Argos, 100 light-years from Earth
Selene is disappointed. She lands on the ruins of Prometheus Square, devastated by the fragments of the Argos Fleet that rained on the city after her arrival.
The ships that used to defend this planet were not equipped to resist her power: her army of living statues destroyed them easily. But her general Talas Khanos proved ineffective, and the indigenous mortals didn’t have the information she wanted.
Now the goddess looks down at her opponent. Like all of her relatives Selene is exceptionally beautiful, even though her marble white skin and ash grey hair are a bit off-putting; the girl in front of her is the epitome of human physical fitness, but looks homely next to Selene.
<I have been searching for you, Noriko Null.>
<I’m flattered, but I’m not the one you’re looking for> the purple haired Kari says, pointing at the five feet tall Asian girl next to her. Selene raises an eyebrow.
<You are smaller than I expected.>
<Yeah, I get that a lot. You know, I promised a good friend of mine I’d give you a chance to surrender, but I think we’re well past that> Null says, flipping a switch on one of her oversized gloves: they are covered with metal components, and they emit a soft hum.
<I suppose I should ask you why you’re here, why you want the Heart Of The Universe, or what’s your relationship with Ereshkigal… but the truth is, I really don’t care. I just want to punch you in the face until you beg me to stop.>
Selene is usually perfectly composed, her face imperturbable like a real statue. So it’s very disconcerting to see her eyes fill up with hate, even more so when the ground shakes without her needing to do anything else.
<You DARE to insult a Titan!?>
<I am Null. You were dead the minute you pissed me off> Noriko says, her silver eyes shining brightly and emitting sparks of electricity, clenching her fist.
Selene notices she’s about to hit her, but she doesn’t brace for impact: she shrugged off meteor impacts, after all. But not only she feels the punch, not only it hurts, but even after that there’s still enough force left to throw her several feet away.
There’s a sound of thunder as the punch connects, echoing all over the city. Selene kneels, holding her stomach: if it wasn’t for her ability to fly, the hit would’ve sent her over the horizon.
<What… what is this feeling?>
<Pain> Noriko explains, coming closer to Selene: the gloves are pulsating with electricity, just like her silver eyes.
<You haven’t felt it in ages, isn’t it? Vesta experienced something like this when she first fought the Talos: you’re so used to being far stronger than anything around you that you automatically lower your own defenses. Until something, someone reminds you that you’re not invincible.>
<I may have underestimated you, mortal, but I am still supremely above your power.>
<That remains to be seen> Noriko insists, throwing another punch; Selene moves to avoid it, but her opponent can rely on the experience of every boxer on Earth.
Another thunder. This time she hits Selene right on the nose, and when the goddess tries to protect herself she is rewarded to another punch in the stomach.
<Given the chance you could pulverize me, yes: I saw Vesta survive on the surface of a neutron star. But I also saw her struggle with far weaker opponents than a Talos, which didn’t make any sense… until I figured out exactly how a god’s invulnerability really works. Should I explain it to you?>
<You know nothing of my true power> Selene answers, as a dozen statues emerge from the ground to attack Noriko. However she doesn’t seem impressed: the gauntlet’s hum changes pitch, and as she moves her hand the gravity around the statues disappears, throwing them several miles away while she continues her explanation:
<It’s all about mind over matter, isn’t it? You can mentally lock your molecules in their current state. As long as you think something’s not gonna hurt you, it won’t. You are, quite literally, only as powerful as you think you are. Being a megalomaniac must help.>
<You really are a glutton for punishment, mortal. You cannot even begin to comprehend the depth of my power> Selene insists.
<That’s what everybody has been saying all this time, and I almost believed them. But then I realized there’s a reason why you’re not a major player in this galaxy: you’re not anywhere near the level of the really big gods. That’s why you never attacked Demeter or Hephaestus, you didn’t stand a chance to defeat them. But I killed them.>
<Are you trying to intimidate a Titan?>
<No, I’m calling your bluff. See the spaceship over there?> Noriko asks, pointing at the sky where the Talaria is still hovering.
<That ship is broadcasting our little chat all over the planet: everybody now knows you’re a phony. Come on, Selene, it’s just you and me now. Give me your best shot.>
<Nori, I-I don’t think she’s bluffing> Kari warns her, trying push her away from Selene whose face is practically overflowing with anger.
<Neither am I> Noriko answers, her silver eyes shining as the Gravity Gauntlets hum louder.
Selene chuckles. Then clenches her fists.
<Very well. I will show how a real goddess fights> she says, flying towards her.
Noriko crosses her forearms to form an X, and she just has the time to whisper:
<Null Shield.>
Nobody can hear her, however, over the sonic boom of Selene’s punch.
The ground doesn’t simply shake. Its mass flows like an enormous wave, crushing into dust the remains of the nearby buildings.
Even the Talaria struggles to maintain its position, despite the antigravity generators. Even hundreds of miles away, Vesta has to carry the weight of a skyscraper on her shoulders before Kari’s duplicate help evacuating the neighborhood.
Quantum is the first person to reach ground zero, of course. The column of dirt lifted is so thick that even some wavelengths have trouble penetrating it: it was like the detonation of a very powerful nuclear bomb, except with no heat or radiation.
He’s not alone. Tyche is also there, and judging by how the fog of dirt disappears when she waves her hand she’s the one taking care of it.
