Commission for  Dyeddurian

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ENTRY: 14th Cycle 73rd Day, Antaris system.

There’s something to be said for just…waiting. I spend a lot of time doing it after all - people think investigating is a lot of chasing people around through streets and finding mysterious clues, but the reality is most of the time it’s just standing around watching someone buy milk at the store, or walk their dog in the morning. Not that I’m complaining, work is work after all, but it means you place special importance on free time. It’s nice to take things slowly once in a while, you know?

Haveris leaned back in his chair, coffee cup nestled firmly in his hands and his diary open on his lap. These moments between jobs were his favourite, and he smiled as he sipped the bitter liquid and enjoyed just watching the street around him. As always his colouring was drawing some looks - white dragons were not exactly common around these parts, and despite covering his pale scales with a long coat it wasn’t enough to dissuade people from looking. He paid them no attention, taking another sip and listening to the faint whine of miniature jet engines passing by him, taxis fighting each other for the airspace.

Darkness.

Haveris winced as he opened his eyes. All he could taste was blood, like someone had filled his mouth with liquid copper, and as he spat he felt a tooth dislodge. His whole body ached, every bone and muscle groaning as he slowly got to his feet, staggering upwards. His brain was still rattled but as he slowly regained awareness he realised the restaurant was destroyed, that everyone around him had suffered a similar fate. Something had hit them, it must have, maybe a vehicle had ploughed into the cafe at high speed or something. Looking around he saw some had survived, others were splattered across walls and broken mortar, lifeless and broken. The restaurant was in pieces, decades of history and brickwork reduced to expensive rubble.

THOOM

He felt the explosion in his very bones, a thump that seemed to reverberate through him. No, not an explosion - he would have felt the heat, the shockwave. He staggered to what used to be the door and his eyes widened at what he saw. The city was absolutely wrecked, the buildings that had stood proud mere minutes ago now shattered into pieces. The destruction was far from random as well - he could see the mark of violence, the way skyscrapers seemed to have been snapped in half and thrown, the huge craters that had been sunk so deep into the fragile earth he could see lava at the bottom, the remains of buildings buried far enough that he couldn’t even see them anymore. And in the distance, stretching up to the heavens, there was… Haveris didn’t even know how to describe it. It was a creature, that much was certain, but as for species he had no idea what he was looking at. It was so large that regular descriptions seemed inadequate, like he was trying to assign a gender to some monolithic mountain that eclipsed anything he might even begin to conceive as alive. The thump he’d felt had been a mere footstep, the world shuddering under the unspeakable weight of just the creature’s movement, and as he watched it raised a hand and brought it crashing down on a building.

THOOOOOOM

Haveris was almost blown back by the impact, the shockwave knocking him off his feet. This far away the movements looked sluggish, meaning it was hard to get a sense of power from them, but the moment contact was made it was like an earthquake had gone off, truly obscene amounts of strength being used to pummel the brickwork deep into the ground. He was the only one standing, watching, and all of a sudden the creature turned around. He swore it looked right at him.

Haveris yelled out as his head felt like it split open. A thousand needles stabbed into his skull as his mind was opened, as his soul was bared. He existed outside of his body, an insignificant piece of consciousness that was being inspected by a god.

He looked down upon this world as one might look upon an anthill. One does not feel guilt for crushing a bug under heel, and nor should they - such is the way with power. Those at the top own the privilege of strength, and those below must accept that fact or be buried by it. He chuckled as he gripped a building, felt all that steel and brick buckle underneath him, felt the work of thousands crumble like it was nothing. He smashed one foot into the ground and felt this planet crack with the weight of his power. Ohhhhh, it felt so good. What was the point of power if not to use it, if not to scrawl your name into the side of some insignificant sphere of mud and dirt, a feat that would only increase the value of this otherwise worthless rock. He would do the same many more times, over and over and over and -

VASI

Haveris gasped as his mind was released. He tried to shake the feeling of weight, of millions of tons of mass at his command, of the world around him feeling fragile and pathetic. Of confidence more than anything, the kind that came with literal invincibility. He’d been granted a glimpse into the mind of something that he had no right to even understand, and somehow he was still sane. He didn’t know how, it felt like he was existing in a dream - all of this death and destruction, on this end it was a horror like no other but on the other end…it was a game. No, it was less than that, it was nothing. Just a step on an anthill. Haveris had never been the ant before - now, as he fell to the floor, he understood everything. The last thing he saw before he closed his eyes was the creature stomping onwards, obliterating everything in its wake, and that name inscribed into his brain like it had been scorched into his skull. And a figure striding towards him, a dragon of normal size. One that crossed their arms and watched as he faded out of consciousness.

