Knock knock. The door opens soon after.
— Oh, hi...
The girl had green long hair and pink eyes. She wore a simple white dress. She stared at her sister for a few seconds.
— E-Eternia?! What are you doing here?
Eternia entered the house, gesturing for Yuto to follow her. Without looking at the girl, she replied:
— Ugh, now I know why I left this place.
— H-Hey, you didn't answer my question! Why did you come here? Is something wrong? Are we going to get arrested?
Tempera, the king's friend, also entered:
— Excuse me.
— W-What the heck are you doing here?! Are you going to steal what's left of us now?!
The girl was so panicked that she left the door open. Eternia hugged her from behind.
— I'm sorry for leaving you. These two won't harm us, okay?
— B-But she stole you from us! She even captured Stalor!
— He didn't like the place, so he left, right? I liked being there, so she never stole me from you.
— Did they brainwash you?!
— Calm down, sister. This place is ugly and hot. I always hated living here.
— Y-You're not making this any better!
— Should I? I'm just being brutally honest.
Eternia chuckled and patted her head teasingly.
— Some people never change, huh? We came here to see Stalor.
— And who is...
They looked at Yuto, who was distracted.
— Wait, me? I'm Yuto, nice to meet you.
He reached out his hand to her. She stared at him for a moment, pensative. Then, she shook his hand.
— I'm Vivar. You look weird.
— Eh?
— I'm sorry, that came out wrong. I meant you're not from here...
— Yeah, that's true... actually, that's the reason we want to see Stalor.
— So you're a dimension traveller... I don't want to disappoint you, but he's not here.
— What?
Tempera was standing in the corner. She suddenly widened her eyes, surprised by the reveal.
— He went after our two missing brothers, Kognit and Mitora.
Eternia stood up, worried:
— Haven't they returned yet?
— No... I told him that would be suicide, but he kept saying his power would protect him...
Yuto asked:
— What is his power? I may know him.
— Matter... He can make a shield around his body and do infinite damage etc. etc...
— Wait, I think he's the Stalor I met years ago! Does he have green hair and wear white shoes?
— Yes, that's him!
— We fought together in my world long time ago! He only lost because his enemy was the perfect counter to him.
— He told us he lost to an old man! But he didn't mention you...
— Did he say anything about my sister? A tall girl with red hair and ponytail.
— She was your sister? Stalor said that not even with infinite damage he would be able to kill her.
— Yeah, that's true. She would simply regenerate herself with her power and keep distance.
Yuto stared into space, thoughtful.
— Man, life can be so unpredictable sometimes...
— Did... something happen to her?
— Let's just say that every world has its evil people. The king here kinda reminds me of someone.
— Ah... I'm sorry.
— I knew someone who could change the past, but people can outsmart the universe to get what they want. There's no reason to stay in the past. Even if you could travel in time, someone would be faster than you.
Yuto stood up from the sofa again.
— Look, Vivar. I'll bring your brothers back, no matter what. Not just because I need them.
— Really?! But Kognit is a danger to anyone who comes near him... I don't even know if Mitora is still with him.
— Stalor's main weakness is range, right? Maybe he's trying to ambush him, or just can't leave. If we take turns, your brother will get stuck in place.
— Are you sure? Not even I know Kognit's power. But his personality is a bit... difficult to deal with.
— Tempera and I are very strong, don't worry. And Stalor is basically imortal, right?
— You know she almost killed him, right?
— Wait, for real?
Yuto looked at Tempera, who answered with silence.
I'm really happy to have her by our side...
— Alright, let's go. Eternia, will you come with us?
— Actually, no. My power can be used by anyone, so it would be a nuisance. And I have to keep that girl that teleported with you close.
— Ah, I completely forgot about her...
— You don't seem to know her...
— Yeah, long story. Thank you, Eternia. If anything happens to you-
Someone entered the room. He was a boy with green hair and yellow eyes. He wore a leather jacket. Probably to train his magic or something, since the heat wouldn't allow a human being to wear something that heavy.
