Chapter XVIII: Doomsday
THE MUSINGS OF LIGHT HOPE
15,000 YEARS AFTER THE WAR OF ILLUMNATION
I was meditating in the Crystal Castle, reflecting on all that happened, when I heard a cry for help.
I closed my eyes and focused on where it came from, it was from Etherternia, Kaylia was in danger, Horde Prime had returned and he was too much for even Kalion and Zodak, it was up to me to help them.
I changed into a 'tangible' form and teleported to Etherternia to face off with my ancient nemesis.
When arrived there, I found Bow, Kalion, Zodak, Kaylia, and Jason lying on the ground, they were severely injured and unconscious. I placed them in a healing trance to allow them recover from their wounds and protect them from Horde Prime.
Once I was sure they were safe I went after Horde Prime himself.
"Your end is at hand!" I told the deity as I drew my sword and attacked Horde Prime.
"That is what you think, Light Hope," Horde Prime retorted as he summoned his weapon, transformed it into a sword and countered my move.
We continued our duel for hours, our swords clanging together and sparks flying into the air. However neither of us was gaining any victories and the battle would always end in a draw.
"We cannot continue this pointless swordplay, surrender Prime and your punishment will be lenient," I told him patiently waiting for his response.
"Yes, this is pointless, but I will not surrender for you will meet your doom," he boasted as he created a vortex in front him.
I could feel the vortex siphoning off my power; he was going to drain me of my life force in attempt to kill me.
After a few moments, he took the energy he stole from and used it to create a strange being.
This being was tall with black hair and piercing red eyes; he wore a black robe secured by a sliver belt, Horde Prime had created an evil version of me.
"Behold, my new servant, Dark Hope, guardian of the Doom Tower," Horde Prime declared as he smiled at his fiendish creation.
"You will never win, evil can only mimic good, never overpower it," I said as I attacked the creature but he countered my move perfectly neutralizing my attack.
The skill that this being had was incredible and as with Horde Prime we were too equal in our powers, and no one was winning, but soon the tide turned against me.
"Let us end this!" Horde Prime said as he transformed into spirit and merged with Dark Hope.
The being changed, he became taller, his robe became a cape which quickly mutated into a pair of wings and he now wore a suit of black armor. His black hair was now hidden form view by a Bloodbat mask identical to that of Horde Prime's.
"Let the cosmos tremble before me for I am Dark Despair and all who come to me will be destroyed!" he said as he summoned his weapon, a sword with a mace attached to the handle.
Before I had time to attack, the creature began to attack with energy blasts, they were too much even for me, and what was worse the blast were so powerful that it was actually causing me pain, for the first time in millennia I was experiencing pain.
I knew I had too something or else he might actually kill me, so I called out to my old master, He-Ro.
"Master, He-Ro! Come to the aid of your student!" I cried out, soon a ghostly image of man wearing blue pants and gold chest armor appeared, he had searing blue eyes and short brown hair. On his armor was the Asterium of Gnosticism, the symbol of the Gnostic religion and in his hand was a golden staff.
"What is wrong, Light Hope, why have you summoned me?" the spirit of my master He-Ro asked me worriedly.
"Master, the god Prime has become too powerful for me he stole some of my energy and is used to create an evil version of me, now this being and Prime have merged and are too great for me to defeat," I told him.
"Stretch out your arm my friend and I shall fill your being with my spirit and give the power to triumph over your foes ," He-Ro said.
I did as I was told and instantly I felt recharged and even if possible more power than before. I had been infused with my master's spirit and ready to destroy horde Prime.
"Dark Despair you will be destroyed," I said as I got up and attack the creature.
The Battle was fierce but I was clearly winning, our swords clanged and sparks flew in the air. It reminded what the ancient prophets of Infintia wrote in the book of Alpha and Omega chapter 45 verse 52:
On the Final days before the Great Era of Peace the Masters of Good and Evil shall meet in the new land with their students and duel.
