Freya knew they needed her now more than ever. She had to step up and be a leader again. “Here’s what we’re going to do. There aren’t that many of us, so we can simply go into hibernation until the next Big Bang creates another universe.”
“And what if that never happens?” Hera said. “What if that universe we just annihilated was the only one we’ll ever get?”
“We just have to have faith,” Freya insisted.
“A strange thing for a god to say,” Shinigami said.
“We don’t have any other choice,” Atlas said.
They stared at Hera for a moment, wondering if she would go along with it. Finally she said, “Fine. But if and when we get out of here, I’m done with you, Freya.”
Shinigami stood next to her. “As am I.”
All Freya could say was, “Very well.”
* * *
Ares rocked back and forth next to the captain’s chair which Belial currently occupied aboard their ship. Seeing the universe collapsing in on itself, they had initiated a space-fold to take them to Gehenna. Only half of their fleet had made it, though.
Belial looked down at him with disdain. “Get it together, brother. We need to come up with a plan for surviving this dark void.”
Ares wasn’t listening. “She warned us, she warned us so many times, but we wouldn’t listen, we just wouldn’t listen, all we could think about was killing—killing humans, killing gods, killing animals, we even killed plants when we got really bored, but we just destroyed the entire universe! Why didn’t we listen, brother? Why couldn’t we stop the bloodshed for five seconds? You know, talk things over, realize we weren’t so different. But it’s too late now. Too late, too late, too late…” He began bawling, his face a wet, salty mess.
Belial dragged him to his feet and belted him in the stomach. “Now is not the time for a fucking breakdown! I need your help to rally the fleet. Do you understand? We’re going to die if we stay here.”
Freya’s face suddenly appeared on the viewscreen. “Hello, boys.”
Belial looked at her with undisguised disgust. “So you survived, huh, bitch? The whole universe goes down the drain and Freya just has to live through it.”
Ares stepped forward. “Freya? You’re alive? I don’t believe it! I thought I’d never see you again. But you’re alive. I’m so happy!” He resumed crying, but now they were tears of joy.
She smiled at him. “Despite everything, Ares, I’m glad to see you, too. Listen up, Belial. We’re going into hibernation until the next universe forms. We have no idea when that will be, so you might as well do it, too.”
“Ha! You think I’d pass up this opportunity to paint Gehenna with your blood? As soon as you drop your guard, my fleet’s going to blow you away.”
“No!” Ares began grappling with him. “I won’t let you kill her! She’s going to live, no matter what.”
After several moments, Belial managed to shove him away. “All right, all right! I don’t want to fight you, brother. The bitch can live. But once we get out of here, all bets are off.”
And so, the remainder of the two fleets went to minimal power, and the gods constructed cryo-stasis chambers that could operate for centuries. In that dark void they would remain, silent, until a single spark gave birth to the new universe.
Chapter XV
Arcturus finished the story. “The gods viewed the Ultimas Points as limitless resources they could exploit. What none of them realized at the time was that they were actually the tapestry of the universe. By pulling too hard on one, the whole thing unraveled. Or maybe it would be easier for you to think of them as sutures over vital organs. Remove one and the guts of reality spill out. The gods emerged from Gehenna following the next Big Bang and waited for evolution to follow the same course and once again give rise to mankind. They then sealed their technology inside the void to make sure they would never again wreak such destruction. Of course, you saw the Sancta Praesidium, so you know Zero Grade wasn’t true to their word.
“So you see, Ev—those monsters you want to save so badly are already guilty of unimaginably greater bloodshed than we ever could be. Their sins are literally infinite. And they made sure the new world was molded in their image. They brought their baggage with them, and as a result, they influenced everything from our languages to our values. With them around, we had no chance. They created the evil world that forced us to do unspeakable things to one another just to survive.”
That was a lot for Ev to digest. Nevertheless, he was determined to answer Arcturus. “Look, I don’t know about what happened in the past. The gods made mistakes, but they learned from them. The Academy is made up of good people, and they’re trying to change the world for the better, and we should do the same. What we did as kids was one thing; we had no choice in that. But we’re adults now, and we have to take responsibility for our actions. The world isn’t making us kill now; that’s our choice, and we can choose not to commit genocide.”
Arcturus turned around to face him. “You seem eager to write off your actions as a child, but I know you better than that. I know better than anyone why you went along with my plan to activate the Ark. You had no reason to trust me, and yet here we are. I did all of this for you. I gave you the one thing you wanted bad enough to abandon everything for.”
“And what’s that?”
“A world where you never killed your father. You risked your life and the lives of everyone you care about so you could erase what you consider to be your one unforgivable sin.”
Ev couldn’t take it anymore. Arcturus had hit him harder than anyone, and it was agonizing. For several long seconds it built up in side him. He tried to contain it, but he couldn’t. He opened his mouth, letting loose a roar as only someone who has felt his pain could. He did this until his throat was raw.
