Note: Paradoxical Shenanigans
-This chapter will be very confusing to those who have not yet played Paradox and might be confusing even to those who have. (Like really, really confusing. For now, you'll just have to stick with me.) I have researched the topic a fair amount, and this seems accurate to the source material. If any facts do turn out to be impossible/false, I will fix them.
-Also, surprise! This is actually a Paradox story. Kind of. For the most part, anyway.
"Urgh... What the hell?" Luka groaned as he stood up. A dark, empty void surrounded him. The ground below him was made of a dark stone. There was no sound, save for his own breathing.
"We meet at last, Hero Luka."
Luka turned to the voice. A woman stood there, with red hair and a black coat. Her purple eyes stood out in the darkness, along with her massive scythe.
"What the..? Who are you?" Luka asked.
"I am the one they call Reaper. I've been waiting for you for a long time now..." She explained. "If you want to, you could consider me the Spirit of Death. There is another person you should meet, but as usual, she's late..."
"What..? Who?"
"You'll get to know her soon enough. She can explain everything better than I can." Reaper said. Luka looked around him. The slab of stone he stood on was small and empty. Except for one structure, not so far from him now. In the centre was a glowing circle, with runes etched onto it.
"What happened?" He asked. "Where am I?"
"The Goddess of Light struck you down. It seems you are not quite at her level yet... I have saved you from your fate, as is my duty. As for where you are... This is a realm called 'Hades'. Don't worry. You won't be here for long." Reaper explained.
"Oh, right. I fought her in Heaven... Strange..."
"Hmm? What's strange?"
"Nothing," Luka said. "It doesn't matter."
"Ah, I see. Were you expecting an evaluation meeting?"
"Huh? How do you know about those..?"
"Ilias's soul return network is a terribly kept secret. Anyway, the reason she did not evaluate you should be obvious. She has no need for you, and she is the last of her kind... Well, maybe that's not strictly true..." Reaper muttered, but before she could continue, a portal opened next to her. A purple-haired woman jumped out from it, landing beside the hero.
"Ah, It's been a while, Luka!" She said as she gave the hero a hug.
What the hell!?
"Huh? Who the hell are you!" Luka panicked as he tried to get the girl off of him. A lifetime of breaking free of binds had made him quite the expert at it. He backed away from the strange woman. She was wearing a white coat, which contrasted well with her purple hair. She wore a small top hat on her head, and donned a golden necklace, with a small watch as its centrepiece.
"Oh, right." The girl said. "You don't remember me... I'm the White Rabbit. Some would consider me to be the Spirit of Time itself, though that name is not entirely accurate. We used to know each other fairly well, you know?"
"And how exactly would he know that?" Reaper pointed out. "He does not share the memories of his variant."
"What are you two talking about?" Luka asked.
"Haah... I guess I'll have to explain everything. Why is it always up to me..." White Rabbit complained. "You'll want to sit down for this, Luka. We have a lot to get through."
Luka looked sceptical but followed the girl. Reaper sat between them, laying her scythe behind her.
"Alright... Where to start..?" White Rabbit wondered. "Long ago, or... No, from your perspective, it would still be in the future..."
"Just start from the beginning," Reaper suggested.
"You mean like... The big bang..?"
"Which one?" She asked. "And no, obviously not. Start from the creation of the second world."
White Rabbit rubbed her chin in contemplation for a moment, before nodding. She summoned multiple dolls out of thin air, some of them looking like people Luka recognized. One looked like his wife, while another looked like Ilias, and a significantly smaller doll looked like him. It even had a miniature Angel Halo in its hands.
Hey! I'm not that short!
"Hmm... Yeah, that sounds good." She agreed. White Rabbit arranged a few of the dolls. "Alright, so you remember that time you slew Ilias?" She asked. Luka nodded. "Well, that turned out to be quite a big issue. You see, when Ilias turned back time to save you, it took a toll on the universe. Each time you failed, she would mess with the space-time continuum, damaging it. Thankfully, it could still heal on its own, so it wasn't too much of an issue."