We battled for what seemed for hours until I managed to defeat Dark Despair. I raised my hand and proclaimed, "Horde Prime in the name of all that is good, I exorcise you from this body never to return."
Horde Prime screamed as he was removed from Dark Hope, who was destroyed from the force of the exorcism.
I turned to face Horde Prime, "Horde Prime, god of evil, tyrant of Omega Terminus, and sovereign of the Evil Horde for your crimes, I hereby destroy your mind so you will not remember a single iota about your past," I told him as I destroyed his mind making him a virtual robot.
I knew I had to do something else, I knew that if I just left as is, he would tap into the essence again and become more powerful, so I decided to end his life in the only way I could.
I raised my arms and declared, "Horde Prime, it is not enough for your mind to be destroyed, therefore I destroy your spirit, the source of your life and immortality as well. Without it you shall die."
Moments later a bright light emanated from the very core of Horde Prime's being and within seconds he exploded in a violent spectacle of light and energy, finally after all these Millennia, Horde Prime was destroyed once and for all!
KAYLIA'S DIARY
56th DAY IN THE NINTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF KING SIRIS
I must have been out for hours, or at least it feels like it.
After I managed it get my bearings straight, I looked up and saw a tall man with white hair and piercing green eyes standing in front of me. He wore a white robe with a golden rope for a belt.
I could not believe my eyes, it was the sorcerer Equis standing in front of me, but that was impossible for Equis had died Millennia ago.
"Equis?" I asked the man groggily, I rubbed my eyes thinking it was an illusion.
"Yes, Kalion I am Equis, but on this world I am known as Light Hope," he said as he helped me up.
He told me that he is a being of pure energy and used to travel the universe and came to Equillia when Hippogryph came into power and sensing his evil declared war on him to liberate the planet.
As I stood up I cold tell that he was in pain and was possibly dying, I asked him if was all right, he said he wasn't but there was nothing that could be done to save him.
"I used up most of power trying to cure you and your allies" he said as he went over to Bow, Jason, and Zodak and woke them up.
I noticed that Light Hope was examining them for injuries; everything seemed okay until he came to Bow.
"What's wrong?" I asked him as I walked over to him.
"I was unable to heal him" he said forlorned as he walked over to Jason and awoke him, "Bow is dying and the Horde still needs to be defeated, even though Horde Prime is no more the Horde is still a threat" he said as he helped Jason to his feet.
"Me and Jason can take them on, after all we are She-Ra and He-Man" I told him confidently as I drew my sword.
"Very well, but be careful, the Horde is not to be underestimated" he told us as went over to tend to Bow's wounds.
Jason and I drew our swords, "For the Honor of Grayskull!" I yelled, suddenly I was surrounded by light, and could feel my spirit energized, I felt stronger and could feel my wounds being healed.
"I AM SHE-RA!" I cried out as the light subsided, I turned to look at Jason who had transformed as well. "Jason, are you ready?" I asked him worriedly, even though we had done this done before I was still new to this whole 'She-Ra' thing and was afraid that we would be captured.
"As ready I'll ever be" he replied, he could tell I was frightened and walked over to where I was standing and said, "Everything is going to be all right Kaylia, you'll see," he told as he hugged me.
"I hope so," I told him as I smiled at him, once the embrace broke we rushed into the battle. We cut through the troops like a hot knife through better and in no time the battle was over.
Although most of the leadership escaped we did manage to capture a few officers, we hope they can help us prevent the Horde from coming back to attack the planet.
Once we made sure that our prisoners was secure, I ran over to where Bow was laying.
Since I first met him, I fell in love with him and I was hoping that after the battle that I would marry him, but now it seemed as if my dreams were being shattered.
"Kaylia...I….love….you," he said, he admitted it, that he loved me, tears were starting to flow down my cheeks as I as took in those words.
"I love you too, Bow", I told him as I held him in my arms, my heart was breaking, the man who was I going to share my life with was dying and there is nothing that I can do to stop it.
