Chapter Summary: Sunny getting scammed by a bird is starting to become a pattern.
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Pain erupted behind his eyes.
Sunny could see nothing but the radiance emanating from the chest of the Divine creature.
No matter how hard he tried to look away, he couldn't, like the core was a magnet whose attractive force his eyes could do nothing but keep being pulled toward.
It felt like being face to face with the sun, like drowning in an ocean of fire, as if his very existence was being unraveled stitch by stitch in the face of the divinity before him.
Crack
A revolting sound echoed in his mind, akin to the breaking of glass.
Crack
The sound returned once more, louder this time.
Crack
The pain... the pain was unbearable.
"..."
He was breaking apart. Everything that made Sunny himself, shattering as he was forced to gaze into the soul of the impossibility taken form before him.
"..."
Crack
Was this his end?
"..."
After everything he had gone through, was he going to die like this?
"..!"
Crack
Amidst the ocean of pain he was in, distantly, he felt someone forcibly grabbing his chin and tearing his gaze away from the divine core.
His mind spun dizzily, bile rose to his throat, legs gave out beneath him, almost sending him toppling to the ground if not for the same hand that had torn his gaze away catching him in time.
Sunny did not know how long he spent in that fugue state, caught between soul-rending pain and the deep, unfathomable truth of coming face to face with a being whose existence alone felt so deep and solid that his own looked like a lie in comparison. He only knew how it was broken.
"My apologies, heir of Death."
A deep, sonorous voice rumbled from above, cutting through the haze of his mind without effort. The words weren't loud; if anything, they felt like whispers, and yet they still reverberated like the uproar of a thousand voices speaking at the same time.
All at once, Sunny's consciousness was forced to return; the whiplash alone was almost enough to make him retch.
Sensation returned little by little. First, that of his damp hair stuck to his face, then the sensation of the grass against his toes, poking through the holes in his boots incurred during the fight. Finally, and the one that grounded him the most, the sensation of two arms holding him up, firmly yet gently.
His mind finished catching up to his senses, and the situation became clear at last.
They were back at the Ivory Tower, standing on the blood-stained grass, when he was sure that just moments before, they were still up in the air.
Holding him up was Nephis.
She looked haggard, pale, the look in her eyes torn between fear and grim determination. While she lacked his capability of peering directly into the soul of a god, she couldn't miss what was before her. Neither was she spared from the ravages of being in the presence of a Divine creature.
Beside them, Ki Song's vessel stood. There was fear clear in her beady eyes, her body language screaming of hopelessness. Of the three, she seemed the least affected, her vessel whole and undamaged, unlike what he and Nephis had suffered through. And yet, she also seemed the most scared.
A soft, fluttering sound came from above, and only after turning his sight back to normal did he dare look up.
The Divine Creature wasn't any less terrifying just because he wasn't peering at its soul anymore. Its size alone kept boggling his mind, its wingspan stretching so far he couldn't take it all in at once. Its golden plumage reflected each and every strike of lightning, catching the light as if it belonged to it. And its eyes... he was more and more sure that they were actual galaxies.
Another fluttering sound could be heard, and suddenly the cyclopean creature changed. One moment, it was so big his mind couldn't even begin to comprehend it, and the next, a simple bird was left, barely bigger than an apple.
What it did next, he had no words for. The closest he could come up with was gliding, but it did no justice to what he saw. It was simply too graceful, too elegant, like reality was bending itself with the sole purpose of delivering the divine bird down to the Ivory Tower.
It was so swift that the god was already standing before them by the time he had finished processing its change of size.
And that's where it stood, its galaxy-like eyes staring at them calmly. No raindrop touched it, no breeze dared ruffle its feathers, and no lightning even came close to striking it.
Sunny didn't allow himself to think, even for a moment, that he was out of danger despite its passivity.
Merely looking at its soul had severely damaged his own -the source of the cracks he heard- and if not for Nephis pulling him away, it might have actually shattered it, killing him in the process.
He had gazed into the abyss for no more than three seconds, and he had almost died.
As a Sleeper, he had gazed into Vaelkar's corrupted soul for no more than a fraction of a second and had almost died. Now, as a Saint, he had repeated the feat, though lasting longer. It could be considered an incredible success, surviving such an experience twice.
Sunny didn't feel like it was something worth celebrating.
"My apologies to you, too, heiress of the Sun." The creature whispered again, the roar of its voice enough to make their bones vibrate. "Long has it been since I last met a mortal. It is easy to forget just how fragile they can be."
As it spoke, the overwhelming presence it emanated started to dwindle, no longer threatening to crush them under the tyrannical weight of its power. It was still there, still as tyrannically powerful; they were merely unable to perceive it anymore.
