//------------------------------// // The End // Story: Casting a Shadow // by Ssendam the Masked //------------------------------// The battlefield smoked. Strewn around what was once a verdant green field were the corpses of the Zerg and my sons who had fallen in battle. There had once been many combatants here, but they had either been forced to leave or had left of their own volition. Now only the two of us remained. I stood, watching Auric intently. My armour was scratched and worn from those humans who had dared to attack me. I'd let them live, if only because their bravery and willingness to fight was commendable. Auric himself looked worn out and worn down, probably because he'd sent his allies back to his world. My allies had also been sent back, but under the power of my mask. I had more power than him. I had to admit, I was extremely proud of myself. I had proven to be better than Auric. Even though I knew that Auric would be tricky and sneaky enough to cause a dark horse victory, it didn't matter. I could kill him in a thousand ways. "Bet you think you've won," he commented as he reached for Eureka. That sword was truly a work of art. I would have to take it from him at the first opportunity. I swung my Staff of Shadows up. “You know, I rather liked that your allies have the guts to attack me directly. Bravery is to be admired, but sometimes, it is foolhardy to continue.” I paused briefly, before extendinhg a hand out. I stayed out of his range though; I'm not going to risk losing a hand to Auric. “My allies were… interesting momentary diversions. You are the most important being to me. We should be allies, Auric.” “As if I ever would ally with you.”  He smiled, pulling out what appeared to be a staff made from solid protosteel. My gift, I presumed. Something about it seemed to sing with power. Something so beautiful. Just like Auric for him to make something like that.  “We’re not just opposite sides of the coin, we’re more like Matter and Antimatter.  We shouldn’t be anywhere near each other for the sake of everything around us.” I felt mildly offended, but I extended my offer of friendship once more. “You know, together we could rule everything. With your alchemy and my viruses, we could rewrite reality so that it conforms to our beliefs. We could make everything about the multiverse better.” I saw Auric was tempted, briefly. He frowned as he contemplated how successful we would be. Alas, he did not ally, instead shaking his head firmly and simply saying,  “I think not,” before dropping into a combat stance.  “There’s a reason we’re told the story of Icarus in school.  Fly too high, you end up falling.” I simply shrugged. I really didn't like that kind of thinking. If you end up falling, you simply didn't try hard enough to change the world. Auric was imperfect, he truly was. That was why I had to win. “If that’s how you feel about it, then I suppose I can’t convince you.” I paused. I wanted Auric as a friend, I really did. “I wasn’t lying when I said I loved you, but unfortunately, my plan will work regardless.” I pulled out my Harmoniser. “This is comprised of fragments of the Tree of Harmony. With a little bit of work, I could use it to terraform the multiverse, establish myself as its ruler. Clean and simple.” The signal would bounce off every single iteration of the Tree of Harmony. The resulting wave of magic would forcibly overwrite every single piece of code to make me the sole ruler of the multiverse. “Ah, one of those,” Auric mused, face lighting up in recognition.  “I banished the last one to think like that to the Void, you know.” I was honestly surprised by that. “Really? I’m impressed by the mortal who could make something like that.” I shrugged. I had Auric right where I wanted. I should not be nice, I should just kill him. He's a threat to me. “Regardless, I really should be pragmatic.” My hand glowed with plasma. One good shot would destroy his head. He was weak, and he would not survive. His form would be reduced to ashes. “You have no magic left. By all rights, I should just blast your head off your shoulders.” “You’d be well within your rights to,” He pointed out.  “But something tells me someone like you wouldn’t be satisfied with such a quick, clean death like that.  