098

 

98.  Black Hole

 

Atop Sasuke's pagoda, Edward and Nathan stared at Tao with wide eyes. Words had just been spoken that didn't make any sense.

 

Edward repeated them. "Tao...you want to kill Eden? But why?"

 

Tao stared at Sasuke with cold eyes. "Your attempt at incriminating me will do nothing but underscore your own short-sightedness, brother."

 

"But the fact remains true," Sasuke sighed. "Your involvement with the Church is irrefutable."

 

"You don't understand!" Tao exclaimed. "The Church is a massive organization that's ruled for centuries. It isn't possible to dethrone them with a flick of the wrist! The only way to stop them is to crumble them from the inside."

 

"It's certainly the safest way," Sasuke spat. "This is what I hate about you. You constantly take the safe route, risking nothing, in the hope that slowly but surely, 'justice' will prevail. And all the while, these villains are out running amok."

 

"And what about you?!" Tao shouted. "You’ve been cooped up in here for so long, hiding from the outside world, not lending a hand–"

 

"You're wrong." Sasuke shook his head. "You have no idea what I've been doing here. You have no idea what I've sacrificed so much to accomplish."

 

Tao was dubious. "What?"

 

"The culmination of Victoria and Edgar's research. The true connection between the psynergy void on Earth, the Space-Time Continuum, the Daughter, and the dark power present in all Albavitreans."

 

Edward looked confused. "My wife's research? What are you talking about?"

 

"Your wife was an Albavitrean, Mr. Darcouver." Sasuke explained. "Also known as a Nephilim, a race born from the fallen angels who mated with the first human beings. Those fallen angels were cast out from Heaven, and became what we now know as demons. Victoria is a descendant of the primordial chaos that has defied God since the dawn of time."

 

Edward's jaw dropped. "Victoria...is a demon?"

 

Sasuke appeared unfazed as he continued. "Originally, the demons were sealed off from Earth, which was to be God's utopia for his chosen people. That is...until the Collapsing, when metapsynergy ruptured the voids between dimensions and changed everything."

 

"The Albavitreans are enemies of God?" Nathan's eyes widened.

 

"They were banished by God." Sasuke explained. "Edward, both your wife and son are descendants of a people who angered God far more than Adam and Eve."

 

"This doesn't make any sense..." Edward said slowly, as he sat himself down. "Victoria...my wife...she was a good person..."

 

"That she was," Tao said. "But since long ago, the Albavitreans have been seen as enemies of the Church, and God himself," Tao said. "Victoria wanted to change that. I admit it, before I met Eden, I truly believed killing her was the only way to save our world...but after meeting her, and seeing her and Vance together...I don’t know what to believe anymore."

 

"Vance and Eden, together..." Sasuke shook his head. "They were supposed to live in peace. Grayson was never supposed to find them..."

 

"What is he?" Edward asked frantically. "Just what the hell is he?"

 

"We don't know." Tao closed his eyes in despair. "He can use holy psynergy, just like the Apostles, somehow...yet he’s beyond evil, and he's done nothing but betray everyone he's come across. He's after Eden, too."

 

"But he can be beaten," Sasuke added. "I am sure of it. He feared Victoria..."

 

"And then? What about the Apostles?" Tao asked furiously. "It will never end, Sasuke, unless we do something about Eden! Over the past months I've tried to look for another solution, but I just don't see one. She's a ticking time bomb."

 

"No!" Sasuke lunged across his desk and yanked at his brother's collar. "I will not allow you to kill what Victoria sacrificed her life to protect!"

 

"It's one life versus all of them," Tao said gravely. "It shouldn't even be a question."

 

"I understand what you're both saying," Edward said. "But before we go any further, I want you to heal Frank. He's a part of this, so he deserves to hear this too."

 

"Fine." Sasuke stepped back from his brother and concentrated solely on the Earthling. "I'll remove Grayson's psynergy from him. I’ve done it before, so I’m sure I can do it again."

 

Edward saw Sasuke get up from his desk, and moved to grab Frank's body, which he had carefully sat into a chair upon entering the room. Tao and Nathan helped him prop Frank up onto a nearby table.

 

Sasuke moved up to Frank and placed his hands on him. "I don't want any disturbances while I work. Is that understood?"

 

The room was silent as Sasuke channeled his power into Frank. Soon, green psynergy dissipated into the air, and Frank awoke.

