Мастер Исандер
Verse and Dimensions: Stories
But Hyperman was not afraid, or at least he was able to bury his fears deep enough so that they were not noticeable. And he was sure that the others in the group were not afraid either. “Let’s do this!” Hyperman said as they charged forth.
CHAPTER 13 Pi sensed Hellensoerensen nearing close to the megastructure. He scowled, looking down at The Apple. “I must begin now, before they reach me.” He said to himself, as he dropped the apple down a deep abyss. There was stillness for a brief metamoment, before a large structure exploded upwards. It was shaped not unlike the Tree omniverse, and was made of the External Hazard. The Tree ascended high up, breaking through the top of the megastructure. “That can’t be good.” Hyperman remarked as he saw the Tree explode from the megastructure. “If we could get there faster, that would be good!” He shouted up at Hellensoerensen. The mech kicked into high gear, as it barreled its way towards the megastructure. Eventually, they finally reached the entrance to the megastructure – or at least, what they at first believed to have been the entrance. There was nothing except for one long expansive wall laying before them. Hellensoerensen prepared to smash its way into the megastructure with brute force, however that would turn out to not be necessary. A large set of doors suddenly revealed themselves, and swung wide open of their own accord. “It’s like… we’re being invited in…” Hyperman said, with a small hint of apprehension. However, he managed to swallow his fear as Hellensoerensen and projections of several of Apex’s Fragments entered the tall menacing structure. Once the last member of the group entered, the castle’s doors swung shut. Before the group lay a large expanse of roiling chaos. And yet, there also seemed to be an underlying organization to this chaos. A meticulously crafted series of traps and other quick paths which led to a swift gruesome end to one’s existence.
. . .But before it could even get started. Hellensoerensen suddenly shrunk down to only being roughly larger than Hyperman. “Ah-ah-ah. You can’t be so reckless with your toys in my house.” Pi’s disembodied voice taunted, as The Supergods found that they could not regrow the mech. So, begrudgingly, all the Supergods were forced to continue in this state. Suddenly, a ring of Yellow Flames accelerated towards the group, from seemingly out of nowhere. Hyperman and the others acrobatically dodged them, as more rings appeared. Hazard servitors lunged towards the group, but The Interpreter warped reality to incinerate them. “Keep moving!” declared The Recruiter, the energy of the group growing as they neared closer to Pi. A long metatime was spent navigating a labyrinth of pocket dimensions, looped dimensions, timeloops, metatimeloops, time travel, metatime travel and so on. In one section, they all entered a -verse which brimmed with piles upon piles of infinite inscripverses. The catalog of writings were infinitely larger and more diverse than Qorter’s peralibrary.
“What the fuck did he just say about me?!” Qorter roared.
. . .
Out of curiosity, Hyperman studied some of the strewn-about inscripverse, integrating the contained information. He found many disturbing truths about the nature of Existence, and gained a clearer insight into the twisted mind of Pi. Despite how overwhelmed he felt by it all, in truth it only granted a glimpse into an infinitesimal fraction of Pi’s true full psyche.
They would eventually beat all of their trials, and finally they came to the center of the structure. Before the group was the base of The Tree. Climbing upon its branches would lead everyone directly to where Pi resided, on the roof of the megastructure.
The group thought they would have to face the monumental task of summiting this Tree on their own, but that was when the armies allied to their cause stormed the megastructure. They fought through the same trials and enemies as the group had first experienced, practically beat for beat. It was as if the megastrcutre had reset itself like a videogame level for the new “players”.
Task Force Iris arrived, and began fighting their way up The Tree to clear a path for the group as they climbed up it. Finally, Hyperman summited the branch which led directly to the roof.
CHAPTER 14
As Pi sat upon his throne atop the peak of The Tree, he sensed a faint ripple in the segment of metaspace and metatime, from directly above. It was caused by the force that The Tree was emitting. Upon this realization, he grinned widely, even as he also sensed the ever-nearing approach of forces which opposed his will. No matter the outcome beyond this point, Pi was absolutely convinced of one certainty: his goal would be accomplished, and thus he had no fear. Every tool he required was in his possession, and every necessary convergence was positioned in its proper alignment. Now, and only now, was the metatime to initiate the summoning. Pi stood up and slithered above The Tree, curling his long serpentine trunk of a form around the spire upon which the throne sat.