You need to be better than me.” I paused. Much as I hated to admit it, he was right. I had to be better than him, than everybody else. “...I know you’re playing me. But, you’re right.” I dispelled the plasma, and I raised my Staff of Shadows. “If I can’t destroy you in melee combat, then I don’t deserve to call myself the best.” “I believe the term I’m looking for is ‘En guard,’” he replied before raising that unique blade, the crystal of it shining in the daylight. I swung my weapon down with all my strength, and he blocked it with the staff he'd made from my gift. What a beautiful weapon- I could see the magic pulsing through it. For a moment, I simply stopped, admiring the work Auric had done with the weapon. “I love the work you’ve done with my gift. Incredible work. I don’t think I could do better.” Before Auric could say anything, I lashed out with a kick.  Whatever his clothes were made of, they absorbed the brunt of the damage, but he was still knocked far away. Auric managed to change his fall to a roll, and with what must have been a mental command his staff turned into a perfect, metallic copy of his sword. “There’s more than one trick left in my hat,” Auric replied as he crouched, low to the ground.  “Overspecialize and you breed in weakness and all that.” “Very true.” I replied, pulling out my newly created sword. I got an idea as to how I could turn this into an advantage. Suddenly, an idea struck me. I cracked my neck, focused hard, and with a thought another arm appeared to help hold my Staff of Shadows. I smirked at Auric. “Just because I want to beat you, doesn’t mean that I’m completely honourable. This is just a minor advantage.” “I would say something about that, but you’d just turn it against me,” he replied before drawing himself up to meet me.  “Though...who said this little duel of ours had anything to do with honor in the first place?  I’m willing to take whatever I can get myself, I don’t see why you’d be any different.”  Auric said, watching me intently. I liked how he thought. It just proved that Auric and I were too alike for us not to be allies. “Exactly. We’re more alike than you think. We would do anything to win. Those around us regard us as gods, or something worth dying for.” After my little breaking speech, I swung my staff down on his head, the weapon barely blocked by his sword. Sparks flew from our confrontation. I was mildly concerned for my staff, but I continued talking. “Admit it, those who followed you didn’t just do it out of gratitude. They saw you as something worth dying for. They fought me with the intention of fighting and probably dying for you. Isn’t that a mark of the divine, Auric? People throwing themselves to certain death for one person or an ideal?” I taunted Auric. I had to make him angry, make him slip up and make a rash judgement. “And how the hell did that work out for Earth?” Auric snarked back before making to attack with that sword.  That sword was dangerous, I knew that much. Something about a sword like that surviving an encounter with protosteel put me on edge. It could penetrate my armour. Auric had two weapons that could kill me easily. I blocked, definitely taken off-balance for a moment. However, I swiftly recovered and raised my staff again. “Amazing attack!” Auric just glared at me. “I never truly sought to become that which I now am,” he replied as he took the chance to fall back a step and watch me. I couldn't mind read him because of Understanding, so I had no idea. I could guess that he wanted to observe me. “I had every faith that when I went to stop the Wise One, I would die.  I live every day like it was a gift because I returned.” I didn't really care about the last bit. All that mattered was the first. For the first time, I was reminded of when I shed my mortal form. “You never asked… I never asked either.” For a moment, I truly wished I was human. With all the weakness that entailed. Then, I snapped back to sanity. To give up my power for something purely sentimental? I must be going even more mad then I currently am. “I don’t care. All I care about is ruling everything. I have to rule everything. Nobody else is competent enough.” “Nobody is competent enough to rule everything!” Auric shot back, incensed.  “Do you even know the enormity of that task?!  There’s a reason there are multiple deities!”  Auric gripped his sword tightly, obviously preparing to attack. In spite of how much I hated feeling emotion, I was incensed by this insult to my knowledge and understanding. “You’re thinking like an organic. It’s flawed; marred by emotion and drive. And yes, I do know that it’s impossible. But I have to try. If one pushes hard enough, it will happen. It has to happen!” I retorted, actually sounding angry for the first time we’d been fighting. I brought up my staff, deflecting the straight blow Auric had swung at me. The blade glanced off the staff, but the sparks returned. That confirmed my fears; this blade could do some serious damage to me if it hit me. I couldn't let that happen. “Just because one can does not mean one should!  