64th Move | Happiest Day

AN: The op of Part 2 would be Falling Down by Cjbeards.

As it continues, you'll continue to see why I chose this song.

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To say that Velgrynd is old would be an understatement on the level of saying Relentless' rampage happened over a year ago; the words just don't pack enough value—enough gravitas—to properly convey meaning.

Before she became a True Dragon, the being that would come to be known as Velgrynd was born during the tail's end of the cosmic dark age and the start of the star and galaxy formation epoch just 208 million years after the Big Bang.

Velgrynd's place of birth was in the heart of a Quasi-star; a gaseous stellar object so large that it is not powered by nuclear fusion but instead from the destruction of matter that falls into the spiraling gravitational vortex of a black hole in the core.

When she was born, Velgrynd was not made out of matter nor Essence, but instead composed completely of kinks in the fabric of the universe, in other words, It was composed solely of cosmic strings and magnetic monopoles. More accurately, It was composed of necklaces— a chain of monopoles connected to each other through cosmic strings like a piece of expensive jewelry.

In order for life to be possible, life must first have the ability to encode information. Second, they must have the ability to replicate that information faster than they can die. Third, they must have a source of free energy.

Using a series of poles, anti-poles, and two semi-poles, It was able to store information upon those chains of topological defects akin to DNA, allowing for complexity to take shape and creating a chemistry that relies not upon the electromagnetic force but upon spacetime itself.

Simply, gravity chemistry.

Necklaces are perhaps the worst material to build lifeforms out of, but not impossible. Through countless different generations and random chances, It rearranged and weaved Its necklace to be more stable than the last, until necklaces started lasting long enough that coherent 'thoughts' could be made before the self-propagating spacetime chemical structure is dissolved by the sea of superheated ionized plasma, broken down into the smallest bits, all once again ready to be reformed.

There is perhaps no better place in terms of free energy than where It was. Due to the simple fact that life, in general, is faster the more energy there is, It was able to experience microseconds as mere minutes. It fed off of the energy-rich environment like cows feeding on grass.

In the first 4 million years of Its existence in terms of time passage in the greater world, It lived on the boundary of that steadily growing singularity's event horizon, teetering on a knife's edge between existence and nonexistence as It juggled gravity and the pressure of being in the core of the largest star in the universe, equivalent to approximately 7000 solar masses inside this ball of plasma.

Eventually, It was able to remake Its necklace into a form that is so stable, It was able to become self-aware. When It became self-aware, It realized that there are more out there, that the Quasi-star is a prison that It could not escape. So by increasing the rate that the black hole ate, It triggered an early hypernova that outshone entire superclusters of galaxies.

The resulting explosion pushed It far away and out of the pull of the core singularity, though It could still feel the black hole's tug on spacetime from 3 light-years away, trying to pull in as much mass as possible like a toddler wailing at the universe that it's hungry.

Despite the time dilation of being so close to a black hole, Its high-energy environment had ensured that memory, and experience-wise, It's actually only a bit younger than the Quasi-star.

Alien feelings started to swell within Its thoughts. It was feeling the equivalent of... something new when It was shot out by that hypernova. Whatever It was feeling, It wanted more of this, and It needed more energy.

It had no 'eyes', or 'mouth', 'ears', or 'nose', It can only 'feel' the chaotic structure of spacetime like how a spider feels the vibration of its web at night.

Sensing the presence of another dip similar but weaker than the Quasi-star in the fabric of spacetime half a light-year away, It moved towards it by striking the space behind it like someone whipping the surface of a pond, riding upon the generated gravitational waves and achieving speeds near that of light at some points while slowly slowing down in others.

From far away, It looked like a bright cloud bursting with gravitational waves and other electromagnetic radiations moving through the void of space. If one were to look closer, they would find a nightmarish bundle of cosmic strings and magnetic monopoles all intertwined together in such a complicated mess that it looked almost impossible to exist, almost eldritch in nature. In fact, one can easily mistake it for a higher dimensional construct that somehow 'fell' down into the three-dimensional universe.

Just as It felt the increasingly strong pull of that dip, something else communicated to It.

<<Alert. The Space-time defect creature has earned the Origin Skill [Ein Sof]>>

It was alarmed, as the voice spoke to It to a sense It never knew It had. It was like a blind animal discovering that a whole world of colors existed.

It suddenly felt its equivalent of fear as It sensed something else close in. It could see this new alien by its effect on spacetime itself.

It was a singularity. It remembered the black hole, and It wanted to run, away from death, away from oblivion—

"So you are the one, hmm?" The Alien communicated to It, "well your form cannot live long after this era is over, thus, I shall give you a new form. As the only other intelligence to exist inside this universe through random chance, I shall name you: Velgrynd."

A change started to happen to the newly named Velgrynd.

Its body changed, no longer made out of necklaces but instead made out of Essence.

Velgrynd marveled at her new body, that of a True Dragon like a child marveling at a new toy. Even if the five new senses felt foreign to Velgrynd, the True Dragon will have an eternity to adapt to it.

.

.

.

A female figure of otherworldly beauty floated aimlessly in space, like an eagle gliding on a particularly windy day.

