Chapter 192

Arc 17 - Shadowy World - Part 1

The world which was not meant to be:

Every timeline was destroyed by the forces of the Queen; however, one was saved by Nazar. This timeline survived its inevitable end, but Nazar did not win the battle.

He lost everything.

He lost his will to fight.

And so, the Queen and her faces finally destroyed that timeline too, but before a new timeline replaced the other one, the Queen began revealing her plan to her companion, X.

In this white void of nothingness, the Queen smiled softly, “I will win.”

“Hm,” X questioned her plan and motives.

“We will let his emotions bloom like a young flower, we will create paths for him where will be forced to open up emotionally and accept himself.”

“But you...” X swallowed his own words as he realised something. “Oh, so that’s what you meant.”

“Yes, so you understand,” she winked at him.

“Hm.”

“We will help him indirectly until… Until Rewind enters the picture. Rewind will carry out his task of “killing” him”

X seemed somewhat impressed by her plan.

“I am surprised you did not think of that yourself; it is quite simple.”

X did not like what he heard but he couldn't pretend she was not right. Her plan could work easily.

“In any case, he can turn off his emotions.”

“Yes, I have thought of that. It is a problem, but I want to create a path for him where he will be comfortable enough not to turn off his emotions.”

The Queen sighed softly.

“And then…” her victory was assured now. “Just before he dies, I will show him his loved ones and how happy they are to see him die. How happy they are to see him destroyed. The hatred and resentment, the fear and anxiety they felt when he was around them will all be gone when he dies. And he will feel that.”

She smiled excitedly, “Isn’t that perfect?!”

X did not reply but kept quiet.

“The perfect way to break him.”

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

???? - ?????:

"Ahhhhh," the Queen spread her arms widely as she danced in the rain.

In this wonderful green and colourful garden, the Queen giggled as if she were a young princess once again under the golden sun of Virrasil.

"I have won."

In this colourful garden, the birds chirped, and the flowers smiled. The trees began to flail and dance in happiness.

Behind her, the enormous castle shone like a beacon of light in the cosmos.

As she happily walked towards the end of the garden, the clouds dispersed slowly, and the sun began to sneak through.

The golden light washed over her body, causing her to hug her body with an excited yet silly giggle.

"I love this," she said slowly as she looked down from this garden and into the street beneath her.

Thousands of people had gathered, cheering for her.

She was the Goddess of the cosmos, it's true master.

And her people couldn't be happier for her.

This was the world of rainbows, of the sunshine.

Everyone was happy.

"!"

It was peaceful and wonderful, a utopia until a Golden God descended from the heavens.

A man shining like a golden sun came down slowly.

Sparks of energy, almost like tentacles with a mind of its own, were wriggling around him.

"Ah, how wonderful it is to return to the utopia."

"A utopia you yourself destroyed nonetheless," the Queen, still smiling, shot an icy gaze towards the Golden God. "What brings you here, traitor?"

The Golden God landed next to the Queen of Virrasil and looked down at her people.

"So, you have finally won, huh?"

The Queen hummed as she nodded.

"The alpha and the omega of the creation."

"Not yet. There is something I need to acquire."

"I am afraid you will find yourself disappointed with the answer."

The all-knowing God glanced at her.

On his head, on this faceless head, a black smile spread thinly.

"Indra."

"Indra, the ability which allowed you to become the near-omnipotent God of the cosmos."

"I ate the Gods and the cosmos, I became the alpha and the omega… but I realised, I was not at the peak of creation. Few steps were yet to be taken. And I needed more power. I wanted to eat everything."

"But…?"

The Golden God sighed as he began to reminisce about the past, the good old days.

“When I was close, I decided to take a step back… You see, ultimate position was something everyone wanted. And I was close. But something washed over me and I...”

The Golden God looked at the Queen.

“Curiosity is a terrible drug, a drug not even nigh-omnipotent Gods like us can fight against.”

“You got curious and began wanting that power, that position again. You wanted to see just how amazing it will feel, hm? The ecstasy of ultimate power, hm?”

“Precisely. I wanted a position where no one could reach me. Where I was the alpha and the omega. But then...”

The Queen looked deeper into the face of this God.

A pair of red eyes appeared on his golden face.

“A human was born.”

The Queen began to feel anger radiating from him.

“Layers upon layers -- infinite number of layers -- suddenly appeared above the World. With every layer being added, it became harder for me to reach my position. It was… absolutely impossible.”

“Why did you not reach that place before the human was born?”

“I...” the Golden God sighed.

“Be honest.”

“My curiosity in that position piqued too late.”

“I see… So, you began looking to steal more power...”

“Indeed, and the moment he was born, everything ended for me. And then...”

The Queen knew what happened.

The Queen knows all.

“The omniverse ended before you could attain real power. And then…” she narrowed her eyes again. “You lost interest again, didn’t you? You became a hero, did you not?”

“I am afraid I do not like the wording… but yes. Yes. That is correct. I had to become something new to free us all.”