*

When Haveris opened his eyes he immediately felt a lot better. The barrage of pain he was expecting simply didn’t materialise, it was as if his wounds hadn’t even existed in the first place, and when he got up he felt well rested. He was in what looked like some sort of penthouse suite, the upholstery all expensive looking and jewel encrusted. Even the bed itself was huge, made of something that he couldn’t identify but was softer than anything he’d ever encountered. His wonder turned to mild worry - he knew just from looking at this place that he didn’t have a hope in hell of affording a second in here, let alone the time it would take to heal his wounds. He was going to have to talk with whoever brought him here, hopefully the fee wouldn’t be too much. As he got up there were some clothes on a nearby table, along with a note.

“Meet me downstairs when you’re awake.”

That was it, just the one line written in flowing cursive. Odd, but he had nothing better to do anyway, so he grabbed the clothes and dressed himself. Again they were made of exotic fabrics - this whole place just screamed money, it oozed from every corner. Feeling a little better about the whole ordeal, he walked out the room and down the stairs to find what looked like a cafe. It was all the regular stuff, waiters and tables, but the main difference was the massive panoramic view of space from the window across the room, one that showed several planets peacefully hanging in the darkness. The other difference was that there was only one customer, the one sitting in the middle gesturing at him to come closer. She was another white dragon, similar to him but much bulkier, rippling with muscle underneath form-fitting clothes. Just one arm was bigger than his torso.

“You’re looking a lot better.” Her voice was elegant but with a core of steel, a confident timbre that rang out in the empty cafe.

“Yeah I…feel a lot better. How long have I been here?”

“Oh not that long, a few days tops. Your injuries weren’t that severe and besides, the tech we’ve got here is well beyond what you’re gonna get anywhere else.” The white dragon snapped her fingers and a waiter came over bearing two cups of steaming hot coffee, both in mugs. One was a cheerful yellow, the other a more subdued grey - he was given the grey one. “Don’t worry about the tab, I’ve got you covered. Consider it a gift from the queen of the universe.” She grinned as she raised her mug, toasting him before taking a sip. Haveris just stared.

“You’re…”

“Eve, the one and only. Autographs later.” She chuckled. “You’re probably wondering why you’re even here in the first place, and it’s because you were one of the few survivors of that attack. You’ve seen what he looks like, and right now that makes you pretty rare.” She paused, looking at his mug for a second. “You know, death by coffee isn’t really on my agenda. Would be pretty weird to bring you back to health only to poison you right after.”

“You saved me?” Haveris thought back, remembering the figure approaching him just as he blacked out. He owed his life to the dragon in front of him it seemed.

“I did, though I can’t deny our shared biology didn’t contribute to me noticing you. Not every day you see a fellow white dragon.” Eve stretched a little bit, her wings flexing, and Haveris had to stop himself from doing the same. “I pulled you out the wreckage and brought you back to my ship, we’re in orbit around the planet right now. I didn’t do it for the fun of it either, but we’ll get to that.” She gestured at his mug. “It really is just coffee, I promise.”

Slowly Haveris took a sip. It was rich and creamy, a hit of bitter taste right at the back to remind him of what he was drinking. “Mmph.”

“Good huh? Extinct species of coffee bean, or it used to be anyway. You’d be amazed what you can do if you give geneticists a blank cheque. But anyway, the reason I was there is the exact same reason you’re now here, because of that creature destroying your planet. His name is Vasi, and the reason he’s like that is uh…well it’s kinda my fault.”

“You made him like that?”

