Musa and Tal awoke with cute yawns and for a fraction of a second, I considered leaving them in the temple while I dealt with the war that threatened to further scar me but I didn’t want to leave their side just yet and so I decided they would accompany me south.

My plan was to try and convince Ua to end the war and for her to put her energy into something less destructive.

If I failed… then I would have no other choice than to prioritize my own safety and that of my other denizens.

“Good morning, My Lady.” Musa softly sang while rubbing his eyes and Tal remained silent.

“You may simply call me Sav’ta, my dear.” I smiled but the boy shook his head.

“That would be disrespectful to Our Lady.” He explained as if he wasn’t speaking on said Lady’s lap.

“A-alright.” I conceded before gesturing that the children get up.

I then led them out of the Temple.

We beheld the setting sun and without turning to face Musa, I spoke.

“Now that you are aware of my nature, I’m sure you can understand the destruction your mother’s reign has wrought.”

Musa’s eyes fell a little.

“I am going to kindly ask her to stop and I can only hope you’ll understand what I’ll do if she decides not to.”

The boy bit his teeth as I finally turned to him.

I then offered him my hand which he accepted albeit with a distressed expression.

I gave Tal my hand as well and gently lifted the two into the air.

Tal was far more terrified by this experience and so she loudly screamed while reaching out to Musa who I handed her to as I took us to Hatua.

My goal beyond talking to Ua was introducing myself to all of the humanoids but that would have to wait.

I turned to Musa and watched as he stared at my surface with widened eyes but beyond the wonder, I saw a deep sadness within.

We flew over the Ocean Makor, past the coastal city of Abanafash – which was founded with the help of the original Fire Breakers, over the Forest Afor – from which the Chofumah first came, past the Kifo Valley and eventually to the capital of Hatua itself.

Mount Kupumzika stood proudly at the centre of the continent and at its midpoint stood the Royal Palace.

I wanted my entrance to be grand and so, as I descended onto the summit – where Mlezi and Jua were buried, I bathed the city with warm light and even though the sun was already halfway into the horizon, it was as bright as midday. My purple gown dissipated and was replaced with a regal white dress.

My feet gently touched the long grass atop the summit and, like all that time ago, I made sure the summit was nice and warm.

After doing this, I created four Glass chairs, with one being a little larger than the others.

I sat on the larger one and gestured that Musa and Tal sit on the two next to mine with the wave of a hand.

They did as instructed and I rested my hands on my lap while looking at the stairway that led to the summit.

It wouldn’t be long before-

“M-my Lady?” Ua gasped as she walked up the stairs.

She wore her nightgown and had no shoes on but it was fine since I had adjusted the temperature.

“Hello, Ua.” I smiled as Ua nervously approached.

She then lowered her head and clutched her arms before coming to a stop a few meters away.

I gestured towards the empty chair in front of me with the wave of a hand and, with trembling eyes, she did as instructed.

We sat in silence for a moment and Ua snuck a few shaking glances at Musa who’s head also hung low.

“It has been quite some time since we last met and in that time you have built and accomplished so much.” I praised but this only made Ua’s face twitch a little.

“Now you sit before me, a Queen,” I said before letting out a sigh.

“One-“

Ua muttered barely audibly.

“Yes?” I asked with a concerned expression.

“O-one war… that’s all I ask of you before you deliver me divine judgment,” Ua said through trembling lips and quaking eyes which hung low.

“Allow me to w-wipe out the filth that robbed me time and time again, My Lady. Then I will give you my soul willingly to damn.”

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My eyes narrowed for a moment but, after taking a deep breath, I responded.

“And what will come of this war apart from death and destruction? What would you have achieved when all is turned to ash?”

“I would have killed all those who wronged me, My Lady! Is there anything wrong with wanting justice?” Ua snapped through gnashed teeth.

“I suppose not but what if that justice came at the cost of countless innocent lives?” I asked.

“It is a price I am willing to pay.” Ua hissed.

“And what if that justice harmed me?”

Ua’s eyes widened.

“Our actions have rippling effects that will echo out until the end of time. Each action begetting a consequence which begets another and so on. What if your war burns me – this world, and further scars me – that from which you draw your very power and sustenance?” I asked with a heart that steadily but powerfully thumped.

Ua’s head lowered further.

“My child... put an end to this war. Take your son’s hand and build for him a Hatua without strife. Would that not be more desirable than the path along which you now walk?” I asked while allowing the light I was emitting to fade.

What followed was silence.

No one moved or spoke to break the stillness of the summit for a solid minute or so.

Ua then began trembling as tears began to fall from her eyes.

“Why not?” She whimpered.

“Why can’t I burn it all down?” She hissed.

“Why can’t I hunt every single meerkat until they are all dead?” She asked and my eyes widened a little as her hair began glowing purple.

“And Why wouldn’t you take my side like how you did all those years ago?” Ua growled while standing up.

A barrier of gravity formed around her and it tore apart the ground beneath her feet, leaving her suspended a few centimetres in the air.

“Am I not the one you chose? To rule over my people as I saw fit?” Ua cried without meeting my eyes and while she floated in front of me, I carefully used Gravity Magic to pick up Musa and Tal.

