Author's Note: This is a Transcendence alternate universe fanfiction. If you have never read anything from the Transcendence AU before, look it up as Transcendence-au dot tumblr dot com or just search Transcendence AU on Tumblr. Look up the Fic Masterlist, go to the Origins tab, and have some fun. If you want a story that's a bit more put-together on its own, there's an AU AU on this site by Wolfan Terror called Someone Like Me, which you can read here: fanfiction dot net /s/11376083/1/Someone-Like-Me and even though it's not actually part of the canon lore, it's a good way to get introduced to the concepts of the AU.

This story I have here spans much of the lore of the AU with little explanation, but to sum up for you:
1. Reincarnation is a part of this universe (this AU does not reflect my personal opinions on reincarnation and the afterlife)
2. Dipper became a demon named Alcor when his plan of defeating Bill did, in fact, kill Bill, but also left all of Bill's demonic energy in Dipper's body (the AU was created not long after Sock Opera aired, which was long before the end of the show)
3. Since Alcor is the name of a star that has another star called Mizar really close to it from our point of view and they're called twin stars, Mabel's reincarnations became known as Mizar
4. Around the year 2990 or so, Bill was reborn as a quirky but kind human named Ian and continued to be part of the reincarnation cycle as a human from that point on
5. Alcor gains power over time, eventually breaking the upper limit of how powerful a demon can be and becoming a god, and then eventually becoming the most powerful god

I think that's everything you need to know. Keep in mind, none of this has been officially approved by the Transcendence AU blog, so it does not count as canon for the AU (though I do intend to submit it to the blog).

Enjoy the story!

Until the Death of the Universe Do Us Part

Gad paced around his home, desperate to think of a solution. He did not want to lose Meza, or, rather, he simply couldn't lose her. She was the love of his life. Gad had been criticized for always putting her above himself and for never marrying another woman, but Gad loved Meza too much to ever want any other girl, and satisfying Meza's desires made him happier than satisfying his own. To him, Meza shone brighter than any star in the sky. She had such a bright, brilliant personality; she was creative, talented, caring, loving, beautiful, helpful, hard-working, imaginative, and so, so unique.

Gad still remembered the day he had gone to Meza's house to meet her. They had met when they were very young, since Gad's father, Jael, and Meza's father, Obed, had been good friends before Obed and his family moved to another city. Meza's parents died some years later, and she and her brother, Dan, had moved back to their hometown, where Gad and Dan began to work together in the professions that their fathers had once held. Though Gad and Dan became reacquainted, Gad didn't meet Meza until Dan suggested that Gad consider marrying Meza to tie their families together, as Dan considered Gad to be his closest friend. Gad had agreed to at least become reacquainted with Meza, though he wouldn't promise anything until he had done so.

Gad had entered the house, not knowing what exactly to expect. Immediately, however, his eyes were drawn to the woman standing in the middle of the room. She wore a veil, according to custom, but the veil was very, very thin and woven in a very loose fashion, allowing Gad to see her face quite clearly. She gave him a knowing smile tinged with mischief, and Gad immediately knew that she was unique. Dan's eyes flicked nervously between them, but his sister spared him a glance and winked at him, showing him that she was enjoying herself, which put him more at ease. Seeing that Gad was apparently speechless, Dan decided to step in. "Gad, this is my sister, Meza," he said simply, though he was pretty sure that Gad had figured that much out already.

"My lady," Gad said, kneeling in front of Meza. In reverence, he lightly took her hand and kissed it. He kept his eyes to the ground until he heard laughter above him; he looked up to see Meza laughing at his antics.

"There's really no need for formalities," Meza said, and her voice rung out high, clear, and confident, showing that she was holding nothing back. Gad wasn't used to seeing this kind of confidence from women in their culture, and he found her confidence awe-inspiring.

The rest of the evening went well as they ate a meal prepared by Meza. The meal itself wasn't the best that Gad had ever tasted, but it was quite good, and he liked the way that Meza served it up with confidence and the apparent knowledge that she was a good cook. Every time Meza spoke or did anything, Gad found just another thing that was admirable, and by the end of the night, Dan was already writing up the marriage agreement (after checking with Meza first; it was apparent that Meza liked Gad, but Dan also knew that she would be miffed if he didn't actually ask her).

