“Is that…” Dante began with an unpleasant feeling flooding his body, “How modules are created!? Ugh… I should have known!”

  “What do you mean?” Ezekiel asked.

  “I… had an entire pnet… embedded in my chest… and now… that energy is gone… which means that world is…” If he had a stomach, it would be wrenching.

  “It is not your fault, my friend. Please let us continue this memory, it is almost finished.” Ezekiel assured.

  The memory pyed on. The module was in Xiphos’s hand. He stared at it in awe Inspecting its perfect size and shape. “Ah, not a single fw! Baphomet will be extremely pleased.” He said, looking pleased with the deed.

  Sophitia snorted and closed her eyes, “Will you unbind me now? I did as you asked. It’s not like I am going to run away.”

  “Hum, I think not, my dear. We have more pnets to devour. Remember? Our people need this, and it hurts our enemies too, it’s a win-win for us, remember!? It was what you wanted at one time.” He then turned to some random point in the room, “Celestia, set a course for the next lif-bearing pnet.” The Celestia reacted and closed its mouth.

  “So this is my fate. To be forever attached to this despicable machine?” She seethed, “Come now, Xiphos. I gave you what you wanted. Proof that I can do the job without the seal. No need for me to be attached to this thing anymore.”

  “Yes, well, you also gave away the seal without our saying so! So you see, this is your punishment.”

  “She wanted to be free… and she was going to break out anyway! It had to be done.” She pleaded.

  “That was not either of your decisions to make! You both are our property. If it wasn’t for us, you’d still be inside the God Module for all eternity! That was our deal!”

  She let out a sigh. “Doesn’t matter now. I suppose.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “You’ll see…” she giggled to herself.

  “TELL ME NOW!” Xiphos backhanded her with the module. There was an audible crack from her face with his wicked hand.

  “No…” Ezekiel’s rage built within him. Anger. Confusion. Betrayal. He felt so maniputed. But he didn’t know who to bme. Right now, Xiphos was as good as any. He’d deal with Sophitia some other way, but for now, he pced it all upon Xiphos’s head. “Ozma! Let me go!”

  “Why? What do you pn on doing?”

  “I’m going to break his face!” He screeched.

  “But… brother were you not paying attention!?”

  “It’s not that Oz. They’re destroying worlds! He’s using her, and he must pay for his crimes. We are the protectors of the material realm, are we not!?”

  “Now you want to uphold your duty!? What about before!?”

  “Brother… trust me. We will deal with Sophitia some other way, the Alphin way. But right now. He must pay!” He squirmed but to no avail, he was paralyzed.

  Ozma stayed silent for a moment in thought, then sighed. “As you wish…”

  Ezekiel suddenly appeared behind Xiphos. “You…” he seethed.

  “Where did you come from!?” Xiphos said with surprise as his hand was raised to strike Sophitia again.

  “No more worlds will see this fate! And you will strike her no longer!” A vehement scream echoed from Ezekiel’s mouth.

  With an explosive surge of power, Ezekiel charged toward Xiphos. Energy rippled outward, flooding the bridge with an intense light emanating from his fists. He hurled himself into the air. Ozma seized the moment, bending the flow of time around Ezekiel. Instantly, his speed amplified, his form blurring as his movements quickened to impossible rates. He released his rage upon Xiphos, in a single blow, he cracked him in the face. The force of the blow sent the Demontian from end to end and smmed into the chamber wall.

  He pushed himself up, and dusted himself off, “Sophitia!? What the hell are you doing!?”

  She looked at him, pretending she had no idea what he was saying, “Oh, are you hurt?”

  His eyes bulged, “You…”

  “All part of my pn… hehe,” She smiled deviously.

  He flipped his bde outwards, “I see. Once I am finished with this… lesser creature, you will pay for your betrayal.”

  “Oh, okay. Go ahead, Ezekiel.” She smiled ear to ear.

  Ezekiel wasted no time. He charged towards Xiphos. The Demontian whipped around with his bde to attempt a horizontal severance, but Ezekiel quickly teleported away and behind him. Kicking him in the back. Sending the demon skidding across the floor.