 

"Ed?" Frank whispered. "The last thing I remember was Grayson...where are we?"

 

"There's much to talk about, Frank," Sasuke said, as he returned to his desk. "But before we get into more details, we should make sure everyone’s present."

 

Sasuke motioned to Roto, who moved over to the door inside Sasuke’s office and opened it. A woman stepped out – a woman who made Nathan, Frank and Edward pale in surprise.

 

"You're..." Nathan's voice trailed off.

 

Edward's eyes widened. "Oh my God..."

 

"How?" Frank gaped.

 

"Hello, everyone," said Naomi Darcouver. "It's been a while

 

*************

 

since I've fought in person," Zhang Guo said with a cough. "I must say, you did well to make it this far."

 

"Come at me, sage," Saffron retorted. "Thy final hour is nigh."

 

"You are not incorrect," Zhang Guo replied. "But you have overlooked one paramount fact."

 

"Oh?" Saffron grit his teeth as he felt his bowels churn uncomfortably within. "Thou hath nary a card left to play, old man."

 

"Incorrect." Zhang Guo laughed a single, hollow chuckle. "I am as potent as I was when you first dropped into this accursed hole."

 

Saffron raised his eyebrows in confusion. Before he could make another move, he was blown backwards by a powerful gale. A jade aura pulsated out from Zhang Guo, pushing on The Dog's body and crunching it in all the wrong places. As he fell onto the cracked glass that had fallen from the mirrored walls of the chamber, Saffron used his bruised elbows in a futile attempt to try and comfort his fall.

 

"You really thought I would allow you to waste my creations so easily?" Zhang Guo's eyes glowed in a jade haze as he stared down at Saffron. "Those that are borne from my power cannot die unless I, their creator, permits them to do so. Once they began to die, I salvaged their remaining psynergy and reabsorbed it into my body. Now, how does it feel to know all your hard work has been wasted?!"

 

The bodies of the four God Beasts once again materialized around Zhang Guo, looking as fierce as they had been when Saffron had first seen them.

 

"As long as psynergy surges through my body, there will be no end," the Boar continued. "Now say goodbye to that feeble body of yours!"

 

Saffron sputtered, struggling to shield his ruined body as the quartet swarmed upon him. He waited to feel the creatures come down and rip him to pieces, knowing that the pain of being torn limb from limb would surely send him beyond his physical limits and end his life immediately. Dying at the hands of an old curmudgeon like Zhang Guo was certainly unfortunate, and he would much preferred a more theatrical death, but it was too late for regrets now, and so he braced for the impact.

 

But it never came. Wrenching his blood-encrusted eyes open, Saffron saw nothing but a forest of silver blades skewering the four God Beasts in mid-pose. Propping himself higher, he looked past the creatures to see Zhang Guo covered in a thick psynergy barrier into which even more of the blades stuck. Finally, at the other side of the Chamber of the Boar, he saw Averyl.

 

Disbelief contorted Saffron's bloodied face. "Wh... what...

 

*************

 

what happened to you?!" Vance screamed. "Eden! Hold on, I’ll be right there! I’ll–"

 

Vance... Eden's voice resonated through the cavern to the lava pits, echoing out from her floating body. Citrus psynergy cloaked her body like a skintight suit, keeping her pristine despite all the carnage that had ensued. It’s too late. I’m sorry.

 

"What?!" Vance shouted back. "No, I'm the one who should be apologizing! Eden! Come over here! I–"

 

No, Eden said sharply. I’m sorry, Vance...but it was all a dream. And I’m awake now. I know who I am. I know what I was really sent here to do.

 

"I..." Vance shouted from his hoarse throat. "I need you! Eden! Don't leave me!"

 

Eden dashed out of his view, and Vance quickly shot off from the ground, attempting to traverse the massive gap that had been carved out thanks to Eden's excess energy.

 

The explosion had crumbled some of Bruce's armor, but he still had his sights set on Vance, and wasted no time in tossing a flaming lava rock straight at him.

 

"Watch out!" Winslow screamed, frozen like a spectator before a terrible car wreck.

 

Vance, thinking of nothing but the spectral woman, was blindsided by the flaming projectile. With pain exploding through his mind, he went sailing downwards.

 

"Vance!" Winslow quickly reactivated his psynergy and pulled his ally up.

