"I am sorry." Jason's voice was quiet, his eyes staring at nothing. But he knew it was looking at him. The void around him was not empty...it was filled with a presence older than stars, older than existence itself. "I know you must have loved him."
The nothingness shifted. Not a movement, not a sound, but a change in the weight of the air around him. The darkness that surrounded him seemed to pulse, to breathe, to consider.
"Don't mind it." The voice came from everywhere and nowhere, deep and ancient, carrying the weight of eons. "I ruined the kid's life. It was my assumption. My mistake. I should have never summoned him into a world where I am resented. A world where I am the villain. The evil."
Jason floated in the void, his body weightless, his mind clear. He understood now. This was the real Darkness....not the Empty Hand, not the void that had tried to erase him, but the being that had created it. The one equal to the Presence in existence.
"I don't see you as evil," Jason said. "I inherited a power from a very evil man myself. I consider myself lucky, that's all. If Lucifer wasn't God's favorite son, it could have been me suffering, not him." He paused. "If anything, the evil one is the Presence. Isn't it?" He looked at the darkness, his voice steady. "But that's on par with what he is."
The darkness shifted again. Amusement rippled through it, warm and unexpected.
"Oho?" The voice was lighter now, almost playful. "You stand proud as you call the Presence....God of it all...evil?"
"I'm not wrong, am I?" Jason said. "If there had to be evil, it had to come from him. Not that he is all evil." He shook his head slowly. "I know you are Darkness, sure. But you're not the ruler of existence. He is. You may have done some evil yourself, specifically Darkseid. But what about the rest of it? It was all him." He sighed. "I mean, logically speaking, he created the concept of evil itself."
He floated in silence for a moment, collecting his thoughts.
"But he also created good." His voice was softer now. "That's what being a god is. You are everything, even the bad parts." He turned his head, as if he could see the darkness that surrounded him. "Is that why you stepped away?"
The darkness was silent for a long moment. When it spoke, its voice was quieter, more thoughtful.
"Yes." A pause. "But I didn't expect a mere mortal to understand such a thing." Another pause. "Well, I take it back. You're not a mortal anymore, are you? You are a transcendent being. One step below us."
Jason laughed. It was a genuine sound, warm and human.
"Ah. Well, yeah, I guess." He smiled. "But I don't wish to do anything anymore."
The darkness waited.
Jason's smile widened. "I'm going to be a father, you know." He laughed again, the sound echoing through the void. "HAHAHA. I'm proud of that. Reaching this level of power...that of Lucifer, Michael, the Endless...but without their loss. Without their apathy." He looked at his hands, human hands, hands that had killed gods and demons. "I feel mortal. My mind is mortal. My powers are not. My existence is not." He lowered his hands. "But deep down, I am a human. I can love. Feel. Teach. Have children of my own and raise them."
He looked at the darkness, his eyes bright.
"That's something those people don't have. And as one with such power, I won't waste it. I will spend it. I'll live my remaining life to the fullest, with the ones I love, the ones I care about." He nodded, a decision made. "Before ever thinking of doing something more."
The darkness considered his words. The void around him seemed to warm, to soften.
"HAHAHA." The laughter was deep, rich, genuine. "Correct. You are making the right choice." A pause. "Enjoy it, young mortal."
Jason smiled. "I will." He paused. "Take care."
He disappeared.
The void was empty again. The darkness returned to its stillness, its silence, its eternal patience. It did not flinch. It did not move. But a question lingered in the space where Jason had been.
Love. The word echoed through the nothingness. The darkness considered it, turned it over, examined it from every angle.
"I wonder what that feels like?"
The darkness settled back into itself, content in its silence, patient in its existence. It would wait. It would watch. And perhaps, someday, it would understand.
But for now, it was enough to simply be.
....
"Will we allow it?"
The question hung in the air, carrying the weight of divine authority. Michael stood at the edge of existence, his wings folded behind him, his eyes fixed on the mortal realm below. Beside him, an old man leaned on a cane, his face weathered by eternity, his eyes carrying the light of a billion suns.
The Presence. God. The one who had created it all.
"Me? Evil?" The old man chuckled softly, the sound warm and genuine. "Well, he is not wrong."
He turned to walk away, his cane tapping against the fabric of reality.
