Flann doesn't need to say any more. Mataku has gone to the Outer One's realm for whatever purpose, and only I can stop him. After all, nobody else could survive the other dimension. No, some people here could accompany me to this final confrontation.
Asoko and the twins understand my glance and exchange a look with each other before walking over to me. Although they are smiling in self-confidence, I can tell that they're nervous. I appreciate that they aren't quipping about this to encourage themselves and take it in stoic silence.
"Did you think I would let you get away with this?" Suddenly, Shelnir's voice echoes through the core chamber. Everybody looks around in surprise, but I'm sure that she's not really here. There is no doubt in my mind that she was consumed by the Outer One when Mataku gave us a glimpse of his realm. "I predicted that I would die here. And in my death, I shall take this universe with me."
An alarm blares throughout the core chamber, and I exchange a look with Exla and Sintress. They stare back in shock, and I immediately understand that Shelnir must have activated something with her death. I knew that the Guide of Tomorrow was a sore loser, but to think she prepared to get back at us even from the grave.
Our surroundings fold away like a moving kaleidoscope. The seemingly infinite chambers around the core disappear into the distance, leaving only the floor on which the shielding device for the rift stands. Considering Elaine is lying on the floor in a fetal position, I don't think she's the one manipulating it with her imagination. This must be a mechanical phenomenon that requires no mental input.
"She's deactivating the Imagination Engine!" Exla finally realizes the situation and exclaims. For a moment, I worry for all those who rely on it to exist but then remember that this machine is not what allows imagination to turn into reality. It's a limiter that prevents the rules of reality from being overwritten irrevocably. Without it, a person on Earth could destroy the whole planet with an innocent thought.
No, before that, the people of the Rhodos station would be affected. I think back to Nina and Shin and grimace at the thought that shortly after declaring that I would pay them back, their lives could be turned upside down by our actions.
"How do we stop this?" I inquire of the Old Humans. Then I glance at Elaine, the person instrumental in harnessing the Outer One's tear in space for the Imagination Engine. If there's somebody who knows, it should be her. But she's clearly not in a state to think about anything right now.
"I'll get on it." Senka walks over to the puddle of depression that Elaine turned into, but Kerry steps into her path.
"What are you going to do?" They ask, a defiant expression in their eyes. Although they helped fight their mother even to the point of piercing through her body at a relativistic velocity, they don't want to harm her now that she has lost her will to fight.
"I'm only going to get the information we need from her mind and save this universe. That's all." The doll girl says with a seemingly disinterested shrug. But I can tell that she's being cynical. Wasting time on emotions when the stakes are this high shows that Kerry is still a child, but I can't fault them for that.
"It will be alright." But Senka receives help from an unexpected angle. Kamii calls out to the God of Comets while walking over. I heard from her that Senka used some weird technique to speak directly into her mind without drinking her blood. While I wouldn't exactly care if she drank some from Elaine, doing it this way should appease Kerry.
I watch in silence as the God of Comets reluctantly lets Senka pass. The doll girl kneels beside Elaine and grabs her face with both hands. The God of the Sun stares into emptiness, seemingly unaware of her surroundings. While it's not on the level of having her mind broken from seeing a Crawling Chaos, she's in a catatonic state after being shown the limits of her own existence.
Darkness spreads from Senka's pupils across her eyes, reaches her eyelids, and spills onto the surrounding skin, taking a vaguely butterfly-shaped pattern. Something deep inside me stirs as if recognizing her as kin, but I know that the doll girl isn't a Crawling Chaos. Her existence is as unfathomable as I thought myself to be. But now that I know everything about myself, I can tell she's something different altogether.
It only takes her a few seconds before she lets go of Elaine's face and stands up. Something tells me she has bad news for us, and when she turns to me, I know it for a fact.
"Out with it." I demand in a level tone. The tesseract is still folding away into infinity, but I'm certain that it will end very soon and expose the tear in space to the cube-shaped middle section of the Rhodos station. Once that happens, there will be no stopping the effects of the Outer One's dimension.
"Well, it's best everybody evacuates." Senka responds while looking across the faces of our comrades. I can tell from her gaze that she means everybody but those who will head to the other side. "And the colony part of the Rhodos station should detach and leave this place as quickly as possible."
"Is it that bad?" Sintress asks in an anxious tone. She doesn't understand her own technology, but she can tell that letting the Imagination Engine fall here spells disaster for reality itself.
"No time to argue. Do it." The doll girl turns to Exla, the only other person here who knows how to operate Alverost's inventions.
"The exit is right over the edge of this platform." I point behind us where reality seems to have retreated into the far distance. My words seem to hold the most power among everybody here, so I just know that the cube moved to accommodate my statement. "Time to go."