I then carried them high into the clouds while remaining seated before Ua whose face twisted.

“WHY WOULD YOU BETRAY ME LIKE EVERYONE ELSE?” She yelled before waving her hand at me, conjuring forth a wave of distorted gravity that would have cut me in half but I raised my hand and dispelled it in an instant although the rapid shrinking and expanding of gravitational fields resulted in a shockwave that knocked off all of the snow from the summit.

“THIS DOESN’T MAKE SENSE!” Ua screamed as I remained seated before her with a concerned expression.

“SURELY YOU SAW HOW MUCH I SUFFERED AT THEIR DIRTY, DISGUSTING HANDS AND YET YOU TELL TO STOP?”

It seemed as though Ua wasn’t going to listen to me and so I decided it would be best to end things quickly.

I raised my right hand to crush her with an obscene amount of gravitational distortion but my eyes widened slightly as Ua twisted all of her Uyil Belts causing blood to spray out of her nose and ears.

“AAAAAAAAHHHHHHHH!” She screamed while resisting the effects of the gravitational vice that formed around her.

She then sent forth two more waves of distorted gravity and with a simple wave, I dispelled both of them.

This time, the aftermath was enough to flatten the summit of the Mountain, ripping into half the palace below.

Fighting Ua in a heavily populated area wouldn’t do so I stood up and, after letting out a sigh, wrapped her in a sphere of distorted gravity and threw her toward the Kifo Valley.

I then flew in that direction and watched as she crashed into the Valley with enough force to leave a kilometre-wide crater and although this would have killed a normal person, I watched as Ua pumped herself with extreme amounts of Life Energy, keeping her brain and heart intact just long enough to heal the rest of her body.

She let out another wild scream before sending towards me two discs of distorted gravity that were imbued with fire.

Taking them head-on was not an option and so I, by bending my gravitational field, deflected and sent them upwards into my upper atmosphere where they exploded with so much force that a lot of the trees in the valley were flattened along with the animals that called it home.

[Ua… it doesn’t have to end like this!] I called out while witnessing the incredible potential she had.

With this much control over Glass, she could still lead her kind to new heights… if she just set aside her need for revenge.

But I knew that was easier said than done.

I knew her heart was twisted beyond repair and I knew that even if I held her hand tightly and never let go after the original Musa’s death, she would still have harboured this hatred.

“SHUT UP!” Ua screamed through bloodied teeth.

She then looked around in search of something.

After a moment’s pause, she raised her arms. I could tell that she wanted to send forth gargantuan chunks of the ground around her and launch them at me but I would not allow her to pointlessly damage my surface any longer and so I flew towards her and before her eyes could even respond to my presence, I reached into her barrier, dispelling it as I did, and grabbed her neck.

I wanted to break her neck immediately but for some reason I stopped myself as the shockwave from my movement blew past us, further tearing apart the valley.

“Ua… stop.” I pleaded as she frantically grabbed her neck in hopes of pulling my fingers away.

She choked out a few words prompting me to loosen my hold.

“I will not stop… until every Chofumah man, woman and child is burnt to ash!” She grinned filling my chest with pain.

I moved my fingers to crush her neck but just as the thought entered my mind, Ua’s eyes flashed purple and red.

A ball of distorted gravity then formed in my doll’s chest but before it exploded, at a speed that tore apart the air, I dug into my chest and pulled it out.

It then exploded, obliterating my left arm in the process.

Ua took advantage of this moment to fly into the clouds while healing the damage she had taken, damage which had left her body hanging by threads of flesh which rapidly healed since her head and heart were still intact by sheer virtue of the fact that Ua created pseudo blood vessels from Life Energy that flooded them with Life even after her body was torn apart.

“HAHA! I CAN SEE IT NOW! YOUR TRUTH! THAT THING- THAT FORM YOU WEAR IS BUT A PUPPET! SHOW ME YOUR TRUE FACE, MY GOD! SHOW ME!” Ua screamed while creating a ball of distorted gravity that was about as big as a basketball.

I bit my teeth and kicked myself internally for not killing her instantly but every time I looked at her…

But…

No.

Nothing could be done at this point.

She was too far gone.

And so, as she increased the strength of her gravity ball, I exited my doll and manifested my ethereal form, making it visible to all who called central Hatua home by using Light Magic.

I stood before Ua as a gargantuan projection of myself and I watched as Ua deliriously laughed upon seeing me.

She yelled a bunch of things before throwing her gravity ball at me but I was a being of light so the ball simply went through me-

I quickly realized why Ua was laughing.

I turned around and, with all the power I could muster, grabbed the ball using my gravitational fields before it could reach southern Hatua and sent it upward where it exploded.

I dampened the Shockwave by compressing the gravitational fields in my atmosphere and this was enough to stop the explosion from flattening all of Hatua.

Also, at this point, I had grown tired of Ua’s antics and so I turned to face her once more.

I didn’t care what she had to say anymore or what she meant to me or her people and so I clasped my hands, creating two walls of distorted gravity at either of her sides and these came rushing together with so much force that her barrier was instantly crushed with her body following soon after to become a flat sheet of flesh.