Chapter 360: The Final Choice
24th March 2015, Dimensional Void
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
"I'm sorry, but this is beyond me, beyond you. Some things are just set in stone. We need you to fulfill your purpose, after that you can do anything, you want. You could come back here."
"What if I lose, what if I don't defeat Entropy in the exact way you wanted?" I asked.
"Then we'll rewind time, and we'll start again, and again, until you get it right. If you complete what you're trying to do, I will not destroy Olympus. I will respect your decision, but the timeline will start over. The timeline will be pruned, and we'll start again. We are that desperate. Olympus might be a godly realm that is beyond my supervision, but it is still bound to time. It will rewind, and you'll start over. Someone will probably end up destroying Olympus to prevent that from happening in the next timeline. It won't be me, but I will not stop them if they do it. If you finish this decision, the timeline will be considered to be defunct, and we'll start over."
I paled at her with my mouth open. I could feel the truth of her statement, her resignation, her desperation.
She gave me blank look, "So, Morrigan, my champion, now that you have brought Death itself to desperation, what is your decision?"
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25th April 2015, New York City
(Jasmine Sayre POV)
One month later, and I still didn't know if my decision was the correct one. I chose to trust Death one last time. Well, calling it trust wasn't really true. It was mostly just giving up my defiance. My plan was a rash one, completely impulsive, born out of fear of remaining bound to an entity that was doing her best to make me miserable. But now, I understood that freedom just wasn't even in the cards, that should I escape my fate somehow, I would have been bound once more. Time would unwind and I would be back to the start. I would need to do it again and again until I fulfill my destiny in the exact method that the cosmic entities devised, and it was then that I realized that I had no chance.
It felt stifling, like I was some puppet in a play that needed to do an exact thing that I didn't even know about. I wanted to ask the universe why I was chosen. What made me special? Everything in my life was controlled, calculated for this single purpose. I understood now that I was raised like a lamb to slaughter, the only difference is that it took a while for it to happen.
What an ironical turn of events. I had the same fate as the original Harry Potter. Dumbledore had arranged his death, his sacrifice, like some sort of mastermind. He made sure to keep him humble, to destroy any value the boy had on his life, to promote and encourage his self-sacrifice, so that he was alone, that he walked into the forest without a second's thought, and stood motionless as he was hit with a killing curse.
I was the same, I was made for the battle to happen exactly the way Death, and her fellow Endless predicted. Only this time, the mastermind wasn't an arrogant wizard who thought he knew better, no, it was Endless beings with power beyond my understanding that weaved this tapestry that is my life.
A part of me wished to see what would happen if I just refused and let the cosmic entities turn back time. I wouldn't have any memories of Selene betraying me. I wouldn't have had any memories of my sister leaving me. I wouldn't be uncomfortable with Wanda and Jean. I wouldn't be alone, hell, I would still have my humanity.
But alas, there was no point in continuing this cycle of life and Death. If I choose to redo it now, how would I know that I hadn't chosen the same thing in the past, that I wasn't stuck in a time loop making the exact same decision, suffering the same exact betrayal and abandonment? It was no guarantee that everything would go better in the next iteration, and since I would lose my memories, I wouldn't even be able to tell the difference. That's not mentioning that this entire reality would be pruned out of existence from the paradox, since the timeline would remain the same.
Yeah, I had no choice but to fight, and well, hope that it would work this time around. Not that I actually knew what I was supposed to be doing in the first place. Like, seriously, what is this shit? It's not defeating Entropy, because I already did that in the final timeline. It's not me staying out of it or they wouldn't be so insistent on me doing it.
Although, I wonder how my counterpart was able to defeat Entropy. It was a cosmic entity, a being of almost infinite power that couldn't die. As long as the concept of Entropy existed, the cosmic entity would persevere. And the very concept of Entropy is necessary for the universe to exist. It was intrinsically bound to time. Entropy is a measure of the disorder or randomness of a system. It relates to the distribution of energy within a system, and how that energy is distributed among the system's particles or states. The second law of thermodynamics states that the entropy of an isolated system tends to increase over time, leading to an increase in the overall disorder of the system.
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That meant that theoretically, Entropy had the power to disperse any type of energy, which was especially what its disintegration was, it could control the chaos in a specific way; it could possess the power to disrupt or dismantle existing patterns, structures, or systems. It might accelerate the breakdown of order and induce disarray.
However, the very concept of Entropy shows that it cannot be reversed. The laws of the universe say that the chaos of a system, the entropy, increases over time, and that means that its relation to the concept of time is very high. Long story short, Entropy is closely linked to the arrow of time and the tendency for systems to move towards a state of higher disorder, and that relation is a vulnerability.
