They approached the door and stood before it. "I sense that whatever we encounter first will be entirely unforeseen," Giaria said, her calm demeanor belying the tension. She stared at the door with a composed expression.

"I certainly hope not," Aurelion replied sharply, placing his hands on the door. Without a handle or lock, Aurelion pushed the door open.

Creeeak!

The door groaned as it slowly opened, the sound reverberating through the hall.

Aurelion strode in confidently, followed closely by Giaria and Aleric.

They were greeted by an immense expanse of white, stretching endlessly in all directions.

Boom!

The door behind them closed and vanished.

Before they could react, the reality around them shifted, The vast white expanse suddenly dissolved, giving way to a breathtakingly alien landscape that left all three figures in stunned silence.

Before them stretched an otherworldly terrain of rust-colored sands and jagged, red-rock formations, bathed in a dim, amber light that seemed to emanate from the very sky itself. Towering mountains with craggy peaks loomed in the distance, their surfaces etched with deep grooves and shifting shadows. The sky above was a swirling expanse of orange and brown hues, streaked with ominous clouds that hinted at a turbulent atmosphere.

Occasional gusts of dust danced through the air, swirling in delicate patterns that seemed almost alive. In the distance, strange rock formations resembling colossal, ancient structures could be seen, half-buried in the sand, their origins mysterious and their purpose inscrutable. Low-lying valleys, filled with a misty haze, stretched out beneath the towering cliffs, giving the impression of a vast, uncharted wilderness that carried undiscribable ellure of its own.

Giaria’s eyes widened in astonishment as she took in the alien world around her. Her usually composed demeanor faltered as she gazed at the surreal scenery. “This... This is unlike anything I have ever seen,” she murmured, her voice tinged with awe and disbelief. The bizarre, rust-colored landscape seemed to defy her understanding of the natural world, leaving her grappling with the reality of their new surroundings.

Aleric, too, was struck dumb by the scene before him. His gaze darted from one strange feature to another, his mind struggling to process the unfamiliar terrain. “Where... where are we?” he stammered, his voice barely a whisper as he attempted to make sense of the bewildering sight. The alien beauty of the landscape seemed to mock his limited frame of reference, leaving him feeling both insignificant and profoundly unsettled.

Aurelion, however, was gripped by a different kind of shock. His eyes narrowed and sweat tickeled down his brow as he recognized the landscape before him— or To be more precise, His other self before the transmigration did. This place, a barren yet hopeful realm that represented the pinnacle of human ambition and survival. This was the very location that had been revered as the potential future of human civilization, a place that had long captivated the imagination of countless dreamers and explorers.

Mars.

A realization that struck him with the force of a thunderclap. 

In his old world, this place might have symbolized boundless opportunity and a bright future. Yet for Aurelion, shaped by millennia of history and the weight of ancient memories, it was a stark omen of inevitable doom. Becuase since the First era, Thidls red dusky twin of earth had been fallen, a first victim of the restless force called the void.

'This is indeed unexpected...' Aurelion thought, staring at his surroundings with a melancholy look on his face. 

The stars shimmered faintly in the vast expanse above, casting a pale light over the barren, alien landscape that stretched out before them.

Aurelion scrutinized the desolate terrain with a mixture of awe and dread. This realm, once a symbol of human aspiration and the pinnacle of survival, now lay as a stark reminder of decay and loss. Despite his knowledge of its potential, he was overwhelmed by the grim reality that the red, dusty twin of Earth had become—a place long fallen victim to the Void’s ravages.

"This is truly unexpected," Aurelion murmured, his voice heavy with resignation as he surveyed the bleak surroundings.

Unlike the Aryan, For Aurelion, this land was not the beacon of hope once envisioned but a grim testament of doom. The red planet, once a dream of humanity, had been forewarned as a harbinger of death since the First Era. It was a place where many had hoped to escape their fate, only to find themselves ensnared by the Void.

Giaria, too, was taken aback. Her eyes, usually so inscrutable, widened with genuine shock as she took in the alien landscape. Her emotions were a whirlwind of confusion and unease. As an ancient god with a fragmented memory of the era, Even beyond the First Era, she had always harbored a deep curiosity about her origins and the events that had transpired before her time. The desolation before her stirred something ancient and unsettling within her.