Gad and Meza had had a happy marriage for nearly four years before Meza fell ill. They hadn't had any children yet, and now it seemed that they wouldn't. Gad didn't mind that so much as simply the fact that Meza was about to leave him forever.

Forever… the word echoed through Gad's mind, reminding him of one last hope: reincarnation. He firmly believed in it, and he decided that this would be the way for him to be with Meza forever, through every life. Even if their life together had to be cut short this time, he could take comfort that they would have many, many other chances until the end of the universe itself. All he had to do was so make a deal with a god to make sure that they would always be together.

Summoning the gods was something only priests did, but Gad knew that his request was something that the priests would likely not approve of, since rebirth was supposed to be a completely fresh start, so he had to take matters into his own hands. He observed the next ritual summoning of the god Votum and memorized the process and chants. At midnight that night, he carefully drew out a smaller version of the circle used with its six symbols in the center. He then sacrificed a young goat in the center of the circle and quietly spoke the chant that he had heard. He bowed down in awe as the god appeared before him.

"Why have you dared to summon me, Gad son of Jael, unsanctified citizen of your land?" the god asked. Its voice was soft yet firm, like a light wind that could turn into a storm at a moment's notice.

"Oh Votum, lord of vows unto eternity, I ask of you an unusual request," Gad said, trying to portray confidence even as his voice shook from fear and awe. "My dear wife, Meza daughter of Obed, is very ill and is about to pass on into her next life. I ask, O god of all oaths, that you would allow us to always be together in every life from now until the death of the universe. I accept that the price will be high. Please, tell me what the cost would be for this."

Votum examined the souls of Gad and of Meza, the latter of which was standing off to the side out of the way of her husband and the terrifying god he had summoned. As Votum examined Gad's soul, it saw a glimpse of a future involved with another demon, one whom Votum feared too much: Bill Cipher. If Cipher took an interest in a human whose soul was owned by another demon, he would not hesitate to destroy said demon so that he could take that human's soul for himself. No, Votum would not accept Gad's soul as payment.

It decided to look at Meza's soul instead, but only glimpsed for a moment before reeling back in shock. It saw in her future a bond stronger than ownership with a demon stronger than Cipher, a demon who could tear all other demons apart at a mere whim. He saw that Meza's soul, though only identifying itself as a bright beacon of cheer, a shooting star so to say, would one day be known to the entire universe as Mizar, a name that would be respected and feared by beings more powerful than that human alone, though that human would be backed up by their twin star, that demon that Votum had only seen a glimpse of in Meza's future. It didn't see the name of this demon that would one day come, but it already feared the eventual coming of this being.

As Votum pulled its mind back from glimpsing at Gad and Meza, it decided that no, it wouldn't dare to own their souls. It decided that the best course of action would be to take their lives as payment to really send them into the next life together. It wouldn't gain much from taking the few days left of Meza's life, but Gad had years ahead of him that would strengthen Votum if it took them. "The cost is your current lives. I will take what is left of your current lives, and in return, I will make sure that the two of you are together for all of your future lives until the end of the universe. This will only work if you are both completely willing, as this is a very delicate deal because it will literally influence your opinions of each other in future lives. Are you both very sure?"

Gad took a moment to take a deep breath before saying, "I am completely sure." He then looked over at Meza.

Meza had nothing to lose and no reason not to accept the deal, but… somewhere deep down she couldn't help but think that each new life was supposed to be a fresh start without anything from the past as an influence. She felt like she would suffer in future lives if she accepted this deal. On the other hand, however, this was Gad she was concerned about. If she had to spend every life with two people, they would be Dan, her brother, and Gad, her love. She could accept this deal.

Taking a deep breath, Meza said softly, "What if we end up being related? What will our feelings be like then?"

"I will make a clause in the deal that if you two end up being related or the time or society you are would not accept the two of you being lovers due to your sex, position, or race, you will not be romantically attracted to one another. You will, however, still have a platonic closeness. Is that satisfactory for you?"

"Yes, thank you, lord Votum," Meza said softly. "I am ready to accept this deal."

