Chapter 6: The Ritual

Kingdom Valley

Beneath the regal and historic castle, Knuckles and Elvira continued their perilous brawl through the sweat and dust. Knuckles had plowed through over half of the lynx's skeletons, compromising her stealth tactics. Neither of them could land a hit on the other, and if Knuckles was frank, he didn't want to be anywhere near her. As far as he knew, every part of her body could dish out the same necrotic effect if he simply made contact with it. His best bet was to keep his distance and dwindle the army until Sonic arrived. He just hoped that Tails could make contact and get away with the Chaos Emerald. If he didn't, all of this would be pointless. "Are you tired yet!" Elvira gleefully shouted to amp Knuckles up.

"Are you kidding? I'm just warming up!" He responded competitively.

"Good, because we should take things up a notch and get serious." She said with a little venom in her voice. Knuckles was taken aback by how nonchalant that statement was. Was she seriously holding back this entire time? She clamps her hands together and emits a soft black powder from her fingertips, which courses through each of the skeletons, making them twitch uncontrollably until they each lose their stability and crumble in small piles.

The bones quickly liquefy and move into a cluster in one centralized area. The ooze merges and grows in both height and mass, forming arms and legs in a rather asymmetrical pattern. The body then congeals and starts retaining typical body parts like claws and rows of sharp teeth stretching from the upper torso to the bottom. Although, it had no head or other facial distinctions, other than a pair of hollow eye sockets right above the mouth. "It's imperfect- sloppy even." Elvira chuckled with mirth, basking in the presence of her creation. "But it's an ideal sketch of my true perfection. In time, I'll construct something even greater, but for now, it'll have to do to devour you."

Knuckles spared no time to get the jump on this abomination before it attacked. He leaped into the air and prepared to slam right into its shoulder, which looked to be the most flimsy of its body. However, as his fist collided with the shoulder, its hard surface sent shivers up Knuckles' arm and briefly paralyzed his whole body. The creature picked up Knuckles and hurled him into the wall. Elvira continued to laugh as Knuckles struggled to pick himself up. His head was spinning and his vision was dazed, but he could barely make out the abomination approaching him rapidly, but it was far too late to react now. It grabbed him again and opened its vast jaw, ready to swallow Knuckles whole.

Fortunately, time no longer proceeded forward, as it ceased to move entirely. Gracefully floating into the tomb was the mysterious stranger with the clock face and pocket watch, which was again motionless in his hand. Wasting no time to interfere with Elvira, due to their unusual protection from The Murmur, the stranger passed by her and went straight for the abomination. With a simple touch, the creature's body began decaying rapidly, like time was accelerating its decomposition process. It soon turned into a fleeting dust which was peacefully suspended in the air, along with Knuckles. The stranger then approached the Echidna and placed his hand on top of his head. "Save your fury for later, brave warrior." Knuckles' body started to glow white and dissipate into the air like petals blown from a branch.

Unlike before, the stranger dispersed into nothingness too, leaving nothing to indicate that they were there at all. With their presence gone, time moved on like it had before, and once Elvira's senses came too, she was shocked and heartbroken after seeing her creation crumble to the floor in an instant. "No…" She whimpered as she ran over to the mound of dust. She cupped her hand and scooped up a little handful of the dust before letting it drift back into the air by some draft. "You were beautiful while you lived. I'm sorry your life was so short." She mourned while clenching a fist and jolting back up in anger. "Where are you, echidna!? What kinda sick trick did you pull?!"

"Hey!" A familiar voice beckoned her from above. She looked up and saw the deer brothers standing right in front of the castle doors. "Where did the other one go?" Blair asked.

"Gone… vanished into thin air, along with my kin's life. Did you get the kid?"

"Funny you ask." Cain growled with disdain. "He got away the same exact way. But not without this." Cain presents the Chaos Emerald in the air, quickly shifting Elvira's eyes from gloom to an endearing sparkle. "Blair here says he has a plan to steal the other one Sonic has, right brother?"

