End of the World

The frog-man had been cursing in the harbor, seemingly oblivious to the dancing maidens on the sea – perhaps a common sight for him. However, he did eventually notice the wet boy from the butterfly folk sitting dazedly on the ground.

The frog-man turned around and, with steps that clearly reflected his bad mood, made his way toward the boy. He stopped a short distance away, legs spread and hands on his hips, while he looked down at the drenched boy.

"Hey kid! The harbor isn't a place for children! Where's your patron?" The Frogman glanced around and snorted in disdain.

"Tsk! What an irresponsible Wendigo! What clan are you from? I'll report it at once!" Frogman glanced again at the drenched boy, who was staring at him with his eyes bulging in utter astonishment.

"What are you staring at? Haven't you seen a Kappa yet? Don't they teach you anything in school?" He leaned over and grabbed the boy's shoulder, pulling him to a standing position before fixing his eyes on the boy's face.

"Huh? Why are you gagged? Who did this to you? Your Patronus? Where's the little bastard!" The Kappa man seemed annoyed, but no matter how much he looked around, there was no one else in sight except the boy, himself, and the two maidens at sea.

"Damn! All right, come with me." The Kappa man turned and headed for the nearby warehouses. The butterfly boy stood uncertainly for a moment before hurrying after the strange green man.

The Kappa man led the little boy to a large port warehouse. He approached the door, retrieved a bunch of keys from his pocket, and easily unlocked it.

After a brief moment of hesitation, he opened the door and peered inside. "Ah! You're here! I can't tell you how relieved I am!" He rushed inside.

The Butterfly Boy looked into the warehouse and saw that it had plenty of space. In the middle, there was a large oval object that reminded him of the shape of the eggs in their hatchery.

Curiously, the boy entered and came closer to see a Kappa man caressing the object and affectionately kissing its surface.

The object was substantial, reaching about six feet in height and approximately seven feet in width. It was painted a deep blue with highly polished brass joints and rivets. At the very top, there was something that resembled a chimney. The front of the machine had several narrow windows, and an intricate web of narrow pipes ran down the side.

The Kappa man continued to rub the place he had been kissing before turning to the boy. "She's a beauty, isn't she? This is 'Algae,' my creation. The most amazing air submarine, one of a kind. A combination of technology and divine energy. You can both fly it high in the clouds and dive it into the deepest canyons of the ocean. Well, it's not quite ready yet, but I can start test runs soon."

The Butterfly Boy was not impressed. He didn't understand technology; all he knew were plants, and he could fly. However, the idea of diving into the sea did pique his interest.

The Kappa man basked in a proud aura for a moment longer before struggling to locate the toolbox. From it, he retrieved a pair of pliers and a hammer, which looked rather unsettling. He grinned at the boy. "Now let's get you out of that gag."

The boy shivered at the sight of the pliers.

---

Caila leaned to one side and then to the other, and she leaned forward, attempting to grab the back of the chair and pull herself up.

"Haaa..." She sighed in frustration when she realized that she truly couldn't pull herself up. Caila had been hoping that since she was only petrified from the waist down, she might be able to free herself. However, the stone seemed to be fused to her body; the stone surface was essentially her skin. There was nothing she could do about it.

Caila settled back down, but she wasn't bored. Finally, she could take a good look around the hall. She turned her head to the side from where Hellcage had stepped out. The door was still open, but heavy black curtains blocked the view. Caila glanced up above the door where a sign was placed that bore the title 'Hell.'

"Hell?" Caila wondered and then glanced at the other doors, all of which were closed. Above each one was a sign. Caila read them in turn.

"Hell. Shards. Collection." She read and looked to her left. Caila then turned her head to the right and read the signs on the other three doors.

"Heaven. Soul. Beach?" Caila paused, staring at the last sign. "Beach?" she repeated, confused. She ran her eyes over the sign again, her confusion only deepening. "Beach?" She repeated once more, but received no answer.

"So now I'm curious about what's behind that door," Caila muttered, wishing she could open the door right now. She doubted there was an actual beach.

Caila was disturbed from her thoughts by the sound of running, followed by the sound of clinking. She glanced at the door, only to see Lambert quickly run in a moment later.

"Save me!" Lambert called, his hair unkempt, and his cheeks bearing strange red blotches. Caila recognized them as lipstick marks. Lambert offered no explanation and sought refuge behind her throne.

At that moment, a golden diva on a golden pig burst in. "You can't escape me! We're made for each other, darling!" She shouted, completely disregarding the fact that she had invaded the throne room and was standing in front of the ruler.

