The liquid burned going down her throat, but it was still so refreshing, so invigorating. Almost as if with every swig, the burning drink took away another problem that the young Queen had. As she finished her latest gulp, she once again had to deal with the fact that every drink she took only gave theillusionof release; that her body's design made it so that becoming drunk was impossible.
Sighing heavily, the Queen got up and walked over to the mirror to see how she looked. As a whole, nothing really changed about her appearance: she still had the same long, wavy crimson hair that fell down to her hips. Her pallid skin still stood out against her hair and eyes, the latter of which was the color of bright orange. A pair of hornlike growths sprouted from her shoulders and ears, indicating her demonic heritage, the latter pair giving the illusion that she her ears were pointed. For whatever reason, she still chose to don her jewelry and purple maxi dress, as if she still had any worth left. The only true differences were the dark rings around her eyes, brought upon by months upon months of insomnia.
Looking down, the Queen once again thought to herself, Where did it all go wrong? Once, she was the powerful and beautiful Queen of the Negaverse, a Dark Kingdom that would one day replace the disgusting, orderly realm that the humans called the "Universe". She had everything: power, servants, and a titaness who could and would grant her anything for the Queen's continued worship.
And all that came crashing down, when that teenage bitch known as Sailor Moon interfered with her plans. Sure, initially it was a cute little rebellion: perhaps she lost a few soldiers, but that was a given in any war. Then Sailor Mercury came, then Sailor Mars, Jupiter, Venus. Eventually, it couldn't be denied anymore: these young girls, the Sailor Senshi, were the reincarnated Princesses of the Silver Millennium. At every turn, the Senshi thwarted the plans of the Dark Kingdom. Even when the Queen was able to take Tuxedo Mask, one of the Senshi's greatest allies, and succeed in taking the souls of most of the Senshi-minus Sailor Moon herself-and was granted a new form and powers by her mistress, Queen Metalia, the Queen was still ultimately defeated, the Negaverse cut off from the Universe, and all the surviving members of the Dark Kingdom left to rot in the ruins of their once great empire.
Of course, hope came in the form of other Avatars of Chaos: the Doom Phantom and his Black Moon Clan, Pharaoh 90 and his Deathbusters, Queen Nehellenia and the Dead Moon Circus, and of course the fallen Sailor Senshi Galaxia with her Shadow Galactica. Pharaoh 90 even once had the power of Sailor Saturn, the most destructive of the Sailor Senshi, right in the palm of his hand… or tentacle… or, whatever his appendages were called. Sadly, Sailor Moon and her group were able to rise to the challenge each time, defeating the Avatars-either through apparent destruction (really banishment) like the Doom Phantom and Pharaoh 90, or through purification like Nehellenia and Galaxia. But the worst part was the last defeat: in doing so, Sailor Moon sent the entity that connected the Avatars together, Chaos, back to its natural home, in the hearts of all living beings. In doing so, Queen Metalia, the Doom Phantom and Pharaoh 90 all vanished, possibly to be never seen again. It was over: Sailor Moon had completely and utterly beat them. And to throw salt in the wound, the Queen had lost her two brothers, Princes Demande and Saphyr, during Sailor Moon's war against the Dark Moon Clan.
Around that time, that's when the Queen grabbed her first bottle.
Suddenly, the Queen was startled by the sound of someone knocking on her door. "What do you want?" The Queen said bluntly, not wanting to deal with anyone at the moment.
"Uhh… it's Parveite, my queen. May I come in?" Parveite asked quietly, a little concerned about what his queen might do to him.
Sighing loudly, the Queen responded, "Fine," wanting to get this over with as soon as possible. Opening the door slowly, Parveite came in. Like the Queen, Parveite had a humanoid body, but one could still see inhuman features under his articles of clothing. From his head sprout two large horns, both jutting upwards from either side of his head. His familiar yellow cowl draped over him, obscuring everything but his white mask. Parveite's pure white robes that were worn under his cowl stood out in contrast to the Queen's dark purple dress.
Bowing slightly, Parveite responded, "Queen Beryl, your advisors and I have become worried. You haven't appeared in court for a while and we were wondering if you-"
"Ugh, for the love of the gods," Beryl groaned. "Do you people need me to babysit you 24/7?"
"P-pardon, my queen?" Parveite responded, head leaning in confusion.
"Almost everyday I have to deal with you people. Can't you just let me rot here in peace?"
Parveite tipped his head in confusion and simply responded, "Queen Beryl… what has gotten you-" He then finally noticed the bottle that sat at his queen's bedstool. Shocked and angry, he could only reply, "Queen Beryl, have you been drinking again?"
"Oh, what's it matter to you," Beryl responded, grabbing the bottle again. "You already said that my heritage made it so that my metabolism burns it up before anything happens. It's not like I'm going to get drunk or anything,"
"That doesn't mean you can overdue it: drinking too much could still seriously hurt you. Besides, do you honestly think that getting drunk will help you?"