"That was until you struck her down." She explained. She played with the toys, making the Luka doll attack the Ilias one. "The Death of a God pushed the continuum past its threshold, and a tear appeared. Out of this, a new world was formed. It was just like the one you know, but one thing set it off its course. The other person you struck down on that day... Black Alice."
White Rabbit pulled the new doll seemingly out of nowhere. She looked just like Luka remembered. Her new, white dress, along with a large, demonic wing, and another angelic one, both on her back.
"An experiment in Remina accidentally resurrected the fallen Monster Lord. She rose again, even more powerful than before. She destroyed most of the world when she came back... And thus, a third god was born." White Rabbit explained. "Out of everyone in the universe, that sort of power... to go to her... It was the worst thing that could've happened. And so, Reaper and I stepped in."
White Rabbit enacted the scene with the toys, trying to make what happened as clear to Luka as possible.
"We assisted you, another version of you, that is, in defeating her. The only issue is, there were more than two worlds out there. There was another pair, one in which Ilias ruled, and one where Alipheese ruled. Both sides lived in a reality in which they won the Great Monster Wars. They were going to reenact the war again, though this time it would be on a universal scale. Our plan was to have you side with them, gain their power, and then destroy the other."
"Once you had done that, we would reset time, and allow you to do it once more. Once you had the power of both sides, you would fight against Black Alice... And then another foe, a group even stronger than the two worlds combined... But that is a story for another time." She explained. "They no longer exist, anyway. Even if they do, they are powerless."
I hope so, at least. That's why we did everything this way in the first place. It was the only way to make sure they wouldn't exist...
But if Chaos spreads too much, they will return. We have to make sure that doesn't happen... The Apostles of Chaos are far too strong, even for the Hero himself.
"The issue was... our plan failed. Even with all of our power combined, we could not defeat them. They were simply too powerful. So we made a choice. Me, Reaper, Alipheese and Ilias... And you. With all of our powers combined, we reset time to before any of this happened. Me and Reaper are the only ones who remember it. When we did this, however, one being followed us. The Goddess of Chaos, Black Alice."
"And another thing changed. Instead of the second world being created in your time, it was created around a thousand years before that. It seems our power was still insufficient... Still, we can make do. We will help you end the war here, and then take the fight to the true enemy. Black Alice herself."
The white rabbit sighed as she finished explaining. "Ahh, finally... Done." She said. She put the toys away.
"Do you understand now, Hero Luka?" Reaper asked.
"So... In the past, or the future..? We teamed up, along with another version of Ilias and Alipheese, to destroy Black Alice, then a new group of enemies appeared, and they proved too much for us, so you decided to just reset everything and start again?"
"Uh... Yeah, pretty much." White Rabbit said. "Since we know what could happen now, we can help you more. We'll minimise the spread of chaos. And thanks to the whole Black Alice resurrection not happening in this world, there are no other worlds out there. This one and the original are the only two." She explained. "Of course, Black Alice managed to follow us back here... Her powers with chaos get stronger every day..."
So, they've done this all before... Though it was different last time. There were different worlds, different people... And now, all their hope is on me..?
So much pressure...
"As long as the Goddess of Chaos lives, chaos will continue to devour everything and everyone. Ever since you arrived, chaos has started to thrive. Slaying Kanon certainly didn't help..." She explained. "At this rate, apoptosis will return, and then..."
If they haven't come back already... I wouldn't be surprised...
Haah... This is getting more and more complicated the longer it goes on...
"In short, we have to act quickly." Reaper summarised. "Taking her down will require more power than you possess, however. And we've already used all of ours." She explained. "Resetting the timeline... It took a lot from us. We will need more power."
"Then... Send me back to my world." Luka suggested. "Alice and the others are strong. They can help!"
"No... Even doing that is beyond us. There are two other beings with immense power that could help you, however. Even being sent to this world was a stroke of luck. Black Alice wanted to play with you... Thankfully. For now, we can only hope you continue to entertain. Thankfully, she cannot enter this realm. Still, I'd watch out for her. Who knows what she might do? You'll need powerful allies to help you bring her down."
...They cant mean...
"They'll never join me." He said.
