Black Alice

"Luka… Oh brave Luka…"

"Ilias?!" I responded into the blurry light. "Is that really you? In my dreams?"

"Really, Luka?" the goddess said. "Feeding yourself to a lamia? Are you just determined to be every monster's lunch?"

"It was your idea!"

"Correction. It was your idea, I just tricked Alice into doing it since you were too chickenshit to ask her yourself."

"Am I… dead?" I asked.

"Yes, Luka, you are dead," she said sadly. "I must once again rewind time for you."

"But…."

"Hahaha! Gotcha!" she crowed. "I'm just fuckin' with you! Luka, I'm myself again! I can visit you in your dreams, I can rewind time… not that I should do that, but I could, and that's what matters!"

"That's great, Ilias! You won?! What about Alice?"

"Alice won too! The war is over, Luka! We did it!"

"You did it!" I said. "It was your plan! It actually worked!"

"Fuck yeah it did!" she giggled and embraced me, planting her lips on mine.

"Whoa," I said when she broke away. "That's some kiss."

"It's a goddess' kiss in a dream. The best kind."

"Ilias, we're going to have the biggest celebration ever!" I cheered. "And then we're going to get rested up and go after that Goddess of Chaos! Together!"

"We sure are!" Ilias agreed happily. "All of the archangels, all fhe Seraphs, they bent the knee to me! I rule Heaven again! I'm so happy, Luka! Nothing will stop us now!"

"Oh, I wouldn't say that…."

Ilias and I found ourselves in a city. The streets were deserted. There was a sense of dread in the air.

"Ilias, did you bring us here?"

"This is your dream, Luka!" she exclaimed.

"I'm not so sure it's mine anymore…."

We were no longer alone. The skies turned nearly black, apoptosis filling the air, raining destruction and annihilation down on the city. Buildings, houses, and shops disintegrated into nothingness, claimed by chaos.

"You just love to keep on spoiling my tea parties, hero," Black Alice's voice chuckled. "But this is the one party you can't spoil. The one that ends it all."

"I can't believe that even you want to destroy everything, Black Alice!" Ilias yelled into the black skies. "Even if you could survive that destruction, you can't create! You can only destroy! You'd live a near eternity in loneliness, until natural forces created a new reality!"

Black Alice began to laugh maniacally. "You've grown so much, Ilias! You've learned about regret. That's going to make it all the more delicious to make you feel the ultimate regret. The knowledge that this is all because of you!"

"That's why you're doing this?!" I yelled. "Because you're mad at Ilias?"

"I could have done this at any time," Black Alice's voice replied, as more and more of the city around us vanished into chaos. "If you want to know why I haven't yet, come see me. Alone. There's something I want you to do for me."

"Luka isn't going to do anything for you!" Ilias shouted. "Nothing you could need him for could ever be good!"

"In the end, it's his choice," Black Alice conceded. "But if he refuses me…. This will be the result."

The cloud of apoptosis thickened even further, each and every one as powerful as a queen level monster, many of them far more powerful than that. And then I saw her, easily making her presence out among the horde of sinister apoptosis: Adramelech.

Her gaze was baleful, almost lifeless. There was no mercy in her. No chance of redemption. She too, was a concept, and she existed for only one purpose: to destroy that which should not exist. But we did exist. Whatever Ilias had done to cause this, she had unintentionally created new lives, people with hopes and dreams. I would not let them die. I would not let them experience worse than death: nonexistence.

I reached out my hands to blast Adramelech out of the sky. My power didn't respond to me. Ilias threw everything she had at the apoptosis. The equivalent of a nuclear explosion high in the sky knocked out whatever electricity there was still left in the city and destroyed most of the apoptosis instantly. But not Adramelech. Adramelech simply laughed at the insignificant efforts of the goddess. Adramelech had been destroyed several times, and each time, she only came back stronger. Now she was stronger than Ilias. Stronger than the Dark God. An irresistible force come to destroy us all. She articulated a single word.

"Disappear."

I awoke in a cold sweat. It had been a dream, but it had been more than that. Ilias had really come to me. And so had the newest goddess. The Goddess of Chaos. I knew it in my bones.

I quickly got dressed and rushed out to the foyer. I saw an astounding sight: Ancestors and archangels, together and not fighting! There was a lot of discomfort and awkwardness, to be sure, but they were here!

"Luka, you're awake!" Alice exclaimed. "They just got here! They're here to see you!"

"Me?" I asked in confusion. "What did I do?"

"You are the leader of this odd group, are you not?" Saja asked, her ribs bandaged. "And it has been brought to my attention that you were present for the battle between the Knights and the Ancestors. But cleverly hidden. Should you ever wish to lend me your power that way, I would be most happy to swallow you."

"I think that was a one off, but thanks anyway," Alice said before I could answer.

"Yeah, I guess I was there, any my power was used, but I didn't actually do anything," I said. "It wasn't even my idea."

"But it was you who brought monsters, angels, and humans together," Raphaela pointed out. "You made it all possible."

"if you had chosen just one of us, as Ilias and I demanded," Alice said. "We would be in a very different place right now."

I saw that Raphaela and Saja were present, as well as Hiruko, three Edens, two Micaelas,Kanade, Gnosis, Gabriela, and Lilith. The others must still be nursing injuries.

"Where's Ilias?" I asked. "I need to speak with her."

A bright flash of light nearly blinded everyone as Ilias made her grand entrance. She materialized in the center of the foyer, looking absolutely radiant. If I'm being honest, she looked exactly the same as she always had since regaining her adult form. But the weight of her presence informed everyone that she was back to her old glory.

"It's so good to be able to hear my favorite hero when he calls to me," Ilias said.

"What happened to the other archangels?" I asked. "Did they get beaten up too badly?"

"You… could say that," Ilias admitted. "But all stand ready to fight. Even the headless ones."

"Headless ones?"

"They'll be fine," Ilias said.

"I can attest that the same is true of the Ancestors and Lilith Sisters," Saja said. "Minagi wishes to avoid seeing anyone until her face heals. Tamamo is not yet ready to look you in the eye, and in any case she is… less. It will take her time to regain her true form. Astaroth is also still sealed."

"What is important is that we wanted to come here to demonstrate our solidarity," Raphaela said. "We cannot know what the future holds, but until Black Alice is defeated, we shall stand united. Ilias commands it."

"And the Dark God has instructed us to cooperate as well," Saja said. "And then we will have to have some very difficult negotiations about how this new world shall be run."

"Where is the Dark God?" I asked.

"She…. Doesn't like to show her face very often," Ilias said. "I've never met an iteration of her that isn't a bit reclusive. In general, when you see Alipheese it means she plans to conquer you. There's also the small matter of the two of us not being able to interact. But you can fix that for us! May I?"

Ilias placed her palm on my chest. I knew what that meant. She wanted a small amount of my power. I nodded. Ilias concentrated and some of my power flowed into her.

"Ah, that's better! Alipheese! Get your ass down here!"

The Dark God teleported into the foyer, albeit with a lot less panache than Ilias had. Ilias took her by the hand.

"This magic makes the interaction of dark and holy magic possible," Ilias explained. "Now we can negotiate our differences face to face."

"And also fight, side by side," Alipheese added. "Speaking of which, do we have a plan yet?"

"I'm afraid we don't even really know our enemy," Alice pointed out.

"And there's another problem," I said. "Black Alice entered my dreams just a few minutes ago. She threatened total destruction of the multiverse if I didn't go to her. Alone."

"I was there as well, Alice," Ilias said. "I entered Luka's dream to give my recovered powers a test drive. As strong as I am now, it's as if I was nothing compared to her."

"Perhaps if we all combined our abilities, and worked as a team, as you so brilliantly did against us?" Saja offered.

"I don't know, Saja," Ilias replied. "I just don't know. What was most disturbing is that Black Alice confirmed what I think a lot of us already suspected. She could have wiped us out at any point. We lived, and continue to live, only at her sufferance. She wants something from Luka. If Luka refuses her, I fear she'll carry out her threat."

"What do you think she wants?" Alice asked.

"Who knows? Even though I can read the minds of everyone in this room, and everyone in the world, she's a closed book to me. I can't even detect her presence. I have no idea where to find her. Alipheese, can you sense her?"

"No," Alipheese replied. "She is powerful indeed. We can perceive her only if she chooses for us to perceive her."

"Where's Alicetroemeria?" Tamamo asked. "If anyone might have some insights, she would."

"I'll go find her," Alma Elma said, and zipped off to search the castle.

