881 - Down to the Wire
It was the most beautiful thing Silhouette had ever seen.
Watching Lex Legis fade into nothing, the totality of his existence being undone, was rapture almost as glorious as when he’d been welcomed into the Moon Princess’s embrace, and he couldn’t help the tears of joy that crossed his cheeks as he stared, burning the sight onto his heart.
There was only one thing that could make the moment sweeter, and even that wish was granted as his goddess spoke a moment later, her melodious voice delivering a pronouncement that rang with the euphony of a celestial chorus.
“Too bad, so sad.”
The Moon Princess made no effort to hide the satisfied smirk on her face as she looked at the Night Mare, the latter goddess continuing to stare at Luminace’s viewscreen. “Looks like your champion’s not so tough after all.”
Luminace herself shifted in place, seemingly uncomfortable with such naked gloating. “It’s not like there was ever going to be any other outcome. Kryonex held back initially because he wanted to retake the divinity that Lex had, but once he realized how difficult that was shaping up to be, he decided to cut his losses-”
“He took the coward’s way out, playing it safe instead of trying for the greater prize,” spat Blaze, glaring at where – in the magically-conjured image – Kryonex was advancing on the spot where Lex had vanished. “He lacked the courage to put everything on the line, and now he’s going to slink back to that wasteland he calls home with a fraction of what he wanted.”
“And it was finally getting to the bangs, too!” oinked the Unspoken, cricket’s legs chirping as he rubbed them against each other. “They were finally going all ‘pew pew!’ and rearranging the landscape and trading one-liners! I wanted more of that!”
“I’m not one for fighting, but if you want a bang that makes the earth move, I can help you out,” purred Kara, giving her hips a shake.
“Night Mare, are you alright with this?” The Sun Queen’s face was one of concern as she went over to the armored goddess. “Kryonex expended a measure of his own godhood to destroy the divinity that Lex Legis was imbued with, but the blessing you gave him wasn’t affected, since it was something he possessed rather than being a part of himself.”
She canted her head toward viewscreen then, and Silhouette wiped the tears of joy from his eyes as he blinked, curious what the goddess meant. Sure enough, when he focused on the image, he could see that the spot where Lex had vanished wasn’t completely empty. Not only was that odd-looking spear still there, but the barbed wire that had been wrapped around his foreleg was also left behind, having fallen to the ground in a heap.
And the icy demigod was headed right for it.
“Now that your champion is gone, we have no reason to keep you from interfering,” continued the sun goddess, her tone apologetic. “You can reclaim the fragment of your divinity within the blessing you gave him, as well as the holy weapon he made in your honor.”
“There’s no need.”
The Sun Queen’s eyes widened at the curt response. “You don’t care that Kryonex is going to confiscate them in an attempt to ameliorate his losses?”
The question earned her a pout from Kara. “Why does everyone forget that I gave him a blessing too?” Placing a hoof to her brow, she leaned back, as though about to swoon. “Like a maiden’s virtue, I gave him part of myself, knowing I could never have it back-”
“And which you don’t value at all,” sneered Blaze, her eyes narrowed in suspicion. “Otherwise you’d send someone else to take it instead of letting that oversized snow cone have it.”
Sticking her tongue out, Kara winked at the war goddess. “What can I say? I’m a goddess of love; it’s my nature to presume that the stallion I’ve chosen won’t let his lady down.”
“What does that mean?” asked the Moon Princess sharply.
“It means,” sighed Soft Whisper, the faintest trace of exasperation in her voice, “that you should all talk less and watch what’s happening more.”
Silhouette felt his heart give a sickening lurch at that. She couldn’t possibly mean...?
Fighting down the surge of anxiety that threatened to swallow him up, he stared at the screen, where Kryonex had reached the tangled length of barbed wire and was reaching toward it...
He’d almost touched it when the twisted metal suddenly lashed out of its own accord, scouring a bloodless gash in the demigod’s leg.
