Beyond The Impossible

Argos, 100 light-years from Earth

The eyes of the Galaxy are on the capital world of the Mortal Republic: President Aura has declared a ceasefire, and today she will broadcast both the execution of Ulysses and an official statement by Null herself.

Security is as high as it could possibly be, but nobody dares to stop Null herself from calmly walking into the dungeon where Ulysses is kept prisoner.

Only when she reaches the massive door that prevents the access to the solitary confinement cell she’s met with some resistance: one of the two guards points his plasma rifle at her.

<Are you crazy? What are you doing!?> the other guard tells him, without drawing his weapon.

<We have orders not to let anyone inside. Not without direct authorization by the President.>

<I’m not in the mood for games. I’m going in. And I’m not going to ask permission.> Null says.

<Under whose authority?>

<The authority of the six ships armed with black hole generators orbiting this planet.> she says, with her silver eyes shining for emphasis.

The guard doesn’t reply, but he simply steps aside as his colleague rushes to open the door.

Once she gets inside the cell, she’s impressed by the level of security. It’s completely barren: Ulysses is kneeling on the ground, with his hands tied behind his back. The chains on his wrists and ankles are bolted to the floor. The only luxury he’s been afforded is a loincloth.

She looks around; there are six cameras filming him continuously, and she can count at least three ways to kill anyone in the cell: by lasers, by poison gas or even by being sprayed with acid, and each one has at least two redundancies.

For any other prisoner, this would be extreme overkill. But she’s learned not to underestimate him.

<I don’t suppose you came to gloat.> she hears him say. He’s been gagged, but he’s still able to communicate through his soul. Considering they are being filmed, it’s fine by her.

<I have a question to ask. If you really did all this for the good of mortals, I hope you’ll answer.> she replies in the same manner.

<If the situation were reversed, would you answer me?> he wonders.

<I’ve been in your situation before. Although Demeter didn’t even afford me a loincloth.>

<That must’ve been fun. Ask away, Slayer of Gods.>

<You engineered the civil war to create a distraction for Ares. Why are you so adamantly convinced that I can’t kill him? I have killed Class-2 gods before, heck I’ve killed a Primordial!>

<I’ve been doing this for a lot longer than you, Null. I know how it feels to believe you’re invincible, that you can overcome any obstacle. What if I presented uncontestable proof that it’s impossible for you to kill Ares?>

<I’d find a way to go beyond the impossible. That’s kind of my thing, you know.>

<And with the destiny of the entire galaxy on your shoulders, your failure to do so will spell doom to billions of people.>

<Enough with your mind games, Ulysses, you’re literally five minutes away from being executed! What is this proof you’re talking about? Why can’t I kill Ares?>

<Because he’s destined to kill you.>

<What? How the heck do you know that?>

<You’re too smart to really believe that Tyche is the only being that can see the future, Null.>

<I’m not buying it. You obviously didn’t see that you’d get captured and executed.>

<And what if I did?>

His words give her pause, not helped by the fact that they are no longer alone: the door is open again, and there are a lot of guards pointing their guns at her.

<I’m not finished.> she says, her silver eyes shining for emphasis.

<We are here to escort the prisoner for the execution. Direct orders from the President.> is the answer she receives. She gives another look at Ulysses, who is defiantly staring her back, then she finally lets the guards take him.

<He’s all yours.> she says as she walks away, but his words still resonate in her mind.

“What if I did”, she hears his voice repeat over and over.

 

Thirty minutes later

The crowd surrounding Syzar Plaza is absolutely immense. Drone cameras are flying all over the place, recording the historic moment from any possible angle: the entire Galaxy is watching.

Apparently President Aura really loves the pageantry of her position; she already towers above anyone else around her, thanks to her unusual height, but she’s even dressed in the most formal military uniform and she’s wearing a ridiculous amount of medals. Other authorities of the Mortal Republic are present, of course, but the event sends a clear message: she’s the one in charge.

The handshake with Ganos Lal lasts a long time, making sure that it’s photographed as much as possible: the Supreme Pontiff of the Church of Null has little love for her, but she’s hiding it as much as she can. Kari Zel, on the other hand, is growing impatient.

<I can’t believe we’re helping Aura get away with this so easily. Her troops killed millions of people.> she whispers leaning towards Null. It’s not really needed, since her Sound Nullifier allows them to talk without the sound reaching anyone else.

<I don’t like it either.> Noriko admits.

<Tell me again why we can’t just depose her, like we did with Demeter and the others?>

<It’s not the right time. The Republic is too weak right now, a second civil war would make it a target for too many potential conquerors. We’ll need to deal with her for a while.>

<You’re planning something, aren’t you?>

<A revolution is coming. Just be patient.> Null replies, signaling her to keep quiet.

Aura and Ganos Lal are sharing the same podium, but it’s the President that addresses the public.

<When my departed husband and I joined the Alliance that grew into the Mortal Republic, we held one belief above everything else: that mortals should never, never be subjected to a higher authority ever again. Our Republic is the union of many worlds, each a piece of a much larger machine far superior to each part. The Church of Null, and all other denominations that worship Null, is a part of that machine just as much as the Mortal Senate. As such, we recognize the right of all citizens to practice their beliefs in accordance with the law.> Aura says, pausing for an applause that lasts a couple of minutes. Then it’s up to Ganos Lal to continue:

<In the interest of peace and in the pursuit of healing our worlds, it is my highest honor to ask you to hear the word of Noriko Null, Daughter of Bob, Slayer of Gods, Executioner of the Celestial Dragon, Destroyer of Eden, Wielder of the Nexus, Avatar of Mortals.>

The crowd goes absolutely wild. The thunderous applause is one of the loudest sounds she’s ever heard; even the celebrations for the liberation of Myridia weren’t so overwhelming.

