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Story: A Dark Future
By: Zorbak the Ebil Moglin Date: August 19, 2019, 5:17 pm
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(Story: "A Dark Future")
Theme: Indomitable Fighting Spirit (
HTML https://youtu.be/F-kznZJLXr4?list=PL-n9waVNY2EBbkL_2LDFqdmR8e6DkQ-rp<br
/>)
Father Hei, though he'd been still at Special Forces,
unconscious, was training hard in the Spirit Realm after an
ascended being came to him to train him for what he'd face
against his brother, Raiden Kindron, who had reached Alteran
ascension. Though Father Hei couldn't ascend himself, he had
trained heavily in other aspects so that he could take on his
brother when the time came for their final battle. Father Hei
had even undergone a special spiritual enlightening that had
granted him a cosmic awareness of the universe (which would only
work in whatever universe he was in at any time). After being
granted a new name "Spirit of Light" as his new title through
the spirit realm, he had gone on to train with the spirits
there. His appearance in the physical world had even changed
slightly from his traning as he looked like he had aged
slightly, confusing the doctors who were watching him as they
still didn't know what had become of Father Hei after he had
failed to regain consciousness.
During what was a normal rest day, Father Hei had a strange
vision, but not one where he just saw the vision, but his spirit
was pulled into the vision, something he'd never experienced
before. As he was pulled into the vision, he woke up in what
seemed like familiar territory, as he recognized the American
Special Forces building.
The problem though, was that it looked it had a lot of battle
scars and was worn down from time. Of course, that was what
little he could see past the plants that had overcome most of
the city, as most of the buildings around him had either
crumbled or were worn to the point that most of them had little
substance left and weren't standing more than one story tall.
As Father Hei looks around, he was stunned at what he saw. He
runs into the building, checking to see if anyone was inside, or
for any signs of life from either people or even the computers.
Father Hei quickly realized there was no electricity, and that
everything was covered in plants, as though it had been
abandoned for a long time. In a bit of a panic, he runs outside,
and flies into the air, trying to see anything he could from the
sky, but not seeing any signs of life. He hadn't even seen any
dead bodies which was starting to make him wonder if everyone
was somewhere else since Special Forces was fairly good at
evacuating people out of danger when times got tough. Starting
to panic, he teleports to Russian Special Forces, hoping they
were there instead.
As he arrives, he notices the same situation: The whole town
looked like it had seen a heavy battle, with the buildings worn
down and covered in plants. He walks into the base, but, again,
any clues that might be present looked like they'd be lost to
time as he walks through, then walks back out.
Father Hei: Where do I go next then? He asks himself, but also
looks at the spirits hoping they'd respond. He could sense
spirits around him, but they felt different, almost empty as
they flew around and did their own thing. He figured he wouldn't
get any advice from them as they ignored Hei, even flying
through him as though he wasn't even there.
Father Hei teleports to Olympus, which he knew was a dangerous
move, but he had no choice, even if it meant seeing his father.
But as he teleports in, it was the same thing too. Even though
Olympus hadn't worn down like the last two cities due to being a
godly built location, it was still covered in plants and looked
to be long abandoned. He ran to the Throne room, and hoped to at
least see his father there, even if only to just ask someone
what was happening, but no one was present there either.
Father Hei starts to breathe heavily, starting to panic to
himself. He knew this wasn't the real world, because he knew
everyone was still there, but he had no idea how he'd been
pulled to this world, and if no one could tell him how he got
here, he was starting to wonder if he'd ever be able to get
home, especially after hearing about those like Zoe that had
been drawn to other worlds and been stuck there (at least for
the time being).
In a panicked state, he starts teleporting to every city he knew
of, searching for people. As he did, every city told the same
story, most showed signs of struggle with time having worn down
the cities. Some had even been leveled completely, barely even
noticable under the plants that had grown over with some even
now being forests. He teleports frantically, trying to find
someone, anyone, and even starts teleporting through pantheons.
He first tried the Norse Pantheon, hoping that Odin would be
there. Though he didn't know Odin or the Norse gods that well,
his world's Odin was usually a pretty good ally of him and his
brother since they tended to favor peace over war unlike their
father who was constantly trying to destroy the Norse Pantheon.
However, when he arrived, he noticed it was just like the other
places he'd visited. The place had mostly been eaten away by
time. He even tried the Japanese Pantheon, hoping to find
someone like Raiden or Fujin (who he didn't know in this world,
but had met his world's versions), but it ended up being the
same thing.
