought back.

Meanwhile, Anna stood nearby with her arms folded across her chest as she watched Charles' back view with a concerned gaze.

Suddenly, she noticed Charles halted his actions; his gaze was fixated on one particular photo that he had just picked up.

Anna walked over and snatched the photo from his grasp. The photo depicted a massive mountain whose summit was out of frame. However, there was a subtle shimmer on the right side of the mountain. It was a cold hue of light different from the dark violet of the sky.

"Could it be humans? Or some other intelligent light form?" Anna pondered aloud as she studied the photo.

With his brows pressed together, Charles shook his head and turned to return to the airship. "Whatever it is, let's go over and have a look."

The airship levitated and adjusted its course to head toward the mysterious light.

The gray snow continued to fall and soon enough, a thick layer had accumulated on the airship's air balloons. Though not built for speed, the airship was designed for stability.

Soon, standing at the bridge, Charles could see the imposing mountain that stood motionless like a slumbering giant. At the same time, he spotted the light as captured in the photograph.

However, the light had turned indigo; it further confirmed Anna's guess that it wasn't a natural source of light. After all, such color shifts were not typical under normal circumstances.

"Steer closer toward it," Charles ordered, and the airship began its careful approach. Simultaneously, the machine guns and bombs were in position. Should they face any threats, the assault arsenal of these five massive airships was not to be underestimated.

Gradually, the source of the indigo light appeared before everyone. Yet, the moment Charles recognized the source of it, his eyes widened in shock, and he bellowed, "Everyone, down! Draw the curtains!"

The source of light had been the Light God! He had not left the surface world at all!

Swish!

The black curtains were drawn swiftly to shield the rays of light piercing through the glass windows. Charles cautiously approached one of them and slightly peeled back a corner to peer outside.

The colossal form of the Light God was nowhere to be seen. Only a sun-like head was slowly moving across the ground. His usual bright, warm white hue had turned to an odd shade of indigo, flickering weakly like a bulb on the brink of burning out.

"Telescope," Charles called out, stretching a hand to the back without turning his head.

Grabbing the telescope placed into his hand, he brought it to his eye and aimed it at the Light God. It didn't take long for him to realize that the Light God wasn't moving on its own accord. Someone was dragging Him.

A human figure, whose size was like an ant compared to the Light God's giant head, was pulling it along with black ropes.

The sight of a human dragging an indigo-colored sun across the gray snowy landscape appeared magnificent yet bizarre.

Tossing the telescope aside, Charles pivoted on his heel and dashed toward the airship's hatch.

"Anna, stay behind. I'll go over and have a look," Charles remarked.

But clearly, Anna had no intention of listening to him. Just as Charles grabbed a parachute and leaped off the airship, he felt an added weight on his shoulders. Anna had jumped onto him.

"Get back in there! I can go alone! I just need to ask the Light God something!"

Anna tightened her legs around him and replied, "Not a chance."

Her back then split open and several tentacles extended out to wrap around the parachute cords. With a slight tug of her tentacles, the parachute swiftly steered toward the location of the Light God.

When Charles finally landed, he found himself right in front of the Light God. It was only then that he realized that the human figure dragging the sun was none other than the Pope.

The Pope had entangled the Light God with close to twenty thick, two-meter-long colossal chains and was struggling to pull the man-made Divinity along.

Stark naked, the Pope clenched down tightly on his jaws. His eyes were bloodshot as he fought to hold back his tears.

"O God, please hold one! We're almost back! We're going home!" the Pope shouted, his voice cracking up due to his overwhelming sense of grievance as he summoned all the strength he could to tug at the chains.

Snap!

All of a sudden, the light that enveloped the Light God exploded. Only a pure blue hue surrounded Him now, and with each passing moment, it grew fainter as it teetered on the brink of extinguishing.

"Lylejay... it's enough. I'm dying. Don't waste your time..." A weary female voice sounded. Her words opened up the floodgates. The Pope could no longer contain himself and began to sob.

Tears streamed down his face. However, even amidst his overwhelming emotions, he did not let go of the chains and was still pulling with every ounce of strength he could muster.

"My God! Please, I'm begging You, don't leave me! I'll do anything you ask!"

Standing nearby, Charles' eyes widened in shock at the scene before him. The Light God breaking out of His seal had nearly eradicated all of humanity in the Subterranean Sea. However, such a being was now on the brink of death. Just what existence would it possibly be that could overpower the Light God?

"Lylejay, I'm sorry. I can't fulfill my promise to you anymore. But... thankfully, you haven't lost anything. Farewell, old friend..."

An azure light shot out from the Light God and onto the Pope. Instantly, his aged, spotted skin regained its youthful elasticity, while his white hair, a symbol of his old age, rejuvenated to a beautiful gold.

As the Pope's body rapidly shrank, his mutilated limbs regenerated as well. At the end of the transformation, the Pope's form had returned to that when he was a ten-year-old boy.

As the transformation happened, the light emanating from the Light God dimmed further. He seemed to be expending the last bit of His energy to restore youth and vitality to the Pope.

Anxiety rose in Charles as he watched the transformation. The Light God was almost to draw His final breath, but he still had many questions he wanted to ask.

"Wait! What happened? How did the surface become like this? Who injured you?"

The Light God's form burst into a blindingly bright blue light, and His thunderous voice echoed across the desert. "They deceived me! They deceived all of us!"

Pop!

The Light God then exploded into a myriad of dazzling lights. A few seconds later, the light faded along with the massive figure of the Light God.

Having been restored to his former youth, Lylejay dropped the chains in his hands and walked in a daze toward where the Light God had last been.

Suddenly, his knees buckled, and he collapsed to the ground. He started sobbing uncontrollably. At this moment, he was no different from his younger self a hundred and twenty years ago when he was surrounded by bullies—helpless and filled with despair.

Charles and Anna stood to the side and watched on as the Pope continued bawling. Suddenly, Charles moved. His prosthetic limb transformed into a chainsaw. It whirred to life as he approached the Pope.

Despite Charles' advancement, the Pope made no move to defend himself. He remained on his knees at his spot and continued weeping in despair.

Anna extended a tentacle and halted Charles in his tracks. "Let him live. Killing him now would only help free him from his misery."

As he wept, the Pope slowly crawled forward and eventually reached when the Light God had vanished. Curling himself up into a ball, he whispered, "God... I can feel Your warmth... You haven't left, have you...?"

"What do you plan to do next?" Anna turned to Charles and asked, "Are you going to continue searching for your family on the surface?"

Charles lowered his raised arm and looked upward at the dark, violet sky. Suddenly, he grabbed Anna's right hand and started walking toward the airship.

With a calm voice that was devoid of any agitation or uncertainty, Charles answered, "No. I won't be searching anymore. My family isn't here on this surface. My current family is in the Subterranean Sea.

"Anna, let's go home. My family needs me. As for this place... whoever wants to come here, be my guest."