The applause lasts enough that once she reaches the podium she has a few moments to talk privately to Ganos Lal.

<I thought I asked you not to overdo it.>

<I thought I didn’t… that wasn’t even half of your titles.> the Supreme Pontiff admits.

<Just remember what we agreed to, Null. No surprises unless you’re ready to deal with the consequences.> President Aura tells her, as Null takes the last steps to the podium.

In a petty attempt to diminish her image, Aura specifically ordered the podium to be too high for Null’s short stature. Once Null steps on the energy swords created by Torn to be used as hidden stairs, making her seem at least as tall as Ganos Lal, President Aura is visibly disappointed.

<Always the clever one.> she admits, leaning it to shake her hands for the cameras while simultaneously whispering something in her ear:

<Enjoy the spotlight, but learn your place.>

The applause has finally petered out, leaving Noriko Null in front of a crowd of thousands of people while hundreds of billions watch her from their homes in all corners of the Galaxy.

<Ehm.> she clears her voice.

<I’ll be brief. To all those who worship me and those who do not: I understand you are passionate towards your beliefs, but violence among us is not who we are. When we… no, when I created the Alliance, the goal was to allow every mortal to decide his or her own future, his or her own government, his or her own leader. Democracy is, and will always be, the Republic’s goal. As such, I ask all my followers to respect other people beliefs and not to force any religion on anyone. At the same time, I will also make it clear that I have no intention to ever taking a leadership role: it is not my place to rule.>

<Thank you, Slayer of…> President Aura starts to say, but to her surprise she’s suddenly muted by the Sound Nullifier.

<That being said.> Noriko continues, completely ignoring Aura <As much as I denounce the actions of Ulysses, who the Vanguard captured and delivered to the Republic to face justice… President Syzar, may he rest in peace, made some mistakes. He thought himself to be a king instead of a servant of the people. That’s why his wife Aura has graciously accepted to serve as President only until a new Mortal Senate is sworn in, and she has asked me to help write amendment to the Constitution to institute serious oversight over the office of the President. We should all praise Aura for her service towards the Mortal Republic…> Noriko pauses for effect, turning towards the President.

<…but she has learned her place.>

Aura is absolutely furious, but she’s skilled enough in the art of politics to fake a smile. Noriko steps away from the podium, walking towards Aura while the public applauds again.

<I will have your head for this.> Aura tells her through her teeth.

<Don’t make threats unless you’re ready to deal with the consequences.> Noriko replies.

Aura had another speech planned, praising the capture of Ulysses, but now that Null has taken all the credit there’s really no incentive for it.

She silently signals the soldiers to drag Ulysses towards her, while unsheathing the sword tied to her belt. It’s not a ceremonial sword: at the press of a button on the hilt, the blade is rapidly superheated to make it capable of cutting through anything organic with no effort whatsoever.

Aura looks down on him as she raises her weapon, leaving its blade just above his neck. Meanwhile, one of the guards places a small golden coin inside his mouth as ritual payment for Charon and then gags him.

<Ulysses of Ithaca, son of Laërtes and Anticlea. For your crimes against the citizens of the Mortal Republic, as their elected representative I hereby sentence you to death. This is the destiny of all the enemies of mortal freedom.> Aura recites, then she swings her sword.

His head falls to the ground a moment later; there is very little blood spilled, as the superheated blade cauterized the cut almost instantly.

The crowd goes wild in celebration, although many are disturbed by such a violent spectacle. Many interpret the shock on Noriko’s face as a result of this, but as she turns towards Torn she can see that the Demon has had the same reaction.

<I felt his soul too. What was that about?> Torn wonders.

<He knew.> Noriko realizes.

 

80,000 light-years away

The glass tube releases the chemicals serving as nutrients, then it opens up to let a naked man step out of it. There’s a woman waiting for him, looking the other way as she offers him a towel.

<You should’ve done it while you were still prisoner.> she says.

<I work better when people think I’m dead.> Ulysses replies, using the towel to cover himself.

<Null will study your corpse. She won’t need much time to discover that you’re not immortal and that you’ve simply discovered a way to use Soul Control to transfer into new bodies.> she notes.

<Perhaps. But we reached our goal, didn’t we? The Mortal Republic is severely weakened.>

<“Our”?> she repeats, looking at him. Ulysses promptly kneels before her.

<I apologize: your goal. I am as always your loyal servant, Lady Athena.>

<You have proven yourself, Ulysses. Although your failure to cause a war between Ares and Apollo is disappointing, once again the Zenith proved essential to maintain plausible deniability for the Athenian Federation while seeding chaos in enemy territory.>

<I would have succeeded if you had allowed me to kill Null, Lady Athena. If I may be so bold… she’s too dangerous to keep around, even for you. Why take the risk?>

<Trying to kill her is futile: she is destined to die at the hands of Ares, and destiny cannot be changed by anyone. Not by Zeus, not by me… and not even by the Slayer of Gods.>