Legacy of Hatred – The World that was Transparent:
"I have...encountered...a worthy opponent," Elkon murmured. Although he kept his hood on his head, his face was clearly visible with minimal shadowing. "Someone who has been able to stand against me in more ways than one. I don't think we need to come to fists to settle this."
Daisy broke from her offensive stance and stood straight, her iconic steely resolve holding true.
"You speak truth, your tone is solid, your words are without hesitation," said Elkon. "I may have been guilty of holding a grudge against you since you are indeed the daughter of King Sarasa."
The Kruna of Earth disbanded her Final Crystal Fist, sensing that there was now no need for the technique. You'll find that the link between your father and Elkon is a lot more intricate than you could have ever imagined, she remembered Master Terran say. If I were to tell you myself, you would simply set out to destroy him, without knowing the whole story; the crucial story. And even if you succeed on that path, you'll ultimately fail in saving this world in the long run because humanity will not be able to benefit from the comprehension and wisdom that right now is only achievable through him.
"But, does that automatically mean that I am in the wrong and you are in the right?" said Elkon. "No, not at all. It doesn't change the fact that you are fighting for a race of gluttons and overlords that feast at the expense of those whose voices are never heard and eventually cease before their lives had a chance to fully play out. Your father is a prime example of this; I need not say more."
Daisy took a deep breath. "You know who my father is; you said you knew him and what he did, and then you said that my father forced you to kill your family and friends."
"Yes, I did," Elkon replied in confirmation. "I do not lie."
"I need to ask you something then," said Daisy. "But first I need to know; why did you station such ruthless and vile beings in the shrines as guardians? I can tell that you're not of the same caliber as they were in terms of savagery."
"The Flame Behemoth was a simple beast that I took control of," said Elkon. "I believe it was from a lava-covered world with a magma tide and an array of fiery creatures, of which the Flame Behemoth was the most powerful. Antasma and Cackletta both wanted to exact their vengeance, specifically on the Mario Brothers and Bowser. Vodyanoy, Gargoyle Nukpana, and Kokoro all wanted the Master Pendant."
Daisy grimaced. "Right, that damned piece of jewelry. What's so special about it?"
"The Master Pendant is one of the most powerful of the many Pendants of Power scattered throughout your world. The gem possessed a collection of abilities that made it highly sought after by power-hungry beings who wanted it to assist them in whatever their endeavors were. The aforementioned water demon, gargoyle, and Soul Stealer along with two other beings offered their services to me in exchange for possession of the Master Pendant, although I did not tell any of them about each other since they would have otherwise slaughtered one another. The two other beings were the ones that were dismissed from the Light Shrine and Shadow Shrine."
Daisy nodded. "So then the evils that you accuse humanity of are not just limited to man, if all of those beings you just mentioned were lusting after a pendant of such power to use for their nefarious purposes!"
Elkon paused for a moment, taking in what the Kruna of Earth had just said. "I suppose you're right..."
"So how can you attribute humanity as the singular cause of all that is wrong in the world while ignoring the fact that there are so many people out there that are living their lives the right way just as there are non-humans who are worse than a large portion of mankind?"
"For you to say 'worse' is inaccurate and, in ways, subjective," Elkon replied. "Looking back now, it was entirely wrong of me to use and manipulate those beings in the way that I did, regardless of their morality or lack thereof. But at the time, nothing mattered more than doing whatever it took to make sure that the evils of humanity were quelled, even if it meant using other evils as counterbalance. In this bleak and morose era in which geopolitical and sociopolitical values are decaying in tandem with a moral collapse of society, an otherwise pre-apocalyptic scenario has manifested that only the most powerful and domineering of leaders are thriving in, or even surviving in for that matter. Humanity brought this upon itself without the assistance of any outside malevolence. I am sick to my soul to be considered a part of your race."
"Yes, I'm well aware of that," stated Daisy. "I could say that you're being entirely hypocritical, but that would be wrong of me. Because for as much as you have done, for as far as you have taken this situation, you have to have some reason, some purpose behind your actions. You can't be the threat that we all believed you were."
