The blackness, the darkness, nothing but darkness that frightened him and pushed him over the edge. The darkness that terrified him, imprisoned him, suffocated him to the point of terror and anguish. This opaque veil that concealed so much, that concealed this hatred that was held against him, this darkness that was only too similar to his corrupt soul.
Yes, Nyx's soul was corrupt.
Once, in times long past, it was purple. A pretty mauve, soft and tender, which made the little upside-down heart want to cuddle this not yet defiled soul.
It hadn't lasted long.
"YOU'RE WEAK! SO WEAK!"
Ink had yelled at him so many times, beaten him up, failed to finish him off... It was Nightmare who had stopped him, Nightmare who had protected him from the fury of the painter.
"You dare to tell me this kid is OUR kid?" Ink exclaimed. It's just a silly mistake ! Let's get rid of him!"
Nightmare had hesitated a long time. So long hesitated... And finally, he had taken one look at Nyx. The poor little half-conscious Nyx, barely breathing, watching the master of nightmares sobbing silently, begging him with his gaze. That look that read, 'Daddy, help'...
Nightmare thought he was failing, turned around and shot Ink in the face:
"If you don't think of him as our son, I don't care. But I will make him my heir. He is MY son, it is out of the question that whoever kills him!"
Use as an object? Yes, that was probably it. No doubt Nyx was nothing more than a common pawn in the eyes of Nightmare. But ... just knowing that he was something to him ... knowing that he could be useful to him ... ...that alone kept Nyx hopeful, alive, doing his best.
[Even if it means eating black apples]
[Eaten over and over again until his soul loses its beautiful purple color]
[May his soul become darker than the darkness]
[That darkness he was so afraid of]
Nyx hiccup. The darkness of unconsciousness, always so present, always so unbearable. Prisoner of a dreamless sleep, of a permanent nightmare, unable to regain contact with reality, or even with lucidity. He cowered in that dark space as he closed his eyes even harder.
He was scared.
He was so scared.
"Fear is a normal thing. You shouldn't be ashamed of it!"
He was startled, straightened his skull abruptly, his pupils becoming question marks as he observed around him. But there was nothing but emptiness, the infinite, dark emptiness. Was the insanity getting the better of him, making him hear voices?
"Ahah, no Nyx, I'm the best person to know that you're not crazy. Not completely!"
He hiccupped:
"Who are you... ?"
Wasn't talking to a vacuum a stupid thing to do? Oh, basically it was just one of many details. There was no one to judge him anyway, except this unknown, feminine voice, laughing again:
"Does it really matter? Mm ... I suppose it does. You must have felt so lonely... you who hate the dark, the silence and the confinement...
- ... I only wish I knew who you were Madam...
- Argh, don't call me 'Madam'! When I conceived you, I wanted you using the familiar form!"
This time Nyx's pupils became exclamation marks as he tilted his skull to the side:
"... You conceived me?
- Aha, strange, isn't it? It's true that out of context, it may seem strange! But I know that you can already guess who I am. I've taken care to give you the necessary knowledge so that you can understand the events without me having to explain them to you!"
The young skeleton was stunned:
"... Are you a Creator? My Creator? One of the ones Ink keeps talking about?"
The voice had a sweet laugh. A tender laughter filled with a love that unsettled Nyx. How can you not be confused when a voice out of nowhere seems to carry such tenderness?
"Creator... Oh, I love that word! It makes me feel all-powerful! Don't Creators seem like gods to you?
- ... I've never asked myself that question...
- Ahah, yes, I know. All you ever think about is your parents, your timeline. I know that... I created you like this…"
He froze... before his soul pulsed with anger, before rage took possession of his being and he stood up, shooting his reddish pupils into the space around him:
"WHY DID YOU CREATE ME THIS WAY?! WHY DID YOU MAKE ME SO WEAK?! WHY DID YOU... HAVE ME...
- To have made you? You wished you'd never exist…"
Nyx hiccup, came and took his skull in his trembling hands as he felt the tears return to his eyes. Why would his Creator do this to him? Why did she come to taunt him like that, to remind him of his stupid, useless skeleton condition?
But he seemed to feel a caress. A gentle caress on his cheek, as if an invisible hand came to cuddle him, comfort him, and wipe away the tears that were beginning to be shed:
"... I'm sorry, Nyx. I've always been so cruel to you ... and yet I only want what's best for you. I love you so much... so much... isn't it narcissistic to love your own creation... ?"