“Well not directly, but yes.” Eve sighed as she took another sip. “I’ve done a lot of conquering in my time, and that doesn’t mean just in this realm of existence. There’s been plenty of incursions from all sorts of nasty places, and let’s just say there’s a reason they’re all too scared to come back. Most of them are missing bits, and that’s cause I like to take a souvenir when I beat them up. Turns out if you give a bit of eldritch god to a regular mortal then they end up...well like Vasi.”

“You gave it to him?”

“He stole it actually.”

Haveris nodded, taking another sip. “So now your little screw up is out there destroying planets and such.”

“For now. Trouble is this sort of power is exponential, once it starts it doesn’t stop. He’s crushing planets now, but eventually he’ll be big enough to crush way more than that. Solar systems, galaxies, hell even entire alternate universes. Give him enough time and he’s gonna be wrecking full multiverses.”

“How does that even work?”

“That’s an explanation that would take a very long time to go through, but for the sake of argument let’s just say once you get large enough the laws of physics become more like suggestions. The universe has boundaries, and with enough density you can warp them enough that you can entangle with alternate ones, collapsing the wave function when you want to single one out.” Eve sighed at the blank look Haveris had on his face. “Look I don’t make the rules on this shit, just ask the gods that mess around with this stuff in the first place, they’re the ones that do it. The only reason we’re still standing is because he’s not gonna dare try anything while I’m in this universe - plenty of other creatures have tried, and they were a lot stronger than him.”

“What happened to them?”

“Let’s just say I didn’t agree with what they were doing. I can be uh…persuasive when I want to be.” Eve flexed an arm for emphasis, the bicep rock hard and enormous - Haveris got the message. “That being said, there's plenty of other universes out there that don’t have me in them, and I’d rather not let them get wiped out from my mistake. That’s why I need you to stop it!”

“...Me…” Haveris looked at the dragon sitting at the table, at the absolute paragon of strength that was Eve, at the muscles like beach balls underneath the scales. “I don’t mean this to sound rude, but uh, can’t you just do it yourself?”

Eve laughed, snapping her fingers as she did. A waiter was instantly there to refill her mug. “No no, it’s fair enough. Truth be told I could, but I’m trying to not get involved in these sort of things. My girlfriend hates it you see - Cassi would kill me if she heard I went off hunting gods again.”

“Cassi?”

“Imagine a wolf but devastatingly pretty. Also the size of a solar system.” She grinned. “I don’t know if you noticed but power pushes alllll my buttons. But anyway, the point is I need you to do this for me.”

“It has to be me? I’m not really special or anything you know.” Haveris looked into his mug with a grim face, trying to see his reflection in the murky liquid. “Vasi nearly squashed me like a bug, he didn’t even notice me. I’m nothing to him.”

“Actually you are special, and it’s because you survived. You’ve touched his mind, or rather he’s touched yours I should say. That’s the thing about psychic bridges, they go both ways. I have no idea where he is right now, but you will instinctively know where he is no matter where. The reason he’s leaving trails of bodies in his wake is because he knows it only takes one survivor for me to start hunting him down. You’re that survivor.” Eve leaned back in her chair, which groaned ominously. “Besides, he’s not so tough.”

“How the hell am I supposed to stop something that crushes galaxies for fun?” Haveris waved away a waiter who was hovering nearby, waiting to refill his mug. “I barely survived the last time!”

“By giving you a piece of the same power he has.” Eve clapped her hands and two men brought over a very strange looking chest. It was highly advanced, what looked like dark purple liquid running in tubes that formed intricate patterns all around the exterior, circuit boards printed on the metal casing wherever there was space. “Vasi stole one piece of a god, this is another. Oh, I wouldn’t open that yet.” She waved away Haveris who had leaned forward to touch the thing. “That box protects against some of the more dangerous cognitive effects, but just seeing it is enough to trigger a transformation. Better to do that when you’re not in the middle of my ship, hmm?” She chuckled as Haveris pulled away from the box nervously, the two guards setting it down in the middle of the table. It hummed ominously as it sat there.

“You sure that’s…safe?”

“Well depends what you mean by safe. Eldritch apotheosis is usually reversible so I wouldn’t worry too much.”