Lambert peeked out from behind the throne and looked at Caila. "Please, Liege! Rid me of this crazy stalker! I really have no interest in her!"

Caila turned to the Diva and froze as her gaze fell on the golden armor and hair. She felt a strange pressure in her head, and her eyes began to glow an intense blue. Caila soon found herself gritting her teeth and raising her hand, from which blue flames flared.

"Huh? Ah... Liege... I..." The Diva paused as the air in the hall suddenly grew heavy, her instincts warning her that something dangerous was about to happen.

"You... golden armor... radiant... RADIANT!" Caila shouted thunderously, and a stream of blue fire erupted from her hand.

"Ah!" Came the terrified cry of the Diva, who immediately darted to the side with her pig to dodge the fire.

"My Liege! Please stop! It's me! Golden Piggy!" Piggy was confused by Liege's behavior, as she was suddenly trying to kill her.

"Liege! That's not what I meant when I said to get rid of her!" Lambert jumped out from behind his throne, also shocked at how things had turned out. When he saw Liege turning her hand towards Frozen Piggy again, he clung to her arm to stop her.

"It's alright now! You don't have to kill her for me!"

Caila paused and looked at Lambert, her hand shaking, then she lowered it. She shook her head in confusion and regained her composure. What had happened? Why had she exploded like that? She looked at the startled Golden Piggy and didn't feel very well. It reminded her of how suddenly anger had taken over her when she saw the first memory.

"It's all right now, Golden Piggy. Now leave," Caila said. Golden Piggy didn't hesitate and quickly rode her pig to the exit. She glanced back at Lambert and normally might have made promises to return for him, but her gaze shifted to their Liege, and she quickly changed her mind. It was better to leave.

Lambert released Liege's arm and stood hesitantly at her side.

"Liege?" He asked, but Caila simply lifted her hand and patted his head. "It's all right. You did a good job. Go get some rest," she told him but didn't look at him. Instead, she stared at the open door through which Golden Piggy had left.

Her mind ached. It reminded her of something. Something... something...

Lambert didn't move from her side, staring intently at his Liege, making sure nothing happened.

"Golden armor..." Liege muttered, and Lambert shuddered, looking back at the vase where Opera had been before. His brow furrowed a little as he realized Opera wasn't there. What was he going to do if Liege had another seizure?

Caila had forgotten Lambert was there with her, trying to grasp the memory that eluded her, like some slippery worm.

She lowered her eyes and stared at her hand resting on the back of the throne. "Radiant... Radiant... Radiant..." She repeated what she had shouted during her outburst.

"Yes?" came a male voice. It was a masculine voice, strong, full of confidence.

Caila immediately looked up and realized she was somewhere else. A man in golden battle armor stood with his back to her, his hair golden, and his eyebrows prominent. He radiated masculinity and was very handsome, causing Caila's heart to momentarily flutter.

Caila turned away and looked around. They were in the ruins of a city, utterly destroyed as if a massive tornado had swept through. Buildings lay in ruins, with only the foundations of some still standing. Some steel structures had survived, but cars were torn and scattered like chess pieces, destroyed and crumpled beyond recognition.

In some places, buried corpses were visible. Caila turned her head as she heard an explosion, something detonating in the distance, and a plume of black smoke rising into the sky.

It was then that Caila realized she was hearing a strange low rumble, like a distant growl, mixed with the sounds of falling stones. She looked again at the golden man and then at the sky above his head. The sky appeared black and distorted, a giant wormhole slowly spinning in the middle of it. Its gravitational field was gradually sucking in what remained of the city. The wormhole resembled a voracious, giant maw, consuming everything within its reach.

"What's wrong, Supernova?" asked the golden man.

Caila knew this was a memory, yet she tried to answer, but once again, she was just a spectator watching what had happened.

"Are you sure this is going to work?" Caila asked, sounding like someone named Supernova.

"It has to. If not, we can just wave goodbye to the world," Radiant replied, gazing at the wormhole in front of them.

Supernova sighed and stood by Radiant's side, also looking at the hole in the sky. She saw it tear out whole chunks of the earth and the city, sucking them into its center. "If it wasn't so destructive, it would be quite nice," she said.

Radiant chuckled quietly. "Your sense of aesthetics is indeed unique. We'd better get going. No use putting things off. And just think about it. If we succeed... we will become the greatest heroes in history." He smiled before a golden light began to emanate from him, and he slowly rose toward the sky.

