Part 5 - Blood of the King

Chapter 110 - Memories

A few days had passed in Bastria, or what felt like it at least. Certainly, any analogue watches would confirm three had passed since the destruction. Miles, Gwen and Charlotte had reserved some hope that their son and brother would appear. Ganke, Grace and Jacob shared the same sentiment, as did Edward and Lisa. Even Teresa held out a little hope, but she knew clinging to people caused nothing but more pain and suffering so she kept it managed. The mood in the afterlife was sombre as billions gathered at the funeral.

"Maximilian Morales-Stacy: one of the greatest heroes we will ever see, and it is unlikely we will see another like him for a long time. There are some of us who are angry at what was lost to vanquish the greatest evil, but deep down even you know what he did was right. He was only fifteen, but still he made a sacrifice no other was willing to make, nor to let him make. Perhaps, in time, his story will fade into the confines of history, or myth, or legend; still he will inspire others to work to better the lives of those around him."

"Dei Volente. Brother. Hear us."

Nothing, but everything. It was the only way to describe what Dei Volente felt as he woke from a sleep which could have lasted for seconds, minutes, hours, days, months, years. Was this death for a High Elder God, or was it just a beginning?

"I hear you."

"You have been asleep."

"Did I do it? Did it work? Is…Khahrahk dead?"

"He is lost in nothingness. He will not return."

"And the omniverse?"

"Dead, yet alive."

"Open your eyes, brother." Said the third.

Dei Volente did, slowly but surely. Everything was bright and he could see the other High Elder Gods as silhouettes.

"How long has it been?"

"Three days. Even the dead mourn you." Replied the second.

"Will I be able to go back? Or is my physical body gone forever?"

"You may return, or you may not." Said the first.

Dei Volente wondered for a second, deciding if he should return to the physical world or remain in this state of nothing but everything.

"A time will come when you will remain with us, but it is written you will return. The worlds will not rest, and you have the power to right all."

"Then I'll go back."

"So be it."

Ganke was staring out at the dull afterlife from a balcony. In the building behind him, hundreds were gathered sharing memories of Max. Soon their talk would move on to other things and he would be forgotten by those who weren't as close to him. Ganke would miss his godson a lot. Suddenly, someone tapped his shoulder making him jump a little.

"I want to be alone."

"Oh. I was just wondering what party I'm crashing."

That voice…no, it wasn't possible. Ganke turned and stared in shock.

"Max!? But…how? And where have you been?"

"Well…it was very bright and I spoke to the other High Elder Gods and they said I've still got stuff to do down in whatever's left of the omniverse. Apparently I was asleep, which doesn't surprise me."

Ganke pulled his godson into a tight hug which caught him off guard.

"Since when do you hug, Uncle G?"

"Since I lost my godson. You know you're all I've really got, right?"

"I'm sure Jacob would have kept you company."

"He might have."

"So…what party am I crashing?"

"Your own funeral reception."

"Cool. I always wanted to be one of those guys who turns up to their own funeral. The ultimate prank."

"I'm gonna stay out here; it's really crowded in there and I don't want to talk to your physics teacher."

"I'll be back. See ya, Uncle G."

Miles held Gwen tightly. They were sitting next to each other at the edge of the crowded hall, trying to avoid all the attention. Suddenly, there was a pop next to them. Miles looked to see what it was and frowned. He had to be hallucinating.

"Err…Gwen. Am I going crazy or is Max actually sitting there?"

"He's dead, Miles."

"No, look."

Gwen sighed and pulled free from Miles' arms to look. She stared in shock. Max raised a hand and gave a small wave. He had his feet up on the chair next to him and was casually sipping a can of Coca Cola.

"Yo."

His parents said nothing.

"Well…that's my parents braindead."

He stood up as if to leave.

"Max, wait!"

They stood up as well.

"How?" Was all Gwen asked.

"I guess it takes more than a few multiverses collapsing on my head to kill me now."

"So, you're still alive? You're still a High Elder God?" Pressed Miles.

"Yep."

He twisted his hip a little to flash his sword that had also somehow survived. Gwen pulled him into a tight hug, ignoring the tears of joy she felt rolling down her cheeks.

"I love you, Max."

"I love you too, Mum."

She wanted to look him in the eyes, but didn't want to be blasted with a vision. When she finally let him go, Miles put a hand on his shoulder.

"I'm proud of you."

By now, the news that Max was alive was rippling through the hall. People were gathering to see if it was true. Max turned to them, being careful not to make eye contact with any. Ganke hadn't been joking when he said his old physics teacher was here. A few other teachers of his were here too, as well as everyone else that could be expected, minus Grace. He suspected everyone wanted him to say something elaborate that could be written down and quoted by someone in a few hundreds years when they needed inspiration, but he just grinned.

