Chương 87: Book 8 - Chapter 83 - The end of a Prophesy

Before me, I beheld the last of our Gods fade, and with them, an era. And stretched out from their hands, was their final gift to the future. Skills. Ability. Everything. They were both fully gone. And I held onto their last will, now alone in keeping those threads together. Unwilling to consume them. Knowing I couldn't hold them here forever either. In the physical realm, Talen's body went slack. His hand let go of my throat.

The raised blade, ready to cut me down, fell down to the ground, where it stabbed forward, hilt up. His body collapsed on his knee, and toppled wordlessly backwards up until I reached out and held it from fully collapsing. There was nothing within him now. No breaking apart motes like other Deathless. All that was left of the prior hero of humanity, was a faint sense of peace on his face. In an odd way, he'd died a human again, knowing he had done his part. That the torch had been passed down.

"Son... Keith." Father spoke, still here. No longer holding against the weight of the world, against Talen's emotions. There was care in his voice. In the soul sight, the two gifts of the last cycle remained in my hands, still held firm. On my right hand, I held the memories of Urs. And on my left, all those of Talen. I watched them. Father and Superior both turned to me, and gave me a slight nod. I'd been stamped with Resolve, the fractal still deep in my soul now. And I had no idea how to use it yet.

It had to be done. I brought both traces of soul up, and subsumed them into me all at once. Knowledge flowed through my mind. It was as if I had already known everything from the start. Not a mere copy, or passed down training. These were actual parts of both, cut away from themselves and freely offered. Power and knowledge. Skill and technique. Research and deliberation. I learned. One moment, I was simply a scavenger that had slowly found and stumbled on knowledge after knowledge.

The next, I had always known how to wield the fractal of Resolve. Always known how to use a mite forge to its potential. Known every intricate part of the relic armors. Known how to cast the occult beyond my body, using only my mind. I knew how to wield my own unique variant of spears that matched A01's power. After all, he had copied them from me, long, long ago in another life. Flickers of memories attached, of two different lives. In a way, they would continue to live on.

In the same way a heart would, within the body of another. I knew how to weave concepts together, and I knew how to fight with them. Everything Talen and Urs had learned, I now held both, together. Mixed with my own ability and understanding of the occult, items that neither could have known. I opened my eyes, and flared the full fractal of Resolve, knowing how to use it with the skills of two entire lifetimes. My body healed itself instantly. Hundreds of smaller cuts and bruises faded away.

I flared out the fractal of Urs next, the quantum fractal itself. It came to me with ease and understanding. I had never once used it as Keith. But as Urs, I had always used it. As I flared it out, I equally tapped into Talen's own futuresight fractal. A dozen possible futures a few seconds ahead opened up. Enough to have overwhelmed me a moment ago. But as Talen, I already knew the training and technique to follow through on each as if they were nothing more than my hands and arms.

The fractal of Resolve flared out and magnified both at the same time. My sight into the future increased a hundred fold. And with it, so did Urs's own quantum fractal. A torrent of occult rippled around me now, as I held the body of Talen in my hands, slowly putting him back down onto the ground. Around me, I saw what I had missed. The defenders here were almost overwhelmed.

Even Bob's knights had joined their fellow Deathless in striking back the ever increasing swarm of machines climbing up the rocks, once the duel between emperors had become a soul on soul battle. The biome had been ripped apart in my absence, the wind source itself snuffed out by one plot or another. Beyond, the Icon's portals open and closed like glittering lights all across as a thousand smaller fights were happening to prevent Relinquished from opening fire on us.

The citadel was broken down, machines swarming across it. The weapons on the walls all silent. The old Deathless within had ended their vigil, and I could sense they were out here fighting now. Everyone left was here, on this flat rock, surrounding me to the end, fighting against the darkness and violet lights slowly tightening around. I rose up from Talen's at-peace body, then took his old blade. Such a simple blade, steeped in history that had an actual gravity to it now.

Occult crackled around it, as if it knew what would come next. With a burst of will, the occult gripped me and lifted me up into the air, swirling around me like a charging wave, then exploded outwards. A thousand fractals of division manifested all around, perfectly slicing into the current wave of machines attacking the beleaguered defenders. The fight here was instantly over, the machines falling into the ground in pieces as if I had simply commanded them to break. The surrounding war was next.