"Indeed." Blair brandishes Tails' radio in his hand. "We'll lead him right into a trap. So play along and we can impress the master once we return."

Soleanna: Castle Courtyard

Sonic strolled around through a pleasant path, viewing the scenery of the garden within the courtyard. He thoroughly looked at everything around him to provoke any more visions to give him a clue. While nothing initially stood out to him, there was one statue that made his head throb. A marble figurine of some sort of entity, which had bladed wings and an arrow-like body, along with a red dot placed in the middle of said body. It was almost like an angel. The visions he had of this thing were faint and inconsistent, but all that he could gather was that he, Shadow, and Silver were all floating in a void with that angel imposing them.

Did they fight this thing before? Wanting answers about what this angel was, Sonic dashed next to someone who seemed like a guard. "Excuse me? But could you mind telling me what that is a statue of?" Sonic pointed to the angel figurine, and his inquiry immediately made the guard quite inquisitive.

"Oh, you mean Solaris?" The Guard confidently answered. "The people of this town used to worship it as a god long ago. It inspired the first settlers here to construct this city, despite its trivial size of just a stunted flame. Unfortunately, it died mysteriously before it was scheduled to be brought in for experiments. Almost as if someone blew it out." Sonic's head started to split again. Solaris… he heard that name before. Nothing good to back up its reputation either. But he still didn't know how he gathered any of this, which was the whole point of why he stayed behind. But at least he was getting somewhere in his discoveries.

Just then, the radio Tails gave him played static which promptly grabbed his attention. Sonic distanced himself away from anyone else and listened to the radio in private. "Tails? Is that you?"

*No…* A crooked voice whispered through the speaker, making Sonic's heart sink. *Tails is not here anymore. We, the Apostles of the new God, are taking control of your plan.* It was Blair's voice on the other side of the call, but Sonic didn't care what they called themselves, he just had one question that far outweighed the others.

"What have you done with him?" Sonic's voice lowered, hinting at a subtle loathing creaking out of his throat.

*We had some difficulties handling him. We offered to let him go if he handed over the emerald, but you've put some stubbornness into that kid, you see. He tried to fight back, but he was no match for us.* Sonic's pupils shrunk and dilated. His hand trembled and his expression sunk. A deathly glare took hold of his expressionless face. *When his blood spilled, he could do nothing but cry. Heh, cry… how sad. 'Sonic… Knuckles… I'm sorry! Please help me!' Heroes like you give nothing but false hope… However, your echidna friend is still here, fighting for his life. If you have any desire to save him, bring the emerald you possess and we can negotiate. Don't be late.* The radio clicked back to white noise, drowning Sonic's senses. His empty face of sorrow refused to change. His eyes twitch to the side, staring at the mountains where his friend ventured.

Kingdom Valley

Blair drops the radio to the ground and disposes of it by smashing it with his foot. "You sure he'll take the bait?" Elvira chimed in.

"I know these hero types. He'll be desperate to save anyone he can." Blair assured her. "Get into position, it won't be long until he arrives." Suddenly, the flow of the wind shifted and changed directions, ramping up into a blustery. The Apostles didn't seem to mind. However, they couldn't ignore the abrupt boom in the distance, resonating from the city below. After that crack in the air, the Apostles all froze and followed the source of the noise, finally noticing the elevation of the wind.

Elvira squints her eyes as they catch movement through the forest. Something was headed their way, and it was fast. "What is-" Before she could finish her sentence, a blue blur darts past her, emitting a wave of gustful winds to send her flying back into a tree. Her back painfully slides down the jagged bark, but something grabs her by the leg and throws her onto the ground, next to the deer brother's feet. The brothers take a step back, unknowingly backing up into something far more dangerous than them. Cain's back bumps against someone else behind them.

"Where is he?" Sonic muttered into the deer's ear. Cain turned around and gasped, but he was swiftly met with a punch socking him square in the face. Cain was slung into the dirt and was briefly knocked out.

