Few words could describe the immense anticipation Hades experienced as he stepped upon the crystal stairs of Aitiascope's heart. The moment that thousands of years of suffering have finally brought him to. The echoes of her song echoed in the ascian's ears, growing louder with each step. A soothing sound of the light's echo, an ode to peace and prosperity. Yet Hades could not let go of the feeling of animosity, uncertainty, and unease that was thrust upon him.
"Hear…Feel…Think…" - The mothercrystal loomed in the distance, a testament to Hydaelyn's power. Even Unsundered did not risk challenging her in the open before Zodiark was restored. Alas, they had much to lose back in those days.
Emet ascended to the platform of azure crystals, providing him with a view of the shining source of power. If Hydaelyn was to unleash all of the light that was bound by this crystal, she would obliterate him, and yet there was no fear in the ascian's heart. His sorrow came from imagining Lahabrea and Elidibus standing beside him during this fateful moment, to heed the answers all of them yearned for. Even if this would be their last day, Emet knew they would never pass down the opportunity.
Suddenly, a flash of light sparked above Emet. As the ascian looked up, he saw a feminine figure descending towards him on angelic wings, an ancient that broke the limitations of her mortal vessel and ascended to godhood. Her divine light gleamed over Emet as he stood speechless, though her magnificence was not the reason for it. It was that in her face and eyes, he still recognized a woman he once considered a friend despite their differences. The one who reminded him of Apollo so much. Her eyes were filled with sorrow, yet she did not look away from the ascian.
"Hello…Venat." - Emet uttered cautiously, still uncertain of how much she devolved into insanity over the eons.
"You came." - She responded confidently. "I knew not where this conjunction shall lead our paths, yet something always told me…Thou shalt find a way." - She spoke with rising sadness in her voice. Hades saw no anger nor hatred but resignation and acceptance.
"If that is so, I assume you know why I came." - The ascian decided to unravel the truth.
"Thou wish to ask me questions, to find out the truth behind the song of creation's end. I believed the truth would be revealed to you another way…Yet this is the path that we will have to walk." - She sighed.
"I spoke with Amon, the maniac that inherited the soul of Fandaniel, and he claimed that it was Hermes who doomed us to Final Days…" - Emet recounted. He tried to remain calm until the full picture was unraveled before him, but doubt plagued the ascian. "He also said that all this time, you knew the truth and never revealed it to the Convocation, and all of that happened in a single visit to Elpis that was erased from my memory…I scarcely believe the tale, for Hermes, like any of our officials, lacks both the power and desire to create something so monstrous and uncontrollable. Not to mention that your decision to lie seems…Uncharacteristic." - He wanted to believe those words, but Emet remembered full well the feeling of dread he got when Amon told him about this. "Yet I also know that one's memories are cleansed upon reincarnation, which Hermes would have gone through. I will never pretend to forget what your hubris has done to us…But go on, tell me your side of the story; I will heed." - Hades stated, still amused to witness doubt in Venat's gaze.
"Very well. The day you and Hythlodaeus arrived at Elpis was marked with a conjunction of two ages, two timelines…For a sundered soul entered our world, sent forth by the Crystal Tower, it was your companion, even though you believed it to be a familiar." - Those words would have been decried as insanity by Emet were not for the knowledge of G'raha's machinations that allowed him to travel back in time. A glimmering hope sprung in his heart, though the ascian did his best not to show it to the goddess. Traveling to ancient times was possible with enough energy, and his plan became slightly more probable.
"And whose soul was that?"
"Edwin's."
Those words forced Emet to freeze. The Warrior of Light and his sundered friend visited the World Unsundered and spent time with Hades and Hythlodaeus? This was akin to poor comedy, and the ascian struggled to accept it.
"Do you truly want me to believe that Edwin already knew me well before we met? That he visited our world and witnessed our glory and said nothing of it? And here I thought you would speak the truth, for once…" - Hades wanted to spit out disgust, but Hydaelyn spoke sincerely.
"It was well after."
"I watched him every step ever since he destroyed the lightwarden of Lakeland, up to and until…" - Emet stuttered as the images of Edwin's death came to his mind, the aching memory. He despised it, despised that even after all this, he still saw Apollo in him, still grieved over his demise.
"He came from a time when his star was ravaged by the Final Days, much like it is now, and he came for answers." - This made absolutely no sense. Edwin was dead and gone; not even Hades could pluck his soul from the First's aetheric stream.
"And what were these answers?"
"It was not until the three of you met me was the truth was revealed. When the truth of his intentions and nature was discerned, we gathered in my apartment, where he told us everything."
"Everything?"
