The atmosphere became thick with tension. Senon, who for some inexplicable reason felt nothing but fear when the butterfly landed on her shoulder, was frozen in her spot. She neither breathed nor blinked, and even her gaze was frozen in its direction, not moving from Ain's features.

And speaking of Ain's features, he looked cool, calm and collected, and yet, despite all that, there was an aura of defiance to him.

"Master..." Senon whispered, sensing the electrical charge in the air. Not a figurative one either. The air literally sparked with electricity. The heavy oppressive aura only became heavier when Ain fully released his breath, and the great excidioturgic engine within his Source began to rotate malevolently, conceiving and crushing Concepts into nothingness.

The first pulse of Ain's heartbeat echoed, but not with sound. The shockwave that passed through the area shook the ground, and even the diamond-hard dirt cracked underneath Ain. Still, there was no sound, only the sensation of pressure.

"It is brave of you to defy Me," the voice spoke as the butterfly launched off Senon's shoulder, coming to motionlessly hover in mid-air as if suspended by some invisible force.

"You cannot have her," Ain said coldly.

Sensing the imminent battle, Senon's stance widened, and her long slender fingers wrapped around the hilt of her sword.

"Don't," Ain said, tone commanding. Senon froze for a moment, but then relaxed. She did not understand why, and it was equally likely that she would not believe the explanation either. Senon herself could not sense any sort of power or force from the butterfly, which confused her greatly because she never saw Ain like this before.

Like he was preparing himself to die.

"If you so desire," the voice came once more from the ether, "I can give you the power instead; then, you would have the hope of slaying Me."

"No thanks," Ain said. "You won't deceive me like You deceived Exia."

Senon blinked. Exia? It couldn't be that Exia?

"Foolish creature," the voice replied. "I did not deceive Exia. He came to Me, looking for the power to overcome his greatest rival: You."

Ain stumbled backwards. The words were as much a physical blow to his form, as they were a mental one. And that was not figuratively a blow either - with each word, the psychic power that came from the butterfly battered Ain's mind, and threatened to tear it to pieces. Normally, this would not be a huge problem, but as he was dedicating most of his power to protecting Senon's mind, his was left vulnerable.

"What are you saying?" Ain asked, rivulets of blood beginning to pour from the corners of his lips. With just a few sentences, the butterfly had crushed his organs. The cause was invisible to Senon - even to Ain as well, but at least he knew the cause. It was related to the identity of the butterfly; just being in its presence was enough to kill mortals. To receive its words was simply begging for death.

"While you were out in the Planes, earning the name Ain the Conqueror, those you left behind suffered in the shadow of your exploits. Those who went to follow you perished, and those that hoped to be like you were crushed by reality," the voice spoke. "That is why Exia came to Me."

"To defeat me?" Ain asked, barely managing to remain standing on his feet. Despite all his defiance, there was no hope of defeating this creature. All thoughts of aggression and violence slowly evaporated.

"To be your equal," the voice replied, and it was thankfully a short reply.

"Sae Tir Idona," Ain muttered under his breath, pressing his palm against his chest. The magical circle flashed once, too fast for Senon's reaction time to even notice, and then Ain exhaled softly. And then he winced, and his eyes became wide. He could not repair the damage to his organs, even with Self Resurrection.

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"What is the matter, mortal?" the voice asked. "You do understand that I am Perdition, do you not?"

Ain could no longer remain standing, and he fell to his knees. Senon rushed to his side, and deciding not to heed his earlier command, drew her sword at the butterfly. "What did you do? Show yourself! I will be your opponent!"

Ain wanted to tell her to run, but when he opened his mouth to speak, all he could do was vomit blood on his own knees - and Senon's.

