I'm back everyone. Bet you weren't expecting to see me again, let alone bringing you a fresh new chapter for Accounts of the Flood Conflicts. Don't get your hopes up, this is likely going to be a one-off bit, but for all the fans of my original story multiverse, I want to at least bring this tale to some form of true ending on a high note. More on that in the notes below, for now, let's just dive right back in.
Disclaimer: Do I really need to say anything? You should all know the drill by now.
In the prison dimension known as the Void, isolated from the multiverse at large, two powerful Gods fought to keep their eldritch foe contained. The two Gods were once known as the Republic Supreme Commander and the Separatist Ruler, while their foe was the Galactimind, a billion light year in diameter Flood form housing the Gravemind's consciousness.
None of them could remember just how long they'd been fighting this endless battle, as time in the Void kept behaving erratically. Minutes could take years and centuries could take hours, but they all knew that they had been doing this for a long time now.
The pattern would constantly continue as the Republic Supreme Commander and Separatist Ruler attempted to vaporize the Galactimind in its entirety, ensuring that no trace of Flood biomatter or Precursor constructs remained.
In return, the Gravemind would retaliate with its own attacks to throw them off balance and regenerate the damage. Then it would attempt to use the opening to break free of the Void proper, but it could form no more than a crack in the dimensional walls before the two Gods recovered and repaired the damage.
There was a brief moment where the Gravemind had succeeded in managing to get a small amount of Flood outside its prison, primarily from help on the other side, but the Republic Supreme Commander had managed to contact several of their allies outside and explain the situation.
Once they were contained, the two nigh-omnipotent beings had managed to get a bit of their own power through the crack and destroy all the Flood forms on the other side, sealing it up in the process.
Since then, the Gravemind had attempted to try the same thing again, but two Gods now knew to block out any psychic summons the Gravemind tried to make, ensuring that it wouldn't happen again.
And thus, the stalemate between the three continued like this, a never ending struggle of push and pull between the two sides, one aiming to preserve life in the multiverse, the other aiming to consume it all.
And thus, that led to the current situation now, with the Void still lit up in a never ending battle as an array of cosmic power flared and the two sides tried to overcome the other.
"You think me beaten? Broken? Ashes in the wind?" The voice of the Gravemind echoed through the Void between dimensions. "I am the eternal chorus, I am the monument to your sins."
"Oh will you just. Shut! UP!" The once Separatist Ruler blasted the Galactimind's face and tore its mouth to shreds.
"What he said." The Republic Supreme Commander once more tried to vaporize the Galactimind's body entirely, but only got a third of the way through before it retaliated with a shockwave of its own.
"You cannot win, you'll never succeed." The Gravemind regenerated the damage as it spoke, before lashing out at the dimensional walls again. "Submit to my desires, give in to my needs."
Once again, a crack appeared in the dimensional walls of the Void, serving only as a window into the multiverse proper. But before the Republic and Separatist leaders could repair the damage, the window shattered and became a door.
"Not again!" The Republic Supreme Commander shouted, but he and his Separatist counterpart both paused when the Gravemind spoke.
"WHAT?! WHAT IS THIS?!" The confusion in the Galactimind's voice was palpable as it became clear to all three of them that this wasn't the Flood's allies trying to break it out.
Someone or something else was breaking in.
A whole lot of them in fact, as they could all feel a stream of presences pouring into the Void, moving to encircle the three of them, but most of them were focused on the Gravemind, and they could all feel the hostility from it as the stream began to disperse into individual presences.
The Void was no longer just the three beings alone. It was now filled with the countless souls of all the beings the Flood had consumed, as well as many more, all of whom were ready and eager to retaliate against the Gravemind.
"What-what is this?" The Separatist Ruler asked in confusion. "What is happening?"
"It's complicated." The two gods turned to see the specter of Steve Rogers floating there in his old Captain America uniform. "Let's just say we're all here to help you kill that thing for good."
Before either of them could ask what they meant, the Republic Supreme Commander and the Separatist Ruler felt a surge of energy flow through them. The souls of the dead were feeding the two of them with streams of energy, bolstering and boosting their powers even further.
