Мастер Исандер
Verse and Dimensions: Stories
Hyperman then turned to see that The Knight had stuck a perfect landing on his feet, as he kneeled on one knee with his sword pointed out to the side, dripping with Hazard fluid and Xitruzuzitium. The Knight slowly stood up, but that was when Hyperman saw jagged claw marks gashed into the abdomen of the armor. It seemed that The Knight did not escape unscathed either, as blood began gushing from the openings in his armor. His legs became weak and he stumbled down, collapsing.
The Knight coughed, shaking his head at Hyperman. “No, it won’t work – not this metatime. I never intended to come out of this alive. The true reason I came here, was to die. I could only do so by experiencing an honorable death in combat.”Hyperman rushed to The Knight’s aid, kneeling beside his fallen body. “Why did you do this? You should have worn the Knight armor, it would have protected you!” He then conjured some Alom, and rubbed it over The Knight’s wounds. “Here, this will help.”
Hyperman was shocked by this revelation. “I don’t understand…”
“I did not just do this out of suicidal ideation. The true reason I did this was so that I could give a fighting chance to those who actually deserved one. I have wasted my power and position for far too long – the least I could do was relinquish it.”
Slowly, The Knight looked at the armor that Hyperman wore. Armor which was once his. He put a hand on it. “I’m going to let you in on a secret. That armor? It actually does jack shit for you.”
“I…I don’t get it. The armor is supposed to make you as powerful as your opponent.” Hyperman replied in confusion.
A brief, chilling metamoment of silence followed, before incomprehensibly incomprehensible incomprehensibility spilled out from the rift all at once. Even beings infinitely higher than Pi would be at a complete loss to describe what now presented itself before him.The Knight shook his head. “That isn't a lie, but it is neither the full truth. The armor’s true function, is making you as powerful as you believe yourself to be, relative to your opponent. Ultimately, it is up to you to use that power properly and wisely. And at your very core, in your truest essence, nothing about that is truly made any more powerful or better than before you put it on.” The Knight coughed again. “It’s not the armor that truly matters…it’s the man inside it.” By now, life slowly began leaving The Knight. Before he could say anything else, his hand fell limp to the ground, and Hyperman looked up to see that he had died. Suddenly, as The Knight’s body began to disintegrate into metashes, a golden energy flowed out from his form and wrapped itself around Hyperman, fusing with him. The essence of The Knight had merged with Hyperman, making him now the new Knight. He…was worthy. The wings of Pi malformed and deteriorated, melting away as they gave way to entropy. “No, this cannot be!” Pi stammered. As he fell apart and melted into a blazing ooze, the forms of Pi and the New God were separated, and left lying on the ground. “My dream…I cannot seem to reach it…” The New God said in despair. Pi, meanwhile, continued to lay where he had fallen, immersed in a pool of his own blood, as well as the blood of The New God and the blood of his long-dead former brethren. He had no words to describe the feelings he felt. Had everything he had gone through truly been a lie? Was all the bloodshed, conquest, madness and torture for naught? He was about to receive his answer. The New God knew he was dying. It was a sensation that anyone, even a mortal human, could intuitively know. He felt his form beginning to succumb to entropy, melting into the ooze around him. He then felt a familiar presence beside him, and he knew that it was her approaching. “Uavvalz…I may finally reunite....” The New God said, with a glimmer a hope in his final dying breaths. However, for The New God, there would be no peace even in death. Suddenly, from the rift shot out a long tentacle, which impaled the New God directly through the chest. The New God choked out in horror and pain only briefly, and he was only able to utter two final words to some invisible force. “You’re…not…” was all he could choke out before his life left his body and he fell limp. The tentacle then slowly lifted itself back up, pulling the New God’s corpse through the portal.
In the face of it all, Pi was incredibly overwhelmed. Naughter excreted from his eyes, but Pi remained unflinching, seemingly too entranced to be aware of anything else. Nobody could say for sure what the tears represented. Joy? Awe? Sadness? Fear? Very likely, it was a combination of all of it, and many more. Pi should have been happy and proud now; this was his victory, his moment of triumph. His eternity of planning, his hard work of scheming, had now finally come to fruition. This was supposed to be the moment in which every effort of his was paid off. He was supposed to feel accomplished. But he wasn’t. If anything, he was confused, and even frightened to an extent. He realized that this was too much like he had imagined Najha-Tebah – practically exactly as he thought the being would appear.
Suddenly, the shape before Pi became distorted, as it melted and dripped down like oozing honey. The collected logical puddle of slop lurched and bubbled, rising up and taking shape.
“You are not Nahja-Tebah…” Pi muttered.