“Usually?” Haveris raised an eyebrow.

“Definitely in this case. Look, you know this is going to eat at you if you don’t do it. You can feel him in your head can’t you, even now?” Haveris nodded. “That’s not going to go away, it’s only going to get worse. Deal with Vasi and that goes away, and I'll provide everything you need to do it, so long as nobody realises I'm involved. I’ll even throw in a reward, why not. You scratch my back, I scratch yours. We got a deal?” Eve held her hand out, the smile still on her face.

Haveris thought about it, but he knew deep down there was only ever going to be one outcome.

“Deal.” He shook hands with Eve, and not for the first time today wondered just what he’d got himself into.

*

ENTRY: 56th Cycle 3rd Day, Megaris Cluster

Well, I'm officially in over my head. One moment I’m enjoying my coffee, the next I’m sitting in front of the queen of the universe being asked to stop a living god from rampaging. I can feel him in my head still, like a sort of thread leading outwards. She wants me to follow that thread, and I don’t think I could deny even if I wanted to.

The good news is travelling the universe is a lot easier when you have the queen of everything helping you out. Eve’s connections are numerous, and she seems to have favours owed by anyone and everyone. Wherever we go people are happy to see her, though a few cower in fear much to her displeasure. The interface on her ship is semi telepathic, so all I have to do is close my eyes and think of a planet, and off we go. She sorts out the rest, all the tolls and Gateway Keepers and whatnot. Wormholes make the journeys a lot faster, but we’re still not fast enough. I know where Vasi is, but it’s not a continuous thing, more like a sonar ping - I’ll get a glimpse of a planet, and we have to get there as fast as possible to try and catch him.

On the first planet we’re too late. We’ve missed him by not much, maybe a few hours or so, and all that’s left is the ruined remains of the cities and continents he’s flattened into the ground. It’s hard to believe one creature can cause all this - I thought the devastation back on Astaris was bad, but this place barely looks like it could support life in the first place. If I hadn’t seen pictures of what it looked like I wouldn’t believe anything lived here at all. It’s thanks to Eve that I even have a frame of reference for all this. Being down here, amidst a world that’s been buckled by the sheer strength that was exerted upon it, I’ve gained a new kind of respect for the power being shown here - it’s stamped into the planet, carved into the very surface of it.

“You were right, we missed him by maybe a couple hours.” Eve commented from behind, snapping Haveris out of his reverie, and he closed his diary for now. She was wearing a disguise just in case they came across anyone, just a holographic field, and even though everyone was dead she kept it up in case any ships rolled by and aimed a camera down. They came to what looked like a chasm in the ground, a huge crack that sheared so far down they couldn’t see the bottom. “Looks like he made quick work of this place.” Something in her voice struck Haveris as odd: it almost sounded like…longing.

“You don’t sound so upset about it.” He called back, picking through the remains of a building. Here and there he found the remains of bodies, crushed into unrecognisable pulp by the rubble in most cases.

“Would be a bit hypocritical considering I’ve totalled more than a few planets in my heyday.” She chuckled at Haveris’ shocked expression, shooting him a sly wink. “Don’t worry, I’m on my best behaviour nowadays. Besides, these stories work a lot better when the main big bad guy isn’t completely outclassed right from the start.” Haveris tilted his head for a second before remembering his journal, realising she was probably referring to that. Probably. “Point is I get why he’s destroying all these planets, it’s not because he wants to, but just because he can. Power without an outlet is like trying to kick an addiction, it just builds up with nowhere to go.” The dragoness looked at her claws, flexing them slightly. “Just letting all of it out feels….mmmm, so good. You don’t worry about stepping on a few insects while you do it.”

“As long as I’m not the insect.” Haveris cursed as he turned over yet another brick, futilely hoping for some sign of life. He just looked around and knew in his heart there was nothing left. Vasi had flattened the city so thoroughly he’d damn near driven the buildings through to the other side of the planet, the huge chasms a testament to just how far he was willing to go, and just how impossible he was to stop. It was…admirable in a way. Strength was admirable after all, even strength used for evil - power was the goal of all life, power was the only thing that mattered… he shook his head to clear it. “You really did stuff like this.”