  He smmed his sword down and pushed himself up, “Why exactly are you here, Ezekiel? We destroyed your world. Your ‘love’ isn’t actually on your side. So why bother?”

  “It’s simple. We’re protectors of the material realm. You are an enemy of it. So, therefore, my duty aligns with destroying you. Sophie… will be dealt with some other way. But for now, you are my enemy.”

  “I see… You love your little prison this much, huh? Well, I won’t let you see another day.” He said as he looked into his hand at the module. “It’s time to see what these can do.” He then shoved the module into his chest. To his surprise, it wasn’t as painless as he was expecting, as he lurched forward in agony. “URGH! Sophitia!? What is the meaning of this!? You said it would give me eversting power!” He fell to the ground and writhed in distress. His sword cttered to the floor. Then, he began to disintegrate before their eyes.

  The three of them were left within the chamber. They looked at each other. “Well… that was easy,” Ezekiel said with relief.

  “It’s not over yet…” Sophitia said with wild eyes.

  “What do you mean?”

  “She means… that Xiphos is not destroyed. You might want to stand over here.” Ozma said, pointing to his position.

  “What are you talking about…”

  “I warned you, Zeke, this was not going to be easy. He is transforming himself with the orb. It is called a module. And it grants a massive amount of power. He will not be the same creature when he returns.”

  “Then… maybe we should not be here when he comes back,” Ezekiel suggests.

  “That won’t work. He’ll find us. One way or another.” Ozma replied.

  “So we must fight him.” Ezekiel sighed, “Okay. Where do you see him coming, Oz?”

  “He is close…”

  Ezekiel looked over to Sophitia, but he knew he could no longer trust her. She tried to smile, but she knew, she could not be trusted. It became silent in the room while they waited for Xiphos to return. Awkward silence. No one wanted to say anything anymore.

  Sophitia then let out a loud sigh, “Can one of you let me out of these binds? I could help you know.”

  “Don’t,” Ozma said, catching Ezekiel’s eye.

  “I see… look. I’m sorry for what I did. But, I had to. Okay? I had to do it.”

  Ezekiel shook his head, “No, Sophie, you didn’t have to. If you have as much power as you say you do, then you wouldn’t have to.”

  “I am… bound to them, Zeke, I have to do what they say. This… body. This container is under their control. I sometimes have moments where I can break free, but it’s only temporary. Baphomet has the keys… You must understand…”

  “Can’t say we do, Sophie. We trusted you. Well, at least I did. Until you showed your true colors. Even now I feel myself drawn to you. It’s not natural and it’s not okay. Once this is done. I will take you back with us, but we must face the Alphins that lost their home, due to you. If you want to make amends, then, maybe that’s where we’ll start.”

  “I do want to make amends, Zeke! I promise!” She said excitedly.

  “Then… if we survive this. We’ll go from there. Say no more to me.” Ezekiel turned his back on her.

  Ozma stepped forward, “He’s coming. Get ready, Zeke.”

  “I’m more than ready.”

  At that moment, there was a captivating visual ahead of them. IT swirled around and began to materialize a humanoid body. The creature fell to the ground, sputtering and coughing. But then it realized where it was and what was happening. It was a grotesque sight, the creature stood tall. Big bck wings, the same long protruding horns, and the same snarling fangs. This time, he had a bright blue orb in his chest – the module. The power emanated from his body, dark and foreboding. He was naked from head to toe, which he quickly realized. With a single finger, telling them to wait a moment while he put on his bck armor. It was rather comical. He then grabbed his sword and stood tall with it stabbed into the floor.

  “Xiphos?” Ezekiel finally asked.

  “Yes. I’ve returned. Truth be told, this is quite an exquisite experience. I feel as though even I could destroy a pnet.”

  Silence followed.

  Ezekiel shrugged, “Alright, well, are we going to do this or… what?”