“I̸̗̾̐̅N̷̲͛̒͝D̵͔̟͖́́É̷̬̓̕E̷̋ͅD̶̻͑͠͝ ̷̪̜͗͌Ï̴̢̮̞͚̔ ̷͉̔̆͊Å̴̻̌̂M̵͓̣͂̋̊͋ ̸̧͍̽͝N̴̡͉͎͇͋O̵̦͔͙̾T̷̥̮̮̓͆̒̓.̶̥̼͆̄” The chaos before Pi responded, in a voice that only Pi himself was insane enough to be capable of hearing. In fact, nobody but Pi and the chaos could hear this conversation. All that they saw were the two staring at each-other in an eerie silence. Whatever this was, it hailed from before metatime and beyond metaspace.
“-Ȉ̴̝̽ ̷̺͕͒̓À̷͎̬̼̣́̇M̸̯̣͇̭͖̄̾̀͗ ̷̪͖̻͒̾F̶͌̾̓̿͗A̷̰̗̗͐͠R̷̥̫̫̰̂͠ ̷̜̲́̀̍̓̏Ğ̵̨̏Ŕ̵͎̫̖̍͛E̷̼͋̈́̎͠Ā̵͍̳̬̣̖͂̈́Ṯ̸̞̲͋̑̀̉͆Ė̷̤̦͎̘̾̀̃̃Ŕ̴̨͓̩͖͆ ̷͔͔͓̭̎̔̽T̴̖̃H̸͚̬̯͒̏͊̆A̵̱̭͐͒́N̴̡̿͜͝ ̵̱̺̩̑̆̊̕T̵͇͈̋͊H̸̛̫̣̼́͌̍́A̸͔̝̥͍͋̉T̸̯͛̉ ̸͇̱̟͝ͅ-̶̙̣͎̈́̌̅͛̅”
The chaos then morphed into an identical doppelganger of Pi, looking exactly like him.
“– ̸I ̸̡̢͙͖́̃̕A̸̢̳̲̤̤̓Ḿ̶̘͖̀̀̒͊ ̸̮̱̔̃͜ͅŸ̶̧̙́̈̕Ô̵̻̞̰̲̋̀U̷͍̳̹̾̽̂ͅ.̶̧͎̖̺̥̅̎͝”
Then, the being exploded into a maelstrom once again, rising into the air above Pi as it twisted and danced chaotically. It briefly, vaguely took on a form that somewhat resembled a Dragon-like worm creature.
Ȋ̸̙̪̬̯̎ ̸͓͆ͅA̶̦̟̦̼͙̚M̶̮̣͕͎̆́͜ ̷̥̓͂T̶̡̤̞̽͗̀H̵̟̱̑̚͠Ę̸̺̾̒͘ ̵͙̍̈̽̓̌Ȧ̸̯̺͂̂͝S̸͙͇̃̈́̈͝P̶͙̟̓E̷͉̓̈̌̕̕C̷̠͉͇͌̓͊͗̕T̶͕̊́́̊͜͝ ̴̢̞͈̩̱̋́͌Ẃ̸͓̘̾͗͆A̵̧̲̦̤̖̽͐̾̒̾R̸̼͚̹͌L̷̹̼̈́͆͑̆O̶͖̻̱̺̲͛̏R̷̨͔̅D̸̘͓̱̒̈́͋̀̚͜
“That..that cannot be. I am me!” Pi cried defiantly.
“Y̶̜̐̆͜O̵̫̅Ṳ̶̦̈ ̶̦̚͝A̵̡͑͝R̴̬̙̂Ẽ̸͉͎̆ ̷̪͋̉Y̸͍͙͆͠O̶̢͐Ǔ̸͇̺̐,̴͉͂̉ ̷̺̐͌A̸̫͎̾͘N̸̫̻̓̏Ḍ̴̏͂ ̵̼̻̊͛Y̴͙̼͊E̵͕̪͒T̸̔̀͜ ̴̨̛̹͂I̴̳̫͊ ̶̭̬̓̊A̸͕̳̿M̴̧̭͆̎ ̵̢͓͗̄A̷̹͑͌L̷̼͇̍S̸͚̽͠Ò̷͕ ̸͓̪̂Y̵̦̰̌O̶͖͂͘Ũ̶̜͖̈.̵͓̻̔ I̸̿ ̴̞̲̿̋Ä̴̺́͑M̷̰̔͘ ̶̢̂A̴̪͆L̸̯̰̐Ĺ̵̢͑ ̵̨̙̈́O̴͍̺͊́F̸̣͘ ̴̳͚͘Y̶̼̖̅͠O̵̗̭̿͘Ǔ̷̟.̷̠̈́ ̸̠̽E̵̜͒V̵̡̀̕Ë̴̹R̶̘̋͠Y̸̬̳͘ ̵̖̥̓͝Ḯ̸̺Ṭ̵̈́Ē̷̫̒ͅR̴̳͈̀̚A̵̼̐T̸̹̐͘I̵̠̳̚Ȍ̵̘̠͊N̵̜̣͐͝ ̶̡̰̀Ȯ̷̡F̸̹̐ ̶̹̬͠Ỹ̷̙ͅƠ̴͎͝U̷͙͝,̶̨̿ ̸̯́͜Ỉ̷̜̖͝Ṋ̷͠ ̵̘͝E̴̙̖͛V̵̹̾͠E̶̲͌R̷̜͚̔͝Y̴̲̥̔̈ ̶͚́R̶̠̭̉͒Ẽ̶̲̿Ā̴̠̤̀L̷̾͋ͅĬ̵̥̤͘T̶̨͇̋Y̸͓̬̅,̴̤̽ ̶̜̃̅Î̴͈̦S̵͍̊ ̸̩̑M̵͎̟͛Ȅ̶̛̳̜.