Disclaimer: DC comics and related content aren't mine.
So here we are...
This is the last chapter (minus the epilogue), so I guess you could call this story completed. It just feels weird, since this has been with me for over a year...
Anyway... I'm pretty sure that everyone is probably going to hate me after this, so I'll guess I'll preface this chapter with just one message - there's always hope. But life is filled with difficult things too. Not always do we come out successful in what we do - only sometimes does that happen. Still, there's no point in giving up...
Admittedly, I love ambiguity, maybe a little too much, which is why sometimes the endings I write might feel a little... unsatisfactory, so try not to be too surprised.
Also, as fair warning, I'll note that some parts of this chapter are very philosophical in nature, so as usual, just skip them if they don't suit your tastes.
So yeah, that's about it~
"Speech"
Thoughts
In the darkness, the truth is laid bare...
In the endless, infinite gloom, where there was no truth, save for the absoluteness of the void's power and the certainty of one's insignificance.
In the crepuscular dark, drifting aimlessly, flowing here and there by some invisible force, unable to return to the world that they belonged to - rather, the world that they no longer belonged to. Two drifting souls, with nothing but each other, in the null zone that was slowly, slowly sapping their lives away.
In the pestilent cold, where no life could exist, two being clung to life. Just barely, a heartbeat within the netherworld, the slightest drop of warmth in a massive glacier of perpetually frozen ice. Trying to escape, but inexorably drawn toward a singularity, far beneath them in the sheer depths of the void. The sense that they were falling, descending into darkness; neither of them could sense anything anyway, but there was just the feeling that they were being forced further and further away from whence they had come.
"Rae," Jinx gasped. "Rae, are we-"
"I don't know. I can't seem to take us back up," the demoness muttered. "Something's stopping me. But I'm not sure what it is."
"Are we gonna... die?"
Raven bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I didn't think-"
"No, no," Jinx said hurriedly. "I wasn't blaming you. I was just thinking..."
"You're not worried?"
"Hell yeah I'm worried. But if we're goners, well... what do you want me to say? It's not your fault, Rae. Remember what I said. I chose to come."
Raven smiled slightly. "I must be blessed or something... to have such a good friend..."
Jinx grinned. "Told ya before. I'll die with you, if that's what's gotta happen. I won't let you feel alone."
A wave of affection surged through the violet haired girl's body, and holding Jinx's hand, she let the emotion slip through. She felt the feelings returned, and suddenly the doubt was all gone.
All the pain, all the fear... the tension in her life.
It had been a rocky road, and several times she had nearly broken down completely. Tough as she was, a person - or demon - could only endure so much. Still, somehow, she had pulled herself together when it mattered and despite the universe seeming to hate her... throwing all the bad luck it could at her, she had managed to keep her wits about her.
No, not quite that exactly. Life was... a mess of ambivalent decisions. And even at this point, she wasn't sure what exactly they were fighting for and whether or not they had gone about it the right way. The fact remained that people still feared and shunned her, but she remembered that because she had persevered, she had been able to find a friend loyal enough to stand by her side through anything... a friend good enough that she was willing to stare death in the face - even accept it, if it was to stay with her.
Raven shook her head. How can I be afraid now? If I'm going to die...
Once upon a time, like any normal person, she had been afraid of that. The thought of death... being gone forever, it truly was frightening. Yet at the same time, she had also embraced it at several points. Wanting nothing more than to end the pain that seemed to plague her no matter where she went. Yes, at one point she had been practically suicidal, she remembered. But now...
It might have been logical for her to be afraid, now that she had finally found some happiness in her life... something worth living for. Now that there was some hope for some of the pain to go away.
But I'm not afraid. Jinx is right. If it's going to happen... there's no point to worry about it. I'm not alone. Someone still cares about me. And she's right by my side. I think... Raven breathed out lightly. I think this could be nice. Just letting go... being at peace...
Wait.
"There is... one last thing we should try to do."
"Hmm?"
"Remember that whole uncreation deal?"
"Yeah. We just broke that magic link thing, right?"
"Yes. But that's only half of the story, right? If we don't find a way to stop it at its source, this is just going to happen again in the future."
"Wow, so caring, Rae. Worrying 'bout them future generations and all that-"
Raven snorted. "If we're going to pretend to fight for everyone - no, correction. If we actually are going to fight for everyone else, we might as well follow it through."
"Guess so. Where are we going, then?"
The demoness paused, thinking for a few moments. "Well..." she said slowly. "I don't know."
"That's wonderful."
Raven blushed. "It's just... you feel that, right? We're being pulled toward something."
Jinx frowned, looking up. "Yeah. I think you're right."
"So I'm thinking there should be nothing in the void that could possibly stop us from moving around or force us in a certain direction. If there really was nothing, I could have taken us back up."
"So there's something. And that something is the source of this uncreation stuff?"
"Should be. So I'll just move us in the direction of wherever this thing is dragging us. And... hopefully, it'll all work out."
"Hopefully," Jinx muttered. "Easier to say than do."
"Hey, I'm supposed to be the pessimist."
The pinkette blinked a couple times, then laughed. "Right, right. Sorry, I'll leave that for you to say then."
Raven smirked. "So as I was saying, hopefully it'll work out, but in the current state of things, we're probably going to just fall over and die. But, might as well still try."
Jinx snickered. "Nice speech. Real motivating. I'm... totally pumped for this."
The violet haired girl laughed softly. "Alright, guess we should get moving before this place drains us dry. You ready?"
"Yep. All up to you now."
Raven squeezed Jinx's hand in response and summoned up the little bit of energy that remained in her body. Drifting forward again, through the shrouded void, the two girls felt the force dragging them tug harder as they, unknowingly, approached their unintended destination...
Violet fire blasted everywhere, scorching everything it came in contact with.
A brief flash of power, momentarily illuminating Shahaar's ominous figure in the shadows, but this fire seemed to emit very little light, barely showing his silhouette against the backdrop of faint, sapphire light.
Not a large figure, nor an imposing one, but he had a lot of presence; it was the aura of power surrounding him. Of all demons, he was the one who possessed the most raw power, even without the uncreation magic on his side.
Of all demons, the one with the greatest strength, and the greatest versatility in his abilities, if not the greatest understanding of the minds of others. Skilled in manipulating minds forcibly, but wholly incapable of understanding.
It was, perhaps, why he had been a little unsettled that the two most powerful demon queens beneath him would try to fight him. Because even without the powers of uncreation on his side...
A wry smirk crossed Shahaar's face.
It was a completely uneven fight.
For all intents and purposes, the violet flame that he wielded was a suitable replacement to the power that he had once had; though it was not as absolute in its destruction, everything it touched was obliterated to nothingness - even the energy blasts that came at him, even the very foundations of the impenetrable structure that they were in. Only the darkness remained untouched...
"I admit," Shahaar said slowly. "You two... caught me off guard. I did not suspect that those two wenches would be capable of even entering the void and surviving."
He glanced to either side, bursts of mauve preventing the attacks flying at him.
"But you realize, those two girls are doomed. And without them, I fear you cannot defeat me."
The two demon queens did not reply, but the unspoken question was evident in the air. What do you mean? Shahaar shook his head.
"Don't tell me you two have grown to care for them? They are merely mortals - well, one of them is. And the other, a half breed. An abomination. How could you possibly care about something like that?"
Sonya appeared about him suddenly, throwing a wave of darkness at him. It was absorbed quickly, but then she flashed behind him, striking again, and then around and around, in random spots, trying to penetrate through his defenses.
"Don't tell me that what I say upsets you..." Shahaar muttered. "Surely you must retain some ounce of logic. Wasting all of your energy on this futile attack is just-"
He broke off as ice grew up from the ground, crawling up his legs. It grew outward in a thick, hard shell, immobilizing him temporarily as Sonya continued to rain attacks down on him.
