Author's Note:
Izaya the Inheritor is the pacifist ruler of New Genesis. He is extremely powerful, but no punches will be thrown and no skulls will be fractured this time. And even though he is a God, Darkseid still uses the familiar phrase "Old Man" to derisively address Izaya because – quite frankly - "Old God" just doesn't sound right.
And then for our second feature, the impaled Trigon will receive a ghostly visitor - and learn of the true price he must pay for his daughter's freedom.
Enjoy.
CXLIII
Darkseid vs. Izaya
As angry winds blew across a shattered Maltus, Darkseid turned to face the unknown Boom Tube that had just materialized behind him. So now - at the very apex of his ultimate victory - some fool would arrive far too late to challenge the new King of the Universe. Perhaps fierce Orion had licked his wounds and gathered the courage to meet his final end...
There was no concern in Darkseid. Truly, the only thing that had ever been capable of challenging him was now staked to the walls of the rocky chasm beneath his boots… and his newest trophy was a fine one indeed, his own brother Trigon. The crimson God of Revenge had proven a much tougher opponent than Darkseid had originally planned, but in the end, he had proved triumphant. Darkseid would always prove triumphant. And the awesome power that had opposed him would be drained and added to his army of Manhunters.
Nothing could stop him from crushing the Universe in his grasp.
So Darkseid watched amusedly as an elder God sauntered carefully from the opening of the Boom Tube. He knew this God well… the Ruler of New Genesis, the Inheritor of the Source, the Highfather, and the keeper of his own treacherous second son Orion...
But did the Highfather believe he was capable of standing before Darkseid? Surely not…
"Izaya, why have you come here? Eons ago your battle-staff may have aided my brother, but that moment was long ago old man. I am victorious. The Fifth World had begun and I am its supreme ruler… Or perhaps you have come to bow and acknowledge the new King of Existence? To pay mighty Darkseid tribute and beg of my mercy for your craven Gods?"
The old Ruler of New Genesis stood and eyed the Ruler of Apokolips as an equal. In the sky above, hundreds of thousands of green lights hovered, awaiting nothing more than a thought from their master. All of Maltus was bathed in the emerald light of the Manhunters. Looking up to the skies, Izaya calmly replied.
"You have lost your helmet, Darkseid."
"…It is only that Fate has prepared my head for its greatest crown, Izaya… Perhaps you would like to place it upon my head before bowing down to kiss my boots? No?... Have you journeyed so far from your gardens then to foolishly jeopardize the peace that your only son sacrificed himself for? Is this how proud Izaya would pay tribute to the last selfless act of Scott Free? To challenge the invincible Darkseid and break that Pact?"
Again, Izaya stood unmoved. Even under the dome of terror, there was no fear or hostility in him.
"No Darkseid, I would not dishonour Scott… I only came here to talk. For all your schemes, you have always been a God of reason. Use your reason to understand that absolute power consumes those who seek to harness it."
"A battle of wits, is it then?" Darkseid grinned and laughed derisively. "Very well Izaya - but tread carefully old man – lest the tranquility of your New Genesis become the solitude of the asylum once you reflect upon what I reveal. My mind has travelled past dark corridors to distant realms that will shake your very foundations."
Izaya sighed, showing little concern.
"This is not a battle of wits, Darkseid… you have become far too dangerous to battle in any arena. I speak only these words of a humble servant of the Source…"
"A false start, Izaya… Admit that you can not hope to defeat me. That I am too dangerous to even engage. You have rendered the rest of our conversation inconsequential. Therefore, I win. Negotiation is simply a ruse I employ until my victory can be assured... It never suited you."
"Yes, you have shown me countless times. Darkseid… after I battled and killed your Uncle Steppenwolf, I cast aside my weapons and buried my violence. His was the last blood I have ever spilled… I swore by Avia that I would never battle again. And that is why I have never sought to harm you… and even now I still do not wish you harm. It has ever been my hope that there was a dark path for you that led to the light of the Source."