  “Oh, right. We were in the middle of a fight, correct? Yes, let us proceed.” Xiphos said as he summoned away his sword in purple fog and charged toward Ezekiel with tremendous speed. It was unreal. He threw a fist, and it almost connected with Ezekiel’s face if he didn’t dodge it. Then another fist came and caught the side of his cheek. The blow forced his face back and Xiphos followed up with a gut punch, forcing the Alphin away. The crackling force from Xiphos’ blows was extreme if not lethal, but Ezekiel was a tough Alphin. He teleported right back to Xiphos, only to be grabbed by the throat and punched multiple times in the chest and stomach. At this rate, Xiphos would kill him.

  Ozma decided it was time to rewind. Ezekiel was once again standing beside him and Xiphos had not materialized yet.

  “Let me guess…”

  “Yep, you lost. Once again, Zeke, you charge in without thinking. You have me to help, you know.”

  Sophitia looked on, confused, but then she understood. “Oh, I can help too!”

  “Quiet you.” Ozma sneered. “This is our battle. You had your chance with truth, and you blew it!”

  Sophitia shut down.

  Ezekiel shook his head, he wanted so badly for things to be different, but as, it could not be helped. “So what do we do, Oz?”

  “Well, taking him head-on is a bad idea. He’s faster than both of us. But… he’s not invincible. I do see us winning. Only if we work together.”

  “I thought we were!”

  “We are, but you keep charging ahead, not asking for my help or opinion or anything.”

  “I need to ask you!? Can’t you just… give it!?” Ezekiel raged.

  “Patience, brother, if there is anything I’ve learned from becoming a Pendulum Elemental, is utmost patience, except with Sophie. But, you know how that is. Now. He will materialize. He will arm himself. I will cause time to slow down for him and time to speed up for you. But keep in mind, he is still deadly. You will need to use the full extent of your power. You do know the full extent of your power… right?”

  “Well… no…”

  He let out a long ragged sigh, “Okay…” He hung his head. “Okay… so this is going to be even more difficult. You must use the full power of the Celestial Elemental that you were given.”

  “How?”

  “Well, based on what I’ve seen, it will require a severe amount of emotional distress.”

  “But… I am emotionally distressed.”

  “Yes, but it will take more than what we are already feeling. Here he comes. Are you ready?”

  “Alright.”

  Xiphos materialized once again, this time Ezekiel waited for Ozma to slow time down. Instead of giving the demon time to understand what was happening, he began his onsught. He rocketed through the air and smmed Xiphos in the head. The blow pushed him back a little. Ezekiel teleported away to face him.

  “Hehe, such power. Such ability. Grec was it? Yes, he died like the fool he was. Though he took out Boccos, he fell once he faced me!” Xiphos sneered.

  “And then we ripped Phobos’s head off!” He screamed.

  Xiphos then lunged at him with his cymore. Ozma used his ability to rewind so that Ezekiel could react differently. “What!?” Xiphos screamed as Ezekiel disappeared and reappeared behind him, cracking him in the face.

  “Oooh hooo, I see…” he sneered as he gnced over to Ozma in a corner. He wasted no time and darted towards him.

  Ezekiel reacted quickly, teleporting and using his tail to smack Xiphos’s back. But the creature was far too powerful for that. He continued his path to Ozma.

  Ezekiel moved like a storm unleashed, teleporting from one side of Xiphos to the other in fshes of light, his strikes bending space and drawing arcs of energy that shimmered with gravitational distortions. He struck Xiphos from every angle, each hit echoing through the chamber. The Celestia buckled under the force of their cshes.

  Xiphos retaliated but never lost focus on Ozma. Each time forcing him aside. Ezekiel tried his hardest to keep his attention as Ozma moved from one part of the room to another, avoiding Xiphos’s deadly assault.

  Sophitia’s eyes stayed fixed on the battle raging before her, smiling at the sheer force of Ezekiel’s fury, an unstoppable tide.

  Ezekiel roared again, his fists swinging in a series of blindingly fast strikes, a powerful uppercut thrust Xiphos into the air, he then teleported above him and performed a meteor strike back down. The plummet could be felt throughout the Celestia. It groaned in pain.