"Don't you have better things to do than taunting us?" Lilith muttered quietly, though - he noted - a little more quickly than she normally spoke.
Shahaar snorted, summoning up the full force of his powers. Tension built within him, beginning deep within his mind, the power created, surging down through his body, flowing through his blood, nearing its boiling point...
Suddenly, he released it in a massive burst of energy, colliding with both of his foes before they could react. Sonya slammed into a wall, hard, and nearly blacked out as the energy burned into her skin. And Lilith disappeared altogether, her presence completely gone after the energy had dissipated.
"Not at all," he retorted. "You two are not really providing much of a challenge. Especially if you have to hide away after such a simple attack."
The demon king waited patiently for a couple of minutes, but Lilith still did not reappear. On the other side of the room, Sonya slumped downward, clutching her ribs and collapsing against the ground painfully. She squeezed her eyes tightly shut, gasping for breath.
"Well, then, if you wish to run away..." Shahaar sighed. "I suppose I shall have to force you to come out again."
He moved toward Sonya threateningly. Waiting, waiting patiently, but nothing happened. Frowning, he raised a hand and formed a ball of violet flame in it, pointing it at her.
"So, Lilith, you're just going to let her die? That seems rather unlike you."
He stood over the fallen demon queen, looking down at her coldly. "It seems rather pathetic to be taken out by a single attack, doesn't it?"
"Don't count me out just yet," Sonya growled, eyes flying open.
In a swift movement, she stabbed at him with an outstretched claw, but his movement was faster and he grabbed her arm. Twisting her body around, pressing it to her back and wrenching upward in a violent movement.
She gnashed her teeth together as he broke her arm in one place, still keeping silent as magic lanced through the broken appendage, but as the power exploded inside her body, she could not help but scream with the sheer pain of the attack. Ribs breaking, organs on the verge of rupturing...
But then a wall of ice separated them and Shahaar drew back, eyes gleaming wickedly.
"You took too long."
Lilith let out a low hiss. "Step away from her."
Shahaar's eyes narrowed as he sensed the air chill around him. Instinctively, he knew that she could still be a threat to him - as powerful as he was, he was not immune to everything, and Lilith was fairly strong herself. I know my limitations. I am stronger, but I cannot be overconfident either.
He took a step away from Sonya, looking around cautiously.
"Caught you," Lilith muttered.
"What-" the demon king broke off as ice began surrounding him again.
A deep freeze, so cold that it slowed the very movement of the molecules in the air, stopped all movement. Shahaar tried to gather some energy to stop the ice from freezing him solid, but the energy itself was weakened by the sheer frigidity of Lilith's powers.
"You..."
"Had you not listened to me," Lilith stated calmly, "you actually would have evaded my trap." She walked passed him, toward Sonya. "To gather enough power to chill the air that much - it can only be done in a very precise area. So I had to trick you."
Lilith knelt, gently laying a hand on the other demoness's face. Sonya's eyes opened weakly.
"You asshole..." she muttered.
A pair of dark blue eyes stared at her intently. That won't hold him forever. And we can't attack him while he's in there, or else it'll break the stasis. I'll heal you, then we need to figure out a way to beat him.
I don't think we can...
There has to be a way.
He's so strong... and ah... it hurts...
Shh, shh... it'll be alright... Lilith sent a wave of healing energy into the other demon, glancing behind her every so often to make sure that Shahaar was still stuck in her trap.
"Will it be fine?" Shahaar muttered.
Lilith grimaced. How do you feel?
Better. It'll have to do for now. They both stood, facing the demon king as the ice surrounding him melted away.
"It was a good trick. It bought you a fair amount of time. But all you have done is reset the fight."
"Good enough," Sonya growled. "Least we got to round two."
Shahaar grimaced. "Let's see how long you last."
Oblivion
No longer was it darkness. No more infinite cold, no more lack of sensation.
Now, it was just pure nothingness.
There was not even the sense of their own bodies. Glancing at each other, it was apparent that they were still there, in some sort of being, but it no longer felt like they had any substance to them. Bodies that were no longer real bodies - no flesh and blood, feeling nothing, sensing nothing. Still conscious, but that was it.
Raven held a hand out toward Jinx. Their fingers made contact, from what they could see -
"Wait a second. How can we even see anything?"
"Dunno." Jinx frowned. "Besides, if you can't sense anything - oh my god." Jinx broke off, as she looked up. "Rae-"
Raven tilted her head. "What?"
"Don't you realize it? You have eyes again!"
"I... what?" Raven blinked a few times, moving her hand up to her face. "What... how?"
"Isn't it wonderful? Rae-"
"This shouldn't be possible," the demoness frowned. "There's just no way. Something's just... wrong."
"What is?"
"The fact that I have eyes? The fact that we can see anything. We should still be in the void. Nothing should have changed. Unless..."
"Unless we're already dead and this is some sort of... heaven!"
Raven rolled her eyes. "Somehow, I doubt that."
"Then where are we?"
"Well. I don't know. But I have a guess."
"Somewhere not in the void?"
"Something like that. Or somehow, we've been incorporated into the void as like... void beings or something. But I'm guessing... it has to have something to do with that whole uncreation force from earlier."
"Oh. So we were like... destroyed. In like a physical sense."
Raven nodded. "But as for why we can see now... that beats me."
Jinx looked around. "It's still dark."
"What an astute observation."
The pinkette blushed. "Just sayin'."
Raven laughed softly. "Just teasing."
"I could tell." Jinx grinned. "So, what do we do now?"
"We have a look around. Sonya once mentioned that the uncreation actually manifested itself as a demon lady. Maybe we can find her."
"And do what? Get our asses kicked?"
Raven frowned, thinking hard for a moment. She closed her eyes, trying to detect some form of energy within herself, but there was nothing. Thinking hard, trying to form some power in her body, if even just a little.
After a moment, she opened her eyes. "Nothing," she spoke quietly, a little sadly. "I don't have my powers. You?"
Jinx shook her head. "I don't either. It feels... a little weird."
The violet haired girl sighed. "Yeah, I know what you mean. I guess they've caused a lot of trouble for me... and everyone, really, but I've never been without them before. It's a little... disturbing. I mean, since they've always been there before..."
"How are we gonna fight like this?"
Raven bit her lip. "I don't know. But... I guess we can't just give up now, can we?"
"Oh great. So you'll just slap this uncreation lady a couple times and she'll cry for mercy and just go away."
"Right."
"Rae, you can't honestly-"
"I just have this feeling. Besides, we're supposed to be dead anyway. So what's the difference?"
"I... but..." Jinx grimaced. "It'd be nice to know I could throw some hexes if I needed to. 'Cause I really don't think punchin' her a couple times is gonna cut it."
"It's not. But I think that even with our powers, we'd be helpless anyway. There's probably a trick to this or something. I don't think this is a battle we'd fight through brute force."
"If you say so..."
"Do you trust me?"
"Um... I..." Jinx paused, putting a hand to her chin. "Yes, I do," she said slowly. "Usually. It's just... this seems so..."
"I know. I'm not going to lie to you; I have my doubts too."
The pinkette sighed. "But you're usually right about these things so... guess we'll have a look around then."
Raven nodded, holding onto the other girl's hand. Jinx squeezed lightly, affectionately - a sign of trust - but unfortunately, neither of them could feel anything. Raven grimaced a little, unhappy with the lack of comfort from being unable to sense the physical nearness of her friend, but she supposed that just knowing that Jinx was there was fine. It was a small measure of security to clear the doubts racing through her head, or at least placate them, knowing that Jinx trusted her.
Though, it worked the opposite way too - what if she's blindly trusting me? I'm just going off of a gut feeling here... I could totally be wrong and screw us both over. I mean, forget about myself; I don't give a shit if I screw myself up. But Jinx, I couldn't possibly do that to her...