Darkseid could never be swayed by any reason other than his own.
"There is a path, Izaya. While others bow before the Source, I now walk past it… confidently towards to my timeless throne. I stride past ignorant fools awed by brightly lit things they do not comprehend to the darkness they fear to tread."
"You can not go beyond the Source, Darkseid. Do you not even know what the Source truly is?"
"Of course, it is the ultimate power of Fate. He who controls the Source controls the Fate of existence. I shall turn off the lights of existence."
"Your eyes see the Universe without a heart, Uxas. No… the Source is not power, it is the culmination of all things… All of history, every moment of time, every action and inaction, each thought and emotion, every interaction – past, present and future, and every possible outcome that could ever be imagined and even those that could not. The Source is all that was, all that could have been, all that is…
The Source is the entirety of Fate. We see it as a bright light, Darkseid, but it is also the darkness. It is love that has become hatred, courage overcome by crippling fear, the frivolity of innocence crushed underfoot by the weight of austerity. These things you have done are not beyond the scope of Fate… You are a part of its existence. To deny the Source is to deny yourself."
"I am not a part of existence, I am existence... Chaos must become Order, Izaya."
"And Order intertwines with Chaos to be rewoven within the Source. The threads are the same, only the weave is different, Uxas."
"I am Uxas no longer, old fool… I am Darkseid."
Proud Izaya lowered himself to place his knees upon the dead soil of Maltus, to bow before Darkseid, all to the pleased taunts of the mad Tyrant.
"Finally… you accept your place in my Universe, old man."
"I now beg you to do the same, Darkseid. You words have confirmed my worst fears. It is not dominion you seek… it is an end. Have you never known love?"
"Love is but the tide of devotion – carrying the rudderless ships of fools. I know of love and use it accordingly."
"But has its tide never touched your heart, Darkseid? Have you never felt love?"
"The dark seas of emotion are nothing more than drops in my upturned palm…" Darkseid held his palm upright, reflectively staring into it, before turning it over. "… and things I do not require."
"It is not a matter of need… It is a matter of life!"
"Life is not a thing I require."
"Then it is true… You seek the end of existence."
"I seek perfect Order. I am not a fool, Izaya… I know there is only one thing I can perfectly command, and that is the end. The end of existence, the end of time, a beautiful stasis of perfect Order."
"For your own sake, I beg you to cast aside Darkseid's mad dreams and become Uxas once more… You are a God! Let yourself be reborn into the Source. Even in death, we remain immortal, carried by the Black Racer to the Source to be remade… to be reborn anew."
Darkseid stiffened. With a heavy brow, he replied.
"I shall never be reborn, Izaya. Darkseid is the conclusion of my existence. The time of the Gods has passed. Only the time of Darkseid remains… until the very end of time."
"The Gods shall not end, Darkseid. Each of us are the incarnations of the Gods before us… the children of ideology. Our DNA is scripture, our blood is the wine of ritual, our birth is the milk of hope. We are ideals. You need only to permit yourself to Hope…."
"Hope was not a thing I could allow to exist, Izaya. It is the basis of Freedom."
"Darkseid, you can never destroy Hope… Save yourself. Abandon this mad scheme…"
"I can destroy Hope… I will… Even on idyllic New Genesis, your New Gods shall come to realize the futility of Hope as barefooted Death treads softly upon your barren shores. You may allow your subjects to drink the milk of Hope for as long as you are able, Izaya… until its taste turns sour and repugnant.
Rest assured, I shall never lay a finger upon your precious New Genesis, Izaya – but in time – it shall lay in ruin as the last bastion of futile Hope – conquered by attrition. The New Gods shall curse you as they lay dying in obscurity. This is the Fate that I have written for you, Inheritor... One of the final passages of the Prophecy of Stone."
Although the Prophecy of Stone had been cast in Fate by his wife Suli, it had been Darkseid who had truly orchestrated it. Her ability to manipulate Fate had been what had drawn Darkseid to her. He had long known how New Genesis would end…
And now Izaya knew as well.
