Spectacular World-Chapter 218: Why?

Why?

There were times when all you could do was ask why.

Why did heroes and villains exist? Why were Supers a thing? Why did the Emperor think becoming the next Shadow was the best way to reach his goal? Why did the Beast hate them all? Why did the Lords arrive on Earth? Why did Full Monarch walk into the embrace of death for another? These were just a few of the questions that had plagued many over the course of Earth's history. Why was a powerful word. It was a question and a demand. Both an order and a plea. 'Why' was also the final word that many people managed to say.

"Why?" Snowdawn asked as his body was broken down by the Dead Virus. "Why?" The Victorian pleaded as her chest was ripped open by the one she trusted. "Why?" The Beast had thought as it once again lost to the one it hated most.

In the end, they never got a response.

Why would they?

"What the hell is going on?" Sky muttered. She was the last Lord left standing, it seemed. At least she thought she was. In truth, she had no idea what was happening anymore since Beta's screen had vanished when the robot had been teleported away. All she truly knew was that she was the hero left that could keep everyone safe. "Why is it always me?"

Sky took a moment to look at everyone. The village was crowded with thousands more than it normally held, since Battery teleported multiple cities, towns, and villages' worth of people to Pine Tree Village. The village people were in an uproar, and many people were also freaking out at the fact that there were so many mages nearby.

"How's Money Tree doing?" Myth grunted out.

Sky glanced down at the former Sub Enforcer leader. She had used her power to grow a wave of plants and vines, forcing a clear area around her, where the one-armed man rested. She had managed to heal him fast enough to save the other arm he had lost during the battle, but he was still down, his wounds taking her a while to heal. It didn't help that she was running low herself, having been used as some sort of support mage by everyone else. "He'll live." She grunted.

Next to Money Tree, Lady Time was also lying on the ground, badly burned and injured, but doing better. The woman's eyes were open, and the Enforcer managed to push herself up and take stock of what was left of their crew. "Is this it?" Lady Time asked quietly. All she saw was Paragon, who looked like she might pass out any second; Myth, who looked extremely mad; Money Tree, who was still unconscious; White Wolf, who was a villain and currently in the middle of robbing a few people at knife point; and Metal Ronin, whose suit was shattered and broken and who was on the ground next to Oxide, both teens crying. "This can't actually be it."

"I'm here, too." Claymore stepped through the crowd looking hollow.

"Me too." Alexander stepped forward and nodded his head.

Myth snorted and let out a weak sigh. "No. It's pointless." He sighed. "Lois, my brother, the Victorian, Battery, Poseidon, and Cinder are already on the battlefield. Let's face it, they're the only ones that matter."

"You can't actually believe that," Paragon said weakly. "You've never been one to act like this; what gives?"

"What gives? What gives is I'm starting to wonder why I even came." Myth growled. "Another Enforcer should have taken my place. I- Lois made it sound like I was needed. She made it sound simple and easy. She said I didn't even need to do anything. That this would all be handled, but the way things are going... I should have never brought Money Tree or Oxide. I'm outclassed. I don't think I've actually done anything since I've shown up. I've just been on the sidelines." The man glanced down at his hand weakly and felt the pit in his stomach grow. "I know I'm just a Super, but I thought I could maybe do something, yet now it feels like I'm being punished for attempting to stand alongside these gods. Part of me just wants to throw in the towel and give up."

"That's better than me." Claymore took his sword off and tossed it down next to Sky since she also had a sword, and might be able to get some use out of it. "I quit."

"What?" Sky snapped her head up. "What do you mean you quit?"

Claymore began to undo the notches in his leather jacket and took it off. "It means I'm done. I can't do this anymore. I don't even have powers and was just using my cool sword to do something, but it didn't help. I still watched the person I swore to protect die. I'm not a hero, and I'm a shitty knight. I can't keep any of these strangers safe, and I don't even want to bother. I'm done."

"Where are you going to go?" Sky hissed. "You're trapped in this realm, you know! Until the Immortals are dealt with-"

"Let's face it." Claymore looked back to Alexander. "The Immortals won. Even if I am trapped here, though, I don't have a home in the real world and survived mostly by hunting, so I'll just do that once more."

"You're really just walking away?" Sky asked, stunned.

"Yep." Claymore reached into his pockets and pulled out two golden cards. "I almost forgot. Here you go, boss man." He tossed them over to Myth, who caught them and glanced down at them.

"What are these?" They were both golden cards, one with the symbol of a trident on it, the other a lightning bolt. One read Poseidon, the other Zeus.

"Never bothered to use them, and that other one is Phoenix's, who gave his to me before the battle started." Claymore snorted. "I was too scared to actually use them. I think everyone was freaked out, to be honest, so nobody used them. Knock yourself out; they're old-timey stuff, which you're known for."

Metal Ronin wiped some of his tears away and spoke up hesitantly. "I also have one." He reached into his pocket and pulled out the Hephaestus card.

"I have three." Oxide managed to choke out, and she pulled out the Hades card, which had belonged to Kevin, as well as the Apollo and Artemis cards, which both Casey and Hannah had dropped.

Myth took the offered cards, having six now. "We were told they give powers or something when you rip them." Metal Ronin explained weakly. "Like Claymore said, though, we never used them. To be honest, I kind of forgot about them."

Myth nodded, half listening. "They have the same sort of energy my father was giving off, and some of these names are the same ones he gave his forms." The dark-skinned man frowned, an idea already forming in his head.

