The trio was falling… if concepts like up or down even existed in that parallel dimension. They eventually "touched" a ground that wasn't truly ground, but a fractured abstraction of the concept of ground—unstable, corroded by distortions of pain, suffering, and agony. It felt like walking on a dying idea.
Azrael: I think we've reached somewhere even more dangerous than before. —He observes the surroundings cautiously— This must be the core.
Null: You're right. —He flexes his joints as if waking from an overly long slumber— We might finally get out of this hell.
Nevaeh: It's time. —A fiery aura lifts around her body, and the divine axe Rita appears in her hand in response to her will— I'll fight with you both.
The three nod and advance with determination through the dimension, which seemed to twist with each step, reacting to their mere presence.
⸻
Meanwhile, outside all domains, there wasn't a void—there was Absolute Nothingness: total absence, a place where nothing exists and nothing can exist. Even the void itself was devoured until it ceased to be. And yet, there, in the middle of that perfect nothingness, stood someone whom even the absence could not touch, as if Nothingness feared disturbing him.
Alcanor: I know you're talking about me, Narrator. —He sighs with annoyance— Eons again, really?
Forgive me, Lord Alcanor…
Alcanor: Just go on already.
Sorry… —coughs—.
Alcanor meditated within that absence without being altered in the slightest. His physical body remained intact; it wasn't that the Nothingness couldn't affect him—it was that Alcanor was incomprehensible to it.
Then the absence… trembled. It cracked as if struck by an impossible idea, allowing someone to pass through.
Alanai: ALCANOOOR! —She shouts with such pure joy that it unravels the coherence of the place— I FINALLY FOUND YOU!
Alcanor: Great… and it took me so long to achieve peace. —He grabs the Narrator and sets him between himself and Alanai— What did you do this time?
Alanai: Nothing, I was just looking for you. —She kicks the Narrator into oblivion without a second thought— I missed you! —She hugs him so strongly that the concepts of hugging, effect, and distance collapse and reconstruct in an instant—.
Alcanor: —Completely unmoved— All right… enough. I didn't "die," if that's what you were thinking.
Alanai: —Laughs so hard that the entire absence cracks— What a joke, Alcanor! Thinking of your "death"… that's something fundamentally impossible. And calling it "fundamentally impossible" is still too little.
Alcanor: Was that explanation necessary?
Alanai: Would you like it longer?
Alcanor: No. That's fine. —He sighs—.
Alanai: You know… I understand why you sigh so much.
Alcanor: —Raises an eyebrow— Oh really?
Alanai: —Laughs— Because of your past as a human, right?
Alcanor stopped. Not out of emotion, but memory. A distant echo.
Alcanor: I see… so you already knew. —He smiles faintly— I kept the habit, that's all.
Alanai: When you were human, you sighed the same way. Becoming human was your own choice.
Alcanor: Exactly. —He looks at the absence still struggling to regenerate— I chose to live a human life, and I lived it.
Suddenly, a tremor shook everything. Not only the absence: concepts, ontologies, and everything above them.
Alanai: —Excited— Who could it be!?
Alcanor: Only three beings besides me can cause such an impact from that kind of "distance": Zareth-Kai… you, Alanai… and… —he sighs deeply— don't tell me that guy is back.
Alanai: —Laughs— You mean Aeter? The god we banished outside the laws of the Alliance? If you want, I can go destroy him myself.
Alcanor: Fine. I'll grant you permission this time… but do not destroy Zareth's domain.
Alanai: —Rolls her eyes— Yes, yes, I won't destroy her home.
Alcanor: —Covers his face with a hand— If you don't destroy her domain… I'll give you a hug. —He says it like it pains him— Understood?
Alanai: —Suddenly extremely motivated— Now you're speaking my language!
In a motion that shattered logic, ideas, and archetypes, Alanai vanished, as if she had never been there.
Alcanor: —Sighs again— All right. Continue the story.
⸻
In the parallel dimension of purgatory, the trio continued advancing through increasing distortions.
Azrael: This place gives me a bad feeling… I sense we could be attacked from anywhere.
Nevaeh: I feel an intention. Something is watching us.
Reality warped without warning. Space-time folded into itself, and one of the infinite layers of purgatory stretched and compressed, transforming into a colossal spear that shot toward Null. He managed to block it with his sword imbued with divine fire and light.
Null: What the hell—?!
The dimensional spear pierced through his defenses; it sought to erase him, not wound him. Null stepped back at the last instant, but the spear grazed his arm, and it began to disappear from the concept of existence itself.
Null: No, no, no… NO!
With a precise strike, he severed his arm before the erasure consumed his entire being.
Azrael: We're not facing an enemy. We're facing purgatory personified… and at the same time, the controller of purgatory.
Nevaeh: Then… we'll have to fight with everything we have.