The Simulacrum

Joshua's transformation was swift, yet it left a moment of confused silence in its wake as the others tried to process what had just occurred. Yet, none was more confused than Joshua himself, his mind still reeling from the sudden and unexpected change. His body felt different, stronger, yet also unfamiliar and unwieldy at the same time. His senses were amplified, the world around him appearing sharper and more vibrant. Yet at the same time, he could also feel the new, foreign power coursing through his veins, a constant thrum of energy that felt both exhilarating and dangerous.

"Wait, wait. Hold on. Did I take the wrong capsule? Did I even have an Abyssal capsule?"

While unexpected, the power suffusing his body wasn't entirely unfamiliar, as in what felt like a distant past, before his connection to Angeline and Deus locking him into a Celestial form, or even before he was relying on Draconian blood to fuel his transformations, he had often partaken in the blood of Neige. For a while, he even considered an Abyssal form as his main battle transformation, but circumstances pushed him onto a different path.

"WHAT KIND OF MOCKERY IS THIS!?" The Lord of Inanna's avatar bellowed, his voice reverberating through the crater like thunder, the force of the noise sending tremors through the ground and the air alike. The sudden interruption made Joshua snap out of his stupor, and he turned to face the monstrous figure with a sense of grim determination.

"Aw, shit, shit, shit! I haven't used Abyssal powers in ages! How do I even control this?!"

Or maybe not-so-grim determination, but he had no choice but to improvise, and so he hefted his black sword and began to channel the strange new energy into it. He could feel the power pulsating within him, his muscles straining against the weight of the unfamiliar force. Yet, as he continued to focus his newfound strength into his sword, he could feel a sense of resonance, a form of synergy as the ancient heirloom weapon drank in his power, the runes on its blade shining with an eerie light.

<Ah, okay. Now everything's back on track again. Seriously, can you stop interfering?>

«Morsels/Castoffs/Parts that are no longer parts. Hunting/Tracking takes too long. Must force you to dislodge/extricate/pull into the open. It's the only path/method/solution.»

<Hey? Are you listening, you toothy...?>

«...»

<... And now he's gone again. Haven't we been here before? I feel like we've been here before. And if the pattern holds true, he's going to be back in a minute to try and get another rise out of me. And a bite.>

"Take this, you overgrown purple monster titan thing!" Joshua shouted, his voice echoing with newfound strength as he raised the black sword over his head. It was an unusually slow and clumsy motion, the result of a lack of time and opportunity to grow accustomed to the new powers flowing through his body. Were this a duel of one man against another, the Lord of Inanna could have easily taken advantage of it. However, Joshua wasn't alone.

From above, Deus sang a powerful hymn of war, summoning volleys upon volleys of swords made of pure golden fire that rained down on the monstrous avatar, each one exploding on contact to blind and disorient him.

"FOOL! DON'T YOU REALIZE THAT YOUR FEEBLE ATTACKS CAN'T HARM ME?!"

Meanwhile, Eleanor and Penelope were a whirlwind of sharp cuts and heavy blows, their sword and fists keeping all the smaller avatars busy and unable to interfere with the main event. However, the burning minions weren't the only ones aiming at the young hero channelling his power.

"I TIRE OF THIS! DIE ALREADY!"

The Lord of Inanna's avatar ignored the fiery rain and took a heavy step towards Joshua, its enormous right arm raised in preparation to unleash yet another volley of explosive shards, only to come to an abrupt halt, unable to take another step. While his attention was drawn to the sky, a thick wall of ice had formed around his feet, the product of the last drop of magic Neige managed to squeeze out of her body.

Thus supported by all of his comrades, Joshua poured all the excess power of his new transformation into his weapon, shining with a brilliant crimson light, and as he prepared to swing the blade down, the runes on its surface glowed even brighter, the air vibrated with power... and there was a strange, fragmented voice only he could hear, faint as a whisper.

"{...authentication...nagiru...unabl...try re...ven alta...}"

The unexpected and unusual sensation made Joshua's grip falter for a split second, altering the trajectory of his attack by just a degree or two, yet it was enough to make the black sword miss its mark. The crimson beam of light erupting from the weapon still hit the monstrous avatar. A terrible noise, like nails on a chalkboard, echoed through the air, followed by sudden, dead silence as the rest of the attack continued on and disappeared into the horizon, parting the morning clouds of the Abyss before being eaten by the sky.

Then, a heavy thud, not nearly as loud as the screech of the previous attack, but much closer, as the severed left hand of the Lord of Inanna's avatar crashed into the ground almost at the far edge of the crater, its flames already waning.

"Oh, crap..." Joshua muttered in a daze, followed by a just as dumbfounded, "What was that about authentication?"