Votum left the circle that it had been summoned in and floated over to Gad. "Once you accept this deal, I will give you one full day to live. Then, you will die and return to the reincarnation cycle. In return, I will use my power to create an unbreakable tie between your soul and Meza's soul so that the two of you will be drawn together, either romantically or platonically, in every life from now until the end of the universe. This tie will not be able to be broken by any power, including my own. Do you accept?" Votum reached out a hand surrounded with a pure white glow.

Gad's eyes were filled with resolve and certainty as he accepted the outstretched hand and the glow surrounded both hands in the handshake that sealed the deal. "I accept."

"Think only of Meza as I create your tie to her, as the tie will go to whomever you are thinking of," Votum instructed as it closed its eyes. Gad looked into Meza's eyes with a soft smile until Votum let go of his hand. "It is done," Votum declared.

"Thank you, lord Votum," Gad said with a bow.

Votum nodded in acceptance before floating over to Meza. It repeated the deal for her: "Once you accept this deal, I will give you one full day to live. Then, you will die and return to the reincarnation cycle. In return, I will use my power to create an unbreakable tie between your soul and Gad's soul so that the two of you will be drawn together, either romantically or platonically, in every life from now until the end of the universe. This tie will not be able to be broken by any power, including my own. Do you accept?" Again, it reached out its hand, surrounded by a white glow.

Meza's hand trembled slightly as she took the proffered hand and the glow surrounded both hands. "I accept," she whispered, barely able to speak.

Votum stared her in the eyes and said, "You must only think of Gad while I create your connection to him. If you think of anyone else, the tie will go to him instead."

The way Votum had phrased that made Meza think that it knew that she was thinking about her brother. "I understand," Meza said softly.

"You have been warned, then," Votum said. It then closed its eyes.

Meza looked at Gad, who smiled at her encouragingly. She tried to keep her mind focused, but she had never been good at that, so it inevitably wandered to Dan. She found herself wondering if she should have asked Votum if she could also have a tie to Dan as well as Gad, though she would want her tie to Dan to be strictly platonic. She also wondered if, perhaps, she might suffer in future lives. After all, what if Gad turned out to be horrible in a future life? Then again, the same could be said for Dan.

Votum tried to make the tie, but Meza's thoughts wandered too much and were too clouded by uncertainty. Her mind was split between thinking about two separate entities, and Votum couldn't be sure which one was Gad, so it took the entity that Meza's thoughts seemed to be most calm about and made the tie to that entity. Only after it had completed the process was Votum able to examine the link, and it realized that the link had indeed been made to Dan. "Gad, leave the room for a moment. I must speak to your wife alone," it instructed.

Gad looked confused, but he left without question, not daring to defy the powerful being. Meza looked afraid yet resigned as she made eye contact with Votum and asked, "Did I think about Dan too much?"

"Yes," Votum said grimly.

"Can I make you another deal? I was thinking that I would like ties to both of them. This is the perfect opportunity."

"What could you offer me? I already have the remainder of your life, and I am not going to take your soul. I do not care for your worldly riches. Besides, you already have your doubts about making deals that affect your future lives, do you not? If you try to make another deal while still in doubt, you could make the situation worse."

"Well… at least Gad will always be drawn to me, right? So we will always meet and be together."

"He will always be drawn to you, but without your tie to him, your future selves may not appreciate his attention."

Meza's heart sank. Her indecisiveness had doomed her future relationships with Gad and ruined the deal that Gad had made. "I'm so sorry," she said, beginning to cry. "Isn't there anything that I can do to fix it?"

"No. You may take comfort, however, in the fact that the tie to your brother is primarily platonic. I am assuming that was one of your thoughts, was it not?"

"Yes, thank you," Meza said softly. She then took a few deep breaths and wiped her tears away. "Well then, I suppose I don't have long left to live, so I'm not going to waste time regretting this. Thank you for doing what we summoned you here to do, lord Votum."

"Thank you for your taking the deal, and for accepting the outcome even though it was not what you had hoped."

"Well, I guess that's what I get for making a deal with a demon," Meza said casually, but there was a cold glint in her eye that told Votum that she was still mad with it.

