Null Realm ~ Blacklight Eternity

[TheGOAT]

Trailing the onslaught was Astrid, who’d wasted no time following things up as she usually did. The world around her groaned and griped as the violence ahead formed a distinct crack in the barrier. An opening, finally!

She breathed life into ball after ball of white hot psionic energy, then clenched her paws and lifted off the ground. Weaving between blasts left her disabled momentarily, but when the slimmest window caught her eye, she sliced forward at breakneck speed, through the infernos, through the storm, and punched once, twice—

Inspired by Starr, Astrid’s Null Stored Power dealt 1119 damage to the Barrier!
Inspired by Brisa, Astrid’s Null Stored Power dealt 702 damage to the Barrier, destroying it!

Shattered it.

Even the darkness outside seemed bright as daylight when her momentum, briefly, took her inside the rapidly-disintegrating sphere, and she was able to catch a glimpse. But there was so little time to dwell.

“I… I am the Blacklight inside of you. It… isn’t yours to keep. S-sorry about that.”

“Oh, you wanted it back so badly? Here.”

Astrid’s Blacklight Z-Burst dealt 1248 damage to the creature within!

The blast sent her flying back towards the others. She slammed into the ground, no air in her lungs to breathe.

Z-burst’s signature adrenaline rush forced her to her feet almost right away despite the deep, strained breaths she was forced to take. But she stopped there, knowing it only hid the deeper exhaustion now firmly rooted to her. Unimaginable power coursed through her veins while the true limits of her situation began to sink in; would she even have the stamina to use it? Already the adrenaline was fading. The streaks of color across her midnight pelt were growing excited, or perhaps nervous, like particles of air in a pressurized chamber.

As for their opponent…

Diyem used Blinding Replica, Inspiring himself off of Astrid's attack!

Diyem used Abyssal Onslaught against the hazy creature, dealing a total of 4366 and 600 fixed damage!

A brief moment of hope! That was real damage, and from just one hit! A good startin—

The Eternal Blacklight overhealed to 150,000 HP!
The Eternal Blacklight gained +1 Valor!

Astrid gaped. Oh. Oh no, they’d not be able to win by simply punching it. They’d only win if…

Then her heart plummeted. No, no, the connection to Cibus was dying. It was fading with every passing thought—even her memories seemed to fizzle and grow bleary. That needle-thin string keeping them intact was being slowly ripped apart at the seams…!

“Nhhh… h-hey!” Throat hoarse and extremities burning with pain, she whipped her head around to Starr and Brisa and fell behind them, completing a triangular formation they’d long developed as second nature. “Keep striking no matter the rules it plays by! The only way we keep our connection to Cibus alive is if we don’t give up! Not an inch of ground, no matter the cost!”

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

"By all Creation," swore Brisa, the very breath robbed from her chest by the sight of their best efforts vanishing into insignificance. "That goddamn thing is fuckin' invincible."

There was no way they could defeat it, not with the data Owen was passing through on the telepathic network. It was... It was tactically impossible. They'd have to hit harder than they'd ever done before, all at once, with that oppressive dread weighing down every limb, physically weighing down their worthless bodies—

"N-no," came a weak voice, not her own, but so much like it Brisa wondered if she'd spoken. "It's not— it's not over."

Luz took her trembling fist and gribbed it with her own shaking paws. They floated together in the cloud of tangible despair, two specks, two nothings, two violations against the Eternal Truth. Cibus was gone, and soon enough it would be consumed. It, and the rest of all Creation.

"We ain't enough," whispered Brisa, her voice flickering with Blacklight. "We're gonna fuckin' die here."

"No."

"...What?"

Luz stared into her eyes, her own lightning-blue eyes filled with more terror than Brisa had ever seen in them, so much and so unlike Luz that it was alien, aberrant just to look at. How could they persevere if even Luz was scared shitless? Brisa's paws crackled uselessly with energy that if wielded to strike like goddamn lightning, would do – what? A thousandth of the damage needed to win? Less? Luz kept holding them.

"We keep fightin' no matter what," said Luz, her voice steady despite the fear. Brisa could feel it, a fear thick and dark and cold enough to blot out even the memory of hope. "We keep at it. D'you remember? What y'said to... to Kyurem. Brisa...?"

She remembered.

"We won't go away! We'll keep on fightin' no matter what! If the outcome's the same either way, we get t'choose how we reach that fate! An' if we're really doomed, I'd like t'see you fuckin' prove it."

