Prologue:

Vivian daintily plucked another flower, tugging it free of the ground with ease. She dropped the pure white Starlight Lily into her basket, scampering over to the next flower. There was an endless supply, even at the edge of the forest, and Vivian continued dumping flowers into her basket. "Vivi! Have you collected anything poisonous yet?"

  Vivian turned to her mom's voice, and checked her basket. Quickly, she plucked out a few polished black-petaled flowers, dumping them on the ground. "No!"

  Apparently a satisfactory answer, Vivian didn't get another call, and she continued plucking flowers. The trees grew tall around her, a verdant green canopy shading the entirety of the forest floor. A perfect place for flowers! She continued to pluck them, eventually stopping when her basket was filled to the brim, and higher.

  Vivian started running back, somehow managing to not lose a single flower on the way, weaving around trees and jumping over roots. Her house loomed in front of her, a mud hut covered in straw and leaves. Stepping inside, Vivian walked through a whitewashed hall way too big to fit in the hut before arriving at the Pyramid. Her mom was off in a door to the side, ingredients floating in front of her. Vivian watched for a moment. She always liked this part.

  Flame blossomed into existence directly in front of her mom, all of the ingredients flying into it. The fire flickered out, revealing a perfectly arranged curry, complete with a pot to hold it in. Her mother stepped out of the room, the doorway folding into the wall, and moved over to Vivian. "Well? Add them!"

  Vivian complied, dumping her flowers onto the Pyramid, a massive mound of flowers, all of which she'd collected. Her mom arranged some of the flowers on the Pyramid, ones that had rolled off, and smiled at Vivian. "You'll put the entire forest's worth in here!"

  Vivian smiled, before immediately running directly away from her mother, towards the wall opposite the cooking room. It opened in front of her, revealing a wooden table, with four chairs lying around it. Vivian sat in one of the chairs, her mom settling into another. "Mommy?," Vivian asked, an entirely new question suddenly coming to her.

  "Yes, Vivi?"

  Vivian pointed at the other two chairs surrounding the table. "Who are those chairs for?"

  Something appeared, deep in her mother's eyes. "That one's for your dad," she said, pointing at one. "And that one's for Eternity."

  Vivian's young mind heard the word, and then immediately understood it was bigger than just a word. There was a massive amount of power contained in it. "Who is he?"

  Her mother smiled. "Light's best friend."

  ----

  After eating, Vivian went back into the woods, to collect more flowers. The Pyramid would be national monument by the time she was done with it! Her basket came with her, obviously, and she picked more, shoving them in. It started to grow dark, and still she wandered, in the blackness between the trees. It wasn't yet late enough for the Murder Puppies and the Murder Kitties to come out.

  Soon, Vivian decided to leave, though her basket wasn't full. The Puppies and Kitties would come out soon, and the woods were a bad place to be. She started skipping out of the woods, collecting flowers as she went, when she heard a sound, deeper into the woods. She turned to her right, staring directly towards it. This wasn't the growl of a Murder Puppy or the yip of a Murder Kitty. This was... something crashing through undergrowth.

  Normally, Vivian would've left, but something kept her in place, watching the space between the trees. Then, all of a sudden, a little girl appeared. Cuts covered the girl's body, blood getting everywhere. Vivian stared, frozen, as the girl continued, not even acknowledging her. Vivian didn't think the girl was conscious right now. And behind her followed more sounds. Yips and growls.

  Without thinking, Vivian dropped her basket, picking up the bloodied girl. As she ran, she saw the girl's eyes lock onto her. A hidden fire was deep within them. The girl's eyes slowly fluttered closed. A small voice sounded from her arms. "Big sister?"

  Vivian replied, continuing to run. "Little sis."

  Her breath started to come out in short gasps, and she heard the Puppies and Kitties start to get closer. She wouldn't make it. If the girl in her arms wasn't so light, she wouldn't have made it this far at all.

  Suddenly, she blew past a figure in the darkness, and stopped moving. "Mommy?,"

  She just got a radiant smile in return. A half-circle of shadowy creatures formed past her mom, all eyeing her up as if she was prey.

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  Then they were simply... gone. Vivian's mom turned to her, and the girl in her arms. "Let's get back home, now."