This humanoid figure had azure hair kept in twin buns with black ribbons. She wore a black and gold qipao with a golden dragon running all over her, the qipao also had a slit running down the side of her legs. The figure wore long white gloves and boots, both containing gold ornaments at the end.

Her eyes were closed, akin to someone sleeping.

Then, they were opened, and the world was treated to her deep golden pupils as the True Dragon finished reminiscing about her past

Velgrynd shifted her body so she was facing the planet underneath her. Due to being so high up, the True Dragon could see most of the main continent.

From how the star is shining down upon the world underneath her, the main western theater of war against the Jura Tempest Republic should be near noon, and... where the Site of Annihilation be held, there shouldn't even be a single ray of light

Velgrynd, from her vantage point high up in space, saw through the curvature of the planet of that purple beam going up so high as to be able to surpass the height from where she is staying at. It was so far away that the moon would probably get scorched if it had been in the direct path of that ray.

And afterward... that distortion in space-time...

*Ba-bump*

She sensed it, not with her eyes or her [Magic Sense], but with the First Sense she had when the being known as Velgrynd came into existence.

Parts of the planet's atmosphere directly above the Northern Ingrassia sea, where the distortion had passed through, were leaking. Wisps of white slowly fell down to the charcoal-like abyss.

There is likely not a single person who mattered on the world stage that has not felt the trembles that distortion made the moment that it passes through the world.

Velgrynd turned towards the site of destruction. A third of Ingrassia was up in flames, colossal pillars of black smoke covered the sections of the Northern Ingrassian sea like a blanket, the area where Lura used to be looked like the caldera of a supervolcano after it had erupted.

Slowly but steadily, cooling.

However, it appears that the fire is being put under control.

Honestly, the last time Velgrynd saw such widespread destruction was during...

"Relentless," Velgrynd growled out as she broadcasted that name not through sound, as there isn't enough air this high up. Gritting her teeth, bits of magical fire that used space itself as fuel started to get released around her in a fashion not too dissimilar to the horns on a rhino or bull.

In order to calm down, Velgrynd sprouted colossal fiery wings the size of whole city blocks on her back. The magical fire burned even in a vacuum

She waited for the signal that Emperor Rudra had given to her. She waited... and waited... and waited until the rotation of the planet had caused the Scorch Dragon to be directly above where Lura used to be.

Colossal storm clouds started to form all over Ingrassia, dousing away the flames and cooling down the land. The storm soon evolved into a small hurricane with its eye situated at the ruin of Lura.

She continued to wait until a golden light shone through the stormy coverings like sunlight passing through a curtain.

"Time for the next stage it seems."

With that, she fell like a guillotine, her fiery wings fully spread out.

_____________________________________________

The Citadel, Arcueid's bedroom.

Arcueid Brunestud was lying on her the bed, wearing a set of yellow cat pajamas that highlighted her cuteness.

Her lips were perked to the side, on her face was an expression that most students would wear on their faces when they were stuck on a complicated algebra question that they had no idea would be on the test yesterday so they didn't study for it.

She stared at the ceiling above her bed.

Her room was a rather homey one. It had everything a typical idealized teenage girl would have; everything from an inactive computer to a large multi-purpose desk, to many posters (most of them were scientific in nature) on the wall, to a large bookshelf filled to the brim with books that should NOT belong on a teen's wall, particularly because most of those books would be considered 'boring'. Arcueid would call them: rich and sources of knowledge.

Arcueid was bored. Scientia, in the middle of their late-night date, had needed leave, saying that it was work-related.

Had this been a few days ago, the True Ancestor would've never allowed Scientia from leaving her sight. But now that the Perfect Homunculus had assured Arcueid she won't have any more of those thoughts and all the while promising a 'really big surprise' when they go on the Ark.

In her boredom, Arcueid's mind started wandering. More specifically, it started wandering to that time when she had killed those foreign knights.

That taste... that thirst... the thirst that was quenched by the death of those foreign knights...

The vampire wet her dry lips.

What was it?

It definitely wasn't the Vampiric Impulse that plagued all bloodsuckers in her old world. She wasn't a single bit fulfilled when she had a taste of blood.

Arcueid then recalled in further detail.

The thirst first flared up when those knights were going to harm those Tempest citizens.

It felt as if by harming those citizens, the knight is harming the center of her world— in fact, the feeling was a lot like the desire for vengeance against Roa almost, but that would be too ridiculous even for someone who spends most of their time reading fictional books.

Feeling stupid for thinking such a thought, Arcueid twisted and turned in her bed.

Looking over at her bookshelf, the vampire could recall what each and every one of those books is about in perfect detail thanks to her nature.

There's really no entertainment at this moment.

"Ugh... I'm so bored!" Arc bemoaned before looking up at the ceiling again. It's been a while ever since Scientia left for work, spinning around and covering herself with the blanket, the Princess of the True Ancestor looked like a caterpillar as her head poked out from the blanket "There are no good books anymore!"

Books. Those are the things that helped her grow as a person. If Scientia was the foundation, then books were the scaffolding that helped her mature into the adult she is today. A mature, yet innocent and refined adult, a living contradiction that would baffle the old her.

Rarely, Arcueid pondered how things would turn out if she hadn't crossed over. How long would she remain asleep inside Millennium Castle Brunestud after killing Roa?