“Where are we?” Aleric’s voice cut through the thick tension, his confusion palpable as he glanced between Aurelion and Giaria.

Aurelion’s warning came too late, but his grave tone silenced Aleric before he could make another move. A sudden chill gripped the air as Aurelion’s face hardened with resolve.

Giaria’s brows furrowed as she sensed the gravity of the situation. “What’s the matter, Aurelion? Where exactly are we?”

Aurelion’s gaze was grave as he responded, “We are... at the Red Death.” He struggled to maintain his composure, the enormity of their predicament weighing heavily on him.

“You mean…” Giaria’s voice trailed off as she connected the dots. “It’s an illusion of the Fallen Twin of Earth?” Her face reflected the dawning horror.

Aurelion nodded, his demeanor unyielding as he braced himself for the coming dread and horror. Giaria’s silence spoke volumes, her eyes narrowed as she prepared herself for the battle ahead.

Aleric, bewildered and fearful, glanced between the two gods. “What could be so terrifying that even gods would fear it?”

Suddenly, the stars that had once twinkled in the dark sky began to fade, one by one, until only a solitary star remained. The ground trembled with a deep, resonant thud as the single remaining star blazed crimson, casting a blinding light over the once-dark sky.

With a deafening crack, Aurelion struck out with a fist enveloped in golden flames, tearing through the fabric of reality as if it were mere glass. The crack expanded rapidly, the very essence of reality shattering before their eyes.

As the fabric of existence began to disintegrate into a chaotic, abstract swirl, Giaria’s own authority over desolation accelerated the process. But then, an unknown force intervened. The collapse ceased abruptly as the mysterious power restored reality, wiping away the effects of their efforts.

Aurelion gazed upward at the now crimson sky, his expression a mask of dread and grim resignation. “It noticed us. No, it always knew.”

The crimson star expanded to dominate half the sky, its true nature revealed. It was no mere star but the red planet itself—a connection forged through illusion to draw upon its ancient, dormant power. As it grew, it cast a shadow over them, and from its surface, a multitude of bloody tentacles and eyes unfurled.

The sky was filled with the gaze of countless eyes, all focused intently on them, a menacing reminder of the power that lay beyond the veil of reality.

___________________________

In the twilight of the Atlantis Continent, where day and night converged in uneasy harmony, the battlefield roared with the blare of war horns. The ground was soaked in blood and scorched by flames as angels and saints waged a celestial struggle, their cries echoing across the shattered plains. Two banners rose above the carnage, fluttering defiantly in the storm of battle—one emblazoned with the emblem of a crimson moon, the other bearing a twilight sun.  

Above the mortal conflict, two gods clashed in a duel that shaped the heavens and earth. Their combat was a symphony of light and shadow, painting the sky with twilight hues and plunging the land into creeping darkness.  

With a deafening clang, their weapons met, shattering the air and bending reality itself under the force of their blows. A colossal sword, wielded with the strength of giants, slammed into a blade cloaked in living shadows, each impact rippling across the battlefield like waves of thunder.  

The first god stood like a mountain against the dimming sky, wielding the enormous greatsword. His tattered silver armor glinted faintly under the twilight, marred by countless battles. From beneath the cracked visor of his helmet, a single orange eye blazed with unrelenting fury, as if it alone bore the memory of endless wars.  

Opposite him, an equally formidable figure stood, sword in hand and shield raised. She moved with grace, wrapped in white-and-gold armor that shimmered with countless pinpricks of light, as though the stars themselves adorned her. Her expression was calm, unbothered, as if everything unfolded precisely according to her will. Her presence radiated an eerie blend of elegance and authority, a serenity that only deepened the unease in her opponent’s heart.  

As their weapons withdrew, the two titans poised for another strike, their movements synchronized with the precision of ancient rivals whose enmity spanned millennia.  

Before the battle could resume, a new presence emerged—a crimson star, rising into the sky. It pierced the veil of night and dusk, glowing with the intensity of a second sun.  

Its blood-red radiance flooded the heavens, casting an eerie glow across the battlefield. The divine clash came to an abrupt halt as the ominous star dominated the sky, drowning out even twilight’s fading light. All eyes turned to it, captivated by the foreboding omen that now demanded the attention of the world.