"Aye…Of the cataclysm that shall engulf the star and brink our people to sacrifice, of Zodiark's summoning and my creation of Hydaelyn. Of the sundering and seven calamities, of the beautiful world he came from." - She recounted as Hades scoffed. He could hardly call the sundered world beautiful, yet it was hardly surprising for Venat to see hope even when there was none. "Much did he tell of your own path, of your identities as the founder of Allag and Garlemald, of the Emperor Solus zos Galvus who manipulated people of the source to bring them to a brink. He told of your work on the First, of an attempt to destroy this shard and usher in another calamity. He told me everything, up until the moment he was on his path to becoming a lighwarden…" - She stuttered as if still struggling to believe the truth she was about to say. "Yet in his tale, it was he that triumphed." - This could not have gone any other way, and Emet had a feeling after realizing that Edwin lived so far, this could not have been the same world. Ascian couldn't help but chuckle at his mind, wondering if G'raha would be overjoyed to hear that there is a world where his plan worked to perfection or devastated to realize that he is not a part of it.
"Bested by a mortal…" - Emet sighed, yet there was no shame in his words. Edwin was not just a mortal; he was a hero who bore the soul of a dearest friend, a warrior that Hades put his hopes into. If his fate was to perish in their battle for Amaurot, there were many worse ends.
"Such was the fate that befell your comrade, Elidibus, soon after."
"Amon must have been overjoyed." - A truly gruesome image. At least Hades's presence didn't allow that monster to feel entirely safe.
"By his design were the final days brought upon the star again, and so Edwin journeyed unto the past to uncover the truth…" - Hydaelyn spoke with shame. ""Twas my belief that his future is the inevitable consequence of whatever path we shall take, yet I was proven wrong. There was not a single day after your victory on the First that I did not muse on how it came to such deviation."
"I met a man…Crystal Exarch brought the Syrcus Tower to the First from another future. It was his belief that if he shall alter the events that led him there, so shall he perish, too. Much to my disappointment that did not happen."
"I see…"
"You are avoiding the main topic." - Emet said starkly, looking Venat in the eyes, unable to cope with his anticipation. "Do you know what caused the Final Days?"
"Aye…It was Hermes." - As much as Amon told him. Emet failed to comprehend how such a gentle soul was able to stir up such chaos, but he was willing to listen.
"Tell me everything, then."
"When you came to assess him before granting him the seat of Fandaniel, Hermes was amidst a search for answers which enthralled his mind. He was unhappy with the world he lived in, struggling to find connection with his peers, feeling pain at seeing any creation discarded…" - This certainly sounded like Hermes. Emet could never understand his struggles, to comprehend why he places so much worth on concepts that come into their world and have to be rewritten. "He saw life as a cycle that we are entrapped in, struggled to find meaning in his own existence, he could not accept his mentor returning to the star…Thus did he search for an answer. He researched the depths of dynamis and created an entelechy that could transcend stars, Meteion." - Emet knew of dynamis, a discovery which Hermes enlightened him on. When he discovered what caused the stagnation of aether currents and the creation of horrific beasts, he explained the principles of those energy sources. The creature was of more interest to the ascian.
"Meteion…I have a vague recollection of her. A bird-like creature that I witnessed in Ktisis Hyperboreia, a consciousness of her and her sisters, was it? She was destroyed of her own volition, activating the Kairos…Or so I was led to believe." - He said with suspicion.
"That is a lie etched in your mind by Kairos. In truth, Meteion was not destroyed but completed her search. Her sisters traversed countless worlds in search of an answer to Hermes's question, 'What gives life meaning?'"
"I always told him that it is our duty to choose our own meaning." - Hades said, thinking back to Hermes's countless musings during his time on the Convocation. "Poor fool, this was never enough for him…"
"Yet the answers Meteion found were not what any of us would have expected. Her tales were of war, hunger, complacency, despair, and pain, all manifesting differently on each star. So many different tales, all with a single end…A dead end." - She spoke with pain. "Hermes was affected by those answers the most. In a desperate attempt to listen to the entirety of her report, he stood against all of us, taking Meteion to Ktisis. When we came, "twas too late. She was overcome with despair before our eyes, coming to a conclusion…That the only way for one to transcend suffering is to give up on life altogether. With such mind did she come to a decision to reunite with her sisters on the outer edges of the sea of stars and sing her song, empowering dynamis and forcing us to manifest our greatest fears and horrors with our magics. Once her song reached us, the final days began." - A stinging irony, Hades was unsure whether he should fume or laugh at this.
"And Hermes?" - The ascian asked.