“Are you satisfied?” Arcturus asked. “Did you get it all out of your system?”
His voice was hoarse, but he said, “Yeah.”
miling, Arcturus replied, “Good. We can just forget this ever happened.”
He walked past Ev to the stairs leading back up into the building’s promenade. However, Ev grabbed his arm. “No. You’re going to change the world back to the way it was.”
Arcturus let out an exasperated sigh. “Give me a break, Ev. It’s not going to happen. Maybe you can accept a world full of monsters, but I can’t. We’re staying put.”
“Then I’m sorry, but I have no choice but to kill you.”
“Kill me? You’re going to kill me? You’ve lost your mind!”
Ev was done arguing. He threw a punch as hard as he could. Unfortunately, Arcturus effortlessly caught it in his palm. The attack had no power behind it; Ev felt strangely weak. “What?”
“I control this world, Ev. I merged with the Ark, and now I’m a true god. I was afraid this might happen, so I took the liberty of stripping you of all your power. You’re just a normal human here.”
“No!” Ev pelted him with a flurry of punches and kicks, to no affect. Nevertheless, he kept it up until he was exhausted and fell to one knee.
Arcturus looked down at him like an annoyed but loving parent. “You see, Ev? I know what’s best for you. Without your powers, you can’t hurt yourself in this world, and I never have to get rough with you. So just go back to your room, cool off, and in time you’ll come to love it here.”
Even though it was just the two of them here, Ev felt as if the eyes of everyone in Gehenna were on him. He had failed, and they were all going to die.
He closed his eyes and thought of all the people he had let down. Brandon, Freya, Bethos, Jaysin, CiCi, Daryn, Atlas, Dian Cecht, and billions of others he had never met.
And Maya. He would never again see her face, would never hear her criticizing him with her worried but loving voice. All he was left with now was that cheap imitation walking the campus.
I can’t accept this.
It’s not fair.
No!
I need the power to fight Arctur
us!
DAMMMMMIIIIIIITTTTTTTTTTTTT!!!!!!!!
I acknowledge your will.
What was that? Someone had spoken to him using telepathy, but it wasn’t anyone he knew. It didn’t look like Arcturus had heard it, either, since he still had that arrogant smirk on his face.
Suddenly, Ev felt like himself again. He sensed god-energy flowing through him like before. Was he back to normal?
Only one way to find out. Directing energy to his legs, he charged in low and launched his fist as deep into Arcturus’ gut as it would go. As it turned out, that was pretty deep. Arcturus displayed shock for a split-second before going flying into the far wall of the court, smashing it and revealing the locked room beyond.
Ev stared at the destruction in amazement. “I did it,” he muttered softly.
For a while Arcturus just sat there on his rubble throne between the two rooms. Finally he said, “She means that much to you, huh?”
“Huh?”
He slowly got up and stared at Ev. “Maya Brünhart. How else could you have found the strength to hit me like that? You care deeply about her, far more than you ever cared about me. Well, if that’s the case, I don’t need you here!” He conjured his katanas. “I’ll just kill you and make a perfect Ev Bannen to be my friend. He’ll never turn against me.”
“I’m not afraid, Arcturus. I’m going to stop you and get the real world back.”
Arcturus twirled his swords. “I think you’d better take a good look at yourself. I have deadly weapons at my command, while your conjuring skill is practically nonexistent.”
He was right, of course. Ev had no weapons other than his own body. But he would find a way to win, no matter what.
With a single dash, Arcturus cleared the space between them in an instant and swung a katana at Ev’s throat. Ev managed to dodge it, but he got nicked in the process.
Unfortunately, that was only the beginning of the onslaught. Arcturus slashed repeatedly, each time drawing a little more blood. Ev couldn’t even get close to him and so was on the defensive, either jumping back or rolling to the side. He knew sooner of later Arcturus would deal him a fatal wound instead of these superficial cuts.
He managed to get far enough away to generate some wind in Arcturus’ direction, but the older man easily shrugged it off. “Is a slight breeze the best you can do, Ev? I seriously overestimated you.”
Ev decided to change tactics and employ a maneuver he had used in the Tower of Babel. He wrapped a high-speed pocket of wind around himself as a shield.
But Arcturus merely sliced downward from across the court, sending a far more powerful air current at him, cutting through his shield and knocking him on his ass.
“Time to end this,” Arcturus said. He lunged forward, moving one arm back and the other above his head. He intended to slice Ev down the middle. Dammit, I need something to protect myself, but I can’t conjure any weapons. Think, Ev! Think, think, think, think, THINK!
But there was no time to think. Arcturus reached him in a split second and down came his katana. Ev closed his eyes and instinctively raised his arms to block it, desperately wishing they were stronger.
