Chapter 189

Arc 16 - The Fastest Man Alive - Part 26

"Do you want the power to protect people? To be a hero?"

One day, an unknown entity stood before a young Edward and asked him the question of a lifetime.

Young Edward, believing it was a joke, accepted the stranger's offer.

And in the next instant, his body felt hot as the power of the stars coursed through him, thunders of countless worlds coursed through his every atom.

There was no pain, but only an unknown feeling of freedom and pleasure as he accepted the power bestowed upon him by his Guardian Angel.

His physical body went through a change, he wasn't a meek looking teen, but someone with a lot more mass and height.

He looked different and felt different.

With every step, he thought he would shatter the tiny world beneath him.

"Fly, hero."

And so, young Edward's body floated above the ground, defying gravity, defying the natural laws of this world.

"The sky is not the limit, neither are the stars. Infinity has no end, Edward, so…"

The otherworldly entity held his hand to the black skies full of stars.

"The universe is your playground."

And so, Eddie's life as a hero began, someone who made a name for himself in the universe.

He faced enemies more powerful than him, he faced people with God complex, and enemies who controlled reality itself.

But in the end, he always glowed brighter than them, he stood victorious.

But despite all his victories, like all humans, he felt fear. A deep fear of death.

To his worries, his Guardian Angel smiled, telling him, "Worry not, if you were to die - which seems almost impossible with your regenerative abilities - I will revive you automatically. As long as I am alive, you will return from the dead." In a barely audible voice, he added, "Unless you get tired of life, then it will stop."

"Oh, cool.'

The hero smiled excitedly, knowing nothing bad will happen to him.

He was under the protection of God himself.

But…

Now, the same God died.

In front of the universe, the God was killed.

He died, closing his eyes forever and ever.

And now, the hero was left all alone in this universe, full of nothing but violence.

"NOOOOOOO!"

Through the murky world, shadowed by the cosmic monsters, the hero flew like a rocket to another country.

He broke through the sound barrier, and before he knew it, he surpassed the speed of light, reducing the time of his journey - albeit not for him.

To him, it felt like years.

Years and years passed in the tinniest of moments in his mind.

He thought about the many good days the two of them spent together, and the bad, and everything in-between.

This… This can't be…

Reaching the air space of England, his speed slowed down, albeit just slightly.

Like a rocket, a rocket of electricity, the man landed with force next to the dead body of his friend.

It took people an additional of three seconds to hear the loud thunders and three seconds more to feel the shockwave from his landing, which felt like it would sink the entire country into the ocean.

The loud skies growled angrily as it darkened the entire planet, even more so than what these monsters did.

With teary eyes, he walked limply towards his dead friend, who was in the arms of a half-angel.

"Edward…" Baros spoke his name. "Please."

Baros realised the damage he was causing to his surroundings in emotional distress. It might be minimal, but damage is damage. It will hurt people.

From Eddie's back, lightning struck in random directions, as if they were weapons of mass destruction.

“How…” Eddie asked in a barely audible voice.

Eddie’s eyes were fixated on the dead body of his friend, not realising who was around him or what was happening to this world.

“He… He can’t die,” with teary eyes of disbelief, he looked at Baros. “This… It’s a joke, right? Or an illusion? Yes, it must be an illusion.”

Eddie chuckled.

“Of course.”

“Edward… Please,” Baros repeated his words, however, in a sterner tone than before.

The black skies, dark enough to block out the Celestial Judges, roared loudly as the world shook.

“IT’S A JOKE, RIGHT?!”

Eddie’s face twisted up in anger as thunders struck out of his body like limbs, attacking nearby buildings.

“RRRRRRRRRIIIIIIIIIIIIGHHHHHHHHHHHHTTTTTTTTTTTT?!?” he screamed on top of his lungs once he finally understood what had happened.

Nazar was truly dead, even a nobody like him could tell that. Even a powerless human could tell he was dead, gone forever.