Votum froze for a moment before speaking again. "You know what I am," it said, and there was no question in its tone.

"Of course I do," Meza replied. "Have you met my brother? You should meet him sometime. He's charmingly paranoid and constantly comes up with theories about everything. Sometimes, he's way off, but he has you and the other 'gods' pegged. He's examined the gods of our culture and of other cultures and compared them with demons, and he's figured out that priests cannot summon actual gods, and that the 'gods' that we worship are only powerful demons."

"He is very intelligent," Votum commented, not bothering to try to convince the human girl that she was wrong.

Meza laughed wryly. "He certainly is. He would have known better than to make a deal with you. I, for one, do not intend to ever make a deal with a demon again in any of my future lives."

Votum briefly considered telling her about the demon-filled glimpse of her future that it had seen, but it decided not to tell her. Instead, it simply said, "If that is all, I shall call Gad back into the room."

"Please do," Meza replied.

Votum silently drifted out of the room before returning with Gad a moment later. "You are not permitted to ask Meza what we spoke about," it told him firmly. "And Meza is not permitted to tell you. If you ask her or if she tells you, there will be consequences. Now, I shall leave." Without giving Gad time to protest or to ask questions, the demon disappeared.

Gad looked over at Meza and could tell that she had been crying. He struggled with what to say before simply asking, "Are you alright?" as he sat down beside her and pulled her close.

"I suppose," she replied noncommittally. "In a day, we'll die anyway, and this life won't matter. We'll move onto the next, and we'll see each other there."

Gad gave her a concerned smile and said, "Yes, we'll be together. That's all that matters."

The next day was spent with Dan. Gad and Meza told him about their deal with Votum and what the price was. Meza then pulled Dan aside and said, "It didn't work properly for me."

"What do you mean?" Dan asked.

"I was supposed to think about the person I wanted the connection with, and I couldn't help but to think of you. I thought of how great it would be to have a platonic connection to you, and so that's what happened."

"We're… connected?" Dan asked for clarification.

"Yes. Please do not tell Gad. He doesn't need to know." Meza sighed. "I didn't mean to ruin our connection, but now it won't work the way that we wanted it to." Meza went on to explain how the one-sided tie from Gad to her would work in their future lives. "I wish that I could fix it, but I can't. I only hope that our tie that I accidentally made won't cause problems for us in future lives. I hate to think that I ruined everything."

"It'll be okay," Dan reassured her. "I won't tell Gad about this, I swear. I do think that our connection won't ruin our future lives. After all, we're the closest of siblings around already, right? Nothing is going to change that, I promise."

Meza gave him a half-hearted smile. "You're right. Thank you. I'll see you in the next life, then."

"Of course," Dan replied with a real smile.

Meza's eyes filled with tears even as her smile became wider. She hugged Dan and held him close, whispering, "The next life…"

Gad walked into the room and saw them hugging. He turned to leave, but Meza choked out, "Come here, please," through her tears, and Gad walked over to them and joined the hug. The three, each having close connections to the others, stayed like that for a long time before Gad and Meza finally said farewell to return home for the last time.

Dan watched his sister and his friend both leave before he let out a shaky sigh. Carefully, he set out to summon Votum. Dan had always had an excellent memory, and he remembered what Votum's summoning circle was like and the chant to summon the demon that masqueraded as a god. He carefully drew out the circle and, resigned to what he was about to do, recited the chant.

Votum felt the pull of the summons and immediately sensed that it was from the subject of its deal with Meza. The demon allowed the summons to take him, and it appeared before the human.

"Demon," Dan said with spite and without fear as he looked at the being before him.

"You must be Meza's brother. She told me that you had figured out that the 'gods' of your society were actually demons."

"Well, of course," Dan said with a hint of pride in his voice. "Gods can't be summoned in the way that demons can, and they do not need sacrifices and deals to remain strong."

"You are very clever. Tell me, human, why you have summoned me."

"I need to know more about your deal with my sister. She told me that the deal went wrong and that it will bring her pain in the future. Is there anything that I can do to fix it?"

Votum decided to glance at the man's soul. It doubted that it could persuade Dan to sell his soul to it, as Dan knew that it was a demon, but it could at least try. First, however, it wanted to see what it would be getting itself into if it bought his soul.