"Do you think having them will help give us an edge?" Alexander asked, somehow still sounding hopeful.

Myth numbly shook his head and slid the cards into his pocket. "I doubt it." He turned back to say something to Claymore, but the boy was gone. Claymore had walked through the crowd and faded. "We're just outclassed. The only thing we can do now is pray."

A somber silence fell on their group. Part of the crowd of people parted as two teens stumbled forward, both a boy and a girl. Cora winced awkwardly and dusted herself off before looking down at Lady Time. "Are you doing better now, miss?" She asked sheepishly.

Lady Time nodded and glanced back at Cora and Nikos. "Yes. My body seems to have healed a bit more. I'm told the two of you are the ones who found me in the rubble?"

Nikos nodded. "We did. I think it's only right if you repair us by keeping us safe. A lot of people are freaking out. This is my village, and I'm not exactly happy about what has happened to it so far."

Lady Time managed a weak smile and tried to stand but stumbled down. "I need to be off." She groaned. "The others need me."

Paragon huffed and shoved the Enforcer back down. "After you're done healing. It's going slow since you took a lot of radiation damage, which I need to take care of first."

Lady Time faintly nodded. "Your mother would be proud to see you've gotten better with your powers, Paragon."

Paragon felt her heart twitch, and she looked away. "Don't say something like that. I shouldn't be feeling any emotions right now that might mess with my head. It's a struggle just to keep healing."

"Speaking of powers." Cora gave a soft wince. "I think I might be a mage..."

"Neat," Paragon said flatly.

"S- Shouldn't that be a big deal?" Cora asked.

"We have way bigger things to worry about; I literally have no clue who you are." Paragon rolled her eyes. She went to say more but was stopped when a blue portal suddenly shimmered in the air a few feet off the ground to the right of where she was sitting. "Great, more of Battery's portals-"

The body of the Victorian crashed out, blood flowing out of a hole she had in her chest. She was followed by the unconscious bodies of Poseidon, Fable, and Lightning Empress.

"Jill!" Lady Time jumped back to her feet and let out a gasp, grabbing her friend and turning her around. "No, no, no! Paragon, do something!"

Paragon felt a chill go through her spine as she stared down at the body of the Victorian. Blood kept flowing out, and the woman had a hole right through where her heart should have been. She dropped to her knees and reached out, placing her hand on the wound, and she gasped. With her eyes, she could see a person for what they were. Their soul. That was how she had been able to see Green Wolf in the Cinder clone and the state Hope's own soul was in. Because of that, she could still see there was a soul inside of the Victorian's body, but it was different. Normally, the soul was bright and golden, like a star that had an infinite amount of light to give. That soul was gone, though, yet there was still one clinging weakly to the Victorian's body. It was odd, though. It wasn't a Super soul, nor was it human or even a monster. It sort of gave off the same feeling as a Lord, but it lacked the normal shape and was just red. One big red ball of power.

The other thing that concerned her was what her powers felt. When she touched someone, she could see every strand of their DNA and see how their body works. She had healed the Victorian a few times, so she was familiar with the woman's body. Her heart was wrong. Her chest had been caved in and her heart had been destroyed, but in its place, a new donor heart had been tucked inside, waiting to be hooked up.

Her powers flared, and she rapidly used her ability to create new blood cells, replacing the blood loss, and mended the broken bones and caved-in chest, fixing it up. The heart that was resting in the body was a match and was able to mold back into place. It was a good thing it was there also, since if she had needed to create a brand-new heart, she wouldn't have been able to restore the Victorian back to life in time, before she went brain dead. Thanks to the heart that was in place, though, she was able to revive and save the woman before her soul moved on.

What really worried Paragon, though, was the heart.

She had never once healed Jack Larison, yet she had touched him a single time. Back when he had been a torn-off head, giving her words of encouragement. It was his DNA.

The Victorian now had Jack Larison's heart...

Lady Time and a few of the other heroes gasped in shock and horror as they stared down at the body of the Victorian who rested in Sky's arms. The woman managed to open her eyes and groaned, feeling mostly healed. "Damn, he could have given me some warning." The number one hero chuckled.

"J- Jill?" Lady Time whispered out.

The Victorian managed a smirk. "Yeah? What's wrong? You all look like you've seen a ghost." She forced herself back up and shook her head. "Whatever, I don't have time to sit around here. Battery just gave me the chance to get rehealed. I need to go back to him up." She waved her hand and attempted to summon up her sword, but nothing happened. "Huh? Maybe I'm more tired than I thought." She closed her eyes and tried to lift off of the ground, but it didn't work. "What the hell?"

"Jill..." Lady Time reached out and grabbed a few locks of the Victorian's hair. "You're..."

The Victorian's eyes widened, and she grabbed her hair, moving some of the long locks into view. Black. Her hair was black. Her face paled, and she suddenly felt sick to her stomach. Her hair hadn't been black since before she gained the shard of Cosmos that was left. That power was the reason for her hair change, her flight, her control over light, and everything else. Without it, she wasn't the Victorian. She was just... The image of Battery's face came back to her. The way he had almost seemed to stare down at her in pity.

Battery had killed the Victorian.

"I- I'm Ruby Admiral again?" Jill whispered out weakly. "My father's power is gone?"

"What!" Myth felt his body give out as he collapsed to his knees. "You mean we just lost our strongest weapon?"