̷̢͗ ̸͔̈́F̷͕͑͒O̸͚͂̿Ṛ̸̨̽̆ ̵̲͖͐Ǐ̷̤̞ ̷̡̬̀͑A̸̺̟͑͋M̴͈͋ ̶͓͛T̶̲͍̿͘H̸̩͂Ẻ̴͎̤ ̴̮̺̾̈Ḩ̸̬̉̉Į̶̱͒̽G̸̥̈̔H̴͇̪̍E̴̤̟̓̏R̶̯̓ ̸̈̊ͅḬ̷͊̈́N̸̤̰̑͂T̶̢͔͗È̶̪̓Ĺ̸̜̟L̷̨̳͒͠I̷̹̺͗G̷̋͜Ę̵͚̅͋N̸̬̣͐C̶̝̠͛E̶̼̞͛̆,̶̹̭͠ ̴͇͍̽͝T̴̢̒͋H̵̬͙̀̉Ẽ̸̺͜ ̴͖̩̏M̴̡͎͑Ỏ̸̖̣̒T̸̘́͋Ò̵̢̕R̷̨͕͂ ̶̰̼̋W̵̳͔̍͠H̷̘̯͘I̴̗͋C̵̡̪̎H̴̃͜͝ ̷̬͐D̸̝̻͗͒R̴̢͌Ï̴̺͘V̶͍͎̀E̵̻͋S̵̟͗ ̶̤̖̀Y̴̧̎̋O̶̥͇͌͘U̴̹̿̊ ̴̨̝̀T̶͓̳̆O̷̺̐̀ ̶̘͚͌Ŷ̸̥O̷͓̜̒U̷̖̓Ř̴̟ͅ ̷̲͊F̵̙̙́̂I̶̤̎̈́N̴̢͖͒͛A̵̮͌L̸̳̓ ̵͈̍͠Ḑ̷̜̇͊Ë̷͉́͂͜S̸̯̏T̵̟̿͗Ǐ̶͍̋N̸̰͔̐Ạ̴͘T̷̡͒I̸͉̿͝Õ̶̜̰̀N̵͙͗̿.̶”
It suddenly clicked in Pi’s mind. It was not Nahja-Tebah who had guided Pi’s path all this metatime. It wasn’t Nahja-Tebah who he had been seeking to release. It was this being – him. The being who was the ultimate him. It was horrific. It was…Unthinkable.
“But…how? How can I not be the only one?” He asked Warlord.
“Y̸̩͙͠O̴̬͚̒̐Ư̶͍̓ ̸̣̮͋Ḇ̸̎̕͜E̶̻̫͒͌L̶͔͊͗Ȉ̷͚E̴̤͆V̸̻͖̆͒É̴̗̏Ḍ̸̓ ̷̮̐Y̸̰̩͝Õ̷͜Ů̶̡̑ ̶͈͗̚W̴͓̿̈́E̸̡̺͒̉R̴͕͝Ę̸̖͗ ̸̘̉T̶̥̍͋Ȟ̴͚Ḙ̵̙̑̌ ̶̥̘̃O̸̦͒̓N̵̘̒́L̵̗̽Y̸̩̮̊̆ ̷̺͕́O̵͇̕N̵̨̬̓̂Ê̴͈?̷̨͙͑̒ ̷̗̾͠M̸̯̒Ḁ̶̡͑Ǹ̵̰̗Y̴̱̓͜ ̸̩̞̚O̵̡̭͋F̵̲̘͝ ̷̤̞̌̏Y̷̢͈̐̋Ö̵̺͍U̵̧̠͆̓ ̷͂̌ͅ ̷̡̺̑Ḫ̶̨̌̓A̵͉͈̎V̸͖̼̏͐Ḙ̴̹͠ ̸̱̒T̴̛̮͝R̵͓̋I̶̳͇̾̅Ë̴̗̟́͝Ḓ̴̍͠ ̴̱͍̀-̴͕̕ ̶͖̘̏A̴̠̰͒N̴̞̯̍D̵̼̗̃̈́ ̸̭̥̆F̴̖͖̌̎A̶̟͈̍Ị̵͐̿Ḽ̴̌̌Ĕ̴̯̼D̶̛̽ͅ.̶̗͗ ̵̥̇͐Ǒ̴̙̙̋N̸͕̰͝L̸͇̈͐Y̶̥͆ ̶̗̭͌͑Ẏ̷̤͜O̸̩͝U̵̧̮͒ ̶̘̙̿͒Ȟ̴̝͝Ā̴͔V̶̪̒̏Ẽ̵̻̱̒ ̵̧̄̆M̸͒̕ͅA̴̡̛̛D̸̜̘̋Ĕ̷͇̀ ̴͙͑İ̵͓T̷̞͓̈́ ̵̢͐̈́Ț̵̺̐͆H̴͕̏I̵̳͝S̷͍̗͂̒ ̴͇̖͆̈́F̶̣̊͘Ą̵̨̔R̴̡̳̓͠,̸̰̓͝ ̷̪͠Ȁ̷͍̔Ǹ̸͙͇D̷͍̏ ̷̮̚U̶̪̕L̸̞̍̿T̸͚͍̑̎I̴̲̐̆M̷̩̒A̵͈̫̕T̶̢̰̈́̎E̶̜͝L̸̛̙̐Y̶̗͛͊ ̶̝͎̃͐S̷̽́ͅÙ̴̥C̸̮̟̋̔C̶͇̪̾̈́Ê̵̛̮͈É̴͚͆D̸͚͚͘E̴̥̤̓͆D̸̬͎̚.̸͎̖̌”
The chaotic form of the Unthinkable neared closer to Pi.
The full realization of this “truth” was too much for Pi to bear. In that metamoment, Pi experienced that very same fear, awe and overwhelmingness which he inflicted on all lower beings – in an infinitely multiplied manifold. It was almost ironic – all this metatime, as Pi conducted the worship of “Najha-Tebah”, he had made all the very same mistakes as that being…and now, just like Najha-Tebah, his final mistake was biting off more than he could chew. Pi’s consciousness rapidly expanded infinitely past its threshold. He saw and knew all of not just Whateverse, but most