Subconscious

As Caila began to slightly calm Hellcage, who was moving around in the form of a giant eye, she noticed that everything around her had calmed down a bit. The colors seemed to diminish, the movements of the black and red water-filled eyes slowed down, and even some of the ever-present eyes closed.

Caila felt slightly touched that her presence had such an effect on Hellcage. She turned her head as she felt the slimy feeling under her hand disappear and saw the giant eye slowly sinking into the ground.

She looked down at her palm, which was covered in the transparent mucus from the eye, and shuddered a little when she noticed that there were a large number of miniature eyes in this one as well. Caila shook her hand and then wiped her palm on her cloak. She didn't really find Hellcage repulsive, but she was petting an eye! It still felt a bit gross.

Meanwhile, the giant eye sank into the ground, the giant eyeball still visible for a moment before it too disappeared, and Caila looked around, not knowing what to do. Should she have gone looking for Hellcage elsewhere?

She waited for a moment, but nothing happened, so she took a straight step and began to walk across the plains. In the distance, she could see another town. This one looked a bit more modern from a distance. It even had a few skyscrapers, and the city was dominated by a tall clock tower. She could make it out even from a distance because the clock tower's dial shone like a beacon.

So Caila headed in that direction. She needed to find out what had happened to Hellcage and how to help him. She walked a little faster since the city was quite far away and took in her surroundings. Occasionally, high waves of eyes swept by in which the ruined wreckage of houses, ships, and large chunks of earth were rolled over.

Every now and then, she thought she caught a glimpse of figures clinging desperately to the ruins, but soon they were swallowed up by the sea of eyes and disappeared again, leaving Caila unsure if she was seeing correctly or if it was just an illusion and her imagination brought on by this dreadful place.

Caila thought she might be okay now, so she stopped using her flame to protect her, but she was wrong. As soon as she left the safety of her flames, clawed hands reappeared, trying to grab her, so she wrapped herself in blue flames again to prevent being pulled under.

Curious, she grabbed one of the hands before they disappeared and tried to pull it out.

Crack!

"Iiieeeeeeeeh!" Caila was startled as there was a crack like a bone breaking followed by a high-pitched scream coming from the ground, so she immediately let go of the hand and backed away. The affected, disfigured hand quickly disappeared into the ground, and Caila touched her heart, which was beating in fright.

"This place is definitely scary," Caila thought grimly. She turned and hurried on towards the city. Again, she had no idea how long she'd been walking; she didn't feel tired, and there was no clear way to keep track of time, so she could only guess by how she felt. It felt like an hour at least to her.

But in the end, she couldn't enter the city. As she approached, she found that the city before her was not complete. From a distance, she couldn't tell, but as she got close enough, she could see that the city could be seen through the rift. Although it couldn't even be called a rift. It was more of a stain. It was like a window into the memories Caila could see on the surface of her followers' minds.

Caila was now in Hellcage's subconscious, or so she thought; did that mean this was some deep-seated memory? With all this diving into memories, Caila could slowly consider herself a psychologist, even if she didn't really know anything about it. But she was good at guessing.

With all she knew, she had the impression that this memory was so important that it was ingrained here in her subconscious and it was something that affected Hellcage deeply. Perhaps an experience that helped shape his personality? They all have those things. Things that have happened, experiences that will never be forgotten and have helped to shape a person's character into what it is today.

It made Caila reflect on herself. Had she had something like this? Her clearest memories were of the time she woke up as a statue. What was before was still vague as if it was covered by thick and foggy glass. She felt like she had a solid foundation, but she thought that what was currently affecting her the most were current events.

Sighing, Caila shook her head. Maybe one day the memories would come back to her, but she didn't really have much desire for that. She didn't feel like she missed it. What she wanted most was to be free, to be able to walk again and see things for herself. Of course... she'd have to take care of her followers first.

Caila approached the stain in space and looked out over the city. It was alive. The city showing in the blob was pulsing with life. She saw many people on the streets, saw old-fashioned cars driving along the roads, and carts still pulling horses.

The cars were shaped a little strangely. Wait a minute. Did she really see a *leather car on three wheels there now? They didn't look very safe.

