As he looked up from his mahogany desk and the various data pads scattered around, Geron sighed, massaging his forehead and the two horns resting there. “Here she cos again,” he grumbled, his eyes darting to the smooth, dark blue door in the corner of his small office.
How long had it been since her last visit to the Citadel of the Six? A cycle? Maybe two? Geron wasn’t sure. Unlike all of his other siblings, Nikra despised staying in the ho they all built together for longer than strictly necessary.
Not without a good reason. He grimaced, not for the first ti pushing the gnawing guilt into the deep recesses of his mind. It’s for the best; she is a danger to everything we created over the millennia. She needs to be isolated until she cos to her senses again.
Spinning around in his armchair to face the wall covered in various screens, Geron waved his hand. At once, every image of various planets, major cities, or even the hos of a few more important families faded away. There was no need to give his sister more reasons to hate him than she already had.
After all, their last conversation didn’t end all that well. He had to sacrifice hundreds of hours fixing the damage to his part of the Citadel.
I wonder how many I will need to repair this ti. He grimaced, scanning the various shelves scattered across his small study that held countless priceless artifacts he had created during his life.
He could try to shield them with his power, but such action only painted an even bigger target on his possessions. It was much better just to let Nikra rage and destroy only a few things than to have them all reduced to ash.
Let’s just get it over with. Geron took a deep—if unnecessary—breath and spun around again, just in ti to watch the door slide open.
“Sister.” He tried to smile. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”
Nikra, one of the Six, had once been called one of the most beautiful beings in existence. Not a surprising fact, as the first among his siblings had perfected her true body countless cycles ago. She took the best features from every race across the entire multiverse and then adapted them to fit her body.
Only that Nikra didn’t exist anymore. Gone were her broad smiles and shining, bright eyes when she saw one of her siblings. Instead, in her place stood this.
A mass of living darkness that still kept her body in sowhat humanoid form. It covered everything from top to bottom, not giving away even an inch of the sister Geron once knew. Wisps of shadows danced across her entire fra as they tried to suck every bit of light out of the room.
How far you have fallen, my dear sister. He gently shook his head. With each visit, he had more and more trouble recognizing her, and evidently, the day had finally co where nothing remained of the beloved goddess. Just like I expected, you now hide the taint of one power under another.
“Oh, spare the pleasantries, Geron!” Nikra spat, the room darkening even further. “You know well why I’m here. I accepted everything you have done, never acting out, but you have finally crossed the line. I’ve had enough!”
Geron closed his eyes montarily. “I fear you have at a disadvantage, dear sister. I have no clue what you’re talking about.”
The entire room shook in response, cracks spreading across the marble floor. Even enchanted and created by Geron’s power, it stood no chance against Nikra’s rage.
“Don’t play gas with , brother,” she hissed, shadows slamming into his desk, breaking it in two. “I accepted it when you took away my position as the leader of the Six. I turned my eyes away as you whispered sweet words into the ears of our siblings so they would all turn their backs on . For the Void, I even stopped coming back to our ho…”
Every word was like a hamr slamming right into Geron’s gut, and yet his form never wavered, his eyes never leaving Nikra’s shaking body. It’s for the best, he repeated in his head like a mantra, even when his sister’s voice almost broke when she ntioned their ho.
“Obviously, it wasn’t enough for you,” she growled, her piercing gaze felt even behind the cover of shadows. “Of course you had to go and try to take away the last thing that was mine. You don’t even care that you broke our pact—the pact that the Six of us created together. Do you rember what it said, Geron? Do you?!”
He did, of course he did. He even recalled the exact rule that Nikra was referring to. Geron was the one to propose it during their council after all.
“Article 7.” He gulped, knowing well that he owed Nikra at least this much. “No mber of the Six will interfere in the mortal affairs of the followers of another mber of this pact.”
“And yet, that’s exactly what you’ve done,” his sister whispered before she exploded again. “They were mine, Geron! They chose to follow , but you just couldn’t accept it, right? You had to take them away. Just like you did with our siblings, just like you took away everything else I loved.”
Silence fell upon the room, now completely shrouded in darkness. His gaze dropped to the cracked floor, every bit of guilt he pushed away throughout the cycles now rushing to the forefront of his mind.
Was I right? Was it really worth it?
“You know…” Nikra spoke again, breaking Geron from his trance. Her voice ca out softer than what he had heard in a long ti. “I always thought that you, of all our siblings, would have my back. I thought that as the second oldest, you understood my burden, but obviously, I was wrong.” She chuckled, a bitter and hollow thing. “Instead of helping , you stabbed in the back. All because you fear what I represent even more than I do.”
“How pathetic,” she sneered, darkness lashing out once more, destroying every item inside the room. “But at least you got what you always wanted, eh? I have nothing to give anymore, so I think it’s high ti I started to take. Give you a taste of your own dicine.”
“Nikra, sister…” Geron tried anything to stop the speeding train from crashing.