  Xiphos immediately countered, finally nding a blow on Ezekiel’s arm. The massive gash spewed sand. Ezekiel teleported away knowing full well that the creature was capable of hitting him.

  “I must say, I will enjoy putting an end to you miserable creatures.” He cackled.

  Ezekiel teleported around him but to no avail, he could not find an opening.

  Then–

  “His module…” Sophitia mustered out, “That’s the weakness…”

  “Module?” Ezekiel asked while keeping an eye on his approaching opponent.

  “The orb… in the chest.” she strained. Then she colpsed to the floor.

  “Sophie!?” Ezekiel burned with rage. An intense emotion swept over him as his eyes turned to Xiphos. His sneering face filled him with more and more hatred. That monster has taken just about everything from him.

  Ezekiel felt a well of energy building inside. Uncertain of what it was or where it came from. He then teleported directly in front of Xiphos in an instant, his eyes burning with a white-hot light as he swung with a power that warped space around his fist into a miniature bck hole. His strike connected with Xiphos’s module, and the Demontian staggered, cracks of light spreading across his torso, and synenergy spilled out. Ezekiel didn’t stop there. He poured his fury into a barrage of strikes, each one splintering Xiphos’s chest, like a gss statue shattering under relentless blows. More and more of the synenergy sprayed out.

  Xiphos let out a scream, his chest splintered further as the pure energy leaked into the atmosphere around them and dissipated in wisps of shadow. With a final, earth-shaking blow, Ezekiel struck Xiphos’s face, and the Demontian’s head shattered. Pure energy fragments spttered all around them and dissolved into nothingness.

  “The module… Ezekiel… you must remove it from his body!” Sophitia forced out another line.

  Xiphos fell backward. As he fell, Ezekiel rammed his cw into the creature’s shattered chest. He took hold of the pulsating module and ripped it from the falling body.

  The body was soon to colpse, and the sword cttered to the floor once it dropped from his lifeless cw. He hit the floor and shattered, spreading darkened dust particles in his wake. Nothing but silence in the aftermath remained. Ezekiel stood, his form still glowing with the st remnants of unleashed fury. The module glowed in his cw. He lifted it to his burning eyes.

  “Our entire world… in my clutches…” Ezekiel stared sorrowfully at the orb. Its energy pulsated brightly as though it was still alive. “So much life… contained in this thing. I don’t understand why.”

  Behind him, Ozma and Sophitia stared in awe, silent witnesses to the cosmic force Ezekiel had unleashed—an unstoppable vengeance that had finally brought the Demontian vilin to his end.

  “Zeke…” Sophitia called.

  He turned to her.

  “Wait… Ezekiel… what are you doing?”

  “Worry not brother… I know.” He approached Sophitia, cautiously and stopped.

  Neither moved, the charged silence between them heavy with unspoken words. Ezekiel’s fierce aura began to ebb, his features softening as he took in the sight of her, his rage giving way to a deep, grounding calm. Slowly, his energy dimmed, the glow fading as he sighed, his focus shifting entirely to Sophitia.

  “Why my love… why did you do all this?” He leaned down to her and sat her colpsed body up.

  “I… I had to…”

  “You keep saying that…”

  “I… we… must return home. We don’t belong here my love. I knew you’d become something great… the power within you. It was what I needed for us to be able to separate.” She expined, “I’m sorry that I didn’t tell you. I just… didn’t know if you would have helped me.”

  “If you’d just been honest, I would have still helped you.” Ezekiel said as he stroked her broken face, “That’s all I did was try to help you!”

  “I know… it’s silly.” She hung her head, “I’m silly.”

  “Zeke…” Ozma gred.

  “I know Oz, I know.”

  He stooped down and grabbed Sophitia’s arm. He then teleported away from the machine. As he looked into her crystal eyes. His expression softened further, his eyes meeting hers with a silent understanding, a promise of safety. Only then did she fully approach, and as they closed the space between them, she allowed herself to sink into his embrace. Their arms wrapped around each other, and the storm within him finally settled, repced by the quiet relief of reunion.

