Everything felt eerily still as Pit walked through the corridor at the bottom of the steps. There was no sound other than his footsteps, his wings rustling, and his breathing. His eye adjusted well enough to the dim light, and he dared not illuminate it himself. He needed every advantage he could get, if there were any to have in the first place.

He found his mind drifting to the great confrontations he had been part of over the centuries, from donning the Three Sacred Treasures for the first time to face Medusa and liberate Skyworld, to battling Hades with the Great Sacred Treasure, to his duels with Nemo and Mastema, and even the battle with Grima. It suddenly crept into the back of his mind how alone he was. He hadn't been without someone at his side in some way or other since he'd soared through the debris of Skyworld to Palutena's temple on the Wings of Pegasus, Mirror Shield and Bow of Light clutched in his young hands as he tried not to let his terror get the better of him so he could rescue his goddess.

It felt oddly fitting, he thought. Back then, he was trying to save the one person he cared about more than anything else. His goal wasn't all that different now. Yet, there was so much more weight on his shoulders, so much malice in his heart.

He must have been quite a sight, briskly walking through that corridor: hair messily pulled down over his burnt and blinded eye, dark navy undershirt barely hiding the scars on his back, wings ragged and twitchy from stress, ready to spring at the slightest provocation. He didn't feel much better than he looked.

His eye adjusted to a brightening light and he could barely make out an open doorway ahead of him. Beyond it, he couldn't see anything clearly enough to identify. He picked up his pace until he was standing right before it, and he stared into the swirling fog masking the other side. He took a deep breath, squared his shoulders, and split his bow apart. And he stepped through.

Past the fog was some kind of ornate platform, everything washed in a soft gray. Pit didn't bother checking the rest of his surroundings. With a flap of his wings, he propelled himself up and landed on the platform where he found three quite familiar figures floating just above it. All three of them met his gaze steadily.

"We truly hoped that it would not come to this," the one with the golden blonde hair and wings in place of her arms spoke. This was the one he was most familiar with, the one who came to him to inform him of the identity of his angels, the one who set his path so many centuries ago.

"Lord Pit, it is in your best interests to return to your place," another said. This one had long, dark brown hair and was garbed in a deep red. "You cannot conceive of the consequences of meddling in affairs beyond your ken."

"Your world survives based on the threads we weave," the third, with short white hair and garbed in green, went on. "Our destruction only assures the end of all you hold dear." His eye narrowed and he held his head high.

"I know you're used to me following your every command blindly," he began as his gaze flitted between them. "You expect me to dance as your strings on me command, just like I always have. But if you did truly control everything, dictate the flow of fate and destiny, then I wouldn't be here right now." A smirk twitched on the corner of his mouth. "You influence it, yes. You set things in motion. But you're not all-powerful." He took a step forward and pointed one blade at the winged Fate. "Master Aeon and Mastema, Time and Space, Order and Chaos, they have the power to watch over the Celestial Balance that you've put in such a precarious position. You've put everything on my shoulders to dictate, to lead, to oversee. But what if something did happen to me?" he demanded. "Nemo was that something, and you removed him. I can't forgive that. He was my Balance: lord of the Underworld, Oracle and god of Darkness, overseer of death."

"Nemo was never meant to usurp Hades," the brown-haired Fate said.

"Yeah?" Pit looked up at her. "And I was never meant to be the god of Light." His eye narrowed. "Or… was I? Did you have that planned from the start? Did Nemo just give you the opportunity you were looking for?" He gave them a moment to respond, and when they didn't, he scanned over all three of them. "Well? Born a human, reincarnated as an angel, ascended to godhood. That's a lot for one soul to go through."

"Your loyalty and sense of justice were meant to oversee the Celestial Balance," the winged Fate said. "When we saw how Palutena lacked the strength to do so, we knew the position had to pass to someone else."

Deep, burning anger punched Pit in the chest and nearly stole his breath away. His grip on his blades tightened and his wings lifted once more.

"I'm ONE being!" he snarled. "I can't 'balance' myself! What if the Chaos Kin had escaped because of Nemo and not me? What if it had taken control of me as god of Light instead of Lady Palutena? With the position you've put me in, I could have destroyed the immortal world!" He grit his teeth and caught his breath. "You've pulled my strings for way too long. You've used the people I love as pieces in your game to control me. You forced my hand and my blade. You even kept me alive when I should have died fighting Mastema so I could be the 'greatest of the gods.'"

