"I'm...sorry? You quit?"
Nevereth says slowly, clearly confused. The shadows continue to jump forward, scratching and slashing at her. A few cuts appearing on her body, but she seems to be ignoring them.
"Dante, Nevereth, Azeroth. Get low to the ground."
She says, holding up her arm. I quickly jump over without thinking, tackling Azeroth to the ground. She says a single word.
"Vanish."
A shockwave follows her word, the entire forest being blown away. The shadows get blown away, the extended shadow detaching from Azeroth. After a few seconds of thunderous crashes and explosive cracks, it goes silent. We stand back up, seeing everything is gone. No trees. No smoke. No cabin. No flowers. Just a barren, and void area. Only the decimated ground remains, and even that looks to be missing large sections. Nevereth quickly speaks up.
"What spell was that?!"
We all look to her, noticing that she doesn't have a single mark on her. No dust clinging to her skin, her hair still pristine.
"That wasn't exactly a spell. But I will admit I went a little overboard during our fight. It was never my intention to kill you, I merely wanted to push you to become the strongest you could be."
I speak up.
"You wanted me to absorb them, for them to die so I could grow stronger. You expect me to believe you didn't want them to die?"
"Yes, that is what I'm saying. We are from different lives, so none of you would understand. You wouldn't understand how good it feels, to fight, to kill. You don't know what I defend this world from, but you will. The beings that exist beyond us, are frightening."
She pauses, looking to the sky. Azeroth quickly speaks up.
"Killing is nice, so I can understand that."
"Can you? I fought and killed for over two-hundred-thousand years, but you know what it's like? Please, spare me. I've killed more people than have ever been born on this planet. Don't try to relate to me, you have no idea what I've lost, what I've sacrificed to survive. During our fight just now, I felt myself falling back into it, playing with my food. I held back our entire fight. Hell, I don't even know how to use this."
She mumbles sadly, tossing her scythe to the side.
"This was a test to see if you were strong enough to hold the barrier, and I believe you are. But not as you are. So, I have a final ultimatum."
We all listen, anxious for her proposal. She continues staring at the sky.
"I want freedom, to not be punished for my past. I want the freedom I was denied when I was born. So, Dante, absorb Nevereth and the others fully, and maintain the barrier for me. Or, you can continue fighting me, and I kill you all. Then I create more children and wait even longer, offering them the same proposal far off in the future."
Nevereth stares at her for a moment, before turning to me.
"If we were to keep fighting you, we could most likely win after a lengthy fight. You just showed us your strongest attack, so we know what you can do."
She holds up her hands.
"Alright, let's pause there. Let me explain this in a way you'll understand, since this is our first and only time fighting. You know how you and your 'children' have that release? Where, for a short time, you can exponentially increase your strength? What makes you think I don't have a superior version of that?"
Nevereth's expression changes quickly, turning to a look of shock. He starts to speak, but she interrupts him.
"Did you think you invented that? That it was some sort of, what? Magic? No, you received that from me and your parents. Honestly, all of you could do it, but for some reason the others didn't awaken it. Ayvex almost awakened it in her last moments, but she gave up instead of pushing forward."
Nevereth teleports to her and swings, but she easily sidesteps him then pins him to the ground. I can tell he's trying to use magic, but nothing's happening.
"All the abilities you all had, you received from me. All your strength? Me. All your discoveries about yourself? Because I pushed it. I did all of this! Everything here! I was stalling for you to grow, so you could take my place. And I won't, I CAN'T, let my plan come toppling down because your emotions got in the way. FINAL CHANCE! TAKE MY PLACE OR I KILL YOU ALL AND WE START THIS OVER. We zero the clock and try again. Time to choose."
She looks to me and tilts her head back and forth. While I stand, stunned, a white and gold sword forms in her hand. She points it towards Nevereth's neck. Nevereth glares at her.
"We worshipped you. You gave us life, for what? Your own selfish ideals?! I can't believe we trusted you."
"Livestock often trust their masters, unknowingly following the path to their own slaughter. And much like livestock, that are caged by flimsy wire, you do nothing to help yourself. I offer you a way out, you can all survive this. I could bring back Ayvex, Nevereth. You two can go and do whatever you want, you just have to give Dante your power. Let him assume the throne, keep the barrier up."
I pause for a moment, Xa'gorthep's insight giving me theories as to what's happening really.
She doesn't want freedom; she wants a distraction. If the barrier protects us, then where does she want to go.
I quickly speak up.
"Where will you go, if I do take control?"
"I'll leave this world, leave my creation in the hands of someone who can manage the barrier. I just want to make sure that my creation won't perish when I leave."
I stand for a moment, thinking, then I look to Nevereth. We look at each other for a moment before nodding.
"Fine, bring back Ayvex and I'll take Neverth's power."
Azeroth quickly speaks up.
"But, what about us? You'll still be able to come see us, down there I mean, right?"
Before I can answer, she does.
"No, the barrier must be maintained from here. Dante will never be able to return to the world below."
I turn to Azeroth, extending my hand.
"Well, looks like this time, it actually is goodbye."
He stares at my hand for a moment, before slapping it away and jumping forward. He hugs me tightly, only saying a few words.
"You guys were the closest thing to a family I had."