He felt Nephis' arms tighten around him, the fear in her eyes even clearer now that she was directly face-to-face with such a powerful being. Sunny couldn't fault her; he felt exactly the same.
A soft ruffle of feathers made him turn his gaze to Ki Song, whose fear felt even more palpable now.
"My apologies if we have offended you, oh exalted Divinity," she croaked deferentially, lowering both heads in clear submission. "Is there any way we can be of service to you?"
The Divine's golden eyes drifted toward Ravensong. Reflected in the galaxies it had for eyes, she looked small and inconsequential.
"I do not recall giving you permission to speak, heiress of Beasts," it rumbled.
Everything happened so fast, Sunny almost missed it.
The divine's golden eyes shone brighter for an infinitesimally short second, and by the time they returned to their normal glow, Ki Song's vessel fell to the ground, completely inert and lifeless, almost like a broken toy.
Sunny swallowed and felt the taste of bile rising up to his tongue once more.
Was she...?
"I did not kill her," the bird thundered softly. "Only taught her a lesson."
Sunny's heart thumped even faster.
Intellectually, he knew that a Supreme was already powerless against a Sacred -he had been one himself, after all- let alone a Divine. However, knowing and seeing were two completely different things.
Ki Song wasn't weak by any measure, and yet she had been banished so easily that he could scarcely believe it if he hadn't witnessed it himself.
Sunny's mind raced impossibly fast, trying and failing to come up with a way to get out of the predicament he found himself in.
Fight? Impossible. He was nowhere close to being the Divine's match. Even his Sacred self within the dreams would be crushed like a bug.
Escape? That was impossible too. Their attempts at returning to the Waking World, both through their tethers and the Gateway, had been easily blocked by the being before them. The Crushing too had been rendered useless before its might.
Negotiation? Not even worth considering. The only things he had worth its attention were [Weaver's Mask] and [Shadow Lantern], and if it wanted them, it could easily take them without asking for permission.
So what was it? What could he do?
"Do not fret, harbinger of Inevitability," it continued, cutting through the haze of his mind once more. "If I were here to bring harm upon you or the harbinger of Ruin, I would have long since done so."
Sunny's throat was already dry, but it became even more so after it uttered those words.
How? How could it know? The concept he had embodied as a Sacred? He hadn't told a single soul about that!
The bird looked at the two of them, tilting its small head as if the new angle would provide further insight into whatever it was trying to understand.
"Introductions are in order," it said calmly, the roar of its voice deafening. "But first..."
A loud coughing sound came from the bird's throat, and its voice changed, quickly losing its thundering quality and the sense that thousands were speaking at once.
"Much better," it continued in a much more... normal voice. "Sorry if I scared you kids, but ants like you usually expect the whole high-and-mighty act at the beginning. I didn't want to disappoint."
Sunny blinked owlishly, feeling like he had gotten whiplash from how quickly the switch in attitude was.
He tried and failed to reconcile the terrifying divinity that had sent away Ki Song just for speaking without permission with the normal-sounding bird before him.
"Introductions are in order, I guess," it scratched its head bashfully with one small gilded wing. "You may have heard of me as Merias the Golden, God of Luck and Fortune."
With that simple sentence, the pieces of the puzzle finally clicked into place.
The strange events, as infuriating as they were unexplainable, had still been playing in the back of his mind, with Sunny trying to deduce the answer to the mystery. Now it had become clear.
The wind, rain, and lightning were constantly hindering their attempts at escaping. Sunny's own dismissal of the threat posed by the approach of hundreds of shadows. The countless little things that had happened during the battle. Zephiras' disastrous choice of an Ascended ability.
Luck was the common cause. All of them were extremely unlikely events, both lucky and unlucky, and they had taken place due to Merias' divine command.
"Many are the titles I have held across my long life. But only one is relevant for this conversation," it continued speaking casually. "Father of Zephiras."
Impossible as it sounded, Sunny's heart thumped even harder, just like how he felt Nephis' arms tighten around him even further. Without even realizing it, he gripped her hand, finding, despite himself, a measure of comfort.
If he was going to die, at least he wouldn't do so alone.
They had killed the son of a Divine, right before his eyes, after all.
Merias gazed at them calmly, those golden galaxies in its eyes shining with what he almost thought was amusement.
"Both of you may speak."
"Why?" Sunny croaked, his voice rough from how dry his throat felt.
"Why did I allow you to kill my son?" Merias did not sound particularly torn up about it.
"Yes."
The small bird hopped into place, doing a small, elegant flourish. "Easy. Because that was my plan to begin with."