  The silent, sentient walls around them pulsed calmly, as if recognizing peace had returned. Ezekiel held her close, allowing himself a moment to let go of the rage and chaos that had gripped him moments before. He stroked her feathery soft obsidian hair and tightened around her. He then gnced to Ozma, nodding his head.

  Ozma then approached, “What should we do with that module, Zeke? It is, after all, our world.”

  Ezekiel kept her hand, “We cannot simply leave it here. You heard Xiphos, they intend on making more of these.”

  “Yeah, we can’t let them have this machine. That’s for sure.”

  “Is there a way to destroy it?” Ezekiel said approaching the ghastly machine.

  “No… it was made by the Demivurgos…” Sophitia admitted.

  “Right… you were inside of it.”

  “Right. And I can’t destroy it either.”

  They gazed at the apparatus in wonder. It was remarkably complex. No imperfections, it was silent, but they could tell it held a magnitude of power far more than they were capable of wielding, it was a pure engineering obscurity.

  “Well, I suppose the only thing we can do is take it back to the Memorandia and have the Alphins figure out what to do with it,” Ozma stated.

  “Yeah, that’s a good idea.” Ezekiel smiled.

  Sophitia looked on with sadness, “I guess that means…”

  “Right. We’ll figure out what to do with you, Sophie. Oz? What do you think will happen?”

  “Well, for now, she will be our prisoner until we can figure it out.”

  “Got it. Okay. Well…”

  Sophitia sighed, “Would it help if I told you… your world is still alive?”

  Ezekiel and Ozma both looked at Sophitia in shock. “Are you certain of this?”

  Sophitia nodded.

  “Well… what are we waiting for!? Let’s go back to where Alpha is supposed to be and get it put back!”

  Sophitia sighed, “It’s not that simple… but I can imagine how you feel. For now, let’s go to the bridge so we can commandeer this ship.”

  Ezekiel nodded, “Yeah, let’s do that.”

  They all agreed and made haste towards the bridge. Sophitia led the way. It was, after all, her home for quite some time.

  “This is quite a vessel, worthy of being the twin of the Memorandia,” Ozma remarked.

  They traversed the long corridors, passing by the many rooms. “This vessel is empty,” Ezekiel commented.

  “Yes, it can run with very few pilots.” Sophitia started.

  “Just like the Memorandia.” Ozma finished.

  They soon entered the bridge. Just like Dante remembered it from before. It was a rge room with a massive area that sealed the eyes of the ship.

  “Here, I’ll open its eyes,” Sophitia said, walking over to a console. “Okay, setting the course to Alpha’s st known location. It won’t take long.”

  Ezekiel looked on impressed, “You sure know your way around.”

  “Yeah, they used to let me move around more freely… after I had first been released from the God Module.” She looked on with sadness.

  “I see… then what happened?”

  “It was Sylvaya that would always bring me around. The other Demontians only saw me as a tool, a weapon, an object. But she… she saw me as something special. I so want them to pay for what they did to her.”

  “What did they do?” Ezekiel asked with concern.

  “They destroyed her, what else?” Ozma blurted out.

  Sophitia hung her head, “Yes…. They destroyed her. That makes the most sense.”

  Ezekiel wanted to comfort her, but, he didn’t trust her anymore. It could all have just been a story she made up. There was nothing more to say. They separated, keeping their eyes on Sophitia at all times. Waiting for the moment for her to doublecross them. When the time came and went, Sophitia stayed alone. She had graciously cooperated. She knew that good behavior bettered her chances.

  It was not a long trip. They quickly reached the st known position of Alpha.

  “We’ve arrived.” She said.

  Ezekiel walked over to the middle of the bridge. ”Hold on to me everyone. I’ll get us out of here.” he said happily. Gathering together, he focused his power. Enveloped by a fsh of light, they disappeared from the Celestia. After the fsh of teleportation faded, they found themselves back on the Memorandia.

  Sophitia, looked onward, unsure if she was to be happy or sad. But she cooperated, and soon they found themselves walking through crowded hallways. Several Alphins looked on. They smiled and waved in recognition.