"If you have truly abandoned Hope, Darkseid… Then the Prophecy of Stone is nothing more than the words engraved upon your tombstone. Any Fate you have written will unravel within your hands - leaving only dust."
Darkseid scoffed.
"I have never required your Hope, Izaya. Take all of it you wish. My desires have been made manifest by actions, not hopes and dreams. For an old God like yourself, Hope is truly a poor companion. But feel free to go back to New Genesis and bask in its bright songs and charming stories for as long as you are able…
New Genesis shall become the last remnant of the Fourth World, a shining jewel among the stars where jewels no longer hold any value. Your Kingdom will be ridiculed. It will suffer scorn and aspersion from all those who come to know of it. And then, in the end, we shall see who is left with nothing more than worthless dust in their hands as Hope leaves you forever."
Quietly, Izaya contemplated Darkseid's words with a heavy heart.
"…This is the vision you hold for the Universe, Darkseid?"
"And is it not glorious? All Life itself shall become Darkseid. There will be no tragedy, no suffering, and existence will exist for Darkseid. I will reorder the stars, realign the planets to a perfect axis through space. In my reign, all celestial motion will eventually cease… frozen in time… until Time itself obeys my will... It will finally end. It will all finally end in perfect balance… Do you understand, Izaya?"
"I do… And you have saddened me more than I believed possible. You seek to extinguish the Source itself, Darkseid. To obtain that one perfect instance of absolute omnipotence – the cessation of entropy – to achieve what you call perfect order."
"Yes… perfect order. No variables, no possibilities… a perfect balance frozen for eternity. Like stone frozen in time…"
Izaya raised himself from his knees, to stand once more.
"And I now believe the Universe shall grant your mad desire, Darkseid…"
"Then you are indeed wise, Highfather. Although it shall be I who grants my own desire. I will become existence. But please, take all the Hope you can carry and leave with my blessing…"
"But not granted by the means you have envisioned. I believe Fate shall present you with a second option to achieve your perfect order, Darkseid."
"There is no second option, Izaya. The Prophecy of Stone leads to only one final and ultimate conclusion."
"It is the same conclusion, but not shared. There is an end beyond our ends, Darkseid… Death."
The Lord of Apokolips laughed long and hard at the old rattling fool before him. Did Izaya not realize that he was the master of the Omega Effect, able to recreate every atom in his body if he so much as willed it to happen? Death was something he allowed, not accepted.
"You believe the Black Racer would even dare to approach me, Izaya? I placed myself beyond his cold grip ages ago. But I assure you, he is still within mine…"
"It shall not be the Black Racer, Darkseid… You have indeed placed yourself beyond his gentle embrace. No… it shall be the Racer's master who comes for you. She who comes for us all in the end…"
Enraged, Darkseid suddenly lost his calm demeanour as the sky above crackled with energy…
"Then show me first, old man!"
Omega Beams suddenly blazed from Darkseid's eyes - directly at the Ruler of New Genesis. In Darkseid's mind, this was justified. How dare arrogant Izaya come to Maltus and cast threats at the master of the Universe. Had he not bore witness to Darkseid's unrivalled mercy by letting him live and speak for this long? And now he dared to bring forth pronouncements of death?! Then so be it!
Darkseid's cruel smile fell from his lips as he watched his twin Omega Beams split around a stoic Izaya, leaving the old God untouched and unharmed… while Darkseid stood confused and bewildered.
"…How?!"
"Did you not say that the Fate of New Genesis had already been cast, Darkseid?… I am New Genesis. And you are not the will of Fate."
"I am the will of Fate! I am all-powerful!"
"No Darkseid… you are not. To be all-powerful is to possess no will. Think upon what I have told you..."
Izaya disappeared just before tens of thousands of green energy beams blasted the spot where he had stood… creating a deep hole in the planet's surface followed by a mile-wide cloud of dust. Izaya had long suspected that the power of the Source could circumvent the Omega Effect... but it had not been a theory he wished to test in person. Still, Fate had spared him from the dread Tyrant's wrath – along with the power of the Source he wielded to push the Omega Beams aside.
