Beyond The Impossible

Argos, 100 light-years from Earth

The N01-Ragnarok drops below lightspeed in orbit above the planet, surrounded by a dozen ships from the Mortal Fleet. They wouldn’t have a chance against the Ragnarok, but since Argos is still the capital of the Mortal Republic they need to keep up appearances.

Noriko Null is on the captain’s chair, nervously biting her nails; she’s eager to put an end to this whole mess. The only other person on the bridge is Kari Zel, or rather a dozen of her duplicates.

<They’re not giving us permission to land.> she reveals.

<Tell them I don’t care.> Noriko replies.

<That’s a bad idea. We came all the way here to put an end to the civil war, the last thing you want to do is escalate the violence.> Kari points out.

<Fine, fine. Tell them that we’re going to teleport into the Presidential Palace; I’ll set up a forcefield in case they get any funny ideas.> Noriko says, standing up to adjust the forcefield controls on her belt. Kari creates a duplicate right next to her.

<What are you doing?> Noriko asks.

<Helping you calibrate the field? I’m coming with you.>

<You don’t need to. Torn’s gonna help me keep Ulysses in check.>

<I know. I’m coming with you.> Kari insists.

<Any particular reason?>

<I’m the one who let Tyche escape with Vector and that messed everything up. If I hadn’t let her take me by surprise, we wouldn’t have lost six months. I want to make up for it somehow.>

<Kari, it wasn’t your fault. If anything, I’m the one who screwed up: I shouldn’t have left you alone in charge of a goddess.>

<C’mon, Nori, it’s not your job to anticipate the moves of someone who can see the future.>

<I should’ve known Tyche couldn’t be trusted. Serves me right for believing a goddess! I miss the times when I could just kill any god that stirred up trouble.> Noriko sighs.

<The Palace has agreed to let you inside. Ready?> another Kari duplicate asks.

<It’s not like I have a choice. Let’s put an end to this whole charade.> Noriko responds, and together with Kari she disappears in a blinding flash of light.

 

On the surface, inside the Presidential palace

As soon as the light disappears, Null and Kari are inside the building next to Torn, Helen of Troy and Ulysses. The latter is handcuffed and muzzled.

<Stay where you are! No sudden moves!> one of the guards shouts: the Vanguard is completely surrounded by a couple dozen men ready to blast them with plasma rifles.

<Shall I take care of this?> Helen asks, starting to remove her mask.

<No, that would be too distracting for me and I can’t afford to mess this up.> Noriko tells her.

<Can’t you use your golden eyes to protect yourself?>

<I’m trying to limit myself to use them only when absolutely necessary: unlike you, I don’t have an infinite lifespan.>

<That is quite the euphemism.> is the comment from the person who just showed up, accompanied by another dozen heavily armed guards. An eight feet tall giantess with white hair, wearing a masculine dress decorated with a high number of medals.

Next to her, the blond goddess in a white military uniform almost looks short, despite being a full head taller than Noriko.

<I should have you executed.> is the harsh judgement of Aura, the current Acting President of the Mortal Senate.

<Careful, Madame President. I know by personal experience that it’s not wise to antagonize the Slayer of Gods.> Adrestia highlights. The goddess of revenge looks at Ulysses, lifting him off the ground by decreasing the effect of gravity on his body.

<What is she doing here!?> Kari protests.

<Adrestia and I have signed a nonaggression pact between her sector and the Mortal Republic.> Adria explains.

<You were captured with me during the Council of Myridia, Adrestia. How did you manage to escape from the Zenith?> Helen asks.

<Unlike you, I am a real goddess.> Adrestia answers.

<I’m not buying it. You made a deal with Ulysses, didn’t you?> Noriko deduces.

<I’m sorry, are you under the impression that you have some kind of authority here? You don’t get to ask questions. I only granted you access to Argos to deliver the prisoner.> Aura responds.

She’s been an ally, but there’s never been much trust between her and the Vanguard; unlike her husband Syzar, she doesn’t seem to care about looking friendly.

<You agreed to put an end to the civil war if I delivered your husband’s assassin. Here he is: Ulysses is the one who orchestrated the whole thing.> Noriko reveals.

<That offer expired six months ago.>

<Then make another one.> Noriko insists. She’s trying her best not to look desperate, but Aura does have a point: she knows well that Null won’t try to attack her, not in mortal territory.

<Madame President…> Adrestia begins to talk, but Aura stops her by raising her hand.

If this was in Adrestia’s territory, such an offense would be worthy of execution. But the goddess remains cold and calculating, not showing any reaction.

<You really must want the civil war to end.> Aura deduces.

<I do. We both worked too hard to establish an alternative to divine rule; I don’t think you want to throw it all away.>

<I was the leader of the Hunters when we created the Alliance. Every other member… the Guild, the Mortal Liberation Front, the Blue Rose, the Empire of Shadows, even a goddess like Tyche… each of them has fallen, either because of Syzar or because of you.>

Noriko and Kari quickly exchange looks: they both realized this if Aura doesn’t know that Tyche is still active, it means that she’s kept herself away from the civil war.

<I won’t allow the republic to lose any more pieces, Null. If I agree to stop all military actions against the rebellion, how can I be sure that you won’t just wait for a better opportunity to seize power?>

<I don’t want to rule the Mortal Republic, Aura! What do I have to do to convince you!?>

<Dismantle your terrorist organization.>

<Are you out of your mind? The Vanguard is not…>

<The Covenant.> Aura corrects her.