"What else am I supposed to do?" Beryl snapped. "Everyone's stuck in the Dark Kingdom, and the Avatars of Chaos are gone. What can I do, other than just waste away here?"
"Queen Beryl, you're people need a leader," Parveite said, not caring that he was being disrespectful to the Negaverse's queen. "I know times can be difficult, but you can't lose hope now. We'll figure out something and-"
"Hold it right there, Parveite," Beryl responded sharply. "What's there to figure out? My generals are dead, we've lost almost all our soldiers, Queen Metalia has disappeared along with the rest of the Chaos Avatars, and Sailor Moon has made it so that the Negaverse can no longer interact with the Universe. Let me ask you this, my royal scientist, how are we supposed to just 'figure that out'?"
"Well, technically, you did execute all of the generals, except Kunzite…"
"Shut up." Beryl deadpanned, before slouching down on her bed. "Just… just go find someone else to take care of these problems. I don't feel like doing them."
Sighing lightly, Parveite replied, "My queen… you can't stay up here in this bedchamber forever. I know your defeat, along with the loss of your brothers, was incredibly painful for you, but you have to do something. At the very least, start something to show that you haven't just lost your ability to lead."
Exhaling greatly, Beryl responded, "And what, do you suggest, is that?"
"I don't know-maybe come out and give a decree. Choose an advisor. Give someone power of the Negaverse while you're in this state. Something!"
Getting up, Beryl walked over to the Royal Scientist and responded, "Parveite… I don't think you understand… things are a lot more-" But suddenly, Beryl heard something. It sounded like a faint whisper. Jerking her head around constantly, Beryl looked back to a confused Parveite. "Did you hear that?"
"Hear… what, your Majesty?"
"There was a voice here a second ago. It sounded like… it was calling to me."
Parveite gave a look of concern under his mask, before responding, "Okay…" Looking to his queen's drugged drink, he responded, "I think you've had a little too much to drink. Maybe we should-"
"Come...us... Chaos…" Parveite suddenly heard something that vaguely sounded like a voice.
"You heard it too! Just now!" Beryl responded in a hyperactive tone.
Speechless, Parveite could only reply, "What… is going on?"
"I-I don't know… It doesn't make any sense…"
"Come to... children... Chaos."
The two, trying to figure out what the voices were saying, kept silent. Finally, a voice, which sounded male, finally manifested in the room, loud and clear.
"Come to us, children of Chaos." The figure spoke in a long, drawn-out way. His voice sounded human, and yet… had an undeniable ethereal accent to it. As if the voice belonged to something that was both human and so much more.
Regardless, Beryl and Parveite, concerned about what was going on, decided to follow the voice to find its source.
About five minutes later, the two heard another voice, this one distinctly female. Once again, the voice simply said, "Come to us, children of Chaos," before going silent. Fearing the worst, Parveite took out his dagger, ready to defend his queen as best as he could. Even if the most he did were simply stay in the palace and research, he would lay down his life for his beloved monarch. Despite this, the empty, dark sands of the Negaverse desert did little to make either of them truly worry. After all, it would be difficult to stage an ambush when there was so little to hide behind. And a frontal attack wouldn't work either: even with just the two of them, Parveite's technopathy and Queen Beryl's sorcery were more than enough to level some attackers. If an army was awaiting them, then Beryl would use her magic to transport themselves back to the palace and gather what remaining youma to defend the Dark Kingdom.
Still that raised the question: why would attackers call their enemies?
Eventually, the duo saw something coming up on the horizon. "What's that?" Parveite asked.
"I-I'm not sure. I don't remember there being any buildings around this area." As the two got closer, a feeling of foreboding began to overtake their souls. The structure was what appeared to be a giant dome, crafted from what appeared to be a blue-dark grey stone, with a giant opening facing their direction. In a way, it contrasted greatly with the Queen's own castle, which took on a pseudo-gothic architecture. When the duo got closer, they realized that the dome was not made of stone, but of a strange metal that neither of them had ever seen before.
While the duo looked around the dome, a voice came from inside the dome. "Ah, so the two of you have finally come." The voice sounded strange, very hoarse and garbled, as if the voice belonged to some kind of machine.
Parveite, fearing the worst, got in front of Beryl, dagger in hand. "Show yourself!" The masked would-be defender yelled.
Emerging from the darkness of the inside of the dome, a robed figure appeared before the duo. His robes were a dark blue, with a symbol that could be best described as an open eye printed on the robe's chest area, outlined with gold thread. As the figure appeared before them, they began to see more of his features: the figure, who they now knew was male, appeared to be an adult human, his skin a pale, pasty color. But the fact that a human was in the Negaverse was not what surprised the two: grafted onto the man's mouth was what appeared to be a breathing mask with a long, wide tube that hung around his shoulder, connected to a large pod that hung off his back. The tube appeared to made out of a strange, gray-black metallic substance of unknown origin. His left eye also had a similar aesthetic, with a portion of the skin around the eye replaced with metal plating and the eye itself being a glowing red orb, with its lens constantly shifting between wide and narrow.
