Chapter 368: Sunset

26th April 2015, Remnant

(Jasmine Sayre POV)

Selene looked down but stayed silent, "I understand. I know it doesn't mean much, Morrigan, but I still love you, and I do regret my actions, not because it didn't work, but because I can see the creature, I turned you into. I only wish I could go back in time and yell at my past self for my insecurities, and how much they rotted me from the inside, but I can't. You are the love of my life and I'm not letting you stay alone again. Win or lose, life or death, I will follow you."

I nodded and didn't respond. There was nothing to say after all. Instead, I simply stood up and walked over to the rest of the team. They all nodded at me in greeting, but also stayed silent. We remained that way until suddenly the sky started to darken, and a few bolts of black lightning fell from the sky all around us, followed by loud thunder that shook the earth itself.

I gave my team a solemn look, "He's here."

They all stood up behind me, in the positions that we agreed on before, as we waited for our enemy to reveal himself. The shadows in front of us started to take shape slowly, revealing a sinister figure that seemed to absorb the light itself. I rolled my eyes; Entropy really liked his theatrics. It was hard to see how this behavior was coming from something that was as old as the multiverse.

Finally, the cosmic entity released his shadows and let everyone see his grinning face, "What a nifty place you found, Morrigan."

I simply stayed unmoving in place and quirked him a slight smile, "Hello Entropy."

The two of us stayed silent, unmoving, while my allies shuffled around slightly. None of them had ever seen Entropy, let alone fought him like I have. Selene knew of him, of our encounter, but never experienced one herself, Jean was much the same for that matter. Quill was barely a fledgling when it came to fighting powerful opponents. Hell, he still considers Thanos to be a powerful adversary. And Loki was unconscious during the events of Ragnarök, and the fight with Those Who Live Above in Shadow.

The man's grin widened, "Well, I have to say that I'm surprised. This place, I never knew it even existed. A parallel world so worthless that there isn't even any life left. I would have thought that Death or Time would have cancelled this entire universe since it's obviously a failed experiment of some kind."

"I thought it was appropriate for this fight. A dead world for the battle for the multiverse. Don't you think so too?"

The cosmic entity nodded, "Well, appropriate is the way to go. And you adhered to the terms of the duel. That's unexpected. I thought that you would at least try to sneak something, like having a secret infinity stone. But I checked, you gave the Maximoff girl the real ones. Is it wise to trust such a desperate creature with such power, one that proved that they were perfectly willing to destroy an entire universe because of their selfishness?"

I shook my head, "you don't realize what you've done, do you? Your trip back in time changed things, changed me as a person. You have been dealing with me like you did my counterpart. She was a loving mother, a wife, a human. Yet I'm not, not anymore, and with that change, my relationship with Wanda is not as close as it used to be. I missed so much time during our fight in that temporal attack. My daughter learned to live without me, without using me as an anchor. Should I die, as I did in your timeline, she would not be tempted by the Darkhold. There's no going back after this fight. Just like if I lose, it's permanent, if you do, then it's permanent too."

I was lying, of course, not that he knew it. Entropy was bound to time by his own nature. Warped as he may be his powers were based on his own domain that he embodies. Honestly, the time loop that Death was arranging wouldn't have worked on another cosmic entity. No matter what happens, the chances are that the loop would restart with Entropy in it. Unless I win in the exact manner Death wants, that is.

Entropy though looked startled for a fraction of a second before exclaiming, "It doesn't matter. You won the previous time because of a trump card that I didn't know about, and even then, you died pulling it off. But I do know now, and with it my victory is guaranteed."

"You poor fool. You have no idea about the game being played, do you? Do you not see what you've become. With every step you take to become more powerful in this physical realm, you hack away at your very nature as an Endless being. Honestly, look at yourself. Do you look like a cosmic entity? Do you feel like one?"

The man laughed, "It doesn't matter. Abomination or not, Hybrid or not, I will be the last one standing. The only cosmic entity alive, or at least the remnant of one. Silence will fall…."

A case of literary theft: this tale is not rightfully on Amazon; if you see it, report the violation.

"So, that's what you think your purpose is. Silence."

The cosmic entity shook his head, "You don't understand. My very nature is the very end. Entropy is universal. It is omnipresent. I am meant to outlast every single cosmic entity anyway. It was always my fate. All I'm doing is making sure that it comes a little bit sooner."

"But why now?" Jean asked suddenly.

It was odd, the redhead had stayed silent in the matter of Entropy. I had almost forgotten about the others for a moment, busy with my conversation with Entropy.

