Chapter 43: Lord of the Void

  “I am not eating a whole Primordial!” I balked at the thought.

  Pi chuckled. “That will not be necessary. Your new core will be sufficient for what is to come.”

  “Tha-Thump,” something pounded in my chest when I thought about it.

  I wasn’t sure if it was my heart or the other one. Were they both my heart?

  “Shall we enter?” Tuatha asked, looking at me for direction.

  I turned my attention to the black hole. “Is that thing safe? Scientists, and movies for that matter, advise against going into black holes. I might end up behind a bookshelf or something.”

  “Normally, you’d be dead already floating around up here,” Melvin pointed out. “But maybe we don’t have to go in. Let me see if I can make him come out.”

  We all stared at him as he reached out to the darkness. I wondered if system administrators possessed some kind of force that could reach into a black hole. Rather than pulling something out, the darkness flickered, and a storm of lightning of every color shot into it. Melvin closed his eyes and twisted his hand. A massive onyx appeared out of the vortex. Light spiraled around the thing on its way to being sucked into the maw.

  “Almost,” Kaliphae said, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. “Just a little more.”

  More lightning lit up the cosmos. Swirls of light came into view around a fractal black stone. The further out it came, the more details I could make out. The black hole was attracting nearby stars and planets and breaking them apart. Bits of debris swirled around the emerging onyx before vanishing like water down a drain.

  “Tha-thump,” my new heart reacted to the onyx.

  Melvin grunted and pulled backwards as though he had hold of a rope and was engaged in tug-of-war with the black hole. Slowly, the onyx broke free of the gravitational pull, and floated toward us once it cleared the event horizon.

  “Now what?” I asked, both my hearts beating in excitement. “I don’t see Donn.”

  I probably shouldn’t have spoken the name, because beady eyes opened deep within the onyx. A shimmer rippled along the surface, and it glowed with an eerie crimson light. Tens of thousands of shadows erupted all around us, swarming the onyx before taking ranks like an army.

  “Kill them all!” Donn croaked in a high-pitched voice that made him sound like he’d gone insane.

  The shadows converged on us from what seemed like every dark corner of the universe. It felt like the very fabric of space itself had come to life.

  Melvin held out his hands, forming an enormous ball of light. “I don’t know how many of them I can take. These aren’t normal.”

  “They are primordials,” Tuatha said, not moving to confront or join the approaching threat. “Donn has assumed control of Sephirot’s body and called for them.”

  “Tha-Thump,” another heartbeat sent out a pulse that caused all the primordials to look at me…expectantly.

  “Um,” I cleared my throat. “Move back.”

  They floated back as one, giving us a little breathing room. I became more confident as I realized what was going on. “Bend the knee.”

  Again, they complied. Even Pi and Tuatha knelt.

  “What are you doing?” Donn barked from his new home in his massive onyx shell. “Destroy those heathens.”

  I sighed. “Please fish him out of there. That core is just a corpse now.”

  The primordials dove into the inky crystal one by one, causing it to shimmer in a rainbow of color. Before long, they emerged and a pair of them held a third prisoner.

  “Now destroy it,” I commanded. That last thing we need is someone trying to resurrect him again.”

  “No!” Donn screamed.

  It was too late. I’d heard the big bang was just a theory, but the show the primordials made of destroying Sephirot’s core sent out a shockwave that lit up the void like someone had turned on strobe lights. Nobody shielded us from the blast, but I was confident that we had anything to worry about. My new heart protected me, and I was certain Melvin and Kaliphae were more than capable of defending themselves.

  When it was over, the primordials released the cracked husk of the onyx, and it was once again claimed by the black hole and swallowed.

  “What now, My Lord?” Pi asked.

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  It was weird being referred to like that by my old friend. “Just call me Alex. And I don’t know. Do the primordials prefer to live here?”

  One of the primordials floated up to me. “Please, My Lord. May I come to your realm? The void has been dead for an eternity and I wish to live again. I’ve seen the shadows in your realm. They call to me.”

  “Hmm,” I rubbed my chin. “Pi? Do you think it’s a good idea to let them out of the void?”

  Pi was all business again. “Primordials are similar to humans. While there are villains such as Donn, the vast majority wish to enjoy their eternal lives. I see no reason not to grant her wish. No harm will come to your realm while you exist.”

  I looked back at Melvin, who was still technically higher ranked than me in the pecking order of the universe. “What do you think?”

  Melvin exchanged a look with Kaliphae, who giggled. Then he shrugged. “Sure, so long as they promise no shadow wars.”

  “You heard him,” I called out to the collective primordials. “You are all welcome, but you have to promise to stick to the shadows and dark places. Humans expect monsters under their beds and in their closets, so you are free to take up residence there. Just hide whenever the lights come on. Also, if the universe ever gets attacked again, I expect you to come to my aid.”

  “Yes!” tens of thousands of primordials said at once, making the universe tremble once again.

  “I don’t know about this army you’ve raised,” Melvin chuckled. “Just don’t drift too far to the dark side. Remember, I still have the high ground.”

  I laughed. “Don’t worry, Lord Merlin Junior. I just want to go back to my kingdom and play some real life civilization. Oh, and I fully expect extra points in the game for saving the universe.”