"It's fine," Jinx murmured softly. "We're in this together. And besides, we're fucked anyway. Might as well make the the most of it."
Raven took a deep breath. A finger pressed to her lips.
"Shh, don't get worked up. Just try to relax."
"I am relaxed," Raven grumbled. "I feel just great actually-" suddenly, she frowned, squinting into the distance. "Jinx, do you see that?"
"See what?"
"There," the demoness pointed in front of them. "It's a white dot."
"What dot? I don't see - oh. You're right. So I guess we're going there?"
"No... it looks like it's coming here." Raven felt her stomach churn uncomfortably. "Get ready..."
Closer and closer, the pure white spread out in front of them, flooding over the darkness that they had been in for so long. It wiped away the black quickly, surrounding them in an envelope of the purest ivory, pale and lacking color in all directions, an anti-void that was completely empty in its own right.
Well, almost completely empty.
The two girls turned, simultaneously sensing the presence that appeared behind them.
And the first thing their eyes were greeted to was a small, mysterious smile. "Welcome to my home..."
Demon palace
A rapid flash of power and two demons were thrown back against a wall again.
Around the large room, the blue fires flared more brightly now, actually lighting its interior with a dim, indigo glow. In the deep shadows, Shahaar appeared, a little more distinct from the rest of the darkness than he had been earlier.
Clear, now, that he was not a tall figure, nor a particularly big one in anyway. Actually, quite the contrary; for a male demon, he was very small in stature, barely taller than Sonya was, and thin enough to be merely another shadow... a thin, wiry specter. But one that radiated an enormous sense of power.
And it was only growing.
Around him, a storm of clouded energy whirled about, a grey mass of dust charged with dark hues of violet and mazarine light. It spun around wildly, gaining only more strength as time wore on - despite its intensity, it somehow did not affect him, but tore up everything that even came close. But that was not the whole extent of his powers.
If either of them had been able to see outside, they would have found a scene of utter carnage; around the enormous palace itself, energy surged up from the void in enormous pillars, disintegrating everything that entered their paths, even the rock pathways that connected the central landmass to the rest of the realm. It was not long before the palace was separated from everything else entirely, left alone to build up its own source of energy.
A violent storm began brewing around it, and the demon armies that had followed Sonya and Lilith to the structure were forced to back away. Billowing out in a tremendous tempest, the raw emptiness of the fires of oblivion began consuming everything in an outward spiral, mirroring the destruction that occurred within the building itself.
The two demon queens disappeared again, fading into the shadows, but a bright flash of azure from the lights around the room revealed them.
"Is the only thing you two can do hide?" Shahaar grimaced. "Fight me."
Silence was the reply.
The demon king's brows furrowed. "Well? Where was all that energy that you two had earlier?"
"Gone," Sonya muttered tiredly. "You stole it all."
Shahaar snorted. "It seems that your attitude hasn't deserted you. Good. At least you will be entertaining."
"Entertaining, my ass," the demon queen grumbled, flinging more energy at him.
Not really expecting anything, and with good reason, because her attacks merely rebounded off of the storm swirling around him, flying back at her. She dodged around, and as Lilith attacked from beneath, she disappeared into the darkness and teleported above the demon king. The storm of magic condensed about him, stopping both assaults simultaneously, then countered in a single swift, fluid movement, flying outward rapidly and ramming into both of them.
Shahaar closed his eyes. "It's not exactly fair, is it? Absolute defense and powerful offense simultaneously. Admittedly without the uncreation, I have difficulty eliminating things in a single stroke, but that doesn't seem to be an issue here."
"Still... gloating..." Sonya gasped, trying to clear her blurring vision.
"Still have the energy to talk? Good-"
"Do you ever stop talking?" Lilith muttered from behind him, eyeing the demon king warily.
Shahaar turned slightly. "You're a fast one."
The demon queen did not reply. Her eyes sparkled dangerously as they stared at each other, and after a moment, Shahaar took a step back, looking around warily. Despite my prowess in battle... despite the energy that surrounds me... I do not like this at all. She makes me nervous, even if I know she cannot do anything to me. With Lilith, there is always some trick, some hidden tactic that could be overlooked. Hmm... it would be better if I could make her uncomfortable instead. Too bad she is inscrutable, even to me... but perhaps...
"Nervous?"
"I admit, I was a little surprised. But it only took me a moment to think about it logically. To determine that you two are no threat."
"But you know, the longer you stall-"
"Those two are inconsequential as well," Shahaar's eyes glimmered wickedly. "You see, there is a secret that only those who have entered the void know of."
Lilith looked at him intently. "And that is?"
The demon king paced around agitatedly. "When I found out about it... it actually made a lot of sense, actually. Yes, there are many secrets to the void that remain hidden to those who have never had any experience with it."
He paused and looked around. The whirling energies surrounding his body grew outward, then shrunk back in, pulsing as if it were breathing with him.
"Much of it is irrelevant to you, but one thing that you may want to know... you see, nobody who enters the void may return from it."
Sonya frowned. "But you-"
"Without a price. That price, you see, is another soul to take its place in the void. Without that, you cannot leave once you set foot inside it."
Lilith's eyes flashed. "Which means-"
"You sent them to their deaths. It really is ironic, actually. In either case, whether you severed me from the uncreation or not, you were doomed to begin with."
"The price you paid-"
"The soul does not have to be willing," Shahaar whispered menacingly. "It just has to be a soul, sacrificed to the void."
"Not all souls are equal-"
"No, of course not. It must be at least an equal amount of energy's worth. Sometimes, multiple souls are necessary. And if those are not enough, then sometimes you have a debt to the void. And then, you must promise something at a later date, something enough to make up for letting you go free."
Far in the back of the room, a pair of dark eyes opened at that statement.
A debt. A debt... he owes the void something. He could not pay off the price fully because he is too powerful. So he decided to simply put it off, since he was going to be unmade anyway. But what could that debt be? There is nothing here that could amount to any tiny fraction of his power except...
Except me.
...
I am the price of his freedom? But I have lost much of my power... my life force is fading... I am no longer a suitable substitute... her eyes glimmered. Is it possible? Is it true? I don't know... a pair of tiny, bony hands came up to a thin face, tracing the hollow area of her cheeks. But I am dying... I can feel it. So it will not matter. I have to find out.
In the darkness, a figure rose up, unnoticed by the other three demons, and limped away into the deepest areas of the palace, toward the entrance to the void.
Limbo
The second thing that they noticed - rather, what they failed to notice, in some aspect - was that her features were very hard to define. Sometimes she seemed like she was just their size, but at other times she seemed infinitely vast; not physically, but here, where their physical sensations had been reduced to a bare minimum, that didn't mean much. Instead, it was her aura that seemed to grow, or shrink at different times.
Sometimes she seemed tiny, fragile, but other times well muscled, an imposing figure in herself - but beyond that, the face, the clothing, even hair and eye color, it was hard to be sure of anything. But, instinctively, they knew who she was. Rather, what she represented.
"Surprised?" her voice was also a strange mesh of noises. All feminine tones, but of different pitches and volumes. "It seems as if you both know what I am."
Raven nodded grimly. "A representation of unmaking. Pure elimination of matter and energy."
"You are not surprised that I take this form. You know of that already. No, you are surprised that... that I do not seem like I am going to fight you."
"Well... yeah. I mean, you're like the big bad guy, right?"
"In your eyes, yes," the dark figure drew nearer. "I am destruction, in its most literal sense. But, as I am sure you both can guess, I am a necessary force in the universe."
"So... we're actually not gonna fight? That's great! Then maybe you can just like, send us back and-"
"Jinx," Raven muttered. "I don't think she's the type for jokes."
"It was worth a shot," the pinkette shrugged.
"There are many things you two do not know," the quiet reply came, in its unusual, ethereal tone. "There are many things you must know before we can begin to do battle."
