Oblivion: Reincarnated as a space beast

A blazing streak ripped across the serene night sky, a meteor plunging into the dark embrace of the sea. Deep beneath the waves, the impact shattered the seabed, sending a shockwave rippling outward through the water. The ocean floor buckled and cracked, and a plume of sediment billowing upwards, momentarily obscuring the newly formed crater. As the dust settled, a dark, oval shape was revealed, nestled within the impact zone. It was an egg, roughly a meter in diameter, its black surface etched with intricate golden lines that pulsed with a faint, internal light, like veins of molten gold beneath obsidian.

In the silent, frigid depth of the ocean the egg remained dormant, a silent witness to the passage of eras from the reign of dinosaurs to the dawn of modern humanity.

[5th September 2014]

Sydney lay in ruins. Once a magnificent city, its iconic Opera House was now a jagged skeleton against the smoke-filled sky, only rubble remaining. The silence was deafening, broken only by the rustling wind whistling through shattered window panes and the distant, mournful wail of sirens. Overturned vehicles littered the streets, their empty interiors a testament to the hurried evacuation. Those who remained huddled in makeshift shelters—subway stations, basements, even overturned buses—their faces etched with fear and resignation. A child's teddy bear lay amongst the debris, a stark reminder of the lives shattered by the Kaiju.

Sydney was the fourth. Less than a year ago, it had been San Francisco, the Golden Gate Bridge crumbling under the weight of the first Kaiju's monstrous foot. Then Manila, its vibrant streets reduced to flooded canals and shattered concrete. Then Hong Kong, its towering skyscrapers toppled like dominoes. The world watched in horror as these colossal beasts emerged from the depths, bringing destruction on an unprecedented scale. Conventional weaponry—troops, tanks, artillery, jets—had proven useless against the Kaiju's thick hides and immense strength. It had taken three tactical nuclear missiles to finally subdue the first one, codenamed "Trespasser," leaving a radioactive scar on the Californian coast. People desperately hoped it was an isolated incident, a horrifying anomaly, but six months later, another attack occurred, shattering that fragile hope.

Each time the monsters, now termed "Kaiju" (a Japanese word meaning "strange beast"), attacked, they left a trail of devastation that reshaped coastlines and shattered economies. It was becoming chillingly clear that these attacks would continue, increasing in frequency and ferocity. Nothing short of nuclear force seemed capable of stopping them, a desperate measure that threatened to poison the very world they were trying to protect. The Pan Pacific Defense Corps (PPDC) was formed, a desperate attempt to pool global resources and find a better solution.

The Kaiju currently responsible for Sydney's near-total annihilation was designated 'Scissure,' a quadruped with loose, scaly skin that shimmered with an oily sheen, a long, crocodilian jaw that opened to reveal a pulsating, bioluminescent glow within, and large, ear-like protrusions on its head. Its movements were surprisingly agile for its size, its claws tearing through concrete and steel with ease.

Three days ago, it had emerged from the ocean, a roaring behemoth that dwarfed even the tallest buildings. The Australian military's initial response—a nuclear missile fired offshore—had only staggered its advance towards the city, a brief stumble before it resumed its relentless march. Scissure continued its rampage through the downtown district, its massive tail sweeping away anything that remained standing. It took a second missile, detonated in an isolated area west of the city, to finally bring the beast down—but at the cost of half of Sydney, a poisoned wound on the face of Australia.

A different solution was desperately needed. There would be nothing left to protect if they continued resorting to nuclear strikes. The world was holding its breath. Meanwhile, in a hidden laboratory miles from the devastated city, a scientist, Dr. Chen, sat hunched over his workbench, his brow furrowed in concentration. He watched his young son playing with toy robots and monsters, a spark of inspiration igniting in his mind. Unbeknownst to them all, the repeated nuclear detonations had saturated the surrounding waters with radiation, creating an unseen ripple effect. Deep within the abyss, where the egg had rested undisturbed for millennia, the golden lines on its surface began to blaze. The light intensified, a furious, internal fire awakening within the ancient shell. The beast was stirring. The seabed around the egg began to crack from the emanating energy, fissures spreading outwards into the darkness.

[In the depths of the ocean]

'Who am I? I remember …. people…I am in…a school? We were on a trip,..then the tunnel….I felt darkness…yes, I remember now. It was a school trip, me and my friends were on the bus going… where? Where did I live? Earth, wait, that's the planet. What was my name??...

My mind is foggy and I am unable to recall much. No use forcing it. I need to first understand what is happening currently.'

But before he could do anything he felt like someone hit his head with a hammer. The pain was immense and he felt like his head had split in two.

He saw a creature, vast and terrifying, its form imprinted on his mind like a brand. Scales of obsidian covered its body, reflecting the faint light filtering from the surface. Four powerful legs anchored its immense frame, while a long, whip-like tail tipped with a bony spike lashed through the void. A single horn, etched with intricate golden patterns, protruded from its head, the lines extending across its skull and down its spine, like rivers of molten gold flowing over black stone. The vision was fleeting, a snapshot in time.

Then, another jolt, another wave of pain, and the image shifted. The creature was larger now, bulkier. A second horn had erupted from its brow, mirroring the first, and two smaller wings, also edged with gold, unfurled from its back. He felt a sense of growing power, of immense potential contained within this monstrous form. This… this is me? he thought, a sense of awe mixed with confusion.

The visions continued, each one a step further in the creature's evolution. With each painful surge, the form became more complex, more formidable. The smaller wings grew, becoming vast, leathery membranes capable of eclipsing the stars. Two more eyes opened on either side of its head, giving it an almost omniscient gaze. Finally, he saw it in its ultimate form: a colossal being with a crown of five golden horns, four immense wings spanning what felt like miles, and a tail that ended in a razor-sharp, spear-like point. The sheer scale of it was breathtaking, a being capable of wielding planets like toys.

As the visions subsided, a flood of information poured into his mind, explaining what he had just witnessed. Inheritance, a word echoed in his thoughts. It was the way of his species, a method of passing on knowledge and instincts from generation to generation. With no parental figures to guide them, newborn space beasts received the memories and experiences of their predecessors, a crash course in survival. Devouring, another word surfaced. They consumed metals, the amount increasing with each evolutionary stage. Asexual, they reproduced only once, laying a single egg when they reached a certain size. Apex predators, capable of destroying worlds. I am one of them, he realized, a sense of awe and terror washing over him.

The final vision faded, leaving him with a chilling certainty: I am Oblivion, the Devourer. As the name echoed in his newfound consciousness, the eggshell around him began to crack. The golden lines pulsed with renewed intensity, and the surrounding waters previously still and silent began to churn. Small fish darted away in panicked schools, while larger creatures, sensing the disturbance, turned and fled, their powerful tails propelling them through the water in a desperate retreat. The seabed around the egg began to crack from the emanating energy, fissures spreading outwards into the darkness. Something ancient and powerful was about to be born.