  Eternity sat in the Hall of his Palace. He sat on the throne, staring down the almost endless hall. There were seats on both sides, the stronger people sitting closer to him, and the weaker ones sitting further back. It didn't matter much, however. Anyone in this room could hear anyone else, unless someone established privacy through magic. "So. Why have you called this meeting?," he asked to his right side, addressing the first person in that row.

  "To talk about your tyranny, and how it ends now."

  Eternity sighed. "Really. What am I doing wrong?"

  The woman, the second strongest person in this room, replied instantly. "You're trying to kill all the Monsters, instead of working with them. You're just trying to rid the world of a competitor for your position. I've seen through you, however."

  Eternity stood easily. "Okay. Get the hell out of my Palace."

  The woman sputtered. "What?"

  "I told you to get the hell out of my Palace."

  She got up. "No. You'll concede this Palace to us, if you want to keep your life."

  Eternity sighed. "What about me killing the gods? Isn't that a point in my favor? Also, preventing the explosion of the universe?"

  "All lies. The gods were never evil. After all, I met them. If they were as evil as you said, shouldn't I be dead? And the universe never would've exploded if you didn't kill the gods. You caused the problem and just wanted to keep people around so you could rule over them."

  "Fun. Anyways, get out of here already."

  The woman shook her head, seeming disappointed. She stood, and the entire hall did with her. "None of the Eternal is here to save you. You can't deal with all of us at once. Goodbye, Eternity."

  Eternity started laughing, seemingly ignorant of his impending demise. Two people appeared around him, immediately recognizable by the hall. His laughing abruptly stopped, his eyes turning cold. The Nightingale stood on his left, and the Breaker on his right. "I'll deal with them, alone this time. The Monsters need to be sent a display of power. I can't let them take over any more than they have already."

  He raised his voice. "Puppets of the Monsters! Come!"

  A volley of attacks rained down on him. Eternity watched the fire, the ice, and even void bolts rain down, and ripped open a tear into the void, deleting the swarm. The warriors closed in, swinging swords, but they were incredibly inept, the twin blades emerging in Eternity's hands easily fending them off. "I'll start with the weakest," he announced, disappearing into thin air.

  Suddenly, the weakest of them died, a full thousand of their numbers losing their heads in a moment. Eternity reappeared. The strongest ten had yet to make a move, simply watching the show. The rest of the group charged, once again, but died in swathes, Eternity cutting through them with no visible effort.

  Finally, he stood in front of the final ten. "Idiots."

  The blood from his previous fight was still raining, and he watched the final ten. Suddenly, they made their move.

  Castle launched a spike of conjured stone at him, as Wave entrapped him in a cyclone of water. Easily dealt with. A plume of fire melted the stone, providing enough force to shoot the now-lava spear back at Castle, while the water turned into steam, no longer constraining him. Even though it was superheated, his mana was now in the gas, and Eternity wasn't stupid enough to burn himself with his own fire.

  A spear flashed at him, and Eternity's twin swords came into play, one deflecting it, sending it careening past him, while the other cleanly thrust into his opponent's heart, Grace dying instantly as the Void ravaged her insides.

  Castle screamed, charging at him, but Eternity waved his hand, and he was immediately impaled by spears of conjured stone. Suddenly, the woman's voice sounded again. "I'm done playing. Let's end this farce."

  She stepped forward, a crown of thorns digging into her head, sucking up the blood that emerged. "Oh? An artifact from the Monsters? Well. You've really shown your true side, haven't you?"

  The woman stepped forward, stopping a couple feet away from him. "YuP!" she said, her voice distorting.

  In much the same way, her body distorted, her skin turning black and melting. The woman formed into a shapeless blob, shifting into a black wolf. It had no eyes, and it felt as if the wolf was always looking at you.

  "So, the Void Keeper herself. What brings you to commit suicide?"

  The Void Keeper shrugged. "I was ordered to. They have a replacement."

  "Well. I'll make your end painless, at least."

  The Void Keeper sighed. "Thank you. I should never have taken those oaths."

  Eternity's blades started shining a white light. "The First Mercy: Death."

  All of his opponents died instantly, painlessly. Eternity's blades melted, flowing into his skin. What do you think, Amon?

  I think there's going to be a new Hero to help you this time.

  Eternity sat down on his throne, staring through the bloodstained Hall. We can only hope.