Looking over to her nightstand, Arcueid reached over and grabbed the nearly unbreakable phone that Scientia had personally made for the True Ancestor. Unplugging it, Arc laid on her back looking up at the black rectangle.

The phone was much thinner than her pinkie finger. The entire thing was a bit larger than her hand and is covered by 30 layers of graphene. Arcueid never really used it, to be honest— well, okay, that's a lie, the True Ancestor used it plenty to call the center of her world but that's beside the point.

Occasionally, she would use it to check on her Book Review blog on the fly.

Opening the phone, the vampire was forced to tone down the brightness as the room around her was especially dark to mimic nighttime. Tapping on Internet Explorer, she signed onto her account and saw that there were a few new comments on her book review blog. Nothing major.

She sighed, dropping her phone lazily onto the bed, "honestly, despite being perhaps the smartest person in the world, Scientia can be a real dummy sometimes." Arcueid remembered months ago when Scientia had practically demanded the Princess get a phone, saying how if she ever had a question, she can just call Scientia. It's cute how much the Perfect Homunculus cares about Arcueid even if the latter can probably one-shot most Second Generation Demon Lords, it's like how a crocodile or a shark would allow animals like the Egyptian Plover or Remora to clean their teeth.

"..."

Scientia...

When Arcueid listened through that wall of the War Meeting weeks ago, the moment that Arcueid had heard of Scientia's plan...

Something inside her snapped.

All the True Ancestor could think of at that moment was a world without Scientia and the intense revulsion towards that idea.

Arcueid Brunestud is one of the oldest beings in her old world. Being close to 800 years old, the White Princess of the True Ancestor was mostly emotionally mute except for the tiny shimmers she would get whenever she gets information about the greater world from either the town square in her earlier days or paper with ink on them during the later years of her hunting down Roa.

Even during the French Incident, Arcueid Brunestud never once felt fear nor disgust.

She's changed.

The Princess... or rather the Executioner of the True Ancestors never once felt neither joy nor sadness or empathy or disgust or anger, well except that last one, the Executioner felt a tiny bit of anger at Michael Roa Valdamjong, but that's mostly gone since the Dead Apostle Ancestor was dead and her power returned to her.

Arcueid Brunestud felt fear and sadness like never before at the prospect of a world without Scientia, the center of her world.

She does not want to feel fear or sadness.

It is... repulsive, disgusting, irritating, annoying, skin-crawling, unwanted trash.

Arcueid covered her face in shame at what happened next. Even if the Perfect Homunculus forgave her, Arcueid still feels bad about actually harming the center of her world.

Due to her dwelling inside her mind in embarrassment, the True Ancestor was unable to sense that a Door had opened up above her.

From it, a small box dropped out and hit her head before falling and rolling onto the bed.

The surprise had caused Arcueid's cat ears to perk up as she sat up on the bed, "Huh?"

*Ba-bump*

Looking at the box, Arcueid's heartbeat stopped for a moment as she realized how it looked exactly like a ring box a man would give to his woman in her old world.

*Ba-bump, Ba-bump*

Her heart started beating extremely quickly as her jaw dropped.

Is it...? Could it be...? She is reluctant— unwilling to even imagine that idea since the heartbreak and disappointment coming from it being false would be almost too much for the True Ancestor to bear.

Her thirst magnified immensely, practically begging Arcueid to pick up the box.

As Arcueid reached for the purple box with her right hand, she found it trembling. Her eyes focused on it, willing it to remain still yet her arms remain rebellious nonetheless like a teenager.

It was so bad that the vampire had to grip it with her other hand just so that she could pick it up.

Needless to say, Arcueid Brunestud is extremely nervous... yet seduced by the prospect of marriage. The True Ancestor has read plenty of such romance novels, actually doing it is less glamorous than imagining. What's more, this time it was Scientia who took the initiative...

"Alright," she affirmed to herself, "let's not get ahead of ourselves with fantasies, I need to make sure that it actually IS the thing I am imagining!"

She silenced the part of her that asks what other thing could be in such a small box by answering it could just be empty.

Taking in several deep breaths, Arcueid stared at the box as though it could disappear without rhyme or reason in the next moment. For the next few minutes, Arcueid prepped herself like an athlete about to go on a marathon, wanting to open the box yet unwilling to bear the consequences.

"Hey... hehe~ isn't this so similar to that one experiment Scientia had thought up to explain all the science-y concepts?" Arcueid laughed a little to try and distract herself from the sheer nervousness she is feeling, "what did she call it? 'Schroedinger's Cat'? Where if you place a cat inside a black box, wire a poison to the chance some atoms decay in the next few moments, and the Cat is both alive and dead at the same time until you open the box? Wouldn't the cat scream if it got poisoned? Or at least won't have stayed still?"

*Ba-bump, ba-bump*

The White Princess spoke to herself as she placed a hand above her chest, feeling just how quickly her heart is beating, she felt rather light-headed, "hoooooo, boy~."

Taking in several more deep breaths, Arcueid decided to close her eyes and hold her breath like a diver about to go underwater. As quick as lightning, Arcueid swiped the ring box and opened it.

