Darkseid, accompanied by his three Furies, left the palace some time ago. The once magnificent grand structure that towered above the neighboring mansions of the Apokoliptian Elite now stood in ruins. Almost exactly half of it was scorched to dust by the recent fire. The other half that contained both Darkseid's and Drax's private chambers, as well as the main tower, barely stood. The stone and metal that the walls were built from were constantly crumbling under their own weight, having lost their structural integrity.
It was somewhat poetic, as the new Emperor was looking forward to rebuilding the Empire from the ground up. He wanted to detach the planet and the conquered star systems from the inherited culture left behind by one Yuga Khan. The culture of infinite use and unconcerned consuming should be tossed aside. There should be a future for the people. After all, he intended to rule for eternity. And ruling an Empire of corpses was not in his plans.
To build the future for his Empire, he also needed to build the future for himself. And for that, he needed her. His light. His heart. And his tenderness. Suli. His wife. His love. She was his everything. Everything that he wanted. Everything that he cared for, and everything that he lost.
Being honest with himself, he understood that the real reason his mother died was not for anything that she did. It was for what she would have done in the original timeline, something that she won't be able to do now, being dead.
She killed Suli right after she gave birth to his first son. For Heggra, Suli was just the means for the continuation of the lineage. She thought Suli to be weak, to be too kind, too forgiving. Well, she was wrong. The weak one was him.
The one who should have protected his love, the one who should have risen to the occasion and defended all that was tender to his heart - it was him. The darn strongest god in the universe couldn't protect the mother of his son from the envy of his own mother.
Thus, killing his mother before he even met Suli, he nipped the danger in the bud. Now, he could sleep a little easier, and Suli - a little safer.
Now he could finally meet her, something that he had been putting off. He was afraid of meeting her, of facing his only fear, the fear of losing the love of his life that put its claws deep into his soul…
So here he was standing before her personal laboratory, and for the first time in his life, hesitating, unsure of how to proceed. This moment of hesitation lasted only a second or two, but it felt like an hour to him. A myriad of thoughts passed through his mind. He imagined a hundred scenarios of how their first meeting would go. But not one of those came even close to what happened in reality.
He entered the lab, and his guards were trailing behind. He was met with a sterile white interior of a high-end lab.
The air inside was dense with a faint scent, a mix of ozone and lit incense. The strange combination of aromas in the air was hinting at Suli being both a scientist and a witch; she was a very unique individual able to combine science with mystic arts, two opposite lines of thought.
In the middle of the room was a giant futuristic-looking cube, sparkling and shining with energy; small snakes of light were constantly running all around the surface of the cube. Five crystal orbs were orbiting it, periodically shooting the cube with colored energy beams.
Next to the cube were a number of androids, working on data-pads, clearly researching and gathering information. Each of the robots were unique in their appearance: some looked like mystic golems made of clay and metal, but built elegant enough to handle precise movement; some were literal elementals of fire and electricity, these were using their elemental powers to charge some machinery; and the rest of the robots were androids made to resemble physically the New Gods, those were primarily made with Apokoliptian technology.
Based on the looks of the lab, Suli was at least to some extent a technomant. A magician who practised magic meant to handle and manipulate technology. Of course, Darkseid lacked knowledge on the topic. Probably something that he should rectify soon. He practised dark magic, taking teachings of various other universes and applying them to the magic he had access to as a New God. He made good progress in it, but he was by no means an expert. Although he took a liking to ritualistic magic and runes, they were easily performed with the knowledge he had at his disposal and didn't require much aside from practice and knowledge.
His eyes caught cables running across the floor, akin to blood vessels powering up the lab. At the other end of them, sitting at the long desk was Suli.
She was of average height for an Apokoliptian, around 170 cm (5,55 ft). Her long and straight black hair was put into a bun on top of her head, supported by a headpiece that locked it in place. Loose hair was undesirable in the lab. Her skin resembled a smoky summer day, warm in its heat haze, and her deep red-hued eyes were staring him down, a foreign element in a perfect machine.
She was distantly observing, despite clearly recognising him. It was as if she was letting him come to her himself. It was not a show of power; she was a cautious individual in the presence of a terrifying force.