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The Victorian was always there, though. Even when she fell down, she always got back up. She was always flying around, going faster and harder than anyone else. For fifteen years they lived in a world without Lords and had all put their hope and trust on her back. She was their best weapon against the Beast and the only hero who had gone toe-to-toe with every Calamity and lived to tell the tale. The number one, not just in power but in the respect she held, yet now she was just gone? Snuffed out without a word and reduced back down to a mere Super like the rest of them. The star that had been there to light the world up in Full Monarch's absence had just gone out.

This was a loss.

No matter what happened from this point on, they absolutely lost. The good guys didn't win.

"Where's Hope?" Sky asked softly, getting the attention back on her. She was on her knees healing her sister and Lois and was about to work on Fable, but she noticed two heroes hadn't dropped from the portal. Neither Hope nor Battery showed up.

Over in the crater, all the villains looked shocked or enraged as dozens of portals opened up, sucking all the remaining heroes up and moving them away. Battery was on his knees, breathing heavily, and had a smirk on his face.

"He's a persistent bastard, isn't he?" Michael chuckled.

"Battery is a friend of Cinders?" Metatron asked, cocking her head to the side.

"Who cares who he is?" Gabriel hissed. "He blew me up a whole bunch; let's just kill him!"

Uriel folded his arms and didn't say anything. He turned to look back at the wounded Golden God, who held Fairy Queen, remembering what the woman had told him. "He negated my mind manipulation with ease and fought Father. Let's not underestimate him anymore." For once, his smile was gone.

"I told you." Fairy Queen huffed out. "You didn't believe me, though."

"In the future, try to keep more of an open mind, Immortals." Golden God almost sounded smug. "We once worked with that pitiful man, after all. We know him better than anyone."

Michael rolled his eyes, and he grabbed Metatron's hand. Their wings unfolded, and they flew over to Golden God, landing in his palm. "Yeah, yeah, you guys were right; we were wrong. Who cares? There's only one player left! That means I have my body! Let's go get him!"

Golden God looked down to the Emperor. The armored man finally nodded. "Help them out. Until we can remove the Ruler shard in Alpha, our alliance with the Immortals still stands." The Emperor grunted out.

Golden God nodded, and his body twisted in the air, slowly flying away, heading to Pine Tree Village, carrying Fairy Queen, Metatron, and Michael.

That left Uriel, Gabriel, Lucifer, Legend, and the Emperor as the only villains left. Jack breathed heavily and wiped some blood out of his eyes. He stared up at the faces of the three other Rulers who stood across from him. "You lose." Lucifer sighed. "You can see that, right? We're going to kill you, over and over again, until your mind and body collapse, and you're reduced to a mindless monster like Legend was. Maybe in a few thousand years you'll be able to recover. Legend was able to twist and distort time, which is how he eventually regained his mind, his soul mending, but that isn't a gift you have. So you might as well tell us, where did you send Cinder?"

"Why would I do that?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"The Lords are immune to the Dead Virus and most mind-altering effects." The Emperor explained. "The Virus just kills them. Because of that, the only way for us to control them is to force them to be heroes. You're going to turn into a mindless monster soon. We'll use Avalon to send you into a city, and you'll go on a rampage. You'll be another Beast, slaughtering left and right. The Lords will have no choice but to stop you. If you don't tell us where Cinder is, though, then no one will be there to stop you. You'll slaughter, over and over again, and no matter how many times you're killed, you'll revive, going on an endless loop until you kill everyone in the world. So, you can either play the role of hero and heroically go out in a blaze of glory, letting the four Lords slay you, or we can ensure you're the one that ends the human race. The choice is yours."

"Quite the options you gave me." Jack winced.

"Quit stalling." Legend barked out. "I want to be number one. When you die, I'll consume the shard in you and become the strongest being in the universe."

"No, I'll be the one to take it and bring back the Shadow." Lucifer sighed.

"You're both wrong." The Emperor shook his head. "I'll absorb the pieces and bring about a world of only Supers."

Jack shook his head. "All three of you are idiots."

The Emperor's eyes narrowed slightly. "Do you truly think you can do better? Your only option is to get one of us killed and absorb the shard yourself, but that won't be happening. The other Lords aren't strong enough on their own, and we can hide. You're going to be a mindless monster soon, so they'll have no choice but to go after you, instead of us, if they want to save as many people as possible, so if your plan is to get them to kill one of us, it simply won't work."

Jack shook his head. "No, that's not my plan. I do have an idea, though. I see the Path I need to follow. I've figured out my destiny. The reason why I was put on this Earth. It's simple, clear, and easy. I surely won't screw it up." As he spoke, the ground began to rumble, and then everything started to turn dark as the sky above began to get blocked by something. "You made a mistake, though. You thought you could leave this area." Jack kicked out with his foot and nudged Beta's destroyed body. "Remember what I said about this guy? Yeah, you really shouldn't have destroyed him."

In the real world, Chrysanthemum was a massive city that had a large dome placed over it. This dome was actually a massive gateway to another realm. Legend's body was constantly creating a realm, one that was full of ruin and nothing, and would eventually spread to the rest of the universe if he got out, so Avalon created a realm to contain the spread, which was placed directly over Chrysanthemum. That realm was infinite in size and expanded faster than Legend's realm would grow, existing to swallow Legend's realm and ensure it didn't get out into the real world. That was only one dome, though. There were several other domes placed over that one, which put that realm into another realm, again and again, layering them on top of each other so that if one broke, there would be backups. Also between these domes was what was known as an Anchor, which shut down most teleportation-based powers, making it next to impossible for a Super to break into or out of Chrysanthemum.

