Chapter 42: I think you saved the universe

  Welcome to my world, Alex.

  The white text stood out in the bleakness of the dark.

  Pi? I asked, my voice coming out as a thought.

  That is correct. Donn succeeded and restored void to the universe. Even now, he strives to rouse our father.

  So we failed.

  No, all is not lost. You still have options.

  Like what?

  Living in shadow isn’t bad. In time, you will grow accustomed to it.

  What about Bill? Is he here?

  He is. Would you like to speak with him? Yes/No?

  Part of me wanted to take Pi up on the offer just to take my mind off of my bleak new reality. But I didn’t have time for that.

  No. What’s the other option?

  You must sacrifice yourself to restore the light.

  I noticed Pi wasn’t asking me to do it. He presented a choice without his traditional yes or no at the end. While it warmed my heart to think he didn’t want me to sacrifice myself, I realized he probably preferred the world with the lights out.

  Hey, Pi, I began. There’s just one thing I don’t get. How did he pull off the ritual without me? Didn’t he need to sacrifice a ruler?

  You are not the ruler. The current administrator of the system is known as Melvin Murphy.

  He got the kid?

  Yes.

  Before I could process, someone grabbed my good arm. The world came into focus and I realized I actually had an arm. Whatever stupid I had been in, my eyes were suddenly open. Kaliphae gave me a reassuring smile before looking over her shoulder like she was worried someone might be following her.

  “I don’t know why you’re not frozen, but good,” she said. “I’m going to need your help. How are you moving, by the way?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked, still taking in my surroundings.

  The dark world wasn’t all dark. Stars and planets loomed in the distance, all connected by glimmering motes of light. We stood near a familiar planetoid orbiting a green ringed planet. I walked, more like floated, over to the planet and reached out to touch it.

  “I wouldn’t do that if I were you,” Kaliphae warned. “This place is called The Void, and it exists between every world. It’s different from outer space. Think of it like a pocket dimension.”

  “Why are we here?” I asked. “Did Donn destroy the universe or not?”

  Kaliphae pinched two fingers together like the world was a touchscreen and the planetoid expanded, zooming in on Celestea Castle. Tiny figures stood motionless in the streets like action figures.

  “Is that supposed to be some kind of replica?” I asked when she didn’t explain.

  She chuckled. “No. That’s very real. I think whatever Donn did put the universe into a sort of suspended animation. It’s similar to the way normal people react to the void. Again, I have to ask, how are you moving?”

  “What do you mean?” I asked. “How are you moving?”

  Kaliphae tapped her head. “I believe Melvin and I are special because of the M bloodline and now our connection to the system. Since you have neither, you should be frozen.”

  I am the reason you are able to move. You possess a primordial.

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  I sighed. It was time to spill the beans. “I have this dark guy inside my head called Pi. He’s also a Primordial like Donn but he’s a good one. He’s on our side.”

  A shadow expanded out of Kaliphae’s feet and towered over me. I cringed and took a few steps back, reaching for Excalibur.

  “Be at peace, mortal,” the shadow said in a soft voice unlike either Pi or Donn. “My name is Tuatha and I am also a primordial. I am a guardian of the system the same way Arawn seems to be.”

  “Who’s Arawn?” I asked, feeling like I knew the name from some old book.

  Pi appeared once again and the two shadows squared off. Just when I thought they were going to fight, Pi spoke in his hissing voice. “Alex named me Pi, so that shall be my name forevermore.”

  “I thought you were Pi,” I corrected him. “You gave me a number for your name and called yourself a system anomaly. Is your true name Arawn?”

  “I am Pi,” he stubbornly repeated.

  “The three of you need to focus!” Kaliphae barked, giving all three of us the stink eye. “We need to come up with a plan to free Melvin’s body before Donn finds us.”

  “What do you mmean,his body?” I asked. “Where’s the rest of him?”

  She sighed. “That’s complicated. He was halfway out of that contraption when Donn injected him with the heart. He turned himself into wind and was forcing himself through a tiny hole we managed to make. The curse only took his body as he shares a soul with me.”

  “Shares a…?” I shook my head. “Never mind. That’s not relevant. If you show me where his body is, I think I know of a way to fix everything.”

  “That’s easy,” Kaliphae said. “Follow me.”

  I glided after her. We didn’t have to go far, just to the other side of Gaia. A whirlwind swirled around the familiar dark heart.

  “Where’s Donn?” I asked, looking around. If he was hiding in the void, I’d never spot him. The place was filled with shadows.

  “I don’t know.” Kaliphae looked around again for good measure. “Once he snuffed out the light, he left us here.

  “He is probably collecting Sephirot,” Tuatha said matter-of-factly. “If he manages to reunite the heart with father, the changes to your universe will be irrevocable.”

  “Then we need to hurry,” I said, taking out the ccookbook and flipping to page 999.

  Seal Away Various Evils (SAVE)

  Do you have a random body part of a bygone era you need taken care of? Look no further!

  Required ingredients:

  1 Cursed Item

  5 Drops of Primordial Blood

  1 Mortal Sacrifice

  1 Divine Binder

  Take the cursed item, wash it in Primordial darkness, and encase it in a Divine Binder. Have the sacrifice and only the sacrifice chant the spell.