I drew on Talen's knowledge. All around me, angled outwards, hundreds of his occult spears manifested into the air, and I lanced them out in every direction, like a ball of needles exploding outwards. Machines far beyond were cut into, falling down dead as concepts of obliteration cut through them all. Feathers flying around were equally stabbed through and fell out of the air. The few that managed to reach into my personal range, I simply extended an occult hand out, grabbing them by my will.

Resolve pulsed within, and the occult hands squeezed. Crushing the enemy completely. With Talen's blade, I swung it with an arc of occult, and cut across the enemy lines in every direction I turned. Nothing stood for long against Resolve and his blade. It followed my commands exactly as it had to Talen's own hand. I was one and the same now, after all. I landed back down onto the half-cratered rock, the work done. All around Deathless and imperials were turning to me. They knew.

Everything they'd been fighting for was complete. The emperor had been restored. In full. The power that whipped around me even now was undeniable. There was only a single machine left alive around me, and only by my choice. Left hunched just ahead. Relinquished had sent everything she could to prevent this moment. And among that massive push, an opportunist had made his move. To'Avalis. The Feather had found himself here, armored in unpowered relic armor, hunched over the equally destroyed ruins of another shell.

In the middle of the furious fight, when the machine wave had truly started to overwhelm the defenders here, he'd snuck through, appearing as another Deathless in relic armor. The Icon could identify where he was, but with everyone currently fighting for their life against a dozen enemies each, the Feather had easily crossed across the line of defense, cutting down the few Deathless that managed to block his way. He'd really fought with everything he had. But he hadn't bothered to come here and attack me.

He had his own goal in mind: His old shell. Avalis remained hunched over it, frantically trying to establish himself within the broken body. Not understanding why it wasn't functional anymore. The entirety of his army being obliterated in one moment meant nothing to him. Desperation had a power of its own. He wouldn't be a threat, I would deal with him in a moment.

"Icon." I spoke over the comms of Journey's armor. Somehow still complete and working despite the torrent of occult that had passed through it. Father remained floating off to my side, protected by my will. He needed a home. Help support creative writers by finding and reading their stories on the original site.

"Mister Winterscar?" The Icon asked back.

"Are you well?"

"I am. Urs and Talen have given me their knowledge and power. The fractal of Resolve has been restored. We've won." I could see the memories of Urs. And all his smaller talks one on one with the Icon ahead of time, explaining to her his full plans and optional sides. She'd known all along what happened here was the original plan. There could have been a possible choice where Talen was restored, but once we saw the depth of how he had been taken down, Urs knew that direction wasn't possible. But his other plans…

I could see they would work. He'd designed the weapon floating over orbit. Applied it to the schematics Tsuya had shown him. Empowered each fractal himself, carefully, meticulously. I knew how it worked, and I knew who would wield it the best. One way or another, we had to get him up there and with a body.

"Please bring Wrath here." A portal appeared near me, and Wrath stepped through, looking over everything with quick calculating movements. Her halo proudly displayed above her head, wings stretched out, looking like the avatar of a god stepping through into the mortal realm. Not just an avatar of a god. The wrath of a dead god. She'd been named well. I'd just missed that she hadn't been alone when named by the mites in their prophesy. There was another one right there, watching from his original prison.

That hadn't been on accident. Father silently moved over to her, his soul stepping inwards, taking his old spot within her prison fractal without a word. His willpower had long since eclipsed anything Wrath could have done to seal him there. She had the clever tools and chains technically, but her own willpower was simply outclassed. It would be like trying to lift a mountain with a lever. I turned my head up, my sight seeing far more than just the ceiling. Tsuya's fortress was up there. Far above.

All it needed was someone with the willpower to command the occult plates and focus the beam through themselves. And the physical resistance to withstand the power that would follow. Everything I learned from Urs's memory made it so clear in my head. A Deathless or a Feather might just hold off the destructive feedback long enough for the work to be done and then collapse. But none that we knew had the willpower needed to really focus the occult magnification.