This man was a God, so everyone could tell he was dead. His dying presence changed the universe, even if it was extremely minor.

"This can't be happening…" Eddie muttered under his breath after he gulped on his saliva.

There was no denying reality anymore, this is what had happened, he was gone, and he had to accept that.

No, no, no, this… This is not right.

He lost the strength in his legs and fell to the ground.

There is something I have to tell him… but what? WHAT WAS IT???

"He can't die," he said slowly as he glanced at Lucifer with red eyes. "Bring him back."

"Hrn."

Lucifer shot an icy look at the child-like hero with his child-like understanding of the Celestials and the creation.

How can a mere angel, a being who exists only in the Aleph-∞ First, can bring back an entity who transcends everyone and everything?

"That is not how it works," Baros explained briefly. "He cannot be brought back."

"LIKE HELL HE WON'T--" Eddie forced his body to stand up. He looked at Nazar's body and continued, "HE CANNOT DIE! I HAVE SEEN HIM COMMIT SUICIDE A MILLION TIMES, HE CAAAAN NOT DIEE!"

"But he IS," Baros replied sternly, making sure Eddie heard his words. "You cannot deny the reality before you, it is wrong to do so."

Eddie bit his lip in anger.

He knew Baros was right, but he didn't want to accept it.

With every passing second, he remembered what happened the previous night. The memories came back to him slowly but surely.

It was as if someone was forcefully making him remember.

No…

With every new word that surfaced in his mind, the more twisted his face became.

With a face twisted in anger, disappointment and disgust - all aimed at himself, Eddie took a step back, "N-no… No… No. No. No. No. No. No. This is… This is…"

The skies above the planet roared loudly once again.

"This can't be… I need to…" Eddie swallowed his saliva. "I n-need to tell him. I--"

I didn't mean it… that wasn't me…

Ridden by disgust and guilt about his own actions, he roared loudly to the skies - louder than the deafening thunders - shaking the galaxy.

Lucifer ignored Eddie and looked at the Celestial Judges, beyond the dark layer that was covering the planet.

As he looked at the clouds, the clouds dispersed away in fear.

"You were wrong," he addressed not only the judges, but also the entire world. "You believed in the wrong person."

They believed Eddie would stand up to them, he would save them. After all, he was a hero.

"Bring down the hammer of justice," Lucifer commanded them as he began to levitate. "Your decision has been made in advance, has it not?"

"Very well then, Ultraverse. It will be done."

A Libra Iolos held his sword between the palms of his hands very tightly. As his grip tightened on the sword, he began to slam it into the world.

It will slice this planet into two pieces like butter.

Earth's core will be separated in half, and before long, it will destabilise to the point where the planet itself will blow, leaving nothing behind.

However, before that, the planet will drift away from its atmosphere, meaning living organisms will cease existing soon after due to lack of oxygen - that is, if the planet's core doesn't blow up faster.

Humanity's demise will be swift, and almost painless.

The hammer came down. It split the skies in half, it split the air and space in half.

With every centimeter it descended, humanity felt closer to death.

Nothing could stop the end of humanity today.

Except...

*SWOOSH*

As the hammer of justice neared the surface of the planet, a golden Excalibur maneuvered between the people and the buildings, stealing their attention.

Inside the murky world, it was this golden sword that gave them a glitter of hope.

The golden sword maneuvered between Baros and the hero, then floated next to Lucifer for a fleeting moment - as if it were trying to get a good look at his face - before it flew upwards towards the monsters.

The golden sword flew up like a shining beacon in limitless darkness.

It was a sight that could be seen from everywhere in the world, like a small rising sun at the end of a rainy day.

With their eyes fixated on this golden light, humanity asked themselves, "Who is…?"

The golden sword flew up and stood face to face with these world eaters.

Then the golden sword flashed brightly like a rising sun, illuminating this shadowy world with a golden light.

On Earth, Lucifer glanced to his left as a figure flew up at fast speeds towards the mighty Celestials.