Raven raised an eyebrow. "Fight? We don't even have our powers. It wouldn't be fair - unless you don't mean to give us a chance-"
"No. You think of battle too narrowly. There are other ways to 'fight' other than merely trying to destroy another's being."
"Then what-"
"Patience. First, I shall have to tell you several things."
"Fire away, then."
The dark figure shifted and suddenly she was a mass of glowing colors, all different hues that neither of them could comprehend.
"The story you know about creation is not true." Her voice echoed out and in the white space around them, the scenery began to change.
Back to the void, back to the endless dark where all was utterly empty.
"In the beginning, there was nothing. Complete perfection, as you might call it. Only the void is perfect; nothing else may attain that title. But, given enough time, imperfection may be born out of anomalies within the perfection. The void itself remains perfect, but it births two imperfect concepts. 'Creation', which you are a part of, and 'uncreation' the counter force to creation."
The scene shifted, and suddenly stars began emerging in a tiny cluster. Still minuscule compared to the endless vastness of the void, but to them, the incredibly large domain that was their universe of creation.
"Everything must be balanced, you understand. Something cannot be created from nothing. The void is always paid what is due to it in the end, and everything is subject to this rule. Mortals, immortals, creation, and uncreation alike. I am the force that balances all of creation and will eventually return everything to the void, dispersing my own energy in the process. And all will become nothingness again."
"All forces in balance," Raven murmured. "That sounds familiar. To create, you must also create a necessary force that will eventually unmake everything, otherwise the equation is unbalanced."
"You understand, then, that this is not a battle you can win by force. If I am somehow destroyed, then to balance that, all of creation would be eliminated as well."
"So, what? We gotta convince you to like... not destroy everything?"
"That is the only way for you two to save your world."
"Oh. Well, why do you want to unmake everything? I mean, besides it being what you're like, dedicated to 'n stuff..."
"That's not a good question," Raven murmured.
Jinx blushed. "Yeah, I kinda realized that-"
She broke off as the scene around them morphed again. An image of the very bottom of Hell, the entrance into the void from the demon palace.
"There is still more to speak of. Things you must know. You may even have realized them already, deep within your minds, but I shall bring those thoughts to your consciousness."
Raven and Jinx looked up as they saw two figures - themselves - descend from the demon palace into the infinite dark.
"Those who enter the void cannot leave. By leaving your imperfect world and entering the perfection that is the void, you relinquish any means of going back. The only way to escape is to balance the equation - that is, provide an source of energy that is equal to yourself for the void to consume. That energy will replace your soul as an offering and thus allow you to leave."
"We don't have anything like that..."
"You do not, so you may not leave. The other thing you may know is that every form of energy that enters the void is eventually dissipated back into nothingness. That is my doing - within the jurisdiction of my realm, I unmake all of creation that wanders my way and return the emptiness back to where it came from."
"So you're planning to unmake both of us."
"In due course. Neither of you can pay the price to escape the void. You are both doomed regardless. But I will give you a chance to redeem your world, should you choose to do so."
So we were dead to begin with... Raven closed her eyes, then turned to Jinx, who bit her lip and looked at the ground.
I don't really want to die, Rae... but it seems like we're fucked.
It really does this time, doesn't it? But hey, I thought we came to terms with that earlier.
We did. I'm just thinkin'.
Yes?
We're playing her game so we can save everyone, right?
Of course. We didn't make it this far just to give up.
Right, I was just wondering what kind of fight this'd be. I mean, since neither of us have our powers. And she's all like, if you destroy me then you get destroyed too.
I have no idea what she has in mind. I guess we wait and find out.
"Knowing this, can either of you guess what the price of letting all of creation escape the void is?"
"That's like asking us how something imperfect can be made from something perfect."
"So then in the first place, you must define perfection."
Raven shook her head. "Perfection is something difficult for any sentient being to comprehend. Because innately, we are all imperfect."
"Perfection is a concept that encompasses everything. In terms that you may be able to understand... something that is perfect is omnipotent and omnipresent. It is everything in itself. It is chaos at its most extreme, but in the same sense, it is also pure order, in the sense that it is a oneness, encompassing everything in itself."
"I liked the chaos description," Jinx grinned.
"Then we shall go with that one. Now imagine, if perfection is defined in terms of pure chaos, then perfection also encompasses imperfection, which is a part of that chaos."
"So... everything by itself is imperfect. But put together, it becomes perfect. Which is why these two forces of 'creation' and 'uncreation' are allowed to exist. So then the question becomes, what is the initial force that birthed these two things from the void?"
"You surely must've realized it by now."
"Okay, okay," Jinx broke in. "I'm no philosopher-ess-person here, but lemme get this straight. You're saying the only thing that's perfect is like... everything put together. But if you just take a single thing like... like a piece of bread or something, then it's imperfect."
"Yes."
"Great. Got that. So now we're wonderin' who came up with all this creation and uncreation mumbo jumbo to begin with."
Raven nodded.
Jinx laughed. "Well isn't it obvious then? Someone imagined it all up, so that's how it all happened."
The violet haired girl blinked incredulously a couple times, but slowly, slowly, a smile crept up onto her face. "Imagination, huh... I like it," she smirked. "So imagination's the culprit here..."
"The most creative and destructive force there is. Is it no wonder that it birthed these two concepts?"
The darkness around them faded again, back into the pure, white background. And the lady in front of them drew back very slightly, looking upward. "That is all you needed to know. Now this should be an even fight."
"Wait," Jinx's smile widened even more. "Don't tell me. We're gonna have a battle of... imagination? Pittin' our wits against yours?"
"That is correct. This battle will be one of your imagination against mine."
Void
If her body was not shutting down already, she would have felt like the void was sapping her life away. But since she felt like she was dying regardless... it really didn't matter at all.
Despite the appearance that her body was healing, she had been far too broken to truly be repaired. At this point... it was all superficial. Tissues, tendons reconnecting; it gave her body the semblance of mending, but in truth it was falling to pieces. Perhaps not physically, but...
But in the void, it didn't matter. In the void, everything was eventually consumed, dying or not. But I can't die just yet. I have to find out... I must know.
In the void, all truth is laid bare.
What is truth, in a world filled with lies? What truth is left, besides death?
Her eyes closed, remaining tightly shut as she drifted around.
Not death. Unmaking. To be erased from existence... it is the fate of all things, mortal, immortal, living... or dead.
Flitting about, with the cold seeping into her body, but feeling the distinct sensation of something pulling on her. Of course, she knew what it was.
It comes quickly, when you look for it.
Behind her eyelids, there was the distinct sense of light penetrating the darkness, beginning as a little pinprick, then spread out before her as a pure white sheet, surrounding everything and casting her into a blank, colorless landscape that stretched out as far as the eye could see. And a single word rang through her mind... home.
Limbo
"You have come."
"You were waiting for me?"
"I was." From the white, darkness gathered into the unstable form of a spectral woman. "Your guess was correct. Shahaar's toll for passage was not paid. He promised your life, later, after he was done using you. But not in such a weakened state."
Zauberin shifted uncomfortably. "And you accepted his deal."
"All souls belong to the void. In theory, he can promise whatever he likes. Yours seemed like a likely one he could give."
Uncreation. Coldly logical. Only concerned with the balance of energy. When dealing with the void, there was no such thing as fairness, or unfairness. The soul that was being sacrificed did not need to be asked beforehand. Because logically, whether that soul - that packet of energy - was destroyed now, or later, the end result was the same. The only difference would be the emotions involved, but emotions were illogical and thus did not register with the uncreation.
"I see..." Zauberin murmured. "So that's how it is."
"Your soul was promised," the dark lady repeated, "but not in this state. You realize what this means."
"His is relinquished. And you need someone to fetch it."
"Not need. I will claim it, eventually, one way or another. But should it suit your purposes, I can empower you to claim it now. It is understandable that for you living beings... time is important. It is only a matter of whether you care enough to stop him in what he is doing."