Other pantheons were the same, with places like Heaven and
Falias just being abandoned, with no sign of life, though plants
weren't able to grow over everything since they were different
realms. However, Father Hei had noticed that Heaven was also
devoid of souls, and noticed the gates of Heaven were wide open,
which was unusual considering they should be shut after
incidents in the past where the only way to Heaven after the
doors were shut were essentally "back doors". The doors appeared
like they were just left open after everyone left, and no one
bothered to close the door.
At this point, Father Hei would have been happy just seeing one
person as he tries to frantically teleport from city to city.
However, no matter where he went, the story was the same. There
was not even any sign of any moglins anywhere in the world,
which he knew how to track down due to his spirit training for
any help he might need, since Moglins were close to their
relative spirits (IE forest moglins were close to elemental
nature life spirits), and he couldn't find any living beings at
all.
Eventually, Father Hei stops after having teleported around the
world for around 5 hours, and falls to his knees in despair, not
having found a single person, alive or dead and unable to sense
anyone, even in the afterlives thanks to his connection to the
spirit realm. Father Hei: Where is everyone? How did everyone
just disappear?! Where the hell am I?! He says in desperation.
Though it was rare for him, he was actually starting to feel
afraid, starting to wonder how long he'd have to traverse this
landscape, with cities but no people, to keep him from
eventually going insane from loneliness.
As he stops for a bit while sitting on his knees, mostly because
he had no idea what to do next, a small wrinkled white rabbit
teleports to him, and then grabs his pant leg as he pants
heavily, hunching over as he catches his breath. Rabbit: Don't
teleport around so much! You know how hard it was to catch up to
you?! He says as he pants.
Father Hei looks over at the white rabbit, curious, noticing it
was some kind of dark spirit. Father Hei doesn't move currently,
but looks suspiciously at the rabbit. Father Hei: Who are you?
What is going on?
Rabbit: Oh... That's right... You haven't met me yet, have you?
He says with a slight sad smile. My name is Vobu. I'm a dark
voodoo god... Or was... He says as he sits down, falling down as
he sat due to lack of strength. Father Hei sits down as well,
looking at Vobu. Father Hei noticed how weak the white rabbit
looked, and the wrinkled form that showed just how drained of
power this dark spirit was. It was no wonder to him that Vobu
had so much trouble trying to teleport around as much as Father
Hei had teleported from town to town for the last 5 hours.
Father Hei: What happened? Where am I? This is Earth right?
Vobu: It is... From what I can tell... You were thrust about
204-ish years into your future by your standards of time. This
is the world of the future...
Father Hei: How do you know what time I came from?
Vobu: That's simple... He says with a smile. You see, I'm
disconnected from the time stream in a way that, if someone time
travels, my memories flood with the timeline the person's from,
so I know not only that someone time traveled, I have all the
memories of my other self. For me, when I sensed those memories,
I knew someone else had to be here, which is why I tracked you
down... Or tried...
Father Hei: I see... So the next question then. Where is
everyone?
Vobu: Everyone's dead... I'm the last inhabitant of this world.
Or at least... The last intelligent being. Animals and plants
rule the world now. Humanity, and all the supernaturals, like
vampires, werewolves and the like have all gone extinct... He
says sadly, looking around.
Father Hei: That's... impossible. Where's all the bodies if
everyone's dead?!
Vobu: Oh... That... Yeah... My Jikininki spirits are responsible
for that... You see, the Jikininki eat corpses. This world has
been like this for close to 200 years. The Jikininki finished
off the last corpse in this world almost 80 years ago. The ones
that still have strength have moved on to other worlds, not
wanting to stay here to have to feed on just animal corpses.
Father Hei: What about you? Why haven't you moved on?
Vobu: I can't... I didn't have enough power when everyone else
left so I couldn't go. I can't replenish my power completely,
and no one is left to help teleport me to another world. He
chuckles to himself. I guess this is my punishment. I wanted to
turn this world into a buffet for supernatural creatures. Use
humans like cattle. Now the only food I can eat are animals...
And it's just enough to make sure I don't fade away
completely... As much as I want to. He says with a sigh.
Father Hei: Why can't you fade away?
Vobu: Well... When I tried, I either lost it due to hunger and
tried to eat spirits, which kicks me from the spirit realm due
it being a spirit crime to eat spirits on the spirit plane, or
the spirits that were still strong kicked me back here because
I'm a dark spirit god. No humans or supernaturals means no real
souls or blood to eat. Animals just don't bring my power up, and
I don't have the strength anymore to grab those spirits flying
around. Even binge eating wasn't enough to restore my power. I
can barely teleport from one place to another on this world. I
can't even attempt to teleport to other worlds.
