Chapter Text
Prologue
The setting sun cast an amber glow across the scaly bark of the trees. A cloying, humid heat lulled the local fauna into a heavy midsummer stupor. It seemed like nothing more than an ordinary twilight.
For the juvenile Tyrannosaurus rex concealed beneath a small thicket, however, the day was only just beginning. The sun no longer scorched with its midday intensity, and the orange afterglow was beginning to fade. Finally, a breeze stirred. The T-Rex crawled out from under the brush, shook its head and neck, and began to scout for traces of the day’s activity. It was still far too small to actively hunt other dinosaurs; instead, it hoped to find the remains of some herbivore—a meager scrap to sustain its precarious existence in the cracks of this world.
Its luck held. Before long, it caught the heavy, metallic scent of raw meat. Following the trail, it discovered the carcass of a hadrosaur, recently abandoned by an adult of its own kind. Plenty of meat remained on the bone. Better yet, it hadn't yet begun to rot. The young T-Rex scanned the perimeter, and once certain no other predators remained, let out a low growl to scatter the smaller scavengers lingering by the ribs. It stepped forward and thrust its head into the cavity, feasting on the delicacies within.
Darkness deepened. From the undergrowth, several giant, chitin-armored insects suddenly darted out. A chorus of chirps rose from every direction, and soon the sharp, rhythmic calls of mating insects filled the air, drifting up from the shadowy valley like a rising mist. The young T-Rex remained immersed in its meal, payng no mind to the cacophony around it.
By the time it finally finished its fill, the sky was pitch black. It paced leisurely toward a nearby cliff. A flash of light caught the corner of its eye. It glanced toward the source; despite the darkness, the dim, yellow clouds remained visible. The flash must have come from the cumulonimbus clouds over the valley. It looked as though the night would require a place to shelter from the rain. The dinosaur moved along the cliffside, its silhouette dark and spectral. For some reason, it felt no urge to retreat into its usual thicket tonight; it wanted to linger a while longer in the open air of the heights.
If it were lucky enough, it would claim dominance over this territory within half a year. Perhaps, given a bit more time, it would become the undisputed king of the valley.
Another flash darted into its vision. Again, it sought the source. This time, it found something new: the light was no longer the fleeting, jagged branch of a lightning bolt. Though the creature had no concept of a "sword," the shape reminded it of the snow-white horns of a Triceratops or a rib bone picked clean. Nor was it a mere flash. This "Triceratops horn" set against the canopy of the sky glowed with a blinding brilliance, slowly descending toward the far side of the valley.
Then came a second, then a third… more and more "horns" fell from the heavens, accompanied by a strange, tearing sound as they rent the atmosphere. The young T-Rex caught an unfamiliar scent on the wind. It began to back away from the cliff’s edge, its muscles tensed and ready to bolt, yet it remained momentarily frozen, looking back at the marvelous, terrifying tapestry unfolding in the sky.
The brightness intensified with a sudden, violent surge. A colossal "horn" skewered the murky heavens, its brilliance rivaling the midday sun. Midway through the sky, this "horn" abruptly splintered. Yet the resulting fragments were no less immense; each piece appeared gargantuan. These massive shards no longer trailed streaks of pure white, but turned a searing, incandescent orange-red as they hurtled toward the earth, accompanied by sharp, thunderous cracks. This was no gesture of greeting. The young T-Rex spun around and bolted, desperate to find a sturdy refuge. The ancestral memories etched into its genes warned that fireballs were harbingers of nothing but death.
It felt as though the sky behind it had swollen with light. The creature managed only one frantic glance back. Another massive fireball must have arrived while it fled, reaching its destination and delivering a "greeting gift" of concentrated energy and matter to the Earth, leaving the land to deal with the consequences. The blinding radiance radiated from a distant, growing "dome." The T-Rex skidded to a halt, stealing one last look at this alien landscape. It strained its primitive brain, trying to fathom how to escape these unsettling sights. Finally, it turned and raced toward a cave it remembered—a solid, deep cavern that had once shielded it from volcanic eruptions. It had to hurry; the "dome" on the horizon was expanding.
But when the searing heat of the shockwave slammed into its back, what the creature was thinking no longer mattered.