Her workbench was an interesting mix of technology and magic. One could find pictures and graphics of ritual circuits, runic arrays. A lattice of connected dark crystals that was meant to power up a powerful spell of an unclear origin. Data pads with long chains of logs in different languages, mostly in binary or Apokoliptian. A severed robotic limb entwined with vines of what looked like living metal, bubbling and gurgling with molten pops of itself. An obsidian scalpel that was oozing wet with ichor left from some experiment. And an open grimoire right beside her that was usually locked away with entanglement locks.
A central part of the bench was dominated by a depression in the surface of the stone, in which multiple magical and technological tools were laid. This was the main work area that was meant to be both an altar and a place to tinker away with tech. Right now, in the center of it was a small purple crystal floating in the air. The only reason the crystal didn't take off higher, trying to reach the ceiling, was a multitude of chains that were anchoring it to the desk. Around it, spinning in a seemingly endless motion, a halo of containment spell rings were glowing continuously, interacting with each other. Suli was currently working on this project, whatever it was.
Darkseid slowly approached the small scientist. Despite being nervous, he still projected confidence and stoicism outward, as he so desperately wanted to impress her.
"Scientist Suli, I came here to employ you on my trip to New Genesis", he began the conversation.
She looked at him expectedly, waiting for him to continue. But seeing that he had no intention of doing so, she replied for herself.
"I dare not deny a request of the Emperor, my liege." Her regal voice bathed his ears in honey. Her soft smile that she shot him was akin to a ballistic rocket, precise and lethal. She clearly knew how charmed he was, and she was basking in his attention.
"I expect to make a deal, an exchange of technology and magical research with the New Genesis. You will be helping me in this endeavor". He said to her softly.
He felt himself melting under her gaze. Clearly, he was out of his mind; these feelings that he had for her were so unnatural and foreign to him that he couldn't help but wonder if there was an outside intervention. For now, those feelings were not unwelcome to him; they made the world around him much more inviting, much warmer. He liked seeing his surroundings under the lens of… love.
"I would gladly accompany you, my liege", she said as she stood up from her workbench and slowly bowed to him. There was a world of difference between their statuses. He was the Emperor of Apokolips. She was the daughter of an army general, fortunate enough to receive an ample education both in mystic arts and science.
And now she felt herself to be fortunate once again. Somehow, someway, destiny had allowed her to catch the eye and interest of the Emperor, newly crowned Darkseid. He was the hottest news of the whole Empire. Not even a day had passed since he had risen to power, and now he was here, inviting her to New Genesis of all things. Life certainly became much more interesting in the past 5 minutes.
Darkseid's face had gradually become unreadable, darkening with every passing moment.
"Sorry, Suli, I suddenly have other business to attend to. Please inquire the palace staff on all details of the trip to New Genesis". He said as he quickly left the lab. Suli was left flabbergasted at his sudden departure. But she understood why. He was an Emperor; he had a lot of things on his plate.
***
Darkseid felt crushed. It suddenly dawned upon him; the uneasiness he felt became clear to him. His feelings for Suli were not real; they were forced upon him. At least partially. And there could have been only one culprit, someone who was strong enough to influence his psyche.
It was that infernal child that popped up on his shoulder. The one that gave him his knowledge of the original timeline and the knowledge about the multitude of different worlds in the omniverse. It was from one of these worlds that he summoned himself a relic of power, something he now regretted getting.
Darkseid descended into his chambers, where he carried out the fated ritual of ascension, where he built his machine that allowed him to summon Hogyoku, a small marble-shaped crystal that was the most powerful artefact that he had seen in his life. Hogyoku was like a wishing well that fused with his very soul. It was constantly listening to the deepest desires of his soul and silently making them into reality.
Something powerful enough to alter reality and influence it under the guidance of one's deepest desires.
It was Hogyoku, no doubt about it. It made his connection with the Omega Realm stronger. It was Hogyoku that also made his feelings towards Suli stronger. But he desperately needed answers. Answers that he could only receive from one source.
He made sure to learn her name. How could he not? After how terrified he was of her power. After she nonchalantly appeared before him. He felt powerless that day. And he wouldn't allow that to happen again. So he entered the library of Apokolips, and he studied books, tomes, scripts, and data pods. He studied everything he could, all to learn about her. Learn her name.
Delirium.