And now, his worst fears regarding Darkseid had been confirmed...
The Great Tyrant was insane. He would align himself directly against the Source – as an enemy of Creation itself. Darkseid no longer sought simple domination, he sought the end to all existence, the creation of a dead Universe of static particles…
After all, how could the electrons of the Universe bow and obey a God? How could subatomic particles show fealty to a Lord? While molecular free radicals existed, freedom was still alive – an unbearable concept for Darkseid. Thus the Universe must be stopped.
In perfect Tyranny, that which can not be ruled… is eliminated.
Back on the planet's surface, Darkseid cursed as the elder God made his quick escape. Had the Prophecy of Stone truly saved Izaya?... Briefly he toyed with the idea of pursuing the elder God back to New Genesis… to see if he could break the Pact that Scott Free had tricked him into and then test the Prophecy, to test if he was the will of the Universe.
Perhaps he would add Izaya to the crosses on Maltus, next to dear old Metron…
Perhaps all the Gods would make lovely additions... soon.
Currently, there was a daughter of Trigon he should marry off to his idiot son… or at least pin her across from her father like some tragic, red butterfly. But marriage? Why reward failure? Kalibak had severely disappointed him in the battle against Orion, yet it would still amuse Darkseid to torture Trigon with the knowledge of Raven's terrible Fate at the hands of the Great Beast… as would the sight of her suffering eternally before Trigon. A true dilemma…
Perhaps he should do both! After all, destroying all Hope in the Universe would take some time. He would even reposition his own daughter Zareah next to Raven so Kalibak's atrocities upon her could be displayed over and over again… the only sight Trigon would ever see.
Yes, he would give Kalibak a taste of happiness before he took his lovely pet away and scolded him again, having desecrated Raven pinned and displayed before her powerless father… to show the God of Revenge that he had utterly failed two daughters who would suffer until the ends of time.
Darkseid smiled. Yes... that was exactly what he would do…
Epilogue: The Witch of Fate
Trigon the Terrible raged against the spike that fastened him against the bleak, stone wall. He had been so close to finishing Darkseid… how could one spike hold him in check? And yet, the harpoon of Fate did.
He felt the cruel nail attempting to draw his power as he used the Omega Effect to prevent it from draining him. He was unable to affect anything other than his own internal existence. He waged a war to keep his energy, that he was winning - for now.
When the rage quieted, a deep sorrow for Abraxas washed over him… The life of a sacred cow milked of her divine heritage. How callous he had been to her, how greedy for life's stolen power and ignorant to her plight.
He could have destroyed Oa ages ago… but his insatiable lust for power prevented him from doing that. Prevented him from granting her final revenge. A revenge Fate had orchestrated through his own nemesis instead… And now Darkseid had added greedy Trigon to his herd.
A single moment more was all that had been required for him to end the Prophecy of Stone, to remove Darkseid's foul head from its stony neck… Trigon would have never taken another life if only he had been permitted to claim Darkseid's. Had he been only allowed to end his brother's arrogant life, he would have welcomed the Black Racer to even claim his own. He wailed to the Universe above…
"Let me break the Prophecy of Stone!"
"It was never yours to break, Drax."
Trigon stopped and stared at the ghostly figure who had suddenly materialized in front of him… a vision of beauty that he never dreamed he would see again. Was he dying?! Had his heart stopped so that he could now see into the spirit world? With widened eyes, he peered at the luminescent figure of magnificent beauty that floated before him, the very vision that had replied to him in a voice that could only be…
Suli.
"Suli… Have you come to welcome me to the Afterlife? If so, I will gladly go… Had it been your image instead of the Black Racer who attempted to claim my soul all those years ago, Trigon would never have been born and Drax would have departed happily."