The woman raised her shadowy palm, a ball of crackling darkness forming above it. “No, Geron,” she murmured. “You had your chance—a lot of them. Now it’s my turn to act.”
In the blink of an eye, the darkness crashed into the screen behind him. It went on and on, obliterating everything in its path until only a large hole remained. It opened his entire office to the deep space filled with shining stars.
Soft steps brought his attention back to Nikra, who slowly approached the new exit. She stopped right next to it, her form shifting around to face him.
“I hope you are happy, brother,” she spat. “Rember this feeling well because you won’t experience it again for a long ti. I will make sure of it.”
With her part said, Nikra’s body shot through the hole, disappearing into the vast galaxy.
What have I done…
“So, you’ve finally decided to co out and face ,” Nikra’s dark and twisted voice bood through the area. Even with the two of them standing high in the air, Geron didn’t doubt for a second that everyone on the battlefield below could see and hear them.
Yet another burning planet to add to the list.
The Old One of Creation and Light sighed, taking a few steps toward his twisted sister. “It’s partially my fault that billions died at the hands of your shadow constructs. It is only fair that I will be the one to put an end to this.”
The darkness that made Nikra’s body spasd at his words, expanding even more. At this point, it didn’t even remind him of anything humanoid—just an amalgamation of different creatures straight out of the darkest parts of the multiverse.
“And yet,” the darkness exploded in laughter. “Yet for weeks, you hid behind our siblings like a worm while the cities of your followers drowned in blood. Was it too much when you felt their light disappear? Or was it the guilt that didn’t let you stand against your dear sister?”
Geron took a deep breath and extended his four hands, blades of light forming in each. “I’m sorry to say, but you are wrong, Nikra. I was always there at Citadel, waiting and hoping you would co to your senses and realize what you have done… Obviously, you didn’t, and now the ti has co to end this—once and for all.”
Tens of shadowy limbs erupted from Nikra’s body, all sharp and ready to strike. “So be it,” the monstrous head growled.
Like one unit, the two eldritch forces moved, colliding in the middle. Shockwaves created by their every clash killed thousands of beings on the planet underneath them. A planet that soon, like every other visited by his sister, would be left forgotten, broken.
A necessary sacrifice to stop this madness. Geron gritted his teeth, his arms moving at speeds only ever matched by his siblings to deflect the thousands of strikes thrown in his direction.
They fought like never before, blurring out of view as soon as their powers connected. There was no point in using any complicated techniques. The simplest manifestation of their power, speed, and strength was enough to twist the fabric of reality and shred away what once was a beautiful planet.
Even though we are like two sides of one coin, light and darkness, you were always the stronger one, Nikra. The strongest of us all despite only ever using half of your destined powers.
I should never stand a chance against you in a one-on-one fight. Geron chuckled bitterly, cutting off yet another chunk of darkness from his sister’s body. But I’m not truly alone today, am I now?
Geron descended onto one of the many rocky pieces of the planet their battle destroyed. His steps never wavered as he walked toward the fallen figure before him. For the first ti in a very long ti, his gaze settled on the sister, who, not that long ago, was hidden behind layers of darkness.
What happened to you? He swallowed, scanning every inch of Nikra’s body.
Gone were the dusky skin and her luxurious deep violet hair that beca her most recognizable feature in the past. Instead, her entire fra was covered in scarred black flesh, without a hint of hair anywhere on her scalp. It was as if she had lted her skin and let so vulpine chew on it for days.
To think that the Void can corrupt even the strongest being in existence. Geron shook his head lightly, stopping a fair distance from his shaking sister.
“Of course,” she suddenly whispered, voice raspy and filled with pain. “Even without half of my power, you could have never beaten alone before. But you’re not alone, are you, brother? I can feel their Essence clinging to you like a second skin…”
Geron sighed, coming just a few steps closer. “It doesn’t matter now. You have made your choice, and we made ours. I’m truly sorry that I ever let this progress to this point. I just hope that one day you will find it in your soul to forgive .”
Clasping his hands together, he reached deep within himself and pulled on the endless pool of Essence he and his siblings had prepared for this exact mont. “Kartroma Dar,” he muttered, watching as five pillars, all covered to the brim with the symbols of the First Tongue, erupted from the ground and encircled his sister’s fallen form.
“It’s the end, Nikra. Goodbye…” A whisper was all he could get out as transparent golden walls slid into place between the pillars. They shone brightly, illuminating the area like a star. He quickly averted his gaze, refusing to look at what was essentially his fault any longer.
“No,” Nikra snapped, her voice forcing Geron to et her ruby, slitted gaze as she rose to her knees. “It’s just the beginning, brother. After all, what is the point of my fear if I have nothing to lose anymore?”
No! he tried to scream. Only it was too late as Nikra’s flesh cracked and exploded in a deep crimson flash, plunging the entire Universe into eternal darkness.
The era of the Void has co.
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