of the entire Barrelplex. He saw alternate selves in alternate Whateverses, with every possibility laid out before him. He saw how and why each of them failed to free Warlord where he succeeded – and Pi envied them, for he instantly regretted his actions. As his knowledge expanded further, he felt even smaller. He was nothing…in fact even less than nothing compared to Warlord. Even Najha-Tebah was a speck of dust in the wind compared to it. Like a balloon or a bubble, Pi’s consciousness expanded further and further, growing bigger and bigger, until…“W̷̡͖͂O̷̓͜Ȓ̸͓̋Ṛ̸͐͌Y̷͚͚͋̽ ̴͉͐N̶̲̾̿O̶̫̔T̵̺̆̈́,̴̥̂ ̵̣̲̀̿Y̷̺̆͜O̶̤̖̒U̷̩̠͐̉Ŗ̸̗͝ ̶̣͋̕Ë̸̠́͋F̸̨̳͛̈́F̸̜͆̀O̵̺̮̎R̵̦̂̓T̵̤͓́Ṣ̶̑͝ ̶͇̤̓D̵̛̯̩̑O̷̢̭̎̉ ̶͖̜̀̈́N̷̦͂̐Ő̸̧̢͠T̸̙̭͆ ̷̠͂͜C̸̢͇̒̍Ō̸̙̿ͅM̵̧̗̆E̸̹̅̎ ̷̡͈̋Ŭ̶̼̱̀N̴͕͍̊Ȑ̵͔̋E̸̟͊̒W̸̖̚Á̶̺R̴͚͎͊̀D̷̢̽͑Ë̵̬̪̍D̷̛͔̖.̴͎̌ ̴͙͊À̴̧͇S̵̲̪͗̌ ̸͕̮̂A̵̭͆̎ ̸̳͕̈́͝T̶͇͝O̵͔͉̓K̴͇͉̍È̸͉̐N̵͈͗ ̴̜̼͛O̵̱̤͛F̷̺̤̉͛ ̷̸̗͔̖͌̀G̶̡͊͠Ȓ̴͚Ả̶̩͜T̴̰͉̃̈́I̶̽͐ͅT̷̮̈́U̶̱͌͑D̸̮͛E̴̡̛̳͒,̶͍̇ ̸̨͉́̉Ẏ̴̪̟Ȍ̷͚̤U̸̒͜ ̶̫͛̚S̸̭̋̀Ḥ̶͐A̸̩̫̒L̶̝͒Ļ̵̓ ̸͓̦̑͗J̵͖̫̚Ȯ̸͓I̵̙͙̒N̶͙̆ ̴̣̈́͜Ĭ̷̖̹Ń̵̡̓T̶̺̾̔Ǒ̶̲ ̸͉͠US,̵͚̕ ̴̛̥̩̆Á̶̦̳N̸̲̩̎D̶͎͊̃ ̴̱̂͌E̸̝̼̿M̴͕̤̾Ů̸̻͇͂L̶͍̆Ẫ̵̧̯T̵͔̔E̸͉͔̓ ̷̨̥̑̊T̴̡̻͋͝H̴̪͓̕A̵̠̽̕T̶͓̉͘ ̴̳̓̈́͜Ẃ̷̹H̷̳͘I̵̟̕C̸̠̓H̴̩̰͆̓ ̸̣̆̂Ẏ̴̬̕O̵̰͖̎̑U̵͇͒̌ ̸͖̠͆H̵̨̨̆̏A̸̖̓̈V̴̩̽͌E̸̬͔͂ ̵̫͝R̸̼̎̕E̷͔͓̐̈V̵̘̌E̷̢̖̚͠R̸̢̨̋̅É̵̪̋D̷͕͚̏.̵̯̱̄ ̴̱̂͌Ë̷̥́X̸͙̲͘P̸͖͎͑̆Ę̴̳̌̍R̵͈̰̓͑Ḯ̸̡̼̉E̴̦̯͂N̶͚̄ͅC̷͎͆Ḙ̸̾ ̷̻̰̿T̸͓͝H̵̫͊̾Ẽ̶̟́ ̷̼̔B̷̰̦̾͠L̷̙̚ͅI̵͎̫̓S̸͓̈́̉S̴̲͚̈F̷̧̼̈́U̷̔́ͅL̸̻̋ ̷̦̌̅R̸̖̚͝E̶̻͆L̸̾̓͜E̸͓͇̎̚A̶̯͎͑S̸̫͐͜E̵͓̽ ̶͍́O̸̡̙͚̟͖̽F̸̬͖̂̽̏̆ ̶͖̠̿͒̂͜Ḯ̵̡̟͓̪̱̑͌̂̕G̵͔̬̍͑̆͠N̴̡̯̹̏̓̕͘͝O̵͚̰̔̅͗R̶͍̤͛̆̓̒̂Ạ̷̩̗̳͑̒̕͜Ņ̵̛̜̭͎̭̀C̵͓̱̾̊̇͋E̶̲͖̮̿̌̀̕E̵̦͓̚Ạ̶̡̌̂S̸̰̿ ̵̧̅͂͜Y̴̧̠͌̂O̸̜̩͗Ŭ̴̧̎ ̷̠̌͐M̴̡͕͂́I̶̮̹̋͗N̸̜̓G̸͓̯̽Ĺ̸̤E̵̝͌ ̸̙̊͗Ą̴̑͑M̴͔̤̂O̵̧͘ͅN̵͓̿G̷͔̈́͂͜ ̸̲̗̅T̷̯͙͆̒H̶̜̒̑E̷̐̚ͅ ̴̞̾I̷̡͉̚N̶̛͍̉F̴̘̀Ị̴̀̕N̴̞̠̎͗Ḯ̴̩̭T̶̫͂͒E̵̟̯͛ ̸̧̀M̸̨͇͊Ä̴̼́D̸̃͜N̷̘͝E̷̪͘S̴̰͙̑S̷͚̲̏.