Author's Notes: This is a fic where nobody lives happily ever after. If you are a person who loves sappy endings, leave now.
Disclaimer: CLAMP owns Cardcaptors. I own Shadow. Some quotes used in this story are written by the good people at Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
The Extreme
Sakura hugged the big, furry stuffed animal that Li had won at an event. "Thanks for getting this for me." He smirked. "At least the stuffed animal will have some company with this fellow." For Sakura, this was truly a time to be alive. She has a wonderful family, good friends and someone close to her heart.
The carnival was in the city for a week and Sakura wanted to go. How she got Li to come with her (since Li isn't that type of person), her trump card...the puppy dog face. It actually appeared that Li might be getting fond of this type of atmosphere. The night would have been perfect except for a mysterious, powerful aura that appeared out of nowhere.
"Sakura! Did you feel that?" She nodded. "It doesn't feel like an ordinary Clow card...could it be something else?" They left the carnival and headed towards the source of the power.
In the woods, they saw a stranger, dressed in Li's robes but he wore red and had boots. He wore a red mask. The white ponytail, red eyes and part of his face were the only parts that were not clothed other than his hands.
"What in the world?" Sakura was about to confront the stranger when Li stopped her. "Quiet!!! We have to know more about this power!!" The stranger got up and headed towards them.
"Who...what are you? Why are you dressed like Li?" The stranger made no attempt to answer those questions. "Are you the defenders of this world?" The two Cardcaptors slowly nodded. The stranger raised a whip. "I'm Shadow, the preserver of purity. In order to prevent this world from the corruption that will occur, I must destroy it."
"WHAT?! You're insane!!!" Sakura summoned her baton while Li had his sword in his hand. Shadow used his whip, took both weapons and snapped them in half. "Purity is rare. It must be preserved while it still exists. If I destroy this world, then the purity will be sent to the hierarchy in the heavens where no force can corrupt it."
"What do you mean corruption? Can humanity decide for itself whether it will be corrupt or not? We each make our own choices and face the consequences that come with them." The entity shook his head. "Sometimes, the decision is already made or cannot be made at all. Humanity has tried to push down its primal instincts to survive. For most, the instincts are dormant but for others, the instincts take full control. I've seen it happen."
"Isn't there some way to destroy corruption?" Shadow stared at Sakura in disbelief. "Evil and corruption can never be destroyed. As long as there are dark instincts within people, there will always be evil. There is no true embodiment of evil or purity."
"Why must you take extreme actions simply to preserve purity?" "It is because the hierarchy needs the purity to preserve good lives in their plane of existence. There are an infinite amount of lives there. Billions alone come from one nation of an alternate reality. I can preserve a plane of existence that contains the lives of an infinite amount of worlds, by taking the lives and the purity of one world."
Shadow paused. "Soldiers will always endanger their lives to defend many other lives. How about this world? In 99.4 % of the peoples' hearts, they feel they are soldiers. Your world has been in many wars, in conflict with each other and with other humanoids who share this dimension. Corruption has indeed taken place but it has also created some form of righteousness as well. This is the opportunity the soldiers have been waiting for. To defend. There is little of your world that can truly be called home. Which is worse: nothing to defend, or no one to defend it?"
Sakura and Li could only be stunned at Shadow's words. The entity shot them one more question. "Do you stand ready to die for your world? I know there are many people who will stand with you if you do." With that, he flew into the air and aimed his hand at the core of the planet. He waited for a moment to commemorate the beings about to die. With that, the world became nothing more than chunks of planet, floating around the solar system.
Disclaimer: CLAMP owns Cardcaptors. I own Shadow. Some quotes used in this story are written by the good people at Wizards of the Coast, Inc.
The Extreme
Sakura hugged the big, furry stuffed animal that Li had won at an event. "Thanks for getting this for me." He smirked. "At least the stuffed animal will have some company with this fellow." For Sakura, this was truly a time to be alive. She has a wonderful family, good friends and someone close to her heart.
The carnival was in the city for a week and Sakura wanted to go. How she got Li to come with her (since Li isn't that type of person), her trump card...the puppy dog face. It actually appeared that Li might be getting fond of this type of atmosphere. The night would have been perfect except for a mysterious, powerful aura that appeared out of nowhere.
"Sakura! Did you feel that?" She nodded. "It doesn't feel like an ordinary Clow card...could it be something else?" They left the carnival and headed towards the source of the power.
In the woods, they saw a stranger, dressed in Li's robes but he wore red and had boots. He wore a red mask. The white ponytail, red eyes and part of his face were the only parts that were not clothed other than his hands.
"What in the world?" Sakura was about to confront the stranger when Li stopped her. "Quiet!!! We have to know more about this power!!" The stranger got up and headed towards them.
"Who...what are you? Why are you dressed like Li?" The stranger made no attempt to answer those questions. "Are you the defenders of this world?" The two Cardcaptors slowly nodded. The stranger raised a whip. "I'm Shadow, the preserver of purity. In order to prevent this world from the corruption that will occur, I must destroy it."
"WHAT?! You're insane!!!" Sakura summoned her baton while Li had his sword in his hand. Shadow used his whip, took both weapons and snapped them in half. "Purity is rare. It must be preserved while it still exists. If I destroy this world, then the purity will be sent to the hierarchy in the heavens where no force can corrupt it."
"What do you mean corruption? Can humanity decide for itself whether it will be corrupt or not? We each make our own choices and face the consequences that come with them." The entity shook his head. "Sometimes, the decision is already made or cannot be made at all. Humanity has tried to push down its primal instincts to survive. For most, the instincts are dormant but for others, the instincts take full control. I've seen it happen."
"Isn't there some way to destroy corruption?" Shadow stared at Sakura in disbelief. "Evil and corruption can never be destroyed. As long as there are dark instincts within people, there will always be evil. There is no true embodiment of evil or purity."
"Why must you take extreme actions simply to preserve purity?" "It is because the hierarchy needs the purity to preserve good lives in their plane of existence. There are an infinite amount of lives there. Billions alone come from one nation of an alternate reality. I can preserve a plane of existence that contains the lives of an infinite amount of worlds, by taking the lives and the purity of one world."
Shadow paused. "Soldiers will always endanger their lives to defend many other lives. How about this world? In 99.4 % of the peoples' hearts, they feel they are soldiers. Your world has been in many wars, in conflict with each other and with other humanoids who share this dimension. Corruption has indeed taken place but it has also created some form of righteousness as well. This is the opportunity the soldiers have been waiting for. To defend. There is little of your world that can truly be called home. Which is worse: nothing to defend, or no one to defend it?"
Sakura and Li could only be stunned at Shadow's words. The entity shot them one more question. "Do you stand ready to die for your world? I know there are many people who will stand with you if you do." With that, he flew into the air and aimed his hand at the core of the planet. He waited for a moment to commemorate the beings about to die. With that, the world became nothing more than chunks of planet, floating around the solar system.