When Avalon had built it, though, he had ensured the anchor was weaker than his own teleportation. This allowed him to teleport in and out freely, which was how the Murder Games were even able to be hosted in Chrysanthemum, since any teleportation above Avalon's, such as that of a Lord or Ruler, could get in, while any power weaker than Avalon's couldn't.

Since the Murder Games started, a new barrier had also been created. Gabriel's barrier could pull in any player and then trap them all inside, and her barrier was actually stronger than Avalon's. It only went up the day the Murder Game started, though. So Avalon was able to get past his own barrier and teleport everyone inside and get the world and realm ready, while Gabriel's barrier then went up, brought the players in, and then locked it down, making it impossible for even Avalon to escape the realm. The only beings now that could get in and out were the Rulers, or the Lords, which was how Battery was able to break in with his group.

That was all about to change, though...

In the real world, a massive black cube began to slowly descend upon the dome and all the other realms and anchors that had been put in place. The cube was so massive, and inside it held a realm that was so dark, even in the other layered realms, everything was plunged into night. Beta had been sent to work with Battery for a simple reason. To study the man's energy.

Boy Genius had been hard at work creating one last barrier. A barrier that would prove he was superior to Avalon. A realm and an anchor that could prevent even a Ruler from teleporting in and out. Beta's consciousness whirled through the cube and willed his new square-shaped body to drop, engulfing and swallowing the city below, forcing everyone within Legend's realm to be placed in a world where teleportation simply ceased to work.

The Emperor and Legend both twitched and gasped as they felt their ability to hop through shadows or jump through time shut off. Jack also felt a shiver, his portal shutting for good, and no matter how much he tried to flex, it would not open. Beta had once told him when he first offered to let the machine join him that he would be there when he failed and would seal him away. The machine was keeping its word.

"What did you do!" The Emperor roared.

"Me?" Jack lazily shrugged. "I did nothing. This is all you. I tried to warn you, but you didn't listen. In a few hours, Beta will flood this realm with drones and other machines, providing support to the heroes and setting the cameras back online. All teleportation has been totally sealed, making it impossible for any of us to go anywhere. So what was that about sending me into a city?" Jack folded his arms and gave a smirk. "We're stuck here now."

"There's still an entire world of innocent people." Lucifer spat out. "The other heroes are still stuck here as well, as are the four Lords. You'll still go on a rampage; it will just be within this fake world. The heroes will still try to stop you."

"Perhaps, but it will be much harder for the two of you to hide now." Jack placed his hand to his chest, and his fingers dug in. His power flared up, and he forced something out of him. A small golden orb of light ripped its way out of his chest. It was faint and weak, yet it still hummed with power. He smiled softly at it. "Go." It clung to him for a moment. "No. Go." He nudged it, and it took off, flying away.

That was the last of it. The shard of the Cosmos. It wasn't much. Most of it had been utterly torn and broken, but it was enough. At least he hoped it would be. He was only able to remove it from him since he knew the exact piece. Avalon had told him the amount, and the Emperor had accidentally confirmed it. Normally, removing a living soul and forcing it into someone else was next to impossible, but with Story Maker, it could be done. Story Maker could bend the Paths and force things together. Even without teleportation, it could still happen manually. Story Maker could only send things to places it had been, though. That was why he impaled the blade through Hope. By breaching into her body, Story Maker was now technically inside her, meaning it was now technically possible to force something into her. In this case, the Cosmos shard he had ripped out of both himself and the Victorian.

"What did you do?" The Emperor demanded once more. "Why on Earth would you get rid of that shard? It was the only thing protecting you from the revive toll. Now it'll be quicker for us to make you snap."

Jack gave another shrug, and his smile returned. "I've been wondering about that." He hummed. "You guys don't have anything protecting your souls either. Mine was protected by that shard, but now that it's gone, I'll be forced to take the burden upon myself. Let's see who snaps first."

"Wait-"

Without warning, he exploded. Blue energy ripped out of him as he self-destructed for the second time that day, and for the third time, the glass crater erupted. His energy rippled out, tearing holes into the ground and reducing everyone around him to ash. It took only a second for the revive to kick in. Darkness swirled as he, as well as the other three Rulers were forced back together, but he didn't even give them time to say anything. "Once more." He exploded, his energy reducing them back down to ash. He reformed. "Again." He exploded. "Again." He exploded. "Again. Again. Again." Over and over, the four of them would be vaporized and then have their bodies forced back together only to be reduced to ash the next moment. Again and again, he did the only thing he knew how to do. He forced all his malice and self-hatred out, and he vaporized himself.

The Emperor, Lucifer, and Legend screamed in anguish as they were melted down to atoms, stuck in a loop, the crater filling with lava and deadly radiation that flowed out, and in a flash of blue everything would explode once more, the moment Jack's brain formed back and the thought to kill himself returned.

He wouldn't be able to keep it up for long. He knew that sooner or later, his mind would give out. The toll was starting to take effect. Now that he thought about it, he was having a hard time recalling certain things. How old was he? What was his name again? Why was he even doing this? He must have had a good reason, so he kept going, no matter how much it hurt. All because of a lone image that was in his mind. One of a girl with raven black hair and blue eyes.