"So what do you think, Luka?" Alice asked. "Should we fight with what we have? Wait for everyone to heal first?"

"I don't think Black Alice intends to let us wait that long," I answered.

"I agree," Alipheese said. "As long as you were running around on various missions, or fighting various wars, she was willing to wait."

"I'm pretty sure she was amused by us," Ilias added. "She kept talking about her beloved tea party. But now with our full attention focused on her, the party's over as far as she's concerned. Whatever goal she was trying to achieve, she's done waiting. Luka will be forced to choose soon."

"Not soon," Black Alice said, her voice booming in the foyer. "Now."

The massive castle doors opened, revealing train tracks where there had been none. A locomotive slowly backed up to the entrance. The train seemed alive, as if it was a monster girl itself. And then I realized that it was. Oh, Black Alice, what kind of twisted, insane things are you creating in your spare time?

"Do you like my cute monster train?" Black Alice chortled. We still couldn't see her. We could only hear that grating voice. "Get in, Luka. Pick any seat you like. There will be no other passengers."

"Can I have a minute to discuss this with my friends?" I asked.

"You have five," Black Alice said. "In five minutes, my apoptosis will destroy Ilias Village. In ten, they'll move on to Iliasburg. In fifteen, Happiness Village. Decide quickly."

"And if I go, you'll call them off?"

"You have my word," Black Alice replied. "At least until you defy me. I'd suggest not defying me."

The castle door closed.

"Do you think she can still hear us?" I asked.

"She projected her voice into the Pocket Castle, so… yeah," Alice said. "Luka, I really don't like this."

"Well that's stating the obvious," Ilias retorted. "Who does?"

"There's got to be something we can do!" Alice pleaded. "Luka is defenseless against her! She can just block his power at will!"

"Hmmm…. She said he had to come alone… I wonder…." Ilias thought.

"Ilias, I sense an idea forming," Alipheese said.

"You don't need omniscience to figure that out. Hey, Alipheese, what happens when you combine holy and dark magic?"

"You get chaos magic. Everyone knows that."

"And what are we?"

"We're goddesses, of course," Alipheese answered.

"Not really," Ilias noted. "We've convinced ourselves that we're goddesses, but we're really spirits. Powerful spirits, no question. Our power dwarfs that of the nature spirits. But in theory, a hero could use our power just like he could the nature spirits."

"Use our power?" Alipheese asked, scowling. "Hmmm….A contract with a human? I had never considered the possibility. Until now, the idea would have been offensive. Me, serve a human? Lend him my power? But these are desperate times. Would Black Alice allow that?"

"She ordered him to come alone," Ilias pointed out. "But he still has the nature spirits in his heart. If we simply joined them, I doubt Black Alice could object."

"And if she did consent to it, Luka would have chaos powers, even if he lacked access to his own."

"Yet his own power would still be there, stabilizing our interaction. Alipheese, this is a unique opportunity! I say we can't let this pass us by!"

"I agree," Alipheese said. "So how do we do this?"

"Well, the spirits just sorta touched his wrist and went into his heart. Luka, hold out your wrist."

I complied. Ilias lightly tapped my wrist and concentrated. Everyone gasped as she entered my heart.

"Yay!" Sylph cheered. "Ilias has come to play with us too!"

Ilias slapped her.

"Well, Luka?" Alipheese said. "You ready to bring a little darkness into your heart?"

"I think I'll manage," I said, holding out my wrist.

"Famous last words," the Dark God replied, and tapped my wrist. Her darkness filled my heart and mixed in with Ilias' light.

The castle doors slammed open again.

"Time for your answer, Luka!" Black Alice yelled.

"I'm coming," I said.

"And so are we!" Sylph exclaimed.

"Fufufufu…." Black Alice laughed as I boarded the train.

"This is an awfully inefficient means of travel for someone with her power," Ilias noted an hour into the train ride. "I wonder why she didn't just teleport us to where she is?"

"She must want me to stew for awhile," I said. "In the world of my birth, forcing someone to wait for a meeting was often a negotiating tactic. A power play."

The train crossed the northern sea on a bridge that I was certain existed only in the moment. The train herself gave continuous updates on the location. "Now approaching… the northern sea!" "Now passing… The ruins of Remina!"

The train rolled on, albeit at an incredibly fast speed, like a Japanese bullet train. Still, it was evidently going somewhere far from Hellgondo. Finally, after another hour spent mostly rolling through the Safina desert, the train came to a stop next to a large tower.

"You have arrived at your destination," the train said cheerily. Then it's tone became less friendly, "Get out!"

I debarked and entered the tower. I'd seen a few towers in my time on the Paradox world, but this one was in much better shape than many of the others I'd seen. If this was where Black Alice had made her lair, she'd chosen it well. It looked as if it could accommodate luxury easily, and the Safina desert was a great place to hide in due to its vastness and lack of travel except on established routes. I wasn't sure why Black Alice felt the need to hide.

Greeting me on the ground floor was a veiled woman. "Greetings, hero," she addressed me. "I am Kagetsumugi. I will be your entertainment this afternoon."

"Knowing Black Alice, I assume that means you're going to try to kill me," I said, summoning my natural spirits.

"Please understand, hero," Kagetsumugi said. "As much progress as you've made since your journey began, what Black Alice wants from you will require you to demonstrate your abilities even more than you have so far. After all, you have only just acquired the last two spirits."

"Wait, Black Alice PLANNED for this?!" Alipheese exclaimed in my heart.

"So a test," I said. "I'm guessing you're a monster, then. Monsters love tests. Can I at least get the benefit of seeing your face?"

"Certainly," Kagetsumugi replied, and removed her veil.

"You're actually very lovely," I said honestly. "Why the veil?"

"My work is forbidden. Concealing my identity is regrettably necessary. But there is no need any longer. Black Alice has been laying low. Today is her coming out party."

"What kind of work do you do, exactly?"

"I was hoping you'd ask me that," Kagetsumugi laughed.

Three figures materialized into the room. I didn't recognize them per se, but I knew exactly what they were. Monster Lords. Zombified Monster Lords. The resemblance to Alice and her mother was unmistakeable. But one of them… One of them was actually two fused together.

"I can see why this work was forbidden," I said. "Chrome got in trouble for similar work. You've take it a lot further."

"Why thank you," she said, giggling.

"That wasn't a compliment! The Monster Lord isn't going to be happy about this. Desecrating her ancestors like this…. I'll practically have to beg her to not execute you."

"You won't be seeing her anymore, I'm afraid. Either the current Monster Lord, or her daughter. Your new home is here, hero Luka. Forever. But don't despair, hero. Are my creations still not lovely? They will make your stay here as pleasant as possible."

"You're offering me sex with dead bodies?" I asked, disbelieving.

"And one live one," Kagetsumugi laughed, winking at me.

"Luka, do NOT hold back!" Ilias warned. "These creatures are soulless. They can walk and talk like the original, but that's only simulated behavior. There's nobody in there! Just destroy them!"

"No problem," I said, and reached for my power. Which already wasn't there. Argh.

"That's okay, that's okay!" Ilias said quickly. "You have me with you. Holy power is very easy to use when you have me for a spirit. It's very similar to your power. I handle all the technical stuff under the hood. All you have to do is want it. And one more thing…"

"What's that?"

"This is holy power," Ilias explained. "It's at it's most potent when the wielder truly believes in his righteousness. You're a good person, Luka. You need to believe that! There's no room for doubt!"

"I do believe," I assured her. "And my cause is just."

"Then when the time is right, I want you to invoke the command, 'Purifying Light!' If you believe in your righteousness enough, it will burn those profane undead creatures to cinders!"

"How will I know when the time is right?"

"Because I'll tell you. We kinda need to get them lined up just so. I'd rather not have you need to do it a second time. You're still new at this."

The three Monster Lords surrounded me. Kagetsumugi decided to do introductions.

"To your right is Alice the Ninth, Black Alice's sister," she said. "Black Alice specifically requested her."

"I like her better this way," Black Alice's voice chuckled.

"To your front are Alice the Eleventh and Alice the Twelfth. They didn't leave me enough to work with, so I had to make one good zombie out of them. And behind you is Alice the Sixth. You might want to jump."

I didn't jump, and I was wrapped up as a result in the Alice the Sixth's tail. But this was not Alice the Sixth in her prime. It was a zombie. With Gnome already summoned, I broke out easily and retaliated with Angel Halo. Alice had given it back to me, knowing I woud not have access to my power in Black Alice's domain. Alice the Sixth backed off, and the two for one Monster Lord zombie attacked next.