The cosmic entity seemed to have forgotten about them as well, since he tilted his head in confusion while Jean continued, "I mean, why are you doing it now? You could just wait. If it's inevitable, if it's really your fate to be the last one standing, why are you fighting so hard, breaking so many rules, just to make it happen sooner?"

Entropy raised an eyebrow at her and spoke up, "Honey, let the adults do the talking.

He then looked back at me, "What a curious entourage you brought to fight me. I made sure to destroy most of your prospective allies, so I have to say that I'm impressed. Well, more like surprised that anyone joined you at all, really. I have to say that they're a far cry from your allies in the previous timeline. Two champions of cosmic entities that are barely more than children. I mean look at her," he pointed at Jean, "she hasn't even lived for a century. And I can't believe that Dream would choose such a disappointing champion like Loki. It was obviously a rushed job, I can tell. He's been what? A Champion, an Avatar, for a year. Does he even know of his duties, or did he just accept it for more power? That would be such a Loki thing to do. And then, there's the baby half Celestial. I killed every single one of his kind in a lazy afternoon, what do you think he could do differently? Especially since they were vastly more powerful than he ever was, and ever could be."

The man then looked at Selene, "And finally, the parasitic witch, the wife, the betrayer. You hate that you feel this way, but you still love her after all she has done. I can see the bond between you. You ache for her comfort, and she aches for your forgiveness. But you know that she would betray you again should you come back to her arms. You love her, yet you do not trust her. And you consider her to be a worthy ally? What a joke!"

I ignored the look Selene was giving me and answered back at him, "And yet, you are afraid. I can see you. You're so confident in your victory, but you have this voice in the back of your head telling you that I might have a trick of some sorts. A little gimmick, a trump card, and you're worried. You're afraid of the consequences if you lose to me again. The cosmic entity that lost not once but twice to a mortal. That would be just shameful, you would be a laughingstock of your fellow Endless, and you're scared. What a mortal sentiment!"

I drawled the last sentence around. It was the easiest way to make Entropy unbalanced and I saw it. I had let go of the Death essence inside me, and let my words become the weapons to kill his determination. He really shouldn't have let me talk.

Entropy was rattled and it showed, "SHUT UP!"

I snorted, "Hit a nerve, did I? A true cosmic entity wouldn't react like this. They wouldn't be beholden by emotions like you are now. In your efforts to remove your restrictions to involve yourself in the mortal world, you made yourself one of us. You're very powerful, but by making yourself mortal, you made yourself alive. And that means that you're within Death's realm. You can die now."

"I am Entropy personified. For me to die, Entropy itself would need to cease to exist."

I chuckled, "But weren't you born? You're a being beholden to time, you had to have a beginning. And just like you did, so can another, so can your successor. You can die because another can take your place, another can become Entropy."

That seemed to actually rattle the cosmic entity, "That's impossible. The Living Tribunal will never allow for something like this to happen."

"Even to punish a rogue cosmic entity that broke his laws?" I simply commented.

Entropy just snarled and I smiled, "You wanted to become whole, to have an ultimate Entropy exist in every single reality possible, but by doing so, you jeopardized your own existence. You win, you would win all, you lose, you die. You have never thought about Death before, have you? You're supposed to be the end, the driving force towards a chaotic universe. Do you even have a soul? So, if you die, will you technically fade?"

Entropy started to shake with rage until he calmed down and stilled suddenly. He gave me a cold look before saying, "I am going to kill you today. You're going to watch as I take away everything that gives your life meaning. I will ascend into the being I am supposed to become, and you're going to watch it happen, helpless as I kill your wife and your daughter, even this useless rock that you call a planet, that you've spent so much time and effort protecting. And there will nothing you can do about it but watch and writhe in agony. Only then, will you have my permission to die, worm."

I shrugged, knowing that what he said wouldn't happen even should I lose this fight, "Perhaps that will happen. But I will still perform my duty and fight to stop you. Your road will not be as easy as you think, Entropy."

The cosmic entity nodded, "You still think you can win. It's understandable. But you cannot stop Entropy. You can dread it, run from it. But it comes all the same. I come all the same. And now, here we are. For our duel commences now."

I nodded, "And may only the victor return alive."

With the proclamation, the dimensional doors surrounding Remnant closed permanently. This was a divine pact of sorts. Our battlefield was chosen, and none would leave it but the victor. We couldn't leave Remnant if Entropy was still alive, just as Entropy could not do the same without killing us first.

The fight for the fate of the multiverse had officially begun and there was no way to take that back. My future, my past, my very existence was dedicated to this exact moment, to this exact battle. I could say that I was excited, that I was afraid. But I wasn't. I was just tired.

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