What was her name again?

He stood in a void of black. His hand cracked and shattered, falling off of him.

Who was she?

His legs were next. Both of them crumbled and began to turn to dust, causing him to drop further into the void.

Why did he know she was going to be mad at him?

The cracks expanded, dancing along his chest, and expanded out.

Why did he feel sad?

The void began to swallow him. It ate away at him. Emotions, memories, wants, desires, fears—none of that mattered. None of that remained. It was all taken, and it was all torn to bits and reduced to nothing.

Why did the name Hope Lauren keep forcing its way back into his mind?

Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why? Why?

Eventually, Jack stopped as the void swallowed him whole.

Back over in Pine Tree, Sky stared out in shock as everything was painted in blue and black. The sky had simply shut off, being plunged into night, making everything dark, yet on the horizon, as if a blue star was imploding, she saw fire reach past the heavens only to fall back down and restart. She knew what that meant. They all knew what that meant. Jack Larison was blowing himself up on loop. What reason could he have, though? He couldn't last doing that.

"Is he insane?" Jill asked weakly. She stared numbly at the blue ball that kept lighting up. She wasn't the only one. The entire village had finally gone quiet, watching the orb grow and shrink rapidly.

"It's Battery." Myth gave a soft snort. "Of course he's insane." Despite his words, though, he felt a strange twinge of regret in his chest. What had his last conversation with Battery been like? He couldn't recall it. He had felt hatred for the man for a mix of reasons, yet at one time Battery had been on the same team as him.

"It's starting." Everyone turned when they heard the voice of Lightning Empress. The girl had managed to wake up and had a sad grin on her face as she watched the orb.

"What's starting?" Lady Time demanded.

"The ending that we wanted." Lightning Empress let out a soft sigh.

"Who wanted this sort of outcome?" Cora made a face.

"I did, and he did as well." Lightning Empress closed her eyes. "Finally. We just have one thing left to do, and we win. Please, please, please, don't screw it up, Jack. I'm begging you."

"What the hell are you talking about?" Jill growled and grabbed her daughter. "Lois-"

Lois yanked her mom's hand off of her shoulder and tossed the woman away. "Sorry, but you're no longer important. You treated me pretty badly when I wasn't strong, and I kind of see why. The state you're in, you're totally useless." She didn't even bother to wait for her mom's response and instead lifted off the ground, carried by the wind. "Now, I'll be right back. Try to hold everything down, Sky."

"Where are you going?" Sky demanded.

"To get Hope." Lois giggled and took off without another word.

Jill remained on the ground, feeling a surge of different emotions coursing through her. She stared down at her hands, which didn't stop shaking. Alexander helped her up. "Thanks."

Alexander smiled and nodded. "It's not over yet. We still don't know what's going to happen."

Jill forced a nod. "Yeah." She didn't sound convinced, though.

"My, my, what do we have here? You're all gathered in one spot." A chill went through all the heroes, and they looked up, finding Golden God high in the air. He wasn't alone either. Fairy Queen stood on the tip of his finger, a smirk on her face. She had been the one who started talking. "You're mine." Without warning she vanished and reappeared in front of Paragon. She grabbed the girl by the front of her coat and yanked her off the ground. "Come to Aunt Fairy Queen, now! I was told to make sure you're not hurt." Fairy Queen lifted back into the air, dodging both Myth's and Lady Time's strikes.

"L- Let me down." Sky hissed, and she struck out, but her attacks bounced off Fairy Queen's flesh. Golden God's mouth opened wide, and he craned his head back as Fairy Queen hovered over it and let go, dropping Sky into it.

"No!" Myth roared and transformed into his lion form, but before he could even think about attacking, Golden God's hand came down, about to splatter dozens of people.

"Stop!" Cora screamed in horror, and Golden God's arm halted at the last second. The machine's eyes went wide, and he grunted, trying to force his arm down, but it wouldn't obey. His other limbs didn't have that issue, though, and one struck out, slamming into Myth and blasting him back. Cora opened her mouth, about to speak again, but before she could, Metatron landed behind her and covered her mouth.

Michael landed behind his sister and chuckled. "Yo, long time no see, Victorian- Why is your hair black- Actually, I don't care- No, actually, I do- Why is your hair black?" The man asked, rattling off a dozen questions.

Lady Time jumped in front of her friend and held both her swords up, growling. "You've got to get through me first-"

"Red light." Lady Time became frozen in place as Michael lazily stepped past her. His hand fired out, and without warning, he grabbed the Victorian by the throat and lifted her up, his smirk growing. "You've gotten weaker? A lot weaker." The Victorian gasped and struggled but couldn't break out of his grip.

Fable and Poseidon were still down, the same same for Money Tree, so Oxide took matters into her own hands. She lunged at Michael and swung out with her sword, but before the blow could land, Fairy Queen appeared in front of her and caught the sword. "Nice try." The woman giggled and rammed her fist into Oxide's stomach, shattering the girl's ribs and downing her in one attack.

Myth tried to stand back up, but one of the Golden God's hands rammed down into him, smashing him deeper into the ground. While that happened, Metal Ronin and Claymore began to try and lead everyone else out of the village and to safety. Pied was finally awake and played a note on his pipe, taking control of the villagers and ordering them all to scatter. Luckily, Golden God was banged up and missing several arms and wasn't able to simply crush anyone since he was too focused on keeping Myth down.

