With Ion gone, those massive flesh creatures all died rapidly since they didn't have either lungs or any similar organs required for survival.
Earth became filled with large clouds of methane and other gases released during decomposition as molten meat that used to cover whole continents rotted away without the preservation incurred by the corrupted sun.
Within just days, there'll be so much methane in the air that it becomes impossible for humans to survive on Earth without wearing a gas mask.
Returning to Site-19, I found the whole place to be a sunken crater. Multiple large holes were scattered around the broken site, holes that reached deep into the earth, deep enough to almost reach into the lowest levels of the Foundation facility.
I continued what Ion wasn't able to do and dug deeper into the crust until I finally breached the metal hallways of the Heavy Containment Zone. There, I had to subdue several uncooperative SCPs including a deer capable of transmuting matter of all things before I reached the bunker that held Bright, Angela, and Zvezdnyy.
I knocked on the door.
No reply.
I knocked on the bunker door with greater force.
It slides right open.
I stood there, in the doorway to this bunker. Over a hundred people stared back at me.
No one spoke a word. Everyone waited with bated breath for my announcement. Of whether I succeeded or failed.
"It is safe now."
I said, "Sunlight is no longer corrupting."
There were cheers.
Many cried, and most hollered in joy. A lot of people hugged while a small percentage kissed.
It was a very picturesque scene of jubilation and celebration.
I didn't feel any joy or happiness. I didn't join in with the celebration. For I know I don't deserve it. I just damned every human who died into an eternity inside that place. That tropical island on an ocean, under a cloudless sky and a never-setting sun.
I felt empty. This was no victory.
I see that now.
As my eyes swept across the crowd of cheering people like searchlights, I only had a somber look in them. A subdued expression that Zvezdnyy must've picked up on as she quickly placed me into a hug.
Instinctively, I placed a hand above the girl's head and started rubbing. Angela joined me.
I hugged them tightly. As I placed my chin above Angela, the realization that she would inevitably join with the others inside that place haunted me.
No. I can't leave just yet. I have to ensure as few people die as possible.
No one will die.
So as SCP-2000 activated, the process of rebuilding humanity and a terraforming of Earth began.
The first step was to clean the atmosphere.
Using SCP-914 and several artifacts held by the remnant of the Manna Charitable Foundation, the cleaning of the methane and other toxic gases held within the atmosphere was done in a relatively quick and efficient manner.
Afterward, with massive tanks filled with algae and plankton on my back, I flew over the oceans and began the seeding process. Before any large marine lifeforms like sharks or whales can be reintroduced, the bottom of the marine ecosystem has to be filled up otherwise, the whole thing would collapse. In the meantime, SCP-2000 began the process of making more humans.
In my free time, I took up a hobby of experimenting with the Pan-Human History Kukulkan's Authority over water.
Before I leave, I want to give humanity one last gift.
I wasn't the only one who's been busy.
Using her reality-bending powers, Zvezdnyy lived up to her self-proclaimed title conjured up tall livable structures, and created food and other plant life. She couldn't revive anyone, as their souls had already been claimed by Ion and went with him to the Company.
With the first city in place, the SCP Foundation officially disbanded. In its place arose the United Earth Authority.
Unlike the Foundation which seeks to contain everything that doesn't obey natural laws, the UEA fully embraces the anomalous and the supernatural. Its first President, Doctor Jack Bright summed it up best;
"The SCP Foundation was built upon fear of the unknown. After barely surviving this apocalypse, humanity cannot live in ignorance of the unknown. Instead, we must embrace the anomalous as we would our fellow man."
The first city was named in my honor as 'Kukulkan City'. Situated near Yellowstone National Park, and SCP-2000.
Embarrassingly, Bright insisted that I cut the red ribbons that signal the opening of the municipal hall. But it made sense, given how it was named after me.
Of course, not everything was rosy. Humans being humans there will always be conflict.