She looked around and wondered why this city was so important to Hellcage. And then she noticed that the sky above the city suddenly began to darken. Then she heard voices that carried to her as if in an echo.

"Everything is ready," it was Hellcage's voice.

"All right. You may begin," the answer came in Caila's voice, but the tone was quieter, calm, rather cold. Even though it was her voice, Caila knew right away that it was Supernova.

"My Liege... are you absolutely sure?" Hellcage asked.

"Starting over is the most efficient way and also the fastest," Supernova replied.

"But is it the best for your heart?"

"What does my heart have to do with it? Hellcage, are you doubting me?"

"Of course that will never happen, my Liege. I just want what's best for you."

"Ha... I know. You're my most loyal and reliable friend," Supernova sighed and paused.

"Do it. I've already made up my mind. If my plans have to work, it needs to be done. In the end, there will be no one left to remember anyway."

"I understand. If you're determined, I won't try to convince you anymore. I'll do as you command."

Caila found the conversation slightly confusing but felt a heaviness in her chest. She had a feeling that something very bad was about to happen.

She watched the sky darken over the unknown city; at first, it didn't look strange, more like a storm was coming. It grew darker, the clouds grew heavier, the wind picked up and swept through the streets so that men had to keep their hats on and women had to keep their skirts down. People began to hurry to avoid the coming rain.

But it didn't start to rain. The wind was getting stronger and the sky darker and darker. The light grey turned to dark grey and then that turned to shades of black until finally, the whole sky was as dark as ink. It was a black suffocating curtain that was blacker than night because the sky had neither moon nor stars.

The people stopped, so did the traffic, and all the people looked up at the unnatural phenomenon. No one knew what was happening. Caila shook with suspense. She could feel the tension all the way here, the suppressed fear, the anticipation. And then the hair on the back of her neck stood on end.

The inky black sky was disturbed suddenly and violently. A giant red eye opened, illuminating the city beneath as the eye stared at the small thing below. Everything froze.

Then more red, smaller eyes began to appear in the sky, more and more, until the sky was more red than black. Everything turned a shade of red, and people finally started screaming and running. But the sky above them was all covered with eyes; even as they ran, they felt like they had nowhere to go. The distance between them and the thing wasn't getting any smaller.

Smaller red eyes began to separate from the sky, darting out with wisps of black and red substance and falling on the city. Some stayed in the form of a stream, others turned into grotesque monsters that began to attack not only all living things but buildings as well.

Everything the creatures touched was torn apart and absorbed into their bodies. Caila saw the creatures strike a group of fleeing humans, but they weren't dead; instead, they were swallowed alive. The screams were terrible; she had never heard anything like it. She had to press a clenched fist to her stomach because it made her sick.

"Destroy everything. Sweep away all living things from the surface until only the raw skeleton of what was remains," she heard the echo of Supernova's voice, and Caila knew that this disaster, this butchering, wasn't happening in just one place.

Caila understood. Supernova had decided to destroy her world to start over and remake it the way she wanted. "Has she gone completely mad?" Caila was shaken. She already knew that Supernova was quite radical and ruthless, but somehow she also had a certain softness to her, so it hadn't occurred to Caila that Supernova could do 'this'!

Caila very easily could have described Supernova as the greatest, cruelest criminal of all time in this way. She committed genocide for her goals? That wasn't normal. It was insane!

She felt sick; she felt like she was going to throw up soon, so Caila covered her mouth with her hand to prevent it. She had thoughts that maybe she herself was the real Supernova only her memories were gone, gradually returning. But she had her doubts. The memories she was seeing were hers, and she felt like she was reliving them, but at the same time, she felt somehow disconnected, so she still wasn't sure if they were really her memories or if she was just accepting them because it was Supernova's body.

In reality, it didn't matter that much to Caila because she didn't remember much of anything from her former life, so she just accepted whoever she was. But now, after what she'd seen, she didn't care anymore. She didn't want to be Supernova! She couldn't be! Caila didn't want to be responsible for this!