The Tree served as the antenna, while the dagger was the signal. He then brought out the dagger, clutching it in both claws as he raised it above him.
It was at that exact metamoment, that Hyperman bursted through the barrier, only to be met with this scene. He charged towards Pi in a desperate attempt to prevent him from commiting the act he was about to perform. But even as he did, he already knew that he would be unable to reach him in mettatime. Pi released a violent scream, as he drove The Dagger into the wrinkle with great force. The Dagger made a cut, creating a powerful shockwave which launched Hyperman away. Cracks in reality extended outward from The Dagger’s point of impact, like a frozen lake beginning to break apart. Pi, with all his might, drove The Dagger downwards to tear open a rift, and a mysterious black ooze began leaking from it. Pi grabbed onto the edges of the opening with both claws, using brute force to widen it further. The black ooze began flowing from the rift in earnest.
Hyperman stood there, unmoving. He was in a direct line of fire if his presence was noticed, but he did not care anymore. In fact, he cared about nothing. Throughout this entire stupid journey he had taken, he played along with the Gods’ silly little games, and for what? Here he stood, at the precipice of failure, garbed in a humiliating costume which was supposed to make him important, while gazing upon what was likely going to be the cause of his own death. He had not gained anything beneficial from this experience; no treasure, no moral lessons, no friendships. And yet despite how stupid most of those alternate options were, he still preferred a stupid victory over any type of defeat.
He couldn’t bear the thought of it. This was not how he was going to let his story end. He did not care for formalities, nor how much he had already “lost”. Even despite all of that, he was still determined to beat the snot out of Pi just for putting him through so much trouble.
Pi savored the completion of his ritual, when he was suddenly interrupted by a voice shouting “Hey!” from behind. Pi twisted his form around to see Hyperman, boldly standing across from him. He slowly unsheathed the Blade of Destiny, entering a battle stance. Pi glared down upon the puny fighter in knight armor.
“Ah, so a brave and chivalrous knight has once again come to slay the evil Pi! I will not lie, I thought for sure you all would have died in the first portion of my megastructure.” he sneered in a mixture of impressment and annoyance. “Look up! The rapture has already commenced! You are too late!”
The Knight was unfazed by Pi’s statement. If this had been a relatively younger version of him, or even the version of himself before this journey, he may have replied with a quick-witted heroic remark. However, with how fed up he had become by now, it didn’t even feel worth it for Hyperman to act flashy, nor to prove anything. So, he simply replied with a deadpanned “I don’t give a fuck”, his battle stance unwavered. Before they could come to blows, however, both beings were slightly knocked off balance by a tremor produced from the rift, the force of which launching Hyperman away and nearly knocking him unconscious as he landed.
As Pi looked on at Hyperman’s fallen form, he considered his quarrel to be beneath him, with his divine victory already secured. “You should consider yourself honored, Trigonum. For you shall be the first to bear witness to my apotheosis!” he declared, turning to face the rift. He knew then that he was arriving. “Prepare, Whateverse, for the arrival of the God of us all! Bow before him, tremble with fear, and offer your desperate pleas for mercy before he may pass divine judgment!” He announced, his voice reverberating all throughout Existence. A chilling silence hung over them, the calm before the storm.
Suddenly, an emaciated being fell out from the rift, crashing to the ground with a thud. His figure was frail, primarily composed of Hazard tendrils. Everything about him obscured his identity, and only from his long-worn ornate armor could Pi recognize that he was – or had once been – The New God. The New God slowly rose up to his feet, unfurling himself like a ragdoll. He unsheathed his signature weapon, the blade Judgement, and struck it down on the logical ground beside him with a heavy thud. The New God silently chuckled to himself, before cackling maniacally. All things considered, he seemed to be in quite good spirits.
“W-what…you!” Pi stammered, glaring at the New God. The Knight stood there in shock, seeming even more surprised.
The New God cracked a grin. “Yes, and thank you for that morale-boosting introduction of yours, Pi. I’m sure you must have rehearsed that every metamorning. How cute.” The New God’s smile widened further. “And, of course, I thank you for freeing me. I am now finally free from that accursed void!”