Surprised by the appearance of this strange, and in some ways disturbing, new man, Queen Beryl and her accomplice stood there in shocked silence. In response, the man spoke first, "Greetings," He bowed before the two. "I am Terract Goldsmith, Magus-Scenitia of the Negaverse's Arerikyan Chapter."
Queen Beryl simple responded with, "I… have no idea what you just said," Beryl nearly jumped out of her skin by the sudden piercing, guttural squeal that invaded her ears-before realizing it was just Terract laughing.
"Oh, trust me. You will soon, Queen Beryl,"
"Wait, how did you-"
"Those I serve show me many different things, my queen. And you have been a subject of interest to us for quite some time. Now then, if you'll follow me, then I'll be glad to explain everything."
"And what if we don't?" Parveite asked, extremely suspicious of this "we" that Terract referred to.
"Well then, I guess the Dark Kingdom will have to do without saviors," Terract responded before turning around to re-enter the building. Beryl, however, was not yet done.
"Wait-what?"
"Oh yes." Terract replied, looking over his shoulder. His brown organic eye had a twinkle in it that showed he had Beryl and Parveite right where he wanted them. "The Pure Ones have long held a special interest in the Negaverse. While they do believe that certain… ideas and traditions are not worth preserving, they see great potential in the Dark Kingdom." The Queen was confused by the terms that the Magus-Scenitia was using. "They believe that the Negaverse, along with many of its allies, could be a great asset in their grand plans."
"Wait-back up. Who, or what, are the Pure Ones? And what exactly do they want with us?" Beryl asked, confused. Even with the ominous feeling that Terract seemed to expend, the idea of the Forces of Chaos being saved was too tempting to pass up.
"Ohh, my apologies, your highness. It can be easy to forget that not everyone is immediately knowledgeable about my Lords. Don't worry, though: if you come with me, you will learn all you need to know…" At that, he continued his walk into the building. Beryl and Parveite looked at each other, uncertain, before running up in an attempt to join with their new contact. Even though this new situation made both Beryl and Parveite somewhat concerned, they also felt that the benefits outweighed the risks.
Still, they prayed they would walk away from whatever the Magus had in store.
As Terract led the duo down the building, which he revealed was a Vaibanora-an Arerikyan Temple-built by beings he referred to as "Tau". The Queen was surprised with what the Tau had done with the Vaibanora: it gave off this feeling of eeriness and uncanny. It wasn't from what the architecture consisted of: at least, not directly. While there was a distinct lack of variety in terms of colors, shapes and fixtures, the Vaibanora looked impeccably clean and smooth, made of what appeared to a white purer than ivory, completely without blemish. All around, the architecture seemed to be made specifically to work well with anyone who came in, giving them a maximum amount of comfort with a minimal amount of risk of injury. Each and every component seemed to fit perfectly into each other, making a wondrous whole that was far grander than she could ever truly fathom.
Parveite, in contrast, was interested in this new architecture and slowly moved along the walls, a hand always tracing itself on the smooth, ivory surface. He seemed entirely enthralled by what the simple curves of the Tau, which contrasted a bit with the harsh, sharper geometry of his queen's dark castle.
The problem was… it seemed too perfect, too clean, almost as if all life within the Temple had been stripped of any form of a soul. "Terract…" Beryl asked, wanting to break the spell of silence the Temple seemed to have placed over her. "Do the Tau… ever put color into their buildings."
Terract turned around to look at the Queen and blinked, almost as if he was surprised: not by her asking a question, but by what she asked. "Well… not usually. I mean, there are some frescoes in some areas, like that wall over there." As Beryl walked towards the wall, she tried to find the fresco the Magus mentioned. Eventually, after looking very closely, she finally saw a labyrinthine structure painted onto the wall. Despite its pleasing aesthetic, the colors were so light and subtle, the Queen had to look closely to actually see the pattern.
"Hey!" A female voice cried out suddenly. Jumping slightly in place, Beryl quickly turned to see what appeared to be a young woman, with alabaster skin and dark, medium-length hair. The woman had a look of grand annoyance on her face, almost as if she disdained Beryl's mere presense. "If you're done gawking, I'd like to enter my living quarters." Normally, Beryl would have obliterated anyone who dared to speak to her in such a disrespectful manor-though the woman's strange appearance kept Beryl from doing anything rash. Her sleek, obsidian armor stood out amongst the colorless walls of the Vaibanora. But what stood out the most-and what kept Beryl from wiping this woman off of the face of the Negaverse-was the appearance of her ears, which were pointed, about three inches long. Beryl had heard of these creatures before, one of the most popular and iconic fantasy creatures for humans: an elf. Too stunned by the idea of a fictional race appearing right before her, Beryl's mind went into lockdown.