"Hmp! Right now, I'd much rather be able to have a quiet dinner. Which reminds me, you still owe me one," Supernova replied, flying into the air beside him.

"I know. I know. If we survive, the first thing I'm going to do is take you to that promised dinner. I don't think Europe should be so devastated. I'm sure we can find a restaurant."

While they talked about unimportant things, they approached the black hole, the humming growing louder, and they slowly felt the suction pull on their bodies. "We need to get as close as we can!" Radiant called out, the golden energy around him beginning to glow more to protect himself from the gravitational force.

"We don't know how long the containment will last. If it explodes too far from the center, the whole thing would be useless!" Radiant shouted, explaining the plan. "And there isn't time or enough material to make another one!"

Supernova remained silent but nodded her head, her eyes fixed on the wormhole. Her hair flew around her face, revealing that her hair was originally brown.

The closer they got, the more everything appeared ruined, and the wormhole looked menacing. Caila remembered that it had been much smaller at first, threatening to grow larger and eventually engulf the entire planet. Radiant and she were among the prominent government-controlled superheroes still left.

Caila was a little overwhelmed by this. She? A superhero? Did she live in a comic book? Why didn't that match what she remembered? Her memory wasn't complete, but she didn't remember anything about superhumans.

Supernova looked at Radiant, who pulled out a strange cube the size of his clenched fist. The cube looked like someone had fused together liquid silver and shades of blue. The cube had a solid top, but inside, the blue and silver energy swirled, mixing into intricate shapes. There was one small button on the surface of the cube.

"What is that anyway? Some kind of compressed nuclear fusion?" Supernova was curious as she looked at the beautiful but dangerous object.

Radiant shrugged. "I'm not a scientist. It's enough for me to know that it's powerful enough to detonate the core of the Wormhole and close it for good." He looked at the cube and then at the spinning wormhole.

"We'll have to get even closer. You'll have to belay me; your repulsive power is good enough to stabilize us both."

"Does that mean I have to hold you? Haha. Fine." Supernova laughed, but she was nervous. They moved forward, trying to get as close as possible. The moment they recognized that if they got any closer, they wouldn't escape the gravitational field, they stopped. Supernova moved in front of Radiant and put her hands on his shoulders while pushing him and her against the gravitational field and holding them in place.

Supernova looked closely at Radiant's handsome face. "Hurry up. It's harder to hold the two of us at once." She urged him on.

Radiant looked into her face and smiled a little. "Thanks. For everything." He said.

Supernova was about to roll her eyes and say something back when she suddenly felt a tightness go through her stomach.

"But history doesn't need two saviors. You know how it is. It's better when people focus on just one person." Radiant continued.

Supernova lowered her arms and looked down to see that Radiant's hand had pierced her stomach and passed through her back. His hand was perfectly spotless as his golden power repelled her blood.

"You... why..." Supernova was stunned.

"I don't like to share the glory. You've annoyed me enough before. I don't understand why the government had to pair us up. And even if you were just a stupid bush, some of the glory still stuck to you. Glory that belonged to me and me alone. I've been looking for an opportunity to get rid of you for a long time. This was perfect." Radiant withdrew his hand as he spoke. He left a silver-blue cube in the hole in her flesh, which he activated with a squeeze and it began to glow bluish.

"Don't worry. I'll tell everyone how you sacrificed yourself and rushed yourself and the bomb into the center of the wormhole to make sure it would actually be destroyed. I'll even squeeze out a few tears for you." Radiant grabbed the stiff Supernova by the head before he stirred and threw her towards the wormhole and began to back away himself.

"And I'll continue to be a good uncle to your brother! Hahaha!" Radiant called out still, a wide grin on his face. Supernova realized that the smile was absolutely perfect. He was showing the same smile to his fans and in front of the cameras.

Supernova flew backward toward the wormhole, watching as Radiant moved away.

"Radiant... Radiant..." Shock replaced anger. "RADIANT, YOU FUCKER!" She screamed, and began to struggle against the gravitational pull of the wormhole. She stopped in place and began to forcefully push herself forward again.

"You're not going to get away with this!" she screamed.

But a golden stream of energy slammed into her body, spinning her around and catching her again with the suction force.

"Haha! You're so naive! You think the government doesn't know about this? It takes more than just pressing a button for this black technology! Your whole body will become a bomb!" came Radiant's mocking reply.