"Be silent," the white-haired Fate ordered. "Your place is to guard and oversee the Celestial Balance. You-"

"Fine," Pit interrupted as he pulled back his blades and set his stance. "I'll protect it. I'll protect it from you." His eye glared at each of them. "For my goddess, for my angel, for my friend, for my family, and for the Celestial Balance…" He smirked darkly. "You're finished." Light illuminated around his blades and he thrust his wings down, and he lunged for the white-haired Fate. For the first time, he saw genuine emotion on her face: terror. She began to lift her arms to defend herself, but he was quicker than the wind.

He plunged his blade into her midsection, shoving her back with his momentum. She let out the softest noise as golden ichor welled up around her wound, and he wrenched his blade out and let her drop to the ground.

"That's enough!" the brown-haired Fate snapped. "You are assuring your world's destruction. Cease this at once!" Pit planted his feet against the wall and shoved off with his wings propelling him forth, and her eyes widened as he twisted and caught her in one arm as he passed her. He ran his blade across her throat as she desperately clawed at his arm, and she joined her sister as he released her. He turned his gaze to the winged Fate as he landed among her fallen kin.

She lifted her wing toward him, and he grunted as he felt a sharp pain shoot through his chest. A thin, golden thread appeared, connecting the two of them.

"Should you cut my thread, your own shall be severed," she said as emotionlessly as he was used to. "Your life, and that of the unnatural creature you call 'Brother,' shall be forfeit." He took a breath and defiantly met her gaze.

"I came here expecting that I probably wouldn't make it out," he said. "As for Kuro, he's become a god in his own right. With or without me, I'm sure he's strong enough to survive on his own."

"Are you certain?" she asked. "You know that you and he are bound together. Your thread and his are one in the same." As much as he didn't want to admit to it, a small twinge of hesitation crept into his heart.

"No me, no him, two sides of the same coin," he said softly, then returned his attention to her. "Then I hope, wherever we end up, I'll be able to tell him why I did this and, maybe, he'll forgive me." He held back his blades and launched himself into the air toward her as she brought forth her wings to shield herself. With a shout, he cut straight through her wings and slashed both blades deep across her chest. She cried out as ichor stained her clothing gold and she collapsed to the ground. He landed on his feet next to her as she glared at him, feathers littered around her.

"You…" she rasped. "Have no idea what…" She gasped. "You've unleashed…" She coughed, ichor splattering across the ground. "Even Chaos cannot…" Whatever else she had to say, he couldn't understand as she collapsed and fell silent. The thread connecting them snapped.

Pit doubled over as a searing pain ignited in his chest, and he couldn't hold back his cry of agony as he stumbled. Before he even hit the ground, everything faded into nothing. His senses, his awareness, the pain, everything was gone.

Eventually, in the emptiness Pit found himself in, another being appeared at the edge of his vision. It floated over to him, and Mastema smirked and crossed his arms as he stopped before him.

"Impressive," he said simply. He reached his hands out and placed one over Pit's eyes, and he pressed the other against his chest. "Allow me to remove what makes you a god."

Up in Skyworld, Kuro and Remiel had returned from the confrontation on the Overworld and neither were doing well. Remiel had sustained several injuries from Mastema and had lash marks on his face and arm, though he didn't complain. Kuro, on the other hand, had come out physically unscathed; Pit hadn't made a single attack toward him. Even so, he felt utterly sick inside, Pit's accusation of him echoing in his head over and over again.

"Can you tell where Levica is?" he asked his companion. Remiel focused for a moment.

"She and Henry are in the temple," he reported. "No doubt waiting for our return." He paused. "I believe they're in the Gate Chamber." Kuro nodded and led the way to the temple, and the two landed at its front entrance. Kuro nodded to the Centurions on guard as they greeted him and his visitor respectfully, and they made their way to the Gate Chamber in silence.

Sure enough, Levica and Henry were waiting there along with Lucina. Aegle and Marth were nowhere to be seen, and Kuro was honestly relieved he wouldn't have to explain to his niece what had happened quite yet.