— Then I can protect you all! Wait, what is happening here?
Yuto reached out to him.
— I'm Yuto, that is Tempera and uh... you know the rest, right?
— Of course I know my sisters! I'm Telef, nice to meet you, my boy.
They shook hands.
— Look, long story short, we'll rescue Stalor.
— Wait, really? Isn't that a bit dangerous?
— Not really. Do you know where he is?
— I don't like the idea of working with that gal, but she never lied to us, after all. Come with me, I'll teleport you there.
Tempera and Yuto followed him. Telef waved to his sisters.
— Hi and bye, Eternia! It was good seeing you!
They closed the door. Vivar looked very worried and sighed.
They were now outside of the white house. The dark castle was visible from there. Telef grabbed their hands and looked up. Instantly, they teleported to the sky.
— My power allows me to teleport to any place visible to my eyes. Simple as that.
After a few seconds and dozens of teleportations, they were finally in a rainforest. Yuto and Tempera were a bit dizzy, but recovered soon after. Telef pointed to a mountain.
— My brothers are inside a cave. Probably there.
Tempera found it suspicious.
— What do you mean by "probably"?
— We didn't talk to each other after I teleported Stalor here. He asked me to keep my distance, because Kognit's power was one of the most dangerous he had ever dealt with.
— That's nothing to the king's right hand.
Yuto was starting to feel scared.
— I wouldn't understimate him like that... If Stalor hasn't defeated him yet-
— So what? I'm stronger than him.
Telef waved to them.
— Anyways, guys, I'll be watching from here, in case you need me.
Yuto smiled.
— Thank you, Telef. If things get serious, just teleport away, okay?
— No need to worry about that, bro. Pretend I'm not even here.
— Actually, you should back off a little further. My power has a great range.
— Alright, bye bye!
Yuto flew into the cave. Tempera simply jumped. Yuto tried to sensor everything inside before walking in, but his power didn't work for some reason. Tempera entered carelessly, leading the way. Once they reached a corner, someone appeared and tried to punch her.
She blocked the attack with her sledgehammer. When their eyes adjusted to the darkness, the person became visible.It was Stalor. He stared at them in disbelief, before letting his guard down and greeting them:
— What the hell are you two doing here? And since when do you know each other?
Yuto waved to his long time friend.
— Yo, Stalor. We haven't seen each other recently... I'm really happy to see you.
— Wait, silence...
Stalor gestured for them to follow him. They left the cave, but didn't walk much until he finally spoke:
— I'm sorry, I can't let him hear us. You're right, Yuto. I missed ya, you know?
Tempera frowned:
— What about me?
— Tempera, why are you here?
— Now you're asking that to ME?! What about this bastard with a purple porcupine on top of his head?!
Yuto was confused for a second, then realized she was talking about him:
— So there are porcupines in this world... wait, what did you say about my hair?!
Stalor thought about what the two could have in common for a second. It was impossble.
— Just summarize the story for me, please.
Tempera answered promptly:
— I am only here because I need to, okay? I have to ensure your brothers are not dangerous to Lunig.
— What about your king? You've always said nothing is a threat to him.
— You're right, but... precautions, alright?! Can't your stupid head understand something as simple as that?!
— Whoa, calm down! Why are you so angry? I've never seen this side of you.
— Sorry, I'm not in the best mood. It's confidential, alright? Nothing more...
She looked to the side, trying to hide her blush. Stalor turned to Yuto:
— Yuto, and you?
— I don't know, to be honest... I managed to kill the Boss, but I got teleported here for some reason...
— Wait, you've killed the Boss?! That old man that had Tokyo under his control for a decade?
— Yeah...
Stalor was surprised by Yuto's achievement, but the hero didn't look satisfied.
— Did something happen since I got here?
— Yeah, a lot of things... many good, most bad.
— Your sister... did she teleport with you?
— Unfortunately not... she... she's dead.