A new religion sprouted up around me. Two new actually. Two very different interpretations.
One was led by Bethany who basically declared me as the new savior. The other led by Stuart of all people worshipped me as a true goddess.
They almost came to clashes before I stepped in and declared my 'commandments', the most important of which is to 'not kill'.
I let the religion continue flourishing since I figured having two primary religions that preach and practice the ideals of peace and loving your neighbor should only aid in preventing future wars. More so when it preaches about how death is the greatest tragedy.
The religion spread very rapidly with the effective destruction of the Church of the Broken God in their civil war.
The Gate Guardian still stood tall in Iraq. Oddly enough, there was a trail of hexagonal pillars leading to the garden behind him.
All of this happened in only one year.
As the celebration for Sundown Day came to a close with fireworks lighting up the night sky, I found myself sitting down and leaning on a very special tree on a hill that overlooked the blossoming Kukulkan City.
Sundown Day. That was the name they decided to go with for the yearly celebration of when I purified the sun. As of now, the ceremonies involved are very barebone and mostly comprised of story-telling and feasting, but I have a feeling that given enough time, they'll become more and more elaborate.
"You know the celebration isn't the same without you right?"
Bright remarked as he walked up to me. He carried a small basket.
"You are a hard person to find, Agent Kukulkan."
I smiled mirthfully, "Yet you can track me down nonetheless, President Bright."
The man then stepped forward and sat down beside me. There, he took out two bottles of beer and cracked them open before offering one to me.
I let out a grimace as the smell of beer hit my nose. Yet nonetheless out of politeness, I took the bottle.
"Why don't you ever drink alcohol?" Bright asked as he took a sip, "Ah. Every time, at every celebration or state dinner, you always choose to drink soda or water."
I took a sip of the bitter liquid as well.
I don't like it. I still force it down my throat.
"Don't like the taste of it. Drugs like alcohol don't work on me, so I can't get drunk." Being a Goddess and all, "So all that's left for me is the awful taste unable to be dulled by being drunk."
Bright nodded several times as he drank more. Seeing that, I felt obligated to drink as well.
So I did and forced the beer down my throat. Emptying it in one go.
"You know, I don't think I've ever personally thanked you for saving humanity from the sun."
I gave him a sideways glance. The area was now shrouded in near pitch-black darkness after the fireworks show had ended.
Didn't they name the highest honor receivable in the United Earth Authority after me?
"More specifically, I don't think I've ever personally thanked you for saving me. Truthfully, before you killed Ion, I had lost hope of ever being able to walk freely in the sun again. I thought those things would grind the door to the bunker down and force everyone inside into the light."
Hearing Bright talk about those things caused me to reminisce how fearful everyone was walking into the sunlight even after I had removed Ion. Despite assurances from me, no one wanted to be first. Months of condition had made everyone instinctively fear the light from above.
That was until Bright took the first step and walked into the light.
He was unchanged. Seeing that those hundreds of people still alive in Site-19 stepped out of the darkness and were bathed under a shower of sunlight.
Bethany and all who followed her got on their knees and prayed. Most cried tears of joy once more that day.
"There's no need. I was simply doing my job." A phantom sensation of pain spread throughout my body like echoes inside a canyon. The pain from being hit with Ion's Creation Lance can be still felt inside my mind.
"Still, as thanks, here." He reached into the basket and took out a single canteen, "Take this as a gesture of thanks for saving humanity."
"What is it?" I asked as I took the canteen. Immediately unscrewing the cap, I found the inside to be filled with water.
"A duplicate of SCP-109, the infinite canteen."
I took a sip of the water inside, finding it to be very refreshing despite the metallic taste. It certainly helped wash out the flavor of the beer.
"Thank you."
I took out my Smart Device and deposited that canteen inside it.
"You know, I never knew Goddesses used phones."
I smirked, "This isn't a phone. It's similar to one, but it has far more features. Probably could be ranked as an SCP if you guys ever got ahold of it."