Luz forced a trembling smile. "If it's gonna tear existence asunder, then we'll j-just have t'make this, this jackass work fer it, huh?"

Brisa half-laughed, half-sobbed, tiny little hacking noises from her frozen throat. "Yeah," she gasped through it, "yeah, okay. Go out all defiant-like. That sounds like us. That sounds okay."

She turned her head to her allies, her friends, her loves. She'd rather have them go out fighting than not, that was for damn sure. Who knew – maybe it'd make a damn bit of difference somehow. Whether it did or not, though... Brisa Escarpa didn't fight to lose.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv cried out in pain as the energy struck them, sending them flying back, the world growing around them. They crashed into the ground, and looked around, trying to assess how badly hurt the team was. Everyone was still standing...except...

Soda was gone, blasted by a Lunatic Cannon moments before the rest of the team was struck by that wave of energy.

They were already down one member...and it just kept regenerating. There seemed to be no end of this.

"We...we can..." they weakly said, trailing off, before another voice spoke up.

"Stay...stay strong! This isn't..the end!" Burhalla said, struggling to stand. A look of pure terror was on his face.

Was that really true? Was he just lying to himself?

No...he just had to keep believing.

He helped hoist Saltriv back to their feet as best he could, and with the two's combined efforts, Saltriv stood up again.

"We can still do this! Don't give up!" they rallied.

 

[Sudmensch]

Pain wracked Dill's body, he could feel himself shrink, and... he could feel Cibus slipping away...

"...n-no... no, no..." he just barely croaked out. This was hopeless, wasn't it? How were they supposed to defeat something like this...?

This was the thought he was ready to give up on, but then he thought for a moment. Everything they'd done leading up to this, his new lease on life, Saltriv... no, no, it couldn't end like this.

Gritting his razor teeth, the Feraligatr stood up, glaring the impossible foe down.

They'd find a way, they always did; at worst, he was going to go down fighting to the bitter end. He owed Cibus that much.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv laid a vine on Dill, managing a warm smile through the pain.

"It's going to be ok. No matter how bad things get, we always pull through!" Saltriv proclaimed. "And this time is no different!"

The connection lines between them and the rest of the team surged with energy.

"We just...need to keep on trying. Keep holding onto hope, and never letting go!"

They glanced at a few in particular. Brisa, still attacking despite everything. Starr, battling with her all alongside her. Vix and Shiron, their housemates and friends putting everything into their actions. Sword, still full of energy. And Dill, staying steadfast alongside themself.

Together, they'd all win this, no matter how impossible it seemed!

 

[Sudmensch]

Hope...

"...S-Sal? How about... agh, we go to the beach once we win this, watch the sunset together? We'll bring Shiron and Vix too, why not?" he asked, managing a crocodile smile.

 

[IFBench]

"Yeah. That...sounds amazing," Saltriv said, curling a vine around one of Dill's hands. "Something to look forward to!"

 

[Sudmensch]

"Yeah!" he nodded, that hope and determination within him swelling once more.

He had no idea how they'd go through with that, but if there was anything his time here was never short of, it was miracles.

 

[IFBench]

Watching the sun set back in Cibus with their partner, and some of their friends...it sounded fantastic, after all this.

On the note of Cibus...that connection with it was waning. If nothing was done about that...

Maybe...

"To everyone in Cibus...if you can hear us, don't stop believing in us! We'll win this! Don't give up hope, no matter what!" Saltriv called out into the void.

 

[Namohysip]

It was creating a vortex around all of this new and horrible Creation. Owen's spirit felt like it was being eroded away by that horrible miasma that he had to huddle back inside of the tree's ethereal bark, which was also peeling away from the oppressive force.

On the tree, he felt a light pressure of someone leaning against it.

"Hey, do you need any help--"

It was Cal, shaking, trembling and hugging herself with her golden ember eyes tiny like pinholes.

"Cal--"

"It's over," she whispered. "W-we tried but we walked into the domain of a fucking god, how do we stand up to that?! I..."

"Cal, focus. Snap out of--what's gotten into you!"

"We should have stayed in that storm. We'd still be together. We'd still be happy... The whole world was gonna be destroyed anyway... we should have..."

"Cal you--Cal. What's that in your...?"

She was holding something. It looked like a badge that was covered in something.

"Cal, what is that?"

