Sophia vanished, reappearing amongst her now familiar home of nothingness.

At this point, it felt like everything around her was both real yet virtual. Both a part of the universe yet the mere products of her own thoughts.

Perhaps thankfully though, her abilities were still limited. Her thoughts, her simulations, still lacked the reality of the universe.

Even after Solomon returned to his place, sacrificing himself to hand his abilities to Sophia, she still lacked the depth of knowledge to perfectly simulate the universe.

She needed the concepts. And not those lesser concepts.

She needed Order and Chaos, the highest concepts in the universe, and the foundation of Totality.

And she couldn't attain these concepts herself. She needed to use someone else, use their comprehensions, and generate simulations based on those comprehensions.

She needed Luna, Iris, and Alice.

If it were before, when they were present within the main universe, then unfortunately there would be no hope of attaining those concepts.

As they had found out the hard way, there was already a god of Order, and likely one of Chaos. So no matter how much they comprehended, no matter how powerful they became, they would always be below the highest.

You couldn't fight against them. There were no concepts equal to those. Everything was under them.

Luna had been expelled, every concept in the universe turning and removing her existence. Simply because the god of Order willed it.

That was a true god.

So what were they to do? How could they fight back? How could they reach that level?

The answer was right before them.

The Archons.

7 beings that, together, were the very foundation of the Totality.

They were the concepts themselves.

There was Order, and Chaos.

There was Life, Death, Creation, and Annihilation.

The concepts were before them.

The successors were present.

There was only one thing to do.

It was up to Luna and Iris to comprehend Order and Chaos. They fit the bill perfectly.

As for Alice... Well, Sophia knew her responsibility lay elsewhere.

...........

Not long after Sophia had vanished, Luna, Iris, and Alice understood what they needed to do.

The concepts were basically being handed to them on a silver platter. Nobody to compete with, nothing else to focus on.

They didn't immediately leave though. For a while, they contemplated.

Both Luna and Iris seemed to grasp something after being brought here.

Luna gazed upon the Archon of Order.

A being with purple skin, a third eye that gazed upon everything in this universe with absolution. For a time, Luna really thought that these Archons were alive rather than... well, dead was the best way she could describe their situation.

Each of these Archons were power themselves, the concepts incarnate. This wasn't simply a matter of comprehending and attaining the borrowed power of the concepts.

They were the concepts. They were the laws of the universe, the universe itself, and beings that bent the universe to their will.

True gods.

It was natural that Luna had a hard time believing these beings had been somehow rendered useless.

But more than that... she couldn't help but keep repeating that phrase.

The Archons' successors...

They were to succeed the Archons, become true gods.

And the only way they could do that...

They had to become Order and Chaos.

Luna quickly realized that the Archon of Order was her goal.

Above Life and Creation, Order was waiting for her. Nobody else was better suited.

And Chaos? That was for Iris.

But what about Alice?

She had always been within Death, a concept under Chaos. While Iris would surely take all of Chaos, Luna still couldn't help but think that Alice had a higher purpose than just becoming Death.

Especially after what Dream did. Gave himself to nothingness, surpassing the paradox of Death.

Perhaps there was something more to Death. In that darkness was the deepest foundation of the universe. Something beyond nothing.

Would Alice do what Dream did?

Luna gazed around her, getting to that point. But when she sought our Alice... she couldn't find her.

Alice had disappeared.

Perhaps she had gone to the concepts?

Luna was curious, but disregarded it for now. She didn't believe there was anything in this universe that was out to harm them.

Quite the opposite, in fact.

Suddenly though, she felt Iris' gaze.

The two twin sisters met eyes. Although they were twins, they couldn't be more different. Literal opposites, in almost every way.

Unlike before though, in the main universe, Iris' gaze held something other than... hate.

Iris smiled, approaching Luna.

"I guess I should start with an apology."

She scratched her head, a bit meekly. It was so very unlike her that Luna got chills.

"Who are you?"

"It's me, Luna. Come on. You realize what happened to us too, right?"

Luna looked at her sister skeptically. Iris just rolled her eyes.

"The concepts. After we started comprehending them, diving deeper into their depths, making them a part of us... it changed us. We were opposites, and I was filled with so much hate for you. I wanted nothing more than to erase you from the universe. To kill you, corrupt you. I did just about anything I could to cause you trouble, although my attempts at actually killing you were completely useless. You were way too good at hiding."

Iris frowned and rubbed her eyes, looking exhausted.

"I don't want to feel so much hate for you, Luna. You could say that the only reason I didn't teleport right in front of you and eat all your primary worlds was because I had made up enough excuses to keep me occupied. I tried so hard to stop myself... But the concepts didn't allow me to be even slightly friendly with you.

"I just... want to say I'm sorry. That I still love you. You're still my sister, perhaps my only friend... And I want to apologize in advance, because this might be the last time I ever even think of interacting with you in a nice way. Once we jump into those concepts... We'll become enemies again."

Iris' head hung a bit low, her gaze was filled with a shocking amount of sorrow.

And Luna... wasn't sure of what to say. She just floated there, gazing at her sister, her chest feeling an unfamiliar ache.

Iris turned to her new goal, that mass of abyssal chaos that she was to become. This was her path now. To succeed that being of Chaos. To become Chaos itself.

She was about to take a step forward. To begin this new journey of true ascension.

But she was held back. A cold grip held her arm.

"...You don't have to go yet."

Luna looked at Iris' back, her gaze almost pleading.

"We have time. Let's stay here for a bit... We can talk."

Iris turned back. She was surprised... but more so excited.

Happy that her sister didn't hate her.

She nodded.

"Yea. We can talk. But... how long to we have?"

