-1 Minute before Gaia threatens Kanami...
Bekka was having a very transformative experience.
It was like an out of body event, only different from the ones she experienced after sex, or eating something cooked in bacon grease.
She felt like more of herself, and yet not at the same time.
She was perfectly entwined in the middle. A being of existence and nonexistence.
In her imagination, she thought that this was what being a primordial must've felt like. It defied mortal description.
And to make matters even better, the more of the world that she ate, the better she felt.
It was like her cells were being supercharged with energy. In the midst of this experience, she was becoming less and less focused on her surroundings.
What did where she was matter?
What did whatever she was doing matter??
All that was important now was filling up her stomach!
As such, she didn't even register Gaia's underhanded method to separate her from Abaddon.
With her mouth still open and her hunger far from satisfied, Bekka was like an endless vacuum that continued to drain the fabric and color away from the realm.
But now, Gaia had Bekka right where she wanted her.
Since the transformed goddess didn't appear to be hyper aware of her surroundings at the moment, Gaia had an opportunity to strike with impunity.
"What sort of miserable expression will my new lover make when he sees I have gotten rid of his tired old plaything??" She taunted.
But Bekka did not answer.
Together, multiple of Gaia's bodies lunged at Bekka while she was defenseless.
And immediately regretted it.
A bloodcurdling scream leapt out of the mouths of all of the copies synonymously.
They immediately jumped backwards to protect themselves further and try to assess what had been done.
Upon inspection of their bodies, they found that sickly looking blood the consistency of oil was dribbling from their noses.
Despite the signs that might allude otherwise, Gaia had no physical damage on her body.
The reason why she was in pain was because the moment that she stepped into Bekka's white domain, she felt 'something' nip her very soul.
"What is thiss...? It's so wonderful.."
Horrified, Gaia looked towards Bekka who finally showed some signs of stirring.
Intrigue clearly showed on her mutated face as she licked her lips excitedly.
Gaia felt as though she could physically feel Bekka's gaze land on her, and it filled her with the oddest sense of fear that she hadn't known since.... Ever.
"So delightfully nourishing and sweet... yet also slightly stale." Bekka rambled drunkenly. "You're a little sick, huh? Your population grown a bit too fast in recent years?"
Gaia gritted her several sets of teeth.
"Don't worry, don't worry. I can feel it you know. Your longing for a quiet, and tranquil rest like the kind you enjoyed during man's first days .."
Gaia was floored. "H-How do you know tha-"
"I've just told you, your longing screams to me, old girl. But I alone can help grant your wish. All that you need to do is FILL MY STOMACH AND BECOME NOTHING!!"
Bekka's powerful new legs carried her over one hundred meters in a single bound.
The roar of her presence allowed her to drain all of the color from the blue sky over her head.
As if that weren't terrifying enough, a wave of red power was roaring forth from the southern horizon.
Gaia felt boxed in.
But this was supposed to be her day to triumph!
Absolutely nothing was going the way it should have been!
This was the first time that she had ever felt so completely powerless inside of her own divine realm.
"Bekka?"
When Abaddon called for his wife, she looked up with tears in her eyes as she held her stomach.
"Honey... Help me..!"
"Of course I will.." Abaddon spoke calmly to his wife despite his own heart threatening to panic. "Tell me what you need."
"I-I just ate, but... I-I'm still so hungry... My stomach feels like it's starting to eat itself."
Abaddon was partially confused. "You just ate..?"
"D-Doesn't that look delicious..?"
Abaddon followed Bekka's gaze.
Much to his horror, he found her staring at the planet Mars from faraway.
"I-I think I'll feel better if I tried that. Just a taste maybe.." Bekka salivated.
Abaddon held his wife by the shoulders before she could decimate the local Martian population.
"Slow down, my love. I need you to take a breather, alright..?"
Bekka looked like she was going to burst into tears. "Why are you trying to stop me?? I just told you that I was in pain and I need to eat something!"
"I know you did, my love, and I want to help you as quickly as possible. But not like this."
Bekka finally wept and Abaddon felt his heart tear itself apart.
"I thought you said you loved me and that you would do anything for me! Why won't you let me go?!"
"Because something is wrong with you, Bekka! You aren't behaving like yourself and we need to figure out how to get you back to normal!"
"Then just let me EAT something!! Anything!!"
"No!"
"You can't treat me like this!! I hate you!!"
Abaddon was crushed.
'Tathamet.'
Whatever was occurring must have been serious, because Yesh himself left the tree to intervene. And he wasn't even using his usual cheerful persona to boot.
"What is wrong with her??"
'Get her home. Now. She won't be able to control herself out here.'
Abaddon didn't need to hear anything else.
He took Bekka into his arms despite her thrashing, and the two of them made their way back to Tehom.
-
Yesh appeared in Abaddon's bedroom after giving the two of them a moment to calm down.
But maybe he should've given them more...
He found the couple on the floor of their bedroom, holding onto each other tightly as they cried.
A single, golden tear ran down Abaddon's left cheek, while twin monsoons ran from Bekka's.
Even Yesh could barely understand what she was saying at the top of her lungs.
Bekka couldn't believe the things she'd said to her husband.
Any 'fights' they usually had were nothing more than childish arguments that were usually over with in under a day.
She had never been so mean to him before. And her own actions nearly destroyed her.
"...What was wrong with her?" Abaddon finally asked.
Yesh felt the same grief today that he felt when Abaddon first lost his mind all those eons ago.
Seeing his wife in such a terrible condition had broken Abaddon just as badly.
'...The price of power, Tathamet. The price of power.'