Gold and blue filled Votum's vision. Images of Bill Cipher possessing a future version of Dan flicked across Votum's mind, almost too fast to process. A brief blip of another image having to do with a wounded-looking Bill came and went, but other images pushed it out of the way before Votum could process it. A terrifying creature, more than a demon, filled the entirety of Votum's vision, and it knew that, somehow, this human would become that horrifying demonic being that it had seen in Meza's future.

Tearing its eyes away from Dan's soul, Votum had to take a moment to calm itself. It nearly left right then, but it decided that it could still profit from this human, although taking his soul was definitely out of the question.

"Well, is there anything?" Dan asked, sounding a bit impatient.

"No, you cannot create a link between two people when neither of them are you," Votum said simply.

Dan sighed in disappointment, but he recovered quickly. "Alright then," he said, "What about the connection Meza made with me? Will that have negative repercussions on our future?"

Votum mentally debated about how honest to be with him, but it decided that this human was too smart for anyone's good, so it decided to stick (mostly) to the truth (and only bend it a little (more than necessary)). "Your soul is already fairly close to Meza's, so your connection is more of a reassurance that you really will stay together; however, the one-sided connection can have toxic results. While, without the connection, you would have likely been reincarnated in close proximity and have been naturally drawn to one another, this connection may drive her future selves to seek you out with a fervor that your future selves do not appreciate, and this may drive the two of you apart." In truth, the two souls were close enough that the connection would likely not harm them, but it did have a small chance to do so; thus, Votum wasn't lying.

Dan, as the astute, suspicious person he was, knew that he had to take the demon's words with a grain of salt, but the thought that Meza's honest mistake of merely wanting to be near him could ruin any future they had together in later lives scared him. "What if…" Dan said softly, unsure of whether or not what he was doing was the right choice in the situation. "What if I made a connection back to her? Would that solve it?"

"Yes," Votum replied unhesitatingly.

"What would it cost?"

"It would cost the rest of your life. You would die in a day, and I would send you onto your next life with your sister and brother-in-law."

Dan hesitated. The price was high, and there was a chance that it would be for nothing, but…

...but Meza was going to die anyway, and Dan didn't want to live on without her, so why shouldn't he take this deal? It was a win-win, really. "I accept," Dan said confidently. "You will create a positive connection between me and my sister so that we will be near each other and will be drawn together in every reincarnation until the end of the universe. In return, you will take the rest of my life."

"Yes, that is exactly right, on the condition that you think of Meza while I create the link. We have a deal, then," Votum replied without question. It held out its hand, which was surrounded by a golden glow.

Dan nodded and took the demon's hand, allowing the glow to surround his own hand while he kept his thoughts completely focused on Meza.

Votum had a very easy time making this link, as Dan only had one train of thought in his mind for the demon to make a connection to, and once it started the connection process, it was able to follow the already-existing thread from Meza to Dan to make the connection in the other direction. "I have completed the link," it told Dan. The glow disappeared from its and Dan's hands, and it let go of his hand.

Dan took a deep breath and simply said, "Thank you."

"Perhaps I will see you in your next life, human. In the meantime, I shall leave."

Dan watched in silence as the demon disappeared before collapsing to his knees with a sigh. "I can't believe that I just did that…" he muttered aloud. He stayed there for a moment until his heart rate calmed down before he stood and looked around his empty house. He'd always assumed that he had more time. He'd always thought that he'd live for years, that maybe he would get married and have a family, that maybe he would leave a mark on the world. Now… there was so much left to say and do, and yet nothing at the same time. His life was ending, but that was okay.

In the darkness of the middle of the night that night, Meza and Gad passed away in each other's arms. Gad was filled with peace, knowing that he would be with Meza and that he wouldn't have it any other way. Meza was filled with guilt about not telling Gad, but seeing how happy he was, she let it be. When their bodies were found the next day, Gad looked perfectly peaceful, but Meza still had a shadow of guilt on her face.

Dan took one look at Meza's still form, and he could hardly wait to follow her. He had nothing left to strive for in his last few hours, after all. He accepted death that evening with a calm, cool manner, knowing that he had done what was necessary.