Michael's eyes narrowed as he watched the people go into a trance and begin to leave. He lazily tossed the Victorian away, not interested in her anymore, and instead strolled forward and wrapped a hand around Alexander Lauren's wrist. The man was dazed, but Michael used his power to break the effect. "Hey."

Alexander flinched as he suddenly came to his senses and found himself stuck in the iron grip of Michael. "H- Hey." The man said awkwardly.

"You're going to be my new body."

"No, thank you?"

"Yeah, you don't get a choice." Michael laughed.

"You don't have to do this." Alexander winced.

"Actually, I do." Michael sighed. "See, this body of mine won't last much longer—wait, didn't we have this conversation already? Bottom line, I want a new body before this one gives out, and yours looks perfect. So... I'm taking it." He wrapped his hand around Alexander's throat and lifted the man up, choking him. "You're mine."

Off to the side, Jill felt tears of frustration light up in her eyes. She felt mad and helpless. Her rage kept bubbling and growing, and she tried to force her body to act, but it didn't. Even before she had the Cosmos half, she had some powers, yet no matter how much she tried to will them on, they wouldn't come to her. Her soul had been so linked to the shard within her that she feared it might have left her, leaving her as nothing more than a normal human. That was when she spotted something. Claymore's sword was lying on the ground, still discarded. She forced herself to her feet, and without warning she grabbed it and charged-

"Red light." Jill froze in place, unable to move. Michael didn't even bother to glance at her and instead kept his gaze fixed on Alexander. "Yeah, you guys lose."

It was over...

The heroes were scattered, weakened, or unconscious. The bad guys might not have had the best footing, but they were still doing better than the good guys. The side of evil was winning. It was a dominant victory, one from which the good guys had no hope of recovering. Evil had won...

"Is that really how it ends?" River asked softly.

Jack leaned on his elbow, the movie theater seat being as uncomfortable as he remembered. He stared up in numb silence at the movie that played. It was his movie. His life. His story. It was over now, though. Done. Ending with him going out in one last explosion and reducing himself to atoms so badly that when the Shadow revived him, nothing of his old self was left. "Yeah... That's the ending."

"I don't like it." River huffed out.

"Well, it's not for you." Jack rolled his eyes and folded his arms. "It's my ending. I imagine others wouldn't like it, but I do. I think it's perfect for someone like me."

River sighed and leaned back in the movie theater seat. They had the whole room to themselves. "It's not a good ending, though. There's still so much that's not done."

"That's life for ya. And mine... Mine was a shitty one." Jack snorted.

"What about my daughters, though?" River demanded. "You said you would take care of them?"

"I guess I lied." Jack's smile faded, and he bowed his head. "That's the only thing I'm good at, huh? Breaking my word. I thought I could keep the kid out of it, but in the end, I failed at that as well. When the going got tough, I gave up. I turned tail and ran away. This was simply easier. Because I'm someone who takes the easy way out, I thought I could be the light in the dark that people would turn to. I thought I could be the next Full Monarch. I couldn't do it, though. So now, I've gone back on my word. I said I wouldn't use her as a weapon, yet look at the choice I've made. All so I could ensure she gets a happy ending? As if I alone had the right to decide that for the whole of humanity. I'm pathetic." His hands clenched at his side. "For what it's worth, though... I tried. I... I did. I taught Lily everything I knew and made sure the Lord in her wouldn't break out any time soon by teaching her how to manipulate her soul. As for Sky... Well... I've never been able to look her in the eye. Even now, after all of this. I lashed out at her. In a furious rage. Not because I was actually mad, though, but because I was scared. Scared that I would fail. I thought it was best to get her to hate me. To despise me. That way, she wouldn't come near me."

"You're such an idiot." River elbowed him in the ribs, making him wince. "Sky didn't need a monster to overcome. None of them did. All the current Lords are... Well, they're children, for God's sake. They all need serious therapy if you ask me." River huffed. "What they needed was a friend who would help keep them grounded. Not a guardian or a villain, or a parent or a lover. Just someone that would be there to help them when it came to it. That's where you failed, though. Because you hate yourself so much, you refuse to even consider that you're human."

"Why are you even here?" Jack slumped down in his seat, feeling even more miserable as he watched the credits on the movie roll. "You're dead. I can't die. This isn't going to work out, you know."

River let out a soft giggle and sighed. "Yeah. It wasn't going to work out. Still. I guess I wanted to see you again."

"Are you even real? I doubt we're actually in the afterlife right now." Jack questioned, a bit suspicious. "Chances are this is just my imagination, and the only thing I could picture was you."

"Maybe I'm real, maybe I am just your imagination, does that really matter though?" River shrugged.

"I guess not."

"So, what happens now?" River asked, shooting him a look.

"What do you mean?" Jack raised an eyebrow.

"I mean, the movie's over, sure, but haven't you ever heard of a post-credit scene?" She questioned sheepishly.

Jack shook his head. "No. It's over. This time for good."

"Seriously? That can't actually be the ending, though." River groaned. "At least do one more good thing or something. Go out, not as Alpha or the Ruler of Giants, but as Battery, the hero."

"It's too late. My body's already twisting and changing, and soon my mind will vanish along with it." Jack stood up, and the theater began to crumble and break, turning to dust along with River. "I've reached the end."

"That's sad, though," River whispered out as her body crumbled away. "Please... just try. One. Last. Time."

