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Chapter 183: You Aren't. You Weren't. You Will Never Be II

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"The White Rose?" Ian murmured coming up with the most amazing of names after thinking about it for like a split second, doing his hardest to come up with an innovative name.

He surveyed the area first, studying the laws of physics of the white Rose before deciding to put his new perfect magic into practice.

The gravity of the newly formed planet was way too high, numerous times higher than that of Earth.

While his newly evolved magic didn't change much when it comes to how much Death force it needs, what change is how Ian can use it.

Perfect Magic allowed him to perform something miraculous he couldn't do before because he didn't know the spells for it.

He didn't need to chant to cast a spell, and it wasn't like he can cast spells by simply speaking words backward like Zatanna. No, he can do more, casting magic with a wave of his Staff.

In about a minute of pumping his Death force into his magic, the entire white Rose experienced a massive change, its gravity stabilizing at a liveable level.

Not just that, the Central light stopped acting as a black hole and stabilized, perfecting the planet.

What came next was cleaning the White Rose System a bit, getting rid of all the remnants of destruction, basically rocks, and dust floating about.

And only then did he increase the White Rose System's protection mechanism. He already noticed that the white light within was acting naturally as a barrier, and even attacking anything trying to enter.

That only went further to show him how magical the white light of life is. The most interesting thing was that it didn't attack him, in fact, Ian felt like he could control the entire White Rose to a certain extent.

He kept the planet quite small, many times smaller than Earth because it's supposed to be more of a vacation home. 

He completely closed the system using not just magic but also the lights of the emotional System, and many other energies of his staff, creating an impenetrable wall.

All the while, Raven was still asleep in his arms, and Ian knew she will stay asleep for a bit more. She was taking control of the darkness within her, basically stealing Trigon's powers for herself.

Ian worked quickly, transporting the entirety of Gorilla city to the White Rose. He left Raven there, making sure she was comfy, and stayed with her for a while until he healed before going back to Earth.

Ian took a quick shower in his mansion, ignoring all the prying eyes outside because he can feel many people spying on his property, but his magic was forbidding anyone from seeing anything.

He then sank back on a couch, seeming exhausted. Layla who was standing next to him noted that, but didn't speak. Instead, Selina as usual took the opportunity to massage his shoulders, "Are you okay?"

Only three individuals were in the room, Layla, Selina, and Harley. The team seemed split when in reality, Zatanna was busy. Ivy was still recovering in the realm of the Green. Raven was also in deep sleep.

"I'm a bit tired," Ian murmured, closing his eyes.

"So what do you want to do? Can't we do anything we want?" Selina wondered, feeling concerned because she had never seen him like this.

"We can do fireworks." Harley interrupted as she took a seat right on Ian's lap, feeling right at home.

"Fireworks huh? What kind?" Ian asked, predicting her response before she said it. Harley is quite predictable in that way, but her spontaneous nature also makes her extremely unpredictable.

"Hmm, how about we collect a lot of planets, and detonate them at the same time? You can do that, right?" Just as Harley spoke, her spontaneousness was triggered, giving her a bright idea.

"Wait... What if we add a few suns here and there? And what about a black hole? Can that be detonated? And does something like a white hole exist? Add that too. Since we already went so far, why not add blood?"

She was stroking her chin with thoughtfulness much to everyone's amusement, spouting some truly ridiculous stuff. 

"Perhaps later... I just need to relax and think." Ian shook his head, a smile surfacing on his face. Her words did the job.

"What happened on your end, Layla?" He then asked.

"The Society of Villains vanished, or at least most of their members did, the core part. The rest were exterminated." As if waiting for the question, Layla responded immediately, "But we weren't able to track the survivors."

"I see..." Ian nodded, seeming uninterested.

"How far have you gone?" Suddenly, Layla asked an odd question because she was the only one who noticed. She knows him more than anyone else after all.

"Very far, and it's affecting me, among other things. Power is very corrosive... I now understand why many great beings choose to pursue some very irrational paths. It all comes back to power, but I can handle it, easily. I just feel distant... You know?" Ian honestly spoke his mind.

Ian spoke from his heart, so Layla chose to do so as well.

"I know. I experienced something similar in a certain group. Being the leader's daughter, I felt like I had power. Used it, enjoyed it, and wanted more. I, unfortunately, lost myself in power in contrast to you. 

I was inexperienced and naive, and the world only cleared up for me when things started to go wrong. Even more unfortunate was that when things start to go wrong, it's usually too late, but I was lucky."

A sunny content smile emerged on her clear face, a sign of her mood, but also a stark contrast to her words, "Luck led me to send everyone off because that was the only I could be free..."

This was the first time Harley and Selina heard about this as Layla usually keeps to herself and Ian which is why the latter knows even more, something way more shocking.

What she meant by the group is cult. What she meant by using her power was sacrificing some believers and those who doubt, she was given the responsibility of that.

Just like how she had grown to take responsibility for many things in the cult, but slowly and surely, she started realizing some stuff until it was her turn to be sacrificed.

Perhaps her eyes wouldn't have opened to reality if reality didn't hit her in the face so hard. 

To her credit, reality does hit a lot of people right in the face, but very few see it and understand it, and even fewer people choose the best course of action to deal with it.

Just like when she was finally made known of her greatest responsibility, to bear the child of her father, the leader of the group. 

That child will then be sacrificed alongside her as a representation of evil, the child of evil they call it. The cult's leader saw it as a way to get rid of all evil, and everyone believed him, including Layla.

However, she still didn't go through with it, all because of selfishness, because she didn't want someone to enjoy her passing, to see her fade away.

So she killed everyone, knowing that she will not be able to escape, or truly move on otherwise. That's what she meant by sending everyone off. She killed her father and every single person in the cult.

And only then did she open her eyes, realizing that perhaps she is the child of the devil. She always wondered about her mother, but the only thing she knew was that she sacrificed herself for the gracious lord.

Now, however, Layla has many other theories about her mother's situation which she never met by the way.

So Ian fully understands why Layla is the way she is, and it's lovely. Her words especially sounded lovely to him, "I want to relax, so let's do just that and forget about all fears."

This was the core of Ian's issues, fear. He wasn't physically exhausted, but mentally so from thinking about the emotions of fear. Why is his fear so strong? More questions rather than answers as usual.