At its current speed, the tesseract will most likely fold itself into the planet-sized cube-shaped center section of the Rhodos station in a few hours at most. When it touches the walls, I assume that means the end of the Imagination Engine's operational limits. Surely, the tear in reality will then expand with no way to stop it.
"What about you?" Aurelia doesn't move and asks with her eyes narrowed. Kamii and Hestia stand behind her, and Tokomaha watches us from a few steps away.
"I'll stop this at its origin." I point at the hole in space that defies perception hovering in the center of the platform. "Don't worry. I'm not going alone."
At those words, Asoko, Uten and Saten, Flann, and Mithra all line up beside me. Beyond this point, only these five will be able to fend for themselves; I won't be able to guarantee anybody else's survival even with my unfathomable powers.
"Exla, I'm counting on you to get everybody out of here." I employ a severe tone, and the cloud girl salutes in silent resolve. But then I lighten up and break out into a self-confident smile directed at everybody. "I'll be right back."
With these words, I head for the hole in reality. But before I can take two steps, somebody grabs my wrist, and I turn to find Kamii holding me back with her new right hand. She looks at me with upturned eyes, silent reproach in her gaze. Hestia, Aurelia, Tokomaha, Tahiri... everybody is the same.
I can tell that they understand the situation. This is a battle they can't help me in, and it frustrates them to no end. I appreciate their feelings, but I won't let them come even if they insist on it.
"You won't let any of us come even if we insist. That's what you must be thinking, right?" Tokomaha says with her arms crossed and her head tilted back. Her expression suggests she's not angry; she will see me off with her blessing. In that regard, she's unexpectedly mature.
"But I will come anyway." Korenga declares, still in her Black God form. In her mind, killing Mataku is the only way she will ever reach redemption. I give her a sad smile, then raise a hand in her direction and undo her transformation with a single thought. She looks at her reverted white skin, then stares at me. "What did you do?"
"It's time to find peace, Korenga. I will finish it for you." I say with unwavering conviction. For a moment, the depowered Black God stares at me with her mouth hanging open. Various emotions flash over her face, going from confusion to anger before finally reaching resignation and sadness.
I have no right to take her revenge from her, and I expected her to rebut me for it. But she seems to have understood my sincere wish for her to leave the violence behind and return to her gentle self from before Mataku ruined her life. When faced with my honest feelings, she can't help but accept. And what's done is done; even if she argued, I wouldn't return her curse. Without it, she can no longer fight at the level required of her at this point.
When my gaze moves onto Hestia, she quickly shakes her head and folds her wings behind her back. As I am now, I could return her wings to their pure white state before my corruption. But I'm not so insensitive to do that to her. She takes pride in being stained in my color, and it doesn't cause her any problems, unlike Korenga's curse.
"You will return." That's all Aurelia says to me, not a hint of doubt in her eyes. It's more than an expression of trust. Her tone suggests that it's an absolute order from the Golden Queen. It brings a smile to my lips.
"Of course, my queen." I bow exaggeratedly, causing her to sniff in scorn. I can tell that she's angry at herself for being so powerless, but she would never admit it openly. And she would certainly not accept if I told her to stay away because she could prove an impediment in our upcoming otherworldly battle.
"There's no question that you will come out victorious as you always have." Tahiri is obviously suppressing a similar feeling inside her when she declares with an unquestioning gaze. Her rainbow-colored irises reveal that she felt quite powerless in the mind-boggling battle earlier. She has yet to fully overcome the shock from nearly dying to the Collective in her depowered mode, but I can tell that this won't keep her down for long.
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"As I always will." I nod at her, eliciting a chuckle that blows away all her anxieties. Seeing me like this fills her with confidence.
"The longer you drag this out, the more death flags you're raising, Makoto." Senka interjects before I can address Rolan and his party next. I narrow my eyes at her choice of words but then grin with unwavering self-confidence.
"Bring it. I will cut them all down." Balling my fist, I assert to nobody in particular. Out of everybody here, only Senka and Exla understand what we're talking about, but their expressions show that they believe in whatever it is I'm declaring. "But yes, we don't know how much time we have left, so we better get going."
"Chloe..." Rolan calls out to me but can't bring himself to continue speaking.
"You did well and fulfilled your part splendidly. You are forgiven." I turn to him with a slightly annoyed look and announce, causing him to blink in surprise. Resolving this issue now certainly seems like a huge death flag, but I don't care. Senka's furrowed brow shows that she felt that as much as I did. "Now go."
Finally, everybody starts to move. Everybody except for my beloved girls. Kamii is still holding onto my wrist with her shaky grip, silent but persistent. It feels like a great parting, but I haven't given her any last words.
"Wait for me. I will be back very soon." I caress the little dark elf's cheek with my free hand. Then I gently place a hand on hers, and she understands that it's time to let go.
"Death flags." She points at my face, causing me to blink in surprise. Senka or Exla must have taught her the meaning of that word at some point. Then, a wry smile breaks out on Kamii's face, and she looks into my eyes with her amethyst galaxies. "Promise to come back, Mahkotoh."