"Don't be so sure." White Rabbit said. "They did last time. And these ones aren't as bad as they were." The girl stopped talking... Her expression turned serious. She stared directly into Luka's eyes. "You can do it, Luka. I know you can. We're all counting on you."
"...Right." He said. "Then, where do I start?"
"There is much for you to do," Reaper said. "To avoid further deviation from the true history, you will have to avoid slaying your opponents. Sealing is fine."
"I see..." Luka said.
Well, that's what I was going to do anyway.
"You must first track down two members of your group who you have yet to meet. One of them you know quite well. In fact, she killed you not long ago... The other is a spirit. One which even the four great ones don't know of."
"Really?" Luka asked. "And, you're talking about Ilias, right?"
"Indeed," Reaper said. "To find her, you must go south, to her own continent. She landed there a while ago. You should recognise her fairly quickly."
"But... How could there be two Ilias?"
"Confusing, is it not? This Ilias is the same as the one you struck down in your world." Luka's eyes widened in surprise.
Ilias lives..? Then... I didn't kill her...
"How?" He asked.
"Since Ilias was not struck down with a normal weapon, but rather, Angel Halo, she ended up sealed. Or I suppose it would be more accurate to say, fragmented. Killing a god is no easy task, apparently. She is now a fraction of her former strength. I doubt she could beat an Imp on her own." Reaper explained.
"Really..? That's... surprising."
"I would advise finding her first. Who knows what trouble she has got up to."
"And I'll help you find her!" White Rabbit said with a smile. "It shouldn't be too hard!"
"Right... Thank you." He said. "Then what about this other spirit? Who is she?"
"To be honest, even I am not sure. She is an odd one, to be sure... You will find her where Gnome used to stay. Venture into the depths of the pit. Down there, you will find what you seek."
"Huh? Why would she be down there?" He asked.
"A Tartarus has formed, thanks to that Goddess of Chaos... It connects this world to yours. She opened it once the Spirit of Earth died. Go down there and collect this fifth spirit. Only then will you have enough power to fight the gods."
What the hell is a Tartarus..? I guess I'll have to ask Promestein later. These two don't seem like the most descriptive types...
"That's... Okay..." Luka said. "Then what?"
"All in due time," Reaper said. "For now, you should return to the land of the living. The magic circle over there will take you." She explained.
"Been a long time since you've said that!" White Rabbit said. Reaper sighed.
"Indeed... It used to be a daily task... Hourly... Even."
"What? What are you talking about?" Luka asked.
"Oh, nothing." White Rabbit smiled. "Just about how Reaper used to have to save you whenever your... stress relief went too far... Heh, those were good times..."
...What?
"Anyway, it's time for you to go back," Reaper said. Luka nodded and stood up. The hero was still sceptical about the whole arrangement... But seeing as he had no other choice, He walked over to the circle, but before stepping on it, he asked a question.
"Wait... When will I come back..?" The Hero asked.
"There is only one viable time. Before you marched on Heaven." She explained.
Oh... Then...
"Then the spirits will leave." Luka pointed out.
"...I know," Reaper said. "This will be... troublesome. Without them, you will be far weaker... But, even Heinrich was still strong even on his own. The spirits do not make you who you are, Hero Luka." The Reaper walked closer to the Hero as she talked. White Rabbit followed.
"You have not reached your full potential." She said. "There is still further to go. More power for you to attain."
"...Even without them?"
"Even without them," Reaper repeated. "Besides, you will still have one of them, won't you?"
Right... Gnomaren...
"Then... Thank you, Reaper, for giving me this second chance. And you too, White Rabbit."
"Heh, no issue." She said. "Well, see you later!"
Luka was about to step onto the circle but suddenly remembered something.
"Wait! Since you were able to save me from death, will you be able to do it again..?"
Reaper sighed. "Unfortunately, no. Like I said earlier, We have already used all our power. Resurrecting you this time will likely be the last of it. At the very most, I might be able to save you from death one more time... Though I wouldn't count on it."
"Oh... I see..." Luka said. "Well, thank you for saving me, Reaper." The Spirit of Death nodded.
Luka nodded back and walked onto the circle. In an instant, he was sent out of the realm of Hades.
"...Do you really think he can do it?" Reaper asked.
