"I want our relationship to be a symbiosis", Darkseid has started his speech. "There's no doubt that we, Apokoliptians, are better at war. While you, New Genesians, are better at economics."
He stood up from his chair and started walking to one of the war trophies present at the meeting hall. It was a piece of hull from one of the spaceships that New Genesis had taken from their recent victory; now it was displayed here as a means to taunt the Apokoliptian delegation. Darkseid put his hand through a thin layer of hard-light casing around the hull; and touched it.
Somehow, the dead piece of metal was warm to the touch; he felt as if the souls of the dead soldiers sang to him through it. They sang about the endless war, about the eternal struggles of a simple man in a war, about wanting to come back to their family. He stood there, listening to their outcry, feeding on it, absorbing it like a sponge. He, the avatar of the godly planet of Apokolips, should be strong enough to bear the weight of his people's pain. He promised as much during his ritual of ascension.
"My people, Highfather, they… we know war. We have fleets that have been in combat for centuries without rest. Our soldiers are not trained — they are tempered, with pain and fire. We take worlds, whole systems, because we can. And we hold them because no one dares take them back. No one besides you." He looked back at Izaya. The father of the light gods was sitting patiently in his own seat, waiting for him to continue. His face was now unreadable, no emotions shown in his eyes or in the numerous folds on his face.
"The universe is vast, almost endless, but it's not big enough. You know it, I know it. Now there is no place for us to expand safely outside of the reach of our enemies, far from each other and our neighbours. There is no growth to be had without taking more blood and pouring our own".
Darkseid walked back to the table, but now he sat much closer to the Highfather. He was destroying the barriers between the two factions by literally walking closer. Even if they were two sides embodying opposites - the evil and the good, the darkness and the light, the tyranny and the free will - they were still brothers. Born the same way, forged in the same flames of the explosion of the old world. They were linked eternally.
"Here's what I see — you have the resources to keep the military fed, fueled, and equipped indefinitely. We have the military to make sure your resources never fall into the hands of our enemies.
I'm not asking you to change who you are, and I'm not offering to change. We are different, but we are still brothers and sisters. There is no trust between us, as there was no peace between us for the past several thousand years, not since my father, Yuga Khan, took up the throne.
But this is not about trust. We can keep our enemies on the defensive, force them to spend their time and strength guarding their own borders instead of testing ours. We can push into the other Empires while not threatening each other, and we can actually make progress in this endless game.
Think of this less as an alliance and more as insurance — insurance against the inevitable. You have the coin. We have the sword".
Darkseid always had dry mouth, as there was little to no water on Apokolips. As gods, they didn't need much, but still, his mouth felt even drier at the moment. He put a lot of effort into his speech, as the future of his Empire was directly linked to his success today.
"You offer peace? After all these years?" The ruler of New Genesis was flabbergasted. He did not see this coming, the infamous Young Demon, the beast of war, that, according to some, knew nothing but the battle, offered peace to New Genesis? That was too good to be true. "I do not trust your words".
"As you should." Came the reply of the Apokoliptian leader. "I'm willing to guarantee the deal…" Darkseid was willing to do everything for the future of his Empire. Even willing to forsake his own happiness. "I offer you a royal marriage".
Suli. She was his everything. Under the influence of Hogyoku, his love became even stronger; he fell under the intense weight of his emotions, of his love. But even that would not make him forsake his dreams; the future of his Empire would not tolerate him being happy. He was willing to forsake his everything for the cause; otherwise, he would not have been able to ask the same out of his soldiers. He was no hypocrite.
She would live. He killed her killer; he avenged her unfortunate end with his own hands. He took up the grievous sin of kinslaying all in an effort to make her safe. She was his all. And he would give her all he has, just not himself.
"I have no daughters, Darkseid."
"Adopt one."
Highfather paused once again. He would understand a young prince lusting for a princess. He would understand a young ruler trying to establish a strong claim to a throne. But rulers on New Genesis were not chosen by their relation to the previous ruler, so the claim wouldn't be relevant for usurping the power. What was his endgame? What was Darkseid planning?
"Are you willing to take a spouse of lesser blood than yours? I could choose the weakest female I could find, or the oldest one, and you would be required to marry her."
