Epilogue 2 (Presage)

"I can't help but feel like something bad is coming this way." – John Bukharin, Unknown Source

"I'm sorry, but are you trying to tell us that-"

"You two came from a different world?"

Peace had reigned in Remnant for a while, with both Ozma and Salem making sure that everything followed a balance of good and evil. Nothing had ultimately forced their hand into acting directly and things had been particularly calm… until this very day. A portal, two individuals stepping through and… providing them with incredible confusion since this place wasn't meant to be easily accessible to anyone but them. An explanation ensued and there was much to digest from their side of things.

"Different 'worlds', to be more precise," The chatty priest announced. A young man with short dark hair, red eyes and a charismatic smile. He wore the outfits of a saintly figure, but his magic energy was the clear opposite. A demon. "Mine cooler than his."

"If you're done trying to prove a point, Richard, I suggest you let me deal with this," The other man argued, his tone flat and uncaring about the indirect jab aimed at his own direction. The orange-eyed blond wore formal clothes made by a gray jacket and pants, with a white shirt, a blue tie and a pair of black shoes to complete his outfit. "Now, where was I… yes. Now, I understand that this situation might sound absurd, but we're already aware that someone in this dimension had already come here from a similar situation. Which is why this dimension in particular could be targeted."

"By what?" Salem inquired and the priest hummed.

"Some bastard of the chaotic kind. Can't explain it myself, only that they can be quite tough to deal with. Numerous and strong," Richard explained, glancing at the blond. "Hence why there's this kind of roll call meant to prepare everyone for when the bigger wave hit. And when it will hit-"

"It will threaten all dimensions at once," The normal man interjected, concluding the sentence. "Which is why we're here. You have to know this peace you have, the one you conquered through sacrifice and hardship, will be threatened by creatures beyond the realm of Grimm or other mythological monsters. Entities that will put everything under siege."

"And what would you offer, then?" Ozma asked cautiously.

"An alliance. For the future of all."

"And how would that work?" The new God of Darkness pressed, trying to at least understand the general points of that proposal.

"You will be informed when it will all begin. It will be as quick as we can move, but us and our other 'colleagues' are putting an effort to be at ready for when this unfold. The same is, of course, expected to you."

"We… will make sure everything is well-defended."

A nod came from the blond. "Good and… I suppose we're done there."

"We sure are. Time to get back to business-" Richard pointed out in amusement.

"More like dilly-dallying."

"Can it, you prick," The priest grumbled in brief frustration, the duo not even sparing a goodbye as they opened another rift and left the two deities of Remnant confused on this new circumstance.

"Should we… involve John?" Ozma asked, surprising his wife with that lack of confidence on the matter. It was rare, and never a sign of goodness considering the current instance.

"...Not yet," Salem argued. "The last thing we need is for him to overthink this and mess any chances of preparing for this threat. A nameless one."

"Not nameless, unknown. It's… chaos. But to what degree and how would it develop."

So many questions left unanswered, most of which because without a source of clarification. The future was bright now but… it was clear something was going to eventually end this all. Were they going to make it? That… that they couldn't tell just yet.

AN

And thus the story ends with a question mark… or does it? In fact, considering everything, I'll leave the readers the discretion to perceive this or the previous Epilogue as the real endings or not. It's up to you, so… yeah.