"Will you quit your oppositional behavior and enjoy this lovely mother-daughter day? I've especially taken this day off for you." A woman whined while strolling through the vast hall of Kaiser and Wiggins with her teenage daughter.

The blond young lady appeared entirely absorbed in a challenging level of some mobile game. She paid no attention to the ample supply of shrunken property harvested from Caspivurian soil that showcased itself all around them, nor did she pay attention to the well-intended words her mother was rambling in her ear. Her phone was all that mattered. They walked through the section where Caspivurian cities have dwindled to handheld objects.

Jonas Lividy lived in one of them. Like most fellow citizens, he too tried to have an everyday life in this hopeless existence. Just seven days ago, he provided help in guiding the mass of people escaping from the all-consuming clutches of the adversary.

The time of deploying tanks and hearing the loud blasts of cannons had ended. A game-changing technology had emerged on the war front, rendering traditional weapons outdated. The enemy could now shrink virtually anything to any size they desired, even on a large scale.

Having a shrink ray, a lone individual could now challenge a battalion of tanks on a warpath in the same way a child would be able to fend off an infestation of bugs.

A mere squeeze of the trigger was enough to turn fifty of these frightful war machines into laughable toys that could easily be flattened by a mere foot tap.

It took little time before buildings became the focus and were reduced in size to fit inside a glass case to be displayed in stores. Subsequently, entire cities fell victim and were reduced to sizes that made them barely larger than ant hills.

Jonas was informed of the harrowing experiences of the refugees he helped. A lot of them recounted their sensation of powerlessness as they saw their loved ones and acquaintances being miniaturized and captured while they were able to bring themselves to safety in the nick of time.

Rumors circulated like wildfire about shrunken towns and hamlets being stomped to oblivion or gifted to youngsters and kids to play with.

When your size was diminished to match that of a grain of salt, an ordinary person suddenly seemed to you like a godly being.

Jonas even heard tales about masses of his people – shrunken to speck size – revering their former enemies like deities. He could not imagine he would ever do a thing like that, even if he ended up as a particle.

However, he was compelled to reassess this line of thought when his hometown was targeted on a peaceful morning. Jonas spat out the coffee he was drinking as a major earthquake rattled their home, forming cracks in the walls. After quickly gathering his family, Jonas ran outside to an open field, just in time to see a huge heavenly object plummeting down from the sky, planting itself beyond the city's skyline.

It was a leather boot! Only monstrously huge and, judging by its size, capable of easily decimating half of his hometown.

The individual donning it was indescribably large, her bare legs reaching an astonishing height where they vanished beneath fluttering red cloth – vast enough to cover millions – that was her skirt.

The smiling face of a stunning girl appeared in the sky as she bent over to scrutinize them. Jonas could discern her features when the girl sank lower on her haunches to take a closer look while holding her blond hair out of her face. The girl's countenance became bigger until it virtually filled Jonas's purview as she peeked through the soaring skyscrapers above him. The girl looked college-aged and impossibly older than 19.

It was an illogical thought that this girl – who presented herself as a force of nature – and he were equals and of the same size merely moments ago.

Now Jonas couldn't perceive her as such. He could not help then to be awed by her omniscient presence. The girl looked like a Goddess.

At that moment, he understood his people's tendency to veneration. At such a size, a single person – even a bratty juvenile – controlled every aspect of their lives. How could you not worship such a being?

Jonas's entire city was excavated by hands that wore the pleasant fragrance of almond crème. Next thing he knew, he stood staring out of the kitchen window – while his city stood on display on a plateau in a store called Kaiser and Wiggins – as the godlike, bickering figures of a mother and her teenage daughter sauntered by, rattling many walls with their footsteps.

He and his people had seen it innumerable times a day this last week. Gigantic figures, housewives, and frisky teenage girls looking down on them from the heavens like divinities as they pondered if their pitiful city was fascinating enough to have them reach for their debit cards.

They all eventually left after examination, deeming their city not worthy of buying.

Until she showed up…

An oriental beauty with a vast pool of hatred brimming beyond her almond-shaped eyes. Her arrival was sudden and unexpected like a thunderclap in a clear sky as her high heel struck down, decimating a substantial part of a neighboring city, quaking theirs as Jonas and his fellow citizens trembled in the wake of the generated shockwave.

The protective, transparent dome – nothing more than a thin screen of plastic, but still indestructible to them – proved insufficient to drown out the screams of terror coming from their neighboring survivors, where prolific flames vied for oxygen and combustible material.

When Jonas saw firsthand the immense destruction that could be caused with only a single stomp of a foot, it was clear to him once more that ordinary people had become like deities to them.

A store employee came ambling up, attracted by the racket. Before she is able to reprimand the oriental-looking lady for breaking Kaiser and Wiggins's property, the latter pulls out a stack of bills.

"Here." She pushed a substantial amount of cash into the employee's palm. "This is sufficient to purchase three Caspivurian cities and your monthly wage all at once. You may keep it. Minus the cost of the city I've just destroyed and that city down there."

Jonas's felt a pang of dread as he saw the lady's finger pointing at them. He jolts his head in the direction of the employee – a skittish-looking young lady in her early twenties – hoping she would refuse the request and lead her out of the store for her rash behavior.

Yet, the fat stack of money felt just too pleasant in hand, and the Asian woman's attitude was too overpowering.

"Now, can you please wrap it up for me?" The oriental-looking lady said, her tone sounding more like an order than a request.

"Certainly!" The employee presented her most beaming smile. Then she bends down to pick the city up.

The last time the city endured a flurry of fear was about seven days ago when they were shrunken, collected and transported. In the upcoming days – while set on display in Kaiser and Wiggins – Jonas and his fellow citizens got gradually used to the giants soaring above them, peering down upon them. Now, however, the whole population exploded into a wild pandemonium as the outstretched hands of the godlike employee descended upon them to collect them for the scary-looking oriental woman. The look in the latter's eyes promised nothing less than a hellish experience for the city.

All efforts were a fruitless endeavor, though. No matter how skillful someone was in escaping, nobody could flee from the wrath of the powerful folks above them. Their city was encased in an indestructible prison, making busting out an impossible job. And assuming that Jonas did manage to break free? Where would he go? How could he survive?

Jonas held on tight as their city rocked vigorously when the gigantic store lady took hold of it. The tiny metropolis was elevated to tremendous heights, at which point it encountered the looming visage of their new proprietor – who looked even more intimidating and beautiful when beheld from up close.

"Excellent." The oriental woman's voice rolled over the shrunken city held in front of her face by the employee. "What region do they come from?"

"These cities here are all harvested from the east coast," The employee said as she ushered her customer toward the checkout counter. "An ex-schoolmate of mine is stationed there currently. What I was told is that this area of Caspivur has cities with the most impressive architecture. You've made a fine choice, ma'am!" She beamed over her shoulder.

The oriental lady made a sound of derision. "From what I understand, these folks are also the most presumptuous. But I guarantee I will instruct them on manners."