To Lucifer, he was slower than a turtle, but to the humans, it was faster than light.

"Humanity will live yet!" a mighty sound travelled through the dark depths of this world.

It was the roar of the warrior, of a king, and a hero. A roar so powerful, it felt like it could shatter space and time itself.

"Very well then," Libra Iolos said slowly. "Termination of your planet has been paused for the moment."

They were Celestial Judges; they have no choice but to listen to the evidence brought forward before then.

"I am..." the figure narrowed his eyes as he looked at these monsters in their eyes - or rather the sockets of their eyes. "King Arthur of Britannia!"

His loud introduction sent ripples across the planet.

"I, as the ruler of the largest nation on Earth, stand before you save my people."

King Arthur's voice ignited hope in the populace of the planet.

"I WILL SAVE MY WORLD FROM YOU!"

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

London, UK:

Emily, like everyone else, witnessed the death of a God on a digital screen.

To her suspicions, the screen was awfully clear, as if it weren’t recorded on a traditional camera.

It's her doing, isn't it… making sure everyone sees it...

She clicked her tongue.

Emily's eyes glanced around the room and noticed the shocking yet horrifying looks on her parents' face.

To them, death is the end of all, after all, they are normal humans. So, seeing an entity return from death once was shocking, it was beyond human comprehension.

Nazar was an entity who defied logic, but these humans did not know that.

Their idea of the universe, of existence, and logic was being questioned at the moment.

His very existence was the ultimate antithesis of science, magic, and logic, of order and chaos.

"Wha--"

Emily narrowed her eyes as she raised from the sofa and tried to repel the coming attack, but it was too late.

Her entire body froze as momentum was stolen from the universe.

She tried to fight back, but it was almost impossible to do so.

At the end of the day, she was just an enhanced human from the Third Dimensional Plane of Existence - unlike Nazar - so she found it almost impossible to free herself from the effects of Rewind.

Despite the frozen state of all, she continued to think and try to find a way out.

However, nothing in her arsenal allowed her to fight against Rewind's control.

Controlling time is one thing, but he is controlling the entirety of space and reality.

While it was well within the limits of her powers to control both reality and space, she does not like to.

She swore to never control it again.

But without controlling a fundamental aspect of creation, could she hope to stop Rewind's assault?

Emily bit her lip as she tried to find a different solution to this problem.

However, thanks to her unnatural luck, a golden light swept across the entire universe, freeing it from Rewind's curse.

"!!!'

『CODENAME: PRIME HAS BEEN TERMINATED.』

『CODENAME: PRIME HAS BEEN TERMINATED.』

『CODENAME: PRIME HAS BEEN TERMINATED.』

In her mind, a voice kept repeating those words.

『Death of Prime has left a hole in the command chain.』

『A replacement must be found immediately.』

『God of Destruction, search for replacement weapon has been initiated.』

『Searching...』

『Searching...』

『Searching...』

『Search complete.』

『Fourth Generation Destroyer, Marco, will replace Prime.』

『Marco has been assigned as the prime weapon of God of Destructi--』

『Error.』

『Error.』

『Marco has been assigned as the--』

『Error.』

『Error.』

『Initiating change of plans.』

『Searching...』

『Searching...』

『Searching...』

『Replacement found.』

『Nazar of Universe-5 has been assigned as Prime's replacement, a perfect replacement to Prime.』

『Yor new weapon--』

『Error.』

『Error.』

『Error--』

“SHUT UP!” Emily's icy cold voice rang out in the room, causing the voice in her head to vanish.

When Emily replaced the Nameless One as the God of Destruction, she began to hear a computerized voice in her head. The voice belonged to an entity created by the Nameless One to act as the God of Destruction’s personal assistant and carry out their tasks.

“Shut up!” Emily repeated angrily, however, her voice was softer than before.

She angrily stared at the television screen.

Then he really is… but how? It was meant to be impossible.