Pi still seemed to have had difficulty grasping the situation. “You…heretic! You blasphemer! Even now, you stand as an insult the glory of mighty Najha-Teb-”
Pi did not know how to react to what was happening. He felt disoriented, and in a haze. The barrier to the roof’s entrance was also lowered. The New God turned back to Pi. “My original plan was to dispose of you upon returning, as punishment for usurping my empire…” he then seemed to contemplate his options for a brief metamoment. “-However, you succeeded in some ways, and therefore I consider you redeemed.” The New God approached Pi, placing a hand upon his shoulder. “So, welcome back aboard!”“-Don’t you get it?! ‘Mighty Najha-Tebah’, is a myth! It does not exist! There isn’t some high deity controlling the External Hazard and guiding you through some divine purpose in your existence. You are living in a maddening delusion, but one which worked in my favor to be freed!” the New God turned around to face the rift he had come out of, and the strange black slime oozing from it. “You see, Pi, you are not the only being who has been in hiding, mounting a grand plan this entire metatime. I led everyone to believe I had all but disappeared, so that my true plans could fall into place.” He began to approach the rift. “From this gateway flows what remains of the essence which was left behind by all the Dragons you have slain countless eternities ago. The pus spills from the gate, a toxic poison that pollutes the Barrelplex…but it still holds some of the power of those Dragons. And now that I have been freed, I can harness this power, and use it to conquer all of Whateverse! And then, beyond it!”
Hyperman, finally having recovered from the previous attack, stood up, and scrambled to regain his bearings amidst this chaotic situation.With that, the New God seized Pi, as tendrils started to wrap around the both of them in a cocoon-like encasing. Then the New God jumped through the rift, taking Pi with him.
“I've been forgotten by everyone. I almost went mad in solitude…but one dream barely kept me sane.” The New God’s disembodied voice echoed through the rift.
“-Looking for me?” a voice suddenly called out. A sword flew from seemingly nowhere, to cut the tendrils that bound Hyperman. The New God turned to see The Knight, boldly standing across from him. He briskly stepped forward, a flicker of long-buried youth pushing itself to the surface. He slowly unsheathed his sword, a grim determination in his eyes as he came to a stop, and entered a battle stance. The New God grinned madly, becoming thrilled by the prospect of claiming The Knight’s life.Suddenly, a group of creatures jumped out of the rift. They were Constants, except more monstrous as the result of mutation by the External Hazard. “-Dragon wings. This is my dream. The last thing I still have left. My first dream was robbed from me, but I will not lose this one!” The New God’s voice said, as the Constants attacked the group. Hyperman fought against the Constants, focusing their attacks on the creatures’ beady eyes and shattering them. He found it strange that not too long ago, one of these had almost killed him. Yet here he was, fighting off and destroying many of them. As Hyperman slew these enemies, he thought back on all the growth he had undergone, mainly in power but also other categories. “I shall realize this dream! My conviction is absolute and unrelenting. None can stop me!” One large Constant emerged from the rift, with an apparent fragment of a Dragon attached to it. It roared as it launched projectiles of the black ooze at everyone. The sludge corroded and melted everything that it touched, being incredibly volatile. Hyperman leapt forward as he drove his sword right into the eye, destroying the creature. He and the others could hear The New God’s voice reverberate from within behind the rift. “Venrensorys, Oblivious, Kotoblade… In hindsight, all were failures. All were trial and error. But now, I am about to realize the full potential of what they have led up to!” The New God’s voice echoed. Or, was it perhaps Pi? By now, the difference was meaningless. Suddenly, a shape exploded from the rift in a cascade of the black ooze, revealing a large Draconic figure made out of the substance. It was the New God, fused with Pi and the corrupted essence of the dead Dragons. The being was an embodiment of Nonexistence. The form it took, or rather the illusion of it, was in fact the total absence of the form, a living hole in Existence. “Witness the power I command!” The New God roared, as he lashed out with oily black tendrils that exploded from the mouth in his chest. The first sight that The New God was met with upon emerging was Hyperman, clad in the gear of The Knight. In his mania, he could only recognize from appearance The Knight that he knew all along. Without even a thought, The New God reflexively launched a stream of black ooze from the mouth at “The Knight”, spraying it towards him. Hyperman raised his shield to block the projectile, digging his feet down to anchor himself. He gripped the handle of his sword as he spun around and slashed the beast in a swift motion. The New God brought Judgement down upon Hyperman, which he blocked with The Blade of Destiny. The New God pressed down heavily on Hyperman’s sword, coming close to overpowering him. Hyperman tapped into his reserves of power to push back against The New God and push The New God’s sword down. The two blades clashed