I rolled away. "Now!" Ilias commanded.

"Purifying Light!" I shouted, seeing that the three were now arrayed in front of me.

The effect was similar to using my power, although it generated more heat than explosiveness. My power used at full strength would have blown them apart. Purifying Light at full strength did what Ilias said it would do. It burned them into ash.

"Th-That quickly?!" Kagetsumugi exclaimed.

"Fufufufu…" Black Alice's voice chuckled.

"I worked… so hard! These were my greatest creations ever!" Kagetsumugi cried. "I expected them to lose, but…. They weren't supposed to be utterly destroyed! You're such a meanie!"

"You and your creations were only setting the table for the party, my dear," Black Alice's voice laughed. "I needed to make sure that my chosen hero was ready for the main party."

"WAAAHHH!!!!" Kagetsumugi cried, and ran out of the room. I didn't feel bad for her. Play with forbidden toys, those toys get taken away.

"Come hero Luka, come!" Black Alice's voice invited me. A door at the end of the room opened, revealing a stairway. "It's a bit of a climb, but I'm at the top."

I trudged up the stairs, knowing I was heading towards the final battle. There was no question of me giving her what she wanted, whatever it was. She was Black Alice. No matter what promises she made to gain my compliance, those promises would be worthless. She was a chaos agent, not bound by any rules, long before she became a true goddess of chaos. No honor, no mercy, no sanity.

I was glad I was in shape, because it was a long climb. But I wasn't even winded when I made it to the top. I opened the door at the top of the staircase, and there, in the tower's penthouse, sitting on a luxurious chair that almost resembled a throne, was the Goddess of Chaos herself.

"How fascinating!" Black Alice exclaimed. "I finally get to meet this unusual Luka! You look a little different from the one I once met. A little taller."

"I don't suppose you'd like to end all this universe destroying nonsense, would you?" I asked.

"There were never supposed to be so many worlds. I'm simply fulfilling my role in the natural order of things."

"Order?!" I scoffed. "Some level of chaosization is natural. It was always going to happen due to the way Ilias was rewinding time, not to mention experimenting with combining holy and dark magic. But what you've been doing…. It's not natural. It's not necessary. I'd ask why, but I've encountered enough versions of you to know the answer. You just feel like it. It's fun. You get a kick out of destroying lives and causing suffering."

"Oh, how little you know me, hero! If you only you truly knew why I did all this!"

"Are you going to enlighten me?"

"How about a little hint?" Black Alice asked. "Excuse me! I have a guest. Can someone please get my guest some refreshment?!"

A man came out with a glass filled with soda pop. As he came closer, I recognized him. It was Heinrich! Or at least a version of him.

"Cherry vanilla cola, just the way you like it!" Black Alice chortled.

"I'm not as dumb as I used to be," I retorted. "I'm not letting you poison me."

"Poison you!?" she asked in mock distress. "Oh, tasty bit, poisoning you would be so pointless for one such as me. I could simply change YOU into a cherry vanilla soda and drink you down."

"Why don't you?"

"Well, if you're not going to have a drink, I am," she said. "Heinrich! I'll take a crème soda!"

Heinrich was still holding out the soda Black Alice had intended for me. He didn't move. His eyes stared ahead blankly. Why wasn't he listening to Black Alice? I got my answer when another Heinrich entered the chamber, carrying another soda for Black Alice. She drank deeply and sighed in satisfaction.

"I love the taste of crème!" she said. "Vanilla crème, man crème, crème filled donuts…. Hmm…. My shoes are looking a little dusty. Heinrich! I need my shoes cleaned!"

Another Heinrich entered the chamber carrying a cloth. He bent down and began working on shining her shoes up.

"What's with all the Heinrichs?" I asked. "Did you just snatch them from other universes and make them your slaves?"

"Nothing so crass as that," she answered. "Given Heinrich's vast importance in the true history, such an act would be dangerous even to my existence. Believe it or not, I don't wish to destroy all of existence. I like existing. I like this power. But like all power, it has its limits. One is that I can't just have a grand apocalyptic party to end all parties. Or maybe I could. I haven't completely decided yet. I assume that my rise is inevitable, so if I did end all existence, after a long period of timeless, formless nothingness, the universe would recreate itself again. Order emerging from chaos. From what I understand, that's always how this goes, in a never ending cycle. The universe exists. A paradox occurs. That causes a proliferation in universes, which begins the chaosization process. Then I, the Goddess of Chaos, emerge. I don't remember all those previous tmes. But knowing that it always happens, it's a bit of a boring end, don't you agree? Who wants to attend the same party over and over again?"

"If you want to try something different," I suggested. "How about being a positive force in the universe instead of a destructive force?"

"See, you get it!" she crowed. "What could be more positive than love! Everything I've done since becoming the Goddess of Chaos… no, everything I've done since Heinrich slayed me, I've done for love!"

"You are one sick puppy, Black Alice," I said. "A genuine nutjob."

"I am not nuts!" she raged, her voice amplified so loudly that I briefly lost my hearing. Through my ringing ears, Black Alice's rage subsided and she began speaking again. "Well, maybe I am, a little. You'd be nuts too if you lived my life! I've had my true love stolen from me twice! How would you react if your Alice was taken from you twice?!"

"I'd be pretty devastated," I admitted. "But I wouldn't try to destroy the universe."

"I'm not trying to destroy the universe," she laughed. "I'm trying to put pressure on you!"

"Me? For what purpose? Get to the point!"

"You are so slow. Maybe this will clue you in. Oh, Heinrich? Numbers two, four,five, seven, eight, nine, seventeen, and twenty! Come out and meet our guest!"

Several more Henrichs entered the chamber. They looked at me, but despite Black Alice's command, they were clearly focused on her. They all got close to her throne, vying to be the closest.

"I…I don't get it," I said in confusion. "I ask again, what's with all the Heinrichs? And if you didn't pluck them out of universes, where did they come from? Did you create them?"

"Yes I created them!" she raged. "Holy fucking shit, you are dense! Didn't you travel with my counterpart?! Didn't she give a strong impression of being in love with Heinrich!?"

"She gave a strong impression of wanting to corrupt him and have sex with him. Love? That I didn't catch."

"Look, moron! I'm going to come right to the point! I want my Heinrich back! Is that simple enough for you!? You are here because you're the only one who can bring him back for me!"

"I don't follow," I said. "You have all the Heinrichs you want."

"Do any of these look like they have two brain cells to rub together?!" she exclaimed. "Sure, they are fun to order around, fun to fuck, fun to eat. I can always make more. But none of them are true companions."

"Why not just get a Heinrich from another universe then? Grabbing one can't hurt."

"No, it can't hurt, and a Heinrich, say your Alicetroemeria's Heinrich, wouldn't be terrible," Black Alice admitted. "But I don't want THAT Heinrich! I don't want A Heinrich! Did you want any old Alice? No! You wanted YOUR Alice! The one you married!"

"Okay, so get your Heinrich, then! His soul is somewhere in the multiverse."

"No, it's not."

"What do you mean it's not? There are still Heinrichs in the multiverse, that means the soul of your Heinrich is somewhere out there. You just have to find it."

"Let me explain how this whole process came to be," Black Alice said. "I'll speak slowly and use simple words so that even you can understand. Once the universe was one. You following me so far?"

I nodded.

"Then the paradox happened, and all sorts of worlds were created. Some of them had different histories going back before the paradox. Yes, I know it violates causation, but that's chaos for you. So all of the people who were alive on that one world, their souls split with each new world. Since worlds kept proliferating, the souls of people born afterwards split as well. But what happened to those people who died before the paradox? They went… wherever souls go when they die. On my world, the original world, Heinrich's soul was freed by your counterpart before defeating Ilias. That meant Heinrich's soul, MY Heinrich's soul, went to the afterlife. I want you to get him back."

"You vastly overestimate my skill with my power. Not to mention, such an act would have consequences possibly greater than the paradox!"

"Oh, I know exactly what the consequences would be," Black Alice said. "The law of death would be broken. No one would ever pass on into the afterlife again. Unless I created one. Which I would, of course. It would be a place of hellish pleasures and frightful delights. But most importantly, it would get me my Heinrich back for eternity."

"I wouldn't help you even if I could," I said, shrugging helplessly. "I wouldn't know how to bring a dead person back to life, nor would I break the law of death so that you could trap all the dead souls in your version of hell!"