Me sel… getting rid of Ion net me a total profit of 400 credits and three Tier X Tickets, while completing the mission of 'Great Escape' alongside all objectives gave me 650 credits plus another Tier X Ticket, and a free perk.
I could've left after I solved When Day Breaks, but I aided humanity in their rebuilding. Now after a year, they seem to be totally fine. My help isn't needed anymore.
"It's time for me to go."
I got up and stretched my limbs. Right now I am wearing my first ascension outfit.
"... I have a feeling you mean you're not just retiring to sleep." Bright hesitantly said.
I turned my head to look at him, "You're right. There are so many Worlds out there. My job here is done. Humanity will have no problem surviving without my aid."
"But… what if we encounter another XK-Class scenario?" Worry was clear on President Bright's face. He, and alongside many others, probably saw me as a crutch for humanity.
"Ion crippled mankind, but he didn't kill it. Things will heal, if not in a century then in a millennium." I said as I turned to look at the city, "Think of me as a one-time safety net. I caught humanity as it fell this time, but in the next, you'll need to catch yourself."
"I see."
"Though, before I leave, I will give humanity one last gift."
With that, I flew up to pick one of the many fruits of the tree that I and Bright sat down under.
The baseball-sized fruit in my hand was unlike anything. For one, it began to glow, and for another, it didn't look like any fruit on Earth. It was a cube in its shape.
"What is it?"
"The life fruit. My last gift to mankind before I leave. Eating it will rewrite a human's genome, trimming away physical defects like blindness while granting its user eternal youth alongside a healing factor. More than that, your cells would be supercharged, making you into a superhuman if you eat just one of these."
It was the culmination of a year of experimenting on plants with Pan-Human History Kukulkan's Authority over the seas and thus, the origin of life.
This fruit combined with the spread of two religions that promote peace is my best attempt at reducing the number of people who would die until I return with the solution.
Bright became wary, "Are you sure this is wise?"
"Despite my victory over Grand Karcist Ion, Jack, I didn't win. I didn't win against the true enemy. This is a temporary stop-gap solution against the true enemy." I offered the fruit to him.
I have a unique perspective. I saw a glimpse of what Ion saw when I went inside Jupiter. That nihilistic Sisyphean hell. No purpose, just the endless passage of time. In just one month I found myself...
How could I hate someone when I understand them so well?
Bright took it. He squeezed it, feeling the fruit's texture and firmness.
"The true enemy?"
"Yes. The true enemy. Before his defeat, Ion told me about what happens to people after they die. He found it to be absolutely horrendous. So horrendous that he resorted to Daybreak to free people from their suffering."
I stared down at my hands. These hands capable of great good and terrible evil.
"I understood where he came from, and why he resorted to such extreme measure. Nonetheless, I stopped him because his solution cost too much. In the future, I will return. When I do, I will bring with me a better solution to the problem that Ion tried to solve. One that doesn't demand so much. A medicine that isn't so bitter."
"The afterlife. That's the true enemy?" Bright's tone was skeptical. I don't blame him.
I stared right into his eyes.
"It's eternity in there."
"..." He didn't ask any more questions. My answer must've terrified him as he ate the fruit without hesitation.
"Furthermore, the seeds of this tree can be grown in any soil with just a little bit of liquid water. Its nature is that of 'creating a space where humans can live', so you can use the saplings for terraforming barren worlds, icy worlds— any kind of worlds except stars and gas giants and make them habitable for humans. It'll even increase or decrease the local gravity to resemble that of Earth's. They can be grown very quickly and in large numbers. Just 1,000 of these can terraform Mars, making it completely habitable for humans."
"And what about viruses?" Bright asked with the half-finished fruit in his hand, "It's very sweet."
I let out a small laugh, "Despite coming from a single parent, there's enough variation within every seed for each to count as a separate subspecies. The effect of helping humanity is a conceptual one imbued into its origin."