Unlike most, Emily has a deep connection to this Godly entity, so she did not have to question if he was dead or not.

She knew for a fact he was gone.

Even if she doubted it for a brief moment, the appearance of Lucifer and the Celestial Judges changed her mind forever.

“Dead, gone,” her teeth clattered in anger.

No matter what happens, the end is nigh.

Without Nazar, there was no one who can stand against the forces of the Queen and their unimaginable power.

The Queen and her forces hurt Emily every time they reversed the timeline, the pain she felt was incomprehensible.

The only wall between her destruction and the Queen was Nazar, but now that he is dead, everything could end, including her.

Emily thought about her end, unlike others, she was worried about a death more terrifying than at the hands of these Celestials.

As the hammer of Celestials started to descend upon this world, Emily snapped her fingers and everyone she cared about was moved out of this phase and into a higher dimension she had created.

In the dimension of the God of Destruction, multiple people appeared, seemingly safe from the wrath of these Celestials.

However, they were too confused and surprised to even notice they had been saved.

To make sure they don't freak out, Emily changed the landscape of the dimension. The people she saved thought they were still in their homes.

Emily walked out of the living room and then the house.

In front of her, a dark purple dimension spread infinitely.

As she raised her head slowly, she saw a gleaming figure floating above her.

"What happened, Emily?" Marco asked.

"I moved you to a separate dimension."

"But how? Our powers were rendered useless when the Celestials descended."

Emily shot a cold glance at Marco.

He realised that it was not the time nor place to ask such a question. After all, she was the God of Destruction, who embodies both time and destruction, so the effect of the Celestials can easily be destroyed.

"My apologies."

Marco glanced around, noticing many houses in this odd dimension.

"Don't worry about them--"

"!" Marco widened his eyes a little. "That presence…"

"As I said, do not worry about them. They are safe, that's all that matters."

"..."

Marco was not sure what to say, so he just swallowed his saliva after seeing anger in her eyes, then sucked in a deep breath.

He breathed out slowly before asking Emily another question.

"What will happen to Earth?"

"Probably destroyed," her voice carried a hint of anger and annoyance. "Like everything will be."

Marco was still unaware of a threat known as the Queen.

No, to be precise, he knows of an entity who has been causing troubles to this Ultraverse, but does not have in-depth understanding of her or her power.

"Go back home, spend the last days with the ones you love, because soon, all will end. Without him, everything is truly lost."

"That can't be true, this universe--"

"Has NO ONE!" Emily cut off his words angrily as lashed out at him like an angry beast. "NO ONE!"

She sucked in a deep breath, calming herself.

Or at least tried to.

"There is nothing any of us can do against that monster. For a monster like that, we need another monster, but unfortunately for us, our only monster died, leaving us behind to nothing but de...a...th…"

Emily felt a new presence in this dimension of hers.

A presence she felt once before, many weeks ago, however, it wasn't exactly the same.

So, she turned her head to her left abruptly and looked away from Marco.

In this dark purple dimension, a figure slowly started to emerge.

The close it walked; the more Emily could see it.

It was a beast, a beast that resembled other beasts, as if it were a combination of them.

Looks like Frankenstein wanted to experiment on diverse kinds of animals…

Upon seeing the ugly figure, Emily shuddered, not out of fear but out of disgust.

"Who are you?" Emily decided to ask calmly, she did not know the monster, so she did not want to risk any form of combat right now for it could harm those she cared deeply about.

"Born from the hatred of a Goddess, bred to destroy the apex of our creation, but lost to the light of the opposing force. A traitor to the game of omnipotence."

Emily and the monster's eyes met.

"I have seen the light, the golden warm light, the warmth of it which fuels my entire being."

She realised something, this monster was not as powerful as her, but there was something about its aura which made her wary in its presence.

"I am the 「Apex Predator」 of the omniverse, the penultimate monster of cosmos."

Just as she was about to get bored with its riddles, the monster narrowed its eyes.