How many people had she even killed? Billions? Caila turned away and covered her eyes with her hands, trying to breathe deeply to calm herself. But her panicked screams still echoed in her head, telling her that this wasn't her fault or her wish.

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"Sad, isn't it?" Caila heard Hellcage's voice sounding close to her, but she didn't look at him immediately.

"All living things evolve, build, live. And then it takes so little to destroy everything. The sad thing is how easy it was," Hellcage continued to speak.

"I didn't really agree with that. I felt it was a waste. But my Liege didn't want to struggle anymore. Everything she was doing was hard for her. Thousands of years had passed, but she still wasn't able to come close to her goal. So she decided to get rid of her weakness, her hesitation, and her consideration. The world, the people, the culture all stood in her way."

Caila took a breath because Hellcage's explanation made her sound more like Supernova was desperate than ruthless. Still, it didn't seem right that she had done such a thing. "Just because there was a reason doesn't mean it was right," Caila replied.

"Liege is a god. Only she decides what is right and wrong," Hellcage calmly replied.

"Hah... you're... such a bigot," Caila said a little bitterly.

"Ah, thank you," Hellcage sounded pleased with her words.

Caila finally calmed down enough to remove her hands from her eyes and look at Hellcage, but flinched in fright when she saw him.

Hellcage was missing his head. There was only a headless body in front of her. He stood upright, one arm folded, and a neatly folded cloak draped over his arm, his clothes as smooth and neat as ever, but his body was topped with his shoulders. There was no neck or nape of the neck. Just a perfectly oval torso. His chest was bathed in pitch black from which two red eyes looked out, and there was a wide mouth where his stomach had been.

"What... where... where's your head?" Caila asked in surprise.

"I apologize for my unsightly appearance. Dealing with Baa required a lot of strength; to make everything work I needed to leave a piece of my body on the altar. I don't have as much strength as I used to, so I had to go to the extreme. Don't worry my Liege, I will recover soon," Hellcage explained, bowing slightly.

Caila sighed, worried, but things seemed to be fine. He wasn't in danger; he was just weakened. "You didn't have to go that far," she remarked, then asked directly. "Why did you call me?"

"When something hurts, I always call you. You're my source of comfort," Hellcage replied, leaving Caila momentarily speechless. Ah... so he prayed to her because he was in pain. It wasn't that he was actually calling her to come to him, but more of a reflex because she was his goddess.

Caila didn't understand because his call didn't carry anything, so she couldn't tell what was going on. Still... it was kind of nice to know that just the thought of her was comforting to someone. Only then she remembered Supernova again, and her stomach did a flip.

She looked at the city again. The devastation continued. "Hellcage?"

"Yes, my Liege?"

"You know that, don't you?" Caila tensed as she asked. But she had to ask because she suspected the way Hellcage had spoken earlier.

"My, my... I'm not sure what you mean, my Liege," the tone of his voice sounded light, like someone who was obviously pretending not to know what the other person was talking about.

Caila nodded her head slightly. She thought to herself. Hellcage knows she's not Supernova. The way he was talking about her earlier, there was a clear line drawn between Supernova and Caila.

"Then why..." Caila began, but Hellcage gently interrupted her. "I don't feel a difference."

"But I'm not Supernova," Caila glared at him.

"Liege, you're a god. You can be anything and anyone you wish," Hellcage's answer was simple and clear. Caila couldn't help thinking that things couldn't be that simple. But it made a certain amount of sense. She could just choose not to be Supernova.

She could see her memories, but if she didn't accept them as hers, she could still think of Supernova as someone else. She was a little relieved, but she still didn't know enough to be able to make a decision.

She looked again at the scene of the catastrophe. "So, is that why the city is called the End of the World?"

"Haha... your thoughts are still the same. Yes. Because the city was founded at the end of the old world. It's a small reminder of the sacrifice that was made," Hellcage confirmed it.

Caila thought it was rather depressing, but some might consider it a kind of memorial.

Then she thought about going back, but she didn't really want to. Talking to Hellcage was calming and comfortable for her. It was easy to talk to him. Also, knowing this lifted a big weight off her shoulders. She could talk to someone freely and not have to worry.