"Sophia said we'd go back to the same instant we died after finishing. So I'd say all the time we want... Besides, how long will it take to comprehend those concepts? A few thousand years? We have plenty of time."

Luna pulled Iris in. Iris was surprised by the sudden hug.

Luna mumbled.

"I'd like to talk to my sister for the first time in almost two centuries. Surely becoming a god can wait."

"...I agree."

Iris chuckled a bit before hugging back.

Like that, the two floated through the endless darkness around them.

And they did so for all the time they lost.

Two centuries.

...........

Before Alice was Sophia.

Alice wasn't exactly familiar with Sophia's form. Sophia had never opted to appear in her human, womanly form in front of anyone else except Dream. Not that she appeared that way often anyway.

Still, this was Alice's first time actually interacting with Sophia herself. All other times, it was through Dream or a magical program.

But this was Sophia, and none other.

Plus, Sophia was now something like a goddess of Time.

Her relationship to the original Archons, to Solomon, even to the main universe, was in question. Thankfully, Sophia didn't plan on keeping her in the dark.

"Luna and Iris are going to take Order and Chaos."

Sophia let out a sweet hum, a voice so soothing to Alice's ears.

"I know you were pushing toward Death. You knew Dream would die, and wanted to do so before him. To lead him through it, as I recall you saying. Impressive, how you wished to comprehend nothing. You were trying to do exactly what Dream did, just a bit less recklessly. Though, I imagine your efforts during these past years have been... paradoxical."

"...They have."

Alice hung her head at Sophia's words.

She had resided within the concept of Death, focusing on comprehending it. And shockingly, she had met many others during her time within that conceptual world.

Quadrillions of people were within Death. Beings that had passed, ones that once resided within the universe. Within Death was the Afterlife, a dark world full of all those who had risen to power throughout history, only to perish and become the fuel used by others for progression. And as Alice had discovered, only those who had evolved their soul at least once earned the right to retain their ego into Death.

But they were at the very bottom. There were only three others who had entered Death of their own power.

Alice had found out that demigods within Death often perished quickly. It was the most dangerous concept to enter, above even Annihilation.

But even those people that Alice had met on equal grounds did not see Death for what it truly was.

Absolutely nothing.

It was the paradox that Dream had surpassed. The great enigma of Death.

Death was nothing. How could you comprehend nothing? How could you be something and nothing?

Of course, Dream wasn't the first to realize Death's Paradox. Many others had also done so, but they had all died. Not even the other demigods knew their names.

They had vanished from the universe after giving their entire existence to Nothing.

They had willingly killed themselves in pursuit of something higher.

As for all the others, they understood Death as the reduction of life.

Like mortal death. When someone was decapitated, their soul unable to retain its for out of sheer weakness.

Other demigods of Death were mere reapers, bringing death to others. Destroying their souls. Ending their lives.

They didn't know what true Death was.

And Alice didn't blame them. Not even she truly knew. And in a way, Death couldn't be known.

And so, for nearly two centuries, she had been stuck. Not making much progress. In fact, the progress she thought she made had perhaps brought her farther from the truth.

"Since your time has been fruitless, I have a proposition for you."

Sophia put out her hand, on her face a small smile. Alice became curious, wondering what Sophia could possibly do to help.

"I'll give you Death. True Death. True nothingess. I'll erase you from the universe."

Sophia's soothing voice created an odd dichotomy to her words.

Alice didn't think she was being malicious though. Sophia was saying that she would kill her, but Alice knew that DEath wasn't so simple.

Sophia continued, giving her an appropriate explanation.

"You'll be erased, but simultaneously, your existence will live on in my memories. You could say that you'll become a part of me, giving up your independent self. However, this gives you an opportunity.

"Dream lives on, exists through the mind of the universe and all its information. You will do the same. But unlike him, who's seeking something in that midst of nothingness, your challenge will be reentering existence. You could think of it like a computer program fighting to become sentient. And when you do, you will reappear in Time, your existence imposing its Will unto the universe.

"Of course, the downside to this is that you have to trust me. Trust in my integrity, in my abilities to know every bit of your information, and trust me enough to give your entire self to me. When I kill you, and effectively consume your existence, I will have absolute control over your every aspect. The slightest deviation or change can erase your existence, barring you from ever reentering the universe and becoming something again.

"You will ride the line between Life and Death in the time you're gone. You will have to know both. You will have to surpass the paradox, using myself as a crutch.

"So... What do you think?"

Sophia eyed Alice, her faint smile still present on her face.

For a time Alice didn't speak. She just sat there, pondering, letting thoughts run through her mind.

Then, her mouth opened.

"...Is it even possible?"

"For you to surpass Death? Yes."

Sophia answered without hesitation.

"You have to know that the universe we're in... isn't much of a universe. It's broken, degraded, detached, not whole. And you three will be the pieces that fit it back together. Every spot that was once occupied by gods in the main universe is now open. Luna and Iris can take Order and Chaos, and you... You're going to become the foundation."

"Something that allows nothing to exist."

"Correct. Become the Paradox of Death, that doesn't exist in this universe."

Sophia put out her hand even further, beckoning Alice to take it.

And knowing it was at least possible... Alice didn't hesitate.

She took Sophia's hand.

And then, her life flashed before her eyes.

Sophia watched as Alice was brought under her, every bit of information that composed her existence injected into streams of Time. She similarly saw Alice's life, and she took care not to affect her in any way.

Sophia was also giving up something. She had to give a portion of herself to Alice so she could exist, and she wasn't allowed to touch that part. Though, Alice was still taking the bigger risk.

Then, Alice disappeared. Her soul dispersed, her mind collapsed, her existence drifting into the infinity of Time.

Sophia sighed as she vanished.

"Say hi to Dream, while you're out there..."