as they dueled, The New God showing no mercy. He was very flamboyant in his movements, making a spectacle of every single move he performed as if it were a dance. He acrobatically flipped and jumped around, being surprisingly fast considering the design of his form. He viciously swung Judgement, which extended outwards like a tentacle to whip Hyperman. He even swung his sword backwards through metatime. Hyperman was nimble however, and managed to successfully dodge and block these. He brought his shield against the ground and swiftly rolled his body out of the way to dodge a blow, before coming up to one knee. In this single metamoment, Hyperman saw his window of opportunity. He thrusted the Blade of Destiny into The New God, driving it all the way into him down to its hilt. The New God roared and thrashed about, as Hyperman waited for him to keel in defeat. However, he never did. In fact, he only seemed more enraged, and laughed sinisterly at Hyperman’s pitiful attempt to defeat him. “Not this metatime.” he hissed angrily, dislodging the weapon and casting it aside to Hyperman’s shock. Uh oh… Hyperman thought as he watched this. The New God caught Hyperman off guard, ensnaring him with several Hazard tendrils. He squeezed his fist and began to remotely strangle Hyperman, until he suddenly faltered and the grip slightly loosened. In his less frenzied state, The New God had passively analyzed this being’s informational matrix, and came upon the realization that this was not in fact The Knight.
“So…you have come for round two.” he sneered. Judgement extended to a longer length, and battle armor formed around his body. “I nearly did not recognize you without that shiny armor of yours. What’s wrong, stripped of your position in less overt slavery?” he taunted as he swung the blade out to his side, striking it down.
The Knight and The New God slowly circled each-other, remaining perfectly faced opposite of each-other and maintaining an unbroken eye contact. When the two found their right positions, they came to a stop, standing across from each-other.Hyperman looked on at The Knight, remembering from The New God’s words that he was unprotected. “Wait, you need your Knight armo-” he began to say, but The New God sent forth a swarm of Constants to keep him busy. “I don’t need any armor, nor any title to destroy you.” Replied The Knight, whose focus was solely upon The New God. “Oh, what happened to that caring brother of mi-” “You are not my brother! He died a long metatime ago!” The Knight roared with a spark of rage. The New God silently smiled at the sight of his stoic composure beginning to break down. “It is far too late for forgiveness or change – I must destroy you.” The Knight then said.
The Knight kneeled down on one knee, gripping the hilt of his sword with both hands as he rested in a samurai-style stance.
There was a fleeting metamoment of stillness, before The New God suddenly came charging like a raging metabull towards The Knight. Then, in a flash, The Knight rapidly drew his sword, freeing it from its scabbard. The two blades violently clashed with perfect metatiming, sending a shockwave outwards from them. The New God and The Knight rapidly parried each-other, the rate of their reflexes so high that it seemed as though the movements traversed not only metaspace but metatime as well. Sparks flew off both opponents' blades, each weapon unforgiving of the other.
“Okay, now I'll start trying…” The Knight silently murmured, as the battle further intensified. The New God finally gained an advantage as he seized The knight by the throat, lifting him up. By then, Hyperman had finally dispatched the last Constant, and rushed to provide aid to The Knight. However, he was ensnared in several tendrils, who then turned his attention towards him.As Hyperman watched glimpses of the battle, which was all he really could do while fighting the Constants, he noticed that The Knight didn't seem fully invested in it. It was almost as if he purposely held back his full power, not putting true effort into the battle. Nonetheless, the conflict between the opponents was perceivably turbulent, the eternity of tension between them rising to the surface. The New God caught The Knight off guard with a lash of his tentacles. They wrapped around the Blade of Destiny, wrenching it from the Knight's grip and flinging it aside. The New God swiped his claws at The Knight, who blocked it with his shield. He broke the attack and threw a flurry of rapid energy projectiles at The New God. The New God darted out of the way, rapidly encircling The Knight to disorient him. The Knight looked all around himself, but realized what The New God was trying to do, and so he stopped himself. He closed his eyes, and stood still for a metamoment. He felt The New God's trajectory towards him, and so he sent a blow in that direction, knocking The New God back. The New God repeatedly slashed his blade at The Knight, who parried the blows with only his own limbs. The New God thrusted his blade directly outward, towards The Knight's chest. The Knight caught the blade between his hands, pushing back against The New God as he flung the blade upward. He then flipped up and kicked Pi in the chest, causing him to stumble. The New God was surprised to find that The Knight seemed even more difficult to defeat without his weapon. But not one to neglect a challenge, he stored Judgement away, as they both proceeded to engage in weaponless combat.