Stalor thought about what to say. He wanted to know when she died, or how she could have been overpowered, but he just accepted the facts. Nothing could change the past, so why bother? He patted him on the shoulder.
— At least... you finished her mission, right? I'm sure she's happy you're still alive.
— Yeah... thanks, bro.
Stalor smiled. Trying to change the subject, he asked:
— So why are you two together now?
Tempera looked away, trying not to say something unnecessary.
— He wanted to know how you arrived here. You're both dimension travellers.
Yuto added:
— And help you, of course. You've been here for quite a long time.
— Nah, this is my original world.
— To be honest, I'm still surprised by that fact. But I meant this cave. You can't leave because of your brothers, right?
— Yeah, Kognit's a pain in the ass... But I've travelled the world quite a few times already. I just have to give him some sedatives.
— That's good to hear, but... why didn't you visit Telef and Vivar?
— I did visit them quite a few times. Time is subjective, so they think it's been years.
— I see...
Tempera stated:
— We're here to retrieve you.
— I'm not some kind of hostage. Kognit's the real hostage here.
— Are you sure? Then why are you watching him every day?
— Precautions, alright? When I arrived here, he had killed Mitora, my other brother...
Yuto's eyes widened in surprise. His sister would never hurt him, so that other family was a bit unusual, to say the least. He asked:
— Do you know his power?
— I think it's some kind of omnipotence. I've tested his limits for years, but it's pretty inconsistent.
— Omnipotence...?
Yuto was surprised again. Not even his sister was capable of doing anything. This power would be equal to that of a god. But he had at least one important weakness or limitation, like Kanata always said: "Nobody, not even me, can do anything". I don't know if she actually said that, though.
— Stalor, we three are level 7's, right?
Tempera looked confused. Stalor explained:
— Level 7 is the strongest of our world. At least the known world.
— I'm stronger than you, Stalor, so I'm probably a level 8.
— No, that's not how it works... I've become stronger, okay? Level 7's are known for their rapid growth in strength, resilience and mental capabilities.
— I've grown stronger too.
— But not smarter...
— T-That doesn't matter!
Yuto asked:
— So, how do we deal with him?
— We'll have to kill him, of course. I've tried to convince him to join our family again, but he keeps trying to take advantage of my kindness.
— You're too kind for your own good, Stalor... Why haven't you kill him yet?
— Because I'm afraid he'll unleash a very powerful attack and destroy the world.
— He's on that level?
— Probably, I never let him test his power. But now we're three against one, so we have a chance.
Yuto shivered a little. His sister always taught him not to underestimate any opponent. He clenched his fists, but smiled.
— If you say so. Lead the way, friend.
They entered the cave again. After a few minutes, they seemed lost. Tempera lost her patience:
— Where are we going?
— Silence... I'm trying to remember the path.
Both Yuto and Tempera were surprised, not even disappointed. How come he hasn't memorized the caves yet? Suddenly, the idea returned to his mind and they arrived there.
Kognit was a slightly buff man. He had green long hair, like his siblings. He wore a green tunic. Bright yellow chains held him to the ground. His eyes were closed, as if he were sleeping. Stalor signaled for them to attack silently. Yuto used his supreme gravity.
Everything except Kognit disappeared in the area of the attack. He was still sitting, unbothered. Yuto's gravity, however, echoed a powerful sound that woke him up. Before he could open his eyes, Tempera "teleported" behind him and hit him in the back of the head with the sledgehammer. His head was pushed, but he didn't move. It started to bleed a little.
Surprised, Tempera took a little more time to use her power. Before she could melt his head, he punched her with the back of his fist. She got launched outside the mountain, opening a hole and the first source of light.
Stalor and Yuto watched it to understand his power. It was still impossible to know, so Stalor rushed towards him. Kognit stood up, still chained to the ground. He opened his red eyes and smiled sadistically. With his hand, Stalor erased his head by changing its matter into air. Kognit's body fell to the ground.
Huh? Something's wrong...