Michael's brow furrowed. He stepped forward, his voice urgent. "He is mistaken, my lord! He simply doesn't understand the rules of balance and the Source's power."
The Presence stopped. He turned back, a smile playing at his lips.
"Yes, the Source forces us to create balance." He tapped his cane against the ground, and reality rippled around them. "But we are that balance. Saying I am evil is not wrong." His eyes twinkled. "For I am the Presence. The God. The owner of this existence."
Michael opened his mouth to speak, but the Presence raised a hand.
"But he understood." The old man's voice softened. "He accepted his position quite graciously. I believe that one day, he will venture beyond the Source Wall and find himself a world where he could thrive. Where he could be better than us all." He laughed, the sound echoing across the void. "But for now..." He turned and began to walk again. "Let him enjoy his life."
Michael nodded slowly. He fell into step behind his father, his wings rustling softly.
"Yes, my lord."
...
On a certain nonexistent beach, a very handsome man with a literal devilish smile lounged in a chair, a glass of champagne in one hand and a newspaper in the other. He read the headlines with obvious amusement, his feet crossed at the ankle, his posture the picture of casual contentment.
"I really am the best," the man said to himself, taking a sip of his champagne. "Even a stray I picked up became a hero beyond me."
He laughed, the sound bright and genuine. He picked up a mirror, examining his reflection.
"Hey, Lucifer," he said to the mirror. "Why are you so amazing?"
He laughed at his own joke, then set the mirror down and continued to enjoy his retirement.
...
The door opened. Death looked up from her kitchen, her eyes finding Dream as he walked in. He moved to the table and sat down, his expression thoughtful, his fingers steepled in front of him.
"Did he say he had a reason to come?" Dream asked.
Death shrugged, her hands busy with a glass of something dark. "I have an idea." She paused. "But no. He didn't speak anything."
The door opened again.
An old man walked in, his steps slow and measured. He carried a book in his hands—a massive volume, its cover dark and ancient, its pages filled with writing that had never been read by mortal eyes.
Death looked at him, and her eyes went wide.
Destiny smiled.
He rarely smiled. His smile was reserved for moments of true significance, for events that would echo through eternity. And yet, he was smiling now.
Death and Dream exchanged a glance. Both of them understood what that smile meant.
Destiny held up the book. His voice was soft, awed.
"The book." He paused, letting the words sink in. "It has changed."
Dream's eyes went wide. His hands dropped to the table. "It has never changed."
"Never," Destiny confirmed. "It has never changed since the moment the first word was written." He looked at the book, his fingers tracing its cover. "Only because of that man." He looked up at Death. "Jason was it?" He smiled again. "He has truly changed existence."
Death's grin spread across her face.
"Expected of my Avatar," she said. "As expected."
....
The world had always known balance. Good and evil, light and dark, order and chaos—these were the eternal forces that shaped existence, that gave meaning to life, that made heroes and villains necessary. It was the way of things. It had always been the way of things.
But then the Lord of Chaos emerged.
Not the chaos of destruction, not the madness of the Frenzied Flame, but something else. Something new. A being who had stared into the void and emerged with understanding rather than despair. A being who had taken the throne of Hell and the throne of Earth and united them under a single banner.
Peace.
Total unification. An end to the eternal war between Heaven and Hell, between order and chaos, between the forces that had shaped existence since the beginning. It was something the angels had never allowed, something the upper echelons of creation had always prevented.
He did it anyway.
The world changed. Earth and Hell became one, not through conquest or domination, but through understanding. Through the recognition that balance did not require conflict, that peace did not require suffering, that the forces of existence could coexist without endless war.
It was a new age. An age of peace. An age that had never been seen in the history of the two worlds.
...
"Leon! Leon! Ugh..."
Diana's voice carried through the castle garden, a mixture of exasperation and barely contained frustration. She stood in the middle of the flower beds, her hands on her hips, her eyes scanning the sky.
Jason walked behind her, his hands in his pockets, a wide grin on his face. He watched his wife's frustration with obvious amusement.
"Oh, relax. He's probably just playing around." He laughed. "Cut him some slack."
Diana spun to face him, her eyes blazing. "What? Playing?" She gestured at the sky. "He's YOUR SON! One wrong move and he'll blow off the entire city!"
