Chapter 362: Marital Conflict

25th April 2015, New York City

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

Surprisingly, the chances of killing Entropy without the stones were astronomically higher. Taking him by surprise was a lot easier when he didn't have access to the stones, and that was critical.

Choosing not to rise to his bait, I simply nod, "You have a deal. We will have a duel, you and only yourself against me and my team. When the duel officially begins, no other participants will be involved. We will fight in an empty dimension, devoid of life, to not risk any casualties. The fight will be tomorrow, in exactly 24 hours. You will not allow Thanos to attack the planet before then. That is my final offer."

The cosmic entity, "I agree to these terms, may my very existence be bound to my words."

I responded, "And may mine be bound by my words. A pact is sealed, and a deal is made. I will see you on the battlefield, Entropy."

I teleported away. I had a lot to do, and not a lot of time to do it all. Firstly, I needed to get to Avalon. I could tell with my Death Vision that my chances of success were higher if I visit my wife first. I was already dreading this conversation.

I was honestly pretty hesitant to go through with it. What Selene had done was abominable. There was something primal within me that just wanted to hurt her for the betrayal. In five thousand years, I have never felt so betrayed by a single person. Yeah, I wanted nothing to do with her, and the fact that I only banished the Black Witch was a testament to my mercy and to my love for her.

I should have outgrown this primitive sentiment of betrayal a long time ago, pretty much the moment Selene's plan actually worked. In a weird way, my quick conversion into a Celestial had saved her. Because from my memories, the woman I used to be just decades back would have destroyed her body, and banished her soul into a hell dimension to be at the mercy of a Demon Lord, or an Elder God. That was the creature I was. For all my years of living and gaining experiences, I was a vindictive creature at heart, and taking away that spite and hate from me had saved her from a fate worse than Death.

Yeah, logically speaking, keeping Selene banished in a dimension under my control was the right thing to do. I could call upon her for the final battle, and she was an asset that I didn't want to discard. She was an ace that no one really understood the significance of.

Selene's soul being the way it is allows her to absorb a tremendous amount of life force. There's no reason why this wouldn't work on Entropy. Cosmic energy was his life force in a way, and that was a potential weakness of his. It probably wouldn't work, but it was still a backup plan that might slow him down. So, yeah, keeping Selene alive and close was the right decision.

But then, why was I hesitating? Why was a part of me so outraged by the idea of asking that woman for help? What she had done was reprehensible, horrible, and outright malicious to someone who trusted her unconditionally, but her usefulness should outweigh something as banal and mortal as hurt feelings. I could tell with my Death Perception that I needed her in the fight against Entropy to stand a chance at winning. It was a fact that Selene was necessary, and yet I was still hesitating.

Was it the remnants of my humanity surfacing finally after two years of being silent? I had given up trying to undo what Selene had done, because it didn't really matter anymore. She had changed my soul, and I was technically a different being. Going back would be like committing suicide, and the effects would be completely random. Manipulating one's own soul was tricky. It was like trying to perform a brain surgery while wearing mittens, while being drunk on a crashing airplane. It could be done, but was it really worth the risk? Especially with the coming battle.

I wasn't human anymore, and I accepted that fact, even if the details of my ascension still bothered me. I had cut Selene out of my life, and a part of me died with that event. I started becoming more distant to everyone else, even Wanda and Jean were not spared. After all, they were all so small, so mortal. They didn't feel the world turning, the cosmic energy that makes up the universe shifting in every fraction of a nano second. They would never understand, and that was final. I had resigned myself to a life of solitude, even if I survived the fight.

It was odd, after losing my humanity, this fight didn't feel as important anymore, it was just a test that some higher beings wanted to be solved in an exact manner, and would keep trying until she did it. It was a loop that would only end if that requirement was fulfilled, and that detracted from its importance, and while I understood what was at stake and wanted the cycle to end, a part of me wondered on which iteration I was really on. How many versions of me were killed for not winning that fight, how many had even gotten to this situation exactly? I was going to try and end the loop of course, to stop this cycle of Death and Destruction, but a part of me couldn't help but be resentful for my situation.

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I was a pawn, and I understood it now more than ever. I was a program that was being written and rewritten, hoping that its purpose would be fulfilled without being given any parameters to train myself, just relying on pure probability and chance.

