Chrysalis

I contain a huge amount of gravity mana these days, but as the spheres start to fill up, I worry that I might not have enough. Trying to whip together a gravity mana construct at this point would be an exercise in futility; all of my minds are dedicated to holding this lousy thing in place as I sprint to the finish line.

Unsurprisingly, the snail is heading right for me, both eyes stretched forward atop their stalks, staring hatefully at my gleaming diamond perfection. I suppose it's a good thing, makes aiming easier. I am a little worried about how quickly it's approaching, though. Can I fill this damn thing up any faster?!

I mean, this thing is taking forever to cast!

There isn't much I can do to speed it up, though. I'm moving as much mana as I safely can and condensing it as fast as possible. So many of my minds are dedicated just to holding the rest of the spell in place, preventing the mana from shifting even an iota as I prepare to complete the cast.

I watch, nervously, as the spheres on my right and left continue to swell. I've been close to gravity bombs several times, but not this close! I can't help but have a bit of anxiety about the two orbs just hovering there… ominously.

I keep expecting to hear the characteristic shriek of the wind, feel the air whipping my antennae about, but it doesn't happen. The two bombs sit there, inert, just… growing.

Finally, when the snail is only a few hundred metres away, the spell is ready. I feed in the last possible drop of power I hold within me, crush it down one final time, then let it rip.

I don't have the time to give it a final check, so here's hoping it works!

I expect something to happen immediately, and I duck down, covering my head with my legs, but… there's nothing? Wait! Something is happening! It's slow at first, but the two bombs are moving. As the seconds tick past, they move faster, and it takes a bit, but I work out what's happening. They're orbiting each other.

The two spheres of absolute darkness rotate, tracing a circle in front of me, one rising above, the other dipping beneath. Faster and faster they spin, increasing in speed well beyond the point where I thought they couldn't get any faster. Then I realise something else: the orbit is decaying! The two bombs are getting closer together!

I have a really bad

head almost all the way into its shell

Come on, spell!

and when I extend my senses for a moment, I

shell I could hide

touch, and purple lightning explodes from the contact. Crackling purple light jags through the

Whoops!

rotating, the two bombs continue to fall into each other, combining, merging, and forming… something

takes shape at the heart of the merger, pulsing with dreadful power. More lightning cracks around the orb, forming a

fuse completely, and only the void is left in their place. I cringe in fear from my own creation. There is so. Much. Power! That orb to me looks like

held in place by the spell form I created. But even that shape, so intricate and layered, can't hold this beast

has to give, and at

infinitesimal opening, and the void, unable to hold itself together any longer, unleashes its energy through

world around me goes black. Time

pure darkness blasts forth, and the world seems to

figured out what

Singularity.

annihilated. Everything near the beam is annihilated. Like the finger