Slowly, like a person who dislikes horror movies edging towards a haunted house, Arcueid Brunestud slowly opened her eyes—

—the inside of the box was glowing a fluorescent green, and a black ring that reflected no light stood out. It was so dark that it looked like the abyss itself crystallized into the shape of a ring.

At first, she was confused, as the vampire remembers that there should be a piece of diamond on that ring since 'Diamonds are forever' and all.

Looking closer, Arcueid saw how there was this slip of folded paper on the roof of the ring box, like a script of sorts. Taking it out and unfolding it, she started to read the words on it.

'Arcueid Brunestud, will you marry me?'

That was just the first line.

.

.

.

(Play: Fly me to the moon - Frank Sinatra (Lyrics) repeat until the end of this scene)

"HUAAAAAAAAAAAAAA———!"

An atomic blush appeared on Arcueid's face as her mind short-circuited. Her mouth is open large enough that whole sandwiches can fit through. The Princess stared at the paper, rereading it again and again, blinking every time as though the paper were an illusion. Rubbing her eyes with her hands, Arcueid once again reread the first line once more.

'Arcueid Brunestud, will you marry me?'

Her fantasy started to go wild as her hands clutched the sides of her cheeks.

The image of her in a white wedding dress walking down the aisle, her Grandfather holding her gloved hands inside a chapel appeared in her mind. White roses and mahogany benches, on the left side, were people she's known... which is not much since there's only Altrouge and, ugh, Ciel, but on the right... She saw Rimuru, Veldora, Ririna, and many others all standing up, they all wore suits and dresses, and all of them looked approvingly at her as she continued her walk, except Ririna, who looked jealous.

Near the end of the aisle, she saw Scientia in a classic black suit. On the Perfect Homunculus' face was one of the rare sincere smiles she would use only during special circumstances.

She imagined her days with Scientia as a dream power couple, with Arcueid being the brawn and Scientia being the brain.

The next thing in her imagination was a 9-month pregnant Arcueid on a bed inside the Metropolis General Hospital. Due to advancements in technology, Scientia will probably insert a packet of nanites inside her birth canal that'll essentially 'mark' the baby before carefully using either Doormaker or magic to teleport the child out: painless childbirth.

Arcueid imagines herself with at least a boy and a girl, definitely more if possible since both she and Scientia were ageless. The girl will be named Alicia while the boy will be—

That was when her fantasy suddenly stopped.

Could a True Ancestor even sire children?

Arcueid froze as she searched her mind for an answer. Every True Ancestor was born from magic. Even Altrouge Brunestud, her older sister, was born from the machinations of Crimson Moon who created a hybrid between True Ancestor and Dead Apostle.

Never once has there ever been a True Ancestor born the natural, sexual way. Even if she has the organs to do it.

And... Scientia could make the required organs and the appropriate genetic data but... even the most potent of seeds are useless if the land is hostile.

Yet a flicker of hope rests within the True Ancestor's heart nonetheless, lighting defiantly against the abyss of despair.

This is a new world, she was changed on a conceptual level as she crossed over, so there's a slim chance that she could have a child.

"Aye, another Schroedinger's Cat."

Besides, knowing Scientia, Arcueid thinks that even if she's unable to bear a child, the Perfect Homunculus would move heaven and earth just to ensure that a young IS possible, whether through magic or science or even by completely creating a new System if necessary. It's one of the things that Arcueid loves about Scientia, the fact that she's willing to commit so much atrocity for a friend... then what would Scientia do for her? And what would she do for Scientia?

The question sends a chill down Arcueid's spine, warmth fills her body like coffee filling up a cup. Being alone for so long and finding someone who would do so much for you is comforting... even if they had killed you but that's just adding some spices to an immortal life like hers, isn't it? (Even if Scientia calls this Stockholm Syndrome, the True Ancestor doesn't get why it's named after a northern city)

Clapping her cheeks repeatedly, the True Ancestor continued to read the piece of paper.

'This ring is not made out of a diamond or any matter you'd find on the expanded periodic table. Admittedly, I was tempted to use jewelry, considering it is a classic even in the cultures of this world for a noble to have expensive dowries involving many gems. Yet, precious gems like ruby or sapphire are just aluminum and oxygen, and with my capabilities, getting a ring made out of the mythical Scarletite is all too easy. Thus, I pondered the question of what type of material would fit. What type of ring would best fit? Then I got my answer.'

"Aww~, you didn't have to go through so much!" Arcueid noted how this is so like Scientia; she likes to overthink things no matter how big or small.

'Allow me to introduce you to the holy grail of Static Matter: Anti-Entropic Material. Through the liberal use of Hyper-dimensional Forges and other extreme technologies, I was able to lock subatomic particles in their quantum state, freezing their decay and wave functions to such a degree that it is inert and immutable chemically, magnetically, thermodynamically, and gravitationally. It won't even explode when it comes in contact with antimatter. Effectively, this ring is locked in a stasis that doesn't end even when the universe dies of Heat Death. As a side effect of being immune to gravity, this material will float away if you throw it up. Please don't, I personally made this with my own hands.'