The elf woman shot Beryl an infuriated scowl, before stating, "Why don't you take a picture, Red? It'll last longer."
Terract, himself surprised by the newcomer's response, regained his composure and stormed up to the elven woman, gripping her hard on the wrist. "Raider," Terract responding calmly and slowly, though the Negaverse's Queen could detect rage within his tone of voice. "You are speaking out of line. This is Queen Beryl, the leader of the Dark Kingdom."
"Ohh, you mean Queen Metaria's ceremonial puppet." The woman responded, pulling her arm away from Terract, before doing a mock curtsy and saying, "Forgive me, your highness. I am but a simple raider, who has not before had the pleasure of meeting a Highborn such as yourself." Finally, the woman whipped around, placed her hand on a portion of the wall-which caused a beam of light to run over it. After the beam disappeared, a portion of the wall opened to reveal a doorway, which the woman went through. Still trying to process who and what just happened, Queen Beryl merely stood there, as if frozen in place.
Through all of this, Beryl could only faintly hear Terract say something like, "Dark Eldar… all the same…" What's a Dark Eldar? The Queen thought to herself. For whatever reason, the name sent a chill up her spine.
Sighing, Terract turned back to Beryl. "I am so sorry, your Highness. Dark Eldar tend to be… a bit untamed, especially those who follow the Way of Creesha…" Upon seeing Beryl's confused look, Terract face somehow gave a look that seemed to show he was annoyed with himself. "And what I just said basically sounded like another language, didn't it?" Beryl merely gave a slow nod, her face still showing the same confused expression. Giving another sigh, Terract said, "Okay, long story short: Eldar are basically space elves and the Way of Creesha is one of the denominations of Arerikyo. But I'm afraid I'm going to have to explain more later on, there are some important people expecting you." At that, he led the Queen of the Dark Kingdom down a corridor, with Parveite following suit.
The corridor opened up into what appeared to be a large, circular chamber. Like the "lobby", the chamber was featureless and smooth, with no color or rigid features. It was circular in form, with a few rounded archways dotted along its sides, opening up like great maws to some unknown area. But what stood out to the Dark Kingdom's Monarch was not the appearance of this chamber, but it's inhabitants. Apparently, her guide had brought Parveite and her into the Temple during a very active period.
Throughout her long life, Beryl had seen many creatures and beings, many of which were strange and wonderful. While all of them were humanoid-and some were even human-they still had many traits and qualities about them that showed they were of a different world. Even her soldiers indicated this: not counting her pure human generals, her soldiers during the fight with Sailor Moon consisted of what could be considered an ice-based witch, a living doll-android, a trio of plant-women, a sorceress who could turn people into photos with her hand, and a group of insect-women who had nature-based powers. Hell, her greatest servant was an eldritch abomination!
Nothing, though, could prepare her for what she saw. The interior of the Vaibanora looked pretty much the same as the entrance, but with the added bonus of a great deal of figures who walked around the chamber. She recognized some humans and other elv-Eldar-mingled amongst each other. However, there were now other creatures of all sorts: giant, green behemoths who used technology that was really various bits of armor and weaponry crudely fixed together, skeletal robots outfitted with a "living metal", and grey-skinned creatures who looked similar to what she heard some humans referred to as "the greys", though taller and more humanoid.
Looking over to Parveite, she saw that the Royal Scientist simply stood in place, almost enthralled. "Great Avatars," Parveite said quietly.
Beryl, feeling concerned that the Scientist might not want to go any further, asked, "Parveite, are you-"
"THIS IS FANTASTIC!" Parveite suddenly shouted, to which nearly every figure turned to look at. Before Beryl or Terract could do anything, the horned humanoid rushed into the main chamber, probing everyone with questions of how their technology worked, what materials were used in their production, how to duplicate said technology and more.
"Uhh… let's continue on, your highness," Terract said, his screechy voice surprisingly sounding somewhat embarrassed. Beryl, already worried about what Parveite might do, simply nodded and continued down the chamber, trying to avoid the beings she had saw.
But then she discovered that there were… others. One was similar to the skeletal robots, but they were organic and looked more like a person who haphazardly tried to combine their own flesh with that of machinery. Another was similar to a creature she had heard of before: angels. However, while these "angels" still looked like the humanoids with wings, they also had red sclera and what appeared to be fangs not unlike that of a serpent. There were other beings, but she couldn't get a good look at them-and a few times, she swore that she saw a figure or two change… someway. She couldn't tell how, but she knew that they looked different-such as, in one case, one person walking by her seemingly took an appearance that showed him having two gaping dark holes for eyes, with a Cheshire Cat grin.
