The gravity encompassing the Blackened Bay was distorted and unstable. Giant spheres of water were suspended in the air, large clumps of sand and soil detached from the rest of the planet and floated like mini islands above the ground. Kashurra sprinted across the surface of one of these clumps in pursuit of Yadala who kept his distance while attacking with disembodied eyes that formed in the center of shadowy masses. Tai sat in the sand below with a gravitational barrier around him. His eyes were closed while he focused pushing his power through Kash. Their connection placed Kashurra in a semi-hypnotic state where she could access Tai's command of gravity. This allowed Tai to wield his abilities without being overtaken by the deluge of power like when he and Oya had first met. Bonrue had accomplished this by placing a chip inside Kashurra's brain when she was an infant, as well as feeding her the divine essence that was given to him by Ziusudra all those blooms ago. As Kash ran across the surface of one of the water spheres an eye with a gold iris appeared in front of her. It blinked and an explosion erupted evaporating the water leaving only a large quantity of salt to rain back down on the beach. Kash leapt off the sphere right before the explosion but the force still blew her away. She recovered by using gravity to form a foothold of sand in mid air. From her foothold, Kash scanned the area for Yadala when suddenly four golden eyes appeared around her. A gravitational rift opened up under her and she let herself fall through as the eyes winked and exploded. The explosion was also sucked into the rift. A second rift opened up beside Yadala but only the explosion emerged, catching Yadala in its blast radius. Kash giggled from atop one of the water spheres. Yadala tore what was left of his shirt off and threw it away. His violet eyes began to glow. The brighter they shined the darker the sky got as black clouds shrouded the southern sky in a night-rivaling darkness. Kash stopped giggling, left speechless she stared up at the unnatural darkness only looking away when a trio of humongous golden eyes appeared in the sky. Each one was brighter than the sun that naturally shone over Hyunda. The eyes washed the beach in a white hot light. Tai opened his eyes and stood up, breaking his connection with Kash. This released the gravity that affected the shore causing Kash to fall with the deluge of water that was the sphere. Tai used his power to pull her to him safely. "Close your eyes!" He told her, pushing her head down and holding her tightly. The blinding white light that emanated from the eyes seemed to be absorbed back into them once again leaving the beach in darkness. The darkness held for three seconds then three superheated beams of light erupted from the gigantic eyes. The beams moved across the surface of the planet closing in on Tai and Kash, burning deep chasms into the planet. The beam moving from the sea instantly evaporated any water it touched. The beam moving across the beach turned the sand near it to glass as it moved closer to Kash and Tai. The beam moving toward them from the forest incinerated the trees, not even leaving ashes. Tai's eyes began to shine bright much like Yadala's were moments ago. Tai held his arm over his head with his palm facing up and a black disc like the one when he fought Oya formed above him. The disc grew and formed an orb around them. Inside the orb Kash and Tai's connection broke. "What happened, where are we and why am I sweaty?" Kash asked. Tai smiled gently. "Trust me, okay?" Outside the orb the light beams converged on their position but they were absorbed into the blackness of the orb.