̶̱͋̓” Before Pi could respond, The Aspect Warlord latched onto him, pulling him into its embrace. And then, for the very first time, Pi experienced pain. Not pain in a physical sense that mortals experience, as Pi was infinitely beyond the physical. No, this pain was of a magnitude far greater, and just as Pi was infinitely beyond the physical, this pain was infinitely beyond himself. This pain was Enlightenment. What he had sought all this metatime. What he thought would free him. But instead, he had become further imprisoned. Enlightenment, Pi realized, was merely a gateway to even more suffering. Now that he knew the truth and all the pain it carried, he could never unlearn it, and he could no longer remain ignorant anymore.
–It popped.
As it happened, Pi made a sound. Was it of Ecstacy? Rage? Grief? Fear? Very likely, it was all of it at once, and many more. He screamed as his mind ruptured and shattered, violently exploding out of his weak excuse of a vessel which was discarded like the molted scales of a reptile. Pi melted into the many and became one.
The sheer amount of instability caused by the mere presence of this abomination severely disrupted reality. The rift into nonexistence ripped into an infinitely wider opening, with Pi serving as the bridge between Existence and Nonexistence.
Meanwhile, all the armies suddenly stopped fighting for a fleeting metamoment, as they beheld the monster which Pi had become. The creature sent forth a maelstrom of tentacular appendages from the rift into Nonexistence. The tendrils crushed many beings from both sides of the conflict. With each action by Pi, a violent quake resonated which threatened the balance of every soldier on the battlefield.
Ships in the army, as well as all the Dragons, flew towards the giant monster as they attempted to attack it from above. The ships fired every weapon in their arsenals at it, and the Dragons blasted their Flames at it. These attacks, however, were barely effective if at all. Pi smashed tentacles upon many of the ships and destroyed them.