Supernova suffered another shock of betrayal, not only from her partner but also from the government, which had decided to sacrifice her. Why hadn't she thought of that? Wasn't that the government's style? Sacrifice one for the good of the majority? Why was she so stupid? No... she knew. Because she enjoyed playing the hero. She liked the attention, the fame, the perks. But she also liked helping people. It came in a whole package.

While Supernova was being pulled through the wormhole, her body was constantly turning, and the blue cube in her stomach was sending out blue-silver waves, unbeknownst to Supernova. Veins started popping out on her body, pulsing and turning heavily blue.

The force of gravity pressed down on her, and the only thing that saved her from being crushed was her own strength. But Supernova knew that the closer she got, the less resistance she would have.

"Ah!" She exclaimed as suddenly one of her veins burst through her skin and ruptured, a stream of blue gas coming out instead of blood.

"Ahah!" She screamed again as another vein tore through.

"That hurts!" Supernova screamed as she felt her body begin to distort.

"It hurts! It hurts! It hurts!"

Her body was getting more and more destroyed and producing more and more light. Yet the pain did not stop even though she should no longer be alive. She was nearing the center of the wormhole, and her nickname, Supernova, was no longer just a nickname. She glowed and pulsed like a real supernova. And then she exploded.

"IT HURTS!!!"

---

"It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts. It hurts, it hurts, it hurts... it hurts!"

Supernova was in darkness, and the pain persisted. It felt like she was in an endless cycle of suffering.

"It hurts. It hurts... It hurts... it hurts a lot... make it stop... it hurts..."

After a while, she heard another voice moaning in the same agony as her.

Supernova was becoming aware of more things than pain. She could feel the life inside her. After a long time, she opened her eyes and saw a blue flame. Drawn by the voice, she went after it. She wandered deep into the dark abyss, oblivious to the terrifying creatures that stared at her from the darkness. The moment they reached for her in an attempt to grasp her, a blue flame burned them, consuming their entire existence.

She understood the nature of the blue fire. The supernova was destroyed, consumed, and re-created. The blue flame had similar properties: destruction, absorption, creation. To what extent, however, she had yet to discover.

Supernova reached the deepest part of the Abyss, where she found a voice that resembled her own. At the bottom, she found a creature whose body was almost as dark as the Abyss itself, yet compared to the Abyss, it seemed to glow with light. His body was bound and pierced by giant chains, his flesh stretched and tortured.

Supernova sympathized with the creature that suffered, for she felt its soul weeping. She drew near to it.

The creature lifted its head, and a faint blue light reflected in its many eyes, chasing away the surrounding darkness.

Supernova was still weak now, but she was alive. She knew she needed strength if she was ever to return and finish Radiant. Supernova wanted to help the creature, but she also wanted to use it.

She used what little energy she had to speak. "A lost soul, forgotten and unwanted. I have come for you. Be my pillar, and I will be your shelter."

After the creature agreed, Supernova touched the dark chains before falling back into darkness. Her flame that clung to the dark chains slowly began to spread.

After some time, Supernova was reborn, only to be murdered again in the next instant. The rage in her heart intensified. What kind of justice was this? What kind of people would do this?

Thankfully, Supernova was no ordinary child and dug herself out of her own grave to exact revenge on her killers.

That's when Hellcage showed up, having freed himself from his bonds and waited for his Liege to be born. Now, he was here to pick her up.

They hid in the shadows for a long time, gathering strength.

Supernova didn't know how much time had passed. Her mind went into darkness, and when she came to again, she sat up. Her body had aged; now she was no longer a toddler but a child of about five years old. She turned her head and stared at the hundreds of red eyes that stared at her unblinking, but she didn't see. She was still Supernova, but she was also no longer just herself.

"Let's go," she said to Hellcage, who withdrew his gaze and transformed into a tall man again, taking her in his arms. He settled her on his arm, balancing her body with his other hand.

"Where do you want to go, Liege?" Hellcage asked without hesitation.

"Back to the Abyss," she replied.

Hellcage froze when he heard that. "Yes?" he asked without a quiver in his voice.

"Yes. I need the power. And absorbing the power of those who hurt you would be a good start," Supernova said. Although she wasn't afraid, she knew it would be dangerous. Her power was still small, but her strongest card was her all-consuming fire.

"Darkness, Nightmare, and Fear are powerful enemies, my Liege. How about trying a weaker enemy first?" Hellcage suggested, concerned about such a large attack.

Supernova considered his words before turning to him. "What do you suggest?" she asked.