I could tell what I said flew over Bright's head.
"This is my last gift for humanity—"
"WAIT, My Polkovodets, what do you mean you're leaving?!?!" Zvezdnyy teleported on top of me. Her body crashed into my head as she wrapped her arms around my neck.
There was a strained smile on my lips as I tried to get Zvezdnyy to let go.
"Dam— dang it Zvezdnyy! How did you even hear that?"
"I had a dream last night that you were going to leave without me, so I spied on you from the veil between Razmery and found that indeed! You were going to leave without the great Zvezdnyy Rebenok!"
There was a spotlight shining upon Zvezdnyy as the girl posed dramatically with one of her hands rising to the sky. I noticed how she wore something more complex than just a witch's costume, and instead was more elaborate.
"I even brought my Igrush— I mean, I even brought my Predvaritel'nyy Gonorar Advokatu Angela!"
Crap.
The girl peeked over Zevzdnyy's shoulder. When the hell was she behind Zvezdnyy?
There was no way someone as large as Angela could've hidden behind someone as small as Zvezdnyy who barely reached a meter in height.
"Kukulkan! Do… you… hate… me?"
Over the year, Angela's vocabulary increased drastically, and I removed the last bits of the metal inside her until she was completely human again. Seeing her ask me that question caused me an extreme amount of mental anguish.
"No! No— it's just—" I finally managed to wrangle Zvezdnyy off my neck, "—Where I'm going is extremely dangerous, okay?!"
The witch child clung to my arms like some kind of monkey to a tree branch. Throughout all this struggle Zvezdnyy's hat never once fell off.
"It's… not safe for you guys! Especially not for you, Angela."
Zvezdnyy bit down on my clothing to add an extra layer of safety. I can't shake her off, not without potentially hurting her as she's wrapped her arms and legs and now has used her mouth to attach herself to me.
So as I kept the arm Zvezdnyy had wrapped her arms around, I used the other to gesture at Angela.
"Listen. I want you to have a normal life. One that was denied to you. Now you can! But with me, that is far from the case. I am a traveler, and you can never have a normal life similar to others. Please… stay here…"
Angela stared at me with her green eyes. Her hair is white probably from the stress of experiencing the surgery without any anesthetics.
"I… see… but… please… return… to… see… me… then." The girl stuttered out. She still has problems speaking.
Zvezdnyy let go of my arm and dropped. Just before she could hit the ground, the girl teleported next to Angela, right in her face.
"My Predvaritel'nyy Gonorar Advokatu! What are you doing!? We're supposed to create a united front to prevent my Polkovodets from leaving! Why are you abandoning it?!?"
Angela backed away, "I… want… what… Kukulkan… wants."
Zvezdnyy fell to her knees, screaming, "NOOOOOOO!"
Soft music started playing from somewhere. Somber music that tells of grief and sadness.
Her shoulder slumped as her head hung low.
Just then, the somber and slow music suddenly became faster like the build-up to the climax of an orchestra, or perhaps when a video game villain receives a power-up as it enters into the second health bar.
Zvezdnyy teleported again on top of me and she clung to my body, unwilling to let go at all.
"No! You will not go! I refuse to allow my Polkovodets to leave me!"
"Ah…" I sighed.
"Let me come with you!" The girl stared at me with her shimmering grey-green eyes.
I… can't really ask Zvezdnyy to confess her love to me since I doubt the girl even knows what romantic love feels like. I could just place her inside my Demiplane. The large influx of credits from my completed mission and… getting rid of Ion has made me rich enough to fully deck out most of the defenses as well as a few expansions of my Pocket Space.
My lips thinned.
"Fine. Let's go."
Zvezdnyy's face lit up in joy. There, she detached herself from my body and started flying around the place acting like an energetic child dosed up on sugar.
