Gaze rising from his mahogany desk and the various data pads scattered around, Geron sighed, massaging his forehead and the two horns that rested on it. “Here she comes again,” he grumbled, eyes darting to the smooth, deep blue door in the corner of his small office.

How long had it been since her last visit to the Citadel of the Six, a cycle? Maybe two? Geron wasn’t sure… Unlike all of his other siblings, Nikra despised staying in the home they all built together for longer than strictly necessary.

Not without a good reason, he sighed, not for the first time pushing the gnawing guilt into the deep recesses of his mind. It’s for the best; she is a danger to everything we created over the millennia. She needs to be isolated until she comes to her senses again.

Spinning around in his armchair to face the screen-covered wall behind him, Geron waved his hand. At once every image shown faded away, be it various planets, major cities, or even the homes of a few more important families. No need to give his sister more ammunition to fire at him than needed…

After all, their last conversation didn’t end all that well. Geron had to spend hundreds of hours repairing the damage to his part of the citadel. Wonder how many of you I will need to repair this time, he grimaced, eyes scanning the various shelves scattered across his small study that held countless priceless artifacts Geron created during his life.

He could try to shield them with his power, but such action only painted an even bigger target on his possessions. It was much better to just let Nikra rage and destroy only a few artifacts, than have all of them reduced into ash.

Let’s just get it over with, Geron took a deep — if unnecessary — breath, and spun around again, just in time to watch the door slide open.

“Sister,” he tried to smile. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

Nikra, one of the Six, once had been called one of the most beautiful beings in existence. Not surprising as the first of his siblings perfected her true body for countless cycles. She took the best features from every race across the entire multiverse and then adapted them to fit her body.

Only that Nikra didn’t exist anymore. Gone were her wide smiles and shining bright eyes when she noticed one of her family. Instead, in her place stood this.

A mass of living darkness that still kept Nikra’s body in somewhat humanoid form. It covered everything, not giving away even an ounce of the sister Geron once knew. Wisps of shadows danced across her entire frame as they tried to suck every bit of light out of the room.

How far you have fallen, my dear sister, Geron gently shook his head. With every visit, he had seen less and less of the Nikra he knew, and evidently, the day had finally come where nothing remained. Just like I expected, you now hide the taint of one power, under another.

“Oh spare me the pleasantries, Geron!” Nikra spat, the room darkening even further. “You know well why I am here. I accepted everything you have done, never really stepping in, but you have finally crossed the line. I had enough!”

Geron closed his eyes momentarily. “I fear, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

The entire room shook in response, cracks spreading across the marble floor. Even enchanted and created by Geron’s power, it stood no chance against Nikra’s rage.

“Don’t play games with me, brother,” she hissed, shadows slamming into his desk, breaking it in two. “I accepted it when you took away my position as the Leader of the Six. I turned my gaze away as you whispered sweet words into the ears of our siblings so they would all turn their backs on me. For the Void, I even stopped coming back to our home.”

Every word was like a star slamming right into Geron’s gut and yet, his form never wavered, his eyes never leaving Nikra’s shaking body. It’s for the best, he repeated like a mantra, even when his sister's voice almost broke when she mentioned their home.

“Obviously, it was not enough for you,” Nikra growled, her piercing gaze felt even behind the cover of shadows. “Of course you had to go and try to take away the last thing that was mine. You don’t even care that you broke our pact, the pact that the Six of us created together. Do you remember what it said, Geron? Do you?!”

He did, of course he did. He even knew the exact rule that Nikra was referring to. Geron was the one to propose it during their council. “Rule number seven,” he gulped, knowing that he owed Nikra at least this much. “No member of the Six will interfere in the mortal matters of the followers of another member of this Pact.”

“And yet, you did,” his sister whispered before she exploded again. “They were mine, Geron! They chose to follow me, but you just couldn’t accept it, right? You had to take them away, just like you did with our siblings, just like you took everything else I loved away.”

Silence fell upon the room, now completely shrouded in darkness. Geron’s gaze fell to the cracked floor, every bit of guilt he pushed away throughout the cycles, now rushing to the forefront of his mind. Was I right? Was it really worth it?

“You know,” Nikra spoke again, breaking Gerom from his trance. Her voice came out softer than what he had heard in a long time. “I always thought that you, of all our siblings, would have my back. I thought that as the second oldest, you understood my burden, but obviously I was wrong,” she chuckled, a bitter and hollow thing. “Instead of helping me, you stabbed me in the back. All because you fear what I represent even more than I do.”

“How pathetic,” she sneered, darkness lashing out once more, destroying every item inside the room. “But at least you got what you always wanted, eh? I have nothing to give anymore so I think it’s high time I start to take so you can get a taste of your own medicine.”

“Nikra, sister...” Geron tried, anything to stop the speeding train from crashing.