Luckily for Beryl, no one seemed to recognize or care about her. Good thing too: she wanted to get out of this place as soon as possible. Walking quickly, she followed the Magus, nearly forgetting a certain character with them. "Ahem," A gruff voice spoke behind Beryl, who turned around quietly to see one of those green-skinned giants again. In his hand, which was more akin to a mechanical claw, was Parveite, whose body language showed a mixture of confusion and disappointment. "Does thiz belon' ta you," The behemoth said, his voice having what sounded like a thick Cockney accent.
"Umm… what did he do?"
"We cautz him tri'in to ste'l ouz Warboss's arma!"
"Parveite!" Beryl responded, angry that he might have nearly caused them to get into trouble here.
"What? I just wanted to study it." Seeing Beryl's glare, he timidly continued, "I was going to give it back…"
After getting through the main chamber, Beryl and Parveite were lead to a smaller room. The center of the room was an island, surrounded by a great chasm, with what appeared to be a small, metal arc. Four small bridges connected the island to the marble ring around the statue: though Beryl noticed what appeared to be an observer's balcony above them, formed into the wall of this chamber.
As soon as they had entered, Terract spun around quickly, addressing Beryl, "Welcome, your highness, to the Divinum Pontem: with this, my fellow Magus and I will be able to send you and your associate to meet those we serve."
Parveite, even giddier than before, replied quickly, "Well, let's fire this thing up! I'll study it after we-"
"It's not that simple," Terract interrupted. "You see, once you two go through the portal, you won't be able to return until the Pure Ones decide that your meeting with them is adjourned."
"So?" Beryl asked.
"Well, let me put it like this," He drew his face in closer; his biological eye showing what he was about to say was not to be taken lightly. "If you happen to do anything that would… offend the Pure Ones," His tone of voice gained an edge of fury. "They won't let you leave. If you happen to do even worse…" He turned around and started to walk towards what appeared to be another door a little farther down the ring. "Well… let's just say whatever will be left of you two will be a great example to the rest of your people. If there's anything left,"
The duo gave a collective gulp, scared over what the Magus just said. As Terract opened the door to a new passageway, Parveite called out, "Wait, you're not coming with us?"
Turning around, the Magus responded, "The Pure Ones only sought audience with you two. To defy them by joining is blasphemy. Besides, someone has to operate the Pontem." At that, he left the duo alone. As they waited for the Pontem to activate, the minutes feeling like days, thoughts rushed through the duo's minds: Who were these Pure Ones? How should they act? How could they help them?
Suddenly, the arch began to crackle and charge, electricity surging through the strange device. Eventually, in between the two arcs was a great circle of purple-white light. Even without their knowledge of this strange object, Beryl and Parveite almost instinctually knew that they were supposed to go through this object. Without a second word, they went through the mysterious "portal".
The trip through the portal was, surprising, quite fast: there were no flashes of light, strange images or mind-breaking revelations. Rather, it was just a simple change of scenery: now, the two of them were within a great hall, made of what seemed to be an onyx-colored metal. For a second, the duo had to stop and take in what they saw: the walls of the hall had what seemed to be an impossible height, with the ceiling itself not being visible. Similarly, the width of the hall was so large; they felt almost like insects in comparison the gargantuan sized floor.
There seemed to be some depictions of artwork on the hall's walls, though it was too dark to make out what it represented. There were a few windows across the hall, showing what appeared to be a bright yellow sky: though it seemed, at least today, that there was heavy cloud cover due to the high amount of dark clouds that seemed to have blotted out most of the sky. The area around them seemed to give off a sense of dread and fear, as if the duo had stumbled upon something that they never should have found. But there was another thing, another seed of fear that grew into dread: for whatever reason, the two felt that they were being watched. Even within the pitch darkness of the hall, the duo still saw what looked like moving silhouettes, melting and reforming in the darkness at different intervals.
Finally, Beryl and Parveite entered where the hall was leading them to: a great, octagonal chamber that appeared to be a sort of throne room. Unlike the hallways, this room seemed to glow with a soft blue light. Most of the chamber was empty, with only other openings dotting around the walls of the chamber: no doubt leading to other areas within… whatever this place was. At the center of this room was what appeared to be three titanic thrones, each made from a sort of dark grey stone. Each of the thrones was outfitted with a brass molding that curved and bended itself on each throne in what appeared to be unique patterns. On the back of the throne closest to them a strange symbol was outfitted from the brass-the closest symbol in comparison was a spiral, but even that was not an accurate description.
As the duo came up to the throne, they looked around to see if anyone else was here with them. At the center of the room was a giant crystal, a strange yellow circle surrounding it. On the circle, eldritch symbols were carved into it, formed in a way that made the circle look like it was made for a mystical reason. After getting a better look at the crystal, the two realized something: its color was not one they had ever seen before. Rather than the color being one of the three primary or secondary colors, this crystal glowed with a light that could best be described as a "yellow-ish blue"-neither one nor the other, but rather a strange mixture between the two that was impossible to describe.
