Superbia was just about to let Buddie back in as a show of respect when Urdhuri stopped him.

“I’m only here for the young one. Whatever else has happened is none of my business,” Urdhuri stated calmly, but it was clear that he fully agreed with what Superbia had done and was happy to see Buddie suffer a little.

Realising this, Superbia smiled and kept the barrier up that was blocking Buddie out. “Since that’s the case, you can take him.” He released Ed’s thread and watched as it disappeared from his universe. He thought back to his previous conversation with Buddie and realised something. “Were you the one who accepted Buddie’s request?”

“I’m heading off now old friend. Send my regards to your partner.” Urdhuri avoided the question and Superbia could no longer sense his presence.

Superbia shook his head with a smile. “I’ll just let him have his fun.” Then he disappeared back to the throne room, his words echoing in the empty space.

~

Back in the library, Urdhuri reached out into the air and plucked out a small thread. It was the same thread that was just in Superbia’s hands a moment ago. He studied it carefully, bringing it in close. “You’ve grown a little since you first woke up.”

The thread was still a very dark colour, almost entirely black, unlike the pure red of Urdhuri’s soul. But it was definitely lighter than it was when his soul had first awakened in that bathroom on the train.

“Should I give him a boost?” Urdhuri was tempted to infuse Ed with a small piece of himself to strengthen Ed’s soul, but decided against it for multiple reasons. His soul was far too powerful , and even a small fraction of a percentage would be strong enough to dominate and wipe Ed’s soul clean.

Doing this would also be pushing fate too much. And as someone who was so well versed in fate and how it functioned, he knew that he wasn’t allowed to do anything too big. He played the role of the silent observer for a reason. Because he knew too much, fate wouldn’t allow him to do whatever he like ,

Every action of his would result in a far stronger pushback from fate than if the same action was performed by someone less knowledgeable. This was the price he had to pay for spending too long in the pool of fate. He was powerful. The most powerful thing below fate itself.

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But he was too closely tied to it. He was a part of it, and it was a part of him. Fate was like a cage that surrounded everything. It was a complex web tied to everything in the world. It surrounded and controlled everything, and kept them trapped inside.

But he had managed to find a way out of the cage. He could watch the world from outside the cage and view everything as it happened. But at the same time he couldn’t get back in. And if he tried to act on the world the cage would push back.

“I’ll have to leave you as you are, otherwise things will go too far down hill and it would all have been for naught.” He let go of the thread and watched as it floated into the air away from him.

The thread, sensing that it was in a safe space, started to squirm with greater intensity. It grew in size, someone expanding from being smaller than a hair to the width of a finger. It branched off into more threads that grew in size until it, after many hours, formed the shape of a human.

Once everything was in place, the threads switched, and Ed’s human form was back in their place. He looked around blankly, his body mechanical and stiff. His heart and soul started thumping, and only then did the light start to return to his eyes.

He was confused. He didn’t know anything that had happened from the moment Superbia had grabbed him until now. Everything had happened too quickly, and he had died in an instant.

This wasn’t his first time dying, but it felt innately different to the other times. He didn’t have anyone to heal him, and most of the damage he had taken the other times was physical. But this time, even his soul was ripped to shreds and immolated until there was only a tiny part of it left.

He didn’t know what happened then or after, and he didn’t know what was happening now. All he knew was that he should have been dead. He could still feel the burning pain of Superbia’s light. The pain was unbearable, and forced him to the ground with a wail. He clutched at his chest as his soul shivered and he spent hours on the ground being tormented by the pain.

An unknown amount of time passed as he laid there in pain, until he eventually stopped moving and gave in to the pain. He knew it would eventually stop, it was all a matter of time.

~

Back in the throne room, time began to move again as Superbia returned to his position and turned to face Zara. “I’ve sorted things out for you. Ed will be back at work by the time your holiday is over. For now, you can spend the next couple of days with us.”

Zara’s face lit up as she looked at him with a bright smile. “Really? Thank you thank you thank you!” She flew over and hugged him out of excitement, not caring about his position or title at all.

He chuckled and gave her a pat on the back “I had to argue with Buddie to get him sent back early so do be careful. Buddie might not look at you two too favourably because of it. But it should all blow over soon.”

Zara was beside herself in joy. She soared around the room and hugged everyone, even if they were still confused about what was going on.