The blade came down on them, and there was pain, but surprisingly, they did not separate from his body. Ev opened his eyes to find they had become metal. No, not quite; a pair of silver gauntlets extended from his elbows to enclose his hands. He had done it; he had finally conjured something that was strong and uniquely his. This was the result of focusing on defense instead of offense.
Using his new tools, he shoved the katana back and it cut into Arcturus’ shoulder. The other man fell back to ponder this new development cautiously. “So you finally managed to conjure something useful. But don’t think for a moment it will let you beat me. I’m the only god in this world.”
“I don’t care,” he replied. “I’m going to beat you and get everyone back!”
They collided, this time as equals. With his gauntlets and vastly improved confidence, he blocked every attack Arcturus threw at him and responded in kind, even managing to get in a few punches which sent him on the defensive for the first time in the fight.
* * *
How? Arcturus roared inwardly as Ev pressed the advantage. I took away his powers! So how can he be so strong in this world, my world? I merged with the Ark, so it should obey my every command. He seethed with a building rage. Damn you, Ark! Do as I say! Take. Away. Ev’s. Powers!
But Ev remained strong, and Arcturus had to face the possibility he was not as omnipotent as he thought. His carefully laid plans were falling apart before his eyes, and he didn’t have the luxury of stepping back to analyze the situation. Ev Bannen was seriously trying to kill him, and a slight trembling began in his soul at the prospect he might actually succeed.
* * *
Ev felt the power surge through him. Perhaps “power” wasn’t the right word; it was more like focus. His entire faculties were devoted to this one battle. Nothing else mattered.
Arcturus suddenly threw down his swords and came in low, tackling him. The force of the attack propelled them through walls, ceiling and out of the building entirely.
They continued to trade punches in midair.
They soon landed in the middle of Cherub Field, creating a large gash in the artificial grass as they skidded to a stop.
Ev got to his feet first, with Arcturus a second behind. Ev decided to press the advantage and deliver the killing blow.
From out of nowhere, Maya jumped in the way, her arms outstretched. “No, Ev! Don’t kill him! He’s your friend.”
He spat a gob of blood. “This is low, Arcturus.”
Safely behind her, he replied, “I’ll do what I have to in order to save this perfect world. You wouldn’t hit the woman you love, would you?”
“Never.” He backhanded her out of the stadium. “But that’s not Maya.”
Arcturus simply shrugged, as if this was a normal thing to happen. “It was worth a try. But let’s see you deal with this.” He raised one hand into the air, palm outstretched. He then closed it into a fist and threw it down in Ev’s direction.
The sound of a large engine hit Ev’s ears, and he looked up. “Shit.” From out of the sky fell an airplane. Not a passenger plane; no, it was a full-sized jumbo jet. It struck the field like a 317-ton cannonball, exploding instantly and causing massive chunks of flaming earth to rise into the air like volcano ash. Ev dropped to his stomach and just barely managed to avoid getting sliced in half by one of the wings.
After several moments of sheer chaos, he rose, covered in dirt and choking on smoke from the countless fires that now covered the field. It was so dark and dense he could have sworn night had fallen. He couldn’t see Arcturus through it.
Without warning, the ground shot up like spikes. He ran like hell to avoid them, but they followed him across the field to where Arcturus was now waiting for him with a proud look on his face. “Now you know what it’s like to be an athlete, Ev! You should thank me.” He also had his katanas back.
“Like hell!”
When he got close, Arcturus swung at him with both blades. Remembering how he had just tackled him out of the civic center, Ev decided to return the favor and hit him full force. They sailed clear out of the stadium and across Seraphim City.
* * *
The next thing Arcturus knew, he was lying on the roof of a collapsed car. He gingerly got off it and looked around. They had ended up in the middle of Treadwill Bridge over Jaxon Harbor. He could see the Nibian Sea to the east.
He was tired, not just physically but emotionally as well. No matter how hard he fought for peace, something always seemed to get in his way. It was as if the very concept ran contrary to the fundamental laws of the universe.
The Ark was supposed to help him realize his dream, but like everything else in life, it obviously had its limitations. Or perhaps it had a will of its own and didn’t want peace. No, that couldn’t be it.
What was it...?
“Arcturu
s!”
A few hundred feet across the bridge, Ev had risen to his feet. He’s the final obstacle. All I have to do is kill him and this world will know eternal bliss. “Let’s finish this, Ev!”
* * *
Ev ran across the bridge, bounding over any vehicle that got in his way. Most of the cars had stopped to gawk at this scene, but a number of others charged through to get the hell away from here.
He had to end this now. He was getting weak, and he didn’t know how much longer he could keep this up. Worse, he didn’t know how much longer everyone in Gehenna had. They could be dying this very moment, so he pumped his legs as hard as he possibly could.
Up ahead, Arcturus began throwing cars at him. Deflecting them would only slow him down, so he focused on dodging them. He leapt, rolled to the side, and slid under them. These cheap tricks were not going to stop him.
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