"Oh, you know exactly how to do it. You can do anything when you set your mind to it. When you're desperate enough. Or you want it badly enough. Didn't you bring back your sexy succubus friend for a few minutes?"

Alma Elma. The memory hit me hard. I'd lived a long time with her death, before Eden's rewinding of time had given me an opportunity to save her. But in the old timeline, I had indeed brought her back, for just a few moments. Gabriella, my teacher, had told me that I could safely bend the laws of nature, but never break them. Since my power could only do things for as long as I concentrated on them, it was self limiting in that regard. But what if even that limitation was due to my mental block when it came to my power? What if it was an artificial limit I imposed on myself?

"I only brought her back for a few minutes!" I exclaimed. "Keeping her alive would have broken the law of death! You're asking me to bring Heinrich back from the dead permanently!"

"Oh, I'm not asking," Black Alice said, a warning in her voice. "Unlike you, I know how to use your power to its full limits. I will take it from you and get my Heinrich back if I have to."

"I've heard that before," I scoffed. "I've had plenty of godlike beings try. You can't have it if I don't want you to have it. And even then, it can't do all that I can do with it. You're not the true wielder."

"Maybe not," she admitted. "But as with the monsters and the angels, there's what I want from you and what I'll settle for. I can still get Heinrich back by only borrowing your power. And I have plenty of servants who can keep you in a virtual coma so that you can't take it back from me. But that act won't only break the law of death. It will create a natural chaosization process that even I can't hold back. So what I need from you is to do something similar to what I did for Ilias at one time: I managed the dark magic in the world to prevent the awakening of the Ancestors. I need you to control the rise of chaosization. It will be a big job. It will take nearly all of your time. You'll get time to sleep and eat, and Ill reward you with sexual favors from my servants for your efforts. But for the rest of your existence, which will be a long, long time, you'll work day in and day out to keep the multiverse and time ticking along. Because if you don't, it ends for all of us."

"So you'd enslave me?! That's the GOOD offer?!"

"Oh, I'll enslave everyone!" she laughed. "That means you have a harem that's literally made up of every woman who has ever existed. Alive or dead, since I can snatch souls out of the afterlife once you've broken through! Think of it! Cleopatra! Marilyn Monroe! Selena! Legendary monsters! Legendary angels! Even aliens, if you want to get really freaky!"

"There's no way I'll let you do any of that."

"How will you stop me?" she laughed. "I am a chaos being! The ultimate chaos being! I can shut off your power like a light switch!"

That wasn't technically true, but for all intents and purposes it might as well have been.

"I'll fight you anyway," I said with determination. "Good always prevails."

"No, moron, it's LOVE always prevails! And I love Heinrich! Whatcha gonna do? How will you fight me? Hit me twenty thousand times with Angel Halo? Are you going to put me in a headlock, Luka? Use a judo throw on me? Even if I didn't have this power I'm not exactly the kind of monster you can grapple. I can pull your body into mine in a second and consume it! I can only ever be fought at arms length or greater distance! You're as helpless before me as a little baby! So what's it gonna be, hero!? Do what I ask and at least get all the perverted pleasures you could ever desire? Or refuse me, and I do it without you, except I wake you up from your coma just long enough to see the apocalypse coming?!"

My options were looking pretty limited. I made the only choice I could. I took on a fighting stance.

"Oh, you're crazier than I am!" Black Alice chortled. "Take your power and doom the multiverse it is! At least I'll get to live a life with Heinrich until the end comes! Fifty, maybe sixty years! I can hold off the chaos that long! Maybe you'll make a better decision when this all comes back around! So if you wanna fight, let's do it! I'll rape the shit out of you, take your power, leave you unconscious on the floor, and then go storm the gates of the real Heaven! But something tells me you'll change your mind later. You love those people too much to let them fall to chaos."

"Better oblivion than slavery!" I responded, challenging her to come at me.

She didn't. Instead, with a silent signal with her finger, her Heinrich clone servants rushed me. I summoned my natural spirits again, fearing that I would be in the fight of my life. The Heinrichs looked impressive, but it was all a façade. They had the moves, but no genuine battle experience. In seconds, all of them were sealed.

"Yes! Yes! Thank you for eliminating my surplus! I really must have an obsession. I just keep on creating them!" Black Alice cheered. "My, but you're even more impressive than I thought you would be! I mean, I've been watching you this whole time, but seeing you in action with my own eyes…I love it! So, before I make you do what I want, I'll give you one last chance to do it willingly. Free my Heinrich. Now!"

"Not gonna happen," I said with determination. "I'm sure wherever he is, he's happy."

"But how could he be happy? I'm not there. Oh well. You seem to like getting raped, so I'll just have to take your power that way. I hope you have pleasant dreams during your long coma."

Black Alice cracked her knuckles and got up from her throne. Then she launched herself at me. A physical attack by a being so powerful? Well, she did want to rape me, I guessed.

"Purifying light!" I shouted. The beam of pure holy light hit her flush, causing her to fall well short of me

Black Alice got to her feet and dusted herself off. "I actually felt that!" she chortled. "Hurt like a bitch, actually! Thanks for coming, Ilias! I wouldn't want you to miss this party. Besides, your control over souls is necessary to keep Heinrich here once Luka breaks him out of the afterlife."

"She DID plan this!" Ilias said in my heart.

"Of course I did," Black Alice laughed. "Do you think I'd let you or that silly Dark God come if you both weren't part of my plan? Who else is supposed to help Luka manage chaosization while I enjoy my life with Heinrich? He can't manage chaosization without chaos magic, after all. Now hold that pose. This won't hurt a bit!"

She sprang at me again. I hit her again with Purifying Light, only harder. This time her clothing was smoked and charred. She waved her hands and her clothing was whole again.

"Okay," she said, smiling. "I didn't just let you bring along your two goddess friends because I needed one of them. I also wanted to make our dance more interesting. You've shown me a little trick from your goddess of light. Whatcha got from your goddess of darkness?"

"Um… what do I have from you?" I asked Alipheese in my heart.

"I'm afraid you don't have the same affinity for dark magic that you do for holy," Alipheese replied. "So let's keep it simple. Cast a simple dark magic bolt."

"Dark magic!" I yelled, not sure if that was doing it right, but the nice thing about using spirits is that even an idiot can do some wondrous things with them. Alice had told me that a long time ago. This time was… an exception. I managed to produce a dark energy bolt, and it hit Black Alice right in the chest, but it had zero observable effect.

Black Alice laughed. "Poor Luka," she said, shaking her head. "You just don't have enough darkness in your heart to use Alipheese properly. Maybe you should let her out to face me directly."

"Umm…. I think I'll stay here," Alipheese replied. "Besides, even if you can't use my dark magic well, you can still combine holy and dark magic to create chaos magic."

"And how do I do th-" I started to ask. I was interrupted by Black Alice showing me the proper way to cast a simple dark magic spell. My whole world erupted in pain as lightning bolts of dark energy surrounded my body. The effect was similar to being tased, except twice as debilitating and ten times as painful. I lost hold of all of my spirits and fell to my knees.

"I knew it was going to be easy," Black Alice said. "But really? You're not even going to test out your newfound chaos skills on me? Oh wait… you don't HAVE chaos skills. How does it feel, Luka? You took advantage of my counterpart when she had only just consumed the White Rabbit formula. So unfair."

"She should have called time out," I gasped, trying to get back to my feet.

"I don't get the reference, but I do think I get the gist," she chuckled, then hit me again with the same torturous dark magic spell. "Ready to quit?"

"Luka…." Ilias' voice intoned. "Trust your feelings."

"What? What feelings should I be trusting?" I asked, confused.

"Okay, fine, trust MY feelings!" Ilias exclaimed. "Let's give her what she wants. I can't stand to see you being hurt like this!"

"Ilias, we can't!"

"Trust me, Luka. Just do it. Imagine Heinrich is with us, just like you did with Alma Elma so many centuries ago."

"But that's not her Heinrich!" I protested.

"Don't worry, I've got you! Once you summon Heinrich, I can find the soul of the one she wants. I can do that because…. That was my Heinrich too."

"Ilias speaks sense," Black Alice said. "Give me what I want. It's the least painful way out of this."

For the first time in my life I placed my trust in the goddess. It would still be more difficult than it had been for Alma Elma. I had been able to rely on so many memories of her, and I remembered every inch of her beautiful form. Heinrich was just… a guy, and when I'd met the Heinrich most similar to the one Black Alice wanted, he'd only been a spirit. And yet we'd had a more intimate relationship, in a non-sexual way of course, than even Alma Elma and I. He had possessed me and used my body to save me and my friends from certain death against a small army of angels. He had used my spirits, and my power. While I had trouble remembering his face, I would never forget what his spirit felt like inhabiting my body.