Hellensoerensen suddenly regrew, the effects by Pi now having worn off. However, even at its full size, hellen was only half as large as the giant monstrosity. Hellensoerensen rapidly blasted at Pi with its various cannons, but barely made a dent in it. Various flying Hazard creatures flew all around Pi, orbiting it in a diverse flock. It sent forth these creatures to anyone which tried to come near him.It was then that one of the ships successfully severed an appendage, by blasting its joint. “We need to take out the joints!” said Hyperman as he saw this.
Suddenly, a swarm of Stage 1 seeds were generated and released from the rift, and flew all around the battlefield and attacked all the soldiers.“On it.” said Conceptilum, as Hellensoerensen grabbed the wreckages of several fallen ships and attached various components of them to itself. The mech augmented itself with various high-artillery weaponry, as they were deployed and fired against Pi. One of Pi’s appendages swung down in an attempt to smash Hellensoerensen, but Hellensoerensen caught it by grabbing it with both hands, before pushing back against it and blasting the joint to sever it. The limb fell down, heavily crashing down upon a portion of the enemies’ army.
As one seed made contact, it violently exploded, being incredibly volatile.
“Maybe we can use those to our advantage!” The Recruiter suggested.
As the next batch of Seeds flew towards them, Hellensoerensen deflected and propelled them away, causing them to instead strike Pi as they exploded on it. Hellensoerensen attempted to attack Pi at a closer range, but Pi ensnared Hellensoerensen in several tendrils which invaded the mech’s systems, corrupting and arresting them. The mech fell down with a crash, becoming dormant. The Supergod Council shortly thereafter emerged from the fallen vessel of Hellensoerensen, before running to take cover from the fallout occurring around them.
Several tentacles lashed out from Pi and skewered themselves through the remains of Dark Oblivious, Kotoblade and Venrensorys.
The tentacles pulled the remains into the rift and assimilated them. The attacks on Pi were now beginning to seem increasingly useless, as it could regenerate with anything it consumed becoming a part of it.
With the necessary amount of “fuel” now acquired, Pi initiated the terraforming of Existence into Nonexistence. It expanded and contracted, Which would eventually widen the rift to the necessary degree for all of Whateverse to be turned inside out and ripped through the vacuum into Nonexistence. It was not an immediate occurrence, but already the effects were becoming apparent as the corruption of Nonexistence started leaking into Whateverse.
Several members of Task Force Iris got more up close and personal with the monster, attacking it with their weapons and powers. Some were even scaling it as they attacked individual aspects of the creature.
Meanwhile, The Recruiter, while fighting on the battlefield, realized what Hyperman was planning to do. No, don’t you dare think about it! she warned.Back on the roof, Hyperman was fighting against the brunt of Pi, being closest to it. Many tentacles swung at Hyperman, but he blocked all of these attacks with his sword and shield as he parried them. When he finally found an opportunity, Hyperman scampered out of range, before he found Mu lying down. He was still alive, however barely. “Trigonum…” Mu weakly called out. “What is it?” asked Hyperman, as he kneeled beside him. “I am too weak to fight Pi myself. I have already done so, but failed to defeat him. You are now our greatest hope…” he said. “Therefore, I offer my spirit to you. My Rainbow Flame. With it, and the blessings of The Knight, you shall have all you need to defeat Pi.” “But what will happen to you?” Asked Hyperman. “As long as my Flame continues to burn, I will not truly die, for the concept shall persist. However, I shall never regain form nor sentience, and so in that regard I will indeed die.” Hyperman, after thinking it through, finally nodded to Mu. “Okay, I’ll do it.” With that, Mu’s form dissolved and disintegrated, becoming a mass of rainbow fire in the shape of a Dragon. The Rainbow Flames entered Hyperman, fusing with him and empowering him. The power of all The Dragons lay in him now. An aura of Rainbow Flames formed around Hyperman, as he was now the bearer of the Rainbow Flame. Hyperman boldly approached Pi, spinning The Blade of Destiny’s hilt in his hand. His consciousness expanded by the Flame, he finally realized that Pi is charging up the process to merge Whateverse into Nonexistence. He narrowed his eyes as a plan formed. “Not if I can help it…” he slowly said slowly said to himself, approaching closer.