I merely sighed and summoned forth the Smart Device. Scrolling it through, I glanced once again at the suite of Company Defenses, most at the immunity level.
At the end of the day, I decided to not go for the second level of Stress Defense.
My eyes moved to my fingers that were currently holding the phone-like device. Even after being burned down to the bones, I appear physically fine. My regeneration was such that I didn't have a single scar on my body.
I appeared as good as new.
I… didn't want that. As odd as it may seem, I see scars as evidence that the things did happen. They're lessons. Marks that constantly remind me of what not to do.
Beyond that, like I said to Rick when I first transported him into that safehouse in Queens: when I commit an evil; don't try to justify it. What is done is done. I don't want to feel better about committing that evil.
I want it to hurt. When I cross a line I want to be hurt. I don't want to just casually shrug off the pain and panic that comes from breaking a rule of mine. I don't want to be free of the mental anguish and consequences that come from genociding a species from existence.
That's how heroes die. That's how monsters are born from their corpses.
I moved on and created a portal to my Demiplane using an app inside the Device. The Demiplane— my personal pocket dimension— is a space where my 'Sweet Home' resides. I bought about 30.4 square kilometers worth of space inside here.
It wasn't a tropical island. I specifically denoted to the Company to give me a lake surrounded by a ring of mountains.
I… think Ion's poisoned me on the very concept of a tropical island because just seeing an image of any tropical island reminds me too much of that place.
The manor I purchased is one of Victorian design, with a hint of Gothic mixed in. That manor resides upon the lakeside, one that's usually foggy. Alongside a purchase of the Rainbow Bridge, I can now create portals for others to pass through.
"Do you have anyone you want to say goodbye to?" I called out to Zvezdnyy. The Smart Device unsummoned itself.
Hearing my question, the girl stopped flying and dropped down to the ground. She stared at the rainbow portal, before turning around and hugging Angela.
She then teleported away.
Angela approached me. She wrapped her arms around my neck and buried her face into my chest. She softly sobbed.
I felt my heart go weak. I wanted to take Angela with me, but she'd seen enough for one life. I want her to have a normal life.
Perhaps she can come with me when I return with the cure.
We stayed like that for a while before Zvezdnyy returned, looking a bit sad all things considered.
"Alright! I've done saying goodbye to Cain. Let's go, my Polkovodets! My development into the Witch who will save all of humanity waits for no one!" The girl then looked at the portal, "So through here?"
I nodded. Zvezdnyy walked through without a second thought.
She trusts me a lot.
The portal closed behind the girl, leaving me alone with Angela and Bright.
I looked at the President, "Please, take care of Angela."
The white-haired girl looked at me. She used her hands to wipe away the tears.
"I… hate… goodbyes…"
She clung to my form again, unwilling to let go.
It took all my will to keep that poker face up. I… really wanted to bring Angela with me. But the next world I'm entering is too dangerous for a baseline human such as her. Zvezdnyy should be fine in where I'm going even without any Company Defenses considering she's a Tier X character. A reality bender.
I lowered myself into a squat. There, I gave Angela one last kiss on her forehead before using Quetzalcoatl's Authority over the wind to pick a single immortality fruit.
"Here. Eat this. I will return." I said and offered the fruit to Angela.
With that, I began to back away. Step by step, I backed away from Angela and Bright.
As I do, I couldn't help but think of everything that happened in my short time here.
With my hands held behind my back, I took a deep breath.
It was… a learning experience. SCP-343, or as I call you now, 'Gilgamesh', and Grand Karcist Ion. Despite everything that's happened and all the pain I endured to reach here, I still see both of you as my teachers. Specifically, the older brother that Cain referred to. The man who sacrificed himself upon the altar of humanity, not the one who was half-corrupted.
This story had no villains or heroes.
This was a story of three different great persons and their clashing visions. Gilgamesh's vision of saving humanity by being a God. Ion's vision of saving humanity by granting them an afterlife of pure bliss. My own vision of saving humanity by utilizing an out-of-context power.