"Good, good!" Ilias exclaimed. "You've breached the afterlife! Now I just need to find….. there! I've got him! One Heinrich soul, coming up!"

And then he was there. Not just a disembodied spirit, but a man, indistinguishable from the Heinrich I'd met on Alicetroemeria's world. But that Heinrich was an optimistic young hero. This Heinrich had lived just long enough to learn that his entire life had been a lie. Nevertheless, there was still a twinkle in his eyes as he gazed at me. There was a spirit of kindness and greatness in Heinrich that could never be extinguished.

"Heinrich!" Black Alice said joyfully, running up to him and hugging him. "Heinrich, my love! I've saved you from death! Now you and I can live as we always wanted to!"

Heinrich did not return her embrace. He simply stared coldly at Black Alice.

"Heinrich? Heinrich?" Black Alice pleaded. "Don't you know me? I know I look different, but that's only because I gained ultimate power! Nothing can stop us from living out our every fantasy now! Ilias can't ruin our lives like she did before!"

Heinrich continued to say nothing. Black Alice wilted under his glare.

"Heinrich, please, say something!" she begged him, shaking him. "I know we didn't part on the best of terms, you killing me and all, but I forgive you! I'm sorry I lied to you! I tried to find an opportunity to tell you who I really was, but your indoctrination was too hard to overcome in time! I'm the one who should be angry, not you! But I'm a forgiving goddess! A merciful goddess! And I want someone to rule by my side! That can be you, Heinrich! You devoted your life to a goddess once before! Why not devote your life to a new one? One who will never lie to you again? One who will love you, and no other, for eternity?"

Heinrich just continued to stare. Black Alice's sanity was beginning to fray, assuming she had any left in the first place. She was becoming increasingly agitated at his lack of responsiveness.

"Is he unable to talk?!" Black Alice asked, turning to me. "Luka, make it so that he can talk to me!"

She turned back to Heinrich. And then Heinrich turned his back on her.

"Heinrich?" Black Alice sobbed. "No, Heinrich, please!"

Heinrich faded away, his soul returning to whence it came.

Black Alice fell to her knees and wept. I could never stand to see anyone cry. I actually did feel bad for her. I'd always assumed she just wanted to dominate everyone, or enjoyed chaos for its own sake. But even she had wanted someone to share it all with. I understood. As much of a loner as I was, I couldn't imagine being happy without the loved ones that had come into my life over the centuries. Especially Alice.

Maybe I'm stupid. Maybe I'm a sap. But I could relate to what she was going through, so I knelt beside her to comfort her. I'd always believed that anyone could change. And anyone CAN change. But they have to want to, and they have to have the capacity for rational thought. Black Alice was too far gone in both respects.

She roughly shoved me aside, then blasted me with a bolt of dark energy. I was thrown back and landed flat on my back, knocking the wind out of me. She was going to kill me, although I expected that she'd drag it out. There was nothing more that she wanted from me. There was no longer any reason to keep me alive except to satisfy her sadism.

Ilias exited my heart and stood between Black Alice and me.

"You!" Black Alice raged. "This is your fault! You made him hate me! You used me, and you imprisoned his soul, making him suffer for five hundred years! You made me suffer for five hundred years! You're the reason for all of this!"

"Yes, Alice, it's true," Ilias said. I sensed genuine regret in her voice. "I sent Heinrich to kill you. I told him even more lies than you did. When he found out that we'd deceived him, in his grief and rage he sought to destroy us both. He almost succeeded."

"And then you tortured him for centuries! And made me do your dirty work! You drove me mad!"

"It's true," Ilias admitted. "It's all true. And because of my actions, all of existence stands on the precipice of annihilation. But that's a choice, Alice. You're the goddess now, not me. You can save existence or damn it. Don't make the world pay for what I did to you. Don't make Luka pay. You've seen Luka. You've been watching him this whole time, and you watched his counterpart as well. Doesn't he remind you of everything you loved about Heinrich? Spare him, and spare this universe. Spare all the universes! And then… do what you want with me. Give me whatever punishment you feel I deserve for hurting you and Heinrich."

"Oh, I can imagine some pretty hellish punishments for you, goddess," Black Alice spat. "But I can think of none worse than to destroy all that you love! And I can do that because you actually care about people now! Especially your little hero! I'm going to rape him and then kill him while you're still inside his heart! Then I'm going to kill all your friends! And then I'm going to turn you mortal again and torture you for months in this tower! Your last moments will be to see existence end. And your dying thought will be that it was all because of you."

"Wow, that's dark," Alicetroemeria said, materializing between me and Black Alice, standing next to Ilias. "Ilias, I really think you should get back inside Luka's heart. You really shouldn't provoke the Goddess of Chaos."

Ilias didn't need to be told twice, pouring herself back into my heart, but not before healing me so that I could stand again. I watched as Alicetroemeria and Black Alice sized each other up.

"I was wondering when you'd decide to make your presence known," Black Alice said.

"Oh, I knew I couldn't hide from you," Alicetroemeria laughed. "But I failed to be there the last time Luka was being tortured, so I feel I had a promise to fulfill, ya know?"

"So you plan to stand against me? You? As powerful as you are, you're not in my league."

"I won't fight Ancestors for Luka, I certainly won't fight you," Alicetroemeria replied. "Also, I wanted to see you. See what I'm destined to become."

Black Alice started to snicker. Then she began to laugh. Her gales of laughter echoed through the tower, seemingly endless. When she recovered from her mirth, she addressed Alicetroemeria.

"I was going to end all of existence," Black Alice said. "But you've convinced me to not go that far. After all, I like existing as well. So I'm going to just end most of existence. I'm going to spare only your world, so that you can achieve your destiny of being like me. If I can't have Heinrich by my side, at least I can have…. Myself."

"Yeah, I don't think so," Alicetroemeria said. "You're kind of a loser."

"Wh-What?! A loser?! Me?! I am the Goddess of-"

"Of chaos, yeah, I get it. But for all your power, you couldn't have what you really wanted. That makes you… a loser. I don't want to be like you. I have all the power I could ever want already. More is just…. Superfluous. Useless to me. Nothing about your existence would make me happy. But thank you, you've taught me a lot by your example. Now I know what not to do. So thanks for offering to spare my world. Is that still on the table? Because I'd really like to go back now and start avoiding your mistakes."

"You… You reject me too?! But…. You're me! You can't reject yourself!"

"I can if my other self is… a loser," Alicetroemeria said.

"Stop calling me that! I have more power than anyone has ever dreamed of! I can just steal your Heinrich!"

"And he'll reject you too. Loser."

"AAAGGHHHH!!!!" Black Alice exploded in rage, her tentacles lashing out at Alicetroemeria. The tentacles twisted around her and pulled her into Black Alice's body. And just like that, Alicetoremeria was gone.

"Eight!" I screamed, and tried to unleash my power at Black Alice. Of course, nothing happened.

I adjusted quickly, however. It happened without much conscious thought. Ilias and Alipheese grunted in surprise as their essences were forcibly brought together. I erupted in crackling, chaotic energy.

"Good!" Black Alice screamed. "Give me a good fight before I destroy this world and everyone you love! Then I'm going to go to Alicetroemeria's world and take Heinrich for myself! NO! I won't let you!"

Huh? I blasted her with my newfound chaos magic. It barely fazed her. Unable to protect myself due to not being able to use my power to form a shield, and no knowing any other ways, a blast of her own chaos power nearly ended me. Black Alice stood over my prone body. I could barely take a breath.

"How did that not vaporize you?!" she wondered. "No matter. I could kill you now with only the tinest bit of my magic. For what it's worth, I never took your defeats of me personally. Ilias was right about one thing at least. You're a good guy. So thank me for making this quick."

Her hand remained extended, but nothing happened. She seemed confused. Uncertain.

"Why can't I kill you!?" she raged. "Wait… You!"

Me? No, she was talking to someone else. But who? And then I felt it. My power was back. In an instant I was back on my feet.

"Do it, Luka!" Black Alice yelled. "Blast the bitch!"

Realizing what was going on, I complied, hitting her with the strongest blast I could muster. Black Alice vanished. I knew I'd hit her. Did I destroy her? My answer came when I was pulled out of existence and into a pocket universe.