When the God finally escaped from his funeral reception, he set about trying to find Grace. Jacob had said she often spent a lot of time in the knock-off of Central Park that seemed to have cropped up. Bastria truly was a mystery, even to Max. However, as he headed in that direction, a thin mist drifted down and surrounded him, turning into a thick fog.

"Hello, Death."

"You have fulfilled your destiny, Dei Volente. In doing so, mortal and immortal alike owes you a great debt."

"I know what you mean by 'the Elders await', now."

"It was written on the currents of time from their beginnings."

"It looks kinda strange, doesn't it. Like, you can see it but you can't."

"You continue to look at all through the eyes of a mortal. When you ascend to live permanently amongst your brothers and sisters, you will see it as I and they do."

"I'm still new to the whole being a God thing. Give me some time and I'll figure all of it out."

"Do not be hasty. Unlike the souls of the dead, you have until the ends of time. I assume you see the end of all."

"I see endings and new beginnings. To quote a dragon that may or may not be here, 'even we who ride the currents of time cannot see past time's ending'."

"There is nothing more true. Farewell, Dei Volente. We will speak again soon."

The knock-off of Central Park was quite miserable. All the trees seemed to be withered and dead. Max found Grace sitting on the bench where they had first become a thing. She didn't look up when she heard someone approaching, just kept her head down and stared at the cold ground.

"This place looks in desperate need of some maintenance. I hope Death won't mind me adding some life."

Everything became brighter; the trees came back to life and green leaves sprouted from them. It was as if it was the original Central Park. Grace looked up, wondering who had the power to do something like this. Max knew what she was about to do, but it took him by surprise just how quickly she did. She pressed her lips to his. He held her tightly as they kissed, knowing that in the grand scheme of things their time left together was just a drop in the ocean. After nearly a full minute, she pulled away a little, resting her forehead against his.

"I never want to be apart again."

"I know, but it can't be that way. Noladis is in all kinds of chaos at the moment, and I have to help them. Plus the Scarlet King isn't fully dead. His physical form was obliterated, but he was an extra-dimensional being and there're a few fragments left to mop up. Nothing I'll have to end the omniverse for, but you know."

"Is this the last time we'll see each other?"

"Of course not. I'll drop by whenever I get the chance."

"How much time do we have?"

"So much to you, but so little to me."

"And what about now. How much do we have now?"

The wind in the trees went silent and everything other than the pair froze in time.

"As much as we want."

Miles and Gwen were sitting on top of a mock-up of the Empire State Building. All of Bastria was brighter now, like the worlds had never ended. Down below, people went about their business as usual.

"After everything we've been through, I never thought it would end here." Said Gwen quietly.

"Where did you think it would end? And how do you know it is the end?"

"I always thought Doc Ock would get us, or Kingpin would escape, or the Inheritors would have us for breakfast. And I'm pretty sure being dead is the end. At least, that's what everyone says."

"If the Quintari are anything to go off, the wise guys who say that stuff aren't exactly the most truthful."

"You get what I mean."

She kissed him.

"We've got some time yet. Maybe to Max we don't, but he's got a lot more than anyone else." He said.

"Let's forget about Max for now. Just you and me, like the old times."

"Old times, huh? Einstein said time is relative, so these still could be the old times."

Gwen laughed.

"Maybe it's time someone told you you don't understand what he meant by that?"

"I know what he meant. It's just fun to make the joke…like the old times."

She took his hand as the new Sun started to set.

"Come on, Spiderman. Let's go and see what the 'Spider Gang' are up to."

"OK, 'Gwanda'."

They jumped off the tower and swung away.

"Something isn't right. This wasn't how this part ended."

"What do you mean?"

"I'm not sure. It could be 3812, but time will tell, I guess."

Crossovers in this Chapter

- SCP Foundation
- Skryim (that dragon quote was Paarthuurnax, if anyone's wondering)

Note

So another part has come to an end. The omniverse has been almost completely wiped out. But is it really the end, or are things just beginning? You'll have to stick around for part six to find out!

I'm going to start releasing two chapters a day from now on so I can catch up. I'm now writing part eight, and have only just finished uploading part five!

Some Q&A

Since this is so far on in the story now, I think it's time for a little Q&A. People didn't ask most of these, but I figured I'd just put them in anyway.

1) How will the story work with Into the Spiderverse 2?
A: Narratives. Since this is a fan-fiction, it has no effect on the official narratives of the Into the Spiderverse movies (yeah, I know none of it's real but a guy can dream). The official narrative is probably parallel to Liam's, whereas this one is below his. I'd advise you read part six for more about the narrative-verse.

2) Why does it say completed on all the chapters?
A: This one actually was asked. If you don't know, there's a little button when managing a story and I decided to put it down as complete when I finished part one, because I wasn't sure where things were going from there. Then I just forgot, so when someone kindly pointed it out I went and put it back to work in progress. All fixed now!

3) Just...why?
A: Because tearing apart the established canon of every single work of fiction is fun!