"Of course..." She said. "He is the chosen Hero, after all."
Huh... Just like the evaluations...
Luka suddenly found himself walking along the grass fields of Natalia. The skies were as blue as he remembered. He had done this before. The hero was relieved. He was saved from his fate by another.
I have to get stronger... I can't rely on her in the future...
The boy looked at his Doppel. His eyes widened as he did.
Rinoa... You're alright... Thank Ilias...
"Uh... Are you okay, Luka? Why are you staring at me like that..?"
Before Rinoa could stop the hero, he embraced his Doppel. It was a tight hug, one which Rinoa desperately tried to struggle out of.
"W-What are you doing!" She shouted. "G-Get off of me!"
Rinoa managed to push Luka off of her. The Doppel's face had a deep shade of red plastered over it.
"Huh? Oh... Sorry." Luka apologised. "I just... It doesn't matter." He said.
"Uhh... Okay?" She said. Luka shared an awkward glance with the heroine.
"I... I guess we should get going." He said. "Tamamo and the others aren't far now."
"Yeah." Rinoa agreed.
And here they come...
Right on cue, the spirits appeared in front of Luka. Each spirit looked unsure about what to say. After a moment, Salamander spoke.
"Luka..." She said. "Me and the others have come to a decision."
The hero stopped walking.
"What is it?" He asked. Rinoa turned to Luka, confused as to why he was talking to thin air.
"We want to know when you plan to take revenge for Gnome." She explained.
...Here goes nothing...
"...I can't. Not yet." Luka explained. "It's too risky. I'm sorry, but no matter what you say, I can't do it just yet."
Salamander sighed upon hearing his response. "I see... But Luka... we aren't asking." She said. "If you don't do as we ask, we will leave. I'm sorry... But we may not ever get a chance like this again."
"No, you're wrong," Luka said. "If I march into heaven now, they'll surround me. Even with all of us fighting together, we can't beat them! We have to wait for a better opportunity later!"
"But you can sneak through!" She suggested. "You can take her down before anyone notices! And you don't have to go straight for Ilias. Lucifina would be fine too."
"I'm sorry... I can't." Luka said.
Please... You have to understand.
"Y-You bastard!" Salamander shouted. "She died alone, and afraid! The Daystar killed her, and now you say you won't even avenge her..? I thought you were a hero..."
"...I am," Luka said. "But avenging Gnome must wait. There will be other chances, I promise."
"And we're just supposed to trust in you? A man we have known for barely a month? She was our friend! Our family!"
"I agree with her," Undine said. "If you do not do this for us... You will leave us with no choice."
"...I can't..."
...Don't go... Please.
"Then... We will do as we said." Undine explained. "I... None of us wanted this, Luka. I hope you will understand."
"...I do."
"Then, this is goodbye." She said. "I hope luck is on your side in future battles, even without us on your side."
Luka watched as Undine faded away, his connection to the water breaking as she did.
"Me too, Luka..." Salamander said. "For now, I will mourn her death. I wish I was strong enough to wait, like you said... But I can't."
"Goodbye, Luka." She said.
Salamander faded away, just like Undine. His control of the fire disappeared along with her. Now, only Sylph remained.
"...I know you want to do it too, Luka," Sylph said. "Why won't you?"
"Like I said. Once I get an opportunity, I will take revenge for her." Luka explained.
"Even if it's your own mother you have to kill?" Sylph asked.
Luka did not respond. Silence filled the air.
...I don't think I could... Even when I fought her last time, I hesitated...
"...Then, I'll have to go as well." She said. "...It was fun while it lasted."
"Yeah... It was."
Sylph looked sad as she faded away. Luka noticed she had a tear in her eye, as did he. He wiped it away. Once she was gone, only two elements remained to the hero. Gnomaren appeared from the air, looking directly at him. Luka noticed something odd in her eyes. Before, when he looked at them, they were empty, emotionless. Now, they had an ever so slight glow to them.
"Luka!" Rinoa shouted. Luka turned to the girl in surprise.
"What?" He asked.
"I've been calling your name for the last three minutes!" She said.
"Oh... I was preoccupied. Anyway, we should get going." He suggested.
