Petrified from the aura radiating from the World Eater, Stein felt it was now or never. He thrusted forward with all his might still shivering from fear. As he flew toward the being, Stein noticed he was going straight through Bahamut. Falling to the ground just on the other side of the monster he looked back up at him, certain that should've pierced through his chest. Suddenly, Bahamut started to shift from within the aura. His gaze met Stein's. He felt as though his very soul was being cut through. Without a single word being uttered, Stein began to hear a strange voice inside his head.
"What brings you to my sanctum?" The words were muffled and quiet. Stein could just barely make them out.
"Are you Bahamut?" Stein yelled out at the orb of energy.
"Yes, now Answer me this. Why do you disturb me before I'm ready to reenter the world?" Bahamut asked.
"You're destroying the world, so I'm here to stop you." Stein said.
"Foolish human, I've been sapping the energy of the world for centuries. But since you're here, I shall use you to inhabit a physical form." Bahamut muttered back.
Thinking of all his available options, Stein quickly realized his only option was to try and use the pendant to stop Bahamut. Attaching the pendant to his jagged metal shiv, he once again ran forward determined to do all he could to stop him. But this time as he entered the aura, Stein was met with a great force that shot him into the back of the cave. His body slammed into the rock. Now almost unconscious, Stein was running out of options. He looked down at his hands and realized the pendant was broke in two.
"Now you're mine!" Bahamut's voice uttered now with more strength and clarity in Stein's head.
More and more Stein was losing his consciousness. His eyes began to glow the same way Bahamut's were. Stein seemed to fade from reality itself, he was watching his body from inside his mind. Bahamut appeared inside his mind, looking around, examining, and messing with his body functionality. All Stein could do was watch in horror as his body was not his own anymore. He was now held prisoner inside his own mind forced to watch everything he had sworn to destroy.
"With this mortal body, I'm now free from this prison! My strength is returning to me although I'm not quite up to full power." Bahamut said using Stein's body.
"You can't do this!" Stein started screaming. But no words escaped his own lips. His words merely echoed around inside of his own mind as Bahamut's had just moments before.
"I can do whatever I want. I was born to take over this world, but quiet, you'll soon be erased from this life." Bahamut responded.
"What do you mean, erased from this life?" Stein asked.
"After a few hours, you'll cease to exist in any state." Bahamut replied casually as he examined Steins hands in front of himself.
Stretching out his muscles that now surged with power, Bahamut leaped straight out of the hole he'd been trapped in for centuries. Startled by his sudden appearance, the villagers all stumbled backward. Bahamut glared around at the now rundown, decrepit looking villagers who appeared to be happy to see him return. Bahamut slowly started walking towards them.
"No! Get away!" Stein was screaming from inside his mind.
"They can't hear you." Bahamut thought back to Stein.
"Mister, mister! You're back! You're back! You made it back alive! Is that mean everything going to be alright?" the village children were crowding around him with awe and tears in their eyes.
A grin appeared on Bahamut's face, he raised his hand and in a mere moment all of the children that had gathered around him were turned to stone. The sound of screaming reverberated throughout the village as sudden realization and fear struck the heart of the villagers. Bahamut began to laugh maniacally. He turned his attention toward the massive amounts of power he could sense coming from Libast. He began to run there at great speeds. The muscles inside of Stein's body began to tear as they were not capable of moving in the way Bahamut was commanding them to.
"What did you do to those kids, and where are you going?" Stein demanded Bahamut answer.
"I simply stole all of the meaningless life they had to offer from their tiny bodies leaving them a husk." Bahamut said.
"You... You killed them?!" Stein shuttered.
"I put them out of their pathetic misery, simply put. Now I believe it's time to do the same to you." Bahamut said.
As he said that, Stein's body stopped in its tracks. No longer being controlled by Bahamut, Stein's body collapsed to the ground as the torn shell of a man it had now become. Bahamut entered the same plain as Stein's conscious. He reached out, about to do to Stein what he had done to the children.
"Someone will stop you." Stein said with certainty, accepting his fate.
Stein started to fade from all existence, tears welled up in his eyes and began to pour.
"I'm sorry, I wish I could've stopped him or at least warned you" Stein thought to himself as he thought of Jack in his final moments.
As Stein thought his final laments, all that was left of his conscious existence was like a fine, vaporous manifestation of his true self shrouded in darkness. Stein, overcome with grief dropped to his knees. Just before fading completely, Stein's pocket began to glow so bright in the darkness that Bahamut had to shield his eyes. Suddenly feeling weight on his back pushing down on him, Stein heard a familiar voice,
"You wouldn't make a good chair now would you Stein?" Jack said snickering.