Yadala strolled up to the Orb and examined it, his brow furrowed when he felt a new presence emerging from what was left of the trees at the edge of the beach. "Now this is a surprise!" Bilan shouted, skipping up to Yadala. "You're smaller than I remember, beast." Yadala sneered. Bilan jumped up and slapped him on his back a little harder than any friendly gesture would be. "If you weren't such a momma's boy I'd be here for you. So don't push your luck." The orb finally faded and Tai and Kash looked confused at the new face in front of them. "Aour?" Tai asked. Yadala closed his eyes and lowered his head. "Then I'll take my leave." He said reluctantly, and vanished. "Isn't this the little girl from the lab?" Kash asked Tai. "She looks a little different." Bilan cleared her throat before speaking. "Taivero Carneigho, Aeon of Fate, abomination. Your existence is an affront to existence, material or otherwise. And it is my onus to expel you from it." Tai didn't respond but Kash pushed past him. "Who do you think you're talking to? I don't know who you are or where that other guy went but you weirdos need to leave him alone!" "Shut up." Bilan said and waved her hand as if swatting away a gnat. Kash screamed in pain as a pale green light erupted out of her eyes and mouth. The light stopped and Kash's body fell into the sand limp and silent. Tai's eyes were wide, he slowly looked down at Kash laying lifeless in the black sand. He dropped down to his knees and gently lifted her head. "Kashurra?" He whispered. "Your turn, kid." Bilan said cheerfully. Tai looked up at her but she was gone. The beach was gone. The sand was no longer black but gold. "I CAN GIIIIIVVEEEEE HER BAAAAAAACK TO YOUUUUUUUUU!" The sand trembled while the voice spoke. Tai didn't respond, he just hugged Kash but her body disappeared from his embrace. He felt a hand touch him gently on his shoulder. "Tai." Kash said softly. He whipped around but nobody was there. "YOOOOOOUUUU CAN HAAAAVVVE HER BAAAAAAACK! JUST LEEEEEEEEEET ME IIIIIIN!" "I don't care, do whatever." Tai responded under his breath. Tai was back on the beach with Bilan in front of him. "Your turn, kid." Bilan said cheerfully as she pointed her palm at him and a pale green light shot from the ground like a geyser but Tai was no longer there. Instead he was standing in the water looking out over the horizon. Bilan frowned. "You're faster than you look." Tai ignored her. "I must admit this place, this prison is as beautiful as it is formidable. But now that I'm here I can unravel its beauty from the inside out!" Bilan stood confused at Tai's ramblings, but then the realization hit. "Oh no." "You, Destroyer. Life here seems rather abundant, disproportionately so. Do you not perform your duty?" Tai addressed Bilan without turning around. "I've been predisposed until recently." Bilan responded. Tai slowly turned around. "I see." His eyes were no longer brown or violet but a glowing, shimmering silver. Bilan rushed Tai, she unleashed a combination of punches and kicks none of which seemed to be able to make contact. "This boy truly is the perfect vessel. It's a shame he never used his most powerful gift." Tai spoke while Bilan was still attacking. "Stop." Tai commanded. Bilan immediately stopped punching. "Kneel!" Was Tai's next command but Bilan struggled to resist the compulsion. "Oh, you deny your fate?" Tai seemed amused at the thought. "Y-you don't be...long here A-Apep." Bilan struggled to say while fighting her hardest not to give in to the compulsion. Apep smirked, "Will is an Aeon's greatest weapon...but she doesn't seem to be here right now." Apep clenched his fist and the gravity increased planting Bilan face down in the sand. Apep didn't just do this within the isolation of the beach but the entirety of the planet. Anything too weak to withstand the sudden increase in gravity was crushed. Infants, children, small animals, the sick and elderly. Airships were pulled out of the sky, swimmers drowned. It lasted only a few moments before he returned it to normal. He then levitated over to Kash's body and stared down at it. "Did you know, before the beginning, there was nothing but swirling chaos?" He asked Bilan, who was trying to stand up. "But then a single thought popped into being. Do you know what that thought was? It was eternity, the all of everything pondering itself. And that one singular thought granted the concept of emptiness. And emptiness yearns to be filled. Did you know this?" He asked, still staring at Kash. He flicked his finger and an orb appeared behind Bilan and began to draw her into itself. She desperately tried to resist, clawing at the ground trying to escape its pull. "But now that emptiness was filling itself with more and more thoughts. And those thoughts created structure and order and identity. But the only thing that was there before that first thought had its own thought, and I was born. Did you know that all we are are thoughts? You, me, this boy even the abomination that made this silly copy." He flicked his finger again and another orb appeared in front of Bilan. It also began to pull her into it. The gravity of both orbs increased and began to pull her apart. But Apep kept talking even through her screams. "Oh I never did say what that first thought was, did I? Well no one knows, nobody was around to hear it." Bilan was already gone, torn into two different singularities. Apep didn't notice or care. "Get up." He ordered Kash's corpse and it rose from the sand and shambled lifelessly behind Apep as he floated off towards Uraeus.

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