"Brother!" Before Blair could tend to his brother, Sonic grabbed his antler and twisted his head into an uncomfortable position.

"Where is Knuckles?" Sonic twisted harder, leading Blair to scream in agony and plead for his life.

"I-I don't know! We have no idea, he vanished, I swear!" Sonic's grip tightened, cracking the velvet antler. "I'm telling the truth! We didn't do anything to him or the fox. They just… disappeared."

"You think I'm just gonna believe you now?" Sonic was about to put all of his strength into destroying Blair's antler but was forced to let go and dodge after a lightning bolt shot towards him. Cain was back on his feet and began to conjure another bolt.

"Get away from him!" He yelled, but before he even knew what happened next, Sonic was there, in front of him. His eyes widened and he lowered his attack, scared out of his mind to even move.

"Try that again." Sonic ordered. Cain's legs were trembling, and his eyes quivered. He was frozen with fear. "I want you to try to hit me again…. Do it!" Cain flinches as Sonic raises his voice, but he meekly complies as he rubs his hands together to create electricity. "Faster." Sonic commanded. "Faster!" Cain hastened his hands, generating more and more volts. "Time's up."

"Wait!" Cain could only watch as Sonic raised his fist and prepared one devastating strike. But he was interrupted by the dirt and grass below him petrifying and crumbling into dust, making him lose his footing. Through the small hole he fell in, Sonic fell into the jaws of a giant venus flytrap, which sprung into the air and shook around to daze Sonic.

Elvira and Blair were back on their feet and combined their powers to trap Sonic in place. "Get yourself together and finish him off!" Elvira shouted at Cain, who became more confident in his stance knowing that they finally had Sonic trapped. Cain didn't want to risk not getting a kill shot like he did with Tails, he wanted to finish the job in one go. He opened his hands and let the lightning bounce across his palms, making the bolts more violent and threatening.

"Do it now, brother!" Cain yelled as he pushed his hands forward, letting loose a flurry of black lightning. As it strikes against the mouth of the flytrap, a bright flash blinds everyone in the area and temporarily deafens them. It wasn't before long until the flash dissipated and The Apostles looked on at the fried flytrap. They had just struck victory. "Yes!" Blair celebrated. "You did it!" Blair ran after his brother, who couldn't believe what he had just accomplished. He lifted him onto his feet and patted him on the back.

"I gotta admit, that was pretty impressive." Elvira placed her hand on her hips as she looked around the burnt remains of the flytrap. "Now, where's that emerald?"

"Here." With one word, The Apostle's hearts plummeted to the bottom of their guts. They saw Sonic emerging from the bushes with the Chaos Emerald in hand.

"How… how did you-"

"A little trick I picked up from a brooding faker. Let me demonstrate it for you. Chaos control!" The emerald illuminates brightly from Sonic's hand, stunning The Apostles with its glare. All of a sudden, Sonic appeared behind Cain and wasted no time to kick him into his brother. As the two deer collide with each other, their antlers accidentally lock, leaving them stuck.

Unbeknownst to Sonic, Elvira had snuck behind him and was ready to pounce. She only needed to touch him once to activate the necrosis, but she had to stay low. With Sonic's attention on Cain and Blair, Elvira takes the moment to leap from the foliage and attack. It was only until the last second that Sonic finally noticed her and turned around to see her right in front of him. Luckily, her hand failed to make contact with his skin, but it instead landed upon the Chaos Emerald. With her necrosis active, it caused a volatile reaction within the gem. A dense cloud of grey smoke leaked from the emerald, and when Sonic tried using the emerald to escape, it refused to activate. Elvira's powers suppressed whatever power the emerald held, and she figured that out shortly.