"What happened next? When the destruction of the world was over? I thought genocide was forbidden by Eon," she continued to ask.

"It wasn't genocide," Hellcage replied, surprising Caila again. She looked at him and wanted him to explain.

"You were careful about it. You carefully picked out certain parts of the world and isolated them. There were humans and other creatures present, mostly younger humans, children, and a few older ones who were already your followers. These isolated parts remained untouched while the rest of the world burned. So the actual genocide didn't happen, and Eon had no reason to intervene."

Caila understood that Supernova had left no ends open. She had ensured everything. Then she really could do whatever she wanted. What a terrifying creature she had become. Who would have thought she was once a Superheroine? It just showed the harsh truth. Even the best and most generous person could become an unreal monster if enough bad things happened to them.

This knowledge brought Caila some comfort. At least Supernova didn't kill everyone. Well, basically, you could say Supernova didn't either. Apparently, it was Hellcage, but she couldn't think of him that way.

"It took a while to cleanse the planet. Once that was done, the rebuilding began. We pulled the End of the World out of the Abyss, and the building began. Repopulate. With you as the central religion. In this world, you were the supreme goddess. The mother of all the other gods," Hellcage continued to explain.

"You brought various creatures through the Space Shards. Grateful, loyal, and devoted. It may have taken a long time, but you made this planet perfect, and you were given the best and purest Prana," he turned his torso to look at Caila.

She had a feeling there was going to be a 'but' here.

"But it still wasn't enough. So you expanded to other planets. You planned to take over your entire solar system. You started raising new Gods to do it, so you could send them through the rift to establish their power there. You had Sandra and Bubble build satellites so you could stay in contact with them," Hellcage spread his arms dramatically, and it certainly left an impression on Caila.

What Supernova was building was a huge project, she was thinking big. "I remained speechless. How could I not admire someone as brilliant and tough as you, Liege? You wanted to build your own personal Prana factory from space! What a sight that would be? I can say it would be spectacular. Absolutely breathtaking!"

Caila inwardly flinched a little as Hellcage switched his personality back to that of a devout fanatic.

Hellcage wasn't in this state for long, his hands lowered again. "But there are some things that are beyond the control of even someone like you. The gods you created and sent to new planets. Not all of them, but enough of them have formed bonds on the new planets. So when you came up with a plan to cleanse the dominated planets, they weren't happy. They witnessed a second cleansing of the other planet. It was probably at that point that they decided to rebel against you." Caila understood what Hellcage was trying to tell her.

Having seen the cleansing herself, she too easily labeled the Supernova as a mad, cruel, and evil being. How could the other gods possibly feel? The planet they inhabited, where they had built their lives, suddenly destroyed. And by none other than the goddess they admired. They probably felt betrayed first.

"That's why I've always told you to choose well and carefully the gods you make, Liege. Why didn't you listen?" Hellcage sighed. "You've lived so long, yet you were still impatient."

Caila rubbed the back of her neck, feeling as if she were being gently scolded. She felt embarrassed, but it wasn't unpleasant.

"I see. So this is what happened. But how did we all end up as statues?" There was another thing Caila was curious about.

"The traitors knew you well. They were waiting for the moment when you were weakened by your regular departures to the Abyss. When you returned, they attacked. The first ones eliminated your loyalists, and the strongest ones went after you. And they did the crazy thing of shattering reality. It wasn't so dangerous for the gods and the adepts, but it was a disaster for everyone else. Fortunately, by your grace, you took most of your power and created a curse that froze us in time. But what happened next... I don't know," Hellcage replied seriously.

"My guess is that the broken reality ripped the End of the World and us somewhere else where we remained hidden. And then, for some reason, they reappeared." Hellcage wasn't clear on this either. Plus, there was the Border Mist. A mystery in itself. He had a theory that the Border Mist was something left behind after reality was shattered.

"From what I understand so far, the Traitors hunted the survivors and those loyal to you. Earth was shattered, and reality was shattered. It seems they were trying to completely erase your existence, our existence. Since this entire planet was devoted to you, they did their own cleansing. I don't know if any of the Traitors are still here either. I'll have to investigate this world more."