  She was very excited about the fact that, so many have survived, “It’s amazing you were able to get so many off the pnet.” She said.

  He nodded, a small smile breaking through. “We weren’t about to let everyone go down with it. C’mon, let’s go see the elders. Where are they anyway?”

  “Ezekiel!” An ice elemental came running. “Follow me! The Elders found something, and they’re in need of your direct assistance!”

  “I see…” He said, sullen, he could only guess that they found Myria.

  The Ice Elemental led the way to Nyu’s former chamber, the vast doors giving off mystical energy that prickled at their senses, once again. As they entered, they found all the Elementals and Elders gathered around in a rge circle. They were whispering to each other and looking back at Ezekiel and Sophitia. The reason for the silence soon revealed itself as they opened up a gap for them to step forward. They stood in a circle around a massive bck egg.

  Ezekiel and Sophitia’s eyes went wide. The once beautifully blue egg had transitioned to a dark, pulsing energy that ate shadows from the room.

  “Myria…” Sophitia said under her breath.

  The Elders turned, acknowledging their arrival. They were waiting—waiting for Ezekiel and Ozma to join them. As the egg pulsed, each beat seemed to fill the room with an ominous power.

  Azul spoke, his voice calm but grave. “Mind expining what this is, you two?”

  Ezekiel stepped forward, “This is Myria… Me and Sophitia’s… daughter.”

  A gasp went across the room.

  “How… is this even possible, my son…”

  “Well… I had removed Sophitia’s seal that was pced on her by the Demontians. Turns out that seal is actually an entity. I had pced it in a spatial rift, and it soon became this egg that you see before you.”

  “And what exactly is this going to be, son?”

  He looked at Sophitia, then back to Azul, “I truly don’t know.”

  Ozma stepped forward, “I know, father.”

  “We’re all ears,” Rave spoke up.

  “Myria, this… thing. Is an abomination. Sophitia used us to remove the seal before it broke. Because if it had, it would have consumed her and become a monster of the void. A mindless, cataclysmal being that would have brought our entire realm to the brink of destruction.”

  “Sophie?” Azul said, turning to her.

  “I have nothing to say to any of you,” she said, seething with anger.

  “Sophie!?”

  “Father, I may know of a way to keep this being from emerging into our reality.” Ozma continued, “But it will require all of our power. I do not see us surviving.”

  “What do you mean, son?”

  “This creature, along with Sophitia, must be sent to the sealed realm.”

  “Ozma, do you know how difficult that is? Even with all of us, there is no guarantee of it working!”

  “I have seen it work, father.”

  “Ah… right you have the foresight.”

  “Yes, father. If we gather now. We can all do it.”

  Ezekiel wasn’t sure what to feel, betrayed? Angry? Sad? Stupid? Guilty? So many emotions ran through him. He nudged Ozma.

  Ozma leaned forward, “I saw Myria… she destroyed the entire material realm, everything, and everyone perished, no survivors. Nothingness. You know we can’t let her come to our reality… you know this right? Surely you can see through your love for the entity and see that she cannot exist here.”

  Azul stepped forward, “Ezekiel, my son, as protectors of the material realm, survivors of all the atrocities, surely it would be wise to listen to your brother. Surely you feel it too, the entity within, intense maliciousness within her. We cannot begin to fathom the destructive power of such a being.”

  “But… she’s a part of me and a part of Sophitia. Surely she can be different!? Right!? Oz!?”

  “This event is meant to happen, brother.” Ozma pleaded. “She used us, Zeke… she used you… to release her seal…”

  Ezekiel felt Sophitia’s grip intensify. Something within her snapped. She could bear it no longer.

  With a screech, Sophitia burst from Ezekiel toward Myria, ready to guard it no matter what. But Ozma quickly reacted and stopped her in her tracks, she could do nothing now but watch as the Alphins began their ritual. Her eyes filled with hatred. Ezekiel approached her and looked into her hatred-filled eyes.