Father Hei: So... Who did this? Who slaughtered our world?
Vobu: Well... That's difficult... He says, remembering the past.
We all did. But if you want to know the root cause... it
happened when you and your brother killed the Ellimist.
Father Hei: We did? That explains why he didn't show up... He's
usually the first one to appear in situations like this. He says
in surprise.
Vobu: Yes... That's why he isn't here. He's dead. Crayak too. It
was the day those two died that was the main cause of what you
see here. He says as he looks at the buildings.
Father Hei: My brother... You said he and I worked together?
Vobu: Indeed... In your time, your brother is currently evil,
but he turns good again thanks to your half-sister, V... He
rejoined your side, and helped you take out other threats to the
world. There were a lot of impressive battles... V and Vin
killing your father after fusing using Potara earrings, my rival
Danae and her boyfriend died killing Lucifer and Satan, the
pirates all banding together to kill your universe's version of
Blackbeard, and there was Alucard and Daniel Darkfire who stood
up against Dracula for years before they were eventually killed
by him and Onaga.
Father Hei: Dracula? Isn't he... He says, which makes Vobu stop
for a moment.
Vobu: Dead? Yes. He was reincarnated in your time as Soma Cruz.
Or at least... has Soma's original body. But he became a major
threat to the world after building his forces similar to me.
That's just what we called him because we didn't like calling
him something cool like "Dark Lord" Soma. Sometimes we called
him "New Dracula" just to tick him off. He says jokingly.
Father Hei: I don't get it... How did killing Ellimist and
Crayak cause us all to die?
Vobu: It didn't... It was what came next that killed everyone...
You see... The reason you and your brother killed the Ellimist
was because Anubis was going to kill Crayak. You three were the
only ones with the special weapons to do it and you had to kill
them both at around the same time for it to work. However, you
had to also replace both powers. Or else balance would break.
Father Hei: Let me guess... Anubis became the embodiment of
evil?
Vobu: Indeed... And before you could become the embodiment of
the Ellimist's good, Anubis appeared with Crayak's power and
forced you back to the real world from the realm you were in
where the Ellimist and Crayak usually reside when not in the
real world... He prevented anyone from taking the Ellimist's
place, so there was no embodiment of the force of good.
Father Hei: Why? Isn't he supposed to be a god of justice? He
says, remembering what he'd heard about Anubis bringing justice
to the world.
Vobu: Chuckles a bit. He got you with that "Justice" bit huh?
Nope... He didn't care about any justice other than his own, and
he let his followers take their justice to keep them on his
side. He looks down. Without a universal force for good... The
universe went crazy. 90% of people turned evil without any force
to compel them to do good. Only people like you remained true to
your beliefs. Of course... It was probably also the power
swaying him to evil that turned him evil in the first place
because the evil in the power was just too strong for any normal
being to resist.
Father Hei: What about my brother? You said he joined our side?
And V?
Vobu: Your brother died that day... He sacrificed his life so
that you could escape and get another chance to take the place
of the Ellimist. However... at that point it was too late. The
damage was done once you were forced to retreat.
Father Hei: So... He was killed by Anubis...
Vobu: He was... It wasn't a good day for anyone. The gods went
to war not long after the balance fell apart, driven by evil
intentions: taking over, just killing for fun, or even some that
wanted to just remove people they saw as threats. Even I got
dragged into it. Me, Zeus, Michael, Dracula, and even Onaga
tried to take over the world alongside all the deities. I just
wanted my hunger filled... But after the pantheons started
fighting each other after giving in to evil, things... fell to
pieces. Entire cities were getting caught in battles, and you
and your friends just couldn't keep up. You tried to save
people, but you just couldn't save everyone once the entire
world started fighting each other.
Father Hei: So what happened to them? To my friends? He asks
curiously.
Vobu: Well... He says with a sigh as he recalls some of the
battles. After the war happened, V and Vin took out your father,
and regained Olympus... Nightbane and V almost managed to get
the Greek Pantheon organized enough to protect itself as a safe
haven, and Nightbane was even clever enough to try and use the
evil in people at that point once they figured out what happened
to turn them all on Anubis so that they would all attack him and
hopefully they could use the distraction.
Father Hei: I guess it didn't go well?
