The Galaxy King arrived in the Darkness Universe, floating amongst the blackness of its outer space.
"Okay...so where are they cause all I see is a whole lot of nothing." Indigo said.
"The place where they are located can be entered from anywhere in this Universe." Avaritia said. "However, you must provide a key to get in: in order to enter, one of you must sacrifice a piece of knowledge important to you. It can be anything: a name, a parent, an event. You must say it out loud, then ask to enter the library."
"Sacrifice a piece of knowledge, huh?" Hope asked. "I know what to do."
Hope then took a breath and stared into the void.
"I, Jonah Ginova, sacrifice the name of Lucius, user of the Forbidden Style of Ultimate Color Fighting. I ask to enter the library!" Hope declared.
For a moment, all was still. Then, from the outside, space started to warp as a bright light overtook the ship…
...when the light faded away, the group was no longer in the ship. Rather, they were in what appeared to be a huge library, with shelves that went on for miles, all filled with books.
"Where are we?" Sonia asked.
"Welcome… to the Wanderer's Library." a voice called out as a being that seemed to tower over them appeared in front of them. "Are you here to check out a book?"
"Not quite. We're here for a person: Acedia." Izuku said.
"Ah, the Vice Angel of Sloth." the being said. "He's downstairs in the garden. Please, follow me."
The being floated into the infinite halls of the library, the group following them.
"So, I'm just gonna ask this because I wanna know. Who are you?" Hope asked.
"I am one of the many librarians that oversee the Wanderer's Library." the being said. "Here, in this place, is every book. Books that have been written, those that have yet to be written, and those that will never be written. They are all collected here. Acedia, the Vice Angel of Sloth, is the only welcome permanent resident."
Soon the group realized that they were walking down stairs, yet didn't recall seeing the beginning of it. Then, they were walking down a large hallway. Then, after what seemed like an eternity, they stood in front of a bare door.
"Acedia is on the other side." the being said. "Before you go in, I must warn you, do not eat from the tree."
The being then opened the door, opening up to a large, grassy plain that spanned for an eternity. On a hill in front of them, there were two trees, though only one bore fruit. Under one of the trees, a being slept under the leaves. It was hard to determine if they were male or female.
"Whoa, hey, are those…?" Kazuichi asked.
"The Trees of Life and Knowledge." Hope said, somehow recognizing them. "The very same trees that bore the fruit that Adam and Eve ate in the Garden of Eden at the beginning of time."
Everyone stared at Hope.
"What?" Hope said. "I'm Jewish, so I know my history. Please don't tell Mark I'm in the opposite religion as him."
"Eh, I doubt he'd care." Eddy shrugged. "So, do we just walk up to them, or…?"
"Do not worry, Acedia is a passive being." Avaritia said. "They will not attack unless they are attacked. All we must do is gently wake them."
The group then approached the sleeping angel, Avaritia leading the way as he kneeled down and shook Acedia. "Acedia, wake up."
"...H-Huh?" the angel of sloth yawned as their eyes fluttered open, seeing the group. "O-Oh, it's… *yawn* it's you, Ava. And the Hero…*yawn* Hero Alliance as well. W-Welcome to The Garden."
"Wait, so this is… The Garden?" Eddy asked.
"W-Well, one version of…*yawn* of it, anyway." Acedia said as they stumbled up to their feet. "You're here to…*yawn* to recruit me against Superbia's Prideful Crusade, c-correct?"
"W-Well yes, if it isn't a problem for you." Miriam said.
"Eh… I-I'm not…*yawn* not eager to leave this place." Acedia said. "Here, I've learned quite a lot about…*yawn* about everything. I-I know how your lives and journeys together began… and how they end. Well… at least the most current path."
"The most current path?" Double D asked.
Acedia smiled and pulled out a large book from out of nowhere. "This… is the book of all. It details every action… *yawn* and thought ever conceived in this reality, including those that have yet to happen. H-However…*yawn* Those events are always changing."
The angel flipped the book open and showed it to the group. Sure enough, the words and sentences were constantly rearranging themselves, to the point that looking at it made the team feel nauseous, until Acedia closed the book.
"So you see…*yawn* the future is constantly changing. Perhaps what I know about your futures will become outdated by your next actions… who…*yawn* who knows?" Acedia said. "So, if the future is constantly changing…*yawn* why bother worrying about it? I-It seems like a waste of energy to me."
"That's your opinion." Ace said.
"A-An opinion I stand by." Acedia said. "A-As did…*yawn* as did Ira, the day he went on that mission."
"What do you mean by that?" Bardock asked.
"I learned from the library. The reason Ira went mad…*yawn* is because he did the one thing a being of wrath must never do: he fell in love." Acedia said.
"In love?" Avaritia asked in surprise. "Ira?"
"Y-Yes. It was…*yawn* was a young farm girl named Samantha." Acedia said. "He stayed with her while he investigated the cult. Over the course of his stay, two months, the two grew…*yawn* closer, until they fell in love with each other."
