★259
ANTARES POV
With Belenos dealing with Kenos, we continued towards Nihil Space. Using the coordinates from Magisa, I carved a path ahead of us, and before long, we arrived at Scarlet Peak.
True to its name, crimson peaks rose from the Abyss, aligned in an orderly path that led straight to a distant palace.
"There."
I pointed ahead as I landed, my feet touching the ground lightly before I moved forward, walking between the towering peaks towards the structure.
As I passed, I glanced at the fused surface of the peaks, their structure unnaturally smooth, as though shaped rather than formed. There was no one in sight, no presence watching us, and we reached the gates without resistance. They opened on their own, as if expecting us, and I stepped inside without slowing.
The moment I entered the hall, I felt it. Every trace of Energy within that space responded at once, as though acknowledging me. I understood what lay ahead, who was waiting, and the path I needed to take without having to search for it.
"You seem to be wielding Energy quite well. It's almost unimaginable."
She said from behind me.
"What do you mean? Can't you do this much?"
I asked, continuing forward as we made our way deeper into the palace.
"It's not 'this much' when you can command Energy with a thought and draw information from it within a set range. That isn't something you just pick up. It only sounds simple."
"Well, I learned some Mega Arts by cutting corners and using Energy as a shortcut. If I hadn't reached this level by now, I'd have no excuse."
"Basically, yes."
"So, God…"
"Ishtar is enough."
She said, telling me her real name.
"Ishtar? I thought..."
"Or Erekayla. Use whichever you prefer."
"Alright… Lady Erekayla, who gave me these powers?"
"The usual answer would be my Mother. She's the source of all things in this Shell. True omnipotent and omniscient."
She said, her tone calm.
"But no. I was only the messenger. I delivered her gifts through Aya."
'So, Antares wasn't supposed to have them or what? The way I'm seeing it, one of my past incarnations had encounter with Energy. That's the only way to explain my abnormal mastery.'
"And Aya… did she have a will of her own, or was she just a puppet from the start?"
"Both."
'Straightforward and unbothered. That works.'
"I see."
"You don't seem sad."
"And you just admitted you toyed with my first friend, and that her death meant nothing, didn't you?"
She fell silent at that, so I kept going.
"Don't worry. I'll find a way to bring her back if I have to. For now, let's deal with this."
After taking countless turns and passing through hidden routes, we reached what looked like a dead end. I pushed the door open, and a rush of wind swept over me the moment it gave way.
"A different world?"
Something felt off. A few major concepts were missing here, leaving the space hollow in a way I couldn't ignore.
"It's close. I can feel it. A fragment of the World of Doom is down there."
At her words, I stepped forward and looked over the edge, into the endless pit below. One of my feathers tore free on its own, glowing brightly as it drifted down into the darkness.
That's when I saw them. An ocean of corpses stretched out beneath us, far beyond what I could take in at once. The remains of what Phoenix had done. Stars, Dark Stars, humans, and others I couldn't even recognise, all twisted together into something that barely resembled bodies anymore.
Some of them were still alive. Their eyes were empty, yet fixed upward, as if they were still waiting for someone to save them, while others lingered in a state where even death had refused to take them.
'Phoenix.'
I wasn't feeling anything, but I know one thing for sure. That bastard has to die.
I unfurled my wings, releasing a blinding celestial glow as I descended into the abyss. The air trembled beneath my light, yet even as I plummeted at impossible speed, the sheer number of corpses below left me momentarily silent.
The pit was endless, littered with remains of beings beyond comprehension.
Experimental figures engage in an act of cannibalism to survive. Otherworldly monsters with forms beyond description drifted through the darkness, serving as grotesque sentinels of this graveyard. But none dared to draw near. My presence alone was enough to make the ruin recoil.
"Ah, welcome, the Saviour Antares."
A voice called out from below, and the sight of an endless dark marble floor stretched out with a single door in the centre.
"I've been waiting for you."
A lone figure clad in white stood on the ground, waiting, like he'd said.
'That signature, a malevolent grin, crimson-haired. This has to be Phoenix.'
I've never seen him before but these were hints of what he looks like
' So much for an omniscient ego.'
I took a deep breath, and as I exhaled, I released Noctylium, the Fragment of Death, ending the suffering of those around us. Their bodies fell still, and Entropium followed, hastening their decay until nothing remained, no trace, no lingering form.
I descended, landing lightly, and moved forward without pause, my steps steady as I approached him.
"You brought the Goddess of Creation with you, didn't you?"
He spoke, but I gave no answer. I walked past him instead, Erekayla's orb drifting quietly at my side.
"Ah yeah. In time to save your beloved wife?"
He turned, trying to get my attention. But, I can't keep Towa wait.
"Well, it's too late, the Goddess of Destruction has taken o..."
He continued until suddenly, he began choking on his words and fell to his knees.
Vocydrix and Vitaelics took hold first, stripping him of the ability to speak, cutting off any attempt to form words.
Slowly, I began breaking the bonds tied to his existence.
"Y…ou…"
A magical mirror shimmered into being at his command, only for Arcanocysts to sever its connection immediately, forcing it to collapse.
Bindions followed, tearing through the Filaments that held it together, and as they gave way, Morphytes and Formethium lost their structure, the mirror dissolving on its own.
I wasn't done. This was only the beginning.
With each passing moment, countless bonds and Filaments continued to break apart, one after another, and his Essereos, Eidolynths, Morphytes, Formethium, and even the very Ontologions that defined him as 'Phoenix' began to unravel piece by piece.
"Y.. you...what are...you?"
He managed to speak between ragged, choking breaths, his very existence, disassembling piece by piece. I paused, compelled to deliver the message.
Slowly, I turned my head and let him meet my gaze, allowing him to look into the endless abyss swirling within my azure eyes.
"Antares."
I spoke the name, then turned and walked away.
Phoenix fell to the ground, his body breaking down as it decayed, dismantling piece by piece while he remained conscious through it all.
I don't know what it'll feel like but this experiment will provide me with the results.
When it was over, Codexons would erase his data completely. As he slipped towards that end, Akasharytes would be there, forcing the memory upon him, showing him how he had been cast out of the Matrix and sent towards whatever lay beyond Eternity.
It was a slow, deliberate erasure, carried out without ever invoking the Fragment of Death.
Meanwhile, Arcanocysts took control, opening the gates for me as I made my way to the World of Doom. The chaotic atmosphere beyond the kind that could drive even a god to their knees brushed against me with an unexpectedly warm, gentle touch. I couldn't help but smile.
Embracing that presence, iridescent wings unfurled from the radiant orb, light converging and shaping itself into the divine form of the Goddess of Creation.
Erekayla's form materialised with breathtaking grace, her attire a flowing blend of white and shifting iridescence that shimmered like liquid starlight. Her wings, vast and radiant, mirrored the same celestial hues, each feather glinting with divine brilliance.
Her hair cascaded in long, silken waves of pure white, and her light blue eyes gleamed with serene power as they gazed forward, piercing through the gate of Doom.
Her transformation shook Reality itself. The floor beneath us fractured, Scarlet Peak split apart, and even the boundless Nihil Space, perhaps the Abyss itself, began to crumble beneath the sheer weight of Creation itself.
We crossed through to the other side as the environment behind us collapsed, the gate disintegrating in our wake. Phoenix would not die, not yet. He still had my instructions to fulfil.
To be continued...