The pocket universe looked like something out of a child's nightmare. There was snow everywhere, yet it didn't feel terribly cold. Creepy looking snowmen dotted the ground. Looking further, I could see that the pocket universe was a small suburban town. Except the houses were all dollhouses.

"Since apparently you're going to be able to use your power in this fight, I didn't want my luxurious penthouse destroyed," Black Alice said. "Here I can show you what true power looks like. Hurry up, Luka! I can't help you anymore other than to give you access to your power! Destroy her!"

With so much at stake I couldn't hesitate again. I hit her again, as hard as I could. She definitely felt it, and looking through the flow I could tell a lot of damage had been done. I also saw something strange. Her chaotic nature made the flow almost useless for predicting her attacks. I could also see that using my power the same way twice would not produce the same results each time. For the first time in my life, I was going to have to get creative to have a chance.

Lightning bolts lanced from Black Alice's hands. I put up my shield. I was used to my shields blocking one hundred percent of energy attacks. That didn't happen this time. Some of the tendrils of electricity penetrated, shocking me.

Okay, creative, creative, I thought. What can I do? Aha! I'd seen Kitsu do this trick, although it hadn't had much success. I created a copy of myself. I had to admit it was better than Kitsu's attempts. Mine could actually move and simulate attacks. Drawing my sword, I charged at Black Alice, zigzagging with the illusion of me, trying to confuse my opponent.

Black Alice could multitask just fine, despite Alicetroemeria playing havoc with her already fractured mind. Since I was trying to get in close, knowing that Angel Halo could damage anyone, she decided to try some intimacy of her own. A tentacle whipped towards my copy, aiming directly for its groin. Her tongue, almost as long as a tentacle itself, lashed out at me. The flow proved useless. I was licked from my groin up to my face.

Alicetroemeria had warned me that her tongue was poisonous. It hadn't been that noticeable when she had given me a blowjob. I'd only felt a tingling numbness when she was finished. But some of Black Alice's saliva had gotten into my mouth, making me dizzy. In addition, that one lick had nearly made me ejaculate, and I couldn't guarantee a quick recovery if that happened.

I still had the initiative, however. Black Alice seemed unable to decide on her next move, so busy was she trying to fight an internal battle within her mind. Since I remembered what it was like to be tiny, since I'd been shrunken before during the battle with the elves and fairies, I voluntarily shrunk myself to make myself difficult to hit. Black Alice countered by summoning a cloud of fog. Using Sylph's power, I flew through the fog while trying to also use her power to blow the fog away. I should have taken Black Alice's far superior senses into account. I narrowly avoided her mouth as it slammed shut just inches from me.

"I know you like getting swallowed, Luka," she teased as I exited the fog, trying to get a fix on her from above. "Like I said, I have no personal grudge with you. I'll be happy to make your dreams come true, just so long as you die. C'mon, Luka! Make it easy. You can die in such a fun way! Luka, shoot to your left!"

I fired a bolt of my magic to my left. Black Alice cursed me and Alicetroemeria as it made contact and dispersed the fog. I peered through the flow again. Black Alice wouldn't be able to take too many more of those. I was doing my best to regenerate by imagining my stores of power as unlimited, but it wasn't easy to concentrate on that and fighting at the same time.

Alicetroemeria had warned me that all she could do was keep Black Alice from shutting down my power again, but she was sure trying her best to distract Black Alice. Black Alice was stumbling around, trying to hold back her left hand with her right hand. The left hand was trying to poke her in the eyes. Trusting my sword more than my power, I summoned my vibranium shield and charged again.

Black Alice regained her focus and countered with a small rod, deflecting my first strike. Then she teleported. I spun around quickly, expecting her to be behind me, but she was not. I turned around again. Nothing.

"Fufufufu…."

A massive ball of fire came down from above me. And then dissipated before hitting me.

"You cunt!" Black Alice yelled. "I am the Goddess of Chaos! Get out of my head! I'm the Goddess of Chaos too, fufufufu. You didn't have to eat me."

Black Alice was about twenty feet above me and another twenty feet distant. I did a quick calculation and then decided to bet it all on one move.

"Come Sylph!"

I had to concentrate, no matter what. But I had an ally now. Alicetroemeria would protect me, assuming she could sense what I was up to.

"Come Gnome!"

Black Alice knew what I was doing for certain. Her face twisted in rage as she extended her hand. I kept my shield up, trying as hard as I could to concentrate on setting up the Giga move while doing so. C'mon, you idiot! I said to myself. If there was ever a time you needed to perform in the clutch, it's now!

"Come Undine!"

Chaos lightning crackled around my shield, penetrating it in numerous places. I went down. Black Alice laughed and stood over me. She extended her hand to finish the job. Nothing happened.

"Ooohhh! You are really pissing me off!" Black Alice yelled, to herself rather than me. "You're a very clever little mage! You remind me of me! I literally am you! No, you're nothing like me! Shut up! No, you shut up!"

Black Alice shook her head, trying to pull herself together. And I'd thought my Alice was having problems integrating all of her personalities! With a smile of triumph, Black Alice focused on me once again.

"There, that's better! Pyschic battles are so tiresome," she laughed. "Now, what to do with you, my second most annoying opponent. Hmmm, she won't let me kill you with magic. Maybe a pleasure attack?"

A tentacle tentatively reached down and coiled around my penis. Seeing no internal resistance to it, she smiled and more tentacles reached out for me.

"Well, if she insists that you die this way, who am I to argue?" Black Alice chuckled as she stroked me. "Maybe we will learn to get along. So how's your concentration coming along? Still gonna Quadruple Giga me? Not while I'm doing this, I bet."

"Actually," I said coldly. "I hate tentacles. Come Salamander!"

I plunged my sword into her mass of tentacles below her shirt. The detonation cleared the ground of snow for nearly a mile in each direction. My shield had protected me from most of the effects of the blast. What's more, the natural spirits were still in my sword. It bucked and jumped in my hands, but I held on, both to the sword and my concentration.

"Great discipline, Luka!" Salamander praised me.

"She's still not finished!" Undine warned.

"I hear her!" Sylph shouted. "She's close!"

"That was good, Luka," Black Alice said. "Real good. But this party's over now. You gave me your best shot. It wasn't good enough. And now I've sent that upstart bitch into the darkest places of my mind."

I felt my power vanish again. I had no shielding and Alicetroemeria couldn't protect me anymore. There was just one more thing to try.

"Ilias! Alipheese! Give me… chaos!"

They couldn't respond vocally. Inside my heart, their essences had merged. Since chaos magic was new to me, I'd barely been able to use it. But I knew one thing about elements. The more you could put into Angel Halo, the more powerful it became. I wondered what a little bit of chaos would do for it.

Black Alice, now completely uninhibited by any opposing personalities, threw huge spells at me. I held Angel Halo up. It deflected everything. Spells that could rend worlds, spells that could warp reality, spells that could destroy whole universes. But her own chaos magic was being countered by my own. Everything she threw at me fell into chaos itself, unable to coalesce sufficiently to hurt me. I advanced on her with my sword as her spells became more and more extravagant, her desperation increasing. And then I leaped into the air and aimed Angel Halo directly for her heart.

Time seemed to slow. Was she using time magic on me? I imagined she must certainly have that kind of power. But no, it wasn't that. It was my memory playing tricks on me. It's simply how I remembered it in hindsight. Because I'll never forget the look on Black Alice's face as my sword came ever closer to her heart. She was no longer casting spells. No longer protecting herself. And her eyes had changed. In the seconds before I pierced her heart with the Ultimate Chaos Giga, I was looking at Alicetroemeria. In the end, she had won. Not me. Alicetroemeria.

"See, Luka?" Alicetroemeria said from Black Alice's mouth. "I told you I was the heroine of this story."

Angel Halo penetrated her heart and detonated. Her pocket universe collapsed around me and I was thrust back into reality, back into the puppeteer's tower.

Black Alice was lying still on the ground, unmoving. Her form had reverted to that which she had achieved before the White Rabbit formula.

"A little help here, guys?" Alipheese said in my heart.

"This is very uncomfortable!" Ilias agreed.

The four natural spirits began pulling Ilias and Alipheese apart, trying to unfuse them. I wasn't sure how they'd gotten fused in the first place. My will must have unconsciously done it in order to achieve the chaos power that I had needed to be able to stand up to Black Alice. While the act of fusing them had been just fine for me, the act of pulling them apart was a lot stranger. I felt like I was being tugged at by the spirits as well. But in the end, they got the job done. Ilias and Alipheese exited my heart and stood over Black Alice.