Vobu: No... Anubis figured out what they were trying to do
almost immediately. He looks up at Father Hei. You died trying
to fight Anubis when he stopped you from taking the Ellimist's
power, the point of the distraction so you guys could rebalance
good and evil. It was your last hope to save the world and try
to rebalance good and evil. He managed to kill you, even though
I tried to save you from him... But my power was dwindling due
to a very limited food supply. He says with a sign, holding up
his arm to show how wrinkled he was, visible even with his fur.
Father Hei: I just had a thought... If there's no force of good,
why am I not affected? Or you? And why was V and the others able
to fight the evil you said took over everyone?
Vobu: Well... While there was no force of good... There was
still good in people... But the power of evil was just stronger
and pushed mostly everyone to commit evil. Only the most
strong-willed people managed to stay themselves despite the evil
they were tempted to do. Nightbane and V were shining examples
of resisting evil, even though they had no force to draw on to
resist it. They just had their own willpower. Vin, you,
Nightbane, you all had the will to do good, even without that
force driving you, so you weren't really affected other than
being more tempted to be evil. And as for you specifically... He
studies Father Hei for a moment. You're not fully here. You're
here... But this is more of your spirit traveling so you're not
affected because you're physical presence isn't here. It's just
your consciousness that's traveling which is still drawing from
the forces of good of your time.
Father Hei: I see... What about you?
Vobu looks down sadly, silent for a moment. Vobu: I was
affected... I still am... Every part of me wants to eat you
right now... But... At the same time, I don't want to kill you
because that means I'd be alone again. I've been alone for over
150 years after the last spirit left and I've had time to
control my own evil intentions... Something I wish I could have
done sooner.
Father Hei: Did you have friends? Family?
Vobu: I did... Yes. He looks up at the sky, as tears started to
form in his eyes. I didn't think of them like that... I thought
they were just servants. I played the friendly deity, but I
wasn't truly connected to those that served me... I didn't
realize the true emptiness I was feeling until it was too late.
He says sadly. It's true I was cursed for committing evil... but
the thing that powered my bottomless hunger wasn't my curse...
it was that loneliness I felt. I was so used to everyone
betraying me that I didn't think anyone would stay with me
forever. I think that's why my human form was so cold to people,
because it didn't hold back on making my true feelings known. I
didn't realize what I had with the Tribe of Vobu. They were the
only family that stuck by me till the end... All of them laid
down their lives for me. It was like reliving that day I lost my
friend in the dragon egg times a thousand... He says, trying not
to cry. It was hard for Father Hei himself not to tear up at his
story, which was made even harder by Vobu's child-like voice,
which now Father Hei had realized what the sadness was that he
had heard in his voice. Father Hei realized that the sadness in
his voice wasn't everyone dying like he thought, but rather the
fact that he had lost everyone close to him, and now had no one
to even attempt to befriend anymore.
Under any other circumstance, what Father Hei did next would not
have been a good idea, but he did it anyway. He picked up Vobu
and hugged him, not even able to imagine what Vobu must have
suffered. Normally, Vobu would try to eat someone when they hug
him, because it was a good way to get close enough to bite out
someone's neck, but in this case, Vobu doesn't resist, and hugs
Father Hei back for a moment, unable to hold back his tears. It
said a lot to those that knew Vobu that he refrained from eating
someone. It took a few minutes, but Vobu finally calmed down,
and Father Hei eventually set him down.
Father Hei: The loneliness I felt back in my days living as an
assassin is nothing compared to what you've been through... I
can't imagine living alone for so long witout a single person to
converse with.
Vobu sniffles, trying to recollect himself. Vobu: I'm sorry...
Depressing I know... He says as tries to go back to explaining
everything that happened. Vobu: Anyway... Your friends all
fought the threats of the world... Mostly... Some of them went
mad, like some of the Special Forces people. I don't know them
all, but a few of the stronger ones, like the Hazeldine went
evil because of the balance shift. I do remember V and Vin
pretty clearly... They led a group that fought against Anubis.
It was the last attempt that anyone made to try and get the
Ellimist's power to rebalance what was left of the world... It
was a massive war. Special Forces vs Dark Lord Ruairi and the
Howlers while you and Anubis fought each other... It wasn't a
fun fight. Special Forces was decimated by the Howlers. You know
how tough those things are...
Father Hei: Don't I ever... He says with a sigh, as just one of
them had nearly killed him and his brother in their past. Even
though they'd gotten stronger, so had the Howlers. He could only
imagine how strong the Howlers would be with Anubis's
enhancement ability he uses on those that serve him.