The butterfly flew in loops before landing on the hilt of Senon's sword. Senon remained calm, and did not make a move - mostly because she thought the butterfly was actually harmless, and that the real villain behind Ain's invisible injuries was also invisible. Or something. But it couldn't possibly be the butterfly, or so Senon thought. Senon had seen summoners before, and things like Pit Fiends; for all she knew, the butterfly was just a familiar of some sort, and not the one truly harming Ain. Therefore, she remained obliviously alert to anything and everything in the empty space before her.

Of course, Senon could not know that when the butterfly called itself Perdition, it meant that it was the Principle of Perdition itself. Senon also could not know that this Plane they were on was related to Perdition. Furthermore, Senon, for whatever naive reason, thought that she could somehow help Ain, disregarding the fact that she would stand no chance against anything that could so much as make Ain blink.

Ain originally intended to leave Senon here, with an Idol who could teach her more about Desolation, but Ain made a critical mistake. He assumed three things, all of which were wrong: First, Axiom was not dead, despite the rumors -- because that would be a feat no one in this current Era could achieve. Second, running into Perdition was less likely than running into the Lost Pillar of Hope. Last but not least, Senon would have the good sense to know when to run away.

The first assumption, sure, he miscalculated gravely. But in his defense, only the Calamity Lord, in this Era, could slay Axiom. However, considering that it was the Calamity Lord who sealed Perdition, and assigned Axiom to guard the prison, it was unthinkable that the Calamity Lord did the deed. However, Ain was suddenly and, rather rudely, reminded of the fact that the Goblin Def even showed Ain a piece of the prison. It was just one seal, and it was not completely unbelievable that one would come off, but back then, Ain should've assumed the worst case scenario.

The second and third assumption were completely out of his control, and he would refuse to take responsibility for them. That was just bad luck. However, if he knew that it was Senon imagining building a house, and spending eternity here with her master, which summoned Perdition, Ain would be furious. And he'd have to take responsibility, because he should've known better.

"Become My Fragment," the voice spoke. "Then you will have the power to do whatever you wish. You love him, don't you?"

Senon was about to outright refuse, but the question took her off-guard. She blushed, and then cleared her throat.

Her determination to refuse did not change, but the voice spoke again. "If you become Mine, you can take his love by force. Nothing would be impossible. That dream of yours, even, could become true."

Senon's eyes widened, and a crooked half-smile appeared on her lips. For the following few moments, she actually carefully considered the pros and cons of the offer.

Ain reached out with a hand to grab Senon's shoulder, but his body would not obey his will beyond the initial command. He just wanted to tell her to run. In any way he could. But he was dying. That was not a figurative death either. His organs were crushed. If at the very least he did not burn out half his Circuits, back then when he created Atatreia in Senon's Source, he might have more options now.

His options were limited. He still had Eternal Suffering attached to his Source, but the Spirit was asleep, and could not be woken. For some reason, it became attached to Ain on a fundamental level.

He could try awakening Avarice, but that was likely overkill, and by overkill he meant that the only ones dying would be him and Senon. Then there was Senon's sword -- Ataraxia. That was likely the only option.

The butterfly rose to hover in mid-air again, its blackening wings spread wide open, as if ready to triumphantly receive Senon's acceptance.

The air shimmered behind the butterfly, and the form of two green-skinned, ugly looking creatures appeared.

"Ha, it work! Def told you so," one of them shouted, turning towards Ain.

Def spotted the butterfly, and without a second thought, smashed it in his hands with enough force to blow off the wings. "Eww," Def grumbled. "Def hate bugs."

The oppressive atmosphere instantly lifted.

Senon was furious.

Def smeared the remains of the butterfly against Troma's shirt, expression disgusted. "Stupid rainbow glitter won't come off."

Troma released a disgruntled moan in lieu of verbal complaint.

Ain proceeded to vomit a liter of blood, or so, and then passed out.

"Fak," Def grumbled, seeing Ain's unconscious, nearly-dead form. "First wife give Master demon herpes or something."

"Perfect," Troma spat sarcastically and rolled his eyes. "Troma will be unemployed again. This will look great on resume." A single tear rolled down the ugly topography of his cheek.