Nyx could easily guess a sad smile on the face of his Creator. He closed his eyes, taking advantage of this soft sensation on his body, of this invisible hug that enveloped him.
"... Now you have a choice, Nyx, okay? You completely have the choice... I can make you disappear right now. I have the power. I'll make you disappear, and your family will be fine. This whole thing will never happen."
He tensed up. This story... never would have happened? His devastated timeline, his hateful parents, the death of Error and Plum... ? But... (sighs) But also his return to the past? His friendship with his parents from another time? His meeting with his brothers, with Insomnia and Paperjam, all his moments with his uncle, his master, but also his dear Lux? All of this... gone? Gone? As if it never existed?
"I... "
His throat had closed up.
{ Ink's voice vibrated with palpable anger. An anger that burst when he planted his red pupils in Nyx's. The Ink's voice vibrated with a palpable anger:
"ABRUPT! WHERE WERE YOU WERE? THREE MONTHS WITHOUT ANY NEWS, BUT WHAT'S WRONG WITH YOU? NIGHTMARE AND I LOOKED FOR YOU EVERYWHERE! "}
"I, uh... ! »
{"It's just that... I don't want to impose...
- Are you kidding me?! Nightmare exploded. You intruded the first time we met! You've been crashing into our lives and into MY castle without letting us get a word in edgewise! You even managed to manipulate us at will! So now you shut up and listen to us!
- But...
- Your fucking room is still empty and we've been cleaning it up since you left! So now you put down your bags and relax, because we're not about to let you go!"}
The Creator wondered at his sudden silence:
"Nyx... ?"
He blew for a long time, as if to regain his composure ... before finally puffing ... then exploding with laughter. A frank laugh, a crazy laugh that he hadn't had in years, a laugh that did him good, that freed him from the weight he was stubbornly carrying.
He moved away from the strange embrace to open his eyes again, to let his golden pupils see, which were mischievously observing the space where the invisible Creator was to be found:
"I promised Ink and Nightmare I would never disappear again. I promised to Paperjam to take my life in hand. So no ... No, I don't plan to disappear."
Short silence, as if the girl had been caught off guard... before she too bursts out laughing:
"Oh, my God, it's dead! I love you too much!"
Nyx felt a tap on his shoulder before the unknown voice rose again:
"Okay buddy, got it! It's time to close this act, don't you think?
- Ahah, indeed! But to do that, I'd have to wake up.
- I don't doubt it. Especially since your family needs your help, their plan has gone very wrong!"
Nyx froze:
"Excuse me? And you're just telling me now?
- Well... I thought for sure I was going to kill the story, so...
- But wake me up now!
- Yep, but I remind you that you're out of apples and your body needs sleep. Not sure if you can stay awake for more than a few minutes...
- A few minutes will be plenty of time."
The designer laughed:
"Okay, Nyxou, since you asked so nicely...
- Hold on, hold on!
- Mm-hmm. ?"
The skeleton had a sweet smile:
"Your name! What is your name?"
He heard the umpteenth laugh, before the world around him lit up and his body suddenly seemed to be pulled out of unconsciousness ... But before he woke up, he heard a tender murmur in the hollow of his ear canal:
"I am Luna."
Nyx opened his eyes wide. The brightness blinded him, pushed him to close his eyes while he grimaced, but that did not prevent him from straightening up to grope for his belongings ... Before a voice interrupted him:
"Nyny!"
A sudden weight caused him to fall backwards on a mattress he had not yet learned about. He blinked again, his vision slowly adapting to his surroundings, before he finally understood where he was: in his room, in the castle... with Lux on top of him.
He opened his eyes:
"LUX?!"
And it was in spite of himself that his pupils became two golden stars, a sign of his deep joy when he saw his cousin. His dear cousin who stood up, herself moved by their reunion, and returned to embrace him:
"Oh, Nyny, you're awake! I don't understand why, but I am so happy!"
Nyx gave him back his embrace with a smile:
"Ahah, I confess I don't even understand what you're doing here... Wait ... Am I still dreaming? My mind confuses the timelines again?"
She raised an archway and looked at him:
"Confusing the timelines? No, no, I'm definitely here, and we're in a different timeline than ours. The timeline whose destiny you have changed."