The Gravemind attempted to retaliate in turn, tendrils of Flood biomatter and Star Roads lashing out against the two gods, but found that it was somehow blocked by a barrier that the two had conjured into being, one many times more powerful than they had ever created before.
Feeling their power boost exponentially, the two of them looked at each other and nodded. Before, they were at best equals to the Galactimind at full power, at worst, slightly below it. Now, that equation had changed, and while it would undoubtedly be temporary, they planned to make the most of this power while they had it.
The combined power of countless souls fueled the strength of the Supreme Commander and the Ruler, lighting up the blackened and empty Void as the Galactimind thrashed and screamed, feeling the energy burn into its form.
The two deities didn't hold back, unleashing their newfound strength against the Gravemind and the Flood, once again targeting them and them alone. Their newly enhanced power meant that they didn't even need to be inside the center of the Galactimind to ensure the best result.
The Gravemind summoned barriers around its form in an effort to protect itself, but it was all in vain. The energy shattered through the barriers and washed over the galaxy sized form, causing Flood biomatter and neural physics structures to be peeled away layer by layer.
The Galactimind screamed in agony at the sensation, feeling the same amount of suffering it had inflicted upon all the souls around it. It screamed in the trillions upon trillions of stolen voices that it had made its own, until even those voices peeled away until only its own monstrous voice remained.
Soon, even that faded away with the rest of it, as the Galactimind ceased to exist, and with it, every trace of the Flood and the Gravemind that existed. Not even a scrap of its consciousness remained as the light in the Void slowly faded away.
With the Galactimind gone for good, all the souls faded away into their respective planes of the afterlife, finally truly at peace from what the Flood had done to them all, and those that hadn't died to the Flood knowing that they had finished the greatest threat to the multiverse permanently.
Soon, the Void was empty once again, with only the Republic Supreme Commander and Separatist Ruler still present within the dimension. The two of them looked at each other in confusion and shock, still unsure how to process this chain of events.
"So... what the fuck just happened?" The Separatist Ruler asked, to which his counterpart shook his head.
"I have no idea." The Republic Supreme Commander suddenly felt his eyes water, as tears of relief started to appear. "But I think... I think this is actually over. The Gravemind, the Flood... they're all gone for good."
"Does that mean we can leave?" The Separatist Ruler asked, scarcely allowing himself to believe it. "That we can actually be free of this nightmare? That we can go home?"
"I think so." The Republic Supreme Commander raised his arm and without the need to reinforce the walls of the Void to keep the Galactimind contained, a portal within the dimensional barriers appeared. "C'mon, let's see what happened in our absence."
...
Leaving the Void should have been a joyous moment for the two Gods. They had vanquished the Gravemind and removed the Flood as a threat to the multiverse forever. The multiverse would never again have to fear their coming.
The Republic Supreme Commander and Separatist Ruler had hoped to reunite with their people and share the good news. But once they emerged from the Void, they had found that far more time had passed within the prison dimension than they had realized.
The multiverse was gone. Every universe within had succumbed to the countless eons the two of them had been imprisoned with the Galactimind and succumbed to the natural ending of time. Even the most advanced technology and powerful magic couldn't hold off entropy forever.
What was once universe upon universe stacked with countless stars, galaxies, and countless forms of life, was now nothing more than a black and empty expanse of nothingness, even to the senses of the two nigh-omnipotent humans.
Of all the souls that had just aided them, or the planes of the afterlife that they had come from and returned to, they were nowhere to be found. Strangely, from what they could sense, it wasn't that they were gone, but yet, they felt... out of reach, even for the two of them.
It was a disheartening notion for the two of them, who had gone through hell to keep the Flood contained and eventually eradicated. While they had no real intention of ever getting out of the Void when they went in, neither of them could deny that they had been feeling some hope they could see their people again.
However, despite all the universes they had known being gone, and the afterlives being out of reach, the senses of the Republic Supreme Commander and Separatist Ruler could still detect... something. Like a strange web in the stream of time itself, just out of reach of most forms of detection, but not to them.
"If the multiverse has gone, then what is all this?" The Separatist Ruler asked as the two of them looked over this strange web, and upon closer inspection, they could see flashes of images in its patterns.