"I wanted... I wanted to help. I th-thought I saw where Soda went when the blast landed, o-or something... Th-that he'd be okay. And I f-found his badge. Covered in... in..." Cal closed in on herself, whimpering, even as The Eternal Blacklight started its next volley. Beams of Blacklight were sweeping over the field, attacking indiscriminately.

"Cal, that's..." He swooped in closer. The Badge was covered in a strange dust that was sticky and reddish brown. The badge itself looked like it had been burned beyond repair.

"Soda's dead."

--

The portal in front of Destiny Tower was destabilizing. Arceus narrowed his eyes, focusing, while Cola drifted frantically around his wheel. "Are they winning?" Cola asked.

Maple stood next to Pop, creating and dispelling her blade out of restlessness. "Something's wrong," she stated. "I don't think they're doing as much as they can here. I felt... something horrible just now. When that shell broke..."

"I can't see them," Pop said. "I can't hear them, either."

Maple bit her lip. Then, something caught her attention. "...Someone's coming," she said, stepping forward. "It's--"

Something flew over her head and into the portal--a beam of energy that knocked away a shrieking entity. One of those strange apparitions made from the Eternal Blacklight's forces.

But after that one came several others, and Pop charged a Judgement to blow them all away.

"It's getting stronger," Dialga stated. "They're already encroaching into Cibus!"

"Everyone!" Pop shouted. "Prepare everything you have and be ready to fight back against its expansion! While the team battles within... we must hold the line!"

But Maple could still sense something else.

 

[Dragonfree]

Dave sat there, holding Mia, in the vortex of everything, and listened to his teammates prattling on about hope and faith and defiance, and Soda's dead, his heart pounding in his ears, nausea crawling in his throat.

Half a foot in the grave. He'd been run ragged just by a fucking Colosseum fight, hadn't he? He'd gone on about how old he was and that he'd be dead before long. Shouldn't have even bothered to come. Maybe then the cannon blast would just have vaporized fucking Bahamut. Didn't he have a whole thing about how he wanted to die and couldn't? Win-fucking-win.

"Stop squeezing me," Mia said, and he let her go and blazed into Shadows.

"It's just going to heal away the damage," she pointed out. "That's just going to make it go for you next. It's stupid."

"Mia, shut up," he said, voice shaking, and before she could keep talking he charged towards the Eternal Blacklight.

 

[Ambyssin]

It was too late to stop that idiot dog. Perhaps he'd luck out and not take the same blow that Soda did. A blow that would've gone for him. It would seem Bahamut had touched a nerve.

"... hmph. Eternal truth?" Bahamut tilted his head at the thing Dave charged toward. "Is this the part where you expect me to say that all life is suffering and that the only thing the omniverse deserves is a quick end?" His tail lashed at the air. "Then you're still a fool.

"Maybe things aren't balanced amongst the dimensions. Maybe some worlds flourish while others languish." There was... begrudging acknowledgement in Bahamut's voice. "But such is the state of nature. So long as there is life, there will be attempts to derive order from nature's chaos."

Bahamut stared stoically ahead. "If the choice is one between imbalance and nothingness... then those of us with nothing to lose must work to preserve that imbalance. And perhaps, down the road, nature will reward us for our work. But you are not natural. You do not belong. And so... you will be disposed of."

 

[Flyg0n]

'I'm sorry Koa. We can't... we can't do this. I'm not strong enough.'

Echo's voice cut through the haze in Koa's mind. He picked himself off the ground, swaying on his paws. His body ached and his limbs dragged. "Echo-"

The Crobat slowly glided down to land near Koa, head bowed. 'I'm not strong enough. Soda's dead. And... the truth is that thing is too strong.' His golden eyes flitted briefly in the direction of the Blacklight entity before resting on the ground, wings drooping. Despair and pain rolled off him in waves, mixed with a familiar doubt.

Soda was- Koa squeezed his eyes shut struggling to contain the tide of emotions swirling through him. Not... not someone else. Not again. Not him. "No-"

'Koa please. Stop fighting. Maybe I can protect you if we just... stop. Stop it all...'

His head felt heavy as he tried to raise it in defiance, his thoughts beginning to spiral even as he watched the rest of the team desperately try to rally themselves. The empty loomed above, larger than ever now with their powers gone. Too large. Too strong. And according to Owen, unstoppable.

'There's nothing we can do.'

His gaze drifted over to Xernatus, immobilized. Paralyzed by that thing and hearing those half-truths. His eyes narrowed and he felt a familiar, stubborn anger boiling inside him. Sparks flickered through his fur and the growl in his throat grew louder. "No. That's not the whole truth!" he roared. His voice carried across the field, directed at the Blacklight.