All of us encountered the same problem: the very world itself. That hellish eternity of an afterlife.
Perhaps in another life, if fate had been kinder, all three of us could've been allies, maybe even friends. I'd like to think we all wanted what's best for humanity.
But it was simply not to be.
I stared up at the night sky above me. The stars are beautiful tonight.
"Guess I should give one last show before I leave."
My body radiates a blinding light before disappearing, revealing my third ascension outfit wrapping around my form.
My eyes lowered until I spotted the duo. Focusing on Angela, I said, "Take care. I will return."
Then I looked at Bright.
"Take care Bright. Lead humanity into the future. But know that I will return in the future with the cure for death."
Bright nodded.
I took off as a green streak of light. Upon reaching a height twice as high as the tallest skyscraper in Kukulkan City, I increased my speed past the sound barrier.
Anyone from the city would see a bright green stream dividing the dark night sky in two.
There, at such a height that I could spot the curvature of the planet, I took off at full force while leaving a shockwave of plasma that would spread across the entire planet. It was a harmless light show that everyone on the planet could see.
I seek the aid of a mage more experienced than me in solving this complex issue. The Grand Order mission offers a free Tier 9 Nasuverse character as a reward. That includes people like Morgan, Solomon, and Merlin.
My final sight here in this world was the sun. The uncorrupted sun. The life-giving sun.
"..."
I will return. Once I find the cure for this human condition in the vast infinities of the Waifu Catalog, one that doesn't require the great sacrifices demanded by Ion's solution, I will return.
Gilgamesh. Ion. I will save humanity in your stead.
So swears Kukulkan. So swears me.
__________
AN: And so it ends. The next world: Fate/Grand Order part 1
The stats after the epilogue.
Starting World: SCP [When The Day Breaks - Scenario]
Starting budget 1390
Intensity [3]
Me and My Girlfriend(s) (PvE) 0
Limited 1
0%/100% 1
No Bindings 3
Disabled 3
Immunity 0
Custom Intensity -6
You as Kukulkan (Possess) of T10 -1000 [390]
Home Perks
Pocket Space -5 [385]
Pocket Apartment x2 -20 [365]
Sweet Home x2 -40 [325]
Grand Manor x2 -60 [265]
Life's A Beach -10 [255]
Warehouse District -100 [155]
Demiplane -15 [140]
All Roads Lead to Home -10 [130]
Rainbow Bridge -30 [100]
Sweet Home Expansion -50 [50]
Talents
Everlasting -10 [40]
Inexhaustible -140 [-100]
Communication -10 [-110]
Template Stacking I[You as Kukulkan has Connor (SCP-████) (SCP)] -20 [-130]
Template Stacking II[You as Kukulkan [Connor (SCP-████) (SCP)]] -20 [-150]
Defenses
Soul -25 [-175]
Corruption x2 -100 [-275]
Polymorph x2 -100 [-375]
Wyldscape x2 -100 [-475]
Mind x2 -50 [-525]
Environmental -25 [-550]
Fatality x2 -50 [-600]
Paradox x2 -100 [-700]
Destiny x2 -100 [-800]
Trace x2 -100 [-900]
Information x2 -50 [-950]
Drain x2 -50 [-1000]
Possession x2 -20 [-1020]
Stress -5 [-1025]
Wild -5 [-1030]
Defenses discounted for retinue members +44 [-986]
Misc Perks
Exit Stage Left -5 [-991]
We Will Meet Again -15 [-1006]
Pursued by a Bear -40 [-1046]
Companions captured +0; sold +400 [-646]
Grand Karcist Ion(T12) from SCP --SOLD
Mission Rewards +650 [4]:
Great escape in SCP - When day breaks
Credits [500]; Credits [50]; Credits [100]; TX Tickets [1]; Perk [Fatality Defense];