Kryonex seemed surprised by that, his eyes lightening and then darkening in an instant, stumbling backward-
As the length of barbed wire erupted into a frenzy, thrashing out in every direction as though caught in an invisible whirlwind. More horrifying was how the stuff seemed to be growing, the scant inches that it had originally been replaced by feet and feet of wire that continued to wrap around itself, forming larger clusters of tangles that continued to twist and writhe around each other. Those looped back around themselves in turn, and now Silhouette could see that they were forming a larger shape, one that looked...
Like a pony.
A pony with claws and a long, thick tail.
“NO!” His vow not to embarrass his goddess completely forgotten, Silhouette couldn’t stop himself from screaming at the screen. “NO!!! IT CAN’T BE!!!”
A dark laugh came from the Night Mare then. “It can, and it is, because it must.”
And as though in response to her words, a pair of bright green eyes flashed into existence in the two empty sockets in the head of the figure, purple light blazing from their exterior corners.
Silhouette sank down to the ground, all four of his legs feeling as weak as the crippled limb he’d had while serving Luna, staring at the unholy monstrosity whose image was projected in front of him.
It looked as though somepony has constructed a model of Lex made entirely of barbed wire. The dull grey metal – all of it razor edged, tied in jagged knots every few inches – had been wound back on itself in perfect proportion of his frame. Every talon, every tooth, every last inch of his horn; they were all there, but without any coloration or cutie mark; only the blank, featureless glow of his eyes lent any color to the lusterless gray metal that now marked what had to be Lex’s total break from mortality.
It was the single most horrifying thing Silhouette had ever seen. If not for his goddess protecting him from the night terrors that had returned to plague him after Luna’s fall, he was sure he’d have seen that monstrous figure the next time he slept. As it was, he couldn’t help but silently pray for the Moon Princess’s continued protection, feeling himself shake as the dreadful figure looked left and right-
And then the thing that Lex had become opened its jaws and gave a guttural roar, and Silhouette almost fainted on the spot.
Not because of the sound of Lex’s voice, which was now utterly bestial, but because the barbed wire composing his body began to churn.
There was no other word for it. Although his form remained clearly defined, the wire that now made up his substance wasn’t keeping to a fixed position, the length of it instead snaking rapidly along his outline. It was as though someone had used barbed wire to create a life-sized working chainsaw in the shape of Lex Legis.
Somehow, Silhouette managed to tear his eyes away from the abomination in front of him, looking to the Moon Princess in hope that she’d have succor to offer-
But instead, his goddess was staring at the screen just as he had been, eyes wide and mouth hanging open.
The same expression decorated the faces of the rest of the gods, save only for Soft Whisper and the Night Mare, the former staring at the scene grimly while the latter wore a maniacal grin.
“Okay,” gulped the Unspoken, his giraffe’s neck stretching out so he could get a closer look at the screen, “I’ll admit it: that’s wicked cool.”
“Night Mare,” muttered Luminace, one hoof coming up to shakily adjust her monocle as the thing Lex had become scooped up the fallen quill and charged Kryonex, “what have you done?”
“Provided my champion with everything he needs to overcome his enemy,” replied the goddess, the pride in her voice impossible to miss. “And now, he’s finally putting it to use.”
“You provided him with divinity!” hissed the Moon Princess. “And not just the divinity that Siren stole! That deific power he’s using is yours!”
Flaring her wings, the lunar goddess pointed a hoof at her rival. “You didn’t just make him a titan! You made him your avatar!”
The Night Mare’s lip curled at the accusation, not looking away as Lex leaped at Kryonex, the demigod giving ground as he tried to keep his revitalized enemy away from him. But his retreat was cut off as Lex waved one claw – the wire that made up his body rushing faster – and brought down a rain of fiery red rays from the heavens, the beams needle-thin but as numerous as raindrops. Several struck the demigod, and even Silhouette could see Kryonex flinch at each touch, altering the path of his withdrawl-
Just in time for Lex to catch up to him, one wiry claw grasping his leg and immediately digging into it, the exoskeleton splintering under his destructive touch.