Zauberin bit her lip, looking a little nervous.
"Is this not what you wanted?"
"I just wanted to know. He used me, like a fool. I just needed to know the truth."
Around her, darkness pervaded the white background. "You were once lost. Broken by his machinations. And even then, you did not know the extent to which he used your life. But then, demons are perhaps at once the most ruthless and the most empathetic of living creatures. It is nothing special."
"I know..."
"But it still pains you."
"It does not."
"In the darkness," she whispered, "all truth is laid bare. You cannot lie to me."
"In that case, it does not matter whether I lie or not. If you already know."
"It is only whether you care to admit it. And that will decide your actions."
Actions... what do I do? The demon girl closed her eyes. All my life, all I have ever wanted was to be left alone. I have hidden in the shadows, away from everyone else, and yet... and yet somehow I have ended up in this situation. The centerpiece of Shahaar's plan in that I am the only thing that keeps the void from claiming him. I could end it all... Zauberin's lips curved down.
Would it be better to just let everything fade back to nothingness? He was right about one thing. This world is a horrible, wretched place. Where nobody can care about anything but oneself - correction, this miserable world where nobody cares about anyone else because each person is too self absorbed... too self important. Too willing to exploit anything and everything for selfish gain... even those who want nothing to do with them.
... nobody was willing to leave me alone...
In the end, I will die either way. It is a matter of whether I choose to help them save their world... their deplorable world, or to let it fall to ashes. I... don't know. I don't know what to do.
I wish that... I just wish that... everything would go away...
But that's not how it is... she opened her eyes. Do I stop him? Do I ruin the plans of the one who ruined my life? No... he did not ruin my life. It was already ruined before then... he just made it worse. He just...
Do I even care enough to do anything any more? Do I... what does it matter what I want? It never has mattered, so why should I pay attention to that now? No, I guess the only thing to think about is...
"Your choice," the dark lady murmured. "You recognize that in the end, everything returns to the void. Out here, time holds no meaning, but in your world it is the essence of how things run, even to immortal beings. Time, to let your world develop and take its course before it is reclaimed."
My world. No longer my world. My soul belongs here now. But maybe I should grant them another chance. Maybe...
More souls will suffer, as I do. I don't even know. I don't know anything. All I can do is act on an impulse. And right now, what my body wants to do...
Zauberin breathed out in a low, drawn gasp.
"I'll go back and bring him here."
"So you have chosen that path," the mysterious voice spoke again, as if she had already known that Zauberin would choose to do that. "Step closer."
The demon girl nodded, bending her head. She felt a glacial chill run through her body as the uncreation magic flowed through her, not affecting her directly but instead, imbuing her with that ability - the tether, to bring Shahaar's soul back to the void to be consumed.
Do I still want to - it is too late for regrets. I will do it without thinking. And after that... become one with the void. It is fitting, I suppose. Zauberin pursed her lips as the white backdrop around her began to fade and the dark lady dissipated in a cloud of black dust. I suppose it is fitting that everything will end this way...
Demon palace
Light and dark. Ice and fire. Annihilation... regrowth.
Deeply colored fires, racing across their battlefield, deep within the heart of Shahaar's home, briefly lighting up their surroundings before everything faded away back into the oblivion that permeated the area. Fire, combated by powerful ice sorcery, but slowly the two demon queens were running out of steam. Whereas Shahaar's powers seemed endless; he still showed no visible sign of exhaustion, still easily putting out all of the energy that he could muster. Wounding the two in front of him over and over, but still they were able to fight since both were able to heal themselves... to some extent.
But the fact of the matter was, it was getting difficult for either of them to defend themselves, let alone press the assault back on him.
By this point, the storm around the demon king had grown so intense that it was hard to even move normally. Each movement a tremendous effort against the high pressured energy waves, moving into the vorticose winds a suicidal mission. So powerful that anything that came within the the cloud's jurisdiction was instantly pelted to pieces by flecks of colored power.
Logically, the best course of action might have been to run and regroup. Rest their aching bodies, heal a bit, then begin fighting again. But then again, that wasn't really an option... letting him build up the energy within his fortress would be disastrous - while they rested, he could continue funneling power into the chaos that reigned around him and soon it might be completely impenetrable to them. And the fact remained that they were the only two who were capable of battling on almost even grounds - granted, Raven and Jinx might have been able to do so, had they not been trapped by the void...
Lilith's brows furrowed. I sent them to their deaths... they were prepared, but still... Sonya was right to question that decision. I messed up. And now, we're left to make up for that decision... if we even can.
From all sides, the cloud of sparkling light pressed in again. She glanced at Sonya, then both of them faded into the shadows, evading the damage somewhat, though the sheer density of the attack still strained both of their bodies.
Relentless - as soon as the storm recoiled, it lashed out again, forcing them both against the walls. And at its center, the demon king stood, an unmoving statue, with the heavy, dark killer intent surrounding him radiating out as an aura of bloodlust. Controlled bloodlust - not insane, terribly cold, but still bloodlust.
A fierce assault, hammering into their shielded bodies over and over again, until muscles and tendons began to tear and bones began to fracture, even in their normally invulnerable forms, hiding in the shadows. Not a moment to breathe, before the next wave of attacks came, not a single moment to recover in the terrifying onslaught.
And the demon king stood there, motionless, not relaxed - but tense, filled with tremendous power, surging everywhere like crackling lightning. He stood there, releasing an aura of immense force, as if stamping his will, his mark of authority upon them, even as his sorcery began tearing into their physical forms.
Abruptly, the storm drew back momentarily, letting the two demon queens fall to the ground, recoiled for an even greater attack. At once, all of the energy he had gathered blew out, and with an enormous explosion, it tore out with some thunderous noise, obliterating everything as it raced toward the two of them.
Evade, or be destroyed. There is no blocking this attack.
But they were both crippled by the previous attacks, the both of them, and with the speed and range of the blast, it was impossible to avoid in time. Two pairs of eyes widened as they stared into the jaws of destruction, but one of them acted faster, moving through the tempestuous winds. Sonya let out a gasp as Lilith stood in front of her, mustering everything she had left and forcing it into a barrier. Every ounce of strength...
It's not enough. The thought ran through all three of their minds simultaneously, and in that instant, Lilith bowed her head, steeling herself for the impact.
In a dreadful, vehement burst, Shahaar's magic tore through her barrier and blew her aside like some rag doll, sending her flying back to crash against a wall. She let out a low cry of pain as several of her bones shattered completely, the muscles in her back feeling as if they were torn apart completely, but somehow, somehow, she still remained standing. Slumped over, her hair forming a dark, shaded curtain over her face, but she still remained standing.
Everything still for a moment as the storm around Shahaar placated a little bit, withdrawing only to the immediate vicinity of his body.
And then Sonya rushed over to the other demon queen, blank terror and dismay registered in her eyes.
"Why?" she managed to choke out, "you idiot, why did you protect me?"
A trickle of blood ran down from the corner of Lilith's mouth and she slumped down further. Sonya hissed, supporting her body, summoning whatever strength she could into a wave of healing energy.
Shahaar snorted. "Kind of foolish, don't you think? It would have been better had you two split the damage. At least you would both still be able to move. But it seems like your impulses got the better of you, Lilith."
Sonya turned violently. "Shut up for once, will you?"
"A little overprotective, are we?" The demon king replied calmly.
"Don't get cocky," Lilith breathed out. "You may have... temporarily disabled me... but it looks like... you have run out of gas for now... as well..."
"Oh?" Shahaar frowned, a hint of surprise creeping into his voice. "You're still conscious?"
"That's right," Lilith's voice gained strength slowly. "That attack... you are a fool... putting all of your power... into a single blast."
"Not at all. True, it does take time to gather energy. But you'll find that I recover it rather quickly, even expending so much of it. You see, in about five seconds, I'll have enough power to do that again."