“Oh this and so much more.” Eve chuckled again at the memory. “But enough about me. He’s not here, but he can’t be far. Let’s get back to the ship and we’ll follow the trail.” Haveris nodded, succumbing to the teleport that started with a click of Eve’s fingers.


ENTRY: 10th Cycle, Unknown day, Magellan System

I close my eyes, and it feels like I’m losing myself. I don’t know what Vasi did to me, but it feels like he’s holding my head in his hands, and the closer we get to him the more he squeezes, so hard it feels like my eyes are going to pop out of my skull. It’s pain, but it drives me forward, keeps the dark thoughts about power and ego out of my head. I feel it seeping in sometimes, overriding my personality with Vasi’s making me arrogant and egotistical almost against my will. It feels good to be strong, it feels right. But I’m not giving in to temptation, not just yet.

We missed him again on Alshavin. There wasn’t anything left of it, just a few pieces of rock crumbling in space. We think he destroyed it too quickly, the planet was more fragile than he expected and one good stomp cracked it into pieces, but it’s hard to say. Whatever the reason, it was like crushing an egg for him. He’s getting stronger by the minute, if we don’t stop him soon… why should we even bother? Why not just give up, after all strength is the way to rule, strength is the only virtue worth having. Words are meaningless when you can force your will upon existence, when those that don’t kneel have no other choice. When…….. We have to stop him soon.

ENTRY: 4576th Cycle, 13th Night, Astravar

Astravar. The name came to me like a bolt of lightning, coursing through my skull in a split second of unbearable pain, one that left me on my knees. I saw him, I saw death and destruction, entire universes crushed out of existence for fun. I can’t get it out of my head, it’s like it’s burned into my brain. I spent a few minutes curled up in a ball afterwards, just gasping for air while Vasi squeezed my skull like a grape for the offence of noticing him. He knows I’m coming now, he wants me to see how hopeless it is. I’m not playing his games anymore: when we arrive, I’m going to kill him. I’m going to end this nightmare, once and for all.

“There.” Eve dropped them out of warp and her eyes widened. Haveris too looked up, and was greeted with the same sight: Vasi was right there, and he was in the process of destroying yet another world, only this time he was so much larger than before. Haveris had an image in his head, a memory from the first time he’d gazed upon the beast, and it was barely comparable to the apocalyptic monstrosity waging war against all life in front of them. What made it even more terrifying was the planet he was doing it to: Astravar was a class 9 world, extremely far ahead in technology, but above all it was massive. The average size of organisms in this system was about 500ft tall, a quirk of nature due to the abnormally low gravity allowing for this sort of evolution. Vasi was so titanic that he made them look like insects, and he was treating them as such, crushing them without even a second thought. These were beings that had dominated their ecosystem, that had waged wars against planets that were so one sided they could hardly be called as such. They were of course trying to fight back against what could now only be described as a god, but it was pointless. There would be no war here - this was a massacre, the idea of resistance merely a pretence.

“The growth is faster than I thought.” Eve said, a little dumbstruck at the scale of it. The size of the planet and its buildings meant that even from orbit they could see the destruction in detail, see the shockwaves from Vasi flexing ripple around the planet and level everything in their path, see the huge gashes in the ground from where he’d walked. He was carving a path through the world, and in his wake was nothing but death and screaming. Every now and then he’d find a building that somehow resisted the earthquakes that were off the scale, the shockwaves that liquefied bones. He would place a hand on top and slowly crunch it into the ground, letting metal scream and brick crumble as it first held, then wobbled, then inevitably buckled under the unstoppable force. Still he would keep going, ignoring the pleas of those inside as he crushed it like a tin can, not stopping when his hand was flush with the ground but rather continuing down, digging into solid rock as if it were wet putty. Only when he was elbow deep, when he’d forced his fist right into the core of the planet, only then did he pull it out again. The planet was scored with these holes, each one going all the way into the core, each one a violation of what should be allowed to exist. This strength shouldn’t have been possible, and yet there it was.