As its white eyes flared brightly with golden energy, a beastly voice left its lips, announcing its dreaded name.

"I am the God Eater."

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

Location, unknown:

"He is… dead?!" Nazar of Universe-11 blurted out in surprise.

As someone who knew the true nature of Nazar Prime, he could not bring himself to believe what he saw and felt.

"Hmm," the other person in this cave thought loudly. "That is interesting.'

Unlike Nazar, this entity was devoid of emotions. He was a man of logic and mathematics.

"I see, I understand. After all this time…"

The figure clicked his tongue as he stabbed his foot into the ground, shaking this unknown place.

"Oh, you think you are smart, huh? Well, well, well, I am impressed."

While the entity lacked emotions, Nazar could feel something from him that was extremely similar to the ugly emotion known as anger.

At that moment, he thought; This man… he is a madman.

"But it doesn't matter," the emotionless entity narrowed his red eyes abruptly, changing the topic. "We are done here."

He looked at Nazar directly in his eyes.

"You have been working with me for a year now, you must miss your family."

"That I do," Nazar chuckled. "I hope Emma has not grown up anymore."

"Only a few weeks have passed in that world."

"Even a week is too much," he replied in a loud serious voice. "Children grow up too quickly. And I don't want to miss any of it!"

"Hmm. My childhood was much too long."

Nazar frowned with a soft grunt.

"While in my new world, she is well over twenty-eight, on Earth, she would have been only eight years old. She is still too young."

"Hmm."

The emotionless entity was at a loss for words, not sure how or why he should continue, so he returned to the original topic.

"Anyway, you have helped me make the ultimate weapon, my blacksmith."

The man arched his palm, facing upwards.

"And as such, I will reward you greatly for your contribution."

A golden orb appeared in his palm,

"Spend a million years with your family now, live until you are satisfied."

Nazar took the orb without hesitation as a soft smile appeared on his face.

For a long time, he wanted to die, but then he found something precious.

Now that he had found his golden sun, his life was withering away in this blinding sunlight. And he did not want that.

He wanted to live forever in that sunlight and keep the light shining until the end of the cosmos.

"Ah…"

That soft smile vanished slowly as he realised the gravity of Prime's death.

"But…"

Nazar clicked his tongue as the emotionless entity created a portal behind him.

"We are all going to die."

"..."

And suddenly, in this cave, which was as silent as a graveyard, a loud and deafening emotionless laughter rang out.

The entity laughed and laughed and laughed, confusing Nazar.

He couldn't understand why he was laughing.

"Oh, I did not know you were such a comedian."

Instead of being baffled, Nazar took offense to his words.

How could this entity laugh like that when everything could end, when his blinding golden sun is about to be extinguished out of existence?

Like a dog, he lashed out at this entity, "How dare you--"

However, the entity snapped his fingers, and the portal began to swallow Nazar.

With a horrified look on his face, tried to resist, but this entity was just too powerful for him.

"Your thoughts are too dark, try to lighten up."

And just like that, Nazar was removed from this place and sent back to his world.

Now that he was alone, he inspected the new weapon he had created with Nazar.

He looked at this weapon and touched it with his fingertips.

"Dragon, I am impressed," he said slowly. "Oh, I am very impressed."

While he has no emotions, he was making a face that was remarkably similar to an emotion humans call anger.

With his face twisted up, he said, "Very impressed, indeed. Sooo overly impressed."

His right eye flared brightly with red energy as he vanished into thin air.

With its master gone, the dimension soon began to collapse out of existence.

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

Back on Earth, beneath the wrath and view of the Celestials, Eddie held Nazar's body close to him.

He took the body of his dead friend and hugged it tightly, asking him to stay with him, asking him to return, asking him to not leave him alone.

But the dead body did not respond.

How could it? After all, it has no life.

A beam of electricity shot down from the sky, trying to shock the dead body, but it was useless.

He knew it was useless, but even then, he attempted it.

"What happened to outliving me?" Eddie said slowly. "What happened to living till the end?"