"Is she-?" I asked.

"She's gone," Alipheese said.

"Her abilities were acquired, not natural to her," Ilias explained. "Your giga dispelled them."

"No," I said. "Alicetroemeria did it. It was all her."

"She gave you the opening," Alipheese said. "You took it. You saved us all. She saved us all."

"Black Alice was right," Ilias said, kneeling next to the body. "This was all my doing."

"Black Alice was just as responsible," Alipheese said, putting her hand on Ilias's shoulder. "You made her worse, but she was already terrible to begin with. You were right to send a hero to put an end to her."

"I do stand by that decision, but I missed an opportunity. Black Alice chose to travel with him for her own amusement. And to corrupt him. But she was failing. He was changing her. For some reason, that made me even angrier. I plotted and I manipulated them both, until it could only end in their deaths. But maybe…. Maybe this is something I actually can atone for."

Ilias placed her hand on the fallen goddess' chest and concentrated. Wisps of light emerged from the gaping wound in her chest and took on form. The form was Alicetroemeria.

"I… I don't understand," Alicetroemeria's spirit said. "What just happened?"

"What happened is that I'm making something right that I did wrong in another universe," Ilias replied. "I'm giving you a chance to make a better future. You've seen where your plotting and deceit lead. Now you see what truly matters, don't you?"

"I do," Alicetroemeria answered. "But a second chance? You're not reviving me just to use me like you did my counterpart?"

"No, I'm sending you back to your world now to do things differently. It won't be easy. Believe me, the temptations of your own nature will come back as the memory of this recedes in the distance. You're not a good person, Alice. And even if you do overcome your proclivities, even if you make the decision to be better, there's an Ilias on that world that wants to destroy you. Who has filled Heinrich's head with lies. And the worst part is that she believes those lies. But if you tell Heinrich the truth now, if you try to do things differently, I have no doubt that you'll overcome my counterpart. Together, a hero and a monster lord can do anything. I can tell you with certainty that it's possible. And then maybe she'll be on a path to change as well."

"Ilias, I don't know what to say…."

"Just take advantage of your second chance. Learn from the mistakes you've seen played out here. And now, I send you back to your world."

"Wait, there's something I have to tell you!" Alicetroemeria shouted as she faded away. "Black Alice! She-!"

"What did Black Alice do?!" I asked, but it was too late. "Ilias, bring her back!"

"I'd like to, but that's a one way ticket!" Ilias responded. "We'd have to go to the Tartarus and then find her on her world!"

"Great," I groused. "I sure hope Black Alice didn't leave us one last parting gi-"

Reality blinked out for a second before returning.

"What was that?" I asked.

"Chaosization!" Alipheese exclaimed. "It's not over!"

"Destroying the Goddess of Chaos didn't end chaosization?!"

"Just as my dying didn't destroy my creations," Ilias explained. "Those apoptosis are still out there. Adramelech is still out there!"

"Call me crazy," Alipheese said. "But I think she was holding them back, so that she could achieve her goal of getting Heinrich back! Nothing's holding them back anymore!"

"We have to get back to the castle!" I said. "Warn everyone! Plan a defense!"

With a thought, I teleported myself and the two goddesses to the Pocket Castle. It was already pandemonium. Reality blinked out a second time and returned. Alice rushed to me.

"We're getting reports telepathically of apoptosis everywhere!" she exclaimed. "In some places they are blocking out the sun they are so dense! What happened?"

"We destroyed Black Alice, but I think she ordered them to end existence!" I informed her. "Starting with this world!"

"Then we must fight them!" Granberia exclaimed.

"Archangels! Seraphs! Go and battle those abominations!" Ilias ordered.

"Where?" Micaela asked.

"Anywhere! Wherever you want! Just save something! I'll follow you to wherever you decide to go!"

"Ancestors, same goes for you!" Alipheese said. "Pick a place to take a stand!"

"My Knights, my mother and I, and Sonya will do the same," Alice promised. "Erubetie, gather up any monsters who can fight! We'll make our stand in…. Sabasa! No! Grand Noah! That's where the most people are!"

"It won't matter," Promestein said matter of factly. "You might as well try to stop a tidal wave with your bodies."

"Then what do you propose that we do?!"

"There is a way to destroy them," Sonya said. "But…."

"But what?!" Alice prompted.

"We'll need to plug Luka into the Demiurge again!" Sonya sobbed.

"Wait, you managed to configure it to destroy only chaos?!" I asked.

"Yes, yes we did, but… Luka, you won't survive it!"

I looked at her, stunned. I'd long assumed that this ended with my death. After all, I was already dead, and had only been sent to this world to do a job. It turned out that things had not been what I'd originally thought at all. I could not die as long as there were other Lukas in other worlds.

"So I die, and I end up in another Luka!" I said. "I'll find my way back! I've done it before!"

"No… no you won't," Sonya said, tears in her eyes.

"The Demiurge was configured by Tamamo on Makai to extract your very essence to destroy worlds," Promestein explained. "It takes your power and hones it into a destructive force beyond what even a god can imagine. We've refined it to only destroy chaos, rather than physical matter. But it still is powered the same way. With you, Luka. We'll have to extract all of you to be sure. You won't surive that. Your essence will be spread all over this world. No afterlife. Just… nothing."

"No!" Alice cried. "I just got him back! We can fight these things! We have Ilias, we have Alipheese, we have Sonya!"

"She's right," I said with cold realization. "it won't be enough. Even if you could destroy the lesser ones, Adramelech can't be destroyed any other way that we know of. This will destroy her, won't it?"

"We… we think so," Promestein said uncomfortably. "The math all works out, if that helps.But where chaos and your magic are concerned, we can never be completely certain."

"See, she's not certain!" Alice argued. "Luka, you don't need some machine to amplify your power! You can save us!"

"No,I can't," I said with finality. "I tried, when I saved your mother and chaos overwhelmed the world. I tried to hold it back. I believed I could hold it back. There was no doubt in my mind. For a brief second, it looked like it would work. And then…. It didn't. Promestein, I'm taking us to the Demiurge. Do what you have to do."

"Luka, I'll never see you again!" Alice pleaded. "Please, don't give up! You taught me never to give up!"

"Alice, this isn't giving up. I always knew it had to end this way. I'd just fooled myself into thinking I was getting another life. Please don't lose hope, Alice. If there's a real god out there, I doubt he lets anyone just be destroyed forever. Have faith. We'll meet again."

I handed her Angel Halo. With a thought, I teleported directly into the Demiurge's weapons room with Sonya and Promestein. I placed my arms into the soft machinery that had held them in place once before. Promestein closed the metal cylinder around my torso. She shared a brief moment with me. I thought she might say something. But she stifled whatever it was she wanted to express and went to the control panel.

"Sonya, you should go," Promestein said. "They'll need you to hold them off as best you can until this powers up."

'But…"

"She's right, Sonya," I said. "I'm sorry it worked out this way."

Sonya sadly nodded her head, transformed into Sonya Chaos and teleported away to do battle.

"She didn't need to see this," Promestein said. "I'm sorry too, Luka. I'm afraid I won't be able to make this easier for you. If it was physical pain, I could do something… but…"

"It's a different kind of pain," I finished for her. "I know. It'll be over soon, anyway. Flip the switch, Promestein. Every second we wait, people die."

Promestein began typing commands into the computer. "It's not so simple as flipping a switch, unfortunately," she said as she typed. "But this won't take long."

Alice appeared outside the view window, shouting and banging on it. I knew that she could break in easily enough, but I also knew that she was mature enough to recognize that what I was doing was necessary. She was merely expressing her grief. Ilias appeared outside as well, and placed her hand on the window. In that one look I saw a goddess' true love. I knew right then and there that I could go. The world, no, the multiverse, was in good hands. Ilias, Alice, and Sonya would protect it from now on. It was time for me to rest.

With a rumble, the machine spun up and my body went taut.

"No, no, no, no," Alice wept, seeing her darling suffering, knowing that she would never see him again. "It can't end this way. I just got you back…. It's not fair!"

No, it wasn't, Ilias thought. It should have been her. This is all my fault, Ilias thought. Luka is dying for my sins. A death even I can't save him from. Ilias gently embraced the small amount of power that she still held onto, the power that she had taken so that she could interact with Alipheese. And then the realization hit her. An idea began to form. But it was an idea that would have consequences, not just for Luka, but for Alice as well.