Gideon Gleeful's eyes swept over the crowd. It was a good turnout, and he spotted some familiar faces. As he looked, his eyes were drawn to a girl sitting about halfway back on the left side. He wasn't sure why exactly he noticed her, but he immediately felt drawn to her. There was something about the way her eyes glimmered with wonder and amusement as she looked up at him, the way her hair shimmered even in the dim lighting, and her expression of joyous curiosity. Gideon felt a tug in his heart as their eyes met, and he knew that he had to find out more about this girl after the show ended. He also made note of her cutesy sweater with the letters M-A-B-E-L on it, and assumed that that was her name.

All this went through his mind in a mere half a second before he reminded himself that he was onstage and that this whole crowd was here for him. He blinked once to clear his mind, and then he launched into his performance, making sure to get a chance to interact with Mabel during his opening song.

After the show, Gideon waited until most of the crowd had left before sneaking around to try to find out more about this mysterious Mabel. He overheard her talking with the boy who had been sitting next to her (and, seeing how much they looked alike, it was fair to assume that they were siblings, or maybe even twins). He heard the boy say, "Man, that kid's an even bigger fraud than Stan! No wonder our uncle's jealous."

"Oh come on, his dance moves were adorable!" Mabel countered. "And did you see his hair? It was like WHOOSH!"

"You're too easily impressed," the brother said teasingly.

"Yeah, yeah," Mabel admitted while laughing, and the two walked off laughing together.

As Gideon watched them walk away, he suddenly understood love at first sight. He barely knew anything about this girl, but he immediately felt like they were supposed to be together.

Gideon decided that he would let nothing keep them apart.

Alcor popped into the Mindscape in utter frustration. Again, Gideon's reincarnation was stalking Mizar. It made no sense. He understood that patterns repeated themselves, but this 'pattern' was very persistent. In over half of Mizar's lives, Gideon's reincarnation stalked her/him.

Alcor didn't know absolutely everything yet, but most of the knowledge of the universe was at his fingertips if he was willing to dive into it. He took a deep breath to calm himself (though he didn't need to breathe; it was one of a mere few habits left from being human) before he opened his mind to the flood of knowledge. A thousand years ago, this would have hurt terribly and left him in shock, but now, it was just like an uncomfortable headache as he tried to sift through knowledge about Mabel and Gideon and their lives before the year 2000. There was so much history, though, and most of it was tied up with his own past lives, which were actually fairly difficult for him to see.

Deciding to try a different approach, he looked at Mizar and tried to see if there was a concrete link between her soul and Gideon's soul. It took him a moment to find it, but there it was: a shimmering "thread" that ran from her soul to his, or, rather, from his soul to hers. As Alcor tried to examine it, he noticed another thread than ran from Mizar's soul to… his own soul. Alcor looked inward at his own soul and saw the thread running from it to Mizar's. He was very confused; there seemed to be a one-way connection from Gideon's soul to Mizar's and a two-way connection between Alcor's and Mizar's souls.

Bracing himself a little, Alcor opened his mind up further to information, now searching specifically for what these soul bonds were. The power drew him backward in time, and the information streaming into his brain informed him that this power of bonds was from the demon known as Votum, who had been destroyed long ago. He reached through time to see the point when the connection between his soul and Mizar's had been created, and he found himself watching humans whom he innately knew where early incarnations of Gideon and Mizar as they summoned Votum. He saw as Votum looked into Mizar's soul and saw Alcor, just as Alcor could see Votum. Across time and space, the two demons made eye contact for a mere millisecond before Votum jerked away, ceasing its search of Mizar's soul. Alcor watched as the demon rethought its deal with the humans before it, and he continued to watch as it was later summoned by Alcor's own early human incarnation, Dan. He saw the deal and connection both being made before Votum disappeared.