Stalor turned back and yelled:
— Yuto, this isn't over yet! This isn't the first time he dies-
Stalor's chest was penetrated by an arm. Kognit was behind him, intact. Yuto quickly used his power to push the evil brother out of the mountain.
— Stalor! What happened, why is he still alive?
— He's kind of immortal too... I believe it has something to do with his sense of superiority...
— Okay, that's enough, thank you! Just rest here, please! We'll do the rest.
— No...
He pointed to his chest.
— He missed my heart... I dodged at the last second, but he believed he would hit me, so it happened...
— He believed he would hit you...?
Sense of superiority, believing...
— Are you sure?
— Yeah... I just need some time to heal, then I'll join you again...
— Understood. Don't push yourself too hard!
Yuto flew off the mountain.
Tempera landed on a few kilometers from there, still on the rainforest. Yuto made sure to send Kognit flying to her, so he would not escape. When he was still falling, she hit him with the sledgehammer, sending him to another direction. Before he could stop falling, she arrived there and slammed him again. She proceeded to keep this sequence until he got bored and grabbed her by the neck, crushing it.
She quickly bit his hand off. Writhing in pain, he kicked her with his maximum strength. His leg went through her stomach and sent her flying. Yuto arrived soon after and landed a massive supreme gravity on him, crushing him against the new ground. His body was injured, but only his hand was in critical state.
Yuto landed behind him, launching a barrage of punches and kicks faster than the speed of sound. Most of them hit him, hurting him even more. Kognit quickly stood up, surprised. He wiped the blood coming out of his nose and, smiling, said:
— You're not from here... What is your power?
Yuto didn't answer. He quickly released a horizontal supreme gravity, aiming for Kognit's heart. It erased it easily.
— Oi oi, that was pretty rude of you.
His heart quickly regenerated. Before he could do anything, Yuto quickly shot thousands of small horizontal supreme gravities, drilling Kognit's body like bullets. They went through easily and knocked his body back, but Kognit started walking towards him, increasingly faster. Yuto finally used his freezing power.
This time, it was different. Since he was focusing it on his body not to overheat, he had to concentrate more. Plus, they were at least ten meters away from each other. Yuto decided to simply freeze everything nearby, hitting Kognit's body. Leaving no time for his body to melt, Yuto punched him diagonally upwards. Then, he hit him with another vertical supreme gravity, destroying everything in a 100 meters radius.
He landed at the epicenter, searching for Kognit's body. Somehow, he was already behind Yuto. Before any could react, Tempera slammed her hammer on him, sending him flying for over five kilometers. She helped Yuto up.
— Do you know his power yet?
— More or less... It has something to do with his confidence.
Suddenly, a figure flew towards Tempera, pushing her with it. Mid-flight, Kognit punched her in the face several times, making her nose bleed. She crushed his head with her free hand, melting his entire body. He released her, who kept falling. Kognit punched her from behind, piercing her heart. Surprised, she could not move.
— So you're confident in your abilities...
— Yeah, and I'm tired of being oppressed by scum like you. I thought you would be stronger. The king's right hand woman... What a joke.
Yuto arrived and pushed Kognit's body away from Tempera, who fell to the ground, severely injured.
— You...
Yuto didn't answer. Why would he? It was a battle, not some filler scene.
Kognit leapt towards him. Mid-air, he got erased by Stalor's flying body. He reappeared again, a few meters away from them. The four of them were now placed in a diamond-shaped formation.
— My brother... why do you want to kill me so badly?
— You killed Mitora. And I never liked you anyway.
Stalor leapt again. Kognit trampled the ground aggressively, causing a powerful earthquake. Everything in front of him began to rise, like a seesaw, but on an enormous scale. After detaching from the ground, it turned into an island. Suddenly, it fell apart and all the debris flew towards the three of them.
Stalor managed to simply erase them; Yuto avoided them and redirected them towards Kognit; Tempera stepped on the floating rocks and hit them with her hammer, sending them back. Several mountains were also thrown around.