<I don’t know who you are, but you are lucky to witness my triumph> Selene tells them, recomposing herself. The dirt keeps itself away from her marble white skin.
<Don’t be so sure. I didn’t bet on you> Tyche answers, pointing her finger at the green energy bubble that becomes visible once the dirt disappears.
Selene slowly turns to watch it, and her face goes from smugness to terror in the blink of an eye.
<What? This is not possible! It must be a trick!>
The bubble disappears, showing Noriko still with her arms crossed in an X, with Kari holding her tight. And she’s as confused as Selene.
<No trick. Just science, b#tch> Null adds, taking off the Gravity Gauntlets and letting them fall to the ground: they are partially melted and emitting a black smoke, but Noriko is completely unharmed despite standing inside a giant crater.
<Your only real power is raw strength, so I created a device that neutralizes it: you can punch me as hard as you want, but I can re-direct its energy where I want. You think I’m scared of you, Selene? I killed gods far more versatile than you, and there are far scarier things than you inside my brain. I tried to fight them, afraid that they would eclipse me, but you know what I’ve realized?>
Noriko walks towards Selene, and the goddess steps back. She looks up: the sky has darkened, and black clouds are gathering quickly.
<They’re the ones to be afraid, because I am the eclipse. Now die.>
A lightning bolt that could outshine a star bursts through the sky, flowing to the God Eraser inside the Talaria and directly into Selene’s brain.
The goddess is over six hundred million years old. From her perspective, a human’s life is barely visible; when she was born, the earliest animals had just begun evolving.
But now her mind is bombarded by the thoughts of seven billion people, focused through a single mind to achieve a single goal: to kill something older than mountains. It’s torture of the harshest kind. Selene screams, and screams, and screams.
But she doesn’t die. Noriko Null takes a step back, and the light in her silver eyes fades.
<That’s… that’s n-not p-possible…> she stutters, as the anger in Selene’s voice rises.
<Enough talk> she replies, ready to punch her again. This time, without a Null Shield to stop her: no matter how advanced her technology is, there are still limits to how long it can last against a force of nature. And Noriko just made the same mistake Selene did: she put too much confidence into just one strength, without a backup plan.
<Look out!> Kari warns her, jumping towards to the goddess; as a testament to her fighting prowess, she uses Selene’s own momentum to make her lose her balance and miss. When Selene turns and barely touches Kari, she hits her hard enough to kill a human instantly: luckily this is just one of Kari’s duplicates, so it disintegrates on impact. Noriko won’t be so lucky.
Kari’s action bought her some time, though: in the blink of an eye, Vesta has already flown back to her position and is already holding Selene in a chokehold.
<Run, Nori, run!> Vesta warns her, but it’s useless: Selene grabs her forearm so tight that she can clearly hear the sound of the bone cracking.
<You will be next, spawn of Kronos> she threatens Vesta, freeing herself from the goddess while also dislocating her shoulder. Vesta lets out a scream of pain, and is knocked out cold when Selene punches her into the ground with a single hit.
Noriko is paralyzed by fear, stuck like a deer in the headlights of an incoming car. Fortunately for her, the light transforms back into Quantum.
<Next time I agree to let you fight a god alone, just punch me really hard!> he complains, shooting vast amount of electricity and pure kinetic energy towards Selene. The goddess keeps walking calmly towards them, as if facing a light breeze.
<This is really bad. What went wrong?> Tyche asks, while avoiding raising a finger to help.
<I… I don’t understand> Noriko says to herself. Or rather, to the voices in her head.
“It doesn’t work if you leave us out” – Eve explains.
“Yes, you need our collective brain power and my own logical brilliance” – Void adds.
“And my rage. It can’t work unless you give everything you have” – Fury concludes.
<What do you want me to do!? I can’t fire the God Eraser twice in a row!!!>
<Too bad for you> Selene says, putting her hand on Quantum’s shoulder: he tries to defend himself by turning his molecules into photons, and she replies by scattering his energy across the continent.
<Leave her alone, Selene. You’re making a huge-> Tyche tries to intercede, but she earns a punch in the jaw for her attempt to help Noriko. The mortal is left alone at the mercy of the goddess, who grabs her by the threat and lifts her off the ground with one hand.
<Any last words, before I rid the universe from the plague of mortals?>
It’s Selene’s moment of triumph, and she relishes the sight of Noriko when she’s about to die… until she sees something in that silver eyes. It’s quick, even shorter than the second when Noriko’s eyes go to silver to black to blue and back to silver again. Whatever she just saw, Selene is terrified.
<I… I never thought… what are you!?>
Noriko raises her arms to hold Selene’s head in her hands, and her voice is the sound of seven billion people saying the same words.
<I am Null. Now just. Fu##ing. DIE.>
The God Eraser releases a single shot of electricity, directly into Selene’s brain. As if a circuit was simply turned off by a switch, Selene collapses. A life that lasted six hundred million years ends in just a few seconds. Noriko Null looks at her, speechless. Then she smiles.
She lets out a terrifying laugh, looking down at the dead goddess. It’s a laughter that insults destiny and defiantly challenges the universe, but all the Vanguard hears is the sound of pure madness.
Null laughs so hard that her body starts shaking, more and more violently. She loses her balance, falling to the ground convulsing in an extremely violent seizure. Still laughing to herself.
Her friends have to restrain her until she loses consciousness, still painfully twitching every muscle in very powerful spasms. She may have killed a goddess, but at what price?
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