KING BOW'S JOURNAL
12th DAY IN THE SEVENTEENTH YEAR SINCE THE ESTABLISHEMNT OF ETHERTERNIA
I fear this is my end.
Horde Prime's attack has left me mortally wounded and Light Hope has informed me that there is nothing he can do to save me.
If I had the courage, I would renounce him and swear my loyalty to Horde Prime, but as it stands I am a dying and all men when they die become cowards.
They fear what awaits them in the next life whether they deserve eternal bliss or condemnation, will they be rewarded or punished. I fear that the latter awaits me.
As lay on the ground, Kaylia came over to confront me. We looked into each other's eyes and confessed our love.
"Kaylia…give…me…my…sword," I told her weakly.
She handed me my sword, I did my best hold it in my hands, but I was too weak.
"Kaylia, I Bow…Second Monarch of this land….dub…thee…Queen Kaylia I…of…,"
KAYLIA'S DIARY
23rd DAY IN THE NINTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF KING SIRIS
I cried as Bow breathed his last breath, my love was gone. Even though I knew him only a short time, I felt as of we were meant for each other.
"Farewell, Bow," I whispered to him as I kissed him.
After a few moments of crying, I went over to Jason who was tending to Zodak and Light Hope.
"What's the situation with our friends?" I asked him as helped him cared for the wounded.
"Not good Kaylia, both Light Hope and Zodak are dying, the only thing we can do is comfort them," he said as sadly as he did his best to ease their suffering.
I went over to Zodak, he was on the verge of death, he was sweating profusely and was too weak to sit up.
"Zodak, are you okay?" I asked him but he did not answer, he just stared into empty space.
Finally he spoke, his voice was barely audible, "Murthrun gheritios victirium zset nihlium zethrox yelixion verluxion" the power of She-Ra gave me to understand what he said, it was a prayer in the ancient language of the land called Gnostic. The prayer when translated into modern language was this:
Great Unknowable One, first of the gods brought forth from the Essence, I give you my soul as a sacrifice to you. May you give my brothers wisdom to pick a new a leader and to give the new queen of which Eldor spoke of one who will bring great peace will always lead the planet into that age and may you guide my soul to you immortal kingdom for all Eternity.
After he said the word 'Eternity' he sighed deeply and closed his eyes for the last time. Even though I did not know him a long time, I still knew that a great being had died.
Once I made sure that Zodak had indeed passed away, I went over to Light Hope, I could tell that he was also dying.
His hair which was usually whiter than snow had faded to a dark gray color; his skin which normally shone like fine porcelain was dull and pale; and his eyes which normally blazed with bright green fire were reduced to a pale sea green.
"Kaylia…," he said as he tried to sit up.
"Yes Light Hope, what's wrong?" I asked him as I helped him to sit up, I noticed that was his body was losing its opacity, he was becoming transparent and losing his corporealness, he was becoming like a ghost.
"Kaylia, a great burden will befall upon you and you seek the comfort of exile but you must hold strong," Light Hope said weakly, then he smiled at me and said triumphantly, "The Final battle is over, good has triumphed over evil, finally Etheria and Eternia can have peace!" with those words Light Hope turned into pure light and dispersed to the four winds of the Cosmos.
I bowed my head and said a prayer that Bow and Light Hope were at peace.
LORD BRAKK'S JOURNAL
154 YEARS AFTER THE PRIMAN-DENEBRIAN WAR
Horde Prime has been destroyed and the Horde has been decimated.
I know if I stay, I will be captured and that is something I cannot afford to happen again.
While the new He-Fool and She-Moron are busy caring for Light Hope and Zodak I rushed from the battle field and stole a nearby spacecraft and left.
Now that Horde Prime has gone the way of Hordak, I can finally take my rightful place as the leader of the Horde and finally become all powerful.
"The Horde will return!" I yelled as I started the engine and left for the stars.