Vobu: Well... Anubis killed V and Vin, even with their powerful
fusion. They even had the backup of what was left of the
angels... Erena, Gabriel, even Muriel... And... He thinks for a
moment. Who was that girl that was the reincarnation of Sariel
again? Damn... Her name is on the tip of my tongue... He thinks
for a moment then gets back to the story. Sorry... I don't
remember her name. But even they were no match for him.
Father Hei: I'm going to feel stupid for asking this... But what
about Alternate Michael? Didn't he help them? I know he probably
doesn't like them, but from what I saw of him the last time I
saw him, he seemed like this would be something he'd be trying
to avoid since he hates evil. Isn't that why he tried to remove
Hell from his world?
Vobu: He did... At first. He actually joined the other angels
after the balance shift because he knew something big was wrong
that would threaten all life, including the angels. But... When
things got too tough, and he realized that evil wasn't gonna be
stopped, he took his people and retreated back to his own world.
His only other option was to do to our world what he did to his
world by nuking it... Which wouldn't have solved anything. He
knew it was a losing fight so he just ran away and decided to
take his chances fighting Hell again in his world.
Father Hei: Damn coward... He says angrily.
Vobu: Honestly... If I'd have known what was coming, I'd have
left too... Knowing this fate, I'd take running over to another
world than being stuck in a lonely world with no one. He says,
not caring what Father Hei thought of what he said.
Father Hei: I guess I can't blame you... He says with a sigh. He
didn't want to agree, but he also couldn't deny that Vobu had
suffered a fate worse than death by being stuck on Earth.
Vobu: The final battles were mostly just me, Onaga, and Dracula
fighting over what was left as Anubis mostly just watched evil
flourish. I just wanted food, Onaga wanted to enslave the
world, and Dracula just wanted to kill off humanity, even though
he said he wanted to turn humanity into a farm, similar to what
I wanted to do. But I knew something was off when he wouldn't
join my efforts to take over the world. But I suspect that he
started out wanting to turn humanity into a farm, but something
eventually changed his mind. Humanity was almost completely
extinct at that point anyway... Supernaturals were slightly
higher in numbers, but they were so desperate and running out of
food they started eating each other. Vampires and werewolves
quickly ran out of food, and humanity eventually died off from
the supernatural creatures' hunger as they ate the last of them.
Even the human form dragons and other dragons were all killed
off.
Father Hei: Who won the war then? Someone had to have been left
right?
Vobu: No one did... We all kept fighting until there was nothing
left. Onaga is still alive, but he went off to another world
with what was left of his dragon zombie army after all the
living dragons eventually were killed off, and he's the last
living dragon. Dracula was killed by Onaga after Dracula felt he
had "completed" his purpose... The supernaturals that ate people
all died out after they ran out of food and eventually ran out
of people and things to eat... The last vampire... He literally
ate himself to death after realizing he had no food left. He
says as he looks down sadly. He was a friend of mine... I
watched him go mad from hunger and then he ate himself in
desperation. I suppose if anyone won... It was Dracula. He
destroyed humanity like he wanted to do, whether it was his
original goal or not... He says with a sigh.
Father Hei: So... Anubis is still somewhere I assume? Where is
he?
Vobu: Well... After he succeeded in turning this world evil and
getting "justice" for his people, he opened up the demon realm,
and most of the universe was exposed to it's evil energies...
This world is safe because the spirits sacrificed most of their
power to protect it at the time since there were still people
left at that point... But these days, the fact there's no
intelligence here means the evil temptations doesn't really
effect a world that has no intelligent life. No life means
nothing to tempt with evil. He says as he looks up, looking at
the spirits.
Father Hei notices Vobu looking at the spirits, and decides to
ask something else that had been on his mind since he arrived.
Father Hei: Why do the spirits look so... strange? He says as he
looks at them. They'd be invisible to almost anyone, but he and
Vobu could both see them.
Vobu: It's because the spirits use living beings' energies to
power their natures, like mana spirits drawing on mana produced
by humans to power themselves and grow. Without humanity and the
moglins to provide that power, they have no one to interact with
to maintain the world, so they're slowly fading into emptiness.
They maintain the world still, but without anyone to interact
with... They are about as empty as I am.
Father Hei: Why haven't you tried to interact with them?
Vobu: He looks at him for a moment, then remembers something.
Right... You don't know much about dark spirits do you? Well...
Normal spirits hate dark spirits. They can't stand to be around
me. While they're not afraid of me anymore since I'm not
powerful enough to be a threat, they also refuse to do anything
to help me. Not that they could anyway, because they can't even
communicate with each other anymore, let alone with me.