"I think it's Living Time." The Supreme Commander replied as he scratched his chin in thought. "The last remnant of the multiverse we knew, containing everything that happened within itself."
They both knew of the Forerunner and Precursor concept, the idea that the universe was alive and enriched by the existence and growth of life itself. It seemed that it also had some level of reach beyond one universe and expanded into the rest of the multiverse.
Even now, with everything gone, this web of Living Time remained, pulsating everywhere, through everything. A monument to all that had come before it. And with it remaining, the two Gods could see all the events that had taken place over the course of the multiverse's eons of existence.
"We need to know what happened." The Republic Supreme Commander said as he waved his hand, allowing them to see further into its depths.
"That's something we can definitely agree on." His counterpart from the Separatists nodded as he added his power and perception to get a clearer view.
They looked within the expanse of Living Time and saw everything that had happened since they'd been gone.
They saw the Republic fighting the reborn Darth Sidious and Makuta Teridax. They saw an army unite on Spherus Magna to fight off the Makuta's army. They saw Makuta's own Great Spirit Body get destroyed, only for Teridax's essence to escape.
They watched as new heroes joined the Republic from various worlds, from Kim Possible, Ron Stoppable, Danny Phantom, the operatives of Overwatch, just to name a few. They watched as these new heroes became allies and friends with each other, developing even stronger bonds along the way.
They saw the future, where the Republic journeyed to the Andromeda galaxy in the universe of element zero. They watched as the Ancients were rediscovered within that realm, having hidden from all the events with the Flood, though they had come close to being attacked during the Tidal Wave.
There was a brief conflict during this time, as the Ancients believed that they would deserve to retake their rightful place in the multiverse. Images of the conflict briefly flitted into view of the two Gods.
...
The artificial planet was considerably larger than Meridian, but still fell noticeably short of some of the larger Forerunner constructs like Shield World 006, the Capital and Installation 00.
Still, while the Dyson Sphere was obviously Forerunner in design, there were elements of Chozo construction that could be detected, and the trace element zero signals also suggested the handiwork of the Leviathans.
There was no doubt about it; this was an Ancient created world. And the fact that it was relatively intact instead of destroyed or damaged by the Flood indicated that someone was still present on it.
...
The shielding had been designed by the Chozo using their understanding of Life energy from the Metroids. As such, it was able to block the Ignika's power from getting through, similar to Teridax's own modifications he had made all those centuries ago.
They had taken some of the unique crystals from Atmos for study, so it wasn't hard to recognize their usage. And it seemed the writing about them being crystal mages was correct.
...
Despite the massive waves of Sentinels and the formidable Chozo machines, the Republic forces held the upper hand, with the major heroes acting as a massive force multiplier, even with the Chozo using magic to help stem the tide.
...
"The Hatchling." One of the Chozo spoke up, his eyes wide. "Samus Aran."
...
"How is that possible?" One of the Forerunners asked, gesturing to the Ignika. "Who could make a mask like that?"
"That would be the Great Beings."
...
"Could it be? Have they truly surpassed us?"
...
Chozo wearing armor similar to Samus' towered over many of their opponents, and their weapons were just as deadly. Samus knew from personal experience both during training and her fight with Raven Beak on ZDR just how dangerous the Chozo could be.
At one time, they may have posed an even greater threat to even her. But that was before the Republic, before the Supreme Commander had altered her and her suit in small but dangerous ways, including removing her inherited weaknesses Metroids normally had while keeping her DNA intact, such as the weakness to cold and unending hunger.
Even still, Chozo warriors of that caliber were no laughing matter. Especially if they had the technology of the Ancients at their disposal. As much as she hated using them, she would undoubtedly need to use her Metroid abilities against the Chozo here.
...
Captain Marvel gave them no time to react, and blitzed through with rapid speed and Photon blasts. Superman effortlessly tore a War Sphinx in half while Wonder Woman carved her way through a swarm of weapon ships. The remainder of the swarm were annihilated by Thor's lightning.
...
The fight ultimately ended with the Republic victorious, with the Ancients being forced to surrender. They acknowledged that the younger races had now surpassed them, and the more reasonable leaders among the remaining Ancients agreed to a peaceful existence.