<Yes! Very good question! We were this close to finishing up this freaking finale! What the heck kind of distraction was that?>

...

Joshua had no way of knowing the answer, not at this moment. His mind was still reeling, and even if he could clearly hear the voice of his weapon, there was no telling whether he could even comprehend the words.

<The sword? No way, I checked it when Josh picked it up back in the Elysium. It didn't have a personality like Cal and Teeny.>

...

The voice transmitted through his weapon, an ancient armament lost to time and memory that destiny had delivered into his hand, was waiting for the right place and time to reveal its secrets and true purpose. Now was the time; the world could only hope it wasn't too late.

<Wait, stop, and hold those horses! Are we seriously introducing a secret MacGuffin at this point? First, the princess's dragon blood upgrade, then Josh's Abyssal power-up, and now this? Do we have any other last-minute dramatic revelations? No reason to hold back now! Let's just get it over and done with, why don't we?>

...

For the sword in Joshua's hand once belonged to none other than Bel of the Tenebrous Flames himself, a symbol of power and authority gifted to Elysium during the brief truce during the—

<No, stop! What the heck is this bollocks!? That wasn't an invitation! I was being sarcastic! Bah! Not to mention, we just don't do info-dumping like this. This kind of stuff should be revealed organically, not in some omniscient third-person narration.>

...

But learning his forgotten weapon's exalted history was for another time, as the Lord of Inanna let out a roar in response to the sudden and unexpected amputation. Yet, it was not one of pain, but of frustration and rage, as the wound quickly healed, the severed arm reassembling from the same mysterious violet fire that birthed the countless smaller minions around the battlefield.

"I WILL SAVOR YOUR PAIN AND MISERY LIKE THE FINEST WINE, YOU INSOLENT VERMIN! I WILL MAKE YOUR DEMISE SO EXCRUCIATING, YOU WILL BEG TO DIE!"

Yet, despite his bluster, the damage he suffered was not insignificant. Soon, inky tendrils of black matter weaved through the violet fire of the new arm, reinforcing it and giving it shape, yet weakened by Amelia's meddling with the Ley Lines underfoot, Noir had to draw from the material of the rest of the body to make up for the loss. The avatar shrank, becoming thinner, and maybe most importantly, its chest area, where Joshua managed to scar it once, receded to reveal the naked upper body of Noir embedded in the pool of amethyst flames.

<Phase four, I guess? Geez. On the bright side, this doesn't seem to be the Predator Moon's meddling. Just where is that bugger?>

Eleanor exclaimed, "He's exposed!"

"But how are we going to reach him?" Neige wondered, her voice heavy with fatigue.

As if waiting for her to say that, Joshua abruptly swayed and descended to one knee, startling the others. Seeing her lover in pain, Angeline asserted control over her body and dove down to his side.

"Josh? What's wrong?!" she started, followed by a shift in her tone and eye colour as Deus said, "Girl! We're still in the middle of a battle! Don't take over like that, it's dangerous!"

She wasn't listening; her attention was solely focused on Joshua.

"Haah... Haah... Sorry, but... I think that was it for me..."

He could barely lift his sword at this point, let alone swing it.

"Hold on, I'll heal you!" Angeline replied, her hands already hovering over him.

She was about to call out for support, but there was no need, as four of the Axis of Evil descended around them, forming a perimeter with a boisterous, "We'll protect you!"

"And I'll keep him busy!" Penelope yelled in turn, charging at Noir and his minions.

Eleanor joined her with a less eager, "Wait, Penny! Don't rush in alone!" and the two of them joined forces once more to assault Noir in his weakened form.

"YOU INSOLENT GNATS! DO YOU REALLY THINK YOU CAN BEST ME LIKE THIS?!"

Meanwhile, Judy was frantically trying to keep a grasp of the situation, slowly but steadily growing more frantic as she messaged, "{Beluga to the pod, we're running out of time, over.}"

"We just need one more solid hit, but..." Neige responded from the back, trying to recover some of her stamina while Amelia was working tirelessly to weaken Noir's flow of power. "... w-we really are on our last legs here."

Meanwhile, Angeline continued to try and heal Joshua, and the longer she sang, the more complicated her expression became.

"I... I don't know what's wrong, but I can't find anything to heal! You should be fine!"

"I'm... exhausted," he responded with a groan, his face pale and his breathing laboured. "I feel nauseous... and kinda drained."

"That makes no sense! You are in peak condition! Peaker than ever! The peakest!" Angie sputtered as she was frantically searching for an explanation, right until Deus forcefully snatched the reins from her. Her hands stopped patting Josh, as if trying to find the spot where he was leaking, and instead she assumed a contemplative position. "Listen, Boy. I think I have an idea of what's going on. You took dragon blood, didn't you?"