KAYLIA'S DIARY
23rd DAY IN THE NINTH YEAR OF THE REIGN OF KING SIRIS
The final battle for Etherternia has been won, but the battle has cost us dearly Bow, Zodak, and Light Hope has died.
I was about to bury Zodak when I saw a bright light fill the sky, when the light vanished I saw millions of beings who looked liked Zodak except they were of various skin and armor colors
"I am Zurlok, New Leader of the Cosmic Enforcers, I have come for the body of Zodak" a tall pale skinned being introduced himself and pointed to Zodak's corpse.
Before I could speak Zurlok snapped his fingers and his followers placed Zodak's body on a slab and within seconds they vanished.
While I was standing there, Kalion reappeared and completely healed.
"Zurlok will take Zodak's corpse to their monastery and bury him there, he will also force the Cosmic Enforcers to take a vow of neutrality so as to avoid Zodak's tragedy," she told me as he placed her hand on my shoulder.
"How do you know that?" I asked her stunned that she knew how all that was going to take place.
"I am a goddess and am able to transcend time and space to see the events of the future, just as I knew that Adora would go into exile," she explained to me.
"If you knew that, why didn't you stop her from leaving?" I asked her, it seems cruel that she would allow Adora to suffer as she did.
"It is not my place to interfere in such matters, all living beings are gifted with free will and the gods are forbidden from interfering with that, even it means that it would make a person's life better," she told me calmly.
"Come, let us take Bow to where he will rest in peace," she said as she used her powers to create a slab on which we placed Bow's body on.
We marched for several miles, along the people of planet came out to pay their last respects to their king.
People cried and wailed, the men would come out and kiss the blade of Bow's sword while the women would throw dust in their faces as a sign of morning. The entire scene was heart wrenching and I almost broke down in tears several times during the march.
Finally we reach our destination, a mausoleum in the capital city of Eternos.
It was a massive monument made of the whitest marble and guarded with statues and releifs. On the front of it was an inscription embossed in gold, 'MAUSOLEUM OF HEROISM.'
Inside was even more amazing, row by row of stones lined the walls of the mausoleum each with a person's name on it.
Some of the names, Miro, Randor, Marlena, Adam, Glimmer, Angella, and Seahawk, I knew from Adora's diary, but one named had me perplexed.
Besides Adora's father's grave there was a stone which had the name 'Keldor' inscribed on it but no date of death.
"Keldor was Randor's younger brother but he turned to evil and allied himself with Hordak. During an attack on the Hall of Wisdom, Keldor was injured; his face had been burned by his own acid and was dying. After the attack, he fled to the Eternian Fright Zone and pleaded Hordak to save him. It was then that Hordak mutated him, transforming him from Keldor to Skeletor. Adora's grandfather, Captain Miro, had hoped his son would renounce his evil ways one day, but alas that did not happen," Kalion explained as she placed Bow in an empty crypt and slid it shut.
I then took a chisel and hammer Kalion gave me and engraved Bow's epitaph, it reads:
Here lies Bow, A man of great Honor and great sadness. He died giving his life for Etherternia. May the Elders watch over thy soul.
We then knelt and said a few prayers for the repose of Bow's soul and its arrival in paradise, we left the mausoleum.
Later that day, at the Palace of Eternos, I was officially crowned queen of Etherternia, after which we forced the Horde leaders we captured to sign a non aggression pact with us to ensure that the Horde would never attack Etherternia again.
Even though this is a great moment in my life and I know that should be happy but I am not, I am sad over the loss of Bow. I knew him for only a short time but in that time I felt as if I had known him all my life and was deeply in love with him and even going to ask him to marry me, but now that dream is shattered. Oh great Hipparion, god of Equillia, why have you let sadness enter my life, I pray that you will remove it from me so that I may live my life with happiness and joy and not end up as poor Adora did, so racked by sadness and guilt that she could not bear to live here and exiled herself, please Hipparion let that not be my fate!