"He sided with her even after this decision. It was his order to activate Kairos and wipe all of our memories, including his own. His attempt was successful only in part, as you, Hythlodaeus, and he had fallen to its influence. I and Edwin, however, managed to escape through the congruence." - As she spoke of it, disdain began to glister once again in Emet's veins. For a moment, he felt relief when talking to Venat, knowing that she still retained her mind and memory, the last two of the Unsundered in this entire world. But once again, was he reminded of a bitter truth.
"I hope you have a good reason for not telling us…" - Emet clenched his teeth, desperately trying not to jump to conclusions.
"Doing so would alienate Hermes in the eyes of the Convocation and rid us of a brilliant mind that made a key discovery on the path to forestalling the final days."
"One man against fourteen…Do you truly believe that we wouldn't have forced him to cooperate?"
"His will is stronger than to simply bend due to force…This must have come naturally." - Venat sighed, still not convincing Hades. "Yet I did not give up our world until the very last. I knew of the future, yet I believed it could be prevented, that we would be able to move on after the creation of Zodiark. This would have shaken our people and society, aye, but to accept suffering is necessary to forge ahead during our lives. Every paradise would be brought to its knees one day; any great Empire turned to ash. Ours is the duty to rise above it and become stronger for it."
"And so we did! "- Emet shouted with disdain. Do you know how much each of us suffered? How many friends or loved ones did every single one of us lose? How many tears have fallen on the ground? You were there. You saw every single day!"
"I saw complacency and inability to let go…The Convocation considered a third sacrifice, the one that would claim innocent life to bring back our loved ones. So did I set out to form my own faction and create a force that would put an end to the cycle."
"You idiot…You wished to shackle Zodiark, and instead of telling us the truth, you tried to do everything yourself? You always were too reckless for your own good, leaving consequences as devastating as they were unintended!" - Emet raged, though he still refused to accept the answer before him.
"The consequences were not unintended."
"W…" - Hades stuttered and recoiled at those words; the ascian reflexively teleported further away from Venat as the icy chills pierced his spine. No, he must have heard it wrong; this couldn't… "What?!"
"I do not blame you for reacting as such." - Hydaelyn looked to the crystal floor. "There was no kindness nor justice in what I had done, but it was our only way. Mankind grew weak; their inability to abandon paradise would render them vulnerable. Our people forgot what it is to suffer, but Edwin's people had to face it every day. Our souls were also too thick to interact with dynamis directly, unlike that of the sundered, and when I got my final confirmation, I made a final decision. I shall sunder mankind into fourteen reflections; they will come to know unbearable darkness and pain in their lifetime; theirs would be a never-ending quest, for they will lose their wings. And at the end of this path, when they have finally realized the truth, when they see that to live is to suffer…There would be light everlasting to greet them."
Hades sensed regret in her voice, but this did nothing to quell his fury. He never knew the true intentions of Hydaelyn, but there was always hope within him that this tragedy was an accident with her real target being Zodiark, or at least that by that time, Venat's mind was utterly overtaken by her primal. Yet here she was, sane and with all their memories, admitting to murdering all of his remaining brethren. Their screams echoed in his ears, the image of his people being torn asunder and becoming aberrations was on repeat in Hades's mind, and nothing could divert his mind from this horrifying picture.
"And…" - Hades could barely force himself to speak. "What of us…Of the Unsundered?"
"I knew of how major your involvement was; in many ways, yours were the actions that brought Edwin to Elpis. Your role in this tale was a necessity. Thus did I leave a small crack in my attack, surrounded by the congruence that would call to your deepest memories, those that were erased by Kairos. None in Amaurot would sense it but you; this crack took you to the rift between the worlds, returning you once the deed was done." - She spoke gravely.
"I wasn't…I wasn't alone…"
"Edwin told me of Lahabrea and Elidibus's involvement, though in much less detail. They had a role to play, yet I could not afford to make multiple cracks. They had no memories buried in their subconscious and so would not be the only ones to hear a voice calling out to them. I prayed that this tale would still lead to our meeting even without them, and yet…By fate's hand, they were your companions the moment you heard the call. You asked for their help, which they offered, and thus one Unsundered became three. It was this coincidence that made me truly believe that we were going unto a single outcome. A belief I kept until Edwin perished in the depths of the Tempest…"
"You…" - Emet's lips quivered, and his hands shook frantically. Another image appeared before him, that of his last meeting with Elidibus in phantom Amaurot. A young and noble soul who went through the most pain out of them all, the one who sacrificed himself for Zodiark despite not being forced by anyone. The one who heard countless tormented voices, the one that saw this world sundered. A man who forsook his identity in the name of his duty, a man who would give everything to restore his home, still doubting and unable to hide his tears and doubts, always forgetting bliss and never suffering. "You did this to us…" - Another image emerged, this time of Lahabrea. A father who desperately fought to bring his people back, before and after the sundering. The oldest and wisest of them all, a true paragon of virtue and nobility. He remembered him cackling as the power corrupted him, enjoying the suffering he brought upon others. Yet anytime Emet heard it, he could hear something else. A scream of despair. "You lied." - How many tears did Emet shed for the loss of his friends? He lost the count, even though no one but him ever saw the ascian in such a state. It was a miserable path he walked.