Stein opened his eyes. Speechless, he looked up as if he'd seen an angel. He studied his soft pink hair, his devil horns, the clean suit, and the smirk he'd grown so accustomed to seeing. The tears of sorrow that had been streaming down Stein's face slowly turned into tears of joy.
"I'm not sure how you found me, or how you're here at all, but thank you so much! I thought I'd never see you again. I just wanted to thank you for giving my new life in this world meaning!" Stein said, crying.
"My consciousness is in every piece of the dark gemstones I gave you guys before you left, I've been with you this whole time. But never did I think you'd be the one needing my help. Also… who's the creepy guy just watching us." Jack asked.
"That's Bahamut, the last of the World Eaters." Stein replied.
"Is he the reason you're in this mess?" Jack asked.
"Yes, now would you please get off me?" Stein said as it was getting hard to breathe.
"Care to explain why you've got my property near death?" Jack demanded turning his attention to Bahamut.
"How did you get in here, weasel?" Bahamut said back.
"I let myself in. Well actually, you left the door wide open." Jack said laughing.
"You think this is funny? No matter, you'll just parish along with your friend here." Bahamut said.
"Is this guy always this stiff and high and mighty?" Jack asked, turning back to stein.
Stein nodded his head yes as he was visibly having difficulty breathing now. His manifested consciousness had slowing been gaining more substance since Jack's arrival. Jack finally stood up and walked toward Bahamut.
"This is my realm; you shall now become a part of me as I absorb your soul." Bahamut said.
"Your realm?" Jack chortled.
Jack, continuing to get closer to Bahamut, snapped his fingers releasing his own aura, consuming everything around Bahamut. Just as Bahamut tried to drain his soul, he felt Jack's presence at the very core of his existence.
"I see your real soul isn't here, you're just borrowing Stein as a puppet." Jack said.
"What's going on?!" Bahamut Demanded to know.
"You'll see soon enough, I'll see you in a few moments." Jack said smiling.
Bahamut's presence was instantly erased from Stein's body. Jack walked over to Stein's consciousness again.
"I'm going to borrow your body really quick. You rest, when you wake up, it'll all be over." Jack said, smiling as brightly as he could to put Stein at ease.
Upon taking over Stein's body, he realized it was pushed way past its physical limits and discovered all the damage that had been done. Jack began pouring power into Stein's body and it began to heal. Jack's power surged throughout his body, radiating every square inch of him. As the power continued to course through him, horns began to grow on the top of Stein's head.
"Oops, I'm sure he'll like them." Jack thought.
Reaching the village, he was greeted by angry and fearful villagers pelting him with rocks. He looked over and seeing all the kids petrified, he knew what had happened.
"Calm Down! I hate the taste of children's souls!" Jack shouted above the ruckus sticking his tongue out.
He walked toward the lifeless, frozen bodies of the children and began pouring their souls back in. One by one, the husk that once was slowly absorbed the life-giving substance being poured into it and they became children once more. Dropping their stones, the parents immediately came running out to hug them.
"Listen, I'm going to go down there and take care of that… whatever he is. When I get back, this body will faint and wake up the man who originally went down there. Do me a favor and look after him, he'll be in great pain." Jack said.
The people, now understanding all that had transpired, all agreed to watch after him. Jack walked over to the crater, flipped into the air and dove, headfirst down the hole into the ancient aura. He landed quickly and softly on his feet. Reaching out his hand, he gripped Bahamut's very soul.
"Ah, you're much stronger in person, Bahamut, but there is something you should know. Just because you were once the strongest doesn't mean the world is going to stand still and wait for your return. Everything moves forward and if you don't move with it, you'll be forgotten, so be prepared to become part of the past again." Jack said.
"You can't kill me. As long as there is a world to obliterate, I'll be there to take it. I look forward to facing you when I reach full strength." Bahamut uttered into Jack's mind.
Jack's grip tightened. The earth began to shake and tremble. Jack was attempting to destroy the powerful world eater and take over his very soul. Just as Jack's attempt was nearing success, Bahamut's soul shot straight from the earth into the atmosphere severally weakened.
"Well, I didn't get him completely, but he has even less power than those annoying little fairies now." Jack said to himself.
Jack crawled Stein's body out of the hole and dusted himself off.
"Bahamut won't be bothering you all anymore and if you build a shrine to me, Jack, I shall provide you with protection."
Jack then relinquished his power over Stein, whose body instantly collapsed to the ground.