Father Hei: Wait... What about Heaven and Hell? I went to Heaven
out of desperation, and found no souls there. Why wasn't Heaven
filled with souls if everyone's dead? And I assume Hell had no
souls either, even though I couldn't actually go into the Hell
Gate to check, but I sensed no souls there either from my
connection to the spirit realm.
Vobu: Oh... That's Anubis's doing... When he opened the Demon
Realm, it pretty much exploded the afterlives... Balance was
pretty much thrown out the window at that point with no gods to
maintain it since they had all destroyed each other, or been
killed off by Anubis and his forces. None of the afterlives had
any defense against the demon realm's power without gods to
protect them. The souls were scattered across the universe from
all the afterlives in a massive flood. And most of them at this
point have become hollows who have either gone to the Hollow
world, or going off and feeding on other living worlds. With the
reapers and death wraiths unable to keep up with the amount of
death, most of them ended up killed by hollows after they
started organizing on a universal scale... It didn't help that
Aizen helped them out, being allied with Anubis and all... He
says with a sigh. Of course... They're with Anubis now in some
other soul rich world, so they don't trouble themselves with our
world since there's no souls to eat...
Father Hei: So... All of this... It was because of my brother
and I?
Vobu: Not really "because" of you... You were deceived by
Anubis, and he betrayed you, which may or may not have been
because of the power corrupting him. It was originally supposed
to be you and Anubis as the new forces of Good and Evil
according to the Ellimist before he died, and the two of you had
agreed not to play games with the living realm and that you
would just fight each other in your own realm to let mortals tip
the scales themselves through their own actions. He looks down
again, this time, regret in his eyes. If we'd listened to his
warning... Maybe we wouldn't have let Anubis kill Crayak...
Father Hei stands up, and dusts himself off from the dirt on his
clothes. Father Hei: That's a hard one... I want to kill the
Ellimist and Crayak... But I guess we fall into the trap if we
do... Can we kill Crayak without killing the Ellimist? He asks
curiously.
Vobu: No... You can't have one without the other. No evil
tendencies may sound nice... But that's just as bad. They all
just give their lives to do good. They'd not eat so they could
give their food to others, or they'd die at the first sign of
trouble to save someone, humans would willingly give their lives
to supernaturals so they can eat, but vampires and werewolves
would starve themselves to death because they'd refuse to kill,
and humanity would refuse to kill animals or plants or even
people to eat because it would be "wrong" to kill any living
thing... It wouldn't quite be as bad, but there'd still be
almost as much death, and no one would be selfish enough to take
what they need to live. It's either you destroy both or neither.
You can either destroy both and there can be a new balance to
remove both "temptation forces" which isn't the best since no
one will have any definition of good or evil, but it's at least
a balance, or you can destroy both and replace them both... But
you have to replace them both, including the evil one.
Father Hei: I see... That's... hard... I wanted the Ellimist
dead almost as much as Crayak for the games they play with our
lives... He says in thought. He certainly wasn't going to kill
them if it meant this future would happen.
Vobu: It was supposed to be you and your brother you know... He
says as he looks up to him, as Father Hei looks back curiously.
You were supposed to be the embodiment of good... and your
brother the embodiment of evil... That way there would be both
forces, and the two of you could use that to influence the
world, or remove influences as you desired... You and your
brother were the natural choices because as brothers you would
have a strong connection to each other and understand your own
balances better. But your brother refused the embodiment of
evil. That's why Anubis became the one chosen to kill Crayak.
Because your brother didn't want to be evil. He explains.
Father Hei: I see... He looks up at the sky and smiles a bit
with a sad look. I don't think he'll be happy to hear that...
That might drive him over the edge even more. He's already
unstable enough as it is. And already an embodiment of darkness
to fight for the light like I used to be... This would probably
push him into a pretty dark place. He says with a sigh.
Vobu: I know... It's not easy. But if you go after them, the two
of you MUST know that. Whatever happens, Anubis MUST not ascend
to that throne of evil... If he does... All is lost. Hell... I'd
say let Crayak and the Ellimist do their thing because at least
they have rules and stuff. If Anubis becomes the new Crayak,
we'll all be right back here... Again. He says as he gets up,
wiping the dirt off of him, slowly. Well... It's about time for
you to go back home... I don't suspect your consciousness will
stay much longer here... Whoever sent you here... They really
wanted you to see this world...
Father Hei How do you know? And what do you mean "whoever sent
me here"? I don't even know how I got here.