From behind The New God’s back, a large tentacular appendage sprung forth over his head, with Judgement attached at its end to create a scorpion stinger-esque weapon. He raised it up high above Hyperman.
“For Uavvalz!” The New God cried, as he attempted to stab judgement downward. But Hyperman cut the tendrils with his sword and rolled away just in metatime, The New God’s blade instead striking where he had just been. Judgement broke as it struck the area, the force of the blow too great. The New God roared out in recoil from this, suddenly dropping The Knight.
The New God’s prior statement caused both Hyperman and The Knight to begin perceiving him differently. “…You lost someone close, haven’t you?” Hyperman suddenly said.
The New God wavered, a faint flicker of humanity and emotion surfacing. “…She was all I had.” He said, pain heavy in his voice. “-And now she is gone! This is now what I exist for!”
The New God swiped another claw at Hyperman, who blocked it with The Blade of Destiny. “But your grief has consumed you! Look at what you have become because of it! This won’t bring your lover back!”
“YES, IT WILL!!!!” The New God roared with rage. “She told me herself! This, all of this, is for her! And when I am finished, we shall be reunited!”
The New God was about to say something else, but instead proceeded to roar in pain, swatting Hyperman and The Knight away. It seemed that by letting his guard down, he lost control over his form. The New God began mutating out of control, the power seemingly too much for him to bear. The New God’s power was growing extremely rapidly, nearing close to a point that it was escaping his own control. “This cannot be! W-what is happening to me?!” The New God said in horror as the creature started spontaneously convulsing.
“Oh, New God, you really believed you could control The Hazard as I do?” The voice of Pi suddenly came from within The New God. “Like a tapeworm that lives within you, your efforts to grow more powerful have only strengthened me in the process.”
The New God jerked around, losing more and more control over his form. “The Hazard! It’s consuming me! Why?!” He wailed.
“When you stare deep into the abyss…” Pi began. The New God screamed as he retreated within himself, his form rounding out into a cocoon-like encasing which slammed shut around him like an iron maiden. “-It swallows you whole.”
Suddenly, the creature reanimated, rising back up with an even greater ferocity. “I’m in control now!” Pi declared with a hideous laugh. The creature then collapsed again, and the cocoon encasement reopened. And Pi, who now held complete control over the form that The New God created between them, emerged gracefully like a butterfly, as a large span of Dragon wings unfurled from his back. Each flap of his wings created a force that blew away large portions of the megastructure below. A swarm of advanced Hazard Seeds orbited around his imposing form.
EPILOGUE
“PI!” Mu suddenly shouted, before pi was able to resume attacking Hyperman. Pi turned around to see Mu furiously flying towards him, snatching him up in his claws.“Behold! The true power of The External Hazard!” Pi screamed, as he flew up high above them both. He dispersed large swathes of Hazard seeds throughout Existence. The ones closest to the immediate vicinity of Hyperman and The Knight rapidly approached them. “I’ll take care of the seeds! You focus on Pi!” The Knight said, recovering his sword as he dove into battle against the Hazard seeds. “Not like you’re giving me much of a choice, but sure!” Hyperman grumbled, before Pi finally noticed him. Hyperman then entered into a battle stance, sword at the ready. “Your conquest is at an end, Pi! We will stop you, and we will destroy you!” Pi cackled. “Those are bold statements from a being perfectly within tentacle range.” he slowly said. Hyperman stared at Pi in confusion, before looking down and realized that Pi’s tentacles had been wrapping around his legs this entire metatime. Pi suddenly flew up, lifting Hyperman with him as he rapidly spun him around like a lasso, before violently flinging him into one of the pillars. Hyperman recovered from the previous attack by Pi, as he steadily rose up onto his feet. He moved with a slight limp, not yet fully bounced back. Still, he stood his ground and readied his sword, bracing himself for Pi’s next round. Pi flew and slithered over, under, and all around the area, snaking around pillars and gliding in and out of Hyperman’s range of perception. Hyperman knew that Pi was attempting to disorient him, and make him more vulnerable. He slowly looked around, on guard, gripping his sword as he raised his awareness of the environment to the highest possible level. Pi suddenly charged forth from a dark corner and knocked Hyperman off his feet, tripping him. Pi lifted up the end of his tail, which was bladed like a stingray’s, and stabbed it down, attempting to puncture Hyperman. At that point, The Knight finally disposed of the Hazard seeds, and rushed towards Pi to successfully block the attack with his shield at just the right metatime.