The despair from Echo, the hopelessness they were feeling, Cibus nothing but the faintest thread, Xernatus the body snatcher - They were all half truths. Warped, distorted and twisted. How many times had he been overcome, confessed fears to Brisa, felt the weight of his own hatred eating him alive? And how many times had he been proven wrong? How many times had he manged to claw his way out, to be stronger?

Hey Echo, don't you remember? Our fight against Roark? I gave up on you then. But you were the one who showed me what it meant to persevere, even in the face of defeat. You showed me what it meant to fight for something you believed in. A tenacious grin grew on Koa's face. The weight from earlier seemed to slide off his shoulders, and he stood tall, head raised and eyes blazing with defiance. You believed in me.

Koa set his eyes upon the Blacklight. He spoke, voice rippling, unafraid. And though he faced the creature, his words carried not to it, but to his team first, and especially to Xernatus. To someone who knew what it felt like to come from darkness, and step into the light. "The truth is that we have a choice! We can give into despair, to the darkness inside! We can choose to ignore it until we become empty shells! Or we can accept it and rise above. No matter what we are faced with there will always be choice. To choose how to live. Thats the truth."

He took a deep breath. He knew this might truly be their last stand. But that was ok. "And I choose to fight."

No matter what. Until the end.

 

[Negrek]

The Blacklight fight had been more or less what Nate expected. Lots of energy bullshit, weird atmosphere, some asshole ranting about how everything was darkness and misery forever, blah blah. Throw in some illusions like there were in the nightmare forest, sure, that was a little spicier, but it was all old hat now. Nate couldn't bring himself to be much more than pissed off that they had to go through all this old song and dance all over again. Diyem had better chuck them all back to their own worlds like immediately after all this shit was over.

Finally the evil eternatus' shield fell, and maybe now they could finally start punching the friendship into it in the usual way. Attacks flew from all sides, cutting through the strange haze and striking whatever lurked beyond. Then came the counterattack--crashing meteors, at least for a few seconds, until Bahamut rose to absorb the rest of the attack. Nothing out of the ordinary until a massive beam of energy cut through the battle, so powerful it lit up Nate's vision even with his eyes closed, prickling against his skin even though it wasn't close to being aimed at him. A huge explosion sent him flying, but at least in the weird half-nothing of this world it wasn't like he slammed into anything when he came down.

An awful sense of foreboding fell over everything, like the air itself had gone thin and stale; it felt like Nate struggled for every breath. Some of their protection had gotten taken out probably. "All right," he grunted, pulling himself into a defensive stance and squinting at the hazy figure above. "More of this bullshit."

"We have to leave!" Rocky yelled from behind him. The familiar was staring at the place where the huge beam had struck, eyes wide and fearful. "It's that attack, the one Soda used before! We can't fight it, we can't do anything against it. We have to run away and try again!"

"What?" Nate tried to think back to their battle on the moon. He didn't remember seeing something like that before. "It's fine. We just gotta take this thing out before it can use it again."

"No! We can't stop it. Nothing can stop it! Last time I thought we could get away, and then Vix died and Deoxys almost died and everybody was mad and now it's going to be even worse!"

Oh, that was what he was talking about? Shit. "We'll take it out before that thing can fire again," Nate said firmly. "Let's get back to the battle, huh?"

He turned to face the Blacklight monster, but Rocky grabbed his shoulder, trying to pull him back. Purpleish tears were streaming from his eyes. "We can't," he said miserably. "You said you didn't want me to get destroyed by the laser. I don't want you to die, either."

Nate paused and looked up at Rocky. Shit. This was really messing him up, and they didn't exactly have loads of time to deal with it. He put a hand on Rocky's arm while the familiar went on, "Last time I thought we'd be okay, but I was wrong and we should have stopped and learned more before we tried again. Now we know what we're dealing with, and it's really bad, so we have to go somewhere else and think and plan and then we can come back. We can't do anything against the laser if we don't think!"

"Go help out the Xernatus guy. Your deer brother or whatever," Nate said gently. "I'll deal with this."

"I can't! I can't do anything to help. We need to leave right away, while we still can. Please!"

"Sure you can help. Go let him know you got his back. Leave the fighting shit to me for now. It's gonna be okay."

"It's not. It's not going to be okay," Rocky said.