"Alice!" Ilias exclaimed. "Do you want to spend eternity with Luka? Do you love him that much?"

"I do!" Alice wept. "More than anything! I'd give my life for him! There's nothing else I want."

"And do you trust me?"

Alice stared at Ilias for a moment, indecisive. Then the doubt melted away. "I do, Ilias," Alice said. "I trust you."

Gaining Alice's consent, Ilias placed her hands on Alice's temples. Alice's body was jolted as Ilias cast a spell directly into her brain. Alice stared blankly at Ilias. Then, she grew alarmed.

"Ilias!" Alice exclaimed, socking her dead in the eye while holding onto Angel Halo.

"Agh! You bitch!" Ilias exclaimed, opening a portal and tossing Alice through it. "Fuck! That hurt!"

"Micaela! Lucifina! Eden!" Ilias called out telepathically. "To me!"

"We're up to our eyeballs in apoptosis here!" Lucifina responded in Ilias' head.

"That's not going to be a problem soon. Get your asses over here. We're leaving!"

"Leaving?" Micaela asked. "Where are we going?"

"To a new world," Ilias said. "One where we make the rules."

"We hear you and obey, goddess," Eden responded.

Ilias looked up at the Demiurge's main weapon. The weapon fired, the force of it so great that it blew up. But Ilias could see that Promestein had done well. Her goddess senses could see the force of Luka's power encircling the world. Promestein had come through again, although Sonya had had a lot to do with it. The Paradox world was saved. All the worlds were saved. But for what she needed to do, she needed a new world. One where Ilias decided what was reality and what was not. That world was through that portal. Her own powers, recently restored to her, plus Luka's reality-bending magic, had finally given her what she'd always craved: the power of creation.

Ilias turned back to peer at Luka behind the glass. His body had gone limp. Reaching out with her senses, she could tell that he was dead. No, not dead. Just… gone. Ilias hadn't performed the only miracle this day. Another, unexpected miracle had occurred. Ilias smiled sadly, regretting that she wouldn't be present to see the second one. But Sonya would see it, and that's what mattered.

"Luka," Ilias said. "I know you can't hear me. This life has been so unfair to you. But I promise you, Luka! The next one will be better! I'll do everything in my power to make sure of that! Goodbye, my love."

Her Seraphs back at her side, Ilias flew into the rift she'd created in spacetime. Laughing, Lucifina followed. Eden and Micaela shared a look. Micaela shrugged and followed Lucifina. Eden sighed and did the same. The rift closed behind them.

Adramelech watched as her forces swept all over the world below. Adramelech herself was floating above the planet, observing her forces' work. At last they were free to do what they were meant to do. The Paradox world had to disappear. It was the cause of all the violations of the natural law. Her forces had already begun pouring into the rifts to spread to the other worlds responsible for the fraying of reality. They would continue to cleanse the timeline until all was set right again. And if existence was too far gone, as it seemed to be… well, that was just too bad. Existence would have to end.

Adramelech's gaze was drawn to a spot on Hellgondo. A flash had erupted from that location. Some kind of magic? A last ditch effort to stave off destruction? The beings here were powerful, especially that Sonya Chaos. Adramelech could yet be thwarted again. But such a defeat would only be temporary, she knew. She was an unstoppable force. The natural order of things could only be held back for so long. This and many other worlds had to disappear. And they would disappear. Adramelech was emotionless, not caring if she succeeded or failed this time, because she knew that she would win in the end.

The bright light spread out from the location in Hellgondo. Adramelech witnessed her apoptosis disintegrate. Her brain, a combination of a human brain and a computer more advanced than anything made on any of the worlds she was tasked with destroying, made quick calculations. They'd done it again. Her forces would be prevented from fulfilling their mission yet again. No matter. She would analyze the strange magic, develop countermeasures, resurrect her forces, and attack again as early as next week.

As the magic spread over the Senatora continent, Adramelech's sensors began to signal alarms. The power wave was expanding at geometric speeds, not just on the surface, but into space. Soon the wave would reach Adramelech herself. Her logic circuits told her that she could not be destroyed. There was nothing to worry about. But her sensors analyzing the strange magic told her otherwise. With alarm she realized that it was the hero Luka's power, only magnified a thousand fold! She decided that there was a real threat. She quickly ran through scenarios trying to determine what countermeasures might be possible.

"Ta da!" a voice said, as White Rabbit appeared in front of her.

Adramelech finished her analysis. No countermeasures were possible. She and all of her forces were doomed. Luka's power had done the impossible. The worlds would be allowed to exist, no longer bound by true history. They would each be free to make their own destiny. The normally emotionless Adramelech found that she was offended by this. Anger began to well up in her.

"Oh, Adramelech?" White Rabbit said, getting the apoptosis' attention. Then the White Rabbit uttered a single word.

"Disappear."

Adramelech's rage reached its height just as the wave hit her and disintegrated her.

Sonya had been giving her all, firing every weapon she had and even inventing some she hadn't had before. Not a single apoptosis reached Iliasville due to her lone, brave defense. But she knew that there were other cities, and they would not be as well defended. There were just not enough of them to go around, and the apoptosis' numbers seemed limitless.

And then suddenly, it was over. Sonya detected the wave of power coming from the north. She knew exactly what it was. After all, it had been her idea. She knew, being an apoptosis herself that it could very well end her. She didn't care. Her Luka was gone. She had become a monster herself. There was nothing else to live for. She closed her eyes and faced the oncoming wave, waiting for the end.

The wave hit her, but there was no pain. She was still conscious. But she was falling. She realized suddenly that she had missed something very important. She had configured the Demiurge to be precise, to destroy only chaos. It wouldn't harm a single cell on her body that wasn't the apoptosis. Her joy was short lived. Now she would fall to her death instead of Luka's power destroying her.

Strong, sure hands slowed her descent. Promestein! She had rarely seen Promestein extend her wings, but her great wings were flapping wildly, trying to slow Sonya down enough to prevent her from being pulverized by contact with the ground. Why had Promestein's counterpart ever given that up? She thought. Flying is so wonderful!

Ben and Emma could only stare at the sky. One minute the end had been near, the next a wave of power had swept across the planet and all the apoptosis were gone. Promestein had been urging them over their comms to teleport immediately to the portal for evacuation to Earth. But this had been their homeworld. They weren't going to give up until the very last moment.

"Ben! Emma!" Promestein's voice said over their comms. "Come in! What the hell just happened?!"

"I think that was my power," Emma said uncertainly. "But I didn't do anything. I don't think I did, anyway."

Back in their temporary HQ, Tamamo and Promestein stared at the monitors. The end had seemed imminent. And then one by one, each monitor displaying each region of the world had shown that all was clear. Something had simply caused the apoptosis to…. Vanish. Promestein struggled to come up with a hypothesis. She concluded that there was only one possible explanation.

"That son of a bitch," she breathed. "He pulled it off. Again."

"You think that was his power?" Tamamo asked.

"It had to be. Emma recognized it as her own. But if she didn't do it… it had to be him."

Tamamo began to weep. Promestein couldn't understand why. Tears of happiness? Then she stared at the monitor again. The massive Tartarus rift in the open had closed. The connection between their world and the Paradox world was severed. Luka was beyond their reach again.

"Don't cry, Tamamo," Promestein said, hugging the kitsune close. "We've lost him before. He always finds his way back. You'll see him again. I have no doubt."

"Is that your scientist brain talking?" Tamamo sobbed.

"No. I believe in Luka. The same as you do. We haven't seen the last of him. I'd bet my life on it."

Back at the Demiurge, Sonya wept when she saw Luka's limp body, still hooked up to the machine. She slowly disconnected him with Promestein's help, and cradled his body in her arms. And then the unthinkable happened. He coughed.

"Luka!?" she cried. "Promestein! He's alive! Get my medical bag!"

"Sonya?" Luka asked. "Where am I?"

"You saved the world, Luka," she laughed through her tears. "And you made it out alive!"

"I did? How did I save the world? The last thing I remember….. I'm not sure."

"Sonya," Promestein said, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You configured the Demiurge. It didn't destroy Luka's body. The man you're holding right now… I knew this could happen, but I didn't dare say anything. I wasn't sure how interconnected they were."

"This is….?" Sonya asked.

"It's the Luka that you grew up with. And he doesn't seem to need any physical healing. Mental, well… he should remember everything, but it may take some time."

"Can I got home now?" Luka asked.

"Yes," Sonya said, the tears flowing freely. "Yes, Luka. We're going home now."