Pi sneered at Mu’s sentimentality. “Oh, don’t be so naive to believe I actually cared for you, or any of the other Dragons! All that was simply a means to an end. Servants do not care for their leaders.”Mu and Pi clashed as they battled each-other for the first metatime ever. Mu’s claws sunk into Pi’s form, as he sent them both free-falling. The two beings spun out of control as they fell. Mu blasted his Rainbow Flames and Pi blasted his Yellow Flames, creating a spiraling stream of the two Flames in metaspace. Pi regained control and flapped his wings to halt the fall just before impact. Mu flew with Pi still clutched in his claws, and dragged him across the surface of the megastructure. He held Pi’s head firmly in a grip, pushing it into the pillars and grinding him against walls. Numerous pillars were toppled over as Pi’s form was smashed into them. Pi wrapped his tentacles around Mu’s claws, wrenching them apart and freeing himself. “You slaughtered nearly all of my people!” Mu shouted, his rage bubbling over. “How could you have done that?! What happened to you, Pi? We were once comrades. We were once friends! We were…we were…” Mu couldn’t bring himself to finish.
Mu glared at Pi. “Servants do not care for leaders who don’t care for them.” He said as he dove towards Pi again. Their claws intertwined as they grabbed each-other, spinning out of control once again with both their wings. Mu successfully gained the upper hand, and flew the both of them high up. Then, Mu flipped upside down, dive-bombing down in a kamikaze fashion. Both Mu and Pi struck the roof in a violent impact. Both were heavily damaged, however Pi recovered faster. Mu did not seem to be moving, although life was still detected in him. Hyperman realized that Mu had given him the opportunity to defeat Pi himself, and so he rose to the occasion to take it.
When Hyperman rebounded, he saw The Knight standing before Pi. The Knight and Pi both seemed to silently know what was coming next. The Knight took a deep breath, tightening the grip on his sword. Hyperman then realized what The Knight’s demeanor meant. It was the look of someone who knew they were walking towards their own death.Hyperman did not have much metatime to dwell on this however, as Pi had finally recovered enough from his injury to rise back up. He swatted Hyperman away like a ragdoll. The two halves of Pi were loosely attached, and for a fleeting metamoment, The Knight caught a glimpse of what was inside him. What he saw was something he would not wish upon his worst enemy. There was no use wishing it upon Pi anyways, as the nightmares were a part of him. Amidst these nightmares, The knight sensed a tortured soul which was trapped from within. He soon realized that it was The New God. Kill…me… were the only agonized words produced from him now. An idea of how to defeat Pi began forming in The Knight’s mind, as he watched Pi’s attempts to gruesomely reconstitute himself while maniacally laughing. Pi roared, blasting balls of Yellow Flames at The Knight as he flew above him. The Knight blocked and parried these with his sword and shield. “If Najha-Tebah will not help me, then I will do it myself. I shall merge this pitiful archverse into Nonexistence, and ascend all of its inhabitants. Then, all shall be equal and enlightened!”
The outcome of this was difficult for Hyperman to immediately discern, but he then saw Pi’s form fall and skip across the logical ground multiple metatimes, before coming to a stop. Pi groaned out, and an enormous gash was visible along his form.“No!” Hyperman tried to say, but it was already too late as The Knight and Pi charged towards each-other. The Knight screeched to a stop and closed his eyes, embracing the stillness for a fleeting metamoment. Then, he acrobatically flipped through metaspace just as Pi zeroed in on him. The Knight’s body spun through metaspace, but in a calculated maneuver. Hyperman watched, seemingly in slow motion, as the Knight turned and swung his sword, as Pi swiped his claws. The Knight drove the sword deep into the Pi’s chest, within which The New God resided. “Farewell, brother.” He whispered, before cleanly withdrawing the sword.