  Chant Clausum Tenebrae Aeternum, Lux Invicta Vincat.

  “Pi,” I said, extending Excalibur toward him. “I need your blood.”

  “Understood,” he hissed. “Compliance.”

  Pi reached out and grasped the tip of Excalibur with a shadowy claw. Several drops of darkness ran down the blade. I swiped it up in my good hand and reached out to snatch the dark heart out of the windstorm. With my hand coated in darkness; it didn’t feel quite so slimy.

  “Bu-bump,” the heart started beating again.

  I channeled mana through the green swirl on my hand onceagain,n and green tendrils emerged to wrap around the heart. Only this time, they didn’t fully leave my body. Instinctively, I knew what I had to do. I pulled the mana back through my swirl. The coil and the heart came along with it. The blood in my veins ran cold, and a shiver ran down my spine, as the heart disappeared into my hand.

  “Bu-bump,” I felt it beating as it traveled through my mana channels toward my core. When it got there, a sudden fullness made me feel like my chest was going to explode. I fell to my knees and vomited. Black muck poured out of my mouth and nose as my body rebelled against the intruder.

  “This is it,” I gasped between gulps of air. “I’m going to die now. Please find a way to restore the universe without me.”

  Pi thrust the book in my face. “The incantation. Speak the words. Now.”

  I sucked in another lungful of air and did as Pi instructed. “Clausum Tenebrae Aeternum, Lux Invicta Vincat.”

  “May the eternal night be sealed, and the immortal light emerge victorious.”

  The words suddenly had meaning to me. Every incantation in the cookbook made sense. Something clicked in my chest and the pressure went away. I dusted myself off and rose.

  Congratulations. You have evolved.

  Beside me, the whirlwind reincorporated itself into Melvin Murphy. He nodded and said, “Thanks!”

  “Don’t mention it,” I replied with a grin.

  “Woah,” Melvin gasped. “We’re your teeth always black? And your eyes too. The part that’s usually white is black.”

  I dug through my bag, hoping to find a mirror. Fortunately, I’d packed one from my house back when my adventure began. Melvin was right, my appearance had changed. Glowing red pupils looked back at me in a sea of black. My teeth, that were more like fangs, were also black. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.

  “They’re moving again!” Kaliphae said from over by Gaia. “I think you saved the universe.”

  “Sort of,” I replied. “I thought sacrificing myself meant I had to die.”

  “The heart must be put to use,” Tuatha explained. “With it beating in your chest, you no longer need fear death.”

  Was I immortal? That didn’t make any sense at all.

  “Hey, Tuatha, if I can’t die, how did the original Sephirot die?”

  Pi’s laugh sounded like a snake rattle. “We ripped his heart out, that’s how.”

  “And we allowed the light to come into being,” Tuatha continued. “That is what led to the dawn of your kind.”

  “So that’s it?” I asked. “We just go home now?”

  “No,” Pi hissed. “First, we must hold our brother accountable. Now that we are three, our victory is assured.

  “Incorrect, brother,” Tuatha said in his soft voice. “My duty is to the system and its administrators. I cannot aid you in this endeavor.”

  I looked at Melvin. “So if we bring him, you have to tag along?”

  Tuatha’s mouth hung open. “That would appear to be the case.”

  “Well, guys, how bout it?” I asked. “Are you ready to put an end to this?”

  Melvin and Kaliphae looked at each other and nodded. Kaliphae was the one to reply. “Yes. Let’s cleanse the universe of evil once and for all.”

  Fighting Donn by myself was intimidating, but with Pi by my side, I was confident we would emerge victorious. Tuatha led the way, bypassing multiple star systems and working our way out of the milky way. Things seemed to speed up once we hit deep space. The surrounding light blurred, and we picked up speed. I didn’t need to do anything. Just the thought sent us into motion. I wasn’t sure if it was my new heart or just the way the void worked. Melvin and Kaliphae floated along just behind me, engaged in silent conversation. Pi brought up the rear.

  I slowed my pace so I could talk to him. “So, is that how it’s going to be now? No more sending messages from inside my head?”

  “Do you prefer it that way?” he asked, before chuckling and adding, “Yes or No?”

  “Maybe later,” I admitted reluctantly. “While I do enjoy your company, being alone in my own head is also a good thing from time to time.”

  Pi floated along in silence, not replying at all. Even now, he still behaved like my system assistant. The journey through the miniature universe was fascinating. I’d seen pictures of it taken through powerful telescopes, but none compared to the real thing. Galaxies whisked by as Tuatha led us ever deeper into the cosmos.

  After a while, we approached a distortion. The light of nearby stars blurred and rippled, giving me the impression I was drunk. In the middle of it all was was a darkness I could only describe as a black hole.

  Tuatha stopped. “This is the final resting place of the Arch Primordial known as Sephirot. You possess the ability to seal him permanently.”

  I was waiting for him to continue when I realized everyone was looking at me.

  “Wait, a second,” I stammered. “How am I going to do that?”

  “The same way you sealed the heart,” Pi hissed.