I SEE YOU

Haveris clutched his head as Vasi forced his way in, ripping apart all the mental barriers he didn’t even know he had. The world faded away as he was forced to look up at the god in all his majesty, as his brain was squeezed and twisted to allow entrance to another.

YOU WANT TO STOP ME

Haveris screamed as a thousand needles stabbed into him, each one burning red hot in a symphony of pain - the words were not just seared into his brain, they were gouged into it, as if Vasi was digging his finger in and marking it like a child in a sandpit. He was helpless, hopeless.

YOU MAY TRY

“Hey! HEY!” Haveris blinked as he came to. He was staring up at the ceiling, Eve’s concerned face looking down at him, and as he sat up he winced. “You okay?”

“What happened?”

“You passed out, then started yelling.” Eve looked out the window. “Vasi’s still there, but he’s just…stopped. It looks like he’s waiting for something.”

“He’s waiting for me.” Haveris groaned as he got to his feet. “Get me the elder piece. I can’t take this anymore, either he kills me or we end this.”

*

ENTRY: 4576th Cycle, 13th Night, Astravar

He’s waiting for me. I’m ready now, I’ve received the same power he has. It’s funny, I didn’t realise how much of my thoughts were down to his influence, and how much was just…me. I thought all the power lust was him, but really it’s just…power feels so much better than I thought it would. I thought I was happy with normality, but it all feels pointless now. I can make myself as large as he is with a thought, I can wield the same kind of strength with a snap of my fingers. I….

I could get used to this.

Haveris opened his eyes. He didn’t need to write anymore, he just thought the words and the universe obeyed him - without seeing it he knew they would be written in his diary, just as if he had penned them himself. Eldritch power worked like that, and now he was brimming with it, feeling sparks run up and down his spine. He was itching to fight, and now as the light surrounding him cleared, he would get the chance.

After a few seconds he found himself standing amongst the rubble of Astravar. The planet was at least intact, but there wasn’t anything left standing anymore. What’s more the cracks were so deep that magma had seeped through to the surface, great lakes of fire that sliced through the brickwork like butter, carved new caverns into the ruined, hellish surface. Vasi was right there, a god sitting on his ruined throne, surrounded by the fires of his own destruction.

“Enjoying the remodel?” What was once a razor blade slicing into Haveris’ mind was little more than regular speech now. The benefits of power he supposed, smiling as he let some of that unfathomable strength course through him, almost instantly swelling in size until they were both the same height, well over a few thousand feet tall. “Well well, aren’t we impressive.”

“I understand now.” Haveris didn’t smile as he walked forwards, the planet trembling with every step, the multiverse quaking in anticipation. “All this strength, you just want to let it all out, to see what it takes to stop you. Nothing is ever enough, right?”

“Exactly.” Vasi stood, grinning. Despite his size he’d kept most of the features of a regular wolf, albeit one with more muscle rippling across his body than the combined population of most planets. “Nothing to stop me anymore.”

“Almost nothing.”

The first blow came almost out of nowhere, such was the speed of it. It felt like the universe warped around Vasi as he swung forwards, but Haveris was ready and swung his own fist to meet it head on, the pair of them clashing in the middle. The blow blistered the landscape around them, shockwaves blasting forth and sundering across the ground. Haveris could feel that just that blow alone had erased countless lives, entire planets across the multiverse literally exploding from the sheer force of the shockwave. Despite the obscene force behind both blows the pair were evenly matched though, and they both knew it instantly from the first point of contact. This was a match of power, yes, but it was also a match of skill.

“Bastard!” Vasi kneed him in the chest, pushing away in order to get some space and firing a violently purple energy beam from his hand as he did so. Haveris felt it singe the side of his face as he dodged, watching it cut through the other nearby planets like butter as it scythed through the air, but just as quickly he was manifesting his own beam and doing the same right back. Vasi blocked with both arms but groaned in pain as the fur there was burnt, only taking it for a second before sliding out to the left and rushing forwards again. Another blow swung in from the right, but this time it was a feint, one that Haveris bought completely. He knew as soon as he moved and Vasi ducked down to deliver a thunderous blow to his gut. It should have hurt, in fact considering the insane amount of destruction it caused to the world around them it should have damn near killed him, but all Haveris could feel was the power jolting through him, healing his wounds as fast as they appeared. He was lifted into the air from the power of the blow, but instead of flying away he grabbed hold of Vasi’s head, swinging around him and slamming it into the ground. He let all that strength well up as the wolf cursed, trying to get up before the inevitable blow came down on him. He was just a second too late to avoid it though.