“And you failed,” her icy words stabbed into his emotionless heart.

“Yes...”

She clicked her tongue.

“Then let me finish what you started, traitor.”

“You cannot finish it… He is dead.”

“Yes, but with Indra, I will finally--”

“INDRA DOESN’T EXIST!” suddenly, an angry roar left the lips of the Golden God.

"..."

For the first time since the dawn of creation, the Golden God spoke angrily.

He spoke as he had lost something precious, he spoke as if he couldn't accept the fact he did not have his toy any longer.

“... Huh?” a confused voice escaped her lips.

“I don’t have Indra anymore,” in anger he clenched his energy fist.

“...”

“He took it away from me,” he spoke while gritting his teeth. “He took everything from me.”

“Then...”

The Queen took a step back as she bit her lips.

“It was all for nothing. Indra and Ryu have one master and HE. IS. DEAD!”

The golden veil slowly vanished as a face began to appear on his head.

“I lost everything, you lost everything.”

As her eyes fell upon his face, her heart skipped a beat.

Her eyes and mouth gaped open as she took a step back.

“It was all for naught.”

“You...”

She had seen this evil face, back when Virrasil still stood.

However, since then, she had forgotten his face.

After so long, she finally remembered it.

“...”

Her face twisted up in anger as a beam of purple energy shot right out of her head and into his abdomen.

He was unaffected by the beam of light, but he noticed the increase in her power, which was far greater than it was a few weeks ago.

“Hm.”

While in anger, she let her emotions cut loose and it ended many lights across the creation.

“Your original power is returning now that he is no longer restricting you subconsciously. And add a copy of Ryu to it…”

“...” she breathed in and out angrily.

The Golden God extended an energy spark towards her.

As it touched her, the ugly emotions she was feeling at this moment began to fade away.

“You might be the most powerful being in creation at the moment, but still not the alpha and the omega or all there is.”

"Of course. I am yet to surpass you, Null, and Arosus. And…"

Her eyes turned towards the sky.

The living darkness slithered in the blue sky like a snake. taking a bit off the sun and eating it as if it were an apple.

The blue sky soon began to fade away and be absorbed into the darkness.

From the sky, droplets of the darkness rained down on this utopia. With every droplet of this odd rain, it painted this world pitch black - so black it will never return to its former glory.

She extended her right arm forward.

In her palm, she caught a droplet of the darkness.

The Queen clenched her fist.

Slowly, the Dragon's eyes began to widen as realisation dawned upon him.

"Nooo--"

In a state of worry, he extended his arm forward, trying to stop her.

But he was too slow.

Too late.

Once she opened her palm like a blooming flower, a supernova of white light shot to the dark sky above.

The light pierced the skies, and then the heavens.

The beam of light traversed through the highest infinity - plane - in the Aleph-∞. It traveled a distance beyond the concept of infinity. It traveled so fast and so far, to the inhabitants of lower planes, it was simply oxymoron if put into words.

The white light ripped through the darkness and everything else in front of it.

It destroyed everything in its paths.

Just as it was about to reach beyond the point of no return...

"...'

The Queen clicked her tongue while the Dragon's alarmed look began to fade away.

"I am still not powerful enough to breach the barriers of the World."

The Dragon began to look visually relieved.

He was a man who was beyond the concept of emotions, yet he couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.

"The Gods that rule over my creation…" she narrowed her eyes in a serious manner as she clenched her fist. "Until the day I stand above them, my campaign will not end!"

“Dear,” the Dragon transformed into his incorporeal self, which consisted of nothing but golden light. “I am afraid I cannot allow you to do that.”

“You have lost Indra, you have lost your position, how can you hope to stand against me when I control the most potent ability in creation?”

“You want to reach the World under your own power, so I know you will not use Ryu. It is unlike you to do so.”

She clicked her tongue.

“Leave, Ikeiss, I do not want you in my new Virrasil.”

“Your new Virrasil is nothing but a ruse, a wish created from nothing but a dream of a child. You need to stop this madness once and for all!”

“I will not let you destroy my world again!" with every word that left her mouth, her anger became increasingly apparent.

“Then so be it. Be nothing but a proxy for the higher Gods. Is this the life you wanted?”

“No,” the Queen replied softly. “I always wanted to become the most powerful, but then… After gaining control over Ryu, I understand our position. The World must fall.”

“You cannot do that. Even if you have the power to do so, the World is an important architecture in the omniverse. You will risk the destruction of all. Even if one layer of the omniverse is destroyed, everything will fall apart like pieces of domino.”

“So be it. I merely wish to not be used as a tool by anyone. That is my wish, and I WILL. MAKE. SURE. I. SUCCEED!”

“You introduced the concept of time to these planes… You are majorly affecting the Aleph∞. Time is not meant to exist above certain layers in the Aleph∞ First. Time is not meant to exist in these planes. You are introducing an end to the endless. Your--”

The Dragon swallowed his words angrily.

“Your childish endeavour ends now!”