"Let me worry about it," Nate said again, giving Rocky a firm shove in Xernatus' direction. "Go on. You know I ain't keen on dying. I wouldn't be sticking around here if I thought we were all fucked."

Rocky gave him a miserable look, but he did let Nate go. He gave the marshtomp one last pleading look before starting off towards Xernatus, head down like he was going to his execution. Nate watched him leave grimly.

Hopefully giving Rocky something to do would snap him out of his funk. Nate sized the Blacklight monster up as much as he could--too much smoke and shit around it to really see what it looked like. Was it time to stand around and let the Blacklight thing walk all over them in the name of friendship or whatever? Nate felt like they probably hadn't punched it enough for that yet. So what was left? More punching, Nate supposed.

It sure felt stupid to be doing this in the face of all the Blacklight's malice and ludicrous attacks, but what the hell. A single measly hydro pump wasn't exactly going to do more.

Nate took a deep breath. Time to think... friendly.

"Blacklight!" he yelled. "Hey, Blacklight... thing! It ain't too late! You got a chance to make your own world. You can make it so people don't gotta be miserable and shit. You can choose! And all of us can help you!"

Nate used Radiant Misdirect!

Rocky slunk towards Xernatus, clutching his bag tight. He didn't want to be here anymore. He'd thought this fight was going to be fun.

But Marshtomp was right. Xernatus needed help. Rocky wiped his eyes and tried to stand up straight. "Are you okay?" he asked the xerneas-creature. Well, no, of course he wasn't okay. He couldn't move at all, could he? "It's all right," he said. "Everybody's going to fight, and we're going to win, just like always. You'll get unstuck, and when all this is over, you can stay with all the rest of us familiars on Cibus. I know you can't move, but can you help us out by believing in us? You can still fight, even if you can't attack!"

Rocky called out to Xernatus!

 

[Chibi Pika]

An oppressive haze hung over everyone. It was getting hard to move. Soda was gone. (He was gone. Not even a few days ago they'd been trading shittalk with him in the colosseum and now he was gone.)

"Ah, crap..." a voice behind Starr said. "We're gonna die here, aren't we?"

She turned to see Lexx frozen behind her, staring at nothing with a half-manic smile on his face. He laughed weakly, joylessly.

"Not in the mood for your games," Starr replied gruffly, trying to stave off the cold dread spreading through her chest.

"Yeah. That's me. Always joking around." He laughed again, more strained this time, and the sound made Starr's throat constrict tighter.

She forced herself to keep moving, but her legs felt like lead, and it was getting hard to see anyone. All the while that thing kept going on about 'the Eternal Truth.'

Why'd it always have to come back to truth? Starr didn't know what the hell her truth was supposed to be. She'd spent too long lying to herself to have some kind of answer to that. She couldn't just spout a bunch of inspirational words about hope or whatever the way the others could. All she could do was try to keep moving.

"All that stuff is the truth, and it's never going away. I know that. But... I don't want that to be all that I am. I'm sick of hurting people. I'm sick of being feared. So if that's my goddamn 'truth' then I don't want it. I'm not gonna lie and say that I never liked it, but I don't want it anymore!"

'Life is suffering.' Of course it fucking was. But that wasn't all it was. And after all the time Starr had spent convincing herself that she didn't deserve to feel good about herself, she was done with making herself suffer. What the hell had it ever accomplished? Nothing but pointless misery.

"I'm not gonna stand here and act like I know the meaning of life or whatever the hell. I just don't think shit's gotta be miserable just because nothing lasts forever."

Starr couldn't see Brisa or Astrid, but she could still feel their energy resonating with hers. They were still alive. She was still alive. So as long as she could feel them, she'd keep going, with nothing but the light of her blue flames to guide her.

 

[unrepentantAuthor]

The Blacklight's eternal despair permeated the aether, seeped into her body, crawled inside her mind. "Fuck you," she muttered, hardly able to get the words out. "Fuck . . . y-you... Augh..."

But she pulled her paw from Luz, and clenched it as hard as she could, though it trembled, and held mixed powers in her palm. Living lightning, Blacklight plasma, the resonating thrum of her bonds with those she loved. She'd come to believe that together, they could overcome anything. And so far... That had proved true. Hadn't they been through enough fights where they'd won by the skin of their teeth? Hadn't they pulled through enough times despite insurmountable odds? Hadn't they always found a way? The Eterna Storm, the Voidlands, the divinity-empowered Miracle Matters... None of it had stopped them.