She left the bed to get up, resuming her usual composure, and made a detailed summary of the situation:
"My fathers are here too. They have allied themselves with your friends from the past to fight our common enemies. I have been charged with looking after you and little Insomnia in the meantime.
- On me and ... wait, what about Jammy?
- Gone with them. It was a crucial part of their plan. Those on our timeline don't know PaperJam, so they can't predict his attitude."
Nyx became livid. He rose abruptly, wavering when his feet touched the ground and his legs trembled. Lux rushed to support him, but he refused his help with a gesture, before rushing to his bag.
Confused, the girl followed him with her eyes:
"Nyny... We both know you're not well. You mustn't move so much, especially as soon as you wake up...
- Our family is in danger! How can I just sit here and do nothing?
- In danger?
- PaperJam is just a child ! How can he be a crucial part of this? He's too innocent and sweet a child! He only needs to see his loved ones in danger to panic!"
Although in this case it was he who was the one who was panicking, as he nervously rummaged through his bag.
His cousin slowly approached him:
"Nyny, don't bother looking, you're out of apples...
- That's not what I'm looking for!"
At last he turned around and the girl's eyes widened in amazement, her hair standing up in a crackle of uncertainty as she stared unbelievingly at the golden wooden box her cousin handed her:
"Wha... Nyx is... ? You stole these from my father?
- Nightmare ordered me to, a long time ago ...
- ... Did you know Dream's been looking for them for years? That their disappearance is one of the reasons he gave up his role as a guardian ... ?"
Nyx bit his tongue, prey to a guilt that had been present for a long time. But he didn't let himself be overwhelmed by the feeling:
"I know, and for what it's worth, I'll apologize to him... but right now I need it. No... I need YOU!
- Wha... Me?
- You're the only one who can activate them! If I touch them, my negativity will corrupt them!"
Lux swallowed, not sure where the older man was going with it, but one thing was certain: he was right. Now that her father was no longer the embodiment of good emotions, she was the only one to use them... And maybe the Dream of the Past?
She shook her head. No, she couldn't afford to drag another version of her father into their misery. So she blew, before she looked into Nyx's eyes:
"Okay, Nyny. Tell me your plan, I'll do my best to follow it."
His cousin had a tender smile:
"I've always been able to count on you."
Error was thrown to the ground, swept without the slightest difficulty by a tentacle of ink. His shoulder hit the ground violently, and a sinister crack accompanied his scream as he cowered in pain, clutching the shoulder he had half broken in the shock.
"DAD!"Paperjam screamed, his voice broken by sobs, as he tried to escape Etsuko's clutches.
But the corrupt painter held him firmly by the collar, displaying him like a hunting trophy in full view of everyone, causing Error to grunt and stand up feverishly.
"Pff ... Decidedly, you're as disappointing and stupid as my Error..."Etsuko pessified as he looked down on the Destroyer.
A little farther away, Ink was desperately trying to reach his husband and son, but Oshoku simply stopped him from getting any closer. No matter how hard he tried, no matter how he attacked, no matter how he teleported, the guardian of the future would always succeed in thwarting him, in standing between him and his family.
Mad with rage, Ink's pupils turned red, and he threw himself with all his strength against the master of misfortune. But the latter, without even looking at him, immobilized him by means of his appendages, before taking a simple step to the side which allowed him to dodge an arrow fired by Yumerai.
Yumerai was on his knees, one leg badly wounded after having suffered a too violent attack earlier. And he could do nothing else but try to hit his brother with his miserable attacks ...
Breathless, he took a quick look at Shiroken who was teaming up with Cross, Killer, Dust and Horror to fight the Future Bads of the Future. It must be said that in the future, Horror and Dust had become particularly powerful, but above all their cruelty was reinforced.
The archer bit his tongue, turned his head to look at the portal. This portal that was only a few meters away, that you only had to cross to find yourself in its original timeline, this timeline of the morbid future, on the verge of collapse. If only... If only he could send their enemies back there and block them there for good!
A scream took him out of his thoughts, pushed him to look at Etsuko, and a shiver of terror ran through him : the little Paperjam was close to having his neck broken, under the horrified eyes of his parents.
"JAMMY !"
Error's desperate scream echoed throughout the UA, shook the assembly, and for a short - very short - second Etsuko seemed to waver, to hesitate.