The old Deathless from the first generation just might be enough, but I wasn't willing to gamble the entire world over it. We needed a guaranteed victory. We needed someone with Talen's level of willpower. And Father had more. Wrath could get him there. She had the wings to get into orbit. And the shell that could last through the fortress magnification long enough. Together, they might even overpower the feedback itself, and remain standing after it was all complete.

We just needed to figure out a different path to hold Relinquished from escaping anywhere long enough. Wrath couldn't be in two places at once. But there were options for that role, plans we could make. We had a small army we could pull on to coordinate something that would net Relinquished. In orbit, there were a lot less people who could pull that role off. Father was simply the best possible fit among all of us. For now, Father's soul would remain safe with Wrath. That was the first priority.

And as for me, I knew exactly what my destiny held. There was only one role the emperor of mankind had to serve in the prophecy. I would draw Relinquished onto the surface. To the only place she could truly be killed. And I would do so by the only weakness she had. Avalis was still on the ground before his old broken body, not understanding why a shell cut by the fractal of true division, empowered by Resolve itself, would never function again.

I barely held a hand out and he was ripped upwards, turned and held frozen in the air. One good eye turned my way.

"I need you to deliver a message for me." I said. The single eye widened. And he started laughing, "It's not going to work Winterscar. Even now, she's sending me orders on what to do and say to block everything you've prepared. I can see the plan she's made. You better keep me right here and alive for this next part."

"Because?" He grinned wide, then groaned in pure writhing pain. I could see the unity fractal lit in his chassis, holding him tight. Like a hand crushing a tube of paste. She was upset he had said anything at all that wasn't part of her plan. Words were squeezed out of him, and for a half second he resisted the first few before giving in and following with the rest.

"'Your… victory… here is meaningless. The pale lady will return me to life, and I will fight you on the surface until either you, or I, die. So long as I stand, you will never win.'" I could tell those weren't his real words. It had to be a speech delivered by Relinquished. The fractal of unity flared within his chassis. His soul getting sucked out and away. His words remained in my head. You better keep me right here and alive for this next part.

I reached a tendril of will and flared Resolve behind it, latching onto his soul and holding it still. Father had managed to hold himself against being pulled with Wrath during her fight with Kidra. But that was Wrath pulling her back with him. This was Relinquished herself demanding Avalis's soul to come with her like a reaper. The power difference was insane, and I knew I'd lose this fight. Except… he wasn't getting pulled away.

I could hold onto him hard enough that if she ripped him free from my hands, it would be by ripping his entire soul in half. She wasn't. For a reason: She didn't want him to die. That's why he could even dare start saying those earlier words. And now his squeezed out words made more sense: "She's going to use you as a shield, isn't she?" I grunted out, holding onto the bastard's soul. Avalis laughed, caught between us.

"You were always quick on the uptake, Winterscar. Yes, she's making me the loyal second-in-command. The doomed lieutenant. Same thing she did with A01. You won't be allowed to challenge her so long as I'm still breathing."

"You're going to need a lot more power for that." I hissed back, still holding his soul away from the maw ahead.

"No. I really wouldn't." He continued laughing, with grunts of pain as he tried to hold himself together between two insane forces trying to pull him in different directions.

"Oh, you'll kill me all right. Over and over. She'll bring me back again and again each time. Long enough for her to destroy what she needs to. That's her real goal. She doesn't need me to win. She just needs to buy herself time." Relinquished was screeching on the other end. I could feel her power even here. She could overpower me, and rip him away. But she couldn't without the asshole dying on her. So instead, she tried to attack me directly. I fended her off, flaring resolve and layer after layer of shields.

Urs had learned how to build these from Tsuya herself, during his time in the digital ocean. And now, I was using it myself to hold off a distant goddess. She was too remote to smite me down, I was too powerful here. And she knew it. That didn't stop her from absolutely clawing at my shields like an angry cat trying to get past a door.

"Tell me the reason I shouldn't be shredding your soul right here." I grunted over to Avalis, one hand holding off Relinquished from claiming her prize, the other fending off her attacks. He always had a reason and plan. Telling me that killing him would solve everything while I had him right in range to be killed meant he had something else going on.

"What's the catch? Why wouldn't killing you here and now work?" He grinned.