Noriko is speechless. She’s done her very best to keep the Covenant organization as secret as possible; if Aura knows about it, there must be a leak.

<Yes, I know all about it. You will dismantle it and place it under my command.> Aura demands.

<No.> Noriko simply responds.

<What do you mean “no”?>

<The Covenant is now my best chance to gather intelligence on hostile gods. I can’t afford to dismantle it. But in a gesture of good faith, I will share their reports with you. Good enough?>

<No. You will also formally, and publicly, declare that you will never try to take over the Mortal Republic. In exchange, I will make Null worship legal again… if you also announce that any of your followers who holds public office will be automatically excommunicated.> Aura requests.

It’s a tough request: as the Council of Myridia has shown her, she’s out of her depth when it comes to religion. And enforcing religious doctrine goes against everything she’s done so far when it comes to the Church of Null.

<No offense, but this is all a little too detailed to come from a someone who despises diplomacy.> Noriko points out, looking at Adrestia. The goddess remains as unreadable as ever.

<Enough games, Null. I won’t give you any more chances. Do you accept?> Aura insists.

<You drive a hard bargain. I accept… if you also agree to hold free and fair elections to confirm your mandate.> Noriko says, extending her hand.

<Deal.> the Acting President responds, shaking Noriko’s hand.

The Slayer of Gods breathes a sigh of relief, made even sweeter when she notices Ulysses staring at her with intense hatred.

<What about him?> she asks.

<He’s going to die, of course. A public execution to send a signal to his followers. I think it would be appropriate to hold it on Myridia; it would have some kind of poetic justice.> Aura notes.

<Yes. Yes it would.> Noriko agrees, her silver eyes shining.

 

On the other side of the Galaxy

The star has expanded into its red giant phase, dominating the entire sky. Even with Leral’s power to manipulate the flow of time, the planet would have been evaporated by now if it wasn’t for Vesta. The goddess is syphoning the heat around them, concentrating it in a sphere of fire the size of a bowling ball, floating between her arms. Even so, the Lampyrian is at her limit, wiping the sweat off her forehead and fanning herself with her wings.

<How long can you keep this up?> Leral asks.

<At least until the sun goes nova. Once the blast reaches us, I won’t…> Vesta starts to answer, but she doesn’t finish when a pentagram appears right next to her. Leral is too physically exhausted to activate her Drylon device fast enough, and Torn’s sword mercilessly decapitates her.

<Torn! That was unnecessary!> Vesta chastises him.

<You had plenty of time to kill her. You’re too soft on our enemies.> the Demon replies, lifting Leral’s headless dead body and carrying it over his shoulders.

<Hold on. I have to put this thing somewhere, I can’t take this thing with me!> Vesta notes, looking at the ball of plasma in front of her.

<Why not?> Torn asks, raising an eyebrow. Unlike Leral, he finds the heat pleasantly relaxing.

<That’s… that’s actually a good question. Do you think Nori can think use this for something?>

<If anyone can think of ways to use a portable star, it’s Null.> Torn answers, leading the goddess and her star through her portal, as Leral’s decapitated head remains behind to witness the sun explode.

 

Myridia, 50 light-years from Earth

When Quantum reaches the surface, it doesn’t take much to understand that the planet has gone through something traumatic during the last six months.

He takes human form on what used to be Kari’s house; the building is still there, but it’s completely surrounded by some kind of temporary shelter for those who have been wounded. The place is absolutely crowded, which is the norm on Myridia, but this time he can see more people laying in bed than duplicates running around.

<Oh my god, Max? MAX!> he hears yelling, and as he turns he almost loses his balance when Jane Blake throws herself in his arms and hugs her as hard as she can.

<I was so worried about you!> she says through the tears. She’s wearing Myridian clothes, but it’s not the only difference from the last time he saw her. From his perspective it was just a few days ago, but for Jane it’s been six months; she looks like she’s been through hell.

<I’m sorry it took so long. Are you okay?> he asks, helping her wipe away her tears of joy.

<It’s been tough, but I’ve made all I could to help around.>

<She really did. I tried to send her back to Earth, but she wouldn’t hear it.> Kari explains, approaching Quantum to hug him with a couple of duplicates while he’s still holding Jane.

<I knew you guys were still alive, since I didn’t feel any of my duplicates dying. Leral?> she asks.

<Leral. How bad have things been?>

<Pretty manageable. The Republic didn’t want a slaughter, so they just put up a blockade and tried a land invasion. Once the Republican lost a lot more people than we did, they just left.>

<You many Myridians died?>

<Three. I knew them well… we grew up together.>

<You knew all the three thousand soldiers? Three hundred?>

<No, we only had 3 Myridians casualties. The Republic lost 150,000 people.>

<Oh. I guess I shouldn’t be surprised, since that’s 30,000 duplicates.>

<The other planets didn’t go so well. It’s been estimated that about 60 million people died during the civil war, across both sides and several hundred planets.>

<Has Lady Null returned?> Quantum hears the familiar voice of Ganos Lal. One of her duplicates approaches him, and it takes a while to recognize her: she has stopped dyeing her hair, which has returned to its natural orange.

<Not yet. But she’s convincing President Aura to declare a ceasefire… the war will be over soon.>

<Praise be to Null.> Ganos Lal says, grasping her silver medallion with the Ø symbol.