"Oh, Remiel," Levica breathed as she quickly approached her son, Henry close behind her. She placed her hand on Remiel's cheek, and he forced a smile.

"I'm fine, Mother," he told her as he gently pulled her hand away.

"So, who am I killing?" Henry asked with entirely too serious of a face. Remiel motioned for him to settle down as Kuro joined them. He glanced to Lucina, who returned his gaze with worry evident on her face. Remiel caught his eye.

"So," Kuro almost jumped as the Underworld ruler spoke up in his head. "Do we tell them what happened?"

"You're the lord of the Underworld," he replied as he crossed his arms. "I'm not gonna tell you what you can and can't do." Remiel watched him for a moment longer, then nodded and turned to his mother.

"Mastema was freed from his prison," he said, and Levica's eyes widened in alarm. "And while I don't know why, Lord Pit was responsible." Levica looked from her son to Kuro, who nodded slightly.

"Why would he do such a thing?" she asked desperately.

"Uh, who's Mastema?" Henry inquired.

"I'll explain later," Remiel replied. "I sensed that he had escaped during the gathering last night, and Commander Kuro and I agreed to investigate once things settled down. Forgive me for not informing you sooner." Levica touched his arm reassuringly. "We tracked him to a place in the Overworld where we found both him and Lord Pit."

"I tried to talk some sense into him," Kuro continued flatly. "He insisted that he needed Mastema's help for something, said it was to keep us safe." He looked over at Lucina again.

"...Safe from what?" she asked in a shaky voice.

"I…" Kuro took a breath and steadied himself, trying to calm the calamity flaring within him. "It's a long story, and I'm not sure even I have it entirely straight. But if it is what I think it is, he's been worrying about it for some time now. He never actually told me about it entirely."

"What could it have possibly been that he couldn't speak of with either of us?" Lucina wondered. "All right, you found him and this Mastema person, and he insisted he needed help. What happened?"

"Unfortunately, diplomacy failed," Remiel said. "I'm not proud to admit that it became a fight." Remiel kept speaking, but Kuro couldn't hear him as he felt a sudden sharp pain stab through his chest. He grunted slightly as his eyes blanked.

"Kuro?" He barely heard Lucina call for him. "Are you okay?" He clutched at his robe over his chest as his head spun. Without warning, he collapsed to the ground, and he made no move to break his fall.

"Kuro!" Lucina cried out as she hurried to him and knelt down, hoisting him up and turning him over. His half-closed eyes were dull and vacant, and his head hung limp. Remiel joined her on Kuro's other side, and Levica came to stand a pace away with Henry beside her. Lucina adjusted and placed her ear to his chest, and her eyes widened.

"H-He's not breathing and I can't hear his heartbeat." She pulled back and her terrified gaze locked onto his face. "Kuro, please, wake up!" Remiel bit his lip and looked up at his mother, and the fear in her eyes mirrored his own. He could tell she was thinking the same thing he was.

"Lord Pit…" he murmured under his breath.

"Kuro…" Lucina jostled him slightly as tears dripped down her face. "Please, wake up, come back…" She lowered her head as she trembled. "Don't leave me too…"

Kuro gasped sharply as he sat up with a start, fingers clawing at his chest, and both Lucina and Remiel jerked back at his sudden movement. He coughed harshly and his head was pounding. As he caught his breath and his vision cleared, he dropped his hands and stared at them.

"Kuro!" Lucina almost knocked him over as she threw her arms around him, and after a moment's hesitation, he returned her embrace. She pulled back and met his gaze, her hands on his shoulders. "What happened? Are you okay?"

"I…" His voice was a bit raspy. "I think so." He looked up at Levica. "I'm… alive?" Beneath the relief that he'd come back, he could see traces of concern and confusion as well in her eyes.

"You're alive, thank goodness," Lucina said. He started to get to his feet and she helped him up, and his legs were shaky as he leaned against her. He murmured a quick "thanks" to her.

"I'm glad you appear to be okay, Kuro," Levica spoke up. "I… I hope that wasn't a sign of anything else." Both Lucina and Henry glanced at her curiously. Kuro exchanged a fretful and knowing look with Remiel.

"Me too," he said. "I really hope he's okay."