"Do that, and your guarantee of peace is dead in a few years. Don't take me for a fool, Highfather." Darkseid almost rolled his eyes. The old blood was so old-fashioned, so petty. It seemed like he needed to take initiative. Once again. "I have a suggestion for you".
***
On that day, Beautiful Dreamer was suddenly summoned to the Celestial Hall by the Highfather. What the leader of their nation wanted from her was beyond her, she was just a regular student at the Celestial Academy. She was nobody, just a girl with higher-than-average marks, nothing important. Yes, she had rare psionic powers that were based on dreams, but they were weak and useless in a direct fight.
Lightray came for her during one of her classes at the Academy, directly excusing her from the class and escorting her to the Hall. Lightray of the Council of Eight was an important figure in their society. Even the fact that he was escorting her somewhere raised the eyebrows of the people passing by the two of them.
"I don't know much myself. Don't worry, Highfather will be there with you. He won't allow you to be harmed". Lightray shot her a stunning smile, but his eyes were wavering. It was clear to her that he was worried about something. Not a good sign for her.
***
She had such a wonderful morning today, even her hair agreed with that. They were so pretty today, so shiny and soft to the touch, and they smelled nice. Honestly, her new peach shampoo was a godsend, as her long and heavy black hair was such a pain in the ass sometimes to take care of; it took an hour or two each day to give her hair a proper look. It was all worth it in the end, of course, the looks that other students threw her way, full of admiration and envy. Those looks made her more confident; she didn't care about the time she spent on her hair.
She was pretty, at least she had that going for herself. Otherwise, she was of average height, 1.65 meters tall, and she was not strong or muscular compared to her peers at the Academy. And her combat prowess was low because her powers were largely not combat-oriented. Beautiful Dreamer could create illusions and project them into others' minds, often crafting illusions inside their heads, but she needed long, direct eye contact with the target, which was not realistic during battle, especially in prolonged battles on the warfront.
Admittedly, she knew she was not smart enough to be an inventor or a scientist. She was told as much by her peers and teachers on a daily basis. Of course, with her looks and illusory powers, she could have been a good actress or some other type of entertainer, a variety show host or a news host…
But Beautiful Dreamer wanted to work for the betterment of her people. She wanted to make this world better for her children to live in. And for that, she wished to influence the war with Apokolips somehow. Even if she were a communication officer or an intelligence officer, that would be enough for her. She would make a difference in the war, she was sure of it.
But she did not know that it all would change out of the blue. While entering that damned Celestial Hall, she was greeted by two imposing and majestic figures. One was the esteemed Highfather, the leader who was ruling New Genesis for aeons at this point. The other figure was Darkseid. The newly crowned Emperor of the dreaded Apokolips. The one enemy that she wanted to defeat.
The following events all scrambled in her brain, jumbled up together into a mess of memories that would chase her in nightmares for a long time.
That day, she lost all her dreams, her purpose. That day, she started resenting her fate. Why was it her? There were so many other female New Genesians to choose from. But somehow, some way, HE CHOSE her. How did he come to know of her in the first place? Why was she so important for a leader of the enemy to choose her from the millions of others? What did he want from her?
Darkseid. Her future husband. Her day ended with her red face deep in her pillow. She was wailing hard. She lost everything. To the point that she wanted to lose her life, too.
But she knew her parents wouldn't want that for her. Oh, how she wished that they would come for her. Save her from the doom of marrying THE enemy. But they couldn't. Both of them were dead. She finally started shaking off the shackles that their deaths put on her. She was broken when they died, slain during one of the numerous battles with Apokolips. Her father was an officer of the avanguard, her mother was a communication officer. After losing them, she swore to end the war and to punish whoever was responsible for the endless bloodbath. She hated Darkseid. She hated Highfather. Warmongers, all they were.
Her peach shampoo was forgotten back at her apartment in the Supertown. She herself was on board the Apokoliptian ship; he was taken by the enemy like some sort of trade good. She was a trophy, no doubt in her mind. Sold by her own, all for a shadow of peace that would never hold.
She continued crying all night, slowly falling asleep on a wet pillow, ending up tiring out from the crying, and cursing her fate. She would kill him. She would bring his dark empire down.