There were countless adventures after the fact, with many new species and factions emerging in the centuries and millennia after the events of the Tidal Wave. Some were peaceful and reasonable, others were hostile, but either way, the multiverse continued to flourish and new life continued to appear.
But time and the multiverse stretched on, and eventually, no universe could last forever. As thousands of years turned to millions, millions turned to billions, and billions turned to trillions, the multiverse continued to age and slowly but surely succumb to the events of time.
Even the most long lived of beings, whether through natural, technological or supernatural means, could not stave off entropy forever, and as the multiverse continued to fade around them, they no longer wished to.
Not everything about the multiverse disappeared, of course. The various planes of the afterlives were not so easily overcome by entropy, and continued to take in the souls of life as they died, but the multiverse of wonders eventually reached the end of its lifespan as all the stars winked out one by one.
Soon, all the remained was a black empty expanse of nothing, with everyone else having died and become part of the afterlives. The only living creatures beyond Living Time itself who still remained fought their neverending battle in the Void, two Gods vs the embodiment of the apocalypse itself.
But though they faded into myth, the members of the Republic and Separatists had never forgotten the sacrifice their powerful leaders had made for them, trapping themselves with the Gravemind to keep the Flood at bay forever.
And as the multiverse ended, they collectively decided to return the favor, using the power of an untold number of countless souls to empower the two Gods and finish off the Galactimind forever. It had lost, thoroughly and completely.
But for the two Gods, for the former Republic Supreme Commander and Separatist Ruler, they had emerged from their self-imposed imprisonment and victory to find that all they had known and cherished had disappeared forever, leaving them with only the threads of Living Time remaining.
As their vision ended, the two nigh-omnipotent entities were silent for a moment, taking in the magnitude of what had happened since they had been gone. It was one thing to know it happened intellectually, but to see it happen, experience it like this... it felt like a weight had settled on their shoulders.
"We could probably use our powers to go back." The now defunct Ruler of the Separatists offered. "Without the Gravemind interfering, we could reverse time, travel back to when we disappeared and rejoin our organizations."
"We could." The defunct Republic Supreme Commander agreed as they continued to watch the events that had gone by without them. "But honestly, I don't see why we should. They got on pretty well in our absence, arguably even better without us. And they certainly had long and fulfilling lives by themselves."
"That's easy for you to say." The Separatist Ruler grumbled as he crossed his arms. "Your organization survived just fine, while whatever remained of my Separatists got absorbed into your Republic. They might as well have not existed anymore."
"Let's be honest, that's hardly a bad thing." The former Supreme Commander replied snarkily, causing his opposite to glare at him. "C'mon, don't be like that." The Supreme Commander shook his head. "They've accomplished so much, it would be a shame to take that away from them."
"I suppose you're right." The Separatist Ruler admitted with a sigh. "Whatever the case, they never had to deal with the Gravemind and the Flood again. I suppose I can take some solace in that if nothing else." His tone turned introspective. "Still, that begs the question; what do we do now?"
"You get to see what comes next." A strange female voice abruptly spoke up, startling the two deities as they looked around with their powers flaring. "Easy now, boys. I don't mean you any harm."
"Forgive me for being so cautious." The Separatist Ruler snarked as he spread his awareness. "Considering we're supposed to be the last living things in all of the multiverse."
"In this multiverse, maybe." Came the reply. "But there are countless more beyond yours, teeming with life and wonders still."
"Are you saying what I think you're saying?" The Supreme Commander asked, his voice tinged with hope, yet wariness.
"Do you really believe that this is the only multiverse?" The voice asked them. "And do you really believe that all you've grown to know and love is gone forever?"
"Isn't it?" The Supreme Commander couldn't help but ask.
"Existence moves on in a cycle, young one." The voice replied cheekily. "Especially in the expanse of realities beyond your multiverse. Everyone you know and care for has already been reborn many times over."
"Enough games." The Separatist Ruler snapped, as a figure appeared in front of them. "Just who are you?"