Oh, he was probably talking to the spirits... He was apologising, but for what?
"...Alright," Rinoa said. The two started walking towards the camps.
"What were you doing?" She asked. "And... why did you hug me earlier?"
"I'll explain later when Tamamo is there. And Promestein too, I guess. For now, we should get there before night falls."
This seems pretty serious... It's probably better if I just wait. I'll ask him about it later...
"Okay..." She said. Rinoa was fairly confused by Luka's strange attitude. She certainly didn't expect the hero to just hug her all of a sudden earlier... But, it's not like she hated it or anything.
Hmph. He should give me a warning before he does something like that. That idiot...
Rinoa sighed. The camp was a long walk away.
Tamamo walked from tent to tent, searching for her angelic friend. Or maybe a coworker would be a better way to put it. She had never much liked the scientist. She did try to kill her once, along with most of monster kind. However, this was a different version of her. Her skills would be instrumental in ending the war.
And on another note, Luna is... Well, she's alive at least. Luka will have to talk to her later.
The Kitsune walked over to one of the larger tents. A thin trail of smoke was coming out from it.
That's definitely a fire hazard...
Ah, so she is here. Finally.
Tamamo walked over to the red-haired scientist. She was writing something down on her clipboard, as per usual.
"How's your research going?" She asked. "I see you've made this tent your home."
"Indeed," Promestein said. "It should serve as a temporary laboratory, for now. I do hope we get to an actual city sometime soon..."
"Yes, I was going to talk to the king about that... We could go to the ruins of San Ilia, seeing as their abandoned. Fixing up all those buildings could prove troublesome though. We can't go back to Sabasa either. It's probably covered by a layer of sand by now... Any news on the Earthquakes?" Tamamo asked.
"They have mostly stopped, thankfully. The damage was mostly done in the southwest region of Sentora, though I expect the other continents were hit quite badly."
"Hellgondo is probably fine," Tamamo said. "Alipheese would've protected it, along with this world's version of me. The Ilias continent... Well, I wouldn't know about that."
"What are we going to do now?" Promestein asked. "To end the war, I mean."
"Once we get the civilians to a safe place, we'll move on. I'll have to talk to Luka. We'll form a plan once he gets here. For now, you should rest."
"Angels technically don't need sleep," Promestein said.
"And yet, you still look tired."
"Hmm, probably a side-effect of being on the ground for so long... I even feel hungry now..." She complained. "Is this what it's like to be human..?"
"I wouldn't know," Tamamo said. "Anyway, I'll go out and wait for Luka," Tamamo explained. "I'll probably find the king before that though..."
"Very well," Promestein said. "...Goodnight."
...I didn't think Promestein would be the type to say that... I guess she is a little different from the one I knew.
"Goodnight," Tamamo replied. She left the tent. Promestein turned back to her table. She was currently studying a strand of Luka's hair. His DNA was quite interesting...
High above the clouds, the goddess watched.
..What the hell!? Why didn't he do it!? Why didn't he come up here!?
Ilias felt her blood boil as she thought about it. Her plan was perfect!
That Hero should've come up to Heaven on his own! And yet, he just walked off like nothing happened! Does he not even care if he loses the spirits?
The Goddess sighed. This idiotic hero had unknowingly foiled her plans...
Now what should I do..? Alipheese and that damned Kitsune have already managed to stop the earthquakes on Hellgondo, and the Spirit of Earth has been replaced... What now?
Slaying the hero wouldn't be hard. Micaela and Lucifina could do it together, or even just one of them on their own could finish the job...
But... He could still prove useful. Alipheese will turn those humans against me, won't she? She'll blame me for the earthquakes... And then they'll join her...
Damn it! It's all that damn hero's fault! That little idiot! If he just did what I wanted him to, then this war would be over!
So... What can I do now? If killing one of his friends didn't bring him to me, what will?
Nothing. Nothing at all... Then, I'll have to do something else. This hero has distracted me for far too long. I have to focus back on the war. Even with only five ancestors, Alipheese's army is still powerful, and theirs that daughter of her's I have to worry about...
Damn you, Hero Luka. I'll get revenge, one day...