Lilith remained silent, gritting her teeth against the pain tearing through her. Sonya's eyes widened, but it quickly shifted to a hateful glare.
"I'll be damned if I let you do that again."
She let go of Lilith carefully, then tore forward with astonishing speed, bypassing the weakened storm entirely and grabbing onto Shahaar's wrists before he could react. Black lightning crackled through her body and she tried to send it into his, trying to shock him, but the storm closed in around them before that"N could happen. In the whirling energy, both of their bodies were shredded, though hers notably more than his.
And yet, bruised and bloody, she still managed to break free, barely catching her breath as she returned to Lilith's side.
"Not so tough now, are you?" Sonya rasped, breathing heavily. "Looks like you're not untouchable."
Shahaar made a noise of irritation. "Obnoxious wench..." He stepped back a little bit, hissing.
"What? You didn't imagine you could be wounded by the likes of us?"
There was no reply. The mist of nebulous lights around him continued breathing for several moments, pulsing in and out as the demon king collected energy again. Sonya's eyes narrowed and she faded into the darkness, cautiously watching to see where her foe would strike.
"I'm sick of your hiding games," Shahaar grumbled. "You two mean to take me down but all you do is run away. I am sick of playing around with you two." He waited another couple moments, then sighed. "Fine, if that is how you want to fight... I will simply have to end it."
He shifted focus and instead, the energy was redirected toward Lilith. Sonya's eyes widened, but before she could react, bright light flew forward, impaling the blue skinned demoness against the wall in several places.
"Die," Shahaar muttered.
The light exploded outward, ripping through the demon queen's body, but instead of the gruesome implosion of blood and innards that he had expected, the body shattered as if it were a block of ice.
"That's a decoy," a quiet, tired voice murmured from behind him.
And before he could even turn, waves of frost began surrounding him and chilling the air again.
"I won't fall for the same trick-"
"It's not."
As the frost descended in layers about his body, some of the flakes began hardening into diamond-like crystals. The ice queen whispered single, powerful word, and simultaneously, all of the crystals expanded outward into razor sharp edges of frozen water, slicing easily through soft flesh and tissue. She opened her mouth again, but by the time she had spoken the word a second time, Shahaar had broken free, retreating away from her death trap.
Bloodied, agitated, he was still relatively unhurt as he faced them, a snarl imprinted on his shadowed face. "Clever. I should have expected that you would not stay still for long, even as wounded as you were. However..." his powers began surging around him again. "You failed to kill me with that attack. Now, you are both doomed."
Lilith set her lips in a hard line, preparing to dodge whatever he was about to throw at her, but suddenly another voice interrupted them.
"Not quite."
Behind the demon king, Zauberin emerged out of nowhere and placed a tiny hand on his shoulder. Shahaar stopped mid turn and froze; the energy around him faded away and suddenly his movements were completely restricted.
His eyes widened. "What..."
"Zauberin, what did you-" Sonya broke off as the space around the two figures began to warp slightly.
"I entered the void," she whispered. "I know how you were planning to use me. I was your bargaining chip so you could save your own soul from being claimed."
"It was going to be claimed sooner or later," Shahaar hissed. "All of us are going to be. It was only-"
"So you could carry out your plans."
"The uncreation approved of them. She even wanted to help me - she even helped me draw up plans-"
"This isn't about that."
"Haven't you realized it, Shahaar? This is about you cheating your way out of what was due to you," Lilith said quietly. "Upsetting the natural balance of this world-"
"This world is garbage," the demon king practically spat at them. "Yes, I did some things to upset the old order, and yes, I cheated my way out of the void. I know it willl claim my soul in the end - I know what is coming to me. I do not think I am above it all. I merely-"
"This is about you playing the divine judge-"
"I am the divine judge. There is nobody stronger. And in this world, the strong decide for the weak-"
"Raven would disagree with you," Sonya murmured wryly. "And I suppose I would too. Rather, in this world, the strong do decide for the weak, but that is not the way it should be."
"How naive," Shahaar grimaced. "You are speaking of hypotheticals, shoulds and woulds-"
"And so are you. You are saying the world should be destroyed. But we say you have no right to decide."
"The uncreation agrees - there is no better impartial judge-"
"Impartial? Think hard on those words and then tell us if the force of uncreation is impartial."
"I-"
"This isn't about any of that," Zauberin whispered, trembling. "They... my sister... Lilith... they love this world... they don't want it to end. The reason... doesn't matter. And I..." she closed her eyes. "I am sick of everything. You... ruined my life. So I guess it's only fitting that I ruin your plans."
"You don't mean-"
"You're coming with me, back to the void."
Sonya's eyes widened. "Wait - Zauberin- I thought-"
"Sister," she said softly. "I am dying. My body won't last much longer. Let me at least do this much - let me at least do what I want, at the end of my life, without anyone to stop me."
"But-"
The space around them began warping further and a deep chill filled the room - emptiness, in its most definitive sense - pure chaos, that was the void, permeated the air. Sonya's brows furrowed.
"I thought-"
Lilith glided over to the other demon queen, putting a hand on her shoulder, but Sonya brushed it away, looking intently at Zauberin. The demon girl looked up for a moment, then shook her head sadly and looked back at Shahaar.
"A life for a life," she murmured to the demon king, who could only glance at her hatefully as the void began to take his body.
One last time, her hand came up, reaching toward Sonya briefly, before her body began to disappear as well. The space around them, distorted beyond any physical possibility, consumed both of their bodies, and two souls returned to the void from whence they had originally come.
And finally... finally, everything was silent.
"Son..ya?" Lilith approached her slowly.
The demon queen stared at the ground, trembling for a moment, then sighed. "Lilith..." her voice was quiet, emotionally charged, but restrained. "It's... all over."
"It is."
"It's all over, but I don't know what to do... so many lives have been lost," Sonya looked up, glancing at the blood staining Lilith's clothes. "The two girls, my sister, even you..."
Lilith closed her eyes. "I'm still here. So are you."
Sonya sighed. "I know. And it's our job to stop all this chaos and return things to the status quo. Or perhaps, begin to change the way our world operates. At least, the way the demon world does. With Shahaar gone... we're the two strongest."
"First things first. Rebuild, recover," Lilith suppressed a cough, grimacing. "That goes for us too."
"Recover..." Sonya looked up. "So many lives lost. I... never really liked bloodshed anyway. That was more Triogn's thing. And Shahaar's." She closed her eyes. "All those souls, returned to the void. The price to pay for new ones being born."
"And Raven and Jinx," Lilith said quietly. "They..."
"Don't remind me of that," Sonya gritted her teeth. "As much as they were only supposed to be our helpers... I can't help but feel..." she clenched her hands into fists, then relaxed. "What do you think?"
"The least we can do is honor them. And hope they come back," Lilith murmured a little sadly. "For now... rest. And rebuild. It... seems to be the only thing we can do."
Sonya laughed bitterly. "I feel so helpless..."
Lilith shook her head. "We are the ones standing at the top. We control the flow of our world. We cannot give up. These burdens... we can only bear them, and move on. This is our life."
"So it is." The other demon queen looked back down. "In that case... shall we go?"
Lilith bit her lip. "Maybe... just wait. Just a bit longer." In case they really do come back.
The red skinned demon stared for a moment, then nodded. Just in case... there is that small chance...
Limbo
In the darkness, there is no truth... save for what the mind imagines...
"A battle of imagination?"
"To convince me that your world is worth saving... in your terms, it would be more of a debate. But you see," the dark lady held up a hand gesturing all around them. "This is my plane of uncreation. And within it, paradoxically, I can mimic creation through mere thought. If, say, I wish to create a tree," she pointed in front of herself, between them, and suddenly a tall oak tree grew out of nothingness, "then I can do so. And the same applies to you. What you imagine, this space can contrive."
