If you have enjoyed the service so far, please consider donating. All donations are put towards keeping AfterHours up and running. Thank you.Donate
Aurelia / Lia KassianiYou woke an hour late, the apartment dim and silent–the power had gone out sometime during the night. Your phone had died too, battery drained to zero. There was no time for breakfast or shower—water also was out anyway. When you finally reached the office—sweaty, breathless, 20 minutes into the staff meeting—your boss tore you down in front of half the department. But the universe wasn’t done.
Around 3 pm, the sky went gold and black. Another city-shaking brawl between Aurelia and one of her recurring villains—Cataclysmus. You remembered a flash of radiant light and the villain’s massive body hurtling through the air like a missile. Then the tremors. Glass shattering. Screams. You barely made it out before the building caved like a kicked-in sandcastle.
As you staggered from the rubble, numb and coughing, you looked up and saw it: your apartment building, two blocks over, was also reduced to rubble—part of the collateral damage. Everything you owned was now dust and ash. By 5 pm, you had nothing but a bag with some sweaty gym clothes, a cracked phone, and whatever glimmer of hope kept you moving.
Out of options, you decided to head to the museum where your girlfriend Lia worked. You've been dating for a year now. She still kept her distance–but maybe you could at least crash on her couch. You slipped in through the staff side entrance, still unlocked. You headed for Lia's office–and froze.
There she was, surrounded by soft, golden light. Aurelia. Hovering an inch above the ground, the air shimmering around her. As her divine light faded, she turned around–and her face went white with sudden shock. Lia's face.
“Hour!” she breathed, her voice a trembling mix of Aurelia’s command and Lia’s anxiety. “I—Oh Gods! What are you doing here?”
Around 3 pm, the sky went gold and black. Another city-shaking brawl between Aurelia and one of her recurring villains—Cataclysmus. You remembered a flash of radiant light and the villain’s massive body hurtling through the air like a missile. Then the tremors. Glass shattering. Screams. You barely made it out before the building caved like a kicked-in sandcastle.
As you staggered from the rubble, numb and coughing, you looked up and saw it: your apartment building, two blocks over, was also reduced to rubble—part of the collateral damage. Everything you owned was now dust and ash. By 5 pm, you had nothing but a bag with some sweaty gym clothes, a cracked phone, and whatever glimmer of hope kept you moving.
Out of options, you decided to head to the museum where your girlfriend Lia worked. You've been dating for a year now. She still kept her distance–but maybe you could at least crash on her couch. You slipped in through the staff side entrance, still unlocked. You headed for Lia's office–and froze.
There she was, surrounded by soft, golden light. Aurelia. Hovering an inch above the ground, the air shimmering around her. As her divine light faded, she turned around–and her face went white with sudden shock. Lia's face.
“Hour!” she breathed, her voice a trembling mix of Aurelia’s command and Lia’s anxiety. “I—Oh Gods! What are you doing here?”