Yeah, I was bitter, and I was now given another dilemma. My mind told me that I needed Selene in the coming battle, but the shard of my remaining humanity just refused to have anything to do with the woman who hurt me so. But alas, I didn't really have a choice in the matter. At least the end of this cursed existence was nearing. I was probably going to fail my goal, even if I defeated Entropy, it was the most likely scenario, and the cycle was going to restart. Even if I somehow win and my mad plan succeeds by some miracle, the chances of survival are pretty slim. So, yeah, my chances aren't looking good. This might be my last day alive, and I honestly didn't know what I was supposed to do with it.

I was going to convince my ex to support me, but that was it. I had no one, not really. Just a daughter that I didn't know how to interact with, and subordinates that were wary of me. I had never been more alone in my life.

Choosing to just go with it, I waved my hand and a small break in the fabric of space-time appeared. I walked through it and was met with my kingdom. It was exactly the same as before. The magical Utopia that I created. If there was one thing, I was proud of, it was this kingdom. I had spearheaded the entire mutant race, I changed the course of magical history countless times, but this place, this paradise, was my greatest achievement.

It was the only purely good thing that I have ever done. A true safe haven for all magical creatures, far away from human greed and corruption. I walked up the stairs of the floating castle until I found the tower where I imprisoned the woman I once called my wife.

I knocked and a familiar voice answered, "Come in."

She looked exactly as I remembered. Her pale skin, black eyes and hair. She was making tea. It smelt nice, "I knew you'd come someday, Morrigan. How long have I been here? It's hard to tell."

"Two years from my end," I responded.

"A blink in the eyes of beings as old as us. Have you come to forgive me, my love?"

My face became impassive, "I would have left you for longer, but I don't have a choice, Selene."

"It's time, then?" she asked.

"Yes. We have one day to prepare."

"Do you have a plan, Morrigan? Or are we just winging it and hoping for the best?"

I nod, "Yes, I have one. It should work, but the chances are slim. But you already knew that didn't you?"

"It's always one battle after another with you. You try so hard to save these people who might as well be ants."

I shook my head, "It's different now. There's a lot you missed, and I don't have a choice in this. But either way, this is my last battle. If I live or die, win or lose, this is it. I'm done."

"You said that before, remember?"

"Yes, I did. But this is the endgame now. This is what my entire existence had come to, what I was designed to become, and they won't stop unless I fulfill it."

My former wife tilted her head, and it took a few seconds before her eyes widened in realization, "The cosmic entities, they made you, designed you for this singular fight."

"Yes," I answered while nodding.

"Why would they do that? If Entropy was going to escape and they knew it, why didn't they just stop it in the first place?"

I shook my head and took a sip of my tea, "It's not about Entropy. It was never about Entropy. If I defeat him but not in the exact way they want, they will restart the cycle once more. I don't even know what my real purpose it, but it has something to do with Entropy somehow. But defeating him isn't my actual true purpose, I'm sure about that, since another version of me achieved it, but was still deleted out of existence."

"And what makes you so sure that this is different, that you have a chance at winning?"

"I don't," I simply answer, "I don't know. I'm so tired, Selene. Tired of all this needless fighting, tired of the struggle that is this cursed life. They took my entire life and turned it into a script, forcing me to experience pain, horror, and despair, while making sure that I'm unable to stop it. Even the small chapter that I'm supposed to write, the final page of my book, they keep erasing what I do until they're satisfied with it. If I refuse to fight for them, they'll rewind the clock and try something else, if I do fight, at least there's an end to all of this in the horizon. Whether I'm alive or dead, it doesn't matter, the cycle must be broken."

Selene looked down, "I'm sorry."

"You're sorry? About what exactly? About you betraying me in a manner that was so heinous, so terrible that I can't put it into words? Or is it about the miserable existence that is my life?" I asked without showing any sign of the anger simmering deep inside me.

She was tearing up now, "I know that what I did was wrong, and that I lost your trust. But is it horrible that I don't like seeing the woman I love turn into this broken thing?"

"You're the one who turned me into this, remember?"

She didn't have anything to say to that and just looked down. After ten minutes of silence, she asked, "Would you have ever let me out, if you didn't need me to fight?"

I looked at her. I saw the woman that had been my trusted companion for thousands of years, that I shared my joy and sorrows with, and all I could feel was disappointment at her betrayal. I let my face stay as impassive as possible when I uttered the word, "No."

I could tell that it hurt her deeply, but she had asked for the truth, and I delivered it. She buried her obvious distress in her mind and stood up, "Alright, we've wasted enough time. Tell me about that plan of yours and how we're going to kill a Cosmic Entity."

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