"I shall not seek forgiveness nor understanding, for I know that is not what I deserve." - A tear fell from Venat's eyes as she saw ones on Emet's face. "But this is in the past now, and the Final Days are upon us again. You possess strength that can rival that of Edwin, and only together may we…"
"No." - Hades spoke monotonously and quietly, almost like a tempered thrall, but his soul screamed in a fury. He looked up, piercing Hydaelyn's eyes with his empty gaze, realizing that this was the only outcome they could have achieved; he was a fool for thinking otherwise, even for a single moment. The fury emerged slowly, most of it still unable to pierce through the shock Hades experienced, but the ascian knew what must be done. "So many lifetimes past us, yet only a few precious things could divert the Unsundered from our holy cause, now an opportunity presents itself." - He took a deep breath and finally spoke with clarity. "I will not abandon our cause, and I will prove you and Hermes wrong. I…I will give our people the chance they deserve. I will do that in the last few days that this world has left, but today…Today I kill you, Venat." - He spoke in a venomous voice as shadows began to gather behind him. Venat looked at him with disappointment and sorrow but no surprise at all. She knew how this was going to end, just like Hades.
"It pains me to see it come to this…" - Venat spoke, and a blade of glimmering light emerged in her hand. "It is with great shame and grief that I shall clash with you, but I have a cause to pursue just as well, and I shall never forsake it." - Finally, some determination. Breaking her resolve would be a sheer pleasure.
"Come now, no need for pretense…You murdered thousands of our people on that day; you decried them as hopeless." - Hades's hatred swirled around him, forcing him to transform. Venat showed him her true face. It was only fair for him to repay in kind. "Don't insult my intelligence and assume I will believe that you will suffer any hesitation before ending me."
Venat charged at him next second; she must have known that were she to linger, he would only grow more powerful. Still, the ascian was fully prepared for such a turn. An aura of darkness so powerful emerged around him that even Venat's blade could deal only a few smallest cracks in this shell. Emet wondered if this was how it felt to truly enjoy the moment, to forget about your future, and live to your fullest now. If only Zenos was here, Solus would have told him that now he understood.
"You lied to us; you watched as we sacrificed our own to Zodiark; you watched as we died to the beasts that swarmed our streets! You dare to preach of strength. You dare to judge those who did everything in their power to save their loved ones, everything!" - Emet spoke as Venat pressed on. It became harder for him with every word as the burning pain festered on his body. "You and you alone deemed us unfit to live because of your moral standards, and then you murdered them! You murdered them all! All except for the three of us, the three that you set upon a path of slaughter, insanity, grief, and destruction! You doomed all of us, including Themis, the one who was a hero you will never be! And in the end…You still expected us to die, all in an attempt to preserve your goddamn timeline!"
"You do not…"
Venat could not finish speaking, for the dark explosion pushed the goddess back. When the flood had settled, a creature of Ebony night emerged upon her. A transformed ascian in an image of Zodiark, carrying the stars of a sorcerer in his hand.
"You wanted us to die, but I survived! In spite of the timeline, in spite of the hero to whom you granted your blessing, in spite of his crystal ally, in spite of my incompetent bloodline turning my Empire into dust…I lived, and I will give you what you deserve." - The creature spoke in a demonic voice, preparing to unleash aetheric blasts upon the goddess. This would distract her enough to strike her with something more hurtful.
"Very well, then, enact your judgment!" - Venat declared as the blue light surrounded her. "You will find me just as persistent as the Unsundered ever were!"
With those words, she plunged the blade of light into the ground, and a cutting wave spread through their arena in the form of the cross. This was an essence of a power so strong that it could split up one's essence. Emet dodged this hit, but even the slither of light that touched him was enough for the ascian to feel the agony a more powerful version of this would bring.
His next move were the rays of darkness. Hades pulled his staff into the air, infecting the floor beneath them in darkness. This slithering power surrounded Venat, emerging one by one in an attempt to break her slowly.
"Your darkness has no power here, not in the place where light reigns!" - Venat imbued her blade once again, purging the darkened essence from beneath her.
"Fond of your powers, are you?" - Emet said mockingly. "Come, then! Sunder me like the rest of us, make me a sniveling, formless abomination crawling before you! That's what you want, is it not? To purge the last reminder of your failure, to make me as pathetic as you have become!"