 

Bruce was in front of the Rooster winding up a kick within a matter of seconds. Winslow raised his hands to block, but his psynergy was far too drained. Bruce's foot ripped into his chest, smashed Winslow's collarbone to pieces and knocked him headfirst into the stone platform.

 

Vance sailed down toward the lava once more. Somehow, he managed to scrounge up more psynergy through the blistering pain and blasted himself to a tiny platform near the entrance to Eden's cavern.

 

That was all he could do. As his body hit the hard rock and he was momentarily released from imminent death, Vance's muscles relaxed and his body struggled to catch its breath.

 

Bruce's voice trickled in through Vance's tired ears as he leapt over to the fallen Albavitrean. "Nice try, but you blew it. Don't worry, I'm sure Van Kaen will be able to settle her down."

 

Eden... Vance slowly picked himself up from the ground as blood spilled out from his body. Eden...Eden...Eden...Eden...Ed

 

*************

 

en chased Van Kaen across the other side of the volcano, vaporizing everything in her path as psynergy deluged out from her.

 

Metal protruded from all sides of the Dragon’s ragged flesh, the result of all the abuse he’d received from his seemingly immortal foe. Centered in his chest, the glowing red core of his life-support systems blinked incessantly, converting psynergy at a rapid rate in order to move his steel-muscled legs ever forward. The AI hardware connected to his brain was now useless, overpowered by the powerful blood lust buried deep in his amygdala that commanded him to survive.

 

Eden raised a searing finger, slicing through matter as she shot a line of white death straight into the ground. Meters and meters of bedrock were sheared away as the concentrated blast rocketed into a countless number of smaller explosions. Unable to pilot her destruction any longer, Eden's mind unconsciously reacted to the chaos and sent out even more psynergy, ripping through every spare catacomb around her. Everything in her field of vision was breaking down, and for the first time ever, she felt truly invincible.

 

Van Kaen's body was caught up in the annihilation, a red speck drowning in a sea of death. Nothing remained but a void, but it still wasn't enough. No matter how much she destroyed, the anger that had latched on to Eden's heart still refused to leave. And so, she continued. Destruction slowly numbed her mind, until she could feel nothing but the death of countless molecules as she ravaged Pandemonium.

 

I know what I am now. It was a good dream, even if it was a short one, Vance

 

*************

 

raised his head yet again, refusing to yield to his enemy.

 

"Oh no you don't!" Bruce crushed his heel down into Vance's gut, forcing blood out from the teenager’s mouth.

 

Deep purple psynergy crackled around Vance's fists as he shoved them into the ground. "What happened to her..."

 

"What are you muttering about?"

 

"What did he do to her..." Psynergy poured from Vance's eyes. "What the fuck did Grayson do to her?!"

 

Vance exploded upwards from the ground. Twisting his body around in mid-air, he whipped out his legs and wrapped them around Bruce's neck. The Tiger tried to shoo his enemy away with a flaming punch, but Vance's dark, glowing hand eradicated all the flaming psynergy upon contact and deflected the massive fist.

 

"I promised her..." Vance clenched Bruce's skull in his hands as fury seeped out from every pore in his body. "And you keep getting in my way!"

 

No matter how much psynergy Bruce pumped out, it just kept getting swallowed up into the void that slowly unraveled from the Albavitrean. Darkness spread around Vance’s body, swallowing up space into a purple-black abyss.

 

"G-get off me!" Bruce screamed. "You stupid kid!"

 

"Shut up!" Vance shrieked, as he began to violently headbutt Bruce over and over. "I promised her! I promised her!!"

 

Winslow pulled his head out from the crumbling stone and stared to the other side of the abyss. There, perfectly juxtaposed against the citrus psynergy that ripped through the caves beyond was Vance, strangling Bruce in a death grip as a dark purple void whirled around them, warping their bodies and pulling them into its dark mouth.

 

Panic spread across Winslow's face as he leapt toward them, desperate to stop whatever calamity was about to ensue.

 

Vance continued to rage, and his power only grew. "EDEN! ED

 

*************

 

en scanned the wasteland before her, knowing that somewhere, Van Kaen's aura continued to pulsate. From behind her, Eden heard the barely-audible sound of stones trickling down a slope. She spun around and released a dazzling beam of light into the rock. Nothing. He was astonishingly good at hiding.