"Always the romantic fool, Drax. But you live - you have changed so much…"
"I am gentle Drax no longer, Suli. I have become Revenge. I am Nemesis. I am Trigon. If I do live, then free me… and I shall deliver whatever vengeance troubles your eternal soul before I present you Darkseid's head."
"All of this…" She waved her translucent arms to indicate the entirety of Maltus, "have I wrought. I have already used you so poorly. It could be said that if Heggra is the mother of Drax, then Suli is the mother of Trigon…"
"Darkseid was the author of my tragedy, Suli. His wicked hand wilfully completed the sorrows of Maltus while your departed spirit floated in the ether…"
A ghostly hand reached out to touch his cheek, giving him chills he had never felt in this lifetime…
"Poor, Drax… Always blinded by a lover's eyes to a woman's true nature. I was to be yours, did you know that?"
"You felt like mine, Suli… Always, you felt like you were mine…"
"Because I was to be yours… There was a contract between my mother and your own. Do you think disgusting Heggra could have ascended to the throne of Apokolips by her own merits?" Suli laughed, echoes from another world, before continuing…
"Never until the end of time, Drax… she had divine aid. You see, my mother was also a powerful Goddess of Fate, one who could alter the course of Destiny. Your grasping mother was willing to pay a heavy price – including tragedy and the fate of her son - to sit upon the throne of Apokolips. Yes, you were to be mine…
But uncaring Heggra distanced herself from you. She knew that from the very moment of your birth that you would never truly belong to her. While I could have easily accepted her discarded filial offering and become the Queen of Apokolips… I wanted her to suffer. As a Goddess of Fate like my mother before, I wanted the price paid in full. While Heggra had never allowed wild Drax into her heart, she continually doted on her second-born son, a nasty creature with secret aspirations to eventually remove his older brother from the throne.
So I took him instead.
I changed the bargain and named her second-born as my betrothed. The bargain had been struck for a son and a son I rightfully claimed. How Heggra cursed me while I named her precious Uxas to be mine. The same son whom you believe to have authored all that has transpired here… when it was I who crafted the Prophecy of Stone, dearest."
"Suli… Why?!"
"Perhaps because he wanted me to… Perhaps it was madness. After the birth of Kalibak, the Fates had conspired against me… I was cursed to birth a race of monstrosities for altering our contract. That this was the price I would pay for my cruel decision to deny your love, Drax. In my madness, I gave my husband his heart's desire and took my own revenge against Fate.
But I was to rule beside him.
It seemed as though Fate were not done with me after all…
How petty… I accused you of being blinded by a lover's eyes, but were mine own any better? Was it my desired Revenge upon Heggra that made me so stupid? How was it that I was unable to see Darkseid's true nature for so long?
At the end, I realized that Love was only a tool for him, a means to an end. It was only when the Prophecy of Stone was completed that his attentions turned elsewhere and my eyes grew clear again. I realized the terrible mistake I had made and sought to correct it.
So I used you, Drax. I took you into my bed and fated that you would give me a daughter who could break the Prophecy... unseen Abraxas. She has the power to divert the Prophecy. You see now that I have wronged you terribly… so if your heart burns with vengeance, then that revenge should be turned against me."
Trigon regarded her coolly.
"It is not vengeance you seek Suli… it is forgiveness."
"Is it?..." She smiled at him. "Then perhaps I have come to the wrong God…"
"You have. Such a thing exists for me no longer…"
"You were correct… You are not Drax."
"I am Trigon... You must forgive yourself Suli… I can not. But if you truly seek justice, I can provide that for you… You only need to free me."
"To punish me for my sins? To absolve me of my foolish wickedness?"
"And to break the heart that broke yours, Suli. I would do this for you first."
"A stone heart can indeed be broken… But I can not free you, Trigon. I am only the ghost of lovers past... And my arts have been employed elsewhere."
"Elsewhere?"
"While you delayed in your task, I remained busy in the spirit world, Trigon… I have spun a delicate web of Fate so that perhaps your other daughter may free my own daughters. Although it shall come at a heavy cost to you, cursed Trigon."