When his consciousness and form finally recalibrated and acclimated to this environment, Hyperman found himself surrounded by pure chaos. He was within Pi’s own mindscape. There was no central area for Hyperman to focus on, for his enemy was all around him. The enemy was the environment itself. Still, Hyperman knew that he could not fail. He knew that this was a fight which would determine the fate of Existence itself.“Too late!” declared Hyperman, as a wingspan made of Rainbow Flames unfurled from his back. He spread his wings and took flight, diving deep into the expanse of the storm that was Pi. Hyperman found himself flying blind. He accelerated through an infinite void where all of Reality, Metatime and Metaspace were but one singularity, as he was plunged into the black. It would suffice to say that Hyperman now was, for all intents and purposes, at the end of all things. He resided at/in/on/by the border of Existence and Nonexistence, and that border was Pi itself. He was in the absolute superposition, a singularity branching into all probabilities/possibilities/improbabilities/impossibilities. Every -Verse, Dimension, Realm, Timeline, Metatimeline, and Reality accelerated at a rate of no measurement. It was not unlike the vision that The Recruiter had tried to show Hyperman earlier. Except now, his mind and form were prepared to experience it. There was beauty, there was horror. There was joy, there was tragedy. But above all, the one feeling that Hyperman drew from seeing all this, was hope. Hope for a better Existence. Hope that all the inhabitants of Existence could change for the better and experience true freedom and happiness. It was this hope that fueled Hyperman, and served as the little voice in his head which said “Don’t give up!”
Hyperman fell back, when suddenly he felt an object in his hand. When he looked down, he found himself holding an entire Beyond Bubble, albeit unpopulated. That was when Hyperman realized that not only could he combat Pi with what was created from his mind, but he also had the entirety of Whateverse at his fingertips as he could pull out random things from it. “You are Wrong. I am not alone!” he said, as he rose back up. “In fact, I have all of Existence on my side! You may be here in your full power, but you are thus subject to my full power!” He declared, smashing the Beyond Bubble into the Constants. He then slashed away all the Constants, killing them. Hyperman began pulling through whatever it was that chance left for him from both his mind and the infinite -verses, using them as makeshift weapons against Pi. Said things included the original manuscript for Shakespeare’s 39th play “To eat at KFC”, the entire Internet but in script form neatly written exactly 1 year before the internet came about, portraits of every US president painted by Jackson Pollock and signed by Neil Armstrong, Me, You, and a Grand Piano. He even pulled out a cow that kept trying to hump his leg.. . . Qorter and Onu woke up from their naps to find Dei standing above them with the incripverse in her hands, so deeply engrossed in the current scene she was reading that she used her most dramatic and epic reading voice. Dei’s dramatic reading began to attract the attention of all the others in the peralibrary, as they turned and stared at her. Some were weirded out and confused, while others were genuinely intrigued by the story and began listening. “Dei, what the fuck are you doing?! Get the fuck down from there!” Qorter roared. Dei either could not hear him, being immersed in the reading, or she blatantly ignored him. Regardless, he was pissed off. “That’s it, I’m getting my gun!” Qorter delcared, as he marched off. . . . “We should help him!” Logixel said as he fought the enemies and portions of Pi on the battlefield. “We can’t.” Replied The Gatekeeper, looking at the rift. “The veil surrounding them is currently impermeable from outside. This is all upon Hyperman now.” Reality was whatever Hyperman and Pi willed it to be in this state, infinitely malleable and potential. Everything from within the mindscapes of Hyperman and Pi were instantly pulled forth, subconsciously manifesting. Their memories became their environment, existing in fragmented fractals. Hyperman found himself navigating and fighting the collective thoughtforms of Pi and all that it had absorbed, moving through partially assembled stage sets which were constructed from memories. He saw only bloodshed, madness, conquest, and brutal torture. Pi then generated Hazard-Constants which resembled Hyperman’s various inner demons. Ultraman, The Seventh and others, all mocking and taunting him as they began to corner him. They surrounded Hyperman, and he felt himself become smaller as the Constants got into his head. They smiled with a twisted delight at Hyperman’s anguish. He kept hearing a voice in his head say, You are alone! You were born alone, and now you shall die alone!
As the others watched Hyperman silently contemplating, they began to realize what he was intending to do.Pi automatically attacked Hyperman with negativity, attempting to exploit his fears and insecurities in other ways. They came in all manner of forms, such as phantoms and psychic attacks. However, Hyperman fought back against this with positivity. He remembered all the good metatimes, and all the beings he had helped. He reached out, making a connection to The Supergods, the Fragments and his other allies. As Hyperman looked on, he realized that he had to stop it all right here and right now…and there was only one way that could be done. Hyperman raised his hands to his Knight helmet and lifted it off his head. Then, he slowly removed the reflective chrome mask which had covered his face. As he looked down at the mask held out in front of him, Hyperman briefly hesitated as he caught a glimpse of his reflection in it. It had been very long since Hyperman saw his own face. Due to the mask’s curvature, many of his facial features were too warped in the reflection to properly be seen. But despite the heavy distortion of his reflection, it still managed to betray his expression. Hyperman saw before him the face of a man who was tired and fatigued. A man who had fought for so long, for so much. A man who had been stripped of his sense of self, and all that he thought he knew, numerous metatimes. But most especially, what he saw was a man who never rested in his entire existence, as much as he tried.
