30 Days of Sonic Prompt 14: Corruption
Media: Sonic 06
Forks in the Road
The decision Shadow made to defy him hardly surprised Mephiles. Although shown his fate at the hands of humanity, Shadow chose to fight against him. He maintained a sense of morality that both mystified and intrigued Mephiles, a being of pure darkness. It was as if Shadow found purpose in battling for creatures who would one day betray him, the thought entirely foolish to a god.
Shadow had associates who would eventually die. The bat and the robot, two inferior lifeforms, served as his compatriots. They devoted themselves to him, fought alongside him. In the eyes of a mortal, it would have been a touching display of comradery, but Mephiles had cackled at them. The bat would not reach one hundred years, and the robot would be nothing more than a rusted, decrypt machine in the corner of a forgotten city in his future while Shadow suffered in silence.
When his energy beam had impaled Sonic, he wondered what Shadow would have done had he been a witness. Would he have leaped into action? The obvious answer was yes. If he had been present with a Chaos Emerald in tow, he would have stopped time and delivered Mephiles a finishing blow. Shadow saved those who needed assistance and ensured swift punishment to the monsters who harmed them and the world, viewing Mephiles as no different from any other threat.
Shadow battled because of a single promise made to a dying girl. In the future, when Mephiles was still a single being searching for the right fools, he had researched his imprisoned counterpart. The information he gleaned was fascinating. Shadow was a seed that sprouted because of the union between alien blood and scientific ingenuity, a savior with a doomed destination to save his first friend.
Mephiles had sighed upon learning Shadow's life story. If only he had come across the hedgehog first, then he would have made a brutal subordinate, a harbinger of death and destruction the likes of which the world would fear. He would have decimated the stragglers who dared to fight Iblis, and perhaps, Mephiles could have forgotten fusing with his counterpart if Shadow remained by his side as a fellow immortal who could laugh at the folly of humanity.
But that was a mere dream, a dashed hope that Shadow murdered when he had swept through his clones with Team Dark. Mephiles had already foreseen the events that unfolded, knowing who to manipulate to create the proper present and desolate future. Shadow would never abandon the world Maria loved or the ones who chose to fight by his side. In a way, Mephiles supposed such nobility could burn brighter than the flames of Iblis, but only if Shadow had used them wisely instead of bowing his head and accepting commands from humans claiming to be his superiors.
After Elise screamed and sobbed, the Chaos Emeralds and flames encircled Mephiles. Power pulsed throughout his body, every inch of him tingling with strength. In mere seconds, he would eliminate the very existence of time. Humanity would collapse, and billions would perish under his resurrection, their existence erased in a heartbeat.
As he transformed, he caught a glimpse of scarlet and ebony breaking through the flames. The colors flashed to his side before he dipped his head low and tucked in his limbs. Shadow had teleported next to him, his eyes wide, his chest heaving with heavy breaths, the truth dawning on both of them.
Shadow was powerless to stop him. Even if he used his powers, they would be like stings of static electricity to Mephiles. If he could have grinned, his inky smirk would have stretched from ear to ear.
"You're too late, Shadow the Hedgehog," Mephiles proclaimed, the outer flames rushing around him. They scorched his fur, the heat strenuous, but he did not sweat. Only the Ultimate Lifeform's brow beaded.
"Mephiles," he growled, squinting at the emeralds. His hands clenched, straining the fabric of his gloves.
"You could have chosen this path, Shadow," he jeered, his fur glowing violet, his sclera the color of freshly spilled blood, "but you've already hit a dead end long ago."
"We'll stop you dead in your tracks," Shadow vowed, his expression writhing. The sheer amount of energy wafting around him threatened to crush him as if gravity increased on his shoulders and back.
A slow shake of his head brought Shadow to bare his fangs. "You may have prevented the ARK from colliding with this planet, and you may have slaughtered Black Doom, but you will never kill a god," Mephiles said, and the time had come as he had foreseen.
Shadow grimaced, faltering. Mephiles seared that face to his memories. Shadow's air shoes propelled him upwards, escaping the collision of fire as it swirled around Mephiles. Heat coursed around him, filling him with unimaginable power, an energy that Shadow would have never been able to dream of mastering.
While the transformation took place, Mephiles laughed. The Ultimate Lifeform was a parasite to a god. As Solaris rained heavenly fury onto humanity, he took his rightful place among the nothingness that had once been his city of worshippers.