"Y-Yeah... How can you...?"

"Of course I can tell! We're connected in body and soul, you d... dunderhead? Is that the word the Girl uses? Never mind, and listen well! Your ability to absorb the powers from the Mystics must have instinctively attempted to find an equilibrium between the Celestial and draconic powers within you, and so they meshed together to..."

<I know I said we need to have to reveal information organically, but this was already explained once, so there's no need to do it twice.>

...

After listening to Deus's very detailed and completely accurate deductions in regards to his unexpected transformation, Joshua let out a distressed yet also impressed hum and said, "So you're saying I'm so weak because my transformation is incomplete."

"Precisely," she confirmed with a finger pointed at his face. "You have a lot of one type of energy in you, and not enough of the other, so you're stuck in the middle."

"So... what do we do?"

"We can't get the dragon blood out of you, so the only way we can deal with this is..." Deus trailed off, as if startled by her own idea, but she quickly regained her composure and looked Joshua in the eye, "Boy... I mean, Josh?"

"Y-Yes?"

"Do you trust me?" she asked, leaning closer so that their eyes were on the same level.

"Erm... Yeah, but... When you ask that at a time like this, I can't help but feel that—"

"We don't have time, so if you trust me, just follow my lead." She put her hands on his shoulder, pulled him closer until their noses nearly touched. "If the problem is that you have too much dragon and not enough Celestial in you, then we just need to balance the scales, and since I'm not only the best Celestial for the task, but the only one present, it logically follows what we must do. I-It's not because I'm taking advantage of the situation. If we fail, we're all doomed, so I don't even have time to think about something like that or anything. Do you understand? It's just the only way to—"

It was at this point that Joshua made his move. Maybe he was growing impatient, feeling the sword of Damocles hanging over their heads. Maybe it was his own ability telling him to take the opportunity to complete himself this way. Or maybe, just maybe, for just a fleeting moment, he found the floundering girl in front of him cute enough to overcome his inhibitions. Maybe even he himself couldn't tell, but the result was the same either way.

Deus was taken by surprise as Joshua's lips pressed against hers, and even though she was the one who proposed this course of action, she couldn't stop herself from blushing furiously.

<So this is what all the UST was for? Huh. Well, it's still none of my business, but more importantly, this doesn't seem to have been tweaked by the Predator Moon either. What about the battle?>

While their kiss was underway and Deus channelled her Celestial power into Joshua, the battle was still raging around them. The Lord of Inanna was now focused on the two girls attacking him, and while they hadn't managed to reach him, with its foot still encased in ice, he couldn't make a move.

"I WILL CRUSH YOU INTO DUST! I WILL GRIND YOUR BONES INTO POWDER AND SCATTER YOUR ASHES TO THE WIND!" his yell echoed, coming from the mouths of the avatar and Noir, still embedded in its chest at the same time, his hair billowing in the winds of his own making.

Yet, the ice was cracking, and it was only a question of seconds before he could burst out. Penelope knew it, and her eyes were darting back and forth, looking for any opening to attack the exposed Noir while the ice kept him in place. However, between the jets of violet fire, the black spikes, and the avatar's destructive claws, she couldn't find an opening, and neither could Eleanor.

<That doesn't seem to be going well, but it's not unreasonably bad either. I mean, the clock is ticking, but only getting stuff done at the very last moment is a trope, like when a bomb is defused with only one second remaining on the big red digital display. Speaking of which, just how much time do they have left?>

...

"Grimmy! How much time do we have left?" Amelia hissed, drops of sweat beading on her forehead as she continued to work her magic to keep the Lord of Inanna in check.

"Response: Approximately three minutes and twelve seconds. Correction: Three minutes and forty seconds. Further Correction: Four minutes and one second."

"Is... Is it working? Is the bottleneck holding back the—?"

"Negative. Explanation: The Asphodelòs Sub-System is receiving administrative-level instructions that are compensating for minor system errors."

"Wait! Are you saying Noir is trying to hijack the Mana Well Network while fighting?!"

"Speculation: Low-probability hypothesis. It is possible that an unidentified third party is attempting to gain access to the network."

<Third party, huh? Dammit, I knew the Predator Moon was too quiet! Let me take a closer look...>

Meanwhile, the Nergal and Ninurta patriarchs were effectively subdued, and so more of the Axis of Evil could join the main fight. While they didn't dare to get into melee range, they were able to provide ranged support for Penelope and Eleanor.

"Ouch! Dammit!" the masked leader hissed as he fell back with a cry, holding his bleeding side where a black spike grazed him. "Out of Barrier! I need cover!"