His spite fueled the creation magics, creating a combination fit to slaughter gods. Dozen aetheric mirrors emerged on all sides of the platform, pointing at Venat. Even the goddess did not expect them to form so quickly and perfectly, and so she had to suffer the piercing burns.
"Painful, isn't it?" - Hades said as he heard Venat grunt.
"Do you think that pain can slow me down? I have gone through centuries of pain…Whatever you inflict upon me will never come close." - She retorted as the crimson shining emerged around her. In the next instant, the outer edges of the platform were overtaken by a mighty wave of light. It erased all mirrors before Hades could react. The ascian took the brunt, once again feeling the light that corroded him. Still, he remained resilient.
"I know that I can never inflict pain upon you that is equal to what we have suffered…What they have suffered, but heavens know, I will do my best! My only regret is for those myriads of souls that are not here to see their tormentor brought to justice." - He attempted to strike her once again, but Hydaelyn flew upwards, avoiding Emet's darkness. "Going already?"
"Never." - The goddess began to draw power from the crystal. The ascian knew that she would take use everything in her arsenal to annihilate him but did not expect this to happen so soon. He transformed once again, this time creating ebony wings behind his back. The sorcerer sprung into the air, leaving a dark stain on the crystal floor.
Moments before he reached her, the dark aura blocked Hades's path. The umbral energy was so strong that the burn caused him to descend. The ascian tried not to shout in agony as the realm around him began to transform into light, scorching his skin and eyes. He was tossed back to the crystal platform while desperately trying to balance out light with his darkness. The goddess looked down on him with hurting eyes.
"Everywhere I went, I saw complacency, inability to accept the loss. People I saw turned to Zodiark in blind worship, their wills corroded to be forever extinguished. Mankind needed to find another way to persevere, and so I enacted my judgment!" - With those words, she created chains of light that bound the ascian back to his resting place. Six crystals appeared around him, each of them pulsing with light and forcing the ascian into an agonizing cage.
"And yet in your judgment…You created a world where our sundered brethren murder each other for power…and profit, erase the history of the past, have no concern for the land…and succumb to their mortal desires. And here you are, watching your creations…with a twisted sense of pride…Still clinging to your wings." - Even while in such horrific pain, the ascian spared no words for her. He wanted her to feel it, to feel the sins of eternity coming back to haunt her, to annihilate her soul piece by piece.
"And if you continue this defiance, then I shall have to clip yours." - Venat retorted.
Many would have given up on such resistance, but Emet-Selch was not one of them. He shouldered the burden their people were entrusted upon ever since that fateful day, and though their numbers decreased, the remaining ones forever continued to carry the torch for those who have fallen.
Today he fought for all of them, but especially for his two brothers that walked this path with him, forever leaving him just before getting an opportunity for vengeance. Thinking of Themis and Hephaistos, Hades called upon his inner darkness, the limits that he has rarely ever broken.
"DIE!" - The ascian created a cloud of darkness around him. It was powerful enough to strip those crystals of their light, making them into empty husks devoid of any power; he rejoiced as he witnessed their vessels become grey.
"So quickly…Your skill has ever been unmatched." - Venat took her blade out once again, preparing to block the incoming onslaught from Emet. The dark creature rose into the azure stream, not looking away from Venat even for a single second.
"I saw Hephaistos weep over what you turned his sone into, over civilization that you stole from us, our friends, our loved ones…I saw him become insane in his pursuit, cackle in his fanaticism and desire to engulf this world in darkness for a slither of hope for Amaurot. I saw Themis lose his memories, forget everything that made him the man he is except duty…They shared the path I walked, and I will bring them retribution!"
The ascian flew towards the goddess, but she evaded and sliced his wing with a blade of light. Hades grunted as the wound emerged in his wing, desperately draining him back to the ground. Venat attempted to strike again, this time from behind, but Emet was quick to react and clutch one of her wings, infusing it with the darkness of his claws.
"If this is to be the end of our people, then I will drag you into the same oblivion you doomed us to!" - Hades shouted as he felt Venat's pain.
He continued to fight, dragging the goddess with him. Wound after wound, his claws left purple and black stains on Hydaelyn's essence. He knew that she could barely hold herself from screaming as both of them descended. Hades was not without injuries, too. The blade of light sliced his skin, making the ascian feel that his wings were consumed by hellfire.
When Hydaelyn attempted to pierce Emet once again, he rushed as quickly as possible and clawed her face; even the mighty goddess could not avoid screaming in agony.
"Enough! "- Venat shouted and summoned a giant wave of light which flew towards their arena. The sheer sight of it filled Emet with nostalgia for a past long gone.