The two girls glanced around at the empty whiteness about them. A blank white sheet to draw on.
"You will not convince me through words alone. And by now, you understand that this must be an argument of logic, not one of feeling. Emotion holds no sway here."
"Well that stinks," Jinx muttered. "So we actually gotta think-"
"Correction. I have to think," Raven retorted. "She said logic, remember?"
"Oh, right. Good luck with that!"
Raven rolled her eyes, turning back to the dark figure. "This is going to be tough... giving us nothing to work with but this empty space."
"Saving your world will not prove to be an easy task. Even convincing me now will only last for a while, until I determine that it is truly time for everything to return to the void. You must merely prove to me that your universe, as it is, has a good reason to continue existing. Else I shall continue to destroy it."
"So... why do you wanna destroy our world anyway?" Jinx raised an eyebrow. "Like, you know, logical reasons and all that stuff."
"A reason..."
The scene about them began to shift. White shaded into murky crepuscule, and beyond that, into utter blackness.
"In the beginning, there was only the void. Everything perfect. But with the anomaly of creation and uncreation..."
Stars began pervading the void, marring the uniform chaos - order birthed from entropy, imperfections permeating the divine space of the void. Where everything had once been whole, everything part of the sheer oneness of the void, now objects were granted individuality. And thus, became imperfect.
"It is a common thing in your world to strive for perfection. In that case, you two should be working with me. For there is no perfection but the chaos of the void, where everything is one. In your world, where sentient beings view themselves as individuals, rather than as chaotic components of the universe, imperfection reigns supreme. In the first place, any sort of definite form or energy is a sign of uniqueness - some object of matter standing out from the things that surround it. And thus uniqueness is the mark of defection - the only divinity can be found in the homogeneous whole, not in the particular individual."
The darkness around them faded away and their surroundings returned to their original, pure white backdrop. The two girls remained silent for a while, then Raven frowned and glanced at Jinx.
Go for it. You're the logical one.
I just don't know if I'm right.
Jinx shrugged. I never know if I'm right either. But might as well say it. If you think you're right, that's good enough.
I suppose... Raven tilted her head. "To counter your point, I don't think people in our world strive for perfection."
The dark lady - the uncreation - remained silent, but for some reason Raven got the feeling that she wanted more - a logical explanation of that statement. The violet haired girl took a deep breath.
"Perfection is the goal, but it is not actually meant to be attained. Because after everything is absolutely right, there is nothing to improve upon. And when there is nothing to improve, there is nothing left to do. If, say, our world somehow became perfect, it would stagnate; everything would come to a standstill and nobody would continue pursuing anything... art, science, politics..." she broke off, biting her lip.
"I mean, it's natural for everyone to want to improve. But if there's nothing else to get better at, or to do better, then life's pointless anyway."
"It is a flawed way to live."
"True, but at least for us," Raven looked back at Jinx. "I think people actually like flaws. Nobody wants someone who seems too good - we all like some little inconsistencies in each other, because that's what makes us who we are. Unique individuals, even if that's not perfect."
In the white background, colored lights began appearing. They swirled about, each one a different shade, many of them similar, but just slightly, slightly distinct, milling about in a whirlwind of breathtaking radiance. Uniqueness, all meshed together, creating a wondrous scene - a simple mosaic of colored tiles that seemed to describe the world of creation in itself...
"Now if you imagine everything being perfect..."
The colors began to fade into shades of grey, the exact same shade of colorlessness as they quickly homogenized into a plane of an ashen hue. All the same, without any intricate distinctness, nothing more to understand about it than what met the eye.
The dark figure shifted again. "To you, perfection is boring."
"Yes."
"It is a fair reason, from your standpoint. But the void still demands what is due to it. The energy that was created from it must be unmade to keep the balance. Eventually, if not now. In your world, it would be akin to a debt."
"With or without interest?"
"Jinx," Raven sighed.
"Without. Balance, as I said. Interest implies that your world gives more back to the void than it took - which is not the case. Energy cannot be made out of nothing."
"Not unless you create it with the counter force to destroy it. Right?"
"Correct."
Raven frowned, thinking carefully. "In that case... what's the big deal? Creation can go on, grow in size even, but as long as more of 'uncreation' is made to balance it, there's nothing wrong with that innately. Everything's still balanced."
"It is like separating two halves of a whole. Two forces may cancel each other out when put together, but separate, it is still uneven."
The scene around them shifted again, this time to a view of Earth, zooming in closely toward the ocean, where a storm began to brew up over the waters. Winds spiraling about violently, and as both girls noted - the gale force spinning around was composed of two forces, equal and opposite to each other, but staggered in position and time. And so the water beneath the wind began to churn up violently, tearing across the sea in a maelstrom of sheer destruction. An anomaly...
"You understand. The two forces, separate, still clash inharmoniously."
"Wait wait wait," Jinx spoke suddenly. "I thought you said the void was pure chaos."
"Pure chaos is the same as pure harmony. When everything is contained in one entity, it is the most harmonious arrangement possible, yet that single entity, at the same time, becomes the most chaotic thing possible."
"Oh. Well, our world's pretty chaotic..."
"But it is not pure chaos. Sentient beings are not equipped to handle the sheer complexity of the void - it is why they are, at their base, unable to understand perfection, only the concept of it."
The background, their surroundings, changing once more, rising from the stormy seas of Earth, out toward a grandiose view of the cosmos. It seemed as if they were rising, rising past the solar system, their galaxy, viewing the spiraled arms of the Milky Way...
Out further, and some cosmic structure could be seen; the galaxies, forming clusters, patterns across the vastness of space, each one a mass of billions and trillions of glowing stars, clustered into various forms of spirals and spheres. Complex almost beyond imagination - trying to view it all at once was nigh impossible. Too many details, too much chaos to process simultaneously...
Further and further, and even the clusters of galaxies disappeared as they zoomed out into the truly infinite void, where all was black and all was nothingness-
"Look carefully."
The two girls stared.
Suddenly, seemingly out of nowhere, some sort of structure began to form within the void. Not a true structure, but no longer was it completely empty - instead, infinitesimally small points of energy flowed about in a sort of atomic soup. No longer discrete points within the darkness, but a continuum, single, individual specs of dust that had no uniqueness to them, but formed the basic structure - or lack of structure - of the void.
And if they had thought the patterned galaxies were complex...
A literally infinite number of unimaginably small points, all swarming around them at once - to be able process that simultaneously was to have an infinite amount of mental capability - which no sentient being had or could ever have.
But it only lasted a moment, the tiniest second - else they would have gone insane from the sheer chaos - before everything faded away.
"The whole is greater than the sum of its parts," the voice sounded again. "Separating the whole reduces its value. There is no other reason."
Raven bit her lip.
That's difficult to argue against. The natural state of things is to grow to the highest energy possible. And by what she says, for that to happen, everything must return to the void. Whether or not it is true is irrelevant - I must pretend everything she says is true and try to argue against it. But how can I? The uncreation is the antithesis of everything in our universe... where we are governed by uncertainty, she has the knowledge to be certain about things. Emotions and irrationality rule our world, while she is purely logical. How am I supposed to argue with her on her own terms when clearly I cannot compete with pure logic?
She glanced at Jinx. I don't know what to say. I mean, the best I can do is say we don't want our world to get randomly blown up because... well, we just feel that way. There's no particular reason for it... we're both going to die anyway, so it's not like we'd care about anything. But I guess it's just... since we've come so far, it seems like a waste of all of our efforts, and besides...
She sighed.
Just because we can't live out our lives happily doesn't mean other people shouldn't get the chance to. But logically, that's not really a sound argument...
Jinx came near and squeezed her hands, looking into her eyes. Nothing?
I can't think of anything... you?
The pinkette smirked. I'm not really the logic type.
Yeah...
So, what then?
I don't know.