"You know, the original builders of Carcosa formed this crystal in an effort to watch over their domain and beyond," Beryl and Parveite almost died of fright when they heard the voice: not just because of the suddenness and the fact that it seemed to be coming from everywhere at once, but also because of… how it sounded. Instead of a distinct voice, the voice constantly switched between male and female, young and old, in a twisted way that sounded like multiple people constantly speaking over one another, with a single voice overcoming the others for a while before another slowly took the place of the "dominant" voice. "It was meant to make sure that the Carcosan monarchs could react to any and all problems within their city. Of course, it does have other uses…"
"Who are you? Show yourself!" Beryl yelled, electricity crackling through her fingers, a sign she was preparing for battle. Parveite also joined his Queen by taking out his dagger, ready to pounce upon any who would threaten his monarch. The duo readied themselves as a figure started to slink from the shadows into their line of sight.
Of course, what they saw next made them realize how helpless they really were.
A gargantuan figure, big enough to hold both Beryl and Parveite in the palms of its hands, crept into the chamber. The being was humanoid in shape, with a distinct, androgynous body shape that made it difficult to determine if the being was a male or female. In fact, the creature looked more like an equal blend of man and woman, taking subtle qualities from both. Its face was triangular in shape, and the slimy patch that formed its "hair" fell down to the creature's shoulders. However, it didn't appear to have a mouth. The body shape of the creature was lithe and slightly muscular, with a completely smooth chest, devoid of anything like a navel or breasts. However, this creature was made entirely from a strange, bright blue-gray slime substance.
The being's eyes were nothing more than just dark, empty sockets-though both Beryl and Parveite was certain that this creature could see both of them perfectly. While the body of the creature from the waist up still kept a humanoid shape, from the waist down the creature was just a grand, cone-shaped mound of slime. A few times, Beryl and Parveite could see what appeared to be dark, smoky faces, seemingly in fear or torment, occasionally appearing out of the great mass that made up the creatures lower body.
A little frightened, Beryl and Parveite simply stood there in stunned silence. The being, producing a hateful glare that seemed to burn through the two of them, stated, "I would really recommend that the two of you find something to say to me soon: bad things happen to those who waste my time…" When the creature talked, a portion where its mouth should have been opened up, revealing a great hole with strands of slime connected to the top and bottom of its "mouth".
Frightened, Beryl and Parveite racked their brains, trying to think of something to say or do in order to avoid this creature's apparent wrath. Suddenly, another voice, this one distinctly female, said, "Now, now, Likor." A great light started to appear out of another hallway. "After all…" Finally, the source of the light appeared in the chamber: it was just as big as the creature-Likor-though this figure was a woman. "…it is awe-inspiring for many mortals to be in the presence of their gods." She was an albino woman, with pure white hair that was cut short. Her bright blue eyes shone like sapphire stars in the darkness of the chamber, and helped to bring out the roundness of her face. A small, celestial nose was positioned on her smooth, colorless face.
The woman wore what appeared to be a long white, hooded robe, covering almost everything but her face, neck and hands. From below, Parveite noticed that the giantess wore what appeared to be leather boots, also colored white. But what was most noticeable was a certain object that hung off the woman's back: a great, ivory spear shone like a beacon. The spear appeared to be made out of a strange, metallic material that neither Beryl nor Parveite had seen before. Its head was not unlike a regular spear, but six barbs sprung out in an almost wavy pattern.
Looking down, the woman gave a smile: not one that was warm, inviting or comforting, but calculating and exploitive, as if she was forging plans already to use the duo. Getting closer, the giantess said, "I am the White Widow, Goddess of Order and Light, as well as one of the Three Pure Ones. This is Likor, God of Balance and Evolution."
"Yo-you're gods?" Beryl responded, gulping nervously. Even though Queen Metaria was basically a god herself, she was not worshipped as one-her rule, if one could call it that, was a very informal, simple one: Beryl and the Kingdom served Metaria, and in return Metaria granted them power in all its forms. But the actual meeting of gods, in the flesh… such a thought sent shivers down Beryl's spine. Especially due to the fact that she had heard many stories of mortals who suffered great and terrible punishments for doing or saying the wrong thing amongst divine beings.
The White Widow, noticing this, shrunk down to a human size, though she was still quite tall at around six feet: about a foot taller than Beryl herself. The goddess got close to Beryl, her smile only getting bigger, showing perfect white teeth that seemed to glow as stars. "Do not worry, Daughter of Chaos," The Widow said calmly. "You see, we come with great news, for you and your people."
Beryl, understanding this, simply asked, "W-Why? Why us?"