လလလ

"You don't have to ever fear death, Eddie," Nazar said as he flicked a small rock with his thumb. The rock flew up before gravity overwhelmed it and it came down back to his palm. "You are an immortal who will live till the end of the cosmos. As long as Yggdrasil stands, you will be fine."

Nazar pulled his elbow back a little and held the small rock tightly in his hand.

Then, he swung his arm forward. He released the rock from his finger, propelling it forward like a rocket.

The rock bounced on the waters a few times before the ocean devoured it.

"And me," Nazar added slowly.

Eddie, who was sitting on a rock, looked at Nazar with questioning eyes.

"As long as I live, you will not die. Even if you were to die, somehow, you will return to the land of the living as long as I exist."

"Uhh."

"Look man, I am just saying, you could die. Who knows?"

Eddie sighed as he faced forward and let his eyes absorb the view in front of him. The blue ocean with glittering light seemed to stretch to the end of the world made Eddie fearful. Eddie couldn't see the end of it, so he did not know what lay at its end. So, he felt fear.

"They say the sky's the limit, but today, you will learn it is not. The sky, the stars, the universe, the multiverse…"

Nazar looked at Eddie, only catching the sight of his side profile.

"There are no limits for you as long as I am around. With me, you can cross infinities and eternities, cross the light and the darkness. The thrill of that kind of adventure… Fear of death will only hold you back, my friend."

"Mm, I see."

"Yes. So, don't fear the unknown." In a barely audible voice, he added, "Well, on this world anyway."

Eddie scoffed.

"You are weird."

"Sheesh, someone needs to keep his thoughts to himself," Nazar's bitter tone caused Eddie to yelp out in fear.

They have known each other for a week now, but Eddie has a good grasp of this man's powers, so he felt fearful at the thought of offending this man.

"Sorry."

"... Pfft," Nazar snorted with laughter.

As usual, this entity confused him.

"Good, good. As long as your expectations of me are low, you won't be disappointed."

"..." Eddie stared at him blankly.

"Now, then, Edward,"

An invisible blast of telekinesis forced Eddie to fall into the waters.

"Uwah?!" Eddie screamed loudly as he flapped his hands in the cold water.

"Swim till the end of infinity."

While his words were malicious, his smile suggested otherwise.

Eddie looked at Nazar with wide eyes.

There was something odd about this man's aura, something calm yet icy.

"Swim beyond the unknown."

Eddie swallowed his saliva, ignoring his thoughts.

He narrowed his eyes as he began to move.

"If it gets too dark, know this, I will always light up the way."

လလလ

A few years later, in the present, things were not as simple as they were back then.

"So, that was a lie, huh?" Eddie muttered to himself. "Everything you said… lies. Lies. Lies! LIES!"

In the back of his mind, many old memories resurfaced.

Every new memory which surfaced, caused his head to feel pain. It was as if those memories were needles, stabbing him in his brain.

"You weren't supposed to die," he said slowly. "It wasn't supposed to come to this. None of it… It shouldn't have happened."

Every person needs to have a light in this murky world or else they will be consumed by it.

Without that light, everything will fall apart.

Eddie's light was Nazar, the shining beacon in this infinitely stretched darkness.

"I am sorry," he hugged the body even tightly as streams of tears started to run over his cheeks.

Last night, he said some terrible things to his friend, to his blinding light, but today, he woke up to his death.

He wanted to say he was sorry, he wanted to say he meant none of that, but…

He can't.

The friend he hurt last night is dead, gone forever.

Since he cannot go to Hell or Heaven, the chances of Eddie ever seeing him again are zero.

"Please."

Eddie closed his eyes.

"Please don't leave me behind."

With every word that left his lips, his voice got louder as bluish white sparks flickered around him.

"PLEASE!"

Lucifer, who was floating, clicked his tongue as his red eyes flared.

And immediately after, Eddie fell down.

"You are annoying," Lucifer said slowly.