She smiled and dumped more of her power into the gemstone, making more smoke and unstable sparks to emanate. Sonic tried to balance the energy in his favor, but his knowledge about the emerald's true power was lacking, so he didn't know what he was supposed to do to counteract Elvira's interference. The emerald couldn't take much more and soon emitted a massive shock wave to deter any outside force. Sonic and Elvira were sent spiraling away, with the hedgehog skidding across the grass and later hitting the back of his head against a rock, leaving him disorientated. He lifts his hands and barely sees through his fogged vision that the emerald was no longer in his hands, but rather in the hands of the lynx.

Elvira approaches, coursing more of her necrotic energy into the emerald, letting the unstable power envelop her. Sonic was cornered as his perception slowly diminished from the big bang that rocked his head. It almost looked like time had slowed down to a halt, as everything around Sonic started to freeze. He rubbed his head, trying to get a grasp on himself. He really started to trip, as he could see Elvira completely stationary in front of him. But as his mind cleared and time around him remained still, Sonic soon noticed that something was off. He leaned forward and looked around. He was sure of it now: Everything had been frozen in time. But before he could make out any of this, the mysterious clock stranger appeared. Even without eyes, the stranger looked curious about Sonic. "Are you moving?" He asked.

"Uh, I think so?" Sonic flopped his arm and hand in a circle, confirming the stranger's question. "What's going on?"

"You shouldn't be able to move at all." The stranger kneels next to Sonic and examines him further. He looks down at his hand and sees that his pocket watch is motionless. "Time is most certainly not in motion, and yet… You're coming with me."

"No…" Sonic groaned as his head started to split. He tried standing up, but the stranger gently pushed him back down to rest. "I need to find my friends."

"Would they happen to be a twin-tailed fox and a red echidna? Don't worry, they're safe. I can take you with me to see them."

"How did you- Who are you?" The stranger wrapped Sonic's arm around his shoulder and picked him up.

"Call me Dial." Sonic weakly smiled as Dial beamed with light. A warm sensation entered Sonic's body as he fell into bliss, and later turned into white petals as they both disappeared, letting time resume. Once again, Elvira's prey got away the same way. And this time, she was beyond angry. She screamed in frustration as she unleashed the full power of her necrosis, decaying the forest and field around her.

Westopolis

The sun was rising over the wasted city. Rubble toppled in the streets, falling from skyscrapers and apartments. If the roads weren't covered with debris, they were scattered with rusted blood and ravaged GUN vehicles. There still were GUN soldiers around, but many of them hid along with civilians, sheltering from the monster laying waste to their city. Infinite stood above the exhausted Silver. His quills were covered in dust and soot, and half of his body was bruised or cut. Their battle had been going on for an hour, where Infinite had found better enjoyment in playing around with Silver rather than engaging in actual combat. "Are you ready for another go?" He asked.

"Why… Why are you doing this?" Silver's spirit was teetering along the edge. It was inches from breaking. "What do you have to gain from all this destruction?"

"Hmm…" Infinite pondered what to say. His simple reasoning was having fun and testing his limits, but he wanted to say something to reach Silver on a deeper level. In a way, Infinite held respect for him but thought that Silver's mentality held him back. He wanted to evolve him past the restrictions of a mortal. "I used to be like you. I used to have a team I cared about. I would've thrown my life away to save them like you would for a stranger. The burden I felt when I lost them… I was weak. I wanted to become strong to prove that I could've saved them that day. But after every experiment, every knick across my brain, I was blind to the fact that they were the ones who held me back. Now I know that the ones who ascend must first die to truly live. I left my burdens behind. And if you have any inclination to stand up against us, you will too." Silver's fingers dug into the cement, leaving scratch marks as he tensed them. His blood boiled and he gritted his teeth. "I know you will. I just have to crack the shell you hide behind, as I had too. We are the same, for we are above the rest."