Elkon gave no reply, but listened with full focus. Not a single word uttered by the Nova fighter was lost on him.
"I feel like I can help you out," said the Kruna of Earth. "As we were fighting, I noticed something I couldn't explain at the time. I noticed that in a very strange and unorthodox way, it felt like we could have even been friends. It's hard to explain, but I felt like there was something that happened that pushed you onto your current course and made you feel like you couldn't go down any other path. And yet...I still don't really know anything about you... So I ask if you could tell me more."
Elkon raised an eyebrow. "Tell you more? I spared enough time bothering to say what you have just heard from me, and now you want me to reveal more?"
"Please," Daisy said, calm but intense in her voice and her expression. "I want to hear your story. Then I'll give you my final word, and from there, you'll be able to decide how you want the next string of events to play out."
"...You have an unprecedented gift of intuition," Elkon said under his breath. He paused, hesitating for only a couple seconds before saying, "Very well."
"So what do you guys think is going on up there?" asked Marut, staring up into the sky to catch the faint shape of the Arena of Absolution.
"The hell if I know," Andrew muttered, arms crossed. "Without anything anchoring itself to the ground, it's a wonder how the arena's even floating in midair."
"I don't know what to make of it," Athelstan murmured. "First, there were tons of fireworks, and then, nothing!"
"Yeah, and then there was a whole lotta wind up there too!" said Marut. "And it wasn't even me doing that!"
"Considering we gave all of our available elemental energy to Daisy, you shouldn't be able to knock over a house of cards, Marut," Bowser remarked.
"Is the fight over?" Ramona wondered, apprehension audible in her voice. "What does this mean? Did Daisy win or lose?"
"No way she lost!" exclaimed Athelstan. "She vowed to win! We shouldn't expect anything less from her!"
"It's possible," said Ramona. "I don't mean to be pessimistic, but we can't deny the chance that it just wasn't enough. I mean, we were all pretty worn out when we donated our remaining energy to her already low amount. What if all our energy together just...couldn't overcome Elkon?"
"No," said Bowser, calm but focused. "Both their energy signatures are still vibrant and well."
"So the action between the two must have just paused," said Warra. "They haven't done anything at all for a little while. I would not think that a standoff would last this long, regardless of the reason."
"And that means Daisy hasn't lost, Ramona," said Marut.
"Yeah, I'm sorry," Ramona replied. "I needn't doubt her."
"She's the best chance we have," said Bowser. "That's why we gave her our energy. She'll pull through."
"But why would they stop?" Warra asked in mounting frustration.
"It's true," Elkon began. "No mortal is supposed to be able to manipulate space itself. Spatial control has been one of the many abilities considered immoral to be accessible to mortal beings. There were a handful of exceptions that came into the world however that did have access to a select 'forbidden' ability, and I was one of them. Of course, at the time, I did not know of my status as the reincarnation of the creator of space."
Daisy stood across from Elkon, still in Nova Form but without any intent of initiating conflict. She was certain that Elkon's words were valuable information that could not be overlooked, especially since he offered to share them.
"It was said by many that my birth would bring about a great change to our world," Elkon continued. "But I never knew what it meant, and I went through life with very definite limits that I put on myself to make sure I didn't actually screw anything up in the world with my abilities...until one fateful day...when your father decided to invade my home, to completely overrun my town and nation altogether with his expansive military might."
Daisy's face turned grim, as if she already knew where Elkon was going with his story.
"My hometown, the town that was overwhelmed by these militant forces, was in the same region that the Stone Shrine is in now – my hometown was what occupied what is now the vast and overwhelming Abnoba Desert of the present-day."
"Well, except for the fact that the Dimension of the Lost has melded with that area," Daisy said in reminder.
"But do you know why that area had become a mountainous desert in the first place?" asked Elkon. "Your father decided he wanted to show off Sarasaland's power by laying waste to my entire province, what was formerly known as Devia before its destruction."