"Name it and I shall pay. I am contract-bound to Abraxas, Fate-witch."
"Are you truly?... Why? Her revenge is complete. The Guardians are decimated. Surely, you are free from that child's contract. She no longer cares for that revenge…"
"I care… She is to be freed. That was the final act of the contract, Suli."
Suli smiled a wicked, ghostly smile as she held his level gaze, an ethereal spirit floating in the dark chasm of Maltus across from a crimson God.
"Then you must pay my price, bound Trigon… Abraxas has the unseen destiny to shatter the Prophecy of Stone, but first she must be free of the Guardian's device. To have my only daughters tortured upon the crucifixes of Maltus has driven me to measures that Darkseid himself should never contrive.
The love of a mother is a very powerful thing Trigon. If you believe a daughter's desire for revenge is wicked, I assure you… it is nothing compared to mine. You sense the vengeance I can not conceal. I have longed for scornful Darkseid to fall victim to his own fate – but it can not be you who breaks his Prophecy.
I have guided the events around your daughter Raven so that she may rise above the Weave – carefully spinning a web of Fate to ensnare Darkseid, for which Raven is to be my spider. Should the stars align… Raven may become even more powerful than Fate itself! It will be her hand that Abraxas will aid to break the Prophecy of Stone.
But… there is a price to paid, Trigon. There is always a price for my craft - even if I would give it freely. To give your child the power she needs to free the Gods of Maltus… To set about the chain of events that will dislodge Darkseid from his pre-ordained destiny, it is a price that only you may pay…
…And my price is that Trigon must die for Raven."
Post Author's Note:
So who is Suli?...
Considering she had but one single appearance in comics (as a flashback), I would not expect readers to be familiar with the character of Suli. In DC Canon, she was indeed Darkseid's first wife and the mother of Kalibak. She was portrayed as a kind sorceress– the only person that Darkseid ever loved - until vile Heggra had Desaad poison her.
In my story, she's also the mother of the fraternal twin-Goddesses imprisoned on Maltus (Zareah and Abraxas) and a Goddess of Magic and Fate. And she's not nice. Like the Norns whom we met by Yggdrasil, Suli is a Goddess who can weave Fate to her own ends – so long as her price is paid. I envision her closer to a beautiful but ambitious witch, rather than a kind sorceress.
On Apokolips, Suli's mother was a powerful 'Fate Witch' who was contracted to predestine Heggra to become Queen. The cost of that arrangement was threefold; that Heggra would die at the height of her greatest triumph, that her reign would face constant strife, and that her unborn son would marry the Witch's daughter… Suli.
Feeling that Heggra had reduced the price too steeply by allowing her first-born son Drax to become a 'sacrificial lamb' to the promised Suli, the Goddess elected to take the second son instead, causing Heggra great distress. If Darkseid and Suli truly loved one another is unknown, but they certainly respected each other. They were both incredibly manipulative and ambitious.
So what was the price that Darkseid paid Suli for the Prophecy of Stone? That will be revealed later in a later chapter dear reader, but he did hint at it when he told Izaya:
"I shall never be reborn…Darkseid is the conclusion of my existence." Actually, he pretty much spelled it out, didn't he?...
It was actually Darkseid himself who plotted Suli's demise. He was aware of Suli's change of heart regarding the Prophecy of Stone and had to ensure that it would remain unchanged. Even though he insinuated Drax, it was Darkseid who allowed his mother to learn of his wife's affair.
So has Suli really been working in the background regarding Raven's life?
The number of events surrounding Raven's (and even Arella's) life that Suli has influenced, I will leave to the reader's speculation… Did Suli pull the strings that Raven would appear before Bruce Wayne on that cold night in Gotham? Or that the souls of Azarath would be saved by Raven and later given to Abraxas? That a deal would be struck between Trigon and Raven? Or that five champions would now assemble on Earth unaware that they are on a collision course with the deadly Darkseid?
I'll let you decide…
Next Chapter: Darkseid vs. The Justice League!