 

Then, a thin red line of psynergy shot out towards her right side. Even in her advanced form, she raised her hand in only just enough time to deflect the death ray. Finally, Eden saw Van Kaen peeking out from behind a jagged crag, already charging up another one of the cannons in his chest. Instead of firing back, Eden lunged toward him.

 

As she moved closer, Van Kaen revealed more of himself from behind the outcropping, and Eden could see another pulsating bomb clutched in his right hand.

 

Eden froze at point-blank range, knowing that she wouldn't have enough time to protect herself from another devastating explosion. The Dragon tossed the globule at her, and she raised her defenses just as the bomb hit her. Her ethereal body was eaten away and then systematically restored over a dozen times as psynergy rippled through the space. Once the blast ended, she was left in a cloud of smoke on the ground, blinking in pain.

 

Eden passed her eyes over her body and saw her ethereal form blinking, nearly fading away to reveal soft pink flesh. Whether it was due to regenerating too many times, or simple exhaustion, her ethereal power had begun to wane. Even the psynergy coating her fists flickered desperately, like candles on the verge of burning out. As Van Kaen moved in to take advantage of his prey's weakness, Eden hurriedly leapt back up to meet him.

 

Despite her exhaustion, Eden was still fast. The Dragon dove in to gore her, but Eden raised both fists and slammed them down onto his head. Van Kaen fell, and Eden followed his body and yanked half of his arm off as she tried to pull him back up. Van Kaen hit rock and struggled to escape, but Eden would have none of it. Hands coated thick with psynergy, she grabbed the monster by his massive head spikes and slammed him into the rock.

 

Van Kaen tried to steady himself yet again and was hit by another blast that seared his back and melted his flesh. Sparks flew as another psynergy generator in his stomach fried. In a last-ditch attempt, Van Kaen spun around, opened all sixteen of the tiny metal cannon-ports positioned around his body, extended two microwave-shaped rocket launchers from his shoulders, and threw out the remaining blades that had been embedded in his scalp. His kneecaps burst open to reveal two large nozzles that erupted with searing fusion rays, and a nonstop barrage of red psynergy orbs exploded from his palms. Grayson and Roufas’ first official recruit was splayed open like a gored animal as he presented Eden with his final assault.

 

The Daughter pressed onwards, slapping away one rocket with her hand while she redirected streams of psynergy with the other. Both entities were on their last legs, mere steps from each other and the brink of defeat.

 

Finally, Van Kaen's last flying buzzsaw shot past Eden's head, and he was finished. Clinging onto consciousness, despite wanting nothing more than to collapse right where she stood, Eden reached out and clasped her hand around the Dragon's throat. Van Kaen raised his shaking arms up to try and stop her, but Eden slowly shook her head.

 

With a crackling squelch, she made a fist, crushing through the intertwined coils and veins within Van Kaen's neck and severing his head from his body. The cybernetic body slouched to the ground, but Eden was not done. Bending over, she began to completely dismember the body with glowing hands, seeing nothing but red and silver as she finished the job.

 

Ripping through his metal chest, Eden searched desperately for his heart, but could find nothing. After tearing the beast's body in twelve different pieces, each sparking to a different beat, Eden opened both of her palms and vaporized the remains until absolutely nothing was left. Finally, breathing a sigh of relief, the woman fell to the ground in exhaustion.

 

Her head hit the ground hard, which would have hurt had she the energy to feel it. Her ethereal power vanished, and Eden’s fleshly body returned along with her tattered body. She stared up into the darkness of Pandemonium, feeling like she no longer existed. She couldn't even close her eyes. She just stared and stared, until her mind shut off, and Ed

 

*************

 

EEEEEEEEEEEN!"

 

Vance raised his head above Bruce's ghastly skull and shrieked, perfectly aligned with the black portal above him. As he felt his psynergy sucking up matter and deconstructing it, his own body began to break down. At that moment, he felt that he was everything and nothing. Worlds flashed by him in the blink of an eye, and he could see it all from a cosmic distance. Nothing existed, and everything was around him. Then, all he saw was a woman’s face.

 

Her eyes were bright, a beautiful shade of green. Long thick hair spilled from her head, sometimes red, sometimes orange depending on the light. Just seeing her smile could make him smile. No matter what she said or did, no matter what sort of situation it was, there was always a warmth inside her that made him feel better. He felt lucky just to sit next to her, just to know that he shared something with her. Everything about her was so vibrant, so real – especially the tortured visage of anguish on her face.

Next: Virtuoso and Vacuosity