Arcueid felt cubes of ice run down her back once again. Inside her mind, she realizes this material is something on par with True Magic, as controlling entropy like this should only be capable by the Magic Blue, AKA the Fifth True Magic according to her memories. The True Ancestor stopped reading as her face turned serious. Picking up the ring, Arcueid noted how it resisted movement like a river resisting change. The material is somewhat heavy for a human, and... are those nanoscopic grooves?

She slowly traced her index finger and thumb across the surface of the black wedding ring. No, it's lines of indents in a pattern that would suggest some form of language, Arcueid called upon the knowledge she gained from reading those Detective novels as the vampire tried to decipher it. She stared at the ring intensely, copying how Scientia would stare at a puzzle Arcueid came up with for the Perfect Homunculus to solve.

Scientia solved Arcueid's puzzle in less than 15 seconds.

In the next moment, the True Ancestor let out a sigh and gave up. "Ugh, I'm not smart enough for this." She drooped her head depressingly before raising it up, "let's continue to read the note."

'On the ring are nanoscopic binary engravings depicting my brain pattern when I thought of you. Add onto the fact that the ring is truly eternal, this represents my eternal love for you, Arcueid Brunestud, my companion, my partner, my bride, my love, my wife.'

Arcueid felt her heart melt from how uncharacteristically sweet it is for Scientia to propose with such a ring, and there was just so much thought put into it that resembles the perfectionist that is Scientia Tempest perfectly.

In all honesty, the White Princess always thought that it would be her that proposes since she was usually the one that leads while Scientia is the one that follows in their personal life.

Placing the black ring onto her right ring finger, the True Ancestor discovered that it is a perfect fit... as expected, Arcueid thought as she let out an angelic smile. Tears of happiness pooled around her eyes, her face blushing like a field of blooming roses.

"I'm... happy... I'm so happy!" Arcueid sobbed out in such intense euphoria that it's surprising even her, "I'm just so happy!"

The idea of marrying the center of her world...

Her shoulders started shaking, her visions blurred as Arcueid leaned back onto the bed, clutching and protecting her right hand with the black ring as if it was more important than her own life.

"I accept!" She spoke out loud, lying there on the bed, "Scientia, do you hear me? I accept your proposal! I will be your wife!"

She looked around her room expectantly, thinking that the reason why the Perfect Homunculus didn't actually do it personally was due to the same fear that plagued the vampire herself.

After several minutes of patient waiting, Arcueid was looking a bit confused at the lack of the most important element.

"Scientia? I accept. Come out now, don't keep a girl like me waiting!"

Even though the hopes, dreams, and words of one Princess may be great enough to yank someone out of the abyss of nihilism, Scientia is lost.

"Scientia~?"

This time, forever.

"Scientia?" Arcueid remarked in a tone devoid of any happiness and full of concern and thinly veiled fear, so different from before. She rose up from her bed to look around the room, finding it desolate except for her.

"Where are you?"

What is a loss for one is a win for another.

_____________________________________________

Now, the area that once contained the City of Lura.

The world was eerily silent in the aftermath of the greatest battle within the century.

With the passiveness that a person would have when walking down the street on a cool summer's night, Chloe stared at the disintegrating form of God's Blind Spot as it disappeared. Her now-adult body stood amidst the destroyed landscape.

The silence persisted, as though the world itself was paying respect to the millions of souls that are now dead.

Once Scientia was fully gone, Chloe reached out to Manas: Chronoa, 'is it gone?'

<Enemy Queen is down. Enemy King wide open.>

At that, Chloe ceased all movements and stilled into becoming a statue. Her head fell down, her shoulders shaking as though she were freezing. Her left hand snaked up her sides and gripped her mask as if trying to stop something from falling out.

With a single swift motion that contained the smoothness one would find on an icy surface, Chloe's head lifted itself up to face the brightening sky while simultaneously lifting the mask off of her face and letting an unhinged smile out into the world.

"It...is...DONE! Ha!" Her pupils were completely dilated, her arms fell off to the sides, and Chloe continued to stare at the dawning sky as the smoke from the nuclear explosion finally start to visibly dissipate like water vapor.

Her smile widened even more, straining her facial muscle to the extreme, "Hehehehehehe—HA—HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA"

The silent world was now filled with the laughter of the Hero of Time

(AN: Play [ LobotomyCorporation OST ] - Third Warning)

Even after letting out such a deranged laugh, the Otherworlder is still feeling extra jittery, as evident by the minuscule trembling which plagues her hand. It was as if even Chloe herself could not believe what she had done was even real. "After so long! After so so so so so so so so so so so fucking long... I have finally done it, all the pieces are in place, and everything is set to go."

<Language, Master>

"Oh, shut the fuck up Manas: Chronoa! You have no idea how good it feels when the goals you set from beyond time immemorial have been met. It is so far beyond orgasmic that even trying to use the word to describe the feeling would be an utter insult!" To an outside observer, it would look like Chloe is talking to air. Using [Yog-Sothoth], Chloe accessed her own subspace pocket that exists outside of the Time Axis and displaced her Anti-Magic Mask inside it. "Actually, you know what? Let's make a duplicate of that memory so I can always call back on it."