This second of indecision was fatal to him: he who had the child at arm's length found himself forced to release him when his wrist was cut by an appendix that had come out of the shadows! Before anyone could understand, Nyx got out of the darkness to receive Paperjam, and then teleported himself to Error. If his soul crackled with pain at the use of magic, Nyx didn't care, his gaze anchored in that of his father.
"WHA... YOU!"
Oshoku also froze, not understanding by what miracle his son could be there, perfectly awake. And like Etsuko, his inattention was rewarded by a violent attack, an attack of Lux who appeared right in front of him, in a flash of light, to strike him with a violent spear in the belly.
Amazed, the nightmare master hiccuped in stupor, his breath taken away by the attack, but before he could defend himself, he realized that his niece had already disappeared, teleporting to Yumerai to support him.
Of course, their explosive arrival drew everyone's attention.
"What does this mean?!"Etsuko barked as he held his wounded wrist.
Nyx didn't answer, but nevertheless stared at the corrupt painter's gaze, while gently squeezing Paperjam, who was now crying against him, completely upset by the situation.
The unworthy father facing the unwanted son.
Two crimson glances that meet, glances of rage, hatred, proof of a love that will never have taken place, of a latent misunderstanding that can never be resolved. Such similar glances, yet witnessing too great a difference.
Nyx crouches down, entrusts the custody of his little brother to an Error always on the ground, but who in spite of his wounds hastened to seize PaperJam to keep him all against him, to protect him, to reassure him.
Etsuko gritted his teeth, his magic crackling with anger, his corruption manifesting itself to rant against Nyx ... and the shock took place. The appendages of the two skeletons met in contact, collided so violently that a wave of energy was propelled around them, forcing the others to retreat, while Nyx - unaware of his increasingly capricious magic - teleported for the second time to his progenitor, to punch him in the face.
Too surprised to be attacked in this way, Etsuko managed to dodge but managed to retaliate. He snapped his tongue and teleported himself back to the sky. Heavens where he made a Gaster Blaster appear on which he landed, before suddenly shooting towards his son.
Nyx didn't let the slightest emotion show through, barely panicked by this attack. The shadows moved around him before creating a shield, allowing him to protect himself from the ray, before he used his magic trick to make the bones that he projected on his opponent appear.
In the distance, Shiroken petrified at the sight and anxiously called out to Lux:
"Nyx's magic is unstable! He mustn't use it so much!"
The girl, who was watching her cousin fight, did not seem more worried than that. She seemed rather... fatalistic. Having already accepted the situation:
"I know, daddy... ...and he knows it too."
She suddenly frowned on the arcades, to turn around and protect herself and Yumerai when Oshoku attacked them, mad with rage.
"LUX!" cried the archer as he saw his daughter facing his twin.
The younger one hiccuped, much weaker than her uncle, and bent under the weight of the appendages. Trembling, her hair crackled once again under the effort she was making, she did not hesitate in the least to support Oshoku's gaze, anger and determination distorting his features:
"I won't give up!"she shouted, ignoring her soul, which was pulsing faster and faster under the adrenaline rush.
Yumerai and Shiroken hiccuped, stunned to see their daughter so determined... and it was like a trigger, a reminder that they were not the only ones fighting, that it was not the time to let go!
The archer's pupils flashed, lit up with a bright golden glow, and he threw himself to the side to aim at his brother without hitting his daughter, making an arrow of light appear, the kind of arrow he hadn't materialized for years.
Oshoku was dazzled by it, so much so that he was unable to dodge: the attack hit him so hard that he screamed in pain as he was propelled several meters backwards.
Etsuko, who had fallen back to the ground, fought Nyx in a duel of appendages. But something he had long been aware of hit him again: his son was stronger than he was, much stronger. At least when he was in such a rage. Ah, he was the son of the keeper of negativity! Becoming more powerful under the rage... What a plague.
"I WILL SMASH YOU!"
Nyx uttered a 'ch', annoyed by such a reply, and this time it was not with his tentacles that he stopped his father. No ... this time he grabbed his father's arms with his own hands, coming to clasp his wrists as tightly as he could in order to immobilize him.
Etsuko hiccupped in amazement and Nyx smiled broadly, believing he had won this round. Except that the painter had not finished, he had more than one trick up his sleeve, and without warning he took a run for it ... before throwing his skull against his son's skull.