A shard of a plan started to form in my head. Yeah, it wasn't much, but it was more than enough. This could work, this could actually fucking work. Yeah, there were a lot of variables, known and unknown, and I needed to prepare quickly, but I wasn't fighting some impossible enemy with the off chance that something would work. I needed to act quickly.
I started laughing. It was so obvious in hindsight, not that it's important now. I was in the middle of New York City, having chosen to take a walk to calm my head. I must look like some insane woman, just laughing like a maniac in the middle of the street. Yeah, people were watching me, mothers kept their children close when they were near, but I didn't care.
I had a plan, I had a chance, and that was enough for me to continue. All this hopelessness I was feeling, all the desire to just give up and leave the multiverse to its fate, it was all gone. I had a chance, we had a chance, but I needed to act quickly. Entropy was due to arrive at any time, and I had barely prepared, having lost myself in the hopelessness of it all.
I looked around and saw myself in front of the New York Sanctum. Did I unconsciously walk all the way here? Did I know where I needed to be somehow? Choosing to trust my gut, I walked up the stairs and knocked.
Wong opened the door and paled slightly, "Lady Morrigan. May I ask the purpose of your visit?"
"I need to speak to the Ancient One…" I simply reply.
The man nodded and motioned for me to follow. As usual I ignored the knickknacks all over the mansion and sat down. Afterwards, Strange and his master arrived slightly wary. I stifled a chuckle as I saw that the former neurosurgeon was still keeping his distance from me. Damn, he's still terrified of me.
His master though, wasn't fazed, "Morrigan, Wong said you wished to speak to me."
I nodded, "It's going to start soon. I wanted you to be prepared."
The bald woman stiffened, "Are you sure?"
"Nimue, you know me, would I be here if I wasn't sure? It's time to prepare, for the battle on our two fronts."
The woman nodded, while Strange looked confused, "Wait, what's going on?"
"The end of Time, that's what's going on, young Strange," I answered.
"Yeah, I'm going to need more than that," the former neurosurgeon said with a sarcastic tone.
"I'm sure your master will explain it to you, but we're really short on time," I then turned towards the Sorcerer Supreme, "Be ready at any time. It's closing in, I can feel it."
"You're different," she commented, "The air of defeat that you held recently is gone."
"I think I might have a plan, for my end of the battle, I mean."
"So, you do not wish for me to be present in the real battle," she commented, sounding slightly upset.
"Because of the aberration, the Time Stone is very weakened. It's better for you to lead the troops in the battle with Thanos, while I handle the rest," I replied.
The bald woman didn't seem to be convinced, "Stephen here can lead the troops."
"Better than you? Especially considering how unlikely you are to survive the first few seconds of my side of the fight."
The woman grimaced and nodded, "If you're certain."
Doctor Strange though didn't seem to accept it, "What troops, what army, what conflict? What in the name of the Vishanti are you all talking about?"
I winked at him and spoke up, "Get him up to speed, will you?"
The bald woman nodded, and I teleported out. Yeah, I needed to do a lot, but I didn't have enough time. First of all, I opened a telekinetic conversation with Wanda and Jean, "Jean, Wanda."
Both girls responded at once, "Jasmine! What's going on?"
"Prepare the troops to be ready at a moment's notice. I already have the sorcerers onboard. Jean, go to Genosha and tell Emma Frost to start assembling the troops. Wanda, I want you to go to Stark and get his people ready, and then go to Wakanda, and try to convince them to hold the battle there. Say that their forcefield could give you a fighting chance against Thanos. Make sure everyone is ready to be deployed at a moments' notice."
"Yes, Jasmine," both of them replied.
Jean left immediately but Wanda stayed on, "Is it really time?"
"I can feel it, yes. It should start anytime now. Don't worry, I've got a plan, a real one this time."
"It's good to have you back, mum," the girl answered before disconnecting our psychic connection.
Wanda must have noticed that something was different that I was less defeated somehow. It made me wonder how much she noticed. She's been there all this time, supportive and all. She stayed when Selene betrayed me, and when I banished Rose she didn't even judge me for it. She was always grateful and helpful in my lows. And she saw that I was acting differently, speaking differently. I was so defeated after my conversation with Death, having let go of my defiance due to the inevitability of it all. I honestly had nothing. Every single hope I had was practically gone. Without Odin and the Celestials there with me, my chances had dropped astronomically, I was ready to fail, and to have Death and her fellow cosmic entities restart the timeline. But no more, I was going to take my place and fight with everything I can, not because of some higher beings, but because that's what I did. It was always my role, I realize that now, the woman who stops the monsters. I guess I could have it in me for one last one.
Suddenly, a voice appeared that no one but me could hear, a voice that made me stiffen when I recognized it. It was Entropy, "Morrigan, I know you can hear me. I was hoping to make this somewhat civil by having a little pre-battle meeting to put a few rules in place. Meet me in the place your daughter died in your hands. You have one hour."
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