As the dust faded, Jack found himself in a new location. He was on a beach. Water rose up around his ankles, and he could feel the wind in his hair. "Alpha?" A pair of arms wrapped around him.

"Hell Hound?" Jack allowed a smile on his face, and he turned to see saw her. His Hell Hound. "Hey."

She was dressed in a gown rather than her armor, and her brown hair flowed back. Her face was scrunched up a bit, and she grinned. "Hey." She chuckled. "It took you a while."

Jack felt his smile fade. "Yeah." He fiddled with a ring that was suddenly wrapped around his finger. "I guess it did take me a while, huh?"

"If you ask me, though, you're still too early." Hell Hound huffed and placed her hands on her hips. "I mean, look at you. Not a gray in sight. You should have only ended up here when you were withered and old after living a full life!"

Jack chuckled and winced as she gently smacked him a bit. "Yeah, yeah, I'm sorry. Things didn't really go well for me."

Hell Hound huffed. "Whatever. At least you finally showed up."

"So is this it?" Jack glanced around at the beach he was on. It was just him and his wife. "Am I in hell or something?"

"Not yet." Hell Hound shook her head and flicked him on the forehead. "You're a stubborn bastard. You know how hard it is for you to die. Still, you're close."

Jack gave a weak nod. "Right. One more stop, then?"

"This is all that's left." Hell Hound said sadly. "Your mind is shutting down. Everything is being removed. The only reason you're here is thanks to your Imaginary energy, which is keeping the total destruction away from you, but it won't last much longer. You can either stop it now or..."

"Or finish it and give myself up," Jack said quietly. "Fade away full and die." He stared out at the ocean in a somber silence. "I have a backup plan, a way to end it all and ensure the world gets saved, but..."

"You don't know if it will work?"

"I'm scared if it does." He corrected softly. "Because of what it means I'd have to do to her. The final piece to Lois's puzzle." He rubbed his chin and sighed. "Still, I've come this far. No use whining about it now, right?"

"Right." Hell Hound gently pushed him. "You can do it."

Jack took a step forward. It was a cautious step. One that was slow and jittery as thoughts to pull back flowed through him. The water was cold as his ankle sank into it. He took a second step, and then a third. He took one last look back at his wife. She smiled and nodded at him. This was the correct answer, right? He was doing good, right?

Why did he feel so conflicted...

He forced it down and took a fourth and then a fifth. Again and again, the water rose over him, and once his head sank below the wave, he was no longer in the ocean but instead marching through an endless sea of abyss. There was nothing. Literally nothing. Yet even in the nothing, he felt something, despite how wrong and impossible that sounded. He knew then and there that he was in its palm. The Shadow was holding him. It was in charge now. Every step, he could feel himself start to come undone. Memories and thoughts that were once cherished flowed out of him, and cracks started to appear along his form. He was breaking. Coming undone. Everything that made him Jack Larison was unraveling.

He let it happen, though. He didn't try to fight it. He could feel a surge of power. Godlike in nature that even eclipsed the Lord's. It was responding to him. Helping him. Fixing him and repairing him to be stronger, giving him a new form. One like Legend, the Emperor, or Lucifer. Jack Larison was truly dying, and something else was taking its place. The Shadow was whispering to him, urging him forward, and he obeyed.

More cracks appeared, and more of him faded. Memories, both good and bad, turned to dust and flowed away, being consumed by the monster that was taking him over. Finally, he came to the end, the palm of the Shadow twisting around him. One more step. In the real world, he was still exploding, each footstep being another blast, but it was up to him to finish it all.

One more step and he'd finally die. He'd fade away and cease. In his place, a terrible evil would take its place, but that was okay. The good guys were going to lose this war, but in return, they'd somehow win the next battle and create the Path Lois spoke of. This was his destiny. His reason for existing. Yet... Jack hesitated once more. He was at the very end, needing one more step, yet it didn't come. Of course, he had gone too far to turn back; such a thing was impossible, yet something was still stopping him. Preventing him from going through with it.

Jack glanced down at his hand and found himself holding a ball... Ocean Empress's words echoed through his mind once more, and he gently squeezed the ball. "You're the Shadow, right?" He asked quietly. The endless darkness rumbled. "Right, of course. I'll cut to the chase. I want to do something. One last thing. It's small, something that won't change the outcome and won't affect you in any way. That's my condition." He gave a small grin as he dropped the ball. "One last scene. The post-credit scene in my story. For just a moment, I need your power. I want to do one last thing as Battery. One last person still needs to be saved."

Outside of Jack's mind, back in the real world, miles away in Pine Tree Village, Michael lifted his hand up and placed it on Alexander's chest.

"The process to transfer my soul isn't easy. It's painful and will shatter everything inside of you, both mentally and physically." Michael giggled. "In a way, it's sort of the same process as how the Rulers get taken over-"

A swirl of black opened up, slicing through Michael's arm as the portal expanded directly on top of him, splitting him apart. The man howled in pain and stumbled back, but before he could recover, Alexander was sucked into the portal, which closed. The barrier that prevented such things normally would have made it impossible, but it was only created to prevent things on the level of the four Lords, since that was the peak of all power, yet for just a mere moment, something beyond the Lords had existed. For a single instant, the power of the Shadow had been held by a single being, and in less than one planck second, a portal beyond Beta's barrier had been created.