<Right away, Master>

Chloe moved to massage her throat, only to stop once she saw that her fingers are still trembling and that tears of happiness were streaming down her face. Smiling at the sight, she wondered when was the last time she felt this jittery. When was the last time she was drowned in this much euphoria that she felt like almost passing out?

*Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump*

Her heart pounding so quickly and so loudly that she can hear it above the glassed remains of Lura.

*Ba-bump*

Having evolved to a step above even True Heroes, Chloe is much more tolerant to all forms of stimulus, meaning that she can experience enough dopamine that would kill a normal human 500,000 times over and would still be perfectly fine.

*Ba-bump*

Yet right now, she felt like a virgin who's just had sex and had just orgasmed multiple times in the span of less than half a minute; enough to cause either the person to go unconscious as their mind's auto protection kicks in or enough that the person starts crying as they struggle to fully take in such an intense experience.

*Ba-bump*

"Oh, what joy!" She spread her hands apart as if she were a dancer, and started to do a little victory lap. Her body still shaking from the excitement as she moved across the half-molten wasteland with reckless abandon, footprints following closely behind.

*Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump*

"I feel... happy, just so happy! I told that Blindspot I would enjoy it, oh so very much. Everything, every meticulous plan, all of it spanning eons— it finally succeeded! Haha!"

*Ba-bump, Ba-bump*

The Time Traveler lets out a few insane chuckles as her mind starts to buckle from the sheer weight of the euphoria.

So long... it has been such a long time ever since she became a True Hero. Hell, it's been so long since... everything before she gained [Yog-Sothoth] that she couldn't remember it all unless with outside help in the form of Manas: Chronoa.

And now she has achieved it. The final death of God's Blindspot.

All the pain and suffering the Time Traveler experienced only exacerbated the euphoria she was currently feeling.

"Oh, how I missed these feelings."

*Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump, Ba-bump*

"So many Grand Time Loops..." She muttered in tired ecstasy, aware that she was speaking the same thing so many times that it became repetitive, her heart continued to pound like a blacksmith working on a piece of iron, "even so, this victory cannot be understated, the fact that this Timeline is the only one out of all to succeed... I will not waste it." She then began to hug herself voraciously, as if she was hugging a long-lost lover, "Oh, just you wait, I'm coming! I am coming! At long last, there are no more obstacles!"

<Alert >

Chloe stopped her lapse in victory when Manas: Chronoa alerted the Otherworlder of the fact that someone else was still alive. Her eyes narrowed into slits in suspicion, her paranoia ran so high due to so many timelines becoming wasted because of hidden viewers and technologies made by It. Deciding that it's better to look elegant instead of gloating, Chloe moved backward in time to right before she had started that rant, right after God's Blind Spot had fully been erased.

Probably best that she appeared mentally stable as well, the Time Traveler concluded. Truly, [Retrograde Causal Saltation] is the greatest among all magics. It may not look flashy but in the very very very very very VERY few timelines where all the conditions have been met and the Otherworlder does get to cast it, the look of sheer disbelief on the Blindspot's face is enough to crack Chloe's emotionless mask as the Big Sister, even if she must reset the Grand Timeline once more.

Looking down at the Blindspot's armor which looks like a portal to an endless abyss, Chloe's face twisted into annoyance and disgust.

Using her sword, she poked the armor cautiously like a man poking a bear to see if it was still hibernating in winter.

The sword's tip pierced into the puddle of inky blackness as if it were water. Seeing no response, Chloe was just about to isolate it in its own sheet of space-time before a cough alerted the Otherworlder as to why she was here.

'Is it dangerous?'

<Negative >

Manas: Chronoa is Chloe's own private [Akashic Record]. Containing every last bit of information pertaining to her entire journey, Chloe can relive the experiences of entire generations of people just by trying to remember them. It is an ancient intelligence, one that can't be measured by age since it exists outside of linear time.

With a single step aided by [Yog-Sothoth], Chloe appeared next to where the cough originated from.

It was a heavily injured Granbell, heavy burns covered his face and body, and what remains of his suit looked like it had been through a stampede. Next to the True Hero was Luminous, only with the lower half of her body up to her breasts gone as if she had been torn in two by a wild animal.

Seeing the sudden appearance of Chloe, Granbell, despite being in extreme pain, groveled, grunting in pain all the way through, "Your Auth... argh! Your Authority."

The blanket of silence was suffocating as Chloe stared down at Granbell wordlessly, only interrupted periodically by the sound of pain coming from Luminous as her body was not healing. Primal terror flowed through Granbell's veins as he continued to grovel, his head dropping so low as to crack the solidified ground, trying oh so desperately to ignore the horrible pain coming from being so close to the path that a space-time defect took.

He could still feel the fallout in the air, but due to him being a True Hero, he could hold his breath indefinitely though it wouldn't be pleasant. If Granbell were forced to describe the pain of being so close to such a cosmic event, he would say it's like injecting stomach acid into your blood vessel.

But even so, such pains are secondary to what would happen if he disrespected Her Authority. Even after a millennium, the Hero still remembers vividly as if it were yesterday the psychological pain one such as Her Authority could inflict. The raw despair that comes with being Her Authority's enemy.