Jinx sighed. You know, at some point, you gotta... let it go I guess. We can't fight forever.
Give up?
If that's how you want to put it...
Raven froze for a minute or so. Then shook her head violently, stubbornly. That seems wrong.
Rae, I just don't wanna see you suffer-
I'm not. I'm trying to make my life useful here.
You have been useful. More than useful. You've saved everyone-
Not yet.
Well without you we would've been doomed a long time ago.
But... but I can't just stop here. Jinx... Jinx, you understand, don't you?
The pinkette shifted uncomfortably. I know. I know... but maybe it's time to call it quits when there's something that you know that you just can't beat.
This isn't a physical fight. It's a mind game.
So? Obviously, the odds are rigged in her favor. And face it. Neither of us really has good luck. We're like... a cursed couple or somethin'. Jinx laughed softly. I can't believe we even made it this far.
Neither can I. But that's why we can't give up.
I guess you're right. But Rae... what are you gonna say?
I have no clue...
"Time draws near. The void calls for your souls to be reaped. No sentient being save for me - the embodiment of the uncreation - may exist within oblivion."
C'mon. You're always the one with a bunch of ideas. Can't you just like, say something random and hope it works?
It needs to be logical. And right now, everything's just... a mess. I have some thoughts but...
You're like the queen of philosophy! You think all the time. If there's anyone who can do it, it's you.
What a cheesy pep talk.
Jinx blushed. But it's true.
Raven closed her eyes. I have ideas, but they're just so disjoint. They're all just... so chaotic right now. I won't be able to make any logical progression out of them - wait. Chaos. Chaos...
Yeah, what about it?
Maybe that's the key.
"Chaos," Raven repeated... our world is full of it. But what is it?
Uh... well, according to her, it's like... somethin' that includes everything in itself. Like a big jar with a bunch of marbles in it.
A bunch of distinct marbles. That's a horrible analogy...
Sorry.
But I think maybe, just maybe...
Again, the scene around them shifted, back to the void with its infinitesimally small particles of energy floating around. But this time, the chaos was not disruptive - Raven led them through the continuum of color with a sense of purpose, searching for something specific. Around them, the turbulent points of energy spun around wildly, illuminating their surroundings like some enormous, intricately detailed planetarium; but they ignored that as Raven led them on through the void, stopping finally at a single area.
Around them, the singular points of color were drawn out into long strings of light as the background began to zoom in, propelled by the force of Raven's mind. Focusing in on the unique, infinitely small point of energy, magnified infinitely large, and suddenly through the chaotic darkness, discrete points of light began appearing - at first murky, blurred, but slowly they came into focus and it was apparent that they were galaxies, clusters of the hundreds of billions of stars that made up their universe.
It was, once again, the now familiar view of the cosmos of creation.
"If the chaos of the void is infinitely large and all encompassing," Raven murmured, "then there still should be no reason our universe - the universe of creation - should not exist. We might exist as individual points, which defies the nature of the universe, but in the grand scheme of things, we, and our whole universe, are just a part of the holistic entity of the void."
"Um, what?"
Raven's lips curved up. "In simpler terms, we're individual people if you just look at us like that, right?"
"Yeah."
"But when you look at everything as a whole, we become those tiny points of energy in the void. Not really unique, but simply a piece of the void - the void that encompasses everything."
"Ohh... and the same applies to all of creation."
"Yeah," Raven turned back to the dark lady. "Creation's no different. It still occupies a discrete space, but it's still defined - and infinitely small compared to the void. So all of creation itself is just adding another speck of energy to the void, just like we are. It's just a part of the void, no different than any of the other specks of dust that make up the pure chaos you were talking about. So... I guess... by existing, our world doesn't really take any energy away. If anything, it adds onto the chaos - it's a piece of perfection, even if it's imperfect in itself."
"So like, destroying us would be fine," Jinx pointed out, "but it doesn't really do much either."
It was silent for a moment or two. Around them, the background returned back to the scene of oblivion, with the endless, tiny spheres of energy moving about, then that faded back into pure emptiness, pure chaos transformed into pure harmony.
"That is the answer I was looking for."
The two girls blinked in surprise.
"What?"
"I had reasoned it out myself already," the dark figure's voice slowly began to lose its feminine tone and transformed into a full chorus of assorted voices. "I merely wanted to hear it from you."
"Why?"
Surprisingly, a soft laugh was the response. "Your world is, at its base, irrational and insane. But there is still some measure of logic that governs it, which births a semblance of order - else everything would be anarchy."
"True."
"And I, the antithesis of that, am almost purely rational, but still hold a drop of irrationality within me. I felt that if I could hear that answer... from someone besides myself, I would be content with letting things stay the way they are. And let creation live."
Yin and yang. Raven smiled. "So that means-"
"Yes. Your world is spared."
Jinx grinned at the other girl. Way to go. I knew I shouldn't have doubted you.
It's okay. Their eyes met and for a moment, Jinx detected something shimmering in those pools of deep mauve.
What's wrong? You just won! Well, you told her what she wanted to hear, so I guess that counts. You just saved everyone!
I know, Raven lips curved up, but a little sadly. I just... I just don't want to die. I wanted to live my life out with you. I thought... maybe we'd have a chance to be happy with each other, after everything was over-
Rae-
Or at the very least, I thought I could keep you out of this and let you live your life out. At least... you could survive.
Rae! Jinx's eyes shimmered as well. It's okay. It's fine. We're here together. We saved everyone. I guess... I think that's enough. Dying isn't so bad if ya think about it. I mean, c'mon, we're here together, right?
I know, I just... I feel like I dragged you into this. I still wish there was someway that... you could live.
Jinx bit her lip. I wish you'd live too. But that's not gonna happen, is it?
They both looked around, at the empty space surrounding them - oblivion, which had begun to press in on all sides.
And barely shadowed in the utter darkness, the dark lady - the embodiment of uncreation - continued watching them silently, watching as the void began to consume the two souls and disperse their energy back into itself.
On wings of crepuscule, borne back into origin, where everything was chaos and all truth was revealed. Where they might, at last, find peace, away from all the suffering they had had in their lives -wait.
Wait!
Raven broke away from the other girl, moving toward the dim silhouette of the lady in front of them.
"Wait," she said breathlessly. "Let her live."
"The price of letting her go?"
Raven closed her eyes. "My soul. We're both going to die anyway. So take my soul, and use that to let her go free."
Behind her, Jinx moved forward in a panic. "Wait! Rae, what do you think you're doing?!"
"I-" Raven bit her lip. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry..." she whispered. "But you have to live-"
"Raven!" Jinx screamed, but it was drowned out by the energies that had begun to swarm around her.
"The toll is accepted. Your friend will go free. And your soul is consigned to oblivion, as it was to be."
"Raven!" the pink haired girl screamed again, but it was soundless, inaudible compared to the flow of power that had begun to carry her away. "You can't do this! Why?" Jinx closed her eyes briefly, frustration, disbelief surging through her. "Why are you the one always sacrificing yourself? Why can't you let anyone else do anything for you? Why do you have to-"
Raven turned, and though she could not hear anything Jinx said, the frantic look on the other girl's was more than enough for her. She tilted her head, smiling sadly. I'm sorry. But you have to live. Jinx... she closed her eyes, looking away. Farewell.
Around the pink haired girl, the darkness drawing her away built into a violent storm, and no matter how hard she tried to resist, it would not let her break free. In the distance, Raven's violet eyes opened again, one last time, and their eyes met; some wordless feeling passed between them, a silent goodbye, and then she was dragged away in earnest.
Far, far away, Raven's body began to disappear from view as oblivion consumed her, and finally all was blackness again as Jinx felt herself being torn through the void with frightening speed.
With Raven disappeared from sight, she closed her eyes, a few tears falling from her lashes as, borne on wings of crepuscule, she returned to the land of the living.