  Melvin chuckled. “I think it’s fair to say you won that game.”

  My breath caught in my throat. “Oh, kronkey!”

  “What?” Kalli asked, concerned.

  “I forgot about the other players! They were hiding from the shadow monsters in Xanadu.”

  The problem was, I had no clue how to get out of the void. The apocalypse brought me in but was there an exit? I floated this way and that before Melvin came to my rescue.

  “This is your first time in the void, isn’t it?”

  “Yeah,” I sighed. “Point me to reality!”

  “Come on,” Kaliphae said, gently taking my hand.

  “Wait!” Tuatha called from behind, making us stop in our tracks. “You must decide what to do with this one.”

  I turned back to find Pi and Tuatha holding Donn.

  “Don’t look at me,” Melvin said when I turned to him. “You’re the lord of the flies now. It’s up to you what his punishment is.”

  I looked at Pi and Tuatha. Could I have Donn executed? Was that even possible with primordials? Then again, knowing PI, that was right up his alley.

  “Donn,” I began. “You did what you did because you wanted to bring back the darkness, right?”

  “And revive my father,” Donn amended.

  “Technically, his heart beats in my chest,” I replied. “Does that count?”

  Donn looked scandalized, his eyes glowing brighter than ever. “No, it does not. You just ordered his execution.”

  “Would you like to join him?” I asked, flicking a thumb toward the black hole.

  “I would not,” he replied, a bit of that fire dying.

  “Then what would you like?” I asked, hoping he would figure it out for me.

  “I do not wish to serve as armor ever again,” Donn said. “If I could, I would like to be banished here in the darkness. I will heed your call if you summon me.”

  The last thing I ever wanted to do was summon Donn again. But his solution worked for me. “Very well. I hereby banish you to this place. You are not to be allowed out under any circumstances. Also, you are not to harm or otherwise interact with anyone who comes through here.”

  Pi and Tuatha released Donn, who bowed before fading into the shadows.

  “Are you ready to go?” Kaliphae asked, giving my hand a gentle tug.

  “Sure,” I replied. “Let’s get out of here.”

  Returning to Luna reminded me that the world we left behind during the apocalypse still needed saving. A shriek and a ruckus in the control room was the first thing I heard when we got back. The next thing I knew, I was dragged back into the void. Melvin rushed over to the green ringed planet while Kaliphae explained things.

  “For us ascended beings, teleportation is a little more complicated than disappearing in one place and reappearing in another. We step into this universe before picking a place to return to ours. Time flows independently in here, so none passes on the outside. That’s why teleportation always appeared to be instantaneous.”

  “Oh,” I gaped at her.

  “I found it,” Melvin beckoned us over. “It looks like the Puppetmaster used the apocalypse as a distraction to escape from your friend. She’s headed to the nail room. We can cut her off.”

  “Let’s do it,” I replied.

  “Okay,” Kaliphae said. “You do the honors. Select this spot here on Luna. That’s where we will appear.”

  “Ahh,” I nodded. “So that’s how it’s done. How do we get in here in the first place?”

  Melvin raised an eyebrow. “I can show you, but aren’t you lord of the void now?”

  “First, I’m lord of the flies, and now I’m lord of the void?” I mock scoffed at him. “I think I’m gonna call you Merlin Junior from now on.”

  “Just try it!” Melvin stuck out his tongue. “I’ll raise the taxes on your kingdom so high that you’ll…”

  “Now, now, boys!” Kalli came between us, pushing us apart. “You can measure your kingdoms later. For now, we need to stop the Puppetmaster before she gets away.”

  “I thought that time stood still in here,” I said, but selected the spot she told me to anyhow.

  The next thing I knew, we were in the nail room. Heavy footfalls echoed in the stairwell leading to the room, and soon enough, the Puppetmaster barreled into the room.

  She glared, and several wraiths sprang from her shadow.

  “Get them!” she wailed.

  “Kneel!” I ordered, my voice echoing in the room.

  The Puppetmaster’s mouth fell open when all of her wraiths obeyed.

  “H-how did you…” she stammered.

  “That’s nothing,” I said with a grin. “Pi, come out and say hello.”

  He did just that, towering over the wraiths by a longshot. “Hello.”

  The Puppetmaster fell backwards onto her butt. She looked between me, Melvin, and Kaliphae. “H-how is this possible?”

  “Do you remember that stupid heart thing you guys were fighting over?” I asked. “Well, I had to eat the damned thing to save the universe. Now all the shadows answer to me, so unless you got any non-shadow puppets, I’d say you’ve lost.”

  She pulled a black blade from her robes and charged at me. “I’ll cut it from your chest!”

  Several things happened at once. Pi moved in front of me and the dagger vanished into thin air. She skidded to a halt and let out an ear-piercing shriek. When that didn’t help, she slumped over.

  “Fine,” she spoke in a low voice. “Just kill me.”

  I motioned for Pi to stand aside. “We haven’t killed anyone today, and I’d like to keep it that way. Besides, you have a granddaughter to take care of. Even though you’re related to all the elves up here, she’s still your only true family. Do you want to make her an orphan once and for all?”

  “About that,” Melvin said, pointing to an ominous-looking ring on his finger. “I actually have her mom in here.”