The figure in question looked like a human at first glance, one with unnaturally pale skin and a distinct spiral tattoo under her right eye. An ankh necklace hung from her neck, and she wore a pair of black pants and a black tank top while her black hair was slightly unkempt. All in all, she was a rare beauty, to say the least.
"I've had many names, but you can call me Death of the Endless." The young woman bowed, her voice calm even as she smiled. "I am there when all things are born, and I am there when all things die. Life, worlds, concepts, they all come to me eventually."
"So are you saying you're responsible for this?" The Republic Supreme Commander gestured at the empty wasteland around them. "This is your doing?"
"Not in this case, no." Death shook her head. "After I was there when everything in my own multiverse ended, I realized that being alone for eternity was boring, so I decided to travel beyond my own multiverse into others. I was wondering if I'd find another version of me in this multiverse, but apparently not." Death shrugged. "Still, when I saw all the souls of the dead moving to help you in the Void, it piqued my curiosity."
"Then you found us here." The Separatist Ruler pointed an accusing finger at Death. "You could have helped us!"
"You two clearly had the situation in hand, especially with the help of those who've passed beyond." Death shrugged again, while the Republic Supreme Commander put a hand on his counterpart's shoulder.
"Let it go, man." The Supreme Commander said as his counterpart calmed down. "Still, what happens now? Even if there are other multiverses, it doesn't change that the one we know has ended. Everyone and everything we care for is gone."
"Everything ends." Death agreed as she floated up next to them. "But everything also begins again. You two will almost certainly have an opportunity to see that happen, even improve things the next time around."
"Could you guide us?" The Supreme Commander asked. "You obviously have more experience on this than we do."
"I'd be happy to." Death smiled, before turning to the Separatist Ruler. "What about you? You coming or would you prefer to stay here?" There was no judgement in her tone, merely sincerity and curiosity.
"Not like there's anything better to do." The Separatist Ruler grumbled, drawing an eye roll from his Republic counterpart.
"Well, come along then." Death beckoned for them to follow as a rift made of white light appeared behind her. "Let's see the mystery together."
Death of the Endless walked through the rift of light, being followed by the two nigh-omnipotent entities. The Separatist Ruler briefly looked back at the expanse of Living Time and sighed, before walking through the rift.
The Republic Supreme Commander gave a brief and melancholy smile as he looked around one last time at the multiverse that he had known and all the events that had occurred before following his counterpart and Death into the void of light.
And that's it. Not only an end to the Galactimind and the Flood (for good this time), but an end to the original multiverse I made of this series all those years ago. Hope everyone enjoyed the surprise cameo from DC's Death of the Endless.
Honestly, I still love my work, but looking back, one thing that I started to find myself regretting was how dark and overpowered I made the Flood, with the Galactimind providing an effectively unbeatable threat that could potentially come back at any time, even doing so once after the Tidal Wave.
It gave the sense that there was never any hope of defeating the Galactimind, so I wanted to make this chapter to show its permanent and total defeat, with the aid of everyone the Flood had ever victimized and beyond coming back to ensure that it never could return again.
I also decided to tie it in just a little bit to the Multiversal Discussions story I wrote elsewhere, given the whole idea of the omniverse and the like. Maybe I'll do a follow up on that story with the Republic Supreme Commander and Separatist Ruler showing up, but don't count on that anytime soon.
Like I said, ultimately I wanted to end this multiverse on a relatively high note, and while there were a number of loose plot ends that I sadly left unfinished (as seen in the chapter itself), I think that overall, this story deserved some form of triumphant (if bittersweet) ending after all the hell they went through.
Anyway, as I said, don't expect any other fanfics from me, at least for the time being. As I mentioned during the previous announcement, my focus remains on my Beyond Reality series, which now encompasses three novels; "Cthulhu's Awakening", "In the Shadow of Gods" and "When Your Reality Cracks". Plus there's an anthology collection of all the short stories I've posted for the series in "Tales of the Multiverse". All of this is available on Amazon in both ebook and paperback form written by Jeffrey Konkin.
With the obligatory self promotion done (and the hope that one day, maybe someone will write fanfics about my own works), I hope everyone enjoyed this chapter and the conclusion of this story that started all the way back when I first wrote "The Mantle".
Once again, this is hunter 139, signing off.