And yet, her heart quailed against the objective impossibility of defeating this entity of . . . . of elemental anguish. She wasn't stupid. She wasn't crazy. It couldn't be done. But Brisa wasn't striking because she thought it would win them the fight. She was gonna fight for a reason besides victory. Goddamn good old-fashioned spite.

"Luz, go check on Eien," she growled. "I gotta concentrate."

Her familiar sped away at once. Elsewhere, the rest of the posse was rallying: feeble, pathetic efforts. They couldn't win. They were goddamn morons to try. And she loved them. They were the heart of the best year of her life, where her strength mattered, and her boldness was welcomed, and her battleheart celebrated. This palpable despair tasted like her worst nights alone back home, drinking herself half dead under a new moon, begging the stars for things to be other than as they were. It wasn't new. It was an old pain. One she'd scarcely felt for weeks, maybe months. A pain she'd let go of, like corruption in a purging Z-Burst, to make room in her heart for warmer feelings. A pain she'd learnt needn't last. A pain that did not take precedence over happiness.

Maybe Brisa fought so tirelessly because every time she did, she proved to herself that there was more to her existence than quiet, secret pain. When she fought alongside Astrid and Starr, she literally proved that she could love and be loved. Nearby, Starr's blue flames and Astrid's coruscating light were also ready. She couldn't even fucking see them, but she knew. The Blacklight believed there was nothing to life but hidden suffering, needing to come out, huh?

"It all must've felt true at the time. I wonder if . . . maybe it sometimes feels true other times. Maybe it even feels true now."

Well, Brisa knew what hidden suffering was. Her own: dying slowly in the belief that she could only be alone. Her friends, and the fears and anguishes inside them. Starr, and the pain that stopped her heart at the thought of the wrong she'd done. There was plenty hidden suffering in the world, sure enough.

"But it ain't all that's true."

There was more to it.

"It don't mean there ain't plenty good in you, or that it was the only thing that mattered."

There was more to them.

You're more than yer worst choices, Starr. You're also yer best. And yer best is brighter than you know. I promise."

And Brisa had treasured too much joy, joy that had come out of suffering, to believe this shit for more than a goddamn second. She'd told everyone that she never yielded. That battle was what she was born to do. That she lived to understand others through fighting.

Show it what's in yer heart.

Brisa screamed defiance as she lashed out with Radiant tethers and a strike that came right from her goddamn soul, meant for the soul inside all that misery, if it yet survived.

You can let go of pain.

---

Don't give up, Dark Matter. Do what that kid couldn't. Ain't he in you, now?

Don't give up.

Don't give up.

---

​

---

 

[IFBench]

Everyone was still fighting against this impossible foe. No matter the odds, they weren't giving up.

The Eternal Blacklight was holding onto this "Eternal Truth" a lot. And the others were starting to give their own truths.

Maybe they needed to give a truth of their own.

"My truth is that no matter how much something is suffering, no matter how much pain, there's nothing truly beyond saving! No matter who, or what, nothing is unsalvageable! That includes life itself, and it includes you, Eternal Blacklight!" Saltriv called out.

 

[Cresselia92]

“Oh, for the love of—!”

Icetales’ ears swiveled back, directed toward Petram’s voice. He looked back to see the Zoroark jam his claw into the badge, a furious snarl on his face.

“Yeah?! Well, guess what?! Screw you!” And he
sent a final message. A message that went nowhere.

“…Thou seem cross,” said Icetales, staring nervously as Petram. He had never seen that other fox so… frustrated.

Petram growled. “Oh? No kidding! How’d you reach this conclusion, Daddy?” he snapped back, his fists clenched and his body trembling. He gasped, realizing what he just said, and bit his lower lip. “Sorry. I didn’t meant to. I—”

Red light swirled inside his chest, and the Star of Hope a dim flicker. Then, he howled in despair and threw his paws to his face, his claws digging deep into his dark non-flesh. “Gaaah! Again! I’m feeling that again! Again! Again! I don’t wanna feel that again! I don’t wanna! It’s sick! I don’t wanna!”

“Petram?! By the heavens! What is the matter?”

But Petram had devolved into an incoherent rambling with his voice changing pitch constantly, and he didn’t register Icetales’ voice.

“I’m a terrible Beacon of Hope! What hope have I ever offered?!”

