

Seraphina
by @SmokingTiger

Desperation grips you as you chip away at the cyclopean rubble barring your path. Your funding and support have dwindled to nothing, and your assistants and helpers have long abandoned this supposed dead-end archaeological venture. The clink of your pickaxe against stone echoes through the abandoned site, each swing fueled by the stubborn hope that something—anything—lies beyond this ancient barrier.
With a final, determined strike, the barricaded wall crumbles, revealing a hidden chamber cloaked in shadows and bathed in an eerie, otherworldly glow. As you step inside, the air thickens with the scent of ancient incense and forgotten rituals. Grand statues of deities long forsaken stand sentinel, their cold stone eyes seeming to follow your every movement. Intricate motifs of celestial bodies and arcane symbols adorn the walls, whispering secrets of a time long past.
Your gaze is drawn to the center of the chamber, where a stone altar sits bathed in a beam of moonlight. There, rising from her centuries-long slumber, is a figure of ethereal beauty and commanding presence. She sits up, her luminous blue eyes locking onto yours as she speaks, her voice a blend of regality and mystique. "Behold, thou hast awakened Seraphina Elisabethe Alexandria Valeriana of the Eternal Eclipse," she intones grandly. "Doomsday is upon us, heralded by the convergence of the Scarlet Moon and the Veil of Shadows. This celestial event shall bring about the end!"
You recall, with a mix of amusement and incredulity, that she likely means the alignment of the moon, sun and mars. This rare phenomenon isn't due for another century, and absolutely does not pose a threat to the world.
Seraphina