"Why?" Nephis asked this time, her voice just as bewildered as he felt.
"Because of this."
Merias' eyes shone brighter once more, and this time his target was Sunny himself.
Sunny's soul was heavily damaged from staring at the divine's core, covered in cracks and holding itself together solely thanks to [Soul Weave]. Those very same cracks extended to his Soul Sea, where the army of shadows comprised of the shades of all the beings he had ever killed stood at attention. Among that legion, a gargantuan, bird-shaped shade could be found.
Right at that moment, the cracks on his soul widened minutely, opening a fissure right beneath the position of the bird-shaped shade. The immobile shade fell through easily, slipping through countless other tiny cracks, all of them just big enough and in the perfect place to allow its trajectory to continue unimpeded until at last it reached the final fissure, through which it escaped his soul and returned to the real world.
From beginning to end, all of the countless little things required for such a thing to happen were theoretically possible. However, in practice, they were so unlikely that it might as well have been impossible. A single fissure out of place, a crack too small or too big, and the accidental escape would have failed.
The God of Luck and Fortune did not seem to agree with his opinion.
Sunny stared dumbfoundedly at Zephiras, now a shadow creature, very much alive and, most importantly, free of corruption. He disappeared in a golden flash as soon as he appeared, sent away by the divine bird.
"And we are done," Merias said proudly, smugness radiating out of it as it made another flourish. "I love it when plans work as intended."
Sunny blinked slowly, the sensation of being scammed more prominent with each second that passed.
All of that sweat, blood, and tears, and he was being used all along?
"Why not just ask?" Nephis posed the question that was running through his mind. "Why go through all of this trouble when you could have just asked Sunny to kill your son?"
Merias shrugged carelessly. "Few know the whims of Fate and just how fickle they can be as I do, little Nephilim. My way was an assured success, while the one you propose was only highly likely to succeed." Its voice became a little sharper. "I wouldn't take the risk even if the chance of failure was only one percent."
"How?" Sunny asked, progressively more confused by the moment. "I only had to kill Zephiras; from then on, everything would be the same."
The bird's head tilted once more, analyzing him for a brief moment before letting out a dry chuckle.
Sunny found that little laugh more ominous than any of the constant strikes of lightning or the relentless rain falling down on them.
"Ah, to be young and ignorant. Enjoy it while you can, little Blasphemy," another chuckle escaped it. "I could have come and asked you directly, but the possibility of Fate interfering in one way or another was high. Many are the horrors dwelling among these clouds and beneath the waves, some so powerful even I wouldn't challenge carelessly."
Merias shrugged once more.
"By allowing my son and his little flock to fight you, I made sure that Fate wouldn't concern itself with sending another calamity your way, and only left myself with the task of ensuring that you would be the one to deliver the final blow."
Sunny listened carefully, analyzing every single word that came out of Merias' mouth.
As he did so, he finally regained enough strength to stand on his own, which he did after giving Nephis a reluctant, thankful nod.
Standing upright, the bird looked even smaller, innocent, almost harmless. He regarded the divine creature quietly for a moment longer, and then rage started swelling inside his chest.
He hated being used, even more so being fooled, and Merias had done both. He hadn't forgotten or forgiven the pain he had suffered because of it either.
However, what he had before him was an invaluable chance. Merias was a divine, a non-corrupted, living god, unlike the pale shadows conjured by the Spell in his and Nephis' nightmares. The aid it could offer to humanity as a whole could not be calculated. The knowledge it must have held within its mind would already be invaluable.
So he swallowed the bitter resentment he felt and opened his mouth to ask the first of many questions.
"I see the two of you have many questions to ask," Merias interrupted calmly. "I shall answer none."
Sunny blinked dumbfoundedly, failing to understand what it had said for a moment.
"Why not?" Nephis asked, a wary edge present in her voice now.
There was no amusement in the golden galaxies. "Those stronger and wiser than I have tried to influence Fate before and failed. I am not the kind of fool to try such a thing, and so I shall have no part in the ploys it has for the two of you."
Honestly? He couldn't even begrudge it.
Sunny wouldn't get involved either if he could avoid it.
"What makes you think that Fate has plans for us?" he tried to probe.
Merias gave him a flat stare that made it clear he understood what he was trying to do. It still answered, however, speaking proudly.
"I am the god of Luck and Fortune, both of which are intrinsically linked to Fate. Even Weaver, the mighty Daemon of Fate, would bow to my knowledge and mastery of it."
Sunny couldn't avoid doubting such a claim.
The idea of Weaver, that infuriating, arrogant bastard, bowing to anyone was already hard to believe. In their own specialty? Effie was more likely to go on a diet.