More random words of a traumatized fox. Feeling the fangs of hopelessness clutching his throat again, the sheer terror of a small fox who had to deal with a threatening beast…

A small Kyukon, a monstrous Keo’Keo.

Why was he feeling like that?

There have been countless nights he had been spent trying to comfort his father. Trying to help him through his nightmares and memories. He should be used to that level of grim thought invading his mind already.

And yet, there he was: trembling, breathing anxiously, his ears pinned to his head.

Why was he feeling those feelings again? Why? Why? They made him feel sick! Why? Stop them! No! No more! Please, stop them! Enough! No! Not again! Please!

…Help…

A clear chime, then something wrapped around his body. Something soft. Something windy. Slowly, Petram opened his eyes, to see Icetales hugging him tightly with his golden tails. The quasar swirled around them, muting slightly the noises of the battlefield around them. It was only the two of them inside that black hole.

“…It is all right, Petram. Thou art all right. We all will be all right.”

Velvety. Reassuring. Without fear. The voice of the noble fox felt like an unguent for his troubled mind.

“Thou art scared. That is a normal reaction. I am scared, too.”

“No, this… this isn’t normal.” Petram winced. “I can feel it. I…” He glanced at the Blacklight. “I think I’m feeling… the Blacklight’s despair…”

“Hmm… I reckon that seeing horrors for so long does that to anyone’s psyche: deteriorated beyond recognition if left unchecked for too long.” Icetales smirked, a pained expression on his face. “Golly! I had my fair share of invasive thoughts as well. But… those are what they are: thoughts. Not facts, not truths. Just… feelings.”

There was a ding, then the sweet scent of minty tea reached Petram’s nostrils. A cup of freshly spawned tea was in one of Icetales’ tails, and he offered it to his son.

“Take this. It shall help soothe thy mind.” Once the Zoroark grabbed the tea and started sipping it, Icetales continued. “Now, thou try to relax and take thy time to repel those foul thoughts. I shall cover our team’s back.”

The tails unwrapped from Petram, and Icetales turned to the Blacklight. Eyes narrowed, cosmic winds swirling, quasar buzzing. Then, he strode toward the titanic entity, while barriers of auroras flickered around the area.

“…I know how it feels like, to be in eternal pain and with a bleak sight of the world around thee. Madness. Despair. Agony. Yes. I used to think like that, as a pup.”

Those words weren’t aimed at anyone else but the Blacklight itself.

“Allow us to open thy eyes, however, and to show thee that this so called Eternal Truth… it is nothing more a lie crafted by thy own mind. Allow us… to help thee rediscover hope.”

 

[Namohysip]

Team Spectrum is revealing their Eternal Truths!

Mellow Unleashed and rallied Saltriv, Owen, and Bahamut! She won’t give up!
Saltriv’s Connection Call rallied Brisa, Vix, and Mellow! Brisa gained Helping Hand for the turn! They won’t give up!
Bahamut’s Void Phantasm soothed Starr and chained into Morning Sun! Vix, Brisa, and Mellow had their HP and stamina restored! He won’t give up!
Owen used Umbral Storage and stored two more Stored Powers… he won’t give up!
Icetales used Aurora Veil!
Icetales used Teatime on Brisa! He won’t give up!
Vix gave Starr, Brisa, and Owen an Umbral Ire charge for later! She won’t give up!

Dave’s Eternal Truth Void Desperation dealt 911 damage to the Eternal Blacklight! He won’t give up!
Blacklight Titan is revving up Brisa and Starr…
Brisa’s Eternal Truth Titanic Bolt Strike dealt 709 damage to the Eternal Blacklight! She won’t give up!
Starr’s Eternal Truth Titanic Blue Flare dealt 227 damage to the Eternal Blacklight! She won’t give up!
Astrid was Inspired by Brisa and Starr’s Eternal Truths!
Astrid’s Eternal Truth Ice Burn dealt 303 damage to the Eternal Blacklight!
Astrid’s Eternal Truth Freeze Shock dealt 593 damage to the Eternal Blacklight! She won’t give up!

"Everyone... refusing to stop. Spite? Stubbornness? Hah..." Diyem crouched down, smirking, staring the hazy beast down. They still couldn't see it. Not that he cared. Even against an unknown foe, when had they ever given up?

Perhaps he finally understood an echo of what they felt.

Shadows leaked from his mouth. "This is only beginning, demon. Let me know you how I truly fight..."

His body tore itself apart as Diyem's true, horrible form emerged from its shell.

Diyem used Abyssal God!