Caila felt relieved again. A little, more because she finally knew what had happened. It wasn't good news, that was for sure, but at least knowing was reassuring.

"Thank you, Hellcage. This has brought a lot of light into my mind," Caila smiled at him.

"My pleasure, my Liege," he bowed again.

"Now. Tell me about yourself. And what is this place?" Caila didn't stop asking anyway.

Hellcage stiffened a little. "We are in my body now."

Caila blinked. Wasn't that subconscious? She looked around, taking in this red and scary place. She remembered the wreckage and then the scene of destruction. Were these the remains of the cities he had devoured? She also remembered that she thought she saw some creatures clinging to the rubble.

She swallowed and hesitantly asked. "Is it possible... for something to live here?"

"For something to live in my body? Yes, yes... it is possible. Where there is air and where there is water one can always survive," Hellcage replied calmly.

But again, Caila was not feeling well. Did she imagine that someone could survive the whole thing and live here? How terrifying did it have to be? Plus, Hellcage looked like he didn't get it, or maybe he didn't care.

"Ah... good," Caila just said, trying not to think about the desperate silhouettes on the drifting ruins. Rather, she wondered why she ended up in Hellcage's body and not his subconscious. Why? She couldn't think of anything.

"What are you then, Hellcage?" Caila asked again, thinking that if she knew more about Hellcage she might understand.

"I'm Hellcage. Born of the Abyss," Hellcage answered, but briefly and didn't elaborate further. Caila recalled one of her memories, right. Hellcage didn't want to talk about it.

"Still don't feel ready to talk about it?"

"Please respect my privacy, my Liege," Hellcage made it clear in that way that he still didn't want to talk about what had happened to him in the Abyss, or didn't want to talk about himself.

Caila was curious, but she couldn't bring herself to force him. "All right. I understand," she nodded her head. "So I guess I'll be going now. It's best if you rest so you can recover quickly."

But before she could leave, Hellcage spoke again. "Ah... you can stay. Your presence is a blessing to me," he said, and Caila could only pause as she heard the genuine desire in his voice for her to stay.

How could she refuse him? "How could I not listen to the wishes of my most faithful?" She replied, turning to face him.

The face on Hellcage's body was smiling happily. Alright, now he reminded Caila a bit of a happy puppy... scary... with sharp teeth.

"That reminds me... I have something prepared for you, my Liege," Hellcage snapped his fingers in a sign that he remembered something.

Something emerged from the ground in front of him. Caila looked, a little uncomprehending. She looked at it, then at Hellcage, then back.

It was a boy. About twelve years old, he had a bit of curly ashy hair, acne marks on his chin, and was dressed in shabby clothes that bore traces of blood. His eyes were open, but they were rolled back in his head so that only the whites were visible, and he was breathing heavily through his open mouth.

"Yes? A boy?" Caila wasn't sure what he wanted her to do with him.

"I modified him a bit to make him suitable. He's the perfect vessel for you to use as your avatar now," Hellcage explained, and even though he didn't have a head, his shoulders were raised, and he looked proud.

"Avatar?" Caila was very happy that she no longer had to pretend to understand things in front of Hellcage. But she felt frustrated about it! She suddenly felt stupid.

"You don't like him? Should I rather get a girl? Or do you want him to be older? Of course, in the beginning, it's impossible for you to move outside your domain or the End of the World. Too much danger from the other gods. That's why it's best you use an avatar for now. Besides, no one can tell that there's a goddess as great as you in the flesh. It's perfect for hunting other gods."

"Ah... ah..." Caila made an understanding sound, staring at the boy Hellcage had lifted into the air like some sort of rag doll, even dusting him off a bit to make him look more presentable in front of her.

"That's really great, Hellcage. But all that's left is to free one leg. Then..." She objected because Hellcage was absolutely devastating her dreams here right now.

"You can't, Liege," Hellcage said cheerfully, but Caila felt a steely determination behind the words not to let her.

This was the first time in a very long time that Caila felt like crying.

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Cleansing

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