"Who do you think I am?" Crossing my arms, I give her my most confident grin yet. "I'll come back with some souvenirs from the other side."
Finally, I step away and turn to the hole in reality in front of which my kin are waiting. Asoko's expression shows that she would have wanted to have such a heart-to-heart with the girls she left behind on Earth before embarking on this endeavor. But since she's a little more simple-minded, I can tell that she gets over it quickly when she sees my expression.
Uten and Saten innocently follow me wherever I go, even if it's into the literal belly of the beast. I have no doubts that they will be able to hold their own in the realm of the Outer One, though. They possess a childlike imagination that my more jaded older self has lost in some parts.
Flann is expressionless as always, but I can tell that she's anxious. This is what her father worked toward; what she was created for. The future beyond this point is uncertain. I will make sure to give her a normal life once this is over.
And Mithra's bandaged face doesn't give away his thoughts. It's the moment of truth for him: He manipulated the universe toward this point. If we succeed, he will be free from the Outer One. It's hard for me to tell whether or not that's a good thing, but as long as he doesn't turn on me afterward, everything should be alright.
Without looking back, I lead the way into the tear in space.
Unlike when Mataku transported us to the other side through the Imagination Engine, the actual transition is far more violent and mind-bending. Although I've seen various depictions of wormholes in fiction, the real deal is quite different.
The core chamber floor and the people watching our departure distort, and our surroundings turn inside out. Light itself bends around, warping our perspectives of ourselves. I have a feeling I see my entire body spread out on a two-dimensional plane before me. But that's soon replaced by tugging on my physical form.
It's worse than my first teleportation in this world. Back then, I lacked control, so when my body was getting pulled apart from all sides, I had no means of fighting it. Or that's what I thought all this time. But even with my freely fluctuating density and toughness, the sensation remains the same.
At one point, it begins to feel like the universe is turning me inside out as well, and I glimpse a new truth to the Outer One's realm. Every last particle of my being is shaking, moving about against my will as if taken hold of by a different consciousness. Perhaps that's actually the case.
Finally, we reach our destination: Empty space with the vastness of the universe as a backdrop. Asoko and the twins appear to have had the same experience as I did, taking deep breaths of the vacuum to calm their minds. Flann and Mithra seem wholly unperturbed, but that may just be how they tick.
My Chaos senses appear to have shut down in this realm. All I can see through them is the same as with my naked eyes. But then I realize that all the lights in this universe are alive. This is the Outer One, an infinitely vast living being encompassing this entire dimension.
"Where is Mataku?" I turn to the father and daughter pair of gatekeepers. As if the person in question heard me, space a short distance away from us warps.
"I have been waiting for you." The suit-wearing Primordial Terror forms from the stars themselves as if they were closer than the perspective lets on. "It has been a while, sister."
I narrow my eyes, slightly confused by his wording. But then I realize that time must flow differently here, if at all. It could have been seconds or centuries since he left us in the core chamber. His choice must be the longer one then.
"What have you been doing here all this time? Look at the stars until you became a part of them?" I quip while glancing around. Even if this is a realm of raw possibilities, he certainly doesn't seem to have created anything to make this place livable.
"It would appear that Mithra has told you nothing of my plan." Mataku gestures at the court magician and shrugs. Then he raises his palms in a pose signaling his grandeur. "I have taken over father."
I blink my eyes, unable to grasp what he just said. But then, the universe begins to move, swirling around us in a dizzying display of cosmic power. Although reference points in open space are few and far between, I can tell that it's not us moving, unlike what Elaine did in the core chamber.
"You came in time before I lost interest in your mortal dimension." The Primordial Terror remarks with a sardonic grin. He still looks like the old Mataku, but his atmosphere has changed. I'm starting to believe that he has somehow assimilated the Outer One and gained his powers. "Now I remember what I wanted to do."
With these words, the universe stops, and we float above the Earth. This is still the other side, but I can instinctively tell that this is also the real Earth. From our vantage point, I can see the land on which Tokomaha stood to push back the Moon when it fell. The continent itself has cracked, and entire mountain ranges have been flattened in the wake of her divine deed.
"How should I eat it?" Mataku wonders as if talking about a snack. He extends a hand toward Earth and grasps at it, and I flinch in shock. But I'm baffled to see that the entire planet suddenly rests in his palm like an apple. "Just biting into it would feel... unceremonial. After all, it was my home for most of my life. Even if my memory will fade in the eternities to come, it deserves more right now."
I can only stare at the ease at which Mataku considers things on a cosmic scale. Compared to how he casually holds the Earth now, Tokomaha's desperate struggle seems laughable. So this is the true power of the Outer One.