Hyperman was glowing now, little sparkles of light like. His whole body was changing, patterns of light swirling, energies being unleashed, as the Rainbow Flame drew forth the essence of the being called Matoro.With that, he grimly turned to face the drop leading to the core of the unthinkable. Hyperman charged forth, coating The Blade of Destiny in Rainbow Flames before pouncing over the opening. His form was straight as an arrow, and aiming the tip of the sword directly at the core as he shot down.. Images flashed through Hyperman’s mind. He saw the creation of the archetype of The Knight; its metatime of waiting for the proper bearer of its mantle. He had never asked to become a “hero”, nor had he ever desired it. He would have rather been a ruling god, and the mantle of The Knight did not fit comfortably on his shoulders.
Is this really the end? Is this what it feels like?
Trigonum’s consciousness was lapsing in even greater magnitudes now. He desperately pushed forth his final message. Listen here, you are the boss now. I want you to take over in my place.”Hyperman decided that yes, this indeed was death.This was the price for the preservation of Existence, but to Hyperman, it was a small one. He would no longer exist as Hyperman, as an entity, as a sentience or even a consciousness… he would be far less than what he was, and far more. Trigonum slowly closed his eyes, as his entire body glowed ever-more brightly. He became brighter until he lost all physical form, now a silhouette of pure energy and Rainbow Fire. Already, he could barely remember how it felt to be in battle, or to be lonely. Pleasure, pain, satisfaction, disappointment, these were all just words to him now. He was beyond all that, or almost. But there was one emotion, one part of his former life, that he had not forgotten – one memory he refused to surrender. His….friends. All the beings he had come all this way with. Those who had shared this journey with him. Some of them were beings far above him. Others were far below him. But on this quest, they had been united together as equals, and Hyperman had come to learn very humbling paradigms. Even the most divine of beings had a bit of “human” in them too; and lower beings, they had just as valid views as well. All these beings, from the most diverse of backgrounds, were his friends. Hyperman’s friends. He thought that as a God, he would be incapable of feeling emotion or attachment to anyone except for maybe Prismus, and even then he considered that to be a professional relationship. But now, Hyperman realized, even Gods had Friends. Family. Lovers. They were people he cared for. And to save them, Hyperman knew he had to make this sacrifice. But they were out there now struggling on the battlefield against their enemies, close to defeat and death by Pi’s forces. If such came to pass, no one would ever know of their heroism or the sacrifices they were willing to make. They would never see their homes or those they cared about ever again. His own death, Hyperman could accept – but theirs? That was too high of a price to pay, even for Whateverse. He knew that with his final act, he needed to not just destroy Pi, but also save everyone he cared for. Damn it, he hated being so sappy. But these were his last living metamoments, and every segment was too pricelessly important to waste. And so, with what remained of his sentience, Hyperman reached out to his friends from within Pi, from within Nonexistence. On the battlefield, many of the heroes could feel Hyperman call out to them. And at that point, most of them could already sense what it was that he planned to do. Hyperman could remotely see his friends, as if he was still in their actual presence. He faintly smiled. It will be okay. Trust me. He said inside all their minds, but specifically to Prismus. “No…” Prismus suddenly said. “Please, we need you!” -No. Existence needs all of you. Don’t get so hung up over me.
Prismus was shocked by this, unsure of what to say. “I… I can’t be as good of a leader as you were.”
With that, Hyperman mentally uttered one last word to those who would hear it: Goodbye. He then surrendered himself to his fate, fully and completely.No. You will be even better. I know you will make me proud.
Particles of the light and flames of rainbow dissipated and drifted away from the body in greater amounts, as it began dissolving. The light particles and Rainbow Flames spiraled around the Blade of Destiny in a semi-intelligent manner.
Within Whateverse, the rift imploded and resealed itself, creating a rippling shockwave that rushed through everyone. All that was left behind was Hyperman’s discarded mask, an empty set of damaged knight armor, and the hilt of a broken sword lying next to it.The Rainbow flaming sword cleanly pierced the core of Pi. It went down to its hilt and then past it, cleanly exiting the other side. Upon this happening, the core of Pi cracked into infinite fractals, as a fiery rainbow erupted from within. Pi mindlessly screamed even more as it was caught in a brilliant blinding explosion. The Blade of Destiny was shattered, as was what barely remained of “Pi” as the Rainbow Flame consumed it. The flames seared away all the External Hazard material, burning brightly as it dematerialised and the entirety of Pi was burned into nothing. The core’s Yellow Flame, as well as all instances of it within Whateverse, was transmuted into pure Rainbow Flame instead, permanently.
Systematically, every member or Pi’s forces fell, and self-erased.
Apex looked around, speechless by what they had witnessed. Everyone else largely had the same reaction. Everyone also knew what had happened to cause this. They all bowed their heads, for a metamoment of silence and mourning of the fallen hero.
. . .
Dei suddenly paused her reading, choking up slightly. Even Qorter seemed emotional…although he vehemently insisted it was only perspiration collecting on his logical surface-scanning enhancement device, and was prepared to shoot down anyone that said otherwise.