Two Halves of a Broken Past

( Play CradleS for this chap )

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The silence between them was finally broken.

"You look stronger than when you left us to live here," Eterna said, her voice carrying an edge of scrutiny. A deep frown settled on her lips as she gazed at Nyxara.

It wasn't just a passing remark—it was a truth that disturbed her. A god's strength didn't increase simply by waiting, by existing, by watching the multiverse expand. That was a misconception believed only by the ignorant.

Power and authority weren't gifts handed to the divine. They were earned, cultivated through effort, through duty. Gods, especially the Main Gods, had to govern, lguide, maintain, and advance their respective domains. Their strength grew as they upheld their responsibilities, as they influenced the cosmos, shaping its destiny through their will.

Eterna had seen this truth time and time again.

But Nyxara…

Nyxara had abandoned her place among them, retreating into the Infernal Realm, isolating herself from the divine hierarchy. She had ceased her duties, severed her connection to the natural cycle of the multiverse. She had done nothing—no creation, no destruction, no intervention.

And yet—

Here she stood.

Radiating an overwhelming power that defied reason.

Nyxara crossed her arms, her crimson eyes gleaming with amusement.

"Oh? So, are you jealous?" she asked, tilting her head. "Or… are you afraid of my power?"

Eterna narrowed her eyes, concealing the unease growing within her.

Afraid? No. But concerned? Yes.

Power like this… It didn't come from mere existence. It didn't come naturally.

"Don't joke around, Nyxara," Eterna said, her voice losing its previous lightness. "Where did you get this power?"

Nyxara's lips curled into a smirk, but something in her expression was different now. It was colder—calculated.

"So that you can take it for yourself?" she asked, her tone carrying an almost mocking challenge.

Eterna felt her fingers twitch slightly.

Something was very, very wrong.

This wasn't the same Nyxara she had known before.

The Nyxara of the past had been prideful, defiant, even rebellious—but this? This was different. There was an unnatural confidence in her stance, an eerie certainty in her gaze.

And for the first time, Eterna felt something she never thought she would feel toward her sister.

Doubt.

A decision formed in her mind instantly.

I can't leave her like this.

She would imprison Nyxara and take her to Master. Only he would be able to discern what had happened to her.

Eterna began weaving her divine authority, calling forth the ancient seals of the gods...

But before she could finish—

The world shattered.

The Demon Goddess Unleashed

A pulse of raw, unrelenting power exploded outward.

Nyxara's aura surged, expanding like an unstoppable tide, sending violent tremors through the Infernal Realm. The very fabric of space trembled, splintering apart at its seams.

Reality itself recoiled.

The sky cracked like fragile glass, the land groaned beneath an unseen weight, and Eterna felt something she had never felt before—

Nyxara's voice cut through the chaos, dripping with rage and amusement alike.

"So you really came here to fight me?" she hissed.

Her power coiled around her like living shadows, a churning vortex of abyssal energy and destruction.

"Fine," she whispered, her voice dark and twisted. "Then let it be war."

And then—she struck.

Eterna barely had a moment to react before Nyxara launched herself forward, moving with a speed that shouldn't have been possible.

Darkness engulfed her hand, morphing into a jagged blade of abyssal ruin—the Blade of Ruin, a weapon forged from the primal abyss, capable of severing existence itself.

Eterna reacted on instinct, summoning her own divine weapon—the Scythe of Equilibrium. The moment her hand gripped the handle, golden and silver light erupted from it, pulsing with the balance of Life and Death.

Their weapons met—

And the Infernal Realm tore apart.

The impact sent shockwaves rippling across dimensions. The land cracked beneath them, mountains crumbling into dust. Flames of destruction and ethereal light intertwined, waging war against each other.

Nyxara moved like a shadow, her attacks relentless, her blade carving through space itself.

Eterna countered, her scythe slicing through the waves of abyssal energy. Each clash of their weapons ignited the battlefield, turning the sky into a storm of divine fury.

Nyxara vanished, appearing behind Eterna in a blur of speed.

Eterna twisted just in time, raising her scythe to block an incoming strike. The force behind the attack sent her skidding back, her feet carving trenches into the ground.

"You've gotten slow, sister," Nyxara taunted.

Eterna didn't respond. Instead, she retaliated, summoning vines of divine energy—threads of pure life force designed to bind and purify.

Nyxara laughed as they wrapped around her, only for a pulse of abyssal darkness to disintegrate them instantly.

Then—Nyxara raised her hand.

A spear of absolute destruction formed in her grasp.

Eterna's eyes widened.

That spear wasn't just an attack.

It was meant to erase her.

She had no choice.

For the first time in eons, she drew upon her true power.

Golden flames erupted around her, her divine energy surging to its peak. Her aura expanded, equalizing the forces of Life and Death into an overwhelming force of existence itself.

And in that moment—Nyxara faltered.

A flicker of hesitation.

A moment of doubt.

But before either could make their next move—

The battle didn't end.

It was stopped.

A presence tore through the battlefield.

A force so absolute, so impossible, that reality itself froze.

Time came to a standstill.

The sky dimmed, space itself twisted, and all sound ceased.

Eterna felt it first—

A pressure beyond comprehension.

Then—Nyxara felt it.

And her reaction was unlike anything Eterna had ever seen.

Her expression didn't just shift—it collapsed into pure horror.

She ran.

Without hesitation. Without pride.

She ran.

But before she could escape, before she could even move beyond a few steps—

She was lifted.

A hand—one that moved faster than anything in this multiverse—grasped her by the throat.

A hand that should not have been able to reach her so quickly.

A figure stood there, holding her effortlessly in its grasp.

But the figure…

It was wrong.

Distorted.

Reality itself struggled to define it, unable to properly process its existence.

And then—it became clear.

Zar.

Yet, for a split second—

He was something else.

Something beyond recognition.

Something beautiful.

Eterna caught a glimpse—but not enough to understand.

Nyxara, however—

Resisting.

Then, Zar spoke.

His voice was soft. Too soft.

"Hey," he whispered.

"Don't you think you've lived for too long?"

Eterna's blood turned to ice.

Her instincts screamed.

She moved to stop him—

But it was too late.

Zar's grip tightened.

Nyxara—

Disintegrated.

Reduced to nothing.

Erased from existence.

Eterna collapsed to her knees.

Her mind couldn't comprehend what had just happened.

Her sister was gone.