Just because it is possible to create water that would render someone immortal, does not mean I should go into the business of producing it!”  Auric now brought both blades into the fray now, actually making me focus on the fight fully. It was nice to discard higher thinking for the physical. “We are gods, Auric. Could and should are not questions that we should be asking. Whoever wins is the most worthy. And I am determined that it will be me. I refuse to leave the multiverse in the hands of somebody with such flawed organic thinking!” I brought up my staff and sword to counter, the flaming blade meeting with that damn crystal sword. “Emotion and short-term goals are what are going to bring this multiverse down, Auric! That’s what I learned in Tartarus. Emotions cloud judgement. Short-term goals cloud perspective. That is reality, Auric.” “I pity you for losing sight of the real foe, then,” Auric replied, glaring at me. Normally, he would have been able to breach my defenses, but thanks to my extras arm, my defence and offence were perfect.  None could counter it. As he continued speaking, his sword shifted back into its staff form. “Emotions are the very base of what makes me human.  The very thing that separates you from me.  Without them, I might as well be you.  And the real foe would still remain.” I glared at Auric. How dare he insinuate he was better than me. How DARE HE? “Oh, and what foe is this? People not liking me? The multiverse ending? I don’t fear that. It is inevitable, and I might as well accept it.” “You actually had it right there,” Auric commented.  “Entropy is the real foe, the flaw the Multiverse was born with.  All things will end.  Everything will end.  And it’s the one thing I would rather spend my time fighting.  I’d rather spend time devising a way for life to continue after the death of the Multiverse, but you didn’t take the fucking hint!” I had to say, my respecct for Auric grew immesurably. We were truly alike with this revelation. “So we both have impossible dreams then.” I commented. Auric nodded solemnly. “But somebody kept coming for me, coming after me.  So my research has been put off thanks to this whole bloody mess!  If you would have only left me be…” Auric left it off, as if daring me to finish his sentence. I glared at him. My rage was up, as was my mild paranoia. “You would have come after me eventually. Our goals are too different. As soon as you got wind you would have come after me eventually. Besides, I believe that destruction will allow something new to grow in the multiverses’ place.” He was too much like me to even acknowledge the presence of a rival to him. Rivals had to be destroyed. “I would have been content where I was, learning and researching.  I would have been content leaving you where you were.  The Multiverse has ways of dealing with those that get too big, too noisy.  But you just kept coming for me.” I well knew all that. It was why I had been making no overt moves, just trying to stay under the radar until my plan was complete. So I kept glaring at Auric. “We are UNIQUE, Auric. The unique get drawn to one another. Sooner or later, you would have sought me out.” “Keep telling yourself that,” he shot back.  “Whatever helps you go to sleep at night.” “I don’t sleep. Sleeping is an organic flaw that I have excised from my being.” I lunged forward with my nameless sword, and he raised his protosteel staff to counter. I had to end this quickly. I had to kill Auric now or he would continue to mock me. “You still act like an organic, even when you are a god. It’s unbecoming.” I raised my staff of Shadows up, and swung it down, blunt end first. Whatever his armour was, a crushing blow would destroy it. I was rewarded with a grunt of pain from Auric, but then... Shunk. I grunted in mild pain as his sword penetrated my body. A nick in my side, but it was enough. I panicked. I looked down at the wound, and immediately backed up. “No. No, no, no, no, NO!” Antidermis- my whole being- was seeping out of the wound. I could hold myself in, but if I didn't patch myself up, I would eventually dissipate and die. If I could just heal and adapt to this, I could survive. I activated my powers... and they didn't work. For the first time in four thousand years, I could not adapt to whatever had been done to me. I was actually scared. “I can’t adapt to this. Why can’t I adapt to this?” I kept clutching at the cut, trying to