"This isn't real, sister." Asoko suddenly says while the Primordial Terror produces a spoon from his sleeve. It causes him to look up from his would-be meal for a moment before peering down again and finding that the Earth has disappeared from his grasp. Instead, it is now floating between my other half's palms. "Anything is possible in here, but if that were the case, the Outer One would have already consumed our universe the moment the tear in space was opened."
For a moment, I want to commend Asoko for bringing this detail to my attention. Flann told me that her father is called a gatekeeper because he allows the Outer One to send through fragments to consume the worlds on the other side. If Mataku indeed became the Outer One, he can't pass through the tear in space anymore. But before I can comment on it, Mithra chimes in.
"Everything in this realm is real. If the Outer One had a consciousness to do so, he would have entered the mortal dimension you came from." The gatekeeper explains in an emotionless tone.
"Only a consciousness gives meaning to possibility. Without it, all the Outer One could do was languish in infinite potential." Flann adds to her father's explanation.
"That's the gist of it." Mataku reaches out toward Asoko and takes the Earth from her even though they're at least ten meters apart. But I understand that in this space, logic has no meaning. "Once I have disposed of you, my mind will fade into infinity eventually. Until then, I will enjoy these powers to their fullest."
"What do you mean?" I ask quickly to stop Mataku from sinking his spoon into the planet in his grasp.
"All I wanted was my freedom. I fought to avoid being reabsorbed into our parent's womb." The Primordial Terror says while swinging his spoon like a conductor's baton. It almost sounds like he's reciting a pre-recorded statement rather than speaking naturally. "And I won. But the cost was that I would become our parent either way. Soon, I will stop dreaming. My will shall cease. Eternity is existence without living."
One part of me wants to say that it's good riddance if Mataku stops having his own will. After all, he's the type to kill and destroy out of fun, and with the powers of the Outer One, he could do so at a dimensional scale. But something tells me he would take down a universe or two before then if he decided he didn't want to fade into oblivion unremembered.
"Why do you think you have to honor your home by eating it?" I extend a hand toward Mataku and take the spoon out of his hand before he can sink it into the Earth's crust. I employed the same trickery of perspective that both he and Asoko used earlier as if it were the most natural thing for me to do.
"That way, it will become a part of me for eternity." The Primordial Terror responds and produces another spoon from within the space between his fingers. If I were in his position, I would have been annoyed by the constant interruptions, but somebody who has infinity to look forward to appears to have the patience to match.
"I would rather it remains where it is. Go exist in eternity on your own." I take the Earth out of his hand and send it on its way around the Sun before putting myself between them and his vision. With a thought from me, it disappears from this dimension and returns where it belongs. "As long as I live, you will keep your hands off my world."
"You are right." Mataku responds with a sigh, and I narrow my eyes. I can't see him agreeing so easily, but perhaps becoming the Outer One has changed his perspective on things. Then he continues. "I will have to eat you first then, sister."
"Bring it on." Asoko pumps her fist with a grin and readies herself for battle.
"You will not harm our mother." Uten and Saten declare in unison and glare at the Primordial Terror.
"There will be no harm done. All of you will merely return to being part of us." With these words, Mataku melts into the universe behind him as if it were the surface of a pool. Then, the entire field of stars begins to move, just like the Outer One did earlier when called to consume Shelnir's soul. "Struggle beautifully, my kin, for this is the final chapter of all our lives."
"Not if I have something to say about it." I grumble and extend my consciousness outward. In this infinite space within Mataku, I can tell that not only the galaxies before us are moving, but the entire universe is coming together to swallow us. "Stay together, everyone."
"I'm not sure where to start." Asoko looks around, commenting on the futility of fighting an entire dimension with the six of us.
"I shall make sure that the border between you and the Outer One remains stable. But that is all I can do." As if having read Asoko's thoughts, Mithra declares in an emotionless tone belying the severity of the situation. A moment later, he vanishes in a vortex, and I furrow my brow. Did he want to do that, or was he erased by Mataku? Then his voice echoes in my head, and judging by the reactions of Asoko and the twins, in theirs as well. "Fight to your heart's content."
I will have to trust that he's speaking the truth. That means he has alleviated my biggest fear of getting absorbed in an instant by this infinite being that Mataku has become. Now, we only need to find a way to actually fight him.
"What about you, Flann?" I turn to my half-sister, who seems like an observer right now. Even her father is doing something to reach his final goal of being freed from the Outer One's influence, so I expect her to lend us a hand.
"I will fight with you, sister." Flann looks at me and nods, a rare display of genuine emotions on her face. She's filled with determination to end this fate her father has given her. Only after we put an end to this can she begin to live.
"Can you do what your father is doing right now, too?" Looking into Flann's green eyes, I inquire of her in all seriousness. She merely nods in response, showing no hint of doubts in her own abilities. That's all I need to know, and I turn to the others. "Asoko, Uten, Saten. It's time."