Jason laughed again, the sound warm and genuine. "So what? I'll fix it if he does."
Before Diana could respond, a figure fell from the sky. A boy, no older than ten, tumbled through the air, his body wrapped in a golden lasso that glowed with Amazonian power. A girl landed beside him, holding the other end of the lasso with practiced ease.
She beamed "Hello, Mother. Father. I've caught the criminal!"
Diana's eyes went wide. "WHAT!" Her voice rose. "Elizabeth Anderson Prince! Your Brother is NOT A CRIMINAL!"
Lizzie's face fell. Panic flickered across her features. She released the lasso immediately, the golden rope dissolving into light, and darted behind Jason, peeking out from behind his leg.
"Daddy!" she squeaked.
Jason laughed, reaching down to pat her head. "It's okay, Lizzie. You were just playing, right?"
The boy, Leon, pushed himself upright. He brushed the dirt from his clothes and floated into the air, an ankh glowing beneath his feet. He pointed at his sister, his voice indignant.
"Dad! Lizzie tied me up for no reason! I was merely training to be a better king than her!"
"Sheesh," Diana muttered, rubbing her temples. "You kids."
Jason smiled. He looked at his children...at Leon floating in the air, at Lizzie hiding behind his leg. He crouched down, bringing himself to their level.
"Listen up, you two." His voice was warm, but firm. "You are my eldest kids."
Both children opened their mouths to protest. Jason raised a hand.
"What did I say? You're twins. There is no 'older' kid of mine. You two both are." He looked from one to the other. "And you need to be an example for the others. Got it?"
"Yes, Dad," they said in unison.
Jason nodded. He looked at Lizzie first. "Lizzie, what did you want to be when you grow up?"
Lizzie's eyes lit up. "I want to be a hero! Just like Mom and Dad! I'll be called Trinity! Because I have the power of Amazonians, Cursed Energy, and Death! I'll save the world and be a great example!"
Jason smiled. He didn't have the heart to tell her that there was no need for heroes anymore. The world was peaceful. There was nothing left to save. But he wouldn't crush her dreams.
"Good." He turned to Leon. "And what about you?"
Leon puffed out his chest. "I want to be just like you, Dad! Leon Anderson, Ruler of the World! One who spreads peace all over and becomes a beacon of hope!"
Jason's smile widened. "Good! Good! Both of you!" He placed a hand on each of their shoulders. "And to do that, you can't be fighting each other, okay? If it wasn't for your mother, and all your other mothers, I wouldn't be who I am today."
He paused, letting the words sink in.
"The same will be true for you. Family. Friends. People you care about. They are the pillars to your greatness." He squeezed their shoulders gently. "So do not ever forget that. Got it?"
"Yes, Dad!" they said in unison.
They hugged him, their small arms wrapping around his neck. Then they ran off to play together, their laughter echoing across the garden.
Diana walked behind Jason, wrapping her arms around him from behind. She rested her chin on his shoulder.
"You've got a way with kids."
Jason smiled. "Only because their mother is a great teacher."
She kissed his cheek. He turned his head and captured her lips, slow and tender.
When they parted, Jason looked ahead. Across the garden, his children played. Beyond the walls of the castle, his world stretched out...united, peaceful, thriving. The demons he had once fought now served alongside the heroes he had once admired. Hell and Earth were one.
He smiled, content
The future was bright.
.......
(Author's Note: And that's the ending of Sukuna In DC. It is done. What a great journey. I enjoyed writing this story quite a bit, and I'm happy to see there were a lot of people supporting this even at the end. But unfortunately, everything comes to an end. I wish I could have gone on longer, but at some point, the story did reach a stagnation period of readers, and it had to come to an end. But I'm satisfied, as I wrote a conclusion that fit my vision of the story since day one of writing it.
To all the people that have read a chapter, or commented, or sent praise, or supported me through Patréon... Thank you so much, from the bottom of my heart. This may be the ending of one story, but two others are currently ongoing!
Fate/DC Universe: The Master and Shadow Monarch In Danmachi!
And... I'll announce it here first: Lord of Chaos is going to get a nice remake, a rewrite, because I know how much people loved that one, but I wasn't satisfied with how much I rushed it. So I'll remake it for the ones who loved it and like my work!
Anyways! Thank you all so much.
Until the next time!)