They both yelped under the impact, moved backwards and let go of each other, before each of them put a hand on their painful faces. Both out of breath, both clearly reaching their limit, it was Etsuko who spoke again:
"... you're... you're... you're just a mistake... you should never have existed ... and I already know, I already know that you won't exist for long ... ! Look at you, sleep-deprived and apple-deprived, using magic that will destroy you from the inside... ! You're... finished... finished! "
Nyx, breathing erratically, wiped the sweat from his forehead, his vision becoming blurred as the fight went on. He finally closed his eyes, leaned on his knees and took a deep breath of oxygen:
" ... I ... I ... may be a mistake ... but any mistake can be ... corrected ... "
He half-opened his eyes, looking at the ground without really seeing it:
"...and... nothing is finished... by yet... I'm still here, standing in front of you... "
Etsuko clenched his fists, trying to hold on to his shaky legs:
"...damn... why do you keep... ? Why are you...
- ... Because I'm just like you... "
The painter froze, losing his pupils to surprise, and Nyx stood up slowly to give him a poor smile:
"...as stubborn as you are... Ahah... That proves you're my father... whether you like it or not... "
Etsuko remained silent ... unable to reply anything ... even though he only wanted to scream ... screaming that no, that kid wasn't his son... as he had done so many times... always saying the same thing, the same truth...
Yet not the words that came out of his mouth:
"...you lost... You lost... ! "
Nyx's smile became a little more frank:
"Ahah... why?
- You're going to die ... and Nightmare is going to finish with the others ... !
- ... Tell me ... am I the only one who noticed a Nightmare was missing, just... ? "
Etsuko became livid : what... ? He was missing... ?
He turned around sharply. Turned around... ...to realize that only Oshoku was there. Where was the Nightmare of Not...?!
"AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"he shouted, suddenly grabbed at the waist by an appendix that belonged neither to him nor to Nyx. An appendage that squeezed him with a sharp blow, almost breaking him in half, while he screamed even louder.
And the second Nightmare appeared, a satisfied smile on his teeth, having been waiting for the right moment to intervene. But if he was tempted to finish the painting, the cry of Nyx stopped him:
"Don't kill him!"
Surprised, the keeper of the past looked at his friend... son... well... looked at Nyx:
"Why,he said. He's your father, but have you seen all the harm he's done to you, to us? And you want...
- I have to show him something!"
He turned to his cousin:
"Lux! Now! "
The woman nodded her head seriously, before taking out the small golden wooden box that her elder had entrusted to her. Yumerai's eyes widened at the same time as Oshoku's, both holding their breath with uncertainty and amazement ... and Lux opened the box with all the delicacy in the world, to finally reveal its contents.
[ Golden orbs ]
[ Orbs containing all the dreams and good memories of the multiverse ]
Yumerai hoqueta:
" ... B-But ... I thought ... "
His daughter gave him an apologetic look but, not having time to explain, she turned her attention back to Etsuko while grabbing one of the orbs, to finally hold it in front of her and use her magic to activate it.
There was a bright light, which came to envelop all the monsters present to plunge them into a cocoon of warmth and sweetness. Surprised, everyone felt a strange well being, even the two Nightmares who should have found themselves burning.
[But this light was not one that could harm them.]
... And there was a laugh. A tender laugh. Ink's.
But... not the Ink of the past. Because he couldn't understand why he was seeing another double of himself. A double... who was none other than himself, just a few years ago. Him when he was trying to seduce Error.
{"Pff, you're too stupid Ruru!" commented this Ink of memories laughing. Do you really think I'm going to stop moving just because you ask me to? »
And the Memory Wrong grunted, grumpy:
"Yes! Stop moving, I'll tear you down !
- Own, is that a hidden way of saying you love me?
- I'll love you the day you're not so annoying anymore ! "}
Their relationship had always been like that. Love/hate. The verbal jousting. The fights. A rivalry the likes of which we rarely see, a symbiosis, a fusion. Knowing your opponent by heart, understanding them with a simple glance. And yet, Nyx had to intervene so that they finally end up together ...
But if Ink was moved by such a thought, it was not the case for Etsuko:
"STOP!"
The congregation was startled, turned away from remembering and looked at the corrupt painter who had lowered his skull ... until his eyes were raised in panic when another memory came up:
{Ink and Dream, over tea, laughing and chatting like best friends in the world}
Etsuko yelps again, both at Lux's and Nyx's address:
"STOP THAT! "
And everyone began to understand.