Alexander tumbled and yelled, feeling himself be distorted through both time and space. It wasn't a usual portal; instead, all of reality and creation bent and twisted, moving around the portal itself, which then spat the man out. Alexander crashed onto a solid floor, and he heard a yell.

"A- Alexander?" He looked up and saw Jane, his wife, staring down at him.

He was home. Taken out of the games, the barrier remained in place, making it impossible for the Immortals to get their new body.

Back with Michael, he roared in rage, his arm already growing back. He screamed and launched out a wave of energy into the sky out of pure anger. While he did that, Metatron took that as her chance to act. She whispered into Cora's ear and then let go of the girl's mouth.

Cora screamed as loudly as she could. "T- Take the bad guys away!"

Golden God's arms flew out and snatched up Fairy Queen, Metatron, and Michael. Michael and Fairy Queen yelled and thrashed around, but Golden God didn't respond and seemed almost in a daze. He turned and began to float off, leaving the heroes and the people behind.

"There." Back in the sea of abyss, Jack let out a sigh. "That's the least I can do for ruining her life. I also went ahead and transferred the damage he took from the Dead Virus into Michael. Let him suffer from it. Hope's parents can live now. Hopefully they'll get a long life. It's not much; it barely even counts as a heroic deed. Still, I'm happy I did it." Jack gave one last smile as he stepped forward, allowing the cracks to spread over his form. "Battery. He wasn't the best hero, but at least he did something right in the end."

Jack Larison ceased to be.

Why did he do it?

Why did he think this was the best choice?

Why did he hold so many secrets and shut so many people out?

Why, indeed.

The sad little boy, who had been created to be a monster, finally reached his end.

For now...

The Emperor groaned as his body began to mend and force itself back together. He squeezed his eyes shut, ready to be hit with another explosion, but it never came. Instead, he found himself fully revived, his twisted form being forced back into his armor. His head spun, but he had managed to cling to enough of himself. As his eyes opened, he saw Lucifer and Legend in a similar state, their bodies fully healed.

"It's over," Lucifer said, letting out a soft sigh. "He's reached his true form. He is now a Ruler. A true one."

The Emperor turned and felt a gasp hit him, and his body shook. He felt tears in his eyes. A strange sense of pride went through him for the thing that used to be his son, even after everything that had happened.

Lords had their Battlemode, but Rulers didn't get that. Instead of a Battlemode or a true form, they got a form based on themselves and who they were. The life they had lived and their regrets and wants, which would all form together. Lucifer's was that of a priest, one who spoke of the holy power of the Shadow. Legend's was an overgrown baby, both old and young, who lashed out at the world that hurt it. Nier's own form was one he didn't like to go into often, but it was based on a dragon, likely due to his nature and care for Lucky. He kept himself molded using the shadows to build a human-looking form for himself rather than walk around as a dragon, though he had been forced into that form a few times before in the past, like his fight with Full Monarch.

Entering the Ruler form was a sign. It was proof your body had been fully taken over by the Shadow and you ceased to exist. He was no longer still Nier; that Nier had died a long time ago. The memories that were lost were consumed by the shard within, which would become a darker, more twisted version of itself. That's how he knew of his son and daughter despite technically not being the same Nier anymore, the same reason why Legend was also able to recall Myth and Fable and who they were to him. Rulers simply didn't care about the past, though, instead focusing fully on the future, using the consumed identity of the person they took over to reach their true goal.

So...

What was Jack Larison's true form? What did he become?

He was beautiful. He lacked arms and legs and actually had no body at all. His form was entirely black and strangely round, resting on the glass floor, not moving at all. Legend had a similar form at one point. Legend had looked like a Pod, but Jack's was different. It was more egg-shaped. A big black egg, which remained perfectly motionless on the ground. Soft cracks expanded across the egg, and bits of black fire seeped out.

More tears dripped down Nier's face as he gazed at the thing within the egg. "Oh, Alpha. You're finally you once more. Welcome back, my son."

The Ruler of Creation and Destruction had been reborn.

That left just one final loose end...

In a little cave, somewhere within the realm, the frozen body of Cinder stood, Story Maker poking out of her chest. Cracks appeared in the side as her body twitched, and a small golden orb of light finally reached her, sliding across the sword and using the opening made in her body to attach itself to her.

Cinder blinked, and suddenly she found herself standing in a void. "H- Hello?" She asked nervously, and her voice bounced around. She looked around a bit but didn't see anyone around her. She felt odd, though. Stronger? More... whole? Like she was broken before but finally fixed. "Where am I?"

As she was wondering this, something in the darkness caught her eye. A light. Orange and flickering. That of a fire. Her fire. With nothing to lose, she approached, and soon Cinder found herself standing at the edge of a campfire. It was simply in the middle of the void, and a few logs were scattered about it, allowing her to take a seat. She did, taking her spot next to the man who was putting sticks into the fire.

He was quite tall and imposing, dressed in a blue suit, with a long, flowing cape that had the symbol of a butterfly on it. His hair was long and blonde, reaching down past his waist, and his eyes glowed with a fiery red light. She knew who this was. The whole world knew who he was.

"Is this real?" Cinder asked hesitantly. "Like? Am I dead?"

The man chuckled. "Nah, not yet. Still, I'm glad I got to see you. I think this is a first, don't you? Two Lords of the Suns existing at the same time." He looked up, and his smile grew. "My name is Full Monarch. May I get yours, miss?"