"We can start with the minor gods."

---

Caila regained her senses with a throbbing pain in her head. This memory was more stable in terms of her feelings, and although she didn't feel good, she didn't experience the intense berbesk as before.

She began to rub her temples, still unaware of Lambert, who had remained by her side the whole time, watching over her. Caila felt confused because she wasn't sure whose memories were whose. Was she Caila? Or was she Supernova? Or was Supernova Caila? Caila only had vague memories of her youth, and she could have easily become Supernova later on, but she wasn't sure. So what was her identity?

Whatever it was, Supernova's fate was truly tragic. Sacrificed by her trusted partner and her own government, then killed at birth. And worst of all, Supernova was originally a good person. Fate had played her badly, and Caila still didn't even know the whole story.

Caila thought for a while. She wished she could find out more, but her brain could probably only handle a certain amount of memories. Eventually, it would come to her. Caila should now focus on getting free and finding out more about her abilities and the world she was in.

Out of the corner of her eye, Caila caught a glimpse of green and turned her gaze to Lambert, who was standing at her side, staring intensely at her.

"..." Caila swallowed her surprise when she saw him.

"Why are you still here?" Caila asked him.

Lambert took a step back and bowed. "I'm sorry if I'm bothering you. But I was a little worried, my Liege. You seemed upset."

Caila took a breath and smiled inwardly. It was kind of him to be worried.

"I'm all right. The Golden Piggy reminded me of something unpleasant, and I acted excessively. It'll be okay now," she assured him.

Lambert looked at her and nodded. Then his body went transparent, and he sank into the floor to return to the treasury.

---

Peril Harbor

House on 22nd Street

Marik rubbed his temples and stared at the enthusiastic crowd of Wendigo who still hadn't left after the ceremony. In fact, the whole thing had turned into something of a strange supernatural party after all.

The Wendigo were excitedly recounting the experience to each other as they talked to the real god and showed each other their marks. Some even went straight to using it to show off. They were as excited as children.

After some time, Marik pushed his way over to Hellcage, who was watching contentedly from the side.

"What happens now?" Marik wanted to know.

Hellcage turned his attention to him. "We have enough agents now to take our cause to a slightly higher realm," Hellcage said.

Marik wasn't entirely sure he liked the sound of that. "What do you mean?" he asked him to elaborate.

"The next step is to take a position of power. So we destroy or coerce one of the crime bosses to join our side," Hellcage explained. While they were talking, Ellar, and even Jelen and Kailam came closer.

"Which one do you want to target?" Jelen asked.

Hellcage paused and looked at her. "I was considering Mystery Trader. He's very secretive, so it would be easy to hide that there's something wrong with him. On the other hand, he's really well hidden, and so far even I haven't been able to detect him. I want to do some more digging, but my next option is the Midnight Queen, who is known for being the most approachable. This lady is too sure of herself and her untouchability. That's an advantage for us."

Marik nodded his head understandingly. "As I thought. You already think everything through so far in advance," he praised.

Hellcage stared at him in silence for a second. "You know... if you tried a little harder, I'm sure you could come up with something too."

Marik paused, then frowned. He wanted to argue that getting the house in order wasn't easy either. But he would only be admitting that he had become a househusband.

"I'll try harder," Marik gritted his teeth, and Hellcage nodded in satisfaction.

"Once we control one of the places of power, only then will we really have a solid base for further action," Hellcage continued.

"You want to take over all of Peril Harbor?" wondered Kailam.

Hellcage shook his head. "Not if our Liege doesn't want it. I don't want to worry about any city other than the End of the World," he waved a hand. "No. But I need a solid root to challenge the God of Harvest and Plants."

Everyone was silent, wondering if they had heard correctly. Marik couldn't contain himself and blurted out, "You want to challenge a GOD?!"

Hellcage leaned away from Marik a little and raised a hand to his ear, covering it. "What are you shouting? How rude."

"Rude my ass! What are you, crazy? You want to kill a god?" Marik had to pinch the bridge of his nose.

Jelen, Kailam, and Ellar were also stunned.

Hellcage looked at them and cocked his head to the side in puzzlement. "What's so weird about that? We've already killed a few gods with our Liege. It's the best way to get rid of the blight and get stronger at the same time."

Everyone was even more stunned. It was one thing to kill the newly born Evil Gods, but quite another to kill one of the Recognized Gods! How easy could it possibly be?

Marik began to rub his cheeks in despair. "I'm on the side of a bunch of lunatics!"