  “Sophie… did you know that Myria would become this?” he let down his face in grief, this pained him beyond anything he could ever know.

  Her eyes burned, but she did not answer.

  “Was I… just to be used for this?” His sad eyes looked for hers, but she looked away. He then moved into position and reached out his cw. Ozma joined him. “I thought things would be different… how foolish I am. I’m sorry everyone for the damage I caused.”

  “For now, let us just deal with this… creature.” Azul started firmly.

  Once all Alphins were in pce, the spell was about to be cast, Myria’s immense power threatened to break free, but she was not strong enough. The egg began to crack, and her dark eyes could be seen. She screeched in agony. As though any moment she could consume them. As the spell continued to intensify, a portal was opened, and the egg completely crumbled exposing Myria’s twisted form. Her dark cws reached for Sophitia.

  Sophitia, once unable to move, created a pressurized energy field. It was debilitating to all. As though the surrounding chamber atmosphere grew heavier by the minute. Then Ezekiel sensed her rage building more and more powerfully.

  “Sophie… don’t. Just let it be.” Ezekiel pleaded.

  She then used an immense amount of her power to break free from Ozma’s time hold. She leaped over the Alphins and stood face to face with the dark entity. Following this, she turned to the Alphins, “You all betrayed me. I spent my life with you. Loved you like you loved me. Promised so many things, and then you all abandoned me. I hate all of you. You all deserve this.” She grabbed a hold of Myria and In the blink of an eye, a chain reaction began.

  Ozma caused time to stop.

  All but him and Ezekiel stood together. Ezekiel looked around, he could see that an explosion was happening, meanwhile, Sophitia was in the middle of it all, bsting apart.

  He faced Ozma, “Brother, What… is happening…”

  “I’m sorry Zeke… but it had to be done.” Ozma hung his head in shame.

  “What do you mean?”

  Ozma let out a sigh, “I wasn’t honest with you. You see. I became a Pendulum Elemental much sooner than you thought.”

  “What!? How!?”

  “Nyu recruited me as her subordinate. This event was meant to occur. Time is broken and there is no fixing it, not by us. Now that Myria is sealed away, the time of the Alphins is done. Gone. Finished. I will now return to the Flow of Time with Nyu. My mission has been carried out. Goodbye, my brother.”

  “Wait! Ozma!? What!?”

  The time-stop was released, and in an instant, the Memorandia was obliterated by the explosion. In that final moment, Ezekiel escaped and teleported to the world he created with Sophitia. He didn’t see what happened after the explosion, he could only assume that everything and everyone on that ship was vaporized.

  Standing in the house they made together, his eyes dripping sandy tears, the weight of his actions crushed him. His voice trembled as he whispered into the emptiness, “I’m sorry, my love… I’m sorry it came to this.”

  The loss was unbearable, but he steeled himself, accepting the painful necessity of what he’d done. He pushed himself to his feet and gazed around at the empty house. He was crushed by the sense of how much loss he experienced in such a short period, which would break anyone else.

  Walking out of the empty house, there was no one else around. He was alone, except for a few animals here and there. He went back into his house. As he stood solemnly in the empty house. He almost broke down to cry from the immense emotions he felt. Sophitia was obliterated. Myria was obliterated. His brother double-double-crossed him. His Father and the Elders were obliterated. So much loss. So much destruction. For no apparent reason except some mission that he was left in the dark from. He didn’t know what to do. He dropped to his knees and sandy tears fell, sprinkling on the floor.

  A voice broke through, “Nice pce you’ve got here.”

  He wasn’t sure what to think of the voice, he figured it was some figment of the imagination. He continued to cry until he heard footsteps. So he spun around unsure what to expect. But instead, it was a female with ruby-red hair cd in ethereal cybernetic armor. A bright blue module in her chest glowed profusely, bathed her in a radiant light. She held a massive impervious shield beside her. Her Wings, white as the first snow, stretched behind her. Her Beautiful swirling cerulean eyes locked upon him.

  “Who… are you?” he demanded.