Then Lex drove the quill home into his foe’s abdomen.
A second later, the sound of a god screaming in pain came through the viewscreen.
The Night Mare gave a deep laugh at the sound. “I did no such thing. I simply modeled his new mode of existence in the manner I would have were I to create an avatar.”
“That vial of godsblood Adagio Dazzle stole doesn’t have enough power to sustain such a form,” noted the Sun Queen, her voice soft and lacking judgment. “Nor would aristeia alone be a sufficient substitute to make up the difference.”
Luminace sent a suspicious look Kara’s way then, but the love goddess simply shrugged. “Don’t look at me. The only thing I gave him to celebrate his becoming immortal was a good time.”
Blaze burst out laughing at that. “As if you could ever create something that fearsome. Even that bloody little bride of yours is only as spooky as she is because she dared to blaspheme against the Author.”
“That guy’s new form has the Night Mare’s symbol all over it,” agreed the Unspoken. “And I mean literally, all over it! Barbed wire has been her calling card for how long now?”
“Ever since she tried to steal my dominion over the night,” answered the Moon Princess frostily. “And now it seems she’s content to not only undermine the solidarity of our pantheon, but has broken our treaty with the elves as well.”
“I told you before, I abided by the terms of our agreement.”
“And we told you that they won’t overlook things based on a technicality!” shot back Luminace. “There’s no way to miss that Lex Legis is using divinity gained from you! That’s cause enough for them to go to war!”
“Then go throw yourself at the feet of those effete little simps if you’re so afraid of them!” snarled the Night Mare, finally deigning to look Luminace in the eye. “Beg for their indulgence, promise that you’ll be their good little mare, and cry like a coward for them not to hurt you! But I will not defer to them! Not when the alternative is allowing my champion to be cut down while I stand idly, ignoring all of the devotion that he has shown me!”
“You can’t really hold that against her,” drawled Kara, draping herself back over her couch. “It’s the Night Mare’s nature to defy her enemies and reward her faithful. Besides, it’s not like she lied. Lex isn’t a god.”
“No, he’s just a titan in the form of a divine avatar with power akin to a demigod,” scoffed the Moon Princess. “Because that’s so much better.”
She looked ready to say more, but the Sun Queen held a wing up then, giving her sister a gentle look. When the Moon Princess closed her mouth, the solar goddess gave her a grateful smile before turning back to the Night Mare. “As a goddess who never shies away from the truth, no matter how painful it may be or how harsh the consequences, I want to ask you directly. The divinity necessary to turn Lex Legis into a model of your avatar...did it come from you?”
The Night Mare gave the other deity a sidelong look, not answering right away. But eventually she spoke.
“It came from the ponies who worship him. I simply paid the appropriate balance.”
The Unspoken cocked his baboon head. “Which means...?”
“It means, you simpleton, that some of the ponies on that other world have been praying to my champion instead of me. But since he’s my prophet, carrying a blessing that contains a sliver of my own power, any devotion offered to him is mine. In recognition of his accomplishments, I elected to return the balance of what he’s collected on my behalf to him when I raised him to immortality.”
“I see,” replied the Sun Queen after a moment’s consideration, before returning to where she’d been sitting on the raised dais.
Luminance looked between the Sun Queen and the Night Mare, seemingly baffled that her mentor had nothing else to say. “But-”
“For the time being, let’s wait and see how things go,” proposed the Sun Queen. “After all, Kryonex hasn’t lost yet, and if he proves victorious, then all of this will be moot.”
“And if he loses?” asked Blaze, sounding delighted by the prospect.
“He won’t.”
Silhouette’s heart gave a leap at Soft Whisper’s pronouncement, giving the death goddess a look that was as hopeful as the Night Mare’s was baleful. “Don’t speak as if you know anything, you old fool,” snarled the armored alicorn. “None of us can see the future where other gods are concerned.”