His sister raised her shadowy palm, a ball of crackling darkness forming above it. “No, Geron,” she murmured. “You had your chance, a lot of them. Now it’s my turn to act.”

In a blink of an eye, the darkness crashed into the screen behind him. It went on and on, obliterating everything in its path until only a large hole remained. It opened Geron’s entire office to the deep space filled with shining stars.

Soft steps brought his attention back to Nikra, who slowly approached the new exit. She stopped right next to it, her form shifting around to face him.

“I hope you are happy, brother,” she spat. “Remember this feeling well, because you won’t experience it again for a long time. I will make sure of it.”

With her part said, Nikra's body shot through the hole, disappearing into the vast galaxy.

What have I done…

“So you finally decided to come out and face me,” Nikra’s voice, dark and twisted, boomed through the area. Even with the two of them standing high in the air, Geron didn’t doubt for a second that everyone on the battlefield below could see and hear them.

Yet another burning planet to add to the list.

The Old One of Creation and Light sighed, taking a few steps towards his twisted sister. “It’s partially my fault that billions died at the hands of shadow constructs. It is only fair that I will be the one to put an end to this.”

The darkness that made Nikra’s body spasmed at his words, expanding even more. At this point, it didn’t even remind Geron of anything humanoid, just an amalgamation of different creatures straight out of the darkest parts of the multiverse.

“And yet,” the darkness exploded in laughter. “Yet for weeks you hid behind our siblings like a worm, while the cities of your followers drowned in blood. Was it too much when you felt their light disappear? Or was it the guilt that didn’t let you stand against your dear sister?”

Geron took a deep breath and extended his four arms, blades of light forming in each of them. “I’m sorry to say, but you are wrong, sister. I was always there at Citadel, waiting and hoping that you would come to your senses and realize what you have done… Obviously, you didn’t, and now the time has come to end this, once and for all.”

Tens of shadowy limbs erupted from Nikra’s body, all sharp and ready to strike. “So be it,” the monstrous head growled.

Like one unit, the two eldritch forces moved, colliding in the middle. Shockwaves created by their every clash killed thousands of beings on the planet underneath them. A planet that soon, like every other visited by Nikra, would be left forgotten, broken.

A necessary sacrifice to stop this madness, Geron gritted his teeth, his arms moving at speeds only ever matched by his siblings to deflect the thousands of strikes thrown in his direction.

They fought like never before, blurring out of view as soon as powers connected. There was no point in trying any complicated techniques. The simplest manifestation of their power, their speed and strength were more than enough to twist the fabric of reality, to shred away what once was a beautiful planet.

Even though we are like two sides of one coin, light and darkness, you were always the stronger one, Nikra. The strongest of us all despite only ever using half of your destined powers.

I should never stand a chance against you in a one-on-one fight, Geron chuckled bitterly, cutting off yet another chunk of darkness from his sister's body. But, I'm not truly alone today, am I now?

Geron descended onto one of the many rocky pieces of the planet their battle destroyed. His steps never wavered as he walked toward the fallen figure in front of him. For the first time in a very long time, his gaze settled on the sister that was always hidden behind layers of darkness.

What happened to you, Geron swallowed, scanning every inch of Nikra’s body.

Gone was the dusky skin and her luxurious deep violet hair that became Nikra’s most recognizable feature in the past. Instead, her entire frame was covered in scarred black flesh, without a hint of hair anywhere on her scalp. It was as if she melted her skin and then let some vulpines chew on it for days.

To think that the Void can corrupt even the strongest being in existence, Geron shook his head lightly, stopping a fair distance away from his shaking sister.

“Of course,” she suddenly whispered, voice raspy and filled with pain. “Even without half of my power, you could have never beaten me alone before. But you’re not alone, are you, brother? I can feel their Essence clinging to you like a second skin…”

Geron shook his head, coming just a few steps closer. “It doesn't matter now. You have made your choice and we made ours. I’m truly sorry that I ever let this progress to this point. I hope that one day you will find it in your soul to forgive me.”

Clasping his hands, Geron reached deep within himself and pulled on the endless pool of Essence he and his siblings prepared for this exact moment. “Kartroma Dar,” he muttered, watching as five pillars, all covered to the brim with the symbols of the First Tongue, erupted from the ground and encircled Nikra’s fallen form.

“It’s the end, Nikra. Goodbye…” A whisper was all Geron could get out as transparent golden walls slid into place between the pillars. They shone brightly, illuminating the area like a star and he quickly averted his gaze, refusing to look at what was essentially his fault any longer

“No,” Nikra snapped, her voice forcing Geron to meet her ruby, slitted gaze as she rose to her knees. “It’s just the beginning brother. After all, what is the point of my fear if I have nothing to lose anymore.”

No! He tried to scream. Only it was too late as Nikra’s flesh cracked and exploded in a deep crimson flash, plunging the entire Universe into eternal darkness.

The era of the Void has come.