In the dark azure emptiness of space, with primordial dust giving life to the cold scenery, this endless void was filled with rank after rank of heroes from all walks of life. Be it in shiny armor or boldly unprotected, they range in shapes and forms, with the only unison tying them all together being their wish to protect their home world from the intrusive existence of the goddess of inexistence: Yuu. Neither she nor they were in the wrong as all had the right to live, but when two reactive chemicals are mixed, an explosion is one of the known reactions…

The champions quickly formed many regiments as creatures of all kinds filled the ranks in an orderly fashion. None acted for glory nor riches; they understood that they were likely to die and never be seen again. As such, they knew very well they had to take the post that was best fitted for them; taking a role that they couldn’t handle would only reward them with death.

Far in the celestial veil, a being of imposing size opened its eye, and at that moment, the many galaxies painted in the distance were hidden by the radiance of this giant who planned to guide the brave warriors with its endless vision.

Tsuki felt the imposing might of the army in front of her and the words Yuu told her kept ringing in her mind endlessly. If she wanted to save Alice, she would have to be able to face this deific might...It was impossible she thought. She was born as a simple shepherd and then lived the rest of her life taking care of a sick girl. There was no way she could fight this; she wasn’t born anyone special and lacked any ambition.

Just before she was able to let panic control her mind again, Yuu brushed her head delicately and created a dark globe around Tsuki which reflected any probe from the outside. She was thus practically invisible to anyone.

In that instant of contact with the spirit, Tsuki felt an impossible coldness enter her back when Yuu pushed her inside the globe. It felt as if her spine was frozen and about to snap. “Her name’s Fi,” said Yuu who touched the snowflake tattoos on her right arm. “She’s a pure spirit as opposed to me. A bit weird but helpful… Take care of yourself.”

Yuu spread out her wings which started to look more like bloody vines spreading in the void of space before inscribing strange runes on the ball Tsuki was stuck inside. She was planning to teleport the girl back to where she was a moment ago. As for herself…escaping her jail cursed her with an endless war. She never wanted this kind of life, but her dream required her to fight.

The spirit’s power was let loose as all color was drained to a washed-out monochrome. The Heroes tried to ready large shield arrays that overlapped with one another, but a green beast appeared behind their rank as if it had always been there and slashed at them with a gnarly talon. Those hits were painted green and had that color fused with their monochrome body which then spread out like vines, by pulling and tearing their flesh, until they fully morphed into sticky vines. Like hungry snakes, the vines devoured the closest warrior that had yet to be painted green.

Chaos took hold of this large army in an instant as their center was being ripped apart by twisting vines. They had to deal with them, and did so, by creating burning sun which consumed friends and foes alike. But Yuu, who had planned for this chaos, took this chance to appear by their flank where she created a powerful black hole. It pulled and tore the flesh of those who tried to run away from the vines. In response, the being in the far confines of space whose eye was many galaxies in size, anchored every single cell of the brave heroes so they wouldn’t be eaten by the insane gravitational pull of the black hole.

A battalion of mages, all so powerful they were called gods in their own worlds, sent strings of concentrated energy, prima materia, and nothing else, which lacked any mass, into the all-consuming vortex which dissipated it in an instant, revealing the spirit inside. Yuu was ready for this protection to disappear but didn’t expect it to be so fast. She wanted to use the fact that her foes were anchored in place to record everyone’s position in space and teleport the matter her black hole would have absorbed in said position – effectively avoiding their protective spells. But now she only had 1/20 of the heroes’ position and with so little collected matters that she could only kill half of them.

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Yuu mutilated those unlucky legends with no other choice by teleporting complex balls inside of them. Those who were large enough were able to feel the external layer of the ball reacting with the heat of their body which caused an explosion, small and insignificant, but able to put pressure and energy on what was inside the sphere. Only ten warriors were large enough to see what happened to the ball inside of them as it produced an atomic explosion, killing many in the surrounding area.

The shockwave was incredible and atomized many in the process. But the number of victims was relatively low. Even if the explosions killed millions, they were just a fraction of what existed, and the dead were replaced by a constant flow of reinforcement. Yuu had yet to make a real dent in the army, the only way for her to avoid useless confrontation was by dealing a mortal strike. She could dance for eternity in this bloodbath constantly filled with reinforcement, but she hated the idea of killing innocent people. As such, she brushed her hand toward the imposing army, a simple action that created ripples that no one was able to block.

Everyone who was touched by those chilling ripples was taken by the greatest fear imaginable. The one they were fighting had finally put on her mantle of inexistence that they feared vehemently. As the void of space became filled with all kinds of desperate spells, the lone spirit in the center stage took a heavy breath and looked at the lot in front of her. Those that loved, those that hated, those that cried…With tears in her eyes, she looked at the lot who lived and said a simple “Sorry,” that none really heard… And did the worst sin imaginable…

In that instant, a universe worth of living organisms disappeared. They didn’t simply die, they ceased to exist. All of the memories linked with them disappeared as if they never existed. Books turned empty and portraits had their colors washed off. Everything that proved they existed was consumed in that one instant by the worst evil to have lived. The only thing that remained of them was that they had disappeared such that those who came upon the possession of those lost souls would know that something terrible was amiss. And everyone who was looking at those brave heroes jumping into the maws of death in the hope to protect their loved ones now only knew that people that should have been fighting were now gone.

Even if someone was to die, they would still continue to exist one way or another. It was simply because of the law of Existence. But this witch had a way to break this law, and no one knew how.

Because of her actions, many children would wake up and see something out of place, something that was owned by their now inexistent parents. Knowing that someone should have existed but not be able to remember them, they would turn to old stories of a witch of inexistence and turn their sadness to hate. An endless war they couldn’t win; a war that even their new nemesis despised as she was forced to be the worst villain because of her own weakness.

Tsuki was pulled out of this world, now turned desolate, while seeing in the last moment, a lonely spirit crying in the void of space.

❀

Tsuki was returned to the place with acid rain. On the ground, laid the hunter fell by the small catactive who held in its burned paws a blazing rod. He understood that those things’ weakness was heat and managed to kill both abominations in his rage. With a missing ear, burned whiskers, a broken tail, and deep wounds, he still managed to move towards Tsuki, the bodies of the three others dragging behind. His eyes were red but resolute as he kneeled in front of the girl and gave his allegiance in exchange for a chance to kill the doll with its own paws.

The girl looked at him deeply and a vicious idea appeared in her mind: the one she had to defeat was too strong for her…but what would happen if she led an army, like the one she just saw - and remembered. This small cat was bloodthirsty and was also after the same foe. She could possibly use his inquisitive mind to her advantage…

“Serve me well,” said the girl with a commanding voice contrasting her age. “And you will have your vengeance one day. You will act as my adjutant until a more fitting role presents itself.”

“I shall do my utmost to serve you,” responded the small animal.

When all was said, with the hunter and the hound dead, their world started to melt until they were alone in the misty forest of dreams.