"I. AM. NOT. YOU!" Silver stands up in a frantic hurry. He pushes his arms out and sends a shockwave across the whole block. Infinite is sent airborne, but effortlessly maintains his bearings and stays stable. "I will never be you!" Silver uses his psychokinesis to pry lamp posts from the ground and angles them at Infinite. Silver winds his arm back and thrusts forward to chuck the posts. Infinite uses one arm to deflect the lamps away, but one stray pole rams into his side and knocks him into an office building. "I can't afford to carry burdens, not when I'm depended on." Silver holds his left hand open and close to his chest, with his right hand above and parallel to it. Suddenly, the whole building Infinite was trapped in starts glowing as he composes himself. Silver moves his right hand down, closer to his left.

The building starts to compress from the top and Infinite soon realizes that the roof above him has lowered right onto his head, crushing him. Silver finishes his technique by closing his hands together, causing the building to cram and tumble into rubble, leaving no trace of Infinite. But Silver knew that it wouldn't be enough to stop him, so he readies sharp debris and rebar as projectiles to shoot once the jackal emerges from the collapsed structure. He didn't risk blinking, making sure that he wouldn't miss any movement coming from under the wrecked building. It was awfully quiet and still, letting the white hedgehog's ears listen to something other than the beating of his heart. Wind howled through the city, emanating the emptiness of a once lively center.

It had been a while. Did a mere building really defeat Infinite? Silver wouldn't believe it, he'd never make that assumption. It must've been a ploy or tactic the jackal was using to lower his guard. But Silver's eyes never faltered. He wouldn't let Infinite get a chance to catch his breath or to escape. He was ending this nightmare and saving the future now. Even the rumbles through the ground were ignored as Silver held his gaze. "Did you really think dropping a building on me was going to be enough?" Silver's eyes widened as he turned around instantly to launch the projectiles he stored up. But before he could press his attack, Infinite backhands Silver into the ground, leaving a trail of dust that emits from a small crater next to a seemingly abandoned car. Silver groans and leans back up as he retains his senses. As he looks around, he spots a young man, decorated in a nice suit, cowering inside his car, which inadvertently attracts Infinite's attention to him as well. "Let's resume our lesson, shall we?" Infinite peels the car door clean off, fully revealing the businessman crouching below the driver's seat.

The man freaks out and makes a run for it, which proves fruitless, as Infinite appears in front of him and grabs him by the throat. He holds the civilian in the air, exposing the rest of his body for Silver to peer at. He was making himself vulnerable on purpose. "I'm giving you another chance to end this. I've lowered my defenses and any sizable attack you make will be sure to neutralize me." Infinite lowers the man down, easing him closer to his body. "But you'll have to cut through this man first."

"How can you expect me to make such a choice? Are these people's lives just a game to you?" Silver scornfully hissed.

"You have been given the task to save the future at all costs, have you not? Why should this one life stop you now? In two hundred years, this man will be forgotten and left behind! No matter the outcome of today. If you can't make this choice, then you don't deserve power at all." Silver's expression mellows, recognizing the truth behind Infinite's words. His job was to ensure that the future was safe, but he never considered the costs of maintaining that state of security. What sacrifices must be made? Did innocents need to die to save thousands more? In an old life, maybe he pursued it that way, but could he now? As it stood, Infinite had risen to be the greatest danger in the world, and here he was offering a killing shot to himself.

Silver's hands whirred with energy, channeling a blue aura. He tried to see if there was any angle he could use to shoot only Infinite and miss the man, but Infinite precisely put him in a spot where Silver couldn't cheat. He didn't want to use his telekinesis to push him away, as he would lose his best chance at finishing this. Maybe… maybe he needed to make that call. Silver lowered his eyes away from the man, who was drowning in tears. "I'm sorry…"

"Don't, please!" Infinite laughed to himself, feeling vindicated in his approach, and thinking to himself: 'Finally.'

"I'm… so sorry…" The aura around Silver started building up rapidly, leaving the rest for him to form a conduit into his fingers for a psionic slash. It was his best bet to take the jackal out.