adapt, heal, magnetize, weld, something, ANYTHING to stop me leaking. It wasn't working. “That would require you knowing the properties of my sword, something not even I really know,” Auric replied. I mentally gathered myself. I had adapted to things I did not know before. That could only mean that I had been injured by something that granted Understanding. I couldn't adapt to it because I technically already had. I gathered my focus and concentrated. “I need a patch… need a patch… patch.” Suddenly, I glanced at my staff. I wouldn't need it if I was dead. I tore off a piece from the bottom, and heated it up with plasma. I then applied it over the cut to seal myself in. That done, I turned to Auric, trying to compose myself. “Impressive. Very impressive.” I then attacked frantically, showing my true speed. Sword and staff danced and whirled togather, trying to shred Auric into pieces. He had to die. He had to die RIGHT NOW. That sword had injured me, an immaculate and perfect being. Auric was now on the defensive, and I gained confidence. With a mighty blow, I knocked his staff out of his hand, and continued my offence. I was calm now. Auric had surprised me once, but he would not surprise me again. I would kill him, and claim my place as the ruler of the multiverse. I charged forwards, when suddenly, I felt something grab my legs. “What the…” Protosteel was holding me down, restricting my movement. How? How had this happened? Then, I realised. This was a charm Auric had worked into the metal for this purpose! He could not win in a contest of brute strength, so he used his staff to gain an opening. “More tricks, Auric? I suppose I should have-” SHUNK. Auric stabbed me in the chest while I was distracted. I had let my guard down for a moment, but a moment is all that you need in the heat of battle.I felt the pain, felt the critical damage, and I knew, then, that I was finished. Rage and hatred bubbled up inside me, but all I could feel at the moment was sheer shock. I glanced down, then pulled the sword out of my chest slowly, cautiously. As I started to flow out of my armour, my sword and Staff of Shadows dropped to the ground. And it was when I was holding the sword free that Auric said something, exhausted yet triumphant. “Intelligre te ipsum!”  And the sword flashed brightly. Who are you? An interesting voice- Auric's? I felt myself floating, as if in the ocean. I was still injured, but it didn't seem to concern me at the moment. I looked at myself in the water. What I saw shocked me. I saw bitterness and loneliness, hatred and pride and arrogance all melded into one. I stared for a while. Was this all I was? A bitter shell of a being who had done nothing worthwhile? No. I also saw mild compassion, love, and a passion for beauty. I saw a peaceful world, one of a few. I saw my positive influence as well as the negative. Lives had been changed for the better and worse. I saw my rage and sorrow when my generals died for me. I saw my darkest moment in Tartarus- when I was scared of never leaving. When an angel appeared in my mind. How I fell in love, and then grew to hate Auric. How I destroyed everything Celestia held dear, over my disbelief that an inferior being managed to imprison me. I sighed. How petty it all seemed now. I saw Zerg collapsing in my presence. those against me barely restraining their terror when I appeared on the battlefield. Auric barely managing to save Kat as I beat her senseless for harming my son. My own allies being sent back as I wanted to finish Auric myself. Did I regret my past actions? I shook my head. No, I didn't. That was my research, my magic. I would never regret a single thing I did. The only thing I regretted was not being able to make Auric love me. Everything else was my personal pride as a being beyond a god. If I could, I would strangle Umbra and destroy who he was so utterly he could never recover. If I could rule the universe I would have him lobotomised so he could never pose a threat to me again. I saw how my pride and arrogance had led to my downfall. For a while, I stood there. Let go of pride, and accept loss. I paused. Was this a chance at some form of redemption? For everything I'd done? I paused, considering. Then, I made my decision, and accepted my loss. I dropped Aurics' sword and collapsed. It was a lot to take in. I now truly knew who I was . I now realised that if I didn't know who I was, how could I rule anything more than a world? I leant back as the last vestiges of magic left me. “I’ve lost. For the first time since I’ve gained Understanding, I have lost.” I looked at my pet project. It had not been earned for nothing. The mere fact that I could hold it spoke of my desire to impose order. I crushed it in my hand. It was a beautiful thing, but ultimately it was a weapon. “Losing is a part of life.  