Luka waited at the door for Agni, a smug smirk on his face as she put on her crimson coat before stepping out. "What's that look on your face for?" She asked, tilting her head as she walked with him.
"Oh, nothin'. C'mon, we don't wanna miss the big King's assembly." He rolled his eyes before igniting his hand with a burning blue blaze and jabbing it into the space in front of him, tearing it open for him and Agni to get through. The scenery shifted into a grand hall with a dozens of tables with a white and green pattern. Green streamers decorated the ceiling across the entire hall. At the end of it all stood a glimmering throne that shone with the most precious of jewels. On it sat a white haired individual with rather casual clothing, black hoodie and grey jeans. Sunglasses remained perched on the bridge of his nose, doing well to hide his eyes which were a kaleidoscope of colours as a black crown rested atop his head. That was him. The King of the Multiverse.
Synapse.
He watched everyone with a lazy grin on his face, his cheek held in his palm as he lounged in his throne. Two knights stood by him, both wielding halberds and donning dark armour.
"What a hotshot…" Luka mumbled before nudging Agni. "C'mon, let's grab a seat." He began to lead his titan of lava woman friend over to an empty seat and table, sitting down and waiting for the speeches to begin.
"So… what d'ya think big King's gonna talk about?" Agni asked, making conversation while waiting for the event to begin.
"Hm? Not sure… probably something important." He tapped his fingers against the table, his eyes locked onto Synapse as the King began to rise from his seat. "Looks like we're about to find out…"
Synapse rose from his throne, tapping against a champagne glass that had just materialised in his hand. "Welcome! Welcome my loyal subjects! I'm so glad you all could make it tonight, it truly is an honour to host you all tonight. For the longest time in the history of the Multiverse, anomalies have always existed, individuals with half baked universes or none at all to call their own, and with anomalies came discrimination, with anomalies being chased out of universes they tried to take refuge in. Until today, you all had to deal with this discrimination, but now? I have come to you with a solution to eradicate this problem! And I've just the solution right here!"
A rift above the throne opened as a dark skinned woman stepped out, her hair black with locks of green in it. Her left eye was blocked out by a glitching patch of green and black. She wore a black robe with a green sweater beneath and a scarf around her neck. Her lips were turned up in a sinister grin as the word 'INSTANCE' flashed around her.
"Everyone? Meet Thalia! Custodian of Instance References!" The King's friendly smile slowly turned malicious. "And clearer of filthy anomalies like YOU."
Thalia laughed as she lashed out her arms, the green streamers and lines on the tables whipped like cords of destruction, ensnaring all the guests present. "Hah! Finally, I can get rid of you filthy, filthy anomalies, parasites that weren't meant to exist. All in one fell swoop."
She grinned with sadistic joy, tightening her strings' grip on them all until the majority of them dispersed into binary, gone forever.
"AGNI! AGNI HOLD ON, I… I CAN GET US OUT OF THIS!" Luka exclaimed, panic rising in his voice as he turned to the lava lady, seeing she's in the same predicament as him.
"Hah… nah, it's over for me… but not for you partner… do what you do best, sugah…" She smiled softly at him, her face laced with sorrow and fondness.
Thalia laughed before tugging on her strings and causing Agni to burst into binary like the rest. "Aww! How touching! A cute, false moment between two pathetic anomalies!"
"You… YOU.." Blue sparks burst around Luka, his gaze turning to Thalia. All he felt was fury, contempt… HATE. Hate for her. Hate for the one that killed his friend. "THIS WAS YOUR FAULT! YOU DID THIS!"
"Yeah… I did." She grinned, her face dripping with smug pride. "Don't worry, you won't be apart for TOO long." She began to tighten her strings around Luka.
"YOU'RE GONNA FUCKING DIE!" He shouted, his voice shaking the hall as he was engulfed in blue flames, incinerating her strings "YOU ARE A DEAD MAN!" Luka burst forward in a blaze of anger, his flames igniting everything around him as he reeled back his fist, powering a hook towards Thalia's face.
"Pfftt… don't make me laugh." She rolled her eyes before roundhouse kicking the blue blaze in the face in a blur of black and green, sending them back against a wall. "I'm gonna enjoy ridding Nirvana of your pitiful existence…" Green strings dropped down from the ceiling, snaking towards Luka before-
"Enough." The King of the Multiverse spoke, his voice ringing throughout the hall. He flicked his wrist as a rift opened under the crumpled Luka, sending them away.
"What the fuck?!" Thalia exclaimed, turning towards Synapse with a confused look on her face. "Why did you let him go?!"
"Our agreement was clear, Thalia. You kill all these anomalies for me, and accomplish your goal of getting rid of the parasites."
"Yeah! But you let that one go!"
"He's no anomaly. He is meant to exist like that." He turned to her, his gaze now hardened.
"...Fine." She opened her own rift, muttering curses under her breath as she left.
Synapse turned back to where Luka once was, smirking with interest. "I'll be watching you… Monster."
[End of Chapter]