"I have a family! Please don't do this!" He continued to plead, while Infinite whispered an inaudible phrase to Silver.

"Do it…" Silver's hands started to shake, and his power started to diminish. He couldn't do it. He couldn't take the action necessary to save the world. Infinite shook his head, disappointed in Silver. "We were almost there." Infinite sent a pulse of his energy through his hand and into the man's neck, where he dissolved from the inside out, traumatizing Silver. "You've dashed my expectations, but I still have hope that you will one day understand."

Suddenly, quakes in the ground grew closer with every second like another war had taken place elsewhere. There was yelling and explosions scattered near the outskirts of the city. Silver heard three voices: A man, a woman, and a robot. But he could only make out one sentence, which was constantly shouted. "Chaos spear!" With that phrase alone, Silver knew exactly who it was. "Shadow?"

Just then, Silver watched as Team Dark turn the corner a few blocks down, chasing the head of The Tormentor. Ordnance of missiles and chaos spears tried to pin it down, but the head was still too elusive for them. Shadow held up his hand, revealing the green chaos emerald, which started to glow as Shadow planned to cut off the head. "Chaos Control!" The emerald flashes a bright light, followed by Shadow vanishing into thin air. The ebony hedgehog suddenly appears in front of The Tormentor and tries to squish it into a paste with his foot, but the head easily evades and Shadow stomp shatters the concrete.

While surprised to see Shadow, Infinite was beckoned toward one particular thing the hedgehog held: The Chaos Emerald. "Excuse me, Silver." Silver barely reacted in time to brace himself from Infinite's blast, which hurled him into a wall, briefly knocking him out cold. Infinite wasted no time teleporting in front of Shadow and charged up an attack within his palm. "It's so nice seeing you again, Shadow. But I have a job of my own." The blast from Infinite's palm rocks Shadow into Rouge and Omega, who are clotheslined by his body flying past. In the confusion, Shadow loses his grip on the emerald, which falls perfectly into Infinite's hand. The jackal looks down at The Tormentor, somewhat disgusted by its grotesque appearance. "So what are you supposed to be?"

"That is my brother." A familiar voice echoed to Infinite. He watched as The Murmur danced around his head. Its bulb of purple flame stoked in excitement. "It's been too long. I see you've had some troubles with your awakening."

"A little fun won't kill me, but it sure did come close." The Tormentor reassured itself. "Where's the youngest?"

"Still in stasis. We'll come up with a plan later, but we must merge now."

"Yeah, yeah." The Tormentor's eye glanced at Infinite. "So, you have the stuff?" It was probably a clear assumption for Infinite that this new entity was one of the fragments The Murmur spoke of. With that in mind, he did not hesitate to show the two emeralds he held possession of.

"Are you ready?" The Murmur asked The Tormentor.

"Oh, I am ready for a party." With a definitive consensus, the two began a ritual. The Murmur floated into The Tormentor's pores, seeping in slowly as The Tormentor's skin was smoother and flatter than expected. The process made The Tormentor grunt in pain, but it was a sensation it relished with pleasure. The two Chaos Emeralds floated just above, emanating their power into a trail of dyed tide. Their energy is siphoned as more is pumped into the two, and both emeralds react sporadically like they are being violated.

A transformation started taking place, as a violet fog envelopes the rest of The Tormentor's head in darkness. The fog forms four limbs: Two arms and two legs. Each was armored with dark and jagged plating. The torso is next to be defined, as it bulks up and is outfitted in a chest piece with a similar material from the arms and legs. A long black cape sprouts from the back as the head is lastly shaped. A knight's helmet with a gridded visor and a red reptilian eye. "Time is ticking. Time is slipping through the hourglass." It spoke with ruinous elegance. It turned to Silver and the rest of Team Dark, reveling in the unspoken horror as they stared blankly at it. "You are but grains of sand, trying so hard to outrun the clock. But save your empty valor… and fail with honor."

To be continued…

Up Next: The Equation of the Universe!