Yuto destroyed them with his gravity; Stalor pierced his way through; Tempera melted or vaporized them. Kognit appeared behind Stalor and punched his back aiming for the destroyed ground. For some reason, his fist was not erased and connected, launching him and causing a large explosion across the landscape.
Huh?! Didn't Stalor have infinite damage at close range combat?
Kognit managed to kick Yuto head soon after, knocking him out for some seconds. When he woke up, he was still in the air. Kognit flew towards him, but Yuto forced himself to meet the ground.
What did he do...? That kick was pretty rough...
Yuto painted the landscape with thousands of supreme gravities of different sizes, while sensing Stalor and Tempera's bodies with his power to avoid them. Kognit tanked many of them, but still took damage.
He's not stopping!
He approached Yuto in an almost instant speed. Yuto froze everything nearby, but Kognit dodged it at the last second by increasing their distance.
It's an omnidirectional attack... Nice one, boy. I just have to be faster than you.
He disappeared. After a few seconds, a mountain was thrown towards Yuto, who catched it mid-air.
This isn't the first time this happens...
Yuto noticed a pattern in this attack: a large object covering the sky, plus his enemy disappering. The mountain was suddenly pierced by Kognit at a speed that no brain could process. But Yuto predicted it and froze everything in a kilometer radius, including his enemy, who fell to the ground.
— You're strong, but predictable, Kognit! I fought a hero with the biggest superiority complex I have ever met, and she used the same attack!
— Now I know your voice.
For some reason, Kognit was intact, preparing to punch Yuto, who quickly jumped away. But Kognit was faster and punched through his heart.
What the fuck is this?!
— You're weaker than I thought, boy. I'm still impressed.
Yuto quickly grabbed his arm and tried to crush it, but nothing happened.
— Get some rest, I'm not done with you yet.
Kognit punched his head and knocked him out instantly. Yuto's body flew for at least 100 kilometers before stopping. Unconsciously, however, he used his power to freeze his insides and keep his blood running through his vital parts.
Tempera appeared behing Kognit and slammed her hammer against his head. Nothing happened. Her heart was still healing, but she could fight now. Kognit smiled at her sadistically. She jumped back, scared. Her arms were suddenly trapped by a supernatural force. She looked back, her arms were chained to the ground, the same way he was chained in the cave.
He approached her and launched a barrage of powerful punches and kicks, each stronger than the last. She was reaching her limit.
— You're such a joke... I don't even remember your name, girl! How is it? To be overpowered by a peasant like me? Weren't you one of the strongest?
— I won't let you disrespect the king!
Her eyes widened and a hot aura melted everything nearby, including Kognit's arms. Her skin hardened like scales, and her eyes became even redder. She was healing faster now.
A half-dragon? Interesting!
Her hammer disappeared in the extremely high temperature. Her aura increased by the second, melting the entire landscape. They were in hell now.
Tempera moved at such speed that she could probably cross the nation in less than a minute. She landed every blow on Kognit, killing him hundreds of times. Her nails were also sharper than ever, so she impaled him multiple times. Even the air was turning into plasma and being expelled from the atmosphere.
Before Kognit could ressurect, his body vaporized instantly. Her aura weakened after a few minutes, gradually. She was so focused in killing her target that she stopped thinking. Then, she regained her consciousness, still in the half-dragon form.
I must end this now! My time is running out...
She grabbed his leg and flung him away for at least 200 hundred kilometers. His body pierced thousands of mountains along the way, leaving a molten trail and changing the landscape.
She arrived there right after and tried to impale his face with her nails, but he grabbed her arm, smiling smugly. He pinned her to the ground and held her arms, placing the glowing chains again. He then punched her face hundreds of times per second, knocking her out.
Suddenly, a strong wind pushed him away. It was caused by Stalor's futuristic shoes.
— Brother, your power doesn't work on me anymore.
Applying my power to the shoes doesn't work either...