Likor also shrunk to a human form, perhaps around eight feet tall. The creature responded, "Well, to be completely honest: we have found your home plane to be quite interesting for some time," The being glided its way past and Parveite, going to the center of the chamber and lightly stroking the giant crystal. "We would have chosen a messiah by now, but when we discovered more about your plane's history, we learned about a certain enemy who would prove to be… difficult for us."
"Wait, you know of the Senshi as well?" Parveite asked, a little surprised.
"Oh, we know lots of things," Another voice, this one male, appeared. Jerking around, Beryl and Parveite saw the man, though this new figure appeared to them as a seven-foot tall human. Unlike the Widow, he was dressed in what could be considered more modern clothing: a black Victorian style suit, with a black top hat and dark dress shoes. In contrast, his skin was Caucasian, though slightly tanned, with a mane of dark hair that fell down in-between his neck and shoulders. His square face held a thin beard and mustache, appearing somewhat fresh, as it was pretty much just a furry layer on his face. In his left hand was a long black cane, the tip of which was bejeweled with a ruby in the shape of a stereotypical diamond.
"Uhh, who are you?" Beryl asked, a little taken aback by the less dramatic entrance of this new figure.
Smiling a devious smile, the figure suddenly appeared right next to Beryl, stating, "Why, I'm Jack of All." He then appeared on Beryl's opposite side. "The God of Chaos and Darkness." Next, he was by Parveite. "Of course, I'm also known as the Dark Baron." Now, the top of the crystal. "The Wanderer of Hell." Next to Parveite. "The Phantom Killer." Another part of the chamber. "The Zodiac Killer." Finally, he stopped right by Beryl. "And others, though my favorite happens to be Jack the Ripper." He said nonchalantly.
"Wait, what was that last one?" Beryl asked, concerned.
"Anyway, enough about that," Jack said, walking away with a shrug. "I'm certain the two of you are just dying to know what we've got in store for you,"
Parveite couldn't quite place why… but Jack's use of the word "dying" made the Negaversan quite uncomfortable.
"Well, the thought had crossed my mind," Beryl responded, trying to act as calm and respectful in the presence of these so-called gods.
The White Widow flashed her calculating smile, getting closer to the crystal to stroke it softly-as if she was showing off a great trophy. "It's quite simply, really. As we said, we have had an interest in your plane for quite some time." She grew quiet, gaining a look of tranquil fury. "Of course, with the presence of the Senshi, their stubbornness when it came to their beliefs, and the fact that they had defeated your gods made us realize that looking to them to help us spread our gift would be… difficult, in their current state."
Jack then gave a cunning smile to the Queen. "Of course, we then learned that you were still alive-that your Dark Kingdom had not yet fallen completely. So, we thought that you might be of better help to our goals,"
Beryl lite up at what she just heard. "So, what you're saying is… you want to give the Forces of Chaos a second chance-you want us to join with you and lead this world into a new era where evil will reign." The Queen had to admit: such an idea was quite tempting. Not only would she be gaining new masters, but also if what she saw from Terract and the forces in the Vaibanora, the Sailor Senshi wouldn't stand a chance. She had to admit: it seemed a little strange that these deities would be willing to try and form an alliance so soon, but perhaps they needed the Negaverse for whatever reason.
Besides, Beryl wasn't one to look a gift horse in the mouth.
However, the Pure Ones were entirely silent after her claim. Initially worried she had offended them somehow; Queen Beryl was about to ask if there was something wrong… before the chamber was filled with the roars of laughter from the Trio. Despite the suddenness of this action, Beryl almost instinctually knew that they were laughing at her.
"Wha-what is it?" Beryl yelled, her face getting as red as her hair. Soon, anger and shattered pride began to overtake reason: not caring about what these beings could or would do to her, the Queen yelled out, "STOP IT! STOP IT NOW! I'M TIRED OF YOU AND YOUR PEOPLE'S CRYPTIC BULLSHIT!"
Surprisingly, none of them seemed to be too upset-well, other than Likor, but she had a feeling disdain was his default emotion. Rather, the Widow seemed to be somewhat amused and Jack… actually seemed to be proud. "Forgive us, child." The Widow responded. "It's just… we have grown beyond such… petty mortal concepts such as morality. We have seen the truth: such soft words as "good" or "evil", "justice" and "injustice" are merely our slumbering brethern's attempt to understand the actions and reactions of creation, nothing more."
"Wh-what?" Beryl responded.
"You'll understand later, once we teach you the truth." Jack replied, leisurely sitting on the base of one of the great thrones. Beryl merely gave a confused look, unsure not of what they believed, but why they wanted to contact her.
