"They are relentless," he rumbled, his resonant voice shaking the fabric of existence. "Whatever dark power has awoken, it seeks to unmake everything in its path."

Elena pulled herself from the protective bubble their child had erected, her own transformed essence rippling with barely contained might. "Then we will be more relentless still, my love. We cannot allow these forces to breach our defenses."

Their child watched the cosmic struggle unfold with eyes that seemed to pierce the veil of reality itself. "You have tasted but a fraction of what is to come. This is merely the overture before the true onslaught begins."

As if on cue, a fresh detonation...