EIGHT
"She murdered her own father?" asked Paige.
"Yes," said Justin. "As a warlock, she had the ability to steal
another's power at the moment of their death. She had a Dark Lighter
shoot him with a crossbow and sat next to him, watching him die. When
he did die, she stole his power."
"That's cold," said Phoebe.
"She didn't stop there," said Justin. "The Source had given her
undisputed rule over every demon on Earth. They obeyed her without
question, as if she was the Source herself. They didn't just kill
witches and White Lighters. Or any f the other magical beings she
went after. She had them brought to her so she could steal their
powers when they died."
"As her power grew, so did her reputation," continued Leo. "She
had only one driving force. To absorb the magic of any good being.
To fulfill her promise to the Source."
"The most powerful witch at the time made a decision," said
Justin. "Using one of the most ancient spells known, she faced
Caroline to vanquish her. It was a spell that had rarely been used
before, because in vanquishing Caroline, the witch would also be
vanquished. The spell uses the life force of one being to cancel out
the life force of another. It was never known to have failed."
"So Caroline was vanquished?" asked Paige. "At the cost of a
witch's life?"
"No," said Justin. "Caroline had absorbed so many powers by
that time, she was able to resist the spell. And gained even more
power in the process. That of the witch. Caroline couldn't be
vanquished."
"Oh my God," said Piper. "What happened?"
"The leaders of the forces of good all got together," said Leo.
"When they discovered she couldn't be vanquished, they were left with
only one alternative. She had to be contained. She had to be placed
in some kind of prison so she couldn't threaten the forces of good any
longer."
"A decision was made," said Justin. "The five most powerful
wielders of good magic used their power to merge. They, in essence,
became a single entity. An entity with only one purpose. To absorb
Caroline and her power, effectively nullifying her power."
"Kind of like canceling each other out," offered Paige.
"That was the idea," said Justin. "But once again, they had
underestimated just how powerful she had become. She had absorbed so
much power that she was an equal for the new entity. In fact, they
were almost exactly evenly matched. Kind of like someone fighting
themselves. They were so evenly matched, neither one could hope to
defeat the other."
"Someone must have won," said Paige. "No one can go on forever,
no matter how powerful they are."
` "In a sense," said Justin, "they both won."
"And they both lost," added Leo. "They were two forces of
equally matched power. Neither force was willing to surrender or quit
until the other had been defeated. Two forces of irresistible power
refusing to give quarter for any reason. The end was inevitable."
"They absorbed each other," said Justin.
"So that put an end to Caroline?" asked Phoebe.
"In a sense," said Justin. "In absorbing each other, the living
consciousness of both entities was destroyed. Unable to withstand the
awesome power that both possessed. No living being could have
survived the clash of those two powers. So, in a sense, Caroline and
the consciousness of the new entity were destroyed in the joining."
"But neither had destroyed the other," continued Leo. "Both
magics still existed. They became inextricably intertwined. Good and
evil ceased to exist in the joined magic. It simply existed without
any conscious control."
"But the determination of the two combatants was so intense,"
said Justin, "especially in those last few seconds, that it left a
sort of psychic imprint on both magics. This imprint was absorbed and
became intertwined with the magic. The good imprint was to absorb the
evil magic and the evil imprint was to absorb the good magic.
"When the consciousnesses were destroyed, good and evil ceased
to have any meaning. They cancelled each other out. But the
determination to absorb magic remained. Almost as an instinctual
impression. An impression on the most powerful magic that could
possibly exist."
"Now you know what no other mortal alive knows," said Leo. "You
know the origin of the Hollow."
"She murdered her own father?" asked Paige.
"Yes," said Justin. "As a warlock, she had the ability to steal
another's power at the moment of their death. She had a Dark Lighter
shoot him with a crossbow and sat next to him, watching him die. When
he did die, she stole his power."
"That's cold," said Phoebe.
"She didn't stop there," said Justin. "The Source had given her
undisputed rule over every demon on Earth. They obeyed her without
question, as if she was the Source herself. They didn't just kill
witches and White Lighters. Or any f the other magical beings she
went after. She had them brought to her so she could steal their
powers when they died."
"As her power grew, so did her reputation," continued Leo. "She
had only one driving force. To absorb the magic of any good being.
To fulfill her promise to the Source."
"The most powerful witch at the time made a decision," said
Justin. "Using one of the most ancient spells known, she faced
Caroline to vanquish her. It was a spell that had rarely been used
before, because in vanquishing Caroline, the witch would also be
vanquished. The spell uses the life force of one being to cancel out
the life force of another. It was never known to have failed."
"So Caroline was vanquished?" asked Paige. "At the cost of a
witch's life?"
"No," said Justin. "Caroline had absorbed so many powers by
that time, she was able to resist the spell. And gained even more
power in the process. That of the witch. Caroline couldn't be
vanquished."
"Oh my God," said Piper. "What happened?"
"The leaders of the forces of good all got together," said Leo.
"When they discovered she couldn't be vanquished, they were left with
only one alternative. She had to be contained. She had to be placed
in some kind of prison so she couldn't threaten the forces of good any
longer."
"A decision was made," said Justin. "The five most powerful
wielders of good magic used their power to merge. They, in essence,
became a single entity. An entity with only one purpose. To absorb
Caroline and her power, effectively nullifying her power."
"Kind of like canceling each other out," offered Paige.
"That was the idea," said Justin. "But once again, they had
underestimated just how powerful she had become. She had absorbed so
much power that she was an equal for the new entity. In fact, they
were almost exactly evenly matched. Kind of like someone fighting
themselves. They were so evenly matched, neither one could hope to
defeat the other."
"Someone must have won," said Paige. "No one can go on forever,
no matter how powerful they are."
` "In a sense," said Justin, "they both won."
"And they both lost," added Leo. "They were two forces of
equally matched power. Neither force was willing to surrender or quit
until the other had been defeated. Two forces of irresistible power
refusing to give quarter for any reason. The end was inevitable."
"They absorbed each other," said Justin.
"So that put an end to Caroline?" asked Phoebe.
"In a sense," said Justin. "In absorbing each other, the living
consciousness of both entities was destroyed. Unable to withstand the
awesome power that both possessed. No living being could have
survived the clash of those two powers. So, in a sense, Caroline and
the consciousness of the new entity were destroyed in the joining."
"But neither had destroyed the other," continued Leo. "Both
magics still existed. They became inextricably intertwined. Good and
evil ceased to exist in the joined magic. It simply existed without
any conscious control."
"But the determination of the two combatants was so intense,"
said Justin, "especially in those last few seconds, that it left a
sort of psychic imprint on both magics. This imprint was absorbed and
became intertwined with the magic. The good imprint was to absorb the
evil magic and the evil imprint was to absorb the good magic.
"When the consciousnesses were destroyed, good and evil ceased
to have any meaning. They cancelled each other out. But the
determination to absorb magic remained. Almost as an instinctual
impression. An impression on the most powerful magic that could
possibly exist."
"Now you know what no other mortal alive knows," said Leo. "You
know the origin of the Hollow."