Interlude
Dr. Matsuda & The Great Devourer "Canopus"
"Will of the Axiom III: Final"
United Four Factors
==Universal Law==
The power of the System immediately strips that "perception" from him.
It is something that would not ordinarily be possible, while powers granted by the Axiom can be defeated by powers of a different nature, the act of "stripping" that connection from him is something that should be beyond even the scope of the four-factors.
---However, it seems that being directly inside of the System -or rather within the scope of that God's "Authority"- has shifted the balance of power enough that it has become possible for it. It was something he had never considered because not once had he expected his opponent to survive his absolute blow, the crash of the System should have meant the end of the Devourer, it cannot exist without it, they were created together and rely heavily on each other as "tools" of a certain other authority, but-
"---You can no longer use those eyes. Now... What a fascinating blow, faker."
-It had done so.
Somehow, someway, it had defied the limits of it's existence and persisted through a state of "nothingness." It is a power that should be beyond itself, a power that defies the Axiom itself, and as his mind frantically dives through thousands of different possibilities as to how his calculations had turned out to be incorrect, the answer that they arrive at is one that sends a chill down his spine.
---So it was letting Humanity live for that reason, huh?
---Or rather.
---It had decided to let them fight one more time for that reason, huh?
"Attacking the "universe" in an attempt to drown me in it. Admirable. With that sort of ruthlessness you certainly could have defeated my original self, indeed, you certainly do seem connected to 'that man.'"
---There is no real change in it's existence, it even retains it's stolen body. The doctor had wondered why it was continuing to cling to something that was only weakening it, and had come to the conclusion that it simply enjoyed the phenomena called 'emotions,' but his thinking had been too limited, this entity never does things for only a single reason.
The reason it had revived the world, and why it had even bided it's time for thousands of repetitions.
The 'thing' it was looking for
A certain sense of understanding.
"..."
Spiritual Power remains at an impossible pitch, and with his powers sealed by the four factors the Doctor feels as if he is inside the heart of a cosmic storm. Even without his "unique ability," there were a number of things he could still do here, but his sharp mind processes the futility in them in less than an nano-second, discarding over a thousand possibilities with one 'variable' that could not be overcome.
"I see you understand. In that case, accept that you have lost. In respect to your blow, I will erase you along with the rest of this world in the morning... It is the most merciful death I can give to humanity. You are errors that have forgotten your place, a potential cancer on existence, and so you must disappear."
Ceasing to exist as one collective.
A mercy he is sure that they will appreciate.
At the very least, no one will have to die alone.
---That's right.
He had no intention of allowing humanity to continue on from the start. It is making a show of giving them a chance, but that chance is nothing more than it pillaging the last of the "necessary data" from what amounted to corpses, before finishing them off before they can become a threat in the future. It is it's own sense of duty that declares this as necessary, even without the reality of 'paradox,' it could not allow the "curse of negativity" that had been born in this world to escape into the rest of the System.
---So it would bury humanity completely the moment it no longer needed them.
There is no sense of guilt, this world had been "effectively dead" when it had found it.
Still-
It does respect it's opponent. If Matsuda had been able to keep the System 'down' for longer, it was not sure it would have been able to maintain it's own existence long enough to survive.
But the choice of battlefield had decided it all.
Inside of the System, this God was omnipotent.
That is why it offers to spare him for now. There is nothing he can do without his powers from the Axiom, and it is the least it could do to let someone that had 'impressed' it go ahead and say their goodbyes to those they cared about, clear up whatever unfinished business he may have but-
"...I have a lot of regrets."
The doctor admits to it slowly.
"A lot of unfinished business. Kids to teach, loans to pay back... Yeah, I think all I really want is a normal peaceful life."
---He can have that for a few hours if he leaves.
Indeed, the God is willing to grant him that as a favor, it will not even mind if he somehow finds a way to escape the world in whatever time remains to it, but-
"Therefore... My answer is no. This isn't over yet."
The COMP on his arm blares to life. It wasn't something he had expected to use, a simply machine that was capable of reproducing pre-programmed phenomena, but it was something that "Universal Law" hadn't bound him from using-!
"...Fool. So you choose to die in vain?"
"Hmph. Vain? There is no such concept."