{Ink taking pleasure in Drawing}
All that ...
{Ink who discovers the multiverse, marvels at it, protects it}
Those were Etsuko's memories.
"STOP !"
Etsuko whose scream turned into a sob, a sob that tore away the luminosity, the memories, to return to the brutal reality, cold and implacable. This reality that had just assaulted him, that had made his pupils sink into a terribly pale and desperate blue.
"STOP! "he shouted again, with a sore throat.
And his eyes, soon filled with tears, soon let out a torrent of tears, while his body was in the grip of terrible upheavals:
"I'm-... I'm not... I'm not... I... I... I... !"
He didn't understand. He did not understand why those memories hurt him so much, why he was shaken for 'so little'. He did not understand how he could still feel anything about those whom he had once loved, when he had stopped taking his vials, when he had eaten a black apple, when he had sunk into negativity.
Why would he... ?
Why was his affection rising now?
And he wept, wept so loudly without caring about those around him, overwhelmed by terror and fate, under Nyx's completely extinguished gaze.
Yes ... Nyx looked at him without the slightest emotion. No compassion, no pity. He... just didn't know what to feel. Didn't know what to feel anymore. Probably would have hurt a while back. Probably would have thrown himself to his father to help him, to encourage him.
But something had been broken.
[ Nyx felt nothing for the parent who hated him so much. ]
And his body moved on its own, pushing him to turn away to look at the second problem. His final problem. This time, the emotions returned, more vivid than ever. They overwhelmed him as his eyes met Oshoku's.
Nyx looked his father straight in the eye, with a strength and determination that made the guard tremble. His son had never looked at him like that, had never dared to shoot him with such a terrible, cold and angry look. But what terrified the nightmare master, what really petrified him...
[It was feeling his emotions.]
"Wha... ?"
Oshoku had hiccupped, backed up. Why did he...?
Why was he feeling the Nyx's emotions?
"...you... you're…"
[ Those emotions he hadn't felt for years ... ]
"You... ?!"
Nyx...
[ Nyx had removed the spell that camouflaged his feelings ]
[Anger, resentment, sadness, disappointment]
Oshoku retreated again, hit harder and harder by this unbearable flow.
[ Anxiety, anxiety, pity ]
His body trembled while incomprehension took him by the guts, provoked a high heart which pushed him back, always back, without taking care of what was around him.
Nyx's cry brought him back to reality only too late:
"FATHER!"
But Oshoku had already fallen, falling right into the deteriorating portal. And he could never understand... never could understand why Nyx jumped with him.
Nyx wasn't thinking about all his actions, far from it. Although he tried to take everything into account, to anticipate as much as possible, life always had to catch up with him, to show him that fate was only uncertainty. He always had to have his feelings, his feelings that he had tried so many times to suppress, come back to pull him towards the meanders of the irrational.
Like now. Like at that moment when he had convinced himself that he wanted to forget his parents, to leave them behind, to have nothing more to do with them in order to save those he really loved, those versions of another timeline that had been so sweet to him.
So why would he... Why did he panic when he saw Oshoku flipped over in the portal? Why had his soul stopped for half a second, why had he felt such panic?
Why did he...
Why did he jump out to catch him?
He couldn't stop thinking about their common past. All the times the nightmare master had beaten and humiliated him, all the times he had forced him to eat apples to the point of addiction, all the times... the times... the times...
But... of everyone in the castle... of all the people who kept hitting him... Oshoku was the only one to do it with THIS look... That dark, empty look, as if he was trying to repress something. Trying to repress... his sadness, his guilt.
Oshoku... Oshoku had made him his heir. He'd made him SOMETHING. He had given him an identity. He considered him his son. Even though he'd been the worst father in history... ...Nyx had sensed an ounce of tenderness in him. An ounce of affection.
His father loved him. Against all odds, despite the terrible misfortunes, despite the corruption that was eating him up inside, Oshoku had managed to love him.
That was reason enough for Nyx to do everything for him.
It was a reason for his body to act on itself, to throw him into that portal of evil.
And there it was. Back to their original timeline. Back in this crumbling multiverse, in this world of anguish and horror, even darker than the last time Nyx was there. The skies that formed a greyish whirlwind, as if the sky would collapse on their skulls. The air almost unbreathable, the atmosphere so icy that one could freeze in place.