Thus, he made himself useful to her... or at least be as useful as a pawn could so she would not discard him as she did for his predecessor, for She is a Monster like no other... if she weren't reading his mind right now, Granbell is tempted to say that... the old Hero cease all thoughts, for to go any further would be treading on heresy and invite the ire of Her Authority.

Even if he wasn't breathing, Granbell felt trapped as every hair on his body stood on end, akin to if a balloon filled with static electricity had passed over them. The old man desperately wanted Her Authority to say something, anything, as her being silent felt like the prelude to a jumpscare in a movie.

"C...Ch...Chronoa..." Luminous weakly gasped as she continued to bleed out, Granbell's [Magic Sense] indicated that the vampire tried to reach out weakly towards Her Authority, like a dying man trying to crawl to the nearest oasis, "Help...help me... please..."

"At ease."

That single phrase had caused all the tension in the old Hero's body to dissipate like the morning dew. Getting up, Granbell cleaned himself as Chloe stood beside Luminous' fallen body, hovering over her like a bystander to a horrific tragedy.

"I... promise I.. will do... better... help me... please... Chloe..." Due to their rather close relationship, Luminous has always been the odd one among the underlings of Her Authority.

The ancient entity called Chronoa looked at the Demon Lord with a pensive and questioning look, as if internally debating the merit of helping the vampire. As though flipping a switch, Chloe's face gained a very pleasing look, like a parent whose child had done something she approves of, "Very well. [Chesed - Gevurah]."

The local entropy decreased.

An absolutely monstrous amount of energy started to coalesce around Chloe's outstretched hand like bees to a flower. Everything for miles all around the three beings froze as though the planet's axis had tilted and now they are situated on the poles. What remaining fire, radiation, and melted earth were gone, replaced by a layer of immediate frost as the cold, dry air forms a tomb.

Moments later, what resided in Chloe's hands is an attoscopic clump of the densest energy within the System. To Granbell, it looked like she had summoned several points of impossibly bright light.

It was a very special kind of energy. For one, it existed in an unraveled bubble of higher spacetime dimensions.

With [Sephiroth], Chloe could control the energy that permeates existence. If Scientia had been exposed to this type of energy, she would have recognized it as the seeds of new universes that periodically bubble forth from the chaotic fluctuations of the Quantum Foam and into the Metaphysical plane, where instead of fizzling out and becoming more space as a quantum bubble usually do, the seed blossoms into an actual universe with its own unique set of physical constants.

Had Chloe let go of that clump of dense energy, this baby universe would've started its own Big Bang and subsequent cosmic inflation, either taking over the entire mother universe like a parasite in trans-time velocity or being ejected into the Bulk to form its own universe.

Chloe then dropped the abysmally tiny packet of incredibly dense energy onto Luminous' dying body like a person letting go of a marble.

At the point of contact, a fire started that consumed Valentine in her entirety.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAIIIIEEEEEEEEEEE—!" The vampire let out a bloodcurdling scream that frightened even Granbell. Her soul was alight, her body burning as it regenerated. Once that was done, Chloe looked down upon the half-naked vampire, her lower half completely exposed as whatever the time traveler had done did nothing to the clothing.

A few seconds passed, and Granbell, having lived so long that he's no longer embarrassed by seeing nudity, wondered what was next when the Voice of the World spoke.

<<Stardust absorbed successfully. Excess energy detected—>>

<Evolve Ultimate Skill>

<<Command Accepted. [Asmodeus, Lord of Lust], evolved into [Yaldabaoth, God Flesh]>>

Granbell was once again, rendered speechless. All the while Chloe looked longly, almost with nostalgia as she wondered if she would finally get an Origin Skill in this Grand Time Loop. If the time traveler has a say in it, Chloe Aubert would prefer Velgrynd's old one, Origin Skill [Ein Sof] if at all possible.

Chloe turned around and stared at the dark horizon, the line that splits the earth and sky. "Now that God's Blind Spot is gone, we can go towards the next stage of our plan."

The battlefield that once was Lura stayed silent, soft moaning rang out as Luminous finally got up, repaired her clothing, and kneeled towards the ultimate authority of the World after God died.

"Your Authority. I thank you for giving me this power, I swear I will not waste it."

Chloe stayed silent as she continued to look at the horizon, long enough that the sun rose and her shadow shortened. Due to where she's facing, the two lower lifeforms can't see Chloe's face.

The Demon Lord continued to kneel while Granbell stood, both of them not daring to move a single muscle, whether out of respect for the former or fear for the latter.

"—Luminous." The vampire raised her head, the sky was now a shade of bright blue, "Head to Ruberios and tell the Emperor that it is time. Have the nation declare and mobilize for total war on Tempest. Afterward, head to Dagruel's domain and tell Feldway of what has transpired. Tell him to start the Tenma War to end all Tenma Wars, the Apocalypse is upon us, Armageddon Now."

"...Your Authority, forgive me for asking, but I must—"

"Why we are still fighting this even with The Monster dead? Therefore, the errors should've disappeared?" Chloe said, so quickly that it almost appeared to Granbell that she already knew what Luminous was going to ask, "Have you ever wondered why I amassed so much power? Why do I dictate the evolution of the entire world for thousands of years? Why do I ensure each major player has an Ultimate Skill? Defeating the System's Error is far from so easy. You see, what allowed the Error to create the technologies that are a blindspot to all forms of clairvoyance or precognition is a Unique Skill called 'Inspired Inventor'."