He had learned just one thing from watching this world for so long, he had done it as a 'Mass' of emotions that had taken shape, a way for 'Stephen' to watch over an old student that he hadn't been able to afford to get attached too, and yet he had gotten attached all the same-!
---
The boy that had come crying into the lab -too late to save a fallen sibling- who he had taken on as an 'apprentice.'
Behind him, a trail of fire and destruction.
An unfair world that reaped everything from 'humanity.'
In his opinion that boy never did anything wrong; defeat your enemies if you must, that is the way of the world...
He had seen Demons slaughter too many to not be able to coldly regard them as expendable; even the boy was but a weapon to be used to free humanity, at least at first, but---
---He hadn't been satisfied with that ending.
The boy had judged himself for it instead; wondering if perhaps he should have tried for something better, even if his expectations were betrayed.
In the end, that boy had sought a more 'true' form of peace.
One that denied the Axiom's intention, and was impossible to realize. As a teacher it was impossible for him to endorse, and he had rejected it right from the start, but...
Watching him leave...
It had been like watching a son disappear over the horizon.
---That's probably where this habit had come from.
---
"If it inconveniences you even slightly, then I am obligated to annoy you as much as I possibly can, I'm afraid."
His voice is cool, but his heart is slowly catching flame. It was a truth that others took for granted, but one that he had only come to accept slowly over many years, and had been sparked by the loss of someone on his life.
He had always thought he was smarter than others.
It was obvious, and true in many ways.
But this 'truth' was something he had acquired far too late...
And it was why he felt obligated to oppose this thing right now. His family lived here now, in the world that was heading towards a "Dream" all it's own, something that boy had left behind even if no one acknowledged him for it; he had discovered he liked caring for others, for giving those that would have otherwise completely lacked 'happiness' in their lives something to smile about, which is why so many 'broken' people had been drawn to him, but...
It hadn't been an easy truth.
He had had a family long before he had realized it or even bothered to care about it beyond their use as 'weapons,' but when he had lost Zerah he had finally found his answer-
"It's not about me... The children of this world... They're dreaming of something that goes far beyond you and I Canopus, beyond even the old stoic in the wheelchair-! This world is 'mine,' being able to beat you myself doesn't matter, I won't let you simply do as you please."
-Life is more precious than anything, and it is worth betting everything to stay connected to your family.
---They had chosen to fight, and so it was only natural he would as well; he would give it his all...
Even if it ended in his death...
"...What an illogical decision. Sacrificing yourself will not change the result. Should you not run away while you have the chance?"
"...If you don't want to kill me that's fine, spare me if you like, but I'll take advantage of any and all mercies. I'm not that different from myself."
---Curious.
---Again facing a human that has decided to make this "meaningless" choice, the God again proclaims the oddity of it. If he has people important to him, then he should have taken them and run away, far away, from the coming destruction, but-
---No, this was that boy's world.
Of course he wouldn't abandon it.
---For a moment.
A feeling of impression strikes him, then:
"Very well... Then this is the end for you, faker... No, Matsuda. I will remember your name."
==Star Compression==
He acknowledges him as truly separate from 'that man' and decides to abide by his wishes. If he will not back down, then the God will easily kill him right here and now; binding not just his eyes now, but rather his arms and legs as well, as if the God absolutely believed in humanity's ability to turn any situation around and claim victory, the man that has now had all of his options truly shut down, simply-
Deus Ex Machina
==Supernova=
-Glares defiantly at the reality of an approaching star.
Even if he can no longer use his 'eyes,' that is fine, he can 'break it down' with simply his thoughts as a human.
Even if he himself cannot use it, if he gets even one more Factor to the others... Than this will have had meaning, yes...
Accomplishing his task...
Dr. Matsuda is embraced by warmth.
---
"..."
The star leaves absolutely nothing in it's wake.
Because there was no possible way for that man to defend himself in the end, or escape this world even if he did, it is not an end that the Devourer concerns itself with observing...
Even so, it sees the aftermath.
Nothing.
Absolutely nothing, and while a power had certainly flared to life right at the end...
It had been snuffed out just as quickly.
---It didn't even matter if that man had done what it assumed he had done. An extra factor? Attempting to steal it's power?
It was all meaningless in the end, it could not be defeated.
"Farewell Matsuda, and worry not... The others will be reunited with you in Oblivion soon enough."
Interlude Out
Reply With Quote
Originally Posted by Chiyoko?