A long golden sword with golden sparks emerged in the Golden God’s palm.

“I am afraid I must stop you now before it is too late. I wish to save this creation; I wish to save you before you go too far.”

“Hah!” she laughed loudly - albeit sarcastically. “I don’t need saving.”

“Yes, you do. Everyone does. Power is a curse, and death is solace. Death is our only saviour.”

“Bah, I bore of your pathetic riddles. Power is a gift; it is the only thing that gives us - our lives, our existence - meaning.”

“You are mistaken--- What--- !!!!!”

The dragon’s body began to evaporate as if were made of ash.

The avatar of this Golden God began to expire.

“Ah, so it has begun...”

She felt the Dragon smiling.

It was dying, but it seemed happier.

She failed to understand that.

“...”

With an alarmed look on her face, she questioned, “Wh-what…? WHAT ARE YOU DOING?!”

Her screams caused the entire plane to shake to its core, nearly causing its destruction.

“When the time comes, all will be revealed.”

And so, the Golden God vanished.

“...” she gritted her teeth.

She breathed in and out angrily as the darkness vanished and the blue sun began to appear once again.

“I will kill you for this, Ikeiss.”

Her chest rose up in anger.

“I WILL KILL YOU FOR THIS!!!” her scream unleashed a white energy of destruction that nearly ended this world.

Her powerful screams travelled to the outer layer of this plane and then…

And then…

And then…

*CRACK*

A crack appeared in the barrier beneath the World. The doors of heaven were now open.

The barrier which was separating the Aleph∞ from the World began to vanish.

And so, the destabilisation process of the entire creation began.

“Ah...” the Queen widened her eyes as she saw the darkness run away, revealing the golden crack.

“Ah...”

The heavens shook and the Gods began to shudder as the end began to near.

“After so long...”

The Queen breathed out slowly.

Her chest began to lighten.

She felt a new emotion - happiness and joy - for the first time in countless billion years.

She closed her eyes slowly as a smile spread on her face.

“The World will be mine.”

She chuckled.

And she chuckled again.

And then she laughed.

She laughed loudly in happiness.

“I will be the alpha and the omega.”

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

???? - ?????:

Neighs of the horses, screams of warriors, sound of rains dropping furiously, thunders in the distant sky, and sound of metal clashing was the only thing that could be heard on this battlefield.

A sword went through the skin of the man then the bone. Once it reached the neck bone, the sword paused for a little bit.

A hand holding the sword tightening its grip of this sword. With the force applied to the sword increased, it cut through the neck of the man like butter.

The world spun in the eyes of the dead soldier. He saw the sky, then the forest, then the ground, then the forest again, and then the sky once more. The cycle continued and continued until darkness overtook his vision.

And the man holding the sword…

He kicked the ground as he roared loudly in this noisy battlefield.

He shot himself forward with his long shiny sword.

The fish-like man swung his sword, felling his kind.

The war began for silly reasons, but he did not care.

To him, it was nothing but fun.

This was his happiness.

This was solace.

This was... life.

“Raaahhhhhhhhhhhhh!”

The man jumped high into the rain and swung down his sword on a weak new soldier.

He cut through the soldier’s entire body, leaving two halves behind.

The blood spurted out of the dead soldier and showered atop this soldier.

His snake-like tongue cleared the surrounding areas of his mouth.

The blood he digested was disgusting and inhuman and wrong, but to him, it did not matter.

The weak deserves to be devoured.

And so, the soldier marched faster than before.

From the corner of his eyes, he noticed how his allies began to fall one by one.

However, he did not care.

He was strong.

He would survive.

So, his campaign of death did not waver.

Before long, he was the only soldier left from his group.

However, he did not stop moving.

He cut down everyone in his path and did not care he will be outnumbered soon.

The weak deserves to die.

His chest swollen with excitement deep in his heart, the soldier’s speed increased further and further.

He swung his sword faster and faster, killing more and more people.

Before the fish samurai knew, he had killed everyone on the battlefield.

Every soldier was dead.

On top of the pile of dead bodies, the fish samurai fell to his knees as he looked at the sky above him.

His hand fell next to him and so did his sword.

The swordman did not realise the pain he was in.

If he did, he would have realised by now that half of his abdomen was cut out, his intestines were falling around, and he was missing an arm.

A sword was stuck near his heart, another in his face.

The murderer of an army blinked a few times as he thought.

Ah… They are dead.

As his vision blackened, he said, “What… was it all for?”

He had lived a life, a life filled with nothing but war and murder.

He was so blinded by rage and anger all his life; he did not understand what life truly was. The life he led was meaningless and he finally understood that.

However, he understood it far too late.

Life had a meaning, and he could not see it.

And now, death has come for him.

The cold and dark skeleton with white heavenly wings extended its arm forward towards him.

He tried to shake away the angel's hand, he tried to run away.

But...

It did not work.

Nothing worked.

His eyes opened wide as a blackness began to overtake his vision.

“Once upon a time...”

And so, the man died, sitting atop the bodies of his victims.