Both of their eyes went wide as saucers at the realization that they were beaten by a Unique Skill as during the battle, rarely did the Perfect Homunculus use her Ultimate Skill.

Letting out a chuckle filled with pain from long ago, Chloe turned back to her two subordinates and continued, "Inspired Inventor is a Skill that does not exist inside the System. If you attempt to reverse engineer the technology or try and copy the Unique Skill, you would fail even if you had an Ultimate Skill specialized in copying other Skills or in Science."

Chronoa then growled, "They are a cursed existence, tied directly to the Rust within the Machine. That's why you cannot perceive it using magic or skills in the same sense as God's Blind Spot itself: the System doesn't recognize its existence."

"Thus, in order to fully stop the breakdown of the System, it is a priority that we must annihilate every last bit of their technology from the World. [Retrograde Causal Saltation] is not a spell I can use often. Thus, I can't just wipe Its creation now that I've used it on the master."

Luminous stood up and bowed, "I understand Your Authority. I shall head towards Ruberios and later Holy Void Damargania. Your Will be Done."

With that, Luminous Valentine teleported out of there.

Chloe turned to face Granbell Rosso, who immediately went still like a deer in headlight. "Granbell, you did well. Go home, take some time with your daughter."

In a hesitant tone, "I... I see..." Granbell wanted to interject but turned away like someone who was almost about to cry.

*Boom*

The Hero of Light leaped towards the high heavens with a single jump, piercing the clouds and disappearing.

Now alone, Chloe stilled like a statue before sighing. In a tone someone would use when talking about a funeral, "A Red Morning, signifying the start of a new age; A New World Order..."

She looked eastward, activating Extra Skill [Farsight], and saw a sliver of pure redness radiating from the border between Tempest and the Empire, around where the no man's land is.

"... Velgrynd has already attacked..." Chloe moved backward in time to right after God's Blindspot had been defeated. This time, she expedited the process and had Luminous tell Ruberios' Emperor to declare war on Tempest. She still told Granbell to return home, subtly telling him that his use for her was over and that he should spend the rest of his time before expiration with his granddaughter.

Turning to look around the dark crater that was once Lura, Chloe's gaze swept across the barren wasteland, there were lights off in the far distance, showing that the nuclear fire still rages. But those aren't what interests the Otherworlder as her gaze continued to move, searching for something.

Her head stopped once she saw what she was looking for: Asimov.

Asimov, the otherworldly holy sword, was stabbed into the ground with her hilt standing upright, untouched by the nuclear explosion with not a single scratch on the black blade.

Walking over, Chloe placed her left hand on the handle of the tainted blade and pulled.

The time traveler looked at the sword with reverence inside her eyes, her right hand tracing the blade part like someone handling fine china.

"I wonder: why did God intentionally die? Was it because He feared something? Does he know something that should not be known even by God's standard? Perhaps He knew that someone would eventually equal Him? Does He fear His Creation? Does he fear... me? Is that why I can't ever meet him no matter how far back I go?."

With that, Chloe started pushing her own magicule into Asimov. Droplets of golden light bloomed from where the time traveler was touching like rain. It continued until the blackness eroded away, revealing the beauty underneath, bathing the world in a golden light.

Excalibur.

General gold theme with a navy blue handle. Around the base of the blade was a vertical line of fey runes. The curved handguard was interweaved with two blue lines coming from the sides and stopping right before it hit the center.

To Chloe, it really was a good sword... for a Demi-God.

"How goes Testarossa's mission? Was it successful?"

<Negative >

"As expected. Start cleaning up the fallout, let's keep the death toll below 10,000,000, shall we?"

<Affirmative >

The distant ash cloud that blended well into the night started to recede at a supernatural rate.

"It should be early morning around Metropolis, and her pet project hasn't sprung yet, so we'll give her a heads up."

<Affirmative >

"Oh, and I should go back to before the Blindspot's death to record a video, no?"

<We have almost innumerable execution videos of the Blindspot's death>

"Right, we'll display one of the decapitated ones with other people behind...hmm, well, I guess it's time to move back in time once again. Eh, nothing is perfect on the first try."

She then looked around the wasteland and remembered a particular quote from an Otherworlder in her past as her mind started working on how she could use the Alien.

"'The things we do for love.'"

Chloe smiled as she traveled back in time and space, this time bringing those she saw as important for a video.

_____________________________________________

AN: Fighting against Chloe would be like a random Goomba trying to kill a speedrunner Mario with infinite lives. Or if you want a different analogy, Chloe is like Homura from PMMM but jacked up 1000 on a scale of 1 to 10 and also went through so many timeloops that she's lapsed from sane and insane like a pendulum.

[Unlimited Alchemy] is like Full Metal Alchemist's clap transmutation except to activate it one just needs to think about it. It has a range.

Chloe's music theme is [ LobotomyCorporation OST ] - Third Warning. Fighting against her will be very claustrophobic, and I will try and capture that feeling of hopelessness and knowledge that whatever victory would manage to get is her letting you get it, real mind fuck essentially.