Kognit grabbed him by the neck, crushing it.
— You should rest now too, brother. I'll treat you the same way you treated me.
Stalor blacked out. A mysterious force weakened his grip, but not enough. Kognit knew who was the source of that force.
— You're strong, boy, I must admit that!
He leapt towards Yuto and grabbed his face, destroying mountains in his path.
A giant black sphere started forming in the sky, above Stalor and Tempera. It distorted space and light. After some seconds, it fell down. Tempera woke up in time and jumped away with Stalor.
Every few kilometers, there was a massive black sphere. They all had different sizes and fell to the ground at different times. Most of them stopped falling a few seconds after hitting the ground, so they had half their circumference sticking out. They also swallowed everything close enough.
Near Lunig, however, one was big enough to erase the entire landscape. It didn't affect the kingdom directly, but it created a vacuum in its path, sucking in the air. Unlike the other spheres, it was so heavy that it didn't stop after hitting the ground and created a bottomless pit.
In Lunig:
— Oh, you are finally awake!
The astronaut was in the castle, running in circles and holding her head in despair. After hearing Eternia's voice, she backed away until she hit the wall.
— Calm down, it's alright. What is your name? I'm your friend, okay?
She calmed down, but she clearly had mental problems. She tried to speak, but covered her mouth in pain.
— It's okay, don't force yourself. What about we take a walk?
They went out. In front of the huge staircase to the castle, there was a fair. A modest fair, but good-looking. As they walked, the astronaut became increasingly impatient and disturbed. Noticing that she gradually slowed her speed, Eternia smiled gently.
— It's okay, don't worry. Take your time.
After some minutes, her condition worsened. She knelt down and started speaking nonsense and having hallucinations.
— S-Stop, stop, stop! Leave me alone! I hate you, I hate you... Make this stop!
Eternia was now worried. She leaned over in front of her, trying to see what was wrong. The astronaut covered her mouth and nose. She started sweating heavily and vomiting blood desperately. Simultaneously, multiple massive black spheres began to appear in the sky.
— What is happening?! Why is my power not working?
Anyone should be immortal and unbreakable near me!
— Okay, calm down, please! I will help you, so please don't worry!
The astronaut's body began to fall apart. A bright light emerged from within. After a few seconds, she transformed into an ethereal being. With this, a massive purple explosion swallowed everything in a 200 meters radius, including the fair and the people inside. Eternia, however, was only pushed away and injured. She quickly searched for the astronaut.
Her skin was now cosmic purple and her eyes glowed with white light. Her hair was longer and flowing upwards. A black sphere swallowed the landscape near the kingdom.
When that sphere was still falling, Yuto was flying under it at 20 times the speed of sound. Kognit was the one who launched him at that speed. Yuto fell to the ground and took many kilometers to stop completely. Almost dying, he watched the ethereal being. His energy and power were getting weaker by the second.
Kognit approached the former astronaut, apparently curious. He felt his life force being drained, but it wasn't strong enough to be dangerous. He observed the girl. She was floating a few centimeters off the ground.
— Hey, you look strong! Screw the other purple guy, it's you I have to win against! I will overpower you and then break you down-
They were now in a completely different place. The back half of Kognit's body was missing. Before he died, he looked at the landscape behind the girl. There was nothing. Just a trail of emptiness. Where it began was unknown, but probably Lunig's. The destruction trail could be seen from space, even though Lifen was a much bigger planet than Earth.
Everything Kognit could see now was the starry sky, even though it was day seconds ago. He felt as if he was on an ethereal battleground, a place where gods played.
A last black sphere consumed him and caused another bottomless pit.
The astronaut shattered again, causing a bright light to emerge. It was so bright that it could be seen from space. Some of the spheres were visible too. She imploded and disappeared misteriously.
All the spheres imploded after a few seconds, swallowing areas much larger than the strongest nuclear explosions.
In an ethereal place, a female voice could be heard.
— Tch. I thought humans would be stronger.