"Ah, I see how the flood of light came to be…" - Emet smiled. "How ironic, you must have known that most of the First are fated to die in flood, and yet you have done so little to stop it…Was that to preserve the timeline, too? I'm sure Ryne would be overjoyed to hear it!"
There was no way to evade the wave, but Emet decided to gamble. He flew towards Venat, piercing her hand with his claws and trying to snatch the blade of light from her hands; the goddess resisted with all her might, continuing to draw upon the mothercrystal's endless reservoirs of light. Unfortunately for Hades, his attempts bore little fruit as the wave forced the two to separate once again. This time the ascian hardly screamed; this pain became less noticeable with every new spell.
"I did it to preserve our future! We cannot cling to the past when such destruction is upon us. To pave a new way for mankind was the only way!" - Venat stood stalwart in her convictions. Alas, Hades knew her to be wrong, and it was not any of the Ancients that proved it but Emet's most horrific nemesis.
"Tell me, then, why did I enter a clash with G'raha Tia…A man who came from a doomed future, a future where all of his friends have perished in a calamity…Why did he, a sundered broken whelp, transcend the goddamn time to unwrite history?! He gave everything for his cause which was the annihilation of mine! Step by step, he took what little I had left; he killed Zodiark! Can you comprehend the unimaginable lengths he went to save his people? Meanwhile, you, a woman of the old, an ancient with the power of creation and knowledge…Surrendered to fate, you're perceived as inevitable? Even sundered would be disgusted!"
With those words, Emet, once again fueling his creation by spite and hatred, formed explosive spheres around Venat. Despite the ascian's hopes, none of it was enough to wound the goddess. Hydaelyn still had enough power to form barriers around herself. Explosions forced cracks unto her impenetrable cover, but no more than that.
"Perhaps this can serve a lesson to you, the one who never saw the sundered as our equals…" - Venat retorted. "I made my own choices, and the Exarch made him; I shall not judge him over them."
"How very convenient for you, too scared to face your hypocrisy?"
"Have I not told you that I believed in our people until there was no room for doubt? I will never claim to understand the pain you felt, the path you walked…But nor it is for you to decide for me!" - Venat created a lake of light around her, which made it harder for Hades to get close, but the ascian did not have to. He summoned arcane disks, which fell to the ground one after another, slowly draining Hydaelyn of energy and power. "Our people gave their all for Zodiark; they made their choice, and in this was their failing!"
"We gave everything to Zodiark because, unlike you, he gave us hope…All those heroes that gave away their lives were an inspiration to those that remained. Bringing them back was both our desire and duty!" - Hades forced three disks to explode at the same time, forcing Hydaelyn to tremble and her shield to shatter.
"And you would see the newly-born lives sacrificed for it. To engage in a cycle of violence that punishes those who did not deserve it for your own benefit, that is a deed unworthy of any star's steward!"
"And what would you have us do?! Our brethren were still there, suffering for an eternity and never able to see the light. Would you have told us the truth, this might never have come to pass…" - Hades spoke with agony, for he knew how difficult this decision was for the Convocation. They never reached a consensus, but those that argued for it did so with heavy hearts, showing how truly desperate their people have become. "Sacrifice was the only way, our souls or not!"
"Apollo did not believe so."
"DON'T YOU DARE!" - Of everything spiteful, of any trick Hydaelyn could have employed, this was by far the worst. Hades's wings burst with dark energy once again, and they were forced to clash with Venat once again.
The divinity believed herself untouchable, ugly to be proven wrong in how much she underestimated Emet's rage. He was so fast that even her blade proved too faint. Hades clawed one of her wings, pulling it towards himself.
"Do not dare speak of him! You did not know him!"
"I knew him well before he even considered taking up the seat of Azem. We both knew that he would never be content with simply following another's lead! He…Aaargh!"
Hydaelyn screeched as Emet tore her wing off, tossing it into the boundless stream moments before it dissipated. Venat could barely regain her composure; the pain must have been gnarling, exactly how Hades wished it to be. It was just the beginning of her torment, but the moment of Hades becoming the last of his kind drew near. It was a moment of confidence that Venat utilized to get the upper hand. Once again, drawing her strength from the crystal's aether. An explosion of light followed, separating the two.
"Stop while you still can!" - The goddess pleaded. "We have to work together to stop the Cataclysm…Or is this the end you wanted for our people? For the last two survivors to murder each other in a fit of rage?!
"I learned this lesson of violence from the sundered, the ones you call your children…Thought you should start calling the brothers and sisters, for you are one of them, have been ever since you plunged that blade of light into our star!" - Emet rose up again, unwilling to back down. One way or another, he will see to retribution, to vengeance that took over his heart, a shameless feeling of desire, of justice.