THOOM

The planet shattered like an egg as Haveris drove his fist into Vasi’s face, so hard that he went right through the rock underneath and though the planet itself, flying towards another one nearby. Haveris kicked away the shattered chunks of what had once been Astravar, a planet of life and prosperity, now little more than a fragile battleground for the two gods. Vasi landed on a nearby moon, gasping from the impact but quickly recovering. As Haveris floated towards him again Vasi raised a hand and fired the beam, and this time Haveris couldn’t avoid it. He yelled in pain as it cut into him, slicing through the scales here and there and vaporising the planet behind him, but he didn’t stop. Landing on top of Vasi he swung round behind him, pulling him into a headlock and managing to wrap one thick arm right around his neck, forcing his chin up. Even as he squeezed Haveris could feel the pressure being exerted on existence itself, he could feel entire multiverses screaming in unison as they were crushed flat, but he didn’t let up. Vasi jammed a hand into his side once, twice, then punched him so hard he felt his ribs pop and pain shoot through him. All it did was make him squeeze tighter, and tighter, until finally the resistance was quelled and Vasi fell limp in his arms. Haveris got up slowly, panting slightly as his healing factor took a while to catch up, and what came next seemed to come naturally. He could feel the power in Vasi, like a tumour growing on him, and with precision that seemed to come naturally he slowly began to siphon it out.

“Unghhh….no, what are you doing?! NO!” Vasi tried to get up but Haveris placed a single clawed foot on his chest, holding him down. Already the size difference between them was noticeable, and whereas at first Vasi was scrabbling at Haveris’ knee to try and lever his foot off, after a few seconds he was desperately pressing against the god’s ankle, and after a few more seconds he was barely visible as Haveris mercilessly crushed him into the planet.

GUESS I DIDN’T NEED TO TRY AFTER ALL

Those words were the last thing Vasi heard before Haveris crushed him like a bug. There were no remains to be seen because he was just gone, obliterated so completely there weren’t even atoms left to tell the tale of his life. Afterwards he just stood there, admiring the strength, the power. He could feel the universe bending to his will, shaped on his command. Who was going to stop him from taking what he wanted? Who would ever be able to stop him?

It was Eve that caught his attention, the white dragoness floating down towards him. She had the box in her hands - he could feel the pull, the way all his strength wanted to slip off like an oversized coat, but he resisted it for just a second. Just enough time to wave a hand and undo every last death the past few days of rampage had caused, all the destruction they had wrought. He picked a point in time for the universe and just like that reset it all. It was a feat that should have evaporated him from the sheer power required to turn timespace around like this - for him it was as simple as clicking his fingers. With the deed done he finally let the power go, albeit slightly reluctantly. His body wanted it back, but he knew in his heart that it wasn’t for him, hell it wasn’t for anyone. All it led to was dark things, and he was past them.

“Ahhhh, finally. Man, I'm glad this is all over.” Eve shut the box with a grateful sigh. “It’s so much harder to watch than I thought, I was itching to join you. Still, you did a good job all things considered.” She noticed how down he looked, and put an arm around his shoulder. “Oh it’s alright, you’ll get a reward that’s just as good as that power. I’ve got some more coffee brewing, why don’t we have a chat about what you want, huh?”

“Sure.” Haveris didn’t feel like he was going to go back to normal life - after seeing what he’d seen, it was so…mundane. He’d never known just how damaging perspective could be, and now with a taste of the better side of it, regular life just felt bland. Perhaps he would learn to enjoy it again - if anyone could help him, Eve could. Perhaps though he would go the other way, ask for strength to once more sizzle through his veins. The thought made him grin as the teleport engaged and they were beamed away.