I’ve had my losses as well.  And I know that as I continue to live, I will continue to lose things close to me, dear to me.”  Auric picked up his sword, examined it. I noticed that it had lost some of its lustre. He sighed at that.  “And it looks like I just suffered another one.” I laughed. I'd forgotten how good it felt to laugh. It felt free. “To win, one must Understand themselves, right? I have to admit, this feels… much calmer now.” More antidermis flowed out of me as I tapped my wound with a finger. “I can’t regenerate, magnetize, weld or adapt to this wound. My antidermis is just going to leak out and my consciousness will disperse. I’m going to die slowly, but at least it’s painless.” “You brought this on yourself,” Auric said coldly before kicking the sword over to me.  “I would have left you be had you let me be.  I would have never needed to do this.  But you just couldn’t let me go.” I picked Eureka up, examining it intently. Something about it had gone, true. But I had no doubt that Auric would find a replacement. “I couldn’t. For four thousand years, I was imprisoned with the likes of Tirek. It was boring. Then, I saw you. A being who shared my unique perspective.” HI glanced at Auric, and I felt embarassed for the first time in a long while. “I fell in love with you. Odd. I discarded all organic problems, but I couldn’t get rid of love.” “‘Love looks not with the eyes, but with the mind, and therefore is winged Cupid painted blind,’” Auric quoted. In my current state, I couldn't remember where that quote had come from. Shakespeare, but I couldn't place the poem.  “The eternal bard seems to have gotten it right.” I smirked a bit. “Ah well. I’ve lost, and I feel at peace with myself. So, I never did give your wife a gift.” I pulled off my Kraahkan, and tossed it to Auric. He picked it up gingerly, cautiously. I suppose I couldn't blame him. He glanced at it, then looked at me. “And this is supposed to be?” More antidermis seeped out, and I felt mobility decreasing in my body. “My artifact of Understanding, the Kanohi Kraahkan. It grants the wearer control over shadows, fear and anger. And like your sword, it is virtually indestructible.” “Mine probably was before it did...whatever it just did to you,” he gestured to the sword.  “It’s...lost something now.  I doubt it’d ever be the same again.  And I suppose I owe you that much, to take something as a reminder.” He held it in one hand, still cautious. That was unacceptable. I would not have my last gift to Auric just thrown away like some cheap tat. I spoke to the Kraahkan, imposing my will on it once again. “Kraahkan, this is your new master. You defend him. He’s stronger than you. Only attack those who threaten him.” With my mask thus dominated, I pointed at my sword and staff. They had served me well, but not well enough. “Take them as well. You might like the sword. Obsidian, sharpened down to an atom. And if you want it, my lab and notes on forging protodermis are in my own dimension.” “I know a guy, he’ll probably do it for the asking,” Auric quipped before gently placing the mask with the staff and sword. Umbra... the mention of him still made me pissed off.  “I’ll probably be stuck here until my magic recovers enough for me to breach the walls and find my way home...if you want me to make it faster, I...probably could.”   I shook my head. I still had some pride. “I am patient. It will come. I am expiring, and my death will create something new.” My vision blurred, but I still looked at him intently. “Besides, a god chooses how he dies.” With the last of my strength, I gripped the wound, and pulled it apart. More antidermis flowed from me. Auric watched me solemnly. “Farewell then, Teridax...but before you go?  Auric is what those that don’t know me call me.  I figure you should know my real name before you go to whatever waits for you.”  I wanted to hear it as he paused, my vision darkening. Soon I would be dead.  “Frank DeFontaine was what I used to be called.” With my last dregs of strength, I spoke my name to him as well. “... Matthew… Bates…” I coughed out, before the light in my eyes winked out. What was left of me hung in the wind before going. As I died, I thought of what my death would mean. All versions of me were now free to roam. My death was natural, and I accepted it. Whatever happened from here, for me... it was over.