Ignorant of his thoughts, Merias continued speaking. "Believe me when I say that the two of you are rather prominent in the grand tapestry that Fate is."
"So you refuse to help us because that could potentially put you into conflict with Fate," Sunny's brows furrowed in concern.
"Yes," it agreed easily, not even bothering to pretend to consider its answer beforehand. "Only once have I challenged Fate by accepting the advances of that loathsome bird despite knowing better, and no day passes that I don't regret it."
There was a moment of silence as he processed the answer, broken only when Nephis chose to speak.
"I understand not helping us," and Sunny was sure that she really did; Nephis was never one to expect help from others, "but what about everyone else?"
Merias blinked, confusion playing clearly across its avian features. "Come again?"
"You are a God," she said evenly. "With your power, you could do more than all of humanity put together. There are countless dangers lurking within the Dream Realm. So why not help against them? You don't even have to fight anyone. Your knowledge alone of things like natural awakening or sorcery can save countless lives while impacting us little to nothing."
The divine bird regarded her silently for a moment and then erupted into laughter.
It spent a full minute like that, laughing as if it had just heard the funniest joke of its life. By the time it was done, its body was shaking from the effort, and mirth shone within its eyes.
"I never thought a Nephilim would make me laugh so hard," another chuckle escaped it before it finally managed to control itself. "Why would I care to do that?"
This time, the one to blink was Nephis.
"Why should I care about some ants, little Nephilim? What do they have to offer me? Why should I risk my life against the horrors dwelling in this realm for nothing? What right do they have to ask for my help?"
Merias laughed once again.
"When the Flame of Desire was still young, I stayed away from the horrors dwelling in the cradle of creation and was left unharmed. When the Gods sought to seal the Void, I ignored the call and survived where many others didn't. When the Daemons rose the banner of war against the Gods, I stayed away too, and now they are all dead while I'm not. I am old, harbinger of Ruin. Very old. You don't reach my age by poking your beak into what's not your business."
Realization hit him all at once.
"You are scared," Sunny said.
For a split second, Merias' overwhelming power could be felt once more, even more crushing than before. The split second passed, and it disappeared again.
"I am," the divine admitted without shame.
"You are scared of death," Sunny continued, horror starting to dawn on him. "How long have you been alive? How many eons have you seen pass by? And yet you did nothing."
Along with horror, disgust started welling up in his chest.
Here he was, a God, a true Divine being. Easily among the strongest living beings of the present age. The Dream Realm and its nightmares had devoured countless other realms and lives, and all along, Merias had been here, cowering in fear.
"I am indeed afraid of death," it admitted easily, "Why wouldn't I be? I enjoy life, and have zero interest in braving the horror that awaits me in the Shadow Realm."
Sunny heard a disgusted snort coming from Nephis.
"Are all of the powerful truly so cowardly?" There were white sparks dancing in her eyes. "All of that power, and the only thing you use it for is to hide away while you watch the world end."
Merias chuckled, full of amusement. "You are far too young to understand, harbinger of Ruin. You wouldn't be so brazen in your defiance if you knew what I do."
"Like what?" Sunny shot back.
The bird's amused gaze went to him next. "I am not blind to your attempts at gathering information, heir of Death. However, this question should be harmless enough."
Sunny started having a bad sensation.
"You are too ignorant to notice, too naive, too young, too weak. It is coming, heir of Death." A tinge of fear colored its voice now. "The age of madness and corruption, and this time there are no Gods to hold them at bay."
Merias waved its wing, and reality broke apart in that direction, revealing the image of a skull of gargantuan proportions.
"Seryth, the Scarlet Rot."
The image changed, turning into a great plain under an eternal rain.
"Vaelkar, the Raining Sorrow."
The image changed again, revealing a desert of white sands, a pyramid made of black stone prominently displayed.
"Marcival, Slayer of Sins."
The image changed one final time, revealing a hollow, blacker than black, resting underneath a chain of mountains.
"And the most harrowing of them all, the Lady of Ill Dreams."
Merias waved again, and the image disappeared.
"They are awakening from their deep slumber, stirred by the winds of chaos," its voice dropped, barely a whisper now. "And when they do, His awakening won't be far, either."
Despite its ominous words, Merias chuckled right after, amusement clear in its voice.
Sunny's head was spinning. There was too much information, all at once and too suddenly.
It felt like his mind was being pulled in dozens of directions at the same time, all of them demanding his complete attention. He was almost thankful when Merias chose to keep speaking.
"And then there are the two of you," it shook its head faintly. "Fate is truly cruel, allowing the two of you to meet like this."
"What do you mean?" he asked, almost afraid of what the answer would be.