  Before she could respond, another voice echoed from behind him, cold and sullen. “Let’s not waste our time, Mystyrica.”

  He clenched his fist, “who goes there!?” He whipped around to find another angelic being wearing brightly colored robes. Hair was the color of light. Eyes of sadness. Power dripped from her hands. She also bared the module in her chest. It was unmistakable. It was none other than Sylvaya.

  “Who are you and what do you want!?” He screeched, prepared to fight them at any moment.

  “Now, now, my love.” A third woman appeared, bck as night, her face seething with anger, hatred, and resentment. Her module glowed hot. Her ram horns hinted that even with her changes, she was none other than Sophitia. “Is that anyway a prince of an extinct race should address anyone!?” She growled as the Kaleidoscopian sisters surrounded him.

  “Sophie!? You’re… alive!?” His eyes widened. “How can this be!? I saw you… in the explosion…”

  “Hehe. Oh yes, about that. You see. I am not a Demontian. I do not die like them.” She then eyed Mystyrica before she became angry.

  “Of course, my dear sister.” Mystyrica’s eyes gleamed and then locked back onto Ezekiel. “It’s time for you to hand over your amulet.”

  Ezekiel grabbed his amulet, “My amulet? What!? Why would you need that!?”

  Mystyrica let out a sigh, “Well, as it happens. We need it to meld back together.”

  “Yes, your neckce… which broke us. It will put us back together. And then…” Sylvaya’s hands sparked with pure energy. “Then with the other jewels, we can reunite with Myria.”

  “And then… we can rid ourselves of our enemies and this disgusting, intolerable, joke of prison!” Sophitia chuckled maliciously. “We hate this… prison. And we hate those who made this prison. And we hate even more those who imprisoned us. Used us! Made us do things that we didn’t want to do! But… we digress. The amulet. NOW!!!” she screamed with rage as she summoned Xiphos’s massive cymore.

  Ezekiel ached as he realized the depth of her deception. “So. You only wanted… power? Vengeance?”

  Sophitia’s face twisted in a snarl. “What I wanted was to go home! But then you all got in my way! The Alphins, the Demontians, the Demivurgos, this entire prison of a realm! Everything is in my way! You all have used me for your purposes! My hatred cannot begin to be enough for the loathing I have for everything!” she screamed, smming her foot on the ground, causing cracks underneath.

  The bitterness overwhelmed him, Ezekiel lowered his head, extending his hand as though to give in. “Then take it,” he whispered, locking eyes with her. “I hope it brings you what you want.”

  Sophitia reached out with a hungry gleam in her eyes, but in an instant, the neckce vanished from her grasp. Rage contorted her face, and with a roar, she drove her sword into his chest. Ezekiel gasped, his form crumbling into a cascade of sand, leaving nothing but emptiness in the air as darkness fell. But fate wasn’t done with him yet.

  As it would happen, the neckce was able to teleport itself across the universe. Since it was undamaged, he was easily able to resurrect himself. But unfortunately, the Kaleidoscopian sisters were never far behind. Every world he tried to find soce on, was ultimately destroyed. Turned into Modules.

  On a fateful day, as time folded, Ezekiel’s path crossed with another—Dante.

  Awaking in a daze, Dante looked around, confusion clouding his eyes. He felt unanchored, as though he were somehow dispced from himself. His gaze fell on Ezekiel, searching for understanding.

  “What… what happened?” he murmured, struggling to make sense of the emotions swirling around him.

  “Do you understand now?” Ezekiel spoke softly.

  “Vaguely but for the most part, Yes… I do.”

  But I have one big… As he thought for a moment, he gnced around the Den, and a sudden worry crossed Dante’s face. “Wait… where’s Silver?”

  At that moment, the door swung open, and Silver stumbled inside. His arm was encased in a makeshift brace, and bandages wound around his limbs and head. But despite his battered appearance, his eye held a spark of excitement.

  “What happened to you, Silver?” Dante asked, concern etched in his voice.

  Silver grinned, leaning heavily against the doorway. “Oh, you’re not gonna believe this, but I’ve got a story for you.”