Vobu: He chuckles I know spirits better than you do, my friend.
I've been around since the dawn of time. It wasn't a coincidence
that you appeared here almost exactly 200 years after the last
living being died in this world. He looks at Father Hei Your
being... It's cryallized light. Your consciousness is almost
like an ascended being, but you've converted yourself into a
unique presence because you can't fully ascend I assume... But
it's not something I haven't seen before... Just be careful...
Some people who do that don't come back to the living world.
I've seen some people get stuck in the spirit realm after doing
that, especially after gaining elder spirit powers like you did.
He says pointing at the glasses Father Hei was wearing, and how
his face had aged from his normal state.
Father Hei: I see... He looks to Vobu. What about you? Are you
going to try and build strength to take more souls? He says,
knowing there was one last thing he should do.
Vobu: I don't know... I'd be happy just not being lonely
anymore... But I can't build my strength anymore.
Father Hei forms a white flame spear in his hand. Father Hei:
Tell me... If you had a choice, would you become the embodiment
of good? Or would you still prefer evil?
After the flame appeared in Father Hei's hand, Vobu had a
feeling one of two things was about to happen, and he didn't
mind either of them. Vobu figured Father Hei was about to
destroy him, considering how weak Vobu was and how evil he had
been in the past. But Vobu also has an idea on what Father Hei
wanted him to say. Vobu: Hold on... You want me to take the
place of the Ellimist? But I'm not good! I'm an evil devourer of
souls and blood! That's the fate of those who commit the taboo.
Father Hei leans down on one knee, holding the spear ready.
Father Hei: That's where you're wrong... If you're right and I
was brought here, maybe that's why I'm here, to change your
fate. I can't offer you forgiveness for the lives you've
taken... But I can set you on a new path. I can purify you into
a purified spirit... In my spirit form, this should work. But it
will only work if you want to be purified. Otherwise it will
just destroy you.
Vobu: Either or... He says, looking down. I don't care what
happens. If it kills me, so be it. If it purifies me, then I'll
become a force of good... Assuming Anubis doesn't try to stop
me...
Father Hei: If I do this now, then perhaps you can... If you
do... Find friends to help you. Stop devouring people, and live
as a good person. You have the potential to save a lot of
people. He says as he holds the spear ready. If you're sure,
I'll do it... But I don't want to kill you.
The spirits, almost in protest, look to Father Hei, as though
they were trying to say "no", but couldn't do anything. Father
Hei looks at them, almost glaring at them, then back at Vobu.
Vobu: It's fine... It's better than being alone... He says as he
takes hold of Father Hei's hand, and pulls his hand slightly to
put the spear in his chest, knowing what the spear would do.
Father Hei nods and stabs the spear through Vobu's heart, not
sure what it would do in this case. Since Vobu was pretty much
wanting to die (from what it sounded like to Father Hei), Father
Hei just had to have faith that this would work the way he
wanted. He knew he couldn't change this timeline, even if he
changed his timeline to a new one, as this would just exist as a
different timeline. His attempt was hoping to save this timeline
through the only act he could do in the time alloted to him.
However, luckily, the procedure works exactly as Father Hei
wanted it to, and Vobu is turned into a purified Voodoo god
spirit, regaining his power as it was apparent by his change
into his original rabbit form, no longer wrinkled and having a
positive spirit presence. Vobu: Well... It actually worked...
Even my hunger is gone. He says in surprise that everything
worked so well. Vobu didn't say it, but he hadn't felt like a
good being ever since he destroyed his home and the voodoo gods
of his pantheon that day his only friend met his end. However,
now Vobu felt more like his old self.
Father Hei: I'm glad it did, I honestly wasn't sure... He says
with a sigh of relief. I can't change this world... But I can
try to help you do what you can to protect this universe... Or
what's left of it. Your power should allow you to also purify
others... I can sense your power to empower others. I hope that
your power, combined with the universal force of the Ellimist
will let you bring good back into this universe. He says as he
starts to fade, having used a lot of power to purify Vobu.
Vobu: Thank you, Father Hei... I know you have your own wars to
fight... But I hope that you and your friends will save your
world... Even if it's from my past self. Even knowing what will
happen here, probably won't change him that much. He says as he
goes to hug Father Hei. Father Hei picks him him and hugs him
back.
Father Hei: I wish I could take you back to my world... He says
before putting Vobu down, still slowly fading.