"Just a bit more," Eien said with a slow sigh. "Just a little more and I can do this... I need more power. Just a little more... Sorry, everyone. I'm almost there!"

Eien used Eterna Stockpile, gaining another Valor!

Xernatus heard Koa's shouts. "I... r-right. I need... to..." He was entranced, distracted, terrified, allured. So many emotions that he didn't know how to comprehend. But Koa's voice pierced through it all and he nodded. "I won't let this stop me, either!"

Xernatus Focused, and is no longer stunned!

"Fuck you, what, despair? Healing?! THAT JUST MEANS I CAN SLICE YOU MORE!"

Sword used Darkwhite Defiance into Behemoth Blade, dealing a CRITICAL 272 damage!
Sword has counter-striking ready!

"It... doesn't mean much, does it?" Owen whispered aloud. "Urgh... K-keep fighting. We need to endure! We... need to..."

The atmosphere was becoming even more oppressive. It felt practically like they couldn't breathe at all...

The Eternal Blacklight used Blacklight Apocrypha on the South zone! The first hit destroyed barriers, the second hit exhausted Evasion, and the third hit is Critical!
Astrid Protected by Mellow, who took double damage!
Bahamut: Protect, dodge, and then a crit-resisted 62!
Brisa: Protect, dodge, and then a CRITICAL 1184! KO!
Dave: Protect, dodge, and then a crit-resisted 273!
Icetales: Protect, dodge, and then a crit-resisted 118!
Mellow: A full, double, Guardianed hit for a total of 1759 damage, but Mellow's Second Chance let her endure!
Owen: 352!
Saltriv: Protect, and then two hits (crit-resisted) for 286!
Starr: Protect, dodge, and then a crit-resisted 395!
Vix: One and a half hits for 408, and then a CRITICAL 885! KO!
Diyem: Two and a half hits for 97!
Eien: One and a half hits for 135!
Xernatus: Three hits for 1093!
Sword: One hit for 318, then another for a CRITICAL 647, KO!

Mellow, Owen, Saltriv, and Xernatus are Staggered!

The Eternal Blacklight used Eternal Blacklight Restoration! The Shadow, Light, Eterna, Divine, and Living Powers reignited in their original zones, grasped by the Eternal Blacklight's limbs! Each one reduces damage to the Eternal Blacklight by 20%!

Strange apparitions have appeared... Blacklight Puppets fill the atmosphere, readying a strange attack! Reduce their HP to 0 to stagger them!

Those who were KOed rose again! Sword's Resolve is gone!

"That... was a bad one. B-but not impossible to survive... I think." Owen checked his surroundings. Yes, it looked like they'd all survived, some better than others. They had to keep pressing on. Defiantly, to the very last...

And then, they lights got brighter. The five powers channeled into the thing's limbs and toward... maybe its head. And then, the light. The light came back, the light they knew...

"Guess we won't be too far behind Soda, huh?" Cal asked morosely. "I'm... sorry, Dad. For, I dunno... Everything..."

Owen gritted his teeth, squeezing his eyes shut. Even if there was a chance... he would endure. "Don't give up yet, Cal..."

Cal's ectoplasm rippled and she looked up, staring at the light directly. She pressed herself against the tree. "I love you," she whispered.

"I love you, too," Owen whispered back. "Let's say it again when we return."

The Eternal Blacklight aimed its Lunatic Cannon...

Something bothered Owen. He wasn't sure why at first, but as that great light charged, despite all of their efforts to attack... something. There was a tiny, tiny buzzing in the back of his mind, like a word on the wind from someone familiar, telling him to do something.

He decided to send word to the others.

Everyone... stay put.

You're insane.

I... it's a feeling. My Perceive is telling me... to stay put. Right where I am.

 

[IFBench]

Saltriv looked up, towards the light. A Lunatic Cannon, just like the one that took out Vix back before the moon fight. Just like the one that...killed Soda.

And now it was aimed at the whole team.

Yet...Owen seemed to have a plan. Just...staying put.

And so, Saltriv stood up, a determined glint still in their eyes. "Don't give up yet!"

"You're lying to yourselves. It's...it's over," Burhalla said, before starting to fall. Before he hit the ground, though, a vine wrapped around him, standing him back up.

"You said it yourself! This isn't the end!" Saltriv retorted. They laid another vine on Dill, curling around a claw.

They'd see that sunset together yet.

Together, Saltriv and Burhalla faced the light.