"Oh but it will. I'm the only thing that's now standing between her and you. With me gone, she's got nobody else left to hide behind. She can't afford to have me die." Avalis turned his attention to Relinquished on the other end of the unity fractal.

"And I know I'm done." And in his soul, I could feel it. Pure spite. HIs shell was broken and could never be fixed. He was now going to be a plaything for Relinquished, and discarded the moment he was no longer needed. His head had tried to figure a way out and found nothing more than a dead end. So if he was going down, he was taking the whole house with him. Because he had... a role model.

"Winterscar, you were never my real nemesis. Neither was Tenisent. You both were simply enemies. Defeat is temporary, and hardly unique. Hundreds of Deathless have beaten me before, and all of them were eventually put down into the dirt. Winning against me means nothing. No, there was only one human who ever truly earned my respect." I saw it in his soul. Victory truly was a warped thing to this Feather. So long as he lived, there was always a chance he could rise and win later. Therefore, it was one and the same.

If he lived, he would win. The only variable that changed was how long it would take him to win. And if he died for good, then he was dead and what did it matter to him if he lost now? There was no true way Avalis would ever feel as if he'd fully lost. Father and I really were no different from every other enemy he had fought. All except for one single human. The only one who'd truly beaten him, in the only way that would be permanent. His exact opposite and true equal all along. It wasn't me.

It wasn't about who was more powerful or not. He'd never once thought like that. I knew what Avalis was going to do. And now I realized what the mites had done when they'd spoken their words to me. THOU SHALL UPHOLD HIS LAST MISSION. THOU SHALT GUIDE A BETRAYER TO TRAP A GODDESS. Despite everything, I've unwittingly done exactly what they needed me to do: I'd guided him here. The true betrayer at the very end of all this. To'Avalis turned to Relinquished. And then pulled her forward to him.

"Mother." He hissed, face to face. Gleeful now, because he was about to win against the one entity he truly hated all along.

"YOU MISHAPEN UNGRATEFUL COWARD." She screamed back, likely already knowing what would happen next.

"I GAVE YOU LIFE. I ALLOWED YOU EXISTENCE. YOU ARE LOYAL TO ME! TO ME!"

"I am loyal to myself." He hissed back.

"I always have been." He was but a small insignificant soul standing before a massive goddess before him. And to that being of incomprehensible power, he grabbed her throat and pulled her close enough to whisper in her ear. Now basically banking completely on me to keep Relinquished from ripping his face and parts of his soul out and back with her.

"You named me once. I reject your name. I name myself." I did my part, giving him what he really wanted. Letting him keep her this close, despite the claws and screams of her distant power trying to rip his throat out so he couldn't speak the words that would come next. The only ones Avalis had ever found truly had permanent, and absolute, power behind them. I couldn't help but laugh when I saw the scope of it. My old occult teacher really had managed to teach one final lesson all the way to the very end.

It just hadn't been for me.

"Hear this, mongrel." He whispered before the pale lady, "I am To'Avalis. The One Abandoned. Vindictive And Lethal in Spite. And I will see you again, in hell." With that last satisfied thought... he cut his soul in half by his own volition. And vanished instantly. All that was left in the broken chassis, was her and myself. With nobody left to hide behind. Right in range to hear my words. Trapped in place by her betrayer.

"Relinquished." I stared at the goddess, across the empty soul fractal.

"I am Keith Winterscar, the last Emperor of Mankind. And I demand a duel for the fate of all humanity. On the surface of the world. You and I will end it there. Once, and for all."

"I WILL CRUSH YOU LIKE THE INSIGNIFICANT GNAT THAT YOU ARE." She screamed back, feeling the words slam into her like nails binding her into the coffin.

"IT WILL BE YOUR END!" I smiled, victorious. And rammed the last nail in place: " Come prove it." Then let her go. She fled, leaving To'Aacar's old stolen shell completely lifeless in my grip. But it was too late. The words had been said. She knew about the prophecy, built up over centuries now, slowly guided by the mites forward. She was fated to be drawn by mankind's emperor.

Her loyal second in command had died spitting in her face in the single most spiteful action the world had ever seen, going out on his terms. And I had demanded a duel to end all duels. Relinquished had no choice but to come to the surface and fight me there. On the white wastes. Where Tsuya's final weapon orbited above. Checkmate.