"If you continue to fight…There will be no hope for mankind, no one to save those people…There are our brethren among them; their souls are still in the cycle. Would you not do this, at least for them?"
"Brethren, you say?" - A funny thought occurred to Hades as he thought of the two constellation crystals that he brought all the way here. He manifested one of them in his hand, the crystal gleaming with the orange light akin to the sun at dawn. "I have no brethren left, no brothers, none but memories. Yet it is in memory that I have found my greatest strength, now and always. This crystal I made for no other reason but a memory, for Azem to call to his friends in the time of direst need. But with my creation magic imbuing it, it can be a truly powerful tool…For now, I am in the direst of needs."
Hades empowered the crystal of Azem, forcing it to gleam brighter than the mothercrystal. Hydaelyn, too, felt the disturbance.
The ascian had never used this crystal before out of respect for his fallen friend, but now was exactly the time for the last resort. He did not know the result he wanted to get, but the picture inside his mind was clear. A miracle followed, which both Emet and Hydaelyn watched in the purest awe. Thirteen pillars of light arose between them, and in each was a lone shade. They were Hades's creation, but something imbued them with power beyond the capabilities of a simple arcane entity. Emet could not comprehend how it was possible, but in each of those reflections, he sensed a fragment…A small fragment of a soul, each with its unique color. The call was heard from across the stream, and the Underworld itself responded by imbuing them with the essence which cannot be replicated.
"It was our choice to make, not yours! "- Emet shouted as the shades surrounded him; each was prepared to attack at will. "It was the Convocation's duty to steer the star upon its true course. That was the promise we all gave!"
"And you made the wrong choice." - Venat showed no signs of fear. "I remember the tales Meteion brought from the sea of stars. I heard of worlds consumed by war, plague, strife…But there was one in which people perished voluntarily. They achieved the perfection for which they strived for so long, and in forsaking their suffering, they also lost sight of their joys. Thus did they call upon a deity that was supposed to bring them eternal relief and end all life. We were on this course, the same one the Convocation steered us upon, and something, anything needed to be done to avoid this end!"
"And so you decided to doom us all here and now…How noble."
"I did what I had to do. If you are still going to fight, then come; I will not hold back!"
She only needed to ask; for now, Hades wasn't alone. The shade with the yellow souls acted first, summoning blooming vines from beneath the ground, entrapping Hydaelyn between them. The plant grew stronger with each moment, and the moment she attempted to get out, a shade with grey soul let out a bright flash that empowered the vines with life, making them grow twice as fast. Emet wasted no time in his attempts to weaken Hydaelyn with darkness, but it was not long until she broke away from this prison.
"See what we can do together?" - Hades wished to see her tremble.
"Still not enough!"
Venat attempted to strike Hades, but a powerful wave of primal wind pushed her aside. It came from a shade with a crimson soul that was waiting for a perfect moment. While Venat was distracted, a brick-red light glimmered before her. Another shade, this one with a blade in its hand, was about to enact its judgment. Venat was quick to push it aside with a blade of light, putting a wound through the shade.
"I hope you remember each and every one of them, for you took everything from us!" - Emet continued, launching an array of dark aetheric arrows into Venat. The goddess grunted as her bones ached under this weight.
She launched her own arrows, but those were immediately consumed by a wall of fire created by a shade with an azure spirit. Even in death, his flames of creation burned with an unmatched passion.
"How…" - Venat breathed heavily, but this was far from the end. The ground beneath her trembled, obeying the shade with a bright green soul. As if this wasn't enough to make it harder for Hydaelyn to stand, the shade with a bright violet soul unleashed a wave of water to cloud Hydaelyn's sight and weaken her resilience.
"You…Stop!" - The goddess shouted, as one after another, the arcane arrows sent forth by a cyan soul pierced her, supported by the pink soul's resolve. Each second made more unbearable for Venat.
"Never." - Emet said with pride, as his own magic aided him in the battle. Venat tried to cast another spell, yet the time was frozen by a split second. A shade with a dark blue soul saw to that. Another one, possessing a dark green soul, took this as an opportunity to unleash her dark magic and extinguish the forming spell in Hydaelyn's hand, burning her once again.
"Tired of us yet?" - Hades mocked her while the goddess continued to resist silently. He knew that she was on edge; it wouldn't be long before she collapsed.