"No way..." Daisy said in a near whisper. "I barely remember seeing ruins or any semblance of structure there other than the Stone Shrine..."
"On the eastern continent of the world, Sarasaland's power grew as King Sarasa imposed his will on the lands little by little, nation by nation, territory by territory. Although he never gained control of the whole of the East, the West scrutinized and criticized him and his militaristic decisions. King Sarasa was infuriated by this, believing his way to be superior and determining that all outside opinions and oppositions to his ways were a threat his existence and that of Sarasaland's. To quell and suppress the powers of the West, he sent forces across the Continental Ocean to not only overpower a western province, but to annihilate it into oblivion. He hoped his move would inspire fear that would silence the voices coming from the West, giving him the free will to go about his tyrannical business without resistance. Going for an inland territory was a way of further showcasing his power. And he just so happened to pick Devia as his western conquest...or so I thought."
"What do you mean by that?" asked Daisy.
"He had a particular reason for choosing Devia," said Elkon. "Before his assault, life was pleasant for me, even though I never knew what the future held or how much my future was impacted by who I was. My favorite thing to do in my spare time when I wasn't in school was to stand or float around outside and bask in the infinite glory and beauty of nature. My abilities were rarely used for the most part, only active when necessary to complete certain tasks that were considered unapproachable to others. Even though I had kept the use of my powers limited, I had garnered a reputation for my dimensional abilities and was well known throughout the lands as a space distorter, both on the western side of the world and the eastern side. Unfortunately, that meant your father was also well aware of my existence and capabilities. As a result, I became a target for King Sarasa's forces in their assault."
"But why would Sarasaland target you? For what purpose?"
Elkon didn't respond immediately, almost appearing to get a little choked up before he answered Daisy's question. "They knew the powers that I had, powers that operated outside the realm of the eight elements, so their primary objective upon reaching Devia was to track me down...and then force me to join their military in hopes of being able to take advantage of my power for the benefit of their own nation."
"But why didn't you fight back?" asked Daisy. "Or at least try to escape and get to safety?"
"They gave me no choice," was Elkon's response. "Under the early evening sun, they stormed through my town, caring not for whoever they killed in the process, and found me in my house with my family. When they saw me, the commander of that squadron told me that from that point on, I was property of Sarasaland. He said that if I did not follow their orders, they would kill me on the spot. His soldiers raised their earth and ice weapons in confirmation – not like the elemental tools that your team carries, no, these were maniacal manipulations of some of the aspects of the very nature that I loved. There was no chance for escape. But first, before anything else could happen, they demanded that I kill my own parents and my brothers...and if I didn't, they would imprison them and give them the longest, slowest death that my parents and siblings could tolerate as penalty for my insubordination."
"I can't believe...the cruelty of it all," the Kruna of Earth murmured.
"King Sarasa's militants then forced me to aid them in flattening Devia, with the constant threat of death on the spot if I did not comply. Not a single person was left alive, and not a single building was left standing. I was believed to be dead along with the rest of the population of Devia. While under King Sarasa's control, I was given a new identity and was known across the lands as Erebus."
That must be why Rosalina was never able to find any records of Elkon that didn't end in his death, Daisy thought.