Alcor thought for a moment about the implications of what he had just learned. The deal that Votum had made was completely unbreakable. Due to the wording of the deal, the only thing that would break the bond would be the death of the universe. Alcor could tear the bonds apart, but that would destroy Mizar's and Gideon's souls, and it would rip much of the remainder of Alcor's humanity away from him. If Votum was still around, Alcor could at least try to force it to undo its deal, or he could destroy it and attempt to use its power to undo the bonds, but Bill Cipher had destroyed Votum about a thousand years before Dipper was born. Alcor laughed at the ridiculousness of it all. Cipher literally ruined everything.

Alcor didn't do anything actively. He simply rested, using his power to protect the souls of mortals and to protect his Dreams and Nightmares in the Flock as the last remnants of the universe burned themselves out. Alcor had nothing left to do and nothing left to observe, so he allowed himself a state of half-rest, staying only alert enough to protect what was left. The rest of his attention was lazily directed at finding a solution to the end of everything. He knew that it was all ending, which was inevitable, but he wondered if there was a way to restore it all… or remake it.

Following that train of thought, Alcor figured out that yes, he could remake everything as soon as the current universe ended, so he sat and thought and planned. He knew that the power used to recreate the universe would destroy him and leave only his soul remaining, and that he would be reborn into the reincarnation cycle.

Speaking of reincarnation…

Alcor… Dipper… looked at his soul. It was almost unrecognizable as having been human once, except at its very core. And, from that core, there was still the shimmering, two-way thread from his soul to Mizar's… Mabel's… soul, and there was still that thin, one-way thread from Gideon's soul to hers. Alcor looked at the threads, and then willed them to vanish, and they did. It was, functionally, the end of the universe, after all. As the thread melted away, Alcor felt a sense of loss. He was still naturally close to Mizar, and nothing would change that, but as he let go of the thread that Votum had placed, he could feel a small sensation in his soul of something not being there anymore. Alcor then willed his deal with Mabel from so long ago that had allowed him to own Mizar's soul ever since to vanish, and this loss was far more acutely felt. He felt utterly alone in that moment, and he wanted a solution that would continue to work after he was inevitably reborn as a human. He thought back to the connections that Votum had been capable of making, and he realized what he could do.

He reached out, sensing Mizar's soul first, and he created a shimmering thread of his own power to it. He then reached from her soul to Henry's soul and from his own soul to Henry's soul, and he created little connections there. He reached out to the souls of the triplets, then to their spouses, then to their kids, and so on and so forth. He reached out to the soul of… of Toby, of Ian, of all of those who were cursed to carry the soul that had once belonged to Bill, and he created a connection there, too, from his soul to theirs. He found Gideon's soul, and, for the sake of Gad, who had wanted nothing more than what he thought was best for Meza, Alcor created a little connection between Gideon's soul and Mabel's, but this time, it was pure and balanced and not predisposed toward either romantic or platonic connections. As Alcor continued, he focused on how he made the bonds, making each of them weaker as they spread out farther from him and from Mizar, but they were still there, and he soon found that, as he kept going, he had eventually connected everyone with very tiny, very thin threads that only he would ever be able to see or feel, and he wouldn't be able to once he was reborn. They would be there, unknown to anyone, but there nonetheless, connecting everyone in really small, subtle ways.

He hoped that maybe, just maybe, the connections made by a god who was once a demon who was once a human could help humanity in the next iteration of the universe to be more understanding of one another, more… connected. He didn't know if it would be true, but he could allow himself to hope. It had been too long since he had had a reason to hope.

What he did know, though, was that his connection to Mizar was neither thin nor subtle, but it instead shone brightly with not only his power, but the power of her soul, too. He knew that he would always be close to her, and he knew that he would be close, in a lesser extent, to everyone else he had cared deeply for over thousands upon thousands of reincarnations.

He was about to lose his powers. He was about to spend everything he had in order to recreate the universe, but he knew that he didn't have to be afraid of what would come next. No matter what happened, his loved ones would be with him.

Mizar would be with him.

Mabel would be with him.

A/N: I really hope that you enjoyed this. Please review! Let me know if there's any way that I can improve, and let me know if you want to see more Transcendence AU stories! Or, you know, if you just have praise for me, I'll gladly accept that, too. ;)

In all honesty, though, I hope that you review and let me know what you honestly think. If you liked this, see my profile for my other (much shorter) Transcendence AU story: The Lesser of Two Evils.

Have a great day!