“As you yourself noted, Lex Legis is not a god,” murmured the old zebra. “And my nature is to foresee death. And his will arrive soon.”
This time it was the Night Mare who flared her wings out. “You’re lying!”
But Soft Whisper only shook her head. “That was my other reason for asking to be sent to Everglow.”
Silhouette held his breath, anticipating the death goddess’s next words with as much fervor as he would have shown to those of his own deity.
He wasn’t disappointed by what she said next.
“So that I can comfort Lex Legis in his final moments before his soul is destroyed.”
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Ok, that was a subtle variation on a situation I can follow, with enough BOOKS, and quite definitely something Lord Tellis will be extremely proud of, but its also hinting that there is more than one way to have a soul claim destroyed and no longer exist in that form, especially given the prior capabilities and behaviours of Adagio? But did Nenet get any recovery as well given Adagio was freed?
Kryonex is going to be taking the problems of fighting Lex, to the heart now?
11733608 I had to do some serious searching to find out who you were talking about; turns out it's the OC in a Warhammer crossover fic on here (Warhammer not being an RPG which I've put any investment into; D&D and its derivatives is more than enough for me!).
As for Soft Whisper's pronouncement that Lex is going to die (or worse than die, since she's talking about total destruction of his soul), well...that's a lot worse than Spinner's prophecy, but Lex overcame that! Of course, that's not really the same.
As for what he'll do about that, well...it's hard to say, at this point, especially since he doesn't know about the death goddess's prediction. I guess we'll have to wait and see.
Okay, that was really metal, literally! Still, Soft Whisper's words are troubling. Does this mean that Lex will lose to Kyronex or is there some sort of limitation to his current form? Or perhaps, will it be Adagio who does him in with whatever trump card she has? After all, it does fit her to try and take out both Kyronex and Lex at the same time if the opportunity presents itself.
That's one hell of a way to come back but then again death loom once more. I am wondering, when she says that his soul will be destroyed. We know from Slovakna and Lex and his beast that souls can merge practically as if they are one. What if the destruction of his soul just means that it's gonna split. Destruction is just another word for change after all. She is the one who interpreted it as death.
11734332 Lex's new transformation is indeed quite badass. But while he seems to be retaking the initiative after what looked like certain doom, Soft Whisper's prediction makes it sound as though this will be for naught. Given that she's a death goddess, and by her own words foresees the deaths of others, it's kind of hard to say that she's wrong on this one...the only question now, it seems, are when and how it will happen.
11734435 It's possible that Soft Whisper's pronouncement isn't as bad as it appears to be, but she doesn't seem like the type to mince words, especially given that she's a goddess of death. While that might mean that she's interpreting things in light of her divine portfolio, it's just as possible (and perhaps more likely) that she's simply laying things out without any sugarcoating. In which case, Lex isn't going to survive this battle...though exactly how he's done in, and by whom, remains to be seen.
11734772
Hmm,I just realized one little detail that slipped my mind, why does Soft Whisper need to go to Lex instead of waiting for him in the afterlife?
I mean, sure all the death there is relevant to her domain as a goddess of death but it feels like an excuse. A valid one but still an excuse.
She mentioned the destruction of his soul and he was technically erased by Kyronex and yet he returned...or rather a facsimile of him. His soul is destroyed but his mind or maybe a copy of it was not.
If that was the case, then what happened to Nenet and Akna/Solvei whose souls were linked to Lex's soul?
Really hoping my theory is wrong here...
11735007 Some very good questions, there, but for now I'll say only this:
If your soul is destroyed, it doesn't go to any afterlife, since it ceases to exist altogether. The presumption, then, is that if Soft Whisper wants to comfort Lex as his soul is destroyed, she needs to be where he is, i.e. on Everglow, something she can't do herself because of how much power she's lost after having her religion (mostly) stamped out.