[467th Return!]
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[Equi's POV!]
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10 kilometers away from the Coast City, I looked at the city that was becoming the center of the end of the world. My eyes looked deep into the black threads that kept swirling around the city, creating a storm of fates that was slowly consuming all destinies, rewriting them all over again.
"Is this the end of the world? So, the one who won in the end was Laplace?" I felt betrayed. I thought the world would continue for a long while. The Enchantress did say that she will create the one who will protect everything in this world.
Though now that I see it… I wonder what she meant by 'our world' back then?
"Not a beautiful view, I must say," a voice came from my left. My head slowly turned to him as I observed him. His calm face as he smiled at the destruction of the world.
"Are you here to ask me for help? I must say that I can't do anything about this," I answered him as I already knew that he was going to meet me. His thread of fate was connected to me. Previously I wondered what could possibly be the reason for him to meet me now of all the times.
But thinking about it, it was pretty obvious. Either he was going to ask me for help in passing through this storm, or he was trying to ask me to stop this. Both are rather stupid requests.
"I don't know about that. If I were to ask you to delay the opening of the portal, will you be able to do it?" He asked, making me confused as I observed his face.
"What do you mean? What portal?" I asked.
"That one," he pointed at the giant portal from where Laplace entered a few minutes ago.
"But it is-" I was about to speak, but he interrupted me.
"Already open? I know. But I am asking if it were not open, and you knew where it would be opening from, can you delay it?" He asked, making me narrow my eyes at him. From his expression, I can't tell if he was serious or was just joking about it.
'He doesn't seem worried at all,' I thought as I saw him smiling, waiting for my answer.
"I can't. I don't have the powers that I used to have," I told him honestly. Without my powers, I am just a weak goddess who could do some tiny miracles in the mortal world. But to stop a dimensional portal from opening? That's impossible in my current state.
"What if you have this?" He asked as he passed me something. Touching it with my hands, my eyes opened up wide. It was my [Chalice of Equilibrium!], the one because of which I came to this city.
'So he had this?!' My eyes widened as I looked at him before he asked again,
"Tell me, Equi. If you had this. Would you be able to delay the portal's opening?"
His smile slowly vanished as a serious expression covered his entire face. Even though this was the first time I had met him, it felt like I had known him for ages. It's as if he was someone who was really close to me.
"Who… are you?" I asked as I looked at him, to which he didn't give me an answer. He simply waited for me to answer, while I slowly looked back at the [Chalice of Equilibrium!]. My eyes flickered for a moment as I looked at the amount of energy it had.
"Yes. I can delay it by about 3 days," I spoke the truth. And then it was my turn to ask questions.
"You can go back in time, right? Can you stop this? Can you prevent the ending of the world?" I asked, as I figured out some of his powers. The power to return back in time. It's a rather rule bending power… but I guess he too is a fate weaver.
"That is something I must do. I haven't explored this world yet," he smiled as he looked at the portal slowly consuming the entire world. I could feel Luciana slowly beginning to use her real powers, though Laplace's [Commands!] were interrupting her.
Perhaps if she had used her powers a few minutes ago, they might have won. But now, Laplace has everything in control.
The storm of fates turned into a giant tornado that started shattering the fabrics of reality. I observed it with my eyes peeled, looking at every aspect, as it destroyed everything in its presence.
"HAHAHAHAH FINALLY! THIS WORLD IS FINALLY DONE FOR! YOU FILTHY PRIMORDIALS WHO THINK OF THIS AS A GAME!!! ARE YOU SATISFIED NOW! ARE YOU FUCKING SATISFIED NOW?!!!!"
I heard the agonizing cries of Laplace. He should sound happy, but all I could hear was the pain in his voice. It's as if he was extremely tired of his life. And now that everything is over, it's as if he was regretting every choice that he had made until now.
'Ah! I remember now.. the fate weaver of calamity… so that kid was Laplace, huh? Oh fates… why are you so cruel?' I recalled a certain memory of a young devil kid who wanted to make the demon race equal to everyone.
I wondered where did that kid go? What has the world done to that kid? Why does the world always….
My eyes then turned to the guy who was sharing the same view with me. He wasn't smiling anymore. He looked at the storm, too. This time, with pity in his eyes.
"Are you sure you can prevent… this?" I asked him. And turning to me, he smiled again as he spoke.
"I told you, didn't I? This is something I must do. Though I was wondering… just what is the story behind Laplace… I guess I would need to visit the dark continent in the future."
"Wha…?" I was confused as I looked into his genuine eyes.
But before I could speak anything… the world was consumed with darkness.
And with it, everything ended.
Such an anticlimactic end.
Really.