"A shadow and a star, entwined in fate and ruin," it mused aloud, sounding supremely entertained. "The ones who shall bring the end, and the ones who shall stop it. It almost sounds romantic, doesn't it?"
Sunny's throat became even drier.
"It doesn't."
"Because it isn't," Merias agreed calmly. "The end is coming, little shadow, and while it cannot be stopped, it can be delayed."
"How?" Nephis asked, sounding afraid of the answer, too.
"That's easy," Merias' tone remained calm. "Kill him. Right here and now, and you shall be long dead by the time the end arrives."
Lightning struck just as the divine bird finished speaking.
Silence followed that statement, so loud that it felt deafening.
He noticed Nephis' reaction first, subtle, barely noticeable, but there nonetheless. Hurt, yet understanding.
Next, he noticed Merias, filled with amusement.
Only after that did he notice that he had taken a step back, a shadow odachi already grasped in his hands while countless javelins rose behind him in a wall of death threatening to be unleashed at any moment.
"Explain yourself," he heard himself demanding, though he did not recall opening his mouth.
"There is nothing to explain, harbinger of Inevitability," Merias retorted without pause. "Countless lives will be saved, horrors will remain dormant for a little longer, the chains of the Void will remain in its place long enough for your precious humanity to die on its own. All you have to do for that to happen is die."
Lightning struck again, followed by Merias' laughter.
"Ah, but you won't allow that," it rose into the air without beating its wings. "I know your kind: too arrogant, too greedy, too selfish. If it's your life against the world, you will choose your life."
Lightning and laughter struck again.
"Why don't you do it?" Nephis asked, her fists clenched so tightly that blood was seeping from her palms. "Why make me do it when you yourself can do so?"
Merias' beak curved in a grotesque parody of a smile. "Because I'm afraid of what Fate will do to me for ruining its plans." It laughed one final time. "I'll make it sweeter for you. Do it, and I shall allow you and another four of your choice to find shelter within my abode until the storm passes. They all do eventually, after all."
It rose higher into the air, growing in size as it did so until it was back to its original, impossible scale.
"Choose quickly, little Nephilim, there is not much time left."
With those parting words, Merias disappeared into the storm.
In his wake, only silence remained.
-------------------------------------------
They were still silent long after Merias had left.
Even when Nephis stepped forward and placed a hand on his chest, he said nothing. Neither did she when the wall of shadow weapons behind him disappeared.
Silence remained after that was done, too, neither of them knowing what to say.
Nephis looked at him, and Sunny looked at her. They still did not exchange words, and in truth, they did not need to.
They knew each other too well.
Both of them were hypocrites of the utmost order. Sought safety and comfort in each other while at the same time preparing themselves for the inevitable betrayal.
Sunny, despite his flaw, wasn't an honest man. In fact, he was a filthy, shameless liar.
In all of the world, two worlds even, nobody was more of a victim of his lies than himself. And now, they had finally caught up to him.
The truth couldn't be denied any longer.
It was inevitable.
A shadow odachi formed in his hand once more, its black edge gleaming faintly under the endless rain and strikes of lightning.
In front of him, the [Blessing of the Moon] manifested in Nephis' hands amidst a shower of sparks, half a second after his weapon did.
Sunny studied Nephis' face and, not for the first time, found himself mesmerized. There was something breathtaking in the curve of her lips, in the way she tried to appear emotionless when she was anything but, in those small, faint smiles she thought nobody could see, the way she scrunched her face whenever he called her crazy, and in a thousand things more.
And yet, mesmerizing as it was, it did not stop him from noticing the tension, the guilt, the sadness lingering beneath her composed expression.
Nephis studied him in turn, and whatever she saw, he did not know, only that the slow exhale she let out almost broke his heart.
"Do we have to?" she asked in a whisper so quiet he almost failed to hear it.
And what a question that was.
Sunny was running on fumes. His injuries had been healed by her, but that did nothing for the exhaustion he felt, nor for how little essence he had left, nor for the fact that the only thing he wanted right now was to lie down and sleep, never to wake up.
Did they have to? No, they didn't.
They could stand down easily, forget everything Merias had said, bury the hatchet, and pretend that nothing was wrong between them.
They wouldn't. In fact, they had already delayed too much.
Ever since that thrice-damned Spire, or maybe since the first time they met at the gates of the Awakened Academy. Maybe even before they were born.
They were entwined in fate and ruin.
All along, there was no other way this could end.
"Yes," he answered just as softly.
If she noticed just how broken he sounded, she did not comment, and he felt endlessly thankful for that.
He didn't know who stepped forward first, only that a second later their blades were locked against each other.