Two shades retreated from the fight and stood beside Emet. One of them possessed an orange soul and brimmed with light, while the other's was white, and he was an embodiment of balance. Emet threw a grieving glance at the orange soul that was eager to fight beside him, to grant Hades his aid and energy, no matter what it was that they faced. If only it could forever remain so…
Emet and the orange shade began to imbue white shade with combined powers of darkness and light; within his essence, they did not consume each other but existed in a perpetual cycle of combat, a cycle that empowered their being and made a perfect fit for one final blast.
Before Hydaelyn could act, the white shade unleashed a ray of twilight that pierced Venat and forced her to the ground. The blade of light immediately dissipated from her hands, leaving the goddess without her weapon. As she looked up, she watched Hades stand triumphant, surrounded by the shades of the Convocation.
"There could only be one way for this to end, and this is it." - The ascian declared triumphantly. "I want you to watch all of them in the eyes, the shades of those who you murdered, who you forced to suffer for eons, all for a flimsy promise of a future that never came to be."
"I hoped…" - She breathed with pain. "I hoped that we could fix this together, and then…If there truly is a light in the darkness, would we face each other in earnest? But I see that you are not concerned with this world's survival, with its future…Perhaps I am in no position to blame you, but no matter how sundered, this is still our world. This is still Eitheyris."
"Of course, you would have the hall to say this after all you have done. I wish I could say that I would remember you as the woman you were, not the monster you became…But you never changed, have you?"
"Perhaps, perhaps not…" - Venat let out a smile. "But there is only one who never changed, and that is you. Did you truly believe I've given up?"
Hydaelyn called upon the crystal again. The wave of light emerged so quickly it blinded Hades for a few moments. The ascian and his shades were pushed aside as Venat sprung into the air, imbued by primordial light. Her wounds healed, and the wing regrew again moments before the blade of light was restored once again. She brimmed with unrivaled power.
"Now, let us proceed to the true judgment!" - She said with eagerness. Hades attempted to fight Venat, but she sliced his hand and pushed the ascian to the edge. While he was restoring his balance, she exterminated all shades, one after another. Whatever semblance of souls Azem's crystal could imbue them with has dissipated as their fabric unraveled. Soon, there were none left except him and her. Emet's power was limited in this place, but her connection with the crystal gave endless boons. No matter how much he fights, she would return stronger if she so wished. It would cost her a lot of aether, but Venat had enough to utilize.
"This place is an adobe of light!" - She spoke, driven to the edge by Hades's antics. "You may toy all you want, you may try to end me and my work, but I will not surrender! I waited twelve thousand years for this dream to become a reality, even if there is as much as the smallest chance…Thou will not take it away from me!" - She stood victorious, and if she wanted, she could have ended Hades there and now. The undertones of mercy still played in her soul, and this was her grave mistake. Perhaps it was true that Emet could not pierce her heart, but he did not need to.
"I should have realized sooner…" - The ascian chuckled. "Death is too swift for you, but there are many other methods…You spoke of clipping wings if I recall, and perhaps, this is the exact time for you to experience that which you enforced upon mankind. It is time for you to live and thus to suffer."
"What are you…"
An explosion of darkness pushed Hydaelyn aside as Hades reclaimed his wings. He knew his course was reckless and perhaps suicidal, but this was his only chance at breaking her, and there was little to lose even should he fail. Venat wanted him to submit, but he would never obey her. It was better to die in a glorious fire that succumbed to her.
The ascian flew as swiftly as possible towards the mothercrystal, hoarding every potential limit of the dark power within him. So much light in one place, a true gift for Hydaelyn and her powers. The ascian would see it squashed.
"NO!" - For the first time, the goddess yelled in fear. Venat attempted to unleash another spell of light, so swift that it would wound the ascian and force him to the ground. When this magical arrow hit Hades, he felt the surge of pain and chaos, for a moment he was about to lose control of his own magics. Flying became almost impossible, and moments before reaching the crystal, Emet realized that something was lost. It was too late to go back now.
Like a dark arrow, Hades pierced the crystal's, golden heart. The ascian would have screamed from the agony that was scorching his soul if he had any power left. He felt as if his bones were shattering and his wings torn apart, all while someone was clawing through his wounds. Even thoughts did not come without agonizing pain. Cracks of light began to form among the dark vessel, which fused with the light around the crystal. The astral corruption has finally taken root. The ascian felt cracks emerging on the crystal's shell, how its bonds became more fragile with every passing second.
It will break right before her eyes. The image of this happening was enough to fill Hades's heart with determination, even if he felt like his soul could be extinguished at any second. There was no power left to corrupt the crystal with or fight Hydaelyn, and the pain, the memories of sundering and his friends, they made it impossible to think. At this moment, Hades could only think of a single, fleeting place to bring himself as far away from this horrific reminder as he could.
And so he closed his burning eyes and, through piercing pain, reached for the rift once again.