Elkon sighed. "I was forced to do anything and everything to fuel King Sarasa's hubris. I have laid waste to nation upon nation over the years, though I have never wanted to bring any of them to ruin. Like I said to you earlier, I am not a destroyer. But there was nothing I could do; they either forced me to do their deeds of destruction for them, or they would threaten to kill me and initiate the annihilation anyways, oftentimes with several 'sample incentives' that they would commit to remind me that there were only two outcomes: either everyone dies, or everyone dies and I die along with them. Days would pass, and lands would be ravaged, so many lives lost...and I had to be the one to bring about the murder. So many children taken from their parents, romances ruined, buildings reduced to rubble; so many people, good or bad, I was forced to execute. So much carnage and gore I was forced to carry on my hands and in my soul, the tears shed every day I was shoved onto the battlefield, the ranks behind me rattling off their weapons of annihilation... The mass slaughter I had to carry out was unbearable, and with each life wasted, another parcel of my spirit died as well. On one occasion, I considered both killing myself as well as just defying them so that they would kill me, both so that I could prevent them from abusing my abilities and at the very least quell the intolerable lament in my spirit by knowing that I would not be able to add to my death toll if I myself was dead. However, I realized that even if I died, war would still continue on. Humans would find a way to continue their battles and self-destruction. It mattered not whether it would be me or someone else doing it; innocent people who never imagined the hardships of war would be stripped of their lives. Your father actually intended to use me to overrun the Koopa Clan, but the Toadstool family had beaten us to the punch."
Daisy closed her eyes, breathing heavily. As her eyes reopened, a slight frown developed across her austere face.
"That's when I came to the realization that no matter what happened, there would always be violence and hatred in the world," said Elkon. "All of it is fueled by greed, lust, jealousy and envy. In the battle for supremacy, one side, or one person, may win it all, but in the process, thousands upon thousands more lose it all. What a pitiable shame it is for a race that has such a talent to create and manipulate use those talents for destruction. Humans defeat the purpose of their existence through their own actions. How senseless it is, for such an intelligent race to be so ignorant and blind to its own shortcomings. But in the end, who truly knows anything? It is so painstakingly difficult to try and say for people, because they don't want to admit what they don't know."
A soft breeze blew through the Arena of Absolution. For as far up as the two had been, the wind had been scarce. Daisy paid Elkon her undivided attention as he continued with his story. "As time went on, I became more accustomed to the powers that I had rarely used before I was a part of King Sarasa's military. My skills and abilities opened up, and I was able to do more with my powers than I ever thought possible. Sarasaland eventually gained control over three-quarters of the East, at which point I decided that I just couldn't take it anymore. I had only just recently learned how to traverse dimensions, so I busted free from my shackles and slipped away through my own portal late one night. I found myself lost here in the Twelfth Dimension, and made this place my new home as I traveled across other dimensions, exploring worlds and looking for answers to an almost overwhelming problem. I learned much about your world – our world – and its past, recent, ancient, and in between. The horrible and sad truth is there have been humans identical in being and character to King Sarasa throughout history, much more than you would believe. It's these people that have tended to leave behind the most damage in their wake. To make it worse, they ruined the beauty of nature and the world with every megalomaniac rampage they embarked on." He paused for a moment before asking, "Do you recall Necromancer and Necropaladin?"
"Yes," replied Daisy. "At the Stone Shrine. I remember them both."
"Necromancer and Necropaladin both were reanimated vessels for the spirits of my two brothers that I had killed," said Elkon. "Their spirits would grow bitter and they would develop nothing but scorn and hatred for mankind as the years passed by. I had initially created the dimensional rift at the Stone Shrine so that I could cross over to the Dimension of the Lost and contact them. They managed to understand and forgive me for what I did to them, knowing that I was forced to in yet another power grab produced by humanity over all the years of its existence. They saw that humanity had no hope for repair; they saw how broken it was, and foresaw how shattered it would become in the future. But just as with any soul in purgatory, in a seemingly endless unrest, they had to be laid to theirs. And much like The Crestfallen, they needed to vent themselves in their fight against your teammates to ease their torment. Unfortunately, their hatred was far more than that collectively contained within all of The Crestfallen, and because of that, they may never be able to truly be liberated. Such tortured souls, they may very well be in purgatory for eternity."
Daisy nodded. "I understand... And I am sorry, Elkon..."
"One of the biggest problems in the world today is a lack of understanding," said Elkon. "This inability to be understood can be a driving motivator in many an endeavor. For you see, everyone wants to talk, but many voices end up going unheard."
"Your voice will not go unheard today," Daisy assured. "Please, finish."