Vobu: I do too... But you've given me new purpose... I will
rebalance this universe. As for you... You'll win. Someday you
will stop the gods that want to destroy your universe... The
games Crayak and the Ellimist play do end eventually before they
move on to other worlds. It won't be perfect, and there will
still be evil, but the organized evil and good will slow enough
and only be affected by those like you that are willing to stand
up for what you believe in. He says confidently. He then tries
to suppress himself and get ready to leave. I'd better go before
Anubis senses my renewed power and comes to investigate... It
might take a bit with him on the other side of the universe, but
I don't suspect that my positive power output in a universe of
evil will go undetected...
Father Hei smiles a bit and nods as he fades away, his
consciousness drawn back to his time. As Father Hei disappears,
Vobu looks to the sky after Father Hei was gone with a renewed
cheerful smile.
Vobu: Goodbye, my friend... We didn't know each other long...
But you've given me a new life. And I hope my past self finds
this... enlightening... Hold on to them, past me... Don't let
them die. He says, knowing his disconnection from the time
stream meant his past self was going to be aware of the time
travel and memories of himself from the other timeline when
Father Hei got back. Now... I gots me a job to do! Anubis won't
stop me this time. He says as he teleports off, ready for what
he saw as going into battle since it was likely Anubis would try
to stop him.
In the present.
Vobu was training with Zehra when Father Hei returned to the
spirit realm. He didn't know Father Hei had traveled in time,
but as soon as Father Hei returned, which Vobu didn't know how
or where Father Hei was, the timeline disconnection flooded
those memories of his future self to Vobu just as the future
Vobu had gained the memories of the past, which caused him to
fall to his knees, and Vobu started to tear up as he
"remembered" the other timeline. Vobu had seen enough time
changes that anytime a time traveler appeared, he instantly
gained knowledge of his other timeline self which was usually
the past attempting to be altered to kill him before he became a
dark voodoo god. Vobu saw everything from the wars, to his
conversation with Father Hei. Without a word, he silently hugs
Zehra, which freaks her out as she thought Vobu was gonna try
and eat her, but to her surprise, Vobu just hugs her.
Zehra: Lord Vobu... What's going on... What's wrong? She says,
completely confused.
Vobu: It's... just... I guess you could say I feel like I should
acknowledge a few things. He says as he lets go of her and then
jumps down. You've been with me from the beginning... You joined
me after I rebelled against the spirits. And you've been
discarded by others for your loyalty to me. So... Thank you...
He says as he pats Zehra's leg before he starts walking off.
Zehra: Wait... Lord Vobu... Where are you going?
Vobu: First... I want to go find Anisha... She's not been with
the group as long as you have... But she's still loyal. And I'm
going to give her a big hug. He says with a smile.
Zehra: So... What happened? She says, knowing something
significant must have happened to have this kind of effect on
Vobu.
Vobu: A future self gave me some perspective... I've been empty
for so long, and I think I finally know what fuels that
emptiness... My future self suffered a lot to show me what it
was I was missing. There's some more important things than
taking over the world I need to do right now. He explains.
Zehra: Wait... Does that mean... you don't want to rebel
anymore? She say, somewhat concerned.
Vobu: Huh? Of course it doesn't mean that! He says, somewhat
suprirsed by Zehra's comment. I still plan to turn this world
into a buffet... He says cheerfully. The plans are still on as
normal. I just want to make sure everyone knows that I
appreciate them siding with me... That's all. You guys are like
a family I never had... And I found out from my future self that
you guys will side with me to the very end. I think that
deserves some gratitude, don't you?
Zehra stays silent for a moment, not sure what to make of it,
but trusts that Vobu knew what he was doing. But she couldn't
deny that it felt good to see Vobu acknowledge her as one of his
true friends, something he rarely ever did, as he usually
treated the members like a business where each task they do for
him was usually rewarded if they were successful, but usually
seemed pretty cheerful. Even though he implied he cared about
everyone, he never outright stated it, at least until now,
especially with all the groups that have betrayed him in the
past.
Vobu walks off, and looks up at the sky. Vobu: Hmm... Father Hei
huh? I might need to meet him myself... Especially if he's
training in the Spirit Realm. Elder spirits these days are
pretty rare. But I'm also gonna have to avoid that spear thing
of his... I don't want it to destroy me or something. And I
don't want to be purified at this point... I've committed too
long to this to give it up now. He says to himself. He hums to
himself, in a very cheerful mood as he goes off to find Anisha
and the other members of his forces to give everyone hugs, which
was unusual for Vobu. I understand now though... I think I get
why humans love hugging things they like. He says with a happy
smile.
End.
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