The White Widow seemed to recognize Beryl's predicament and slowly moved towards the center of the chamber, gliding almost like a ghost. "You see," The Widow said as the got closer to the crystal and began stroking it with her hand. "the reason we became interested in you is because we know you would be willing to do anything to achieve your goals-unlike those self-righteous Senshi, who claim to help others when all they do is elevate the impure and the undeserving,"
"And, since your Force of Chaos was the only one to truly survive Sailor Moon's onslaught, well… it only gave more reasons to support you," Likor responded calmly.
"Really?" Beryl responded skeptically. "And what exactly, pray tell, would the Dark Kingdom doing for you?"
"Simple," Jack responded, throwing his arms up. "You'll act as our agents here in this plane, house our servants and soldiers, and when the time is right: we'll take this world, by faith or by force."
Beryl and Parveite, still somewhat skeptical, kept silent for a minute, before Parveite responded, "And what's in it for us?"
"Oh, you mean other than the fact that you will have a chance to directly serve the true gods of the Multiverse?" The Widow responded with a small smile. "Well… we'll grant you powers and technologies far beyond your time and understanding, you'll be granted new saviors to help rebuild the Dark Kingdom. Once our forces have conquered our enemies, we will bring about a new age for this plane. The Moon Kingdom and Negaverse will be yours, the universe ours-and, best of all," She leaned in close to the duo's faces, and whispered, "You'll have the chance to enact your revenge against the Senshi, in any way you want,"
At this, Beryl took a moment to process what she just heard. These… gods were offering her something that she couldn't truly imagine in her wildest dreams; a second chance at not only crushing her enemies, but also gaining even greater power than Queen Metaria ever did. Still… something seemed off about this Trio. Beryl couldn't quite place it, but she felt a great malice in this group of gods, one that surpassed that of the Chaos Avatars.
But… what other choice did she have? Even if these Pure Ones let her and Parveite leave alive if they refused their offer, what did she have to go back to; a dying kingdom with a poverty-stricken people, all of who were completely without a purpose? Why would she choose that over the promise of power and vengeance? She was utterly lost without the Avatars, and nothing she did would ever be bring them back.
At least, not without the aid of true gods.
"My queen," Parveite said suddenly, snapping Beryl out of her trance. "Are you okay?"
"Y-yes, I'm fine Parveite," Turning to the Trio, she ignored the Widow's manipulative smile, Jack's mischievous aura, and Likor's hostile gaze and finally said, "Okay… you've convinced me… I'll join with you."
The Widow gave a great smile that seemed to stretch to impossible lengths, while Jack appeared quite interested by the concept of supporting Beryl. Likor, however, seemed to have lost his disdain only a little.
"Perfect!" The Widow responded excitedly, though her tone seemed to imply that she expected this to happen. "We shall send our forces to you immediately, once we finish with laying out our Covenant,"
"And then, you'll help me to get revenge on the Senshi," asked Beryl.
"All in due time, my child. You will gain your vengeance, once we know when to send your messiah,"
"Why not send it now?" Parveite asked, his voice showing a hint of skepticism to his new superiors.
Jack chuckled in response. "Simple: now is not the right time to send you all a divine savior. There is much work to do and besides, now wouldn't be a good time."
"Wha-what do you mean?" Beryl asked.
The White Widow placed a hand on Beryl's shoulder and turned her to the crystal, which began to glow with an intense light. Suddenly, Beryl was on her brother's main territory, the planet of Nemesis. She was pulled to a new area, a cavern somewhere on Nemesis's more rural based areas. In the cavern was what appeared to be a large throne, roughly cut from the obsidian rock that made up Nemesis's surface, with a large pool of bright red slime behind it. But what was most shocking was the figure who sat upon the throne: a humanoid figure made of the same slime that Beryl knew of all too well.
"Jamanen," Beryl whispered, surprised to see what was supposed to be one of Demande's fallen soldiers.
"Yes," The Widow, as the chamber came back into view. "It appears that not only has the Last Jellax survived her encounter, but she is growing stronger. Already, she has captured the Senshi, made them her minions. And they have begun an invasion on Earth."
Stunned by this, Beryl only asked, "…What are they doing?"
"It appears that they are turning the human race into a new generation of Jellax," Likor stated. "Apparently, Jamanen believes she is doing a service to them by transforming them into her own race, claiming doing so will grant them an eternity of joy and love, for all to enjoy." Likor seemed… disgusted with what Jamanen was doing. Not with the idea of a utopian society, but… more about the total inclusion of it.
"And while Jamanen herself does seem to be leaning towards the former Senshi's self-righteousness," Jack responded. "There does seem to be a natural ruthlessness of her that could lead her to true purity."
As much as she hated to have to wait, Beryl understood why. Going to war against Jamanen and these new Jellax was not only suicide with their aid of the Senshi, but the Pure Ones could be losing a great ally. Even though she wanted the Senshi to suffer in the worst way possible, she would have to be patient.
"Now then…" The Widow smiled her calculating smile once more as Beryl turned to face her. "About our Covenant…"