"Shot in the dark, but was the reason Ira went on a rampage… because the cult killed Samantha?" Hope said.
"Y-Yes." Acedia yawned. "It was one faithful night. Ira had gone into town to investigate the cult…*yawn* and buy something for Samatha. When he came back… the house was in flames, and the girl was nowhere to be seen. He tracked the cult down to its lair, but by the time he got there…*yawn* it was too late."
"So Samantha was the pure maiden that was sacrificed to release Samael." Tsuki said.
"And that's why Ira went crazy…" SE said.
"WAAAHHH!" Papyrus wailed. "What a truly heartbreaking tale!" the skeleton cried as he blew into his scarf.
"Wahaha. The man was only looking out for his girl. I'll write him a song. I'll call it...a ballad between angel and maiden." Franky cried.
"Poor Ira…" Jexi said. "Look...you might be lazy but you are coming with us."
"W-With all due respect…*yawn* why?" Acedia asked. "I-I'm certainly not the strongest of the…*yawn* the angels. Why would you need me?"
"Hmm...just curious...how much would you say you weigh?" Jexi asked.
"What? Why would you…" Acedia said before Jexi went and picked them up. "O-Oh my!... T-This is… *yawn* rather nice actually." they said.
"Since you won't come on your own, we're gonna be doing this." Jexi said.
"V-Very well then." Acedia accepted. "I-I suppose I can…*yawn* leave the library for a while. J-Just… *yawn* keep doing this, would you?" they smiled.
"Hoo boy, Jex. Looks like you made a fan." Eddy smirked.
"Don't remind me. Still got chills from the last one." Jexi said, shivering a bit as they ran out.
After they went back through the door, the group found themselves back in the Galaxy King, Acedia still with them.
"Huh? Whoa, we're back!" ZS exclaimed, looking around. "Well that was...trippy."
"Still wish we could've stayed a bit longer." Princess Twilight said. "Every book ever… we'll have to come back one day."
"Maybe next time, Princess." Fuyuhiko said. "Now, let's go get Invidia."
"Right! To the Future Universe we go!" CP declared.
Meanwhile, in RedGrave City….
The citizens of RedGrave fled as Superbias' army ravaged the town of any remaining demons left behind by the Qliphoth infestation. It wasn't just armed men and their weapons, but Angels from Paradiso, mainly Third Sphere Acceptance and Affinity, as well as Second Sphere Powers. From up above, a woman in drab clothing oversaw the attack, her expression holding no emotion.
"What does it matter?" the woman said to herself. "They'll just be back later. More will come… it really doesn't matter what we do."
*BANG!* *BANG!* *BANG!*
The woman heard gunshots fired as she looked down at the streets, to see Nero fighting off a bunch of Crusaders as he clashed swords with one.
"This city is tainted with demon blood!" the crusader cried. "We shall cut them all down, starting with you, quarter-breed!"
"You first!" Simon said, stabbing him through with Zero's Blade. "If anyone's a demon here it's you goddamn cultists." he said, angrily glaring at them before firing arrows from Kefka.
"A half-breed Umbra Warlock!" one of the cultists called out. "Kill him! Spill his blood! MAKE HIM SUFFER!" he cried as the crusaders charged, some firing guns while others charged with melee weapons.
"Just know if you strike me down, you will face Mastemon's wrath." Simon said as Madama Butterfly appeared and sweeped the crusaders away. "Are you alright, Nero?"
"Doin' just fine, thanks!" Nero said, whipping away a bunch of crusaders with Rawhide. "3 Hours my ass, this Superbia guy doesn't wanna play fair, does he?"
"And he calls himself an angel. He's nothing more than a cold blooded tyrant." Simon said before pulling out Onyx Rose and firing multiple burst shots.
Kampan swung her metal arm, knocking away crusaders one by one.
"How many of these guys does he have, they just keep coming!" Kampan called.
"I don't know but keep fighting, we have to make sure the citizens get to safety!" Arnice said, cleaving through a bunch of crusaders with her Blood Sword before switching to her Blitz Shooter and taking out larger groups.
"Just try to escape!" Lady said, hefting Kalina Ann over her shoulder as it locked onto multiple crusaders before firing a barrage of missiles. The explosives hit their marking, blowing up the knights in the center and throwing the rest back.
"Huh." the woman said, noting the group's efforts. "Superbia would probably want me to destroy them… but what's the point? They'll probably find a way to beat me, even if I use Yasha's power, or the Authority. I'll probably just tell the forces to pull back. We've already destroyed 95% of the demons here, so it's no use killing them."
The woman known as Maesus stood up and walked away, ordering the Crusade to pull back over comms.
"(I thought I'd feel something watching all those demons die… but I don't.)" Maesus thought. "(...I wish I could cry about it…)"