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"What is the matter, Cepheus? Didn't you guys bring her back to her senses?"
Sweat began to gather along Elara's cheeks at Phoenix's question, a quiet sign of the pressure settling over her.
"We..."
"No, you didn't. I spotted your tampering and lifted the curse only to restore it after the Celestial Art was deactivated."
"I will just release her by using it once more. Celestial Art: Itherian Pillar."
He cast the light, which flashed for a split second before fading.
"Huh?"
"Eclipse Infinity: Perfect Mirror Law. Nothing can exist unless it casts a reflection, except those I permit. Ideas, spells, spirits, and everything else, whether actual or metaphorical, are compelled to break apart."
"Come, Ultimate Guardian."
Light gathered and exploded outward, unveiling a white angel with her eyes closed, her iridescent hair streaming like liquid colour. She was utterly mesmerising.
'My best work, similar to Belenos' Alter. She'll...'
She was quiet when she realised that a duplicate version of the Ultimate Guardian had been called to face the original. Phoenix's grin widened.
"I'm loving this. Mirrored Genesis, any attempts at creation or resurrection will result in the birth of its Death Echo. It's a fake copy that haunts the real one. If it lacks terror, one will be made for them. A perfect counter for your creation, yes?"
"Elaine, Cepheus, figure out how to calm Magisa."
"Let's go."
Her aura warns them to approach her cautiously.
Magisa levitates and bleeds freely as void-blood flowers bloom in the air. The Order's fabric was neutralised, and Lawweaver Chains could not touch her. Additionally, Elara's immortality was nullified because this power is superior to the Goddess of Life herself.
Elaine was terrified by her aura and could not approach, but Cepheus saw no need to halt, despite the petals' ability to harm him while Astral Aegis was still active.
"Magisa, calm down."
"Stop. Stay away. Please, don't get any closer."
Magisa pleaded, unable to control herself.
'The fact that she can hurt me is unbelievable. I can only use Celestial Art twice. I am only alive because of Scantum Resurgence. This is her ultimate; will I have to use mine to counter?'
'Don't you dare! Hold still, I'll be there, I promise.'
'L...Lady Elara...'
'Just hold on for a bit.'
'Cepheus's Divinity is almost depleted. He's definitely not going to survive to see tomorrow.'
His lifetime and Divinity were being eaten away by Scantum Resurgence, which means Cepheus may soon cease to exist entirely. With the petals filling the entire space and beyond, her Final Art was ready.
'Magisa, your life was meant for this very time. You want to kill Cepheus. There you go. You want to kill Elara. She's right here. You hate me and wish to murder me to atone for your wrongdoing? I'm right behind you. Just let it go, and you'll stand victorious, alone.'
Her frail heart was taken over by Phoenix's whispers, who now want to exploit her again.
She was at her lowest right now. She was totally focused on resisting the whispering devil and preventing the Final Art.
She gradually succumbed to his manipulations once more and eventually let go.
"Final Art: Oblivion Requiem, Annihilation Bloom."
The petals that fell on ⅓ of Elyvra were not an explosion, as the name implies. Like an ink spilling on a manuscript, everything will be obliterated. Anything that falls under it no matter the state of being will be stained with destruction.
This collapse was so extraordinary that neither Celestial Art nor Cepheus's Scantum Resurgence could repair it. Most likely, only his Final Art can repair the harm.
It's an absolute ruin that has long transcended both the Physical and Conceptual Planes, even to the point of tampering with the Fragment of Story, Narravin.
Cepheus dismissed Elara's warning and persisted, unwilling to bear the burden of innocent lives that would be lost.
"Final Art: Genesis Nova, Radiance Unwritten."
He lifted his hands, summoning stars from beyond the Originverse. Stars that embodied the seeds of new creation. Their explosion healed all that was damaged and tainted, rebooting Reality in a flawless wave of light
Reverses the collapse of voids, undoes mass erasure, and gives the world a new beginning. Genesis Nova is one of the few things in the entirety of the Layers that can undo Magisa's Oblivion Requiem.
However, as we all know, these two always have to pay a price for portraying the world in black or white.
Magisa's Final Art will achieve total destruction and will be the sole survivor. Cepheus may repair everything within a specific time limit before unwinding himself.
Which side will prevail, the one chosen by the Goddess of Creation to inherit the Art of Creation or the one chosen by the Goddess of Destruction to inherit the Art of Destruction?
Knowing that Cepheus was the one in danger of being extinct, Elara turned and blew the immortality condition to him.
Phoenix took advantage of that gap and launched an attack.
"Yo."
He called out, and she spun around, eyes widening at her reflection trapped within the prism in his hand. Elara stood motionless, unable to move.
"Reflec Nihilum: Mirror of the Creator's Undoing. An Anti-God & Counter-Creation technique."
"Y... you...where did you obtain such power?"
She inquired, her essence now twisted and surrounded by paradox.
"It turns your Art of Life and potentially your Creations against you. Your creations unravel themselves, your laws contradict, and your healing turns to existential decay. The fate of people helped by your immortality is currently in the hands of a paradox."
(Remember, Creation and creation are two different things. Creation for the Goddess of Creation, creation for everyone.)
"That's not what I asked. How did you get this power? Who gave it to you?"
"There is no such thing as the Goddess of Death, so the answer is obvious."
Elara's eyes widened in terror as the paradox seized control, and she vanished.
Here's how it works, anyone who looks into the mirror, their deepest contradiction is made to manifest. If they reconcile or disharmonize it, they shatter, and their power is reflected, reversed, and removed.
In the instance of Elara, who nurtures life, the contradiction was the impending death of her creation. The contradiction was now the Goodness of Death, who shared Elara's characteristics but was considerably darker.
"What now?"
He asked. The paradox didn't answer. Its pressure caused the prism to break, destroying it, and sealing Elara and itself. Phoenix tossed the prism in a mirror without a purpose since it was garbage. The twins had no idea what had just happened.
Shortly after Cepheus reached his breaking point and restored the Domain, Elara disappeared, lifting the conditional immortality, allowing him to survive and avoid the annihilation of the Worlds and himself. On the other hand, Magisa prevailed, although no devastation was accomplished.
Totally worn out, Cepheus was on his knees, gasping for air, and now he had to face the fact that he had not a single atom of Divinity left. Magisa was brought back to her senses and immediately picked up the absence of two signatures. But before she could react....he made his move.
"You are no longer useful to me, Magisa."
Phoenix snapped his fingers.
To be continued...