Nyx rose slowly, cautiously, his throat tied by this vision that he would have liked to forget. He tried to ignore it and looked away, looking for his father's eyes.
His father who was a little further away, his back to him, curled up on himself, the appendages collapsed on the ground as a sign of abandonment.
"... Throw the others here, and close the portal…" Oshoku whispered in a dull voice.
Nyx did not answer, watching him without a word, and finally stepped in his direction.
The older one clenched his fists:
"...finish your work. Lock us in here forever, save this timeline you love so much."
Still no response from Nyx. Oshoku bit his tongue, feeling an unbearable pressure on his shoulders.
"Damn... Why the hell are you... ?"
Nyx's footsteps stopped just behind him, just a few centimeters away, and Oshoku finally turned his skull to anchor his gaze in that of his son.
His body trembled, struck by these new sensations that were coming out of him.
[Tenderness, affection]
Oshoku scanned Nyx without understanding why he felt all this. Why he felt such emotions, such positivity towards him.
"... I don't understand…" he breathed halfway, looking for an answer in his son's eyes.
Nyx tilted his head to the side, not knowing what he was talking about, and the nightmare master felt on the verge of tears. He lowered his skull, unable to hold the younger one's gaze any longer.
"... How can you love me... after all I've done... ?"
He raised his head only to observe Nyx's body, this body hidden under layers of clothing, these sleeves too wide that only served to hide the scars, the cracks, the traces of violence too terrible.
Nyx smiled faintly as he squatted at his height:
"...I don't know... Stockholm Syndrome may be ... ?"
A joke that wasn't a joke. Oshoku bit his tongue, gently reaching out his hand to graze his son's arm, without daring to touch it too much.
"... I never knew what to do with you. How to consider you…"
He came and put his forehead against his shoulder:
"... But ... I've always been so attached to you ..."
His voice was trembling:
"... Nyx ... you're the only good thing I've ever done in my whole life ..."
His son shuddered, deeply shocked by such a confession, but above all ... above all moved. So moved that he could not control the tears that drowned his eyes.
"...father... I..."
A tentacle came tenderly to embrace him, urging him to be silent, to say no more. Oshoku was not looking for forgiveness, was not looking for excuses for his behavior. There was no excuse to be found, he had just been the worst bastard, not even deserving the status of "parent".
"...what am I supposed to do now... ?" Oshoku murmured.
But Nyx didn't know. He didn't even know what he himself was supposed to do...
"... First, we should close the portal... the younger one finally answered. We shouldn't let our timeline destroy the second...
- ... And again I ask you: What do we do? Which side should we be on to close the portal? Should I, and the others of our time, stay here? Or stay in the past?"
Nyx hesitated. One more question... far too complicated. If Yumerai, Shiroken and Lux would have no problem being accepted into the timeline of the past... it would be different for Oshoku, Etsuko and the others.
"... Even if we were accepted... ...taken over Oshoku. Do you see us living in a world we destroyed ourselves? Seeing familiar faces again, seeing those we loved... Do you think we could stay sane with that? ... And you, would you be willing to live in the same timeline as we do, after all we've put you through?"
The youngest swallowed, his pupils turning pale in the face of these questions. He didn't know, he wasn't sure of anything... He just... He hadn't planned it, he hadn't expected it to turn out this way, and it terrified him. Not being able to control anything... Losing complete control of the situation...
"... I just... I just... "
But his father's laughter interrupted him. Disconcerted, Nyx tilted his skull to the side, before being surprised once again by the sudden smile of his sire.
The guardian got up, helping his son to stand up again:
"... You don't have to make this decision. You don't have to carry everything on your shoulders. You've been doing it for too long ..."
They held hands feverishly, a touch so strange to them ... But Nyx saw a new hope, a new beginning:
"... Father ... We can never erase what we've done... I have my faults too... But... We can start over. We can start a new life in a multiverse in peace, a multiverse we can still pamper and protect."
Oshoku hesitated:
"I-"
Nyx never heard the end of that sentence.
[ I remind you that you're out of apples and your body needs sleep. Not sure if you can stay awake for more than a few minutes... ]
He'd already pushed himself beyond his limits.
The last second had just passed.
Nyx didn't even perceive that darkness was taking over again.