"Got you!" yelled another member, rushing in to fill the gap in their formation, while yet another masked man in a tailcoat called out, "Deploying temporary wards!"

"I'm out too!" a fourth voice joined in. "He told us it would be a tough fight, but I didn't expect it to be this bad!"

"The Emperor is giving his hardest battles to his best soldiers!" the leader declared with as much machismo as he could muster, making the others genuinely impressed by his ability to keep in character even under such pressure.

<Okay, this is just weird. There's not a single trace of the bitey bastard there either, so whoever this 'third party' might be, it's entirely in-universe. Seriously though, where is he? I know I should be glad he's not gnawing on me, but it just makes me more nervous. It's like when you stop hearing the buzzing of a mosquito, and you know it's still in the room, but you don't know where... except it's more like the buzzing of a tiger. Or a lack thereof.>

Meanwhile, Joshua and Deus were in a trance, their lips locked in the middle of the battlefield in a deep, if not borderline inappropriate, kiss. Their bodies were enveloped in a soft, golden light as their powers resonated with each other, and it was getting brighter by the second. This wasn't simply a kiss; it was a union of two souls, sharing a connection that went beyond words and touched the very depths of their beings.

Joshua's body began to change, his Celestial and draconic energies intertwining and merging, forming a new, concordant whole. The red streaks in his aura were growing more defined, and his muscles began to swell, his body taking on a more powerful, imposing form. His wings grew firmer and broader, their bright crimson feathers gleaming like polished rubies in the darkness, and his eyes shone like stars in the night sky.

At last, the two of them parted, and Deus looked into Joshua's eyes, her cheeks flushed with a mixture of embarrassment, relief and satisfaction. The two of them shared a moment of silence, their hearts racing and their breaths shallow, but then another roar of the monstrous avatar of the Lord of Inanna reached their ears.

"No time for banter," Deus muttered, her voice a little hoarse.

"Yeah," Joshua concurred with a cough. He could feel the new power surging through his body, and he knew that he had to act fast. He looked at her and flashed a small, bashful smile before saying, "Thanks."

Deus only nodded, then her eyes shifted colour, and a silly smile bloomed on her lips as Angie mumbled, "Hehe. Deus acting all shy like that is funny." She wanted to say more, but she suddenly swooned, forcing Joshua to catch her.

"I-I'm here!" Neige announced as she appeared without warning and took hold of Angie before the boy could properly react. She flashed an awkward smile and explained, "J-Judy sent me over. She said something like this would happen, because of... um... t-tropes, I think?"

Neither of them fully understood what that meant, but for now, Joshua just nodded along and gestured towards the silver bubble in the back.

"Take her to safety, please. I'll take it from here!"

His declaration was punctuated by a flash of red and gold, as the wings on his back flared with power, illuminating the darkness around them, and he raised his sword over his head, ready to charge once more. But then, suddenly and without warning, the whole world turned white.

<A-ha! There you are, you bloody—!>

It was a blank world, its pure whiteness spreading in all directions. It was a world of nothing, where there was no up or down, left or right, and no horizon to separate the land and the sky. It was a place that didn't exist in space or time; all but a thought wrapped in a dream wrapped in one's mind-palace.

In this vast, featureless expanse, there were only two figures. One was Joshua, back in her usual form as a normal schoolboy, complete with his usual, slightly dishevelled uniform. And in front of him, a tall man with short black hair, piercing eyes, wearing a dark toga and matching sandals, both intertwined with bright red ornamental motifs.

<What? This isn't his doing either? Are you telling me this is still a natural part of our finale? Just how many more twists do we need!?>

...

"Welcome, Nagiru. Harbinger. Throne-maker," the tall man spoke dispassionately, his eyes glazed over as he was vaguely looking in Joshua's direction.

"Wha...? Where am I? Who are you?" he asked, his voice trembling with a mix of confusion and panic.

"Welcome, Nagiru," the man repeated, his voice monotone and emotionless. "I'm the Shadow Guardian of the Seven Altars. I have been designated to guide you. You may refer to me as Sillu."

"What is going on here? Where are we?"

"You are currently experiencing a memory packet. I have initiated direct contact due to irregularities within the web of the Seven Altars, and…"

<What am I even looking at here? Just what could be important enough to warrant putting the final battle on hold like this?>

…

Joshua exhaled hard, and after collecting his thoughts, he tentatively asked, "... I didn't quite understand that, but... does that mean that no time is passing in the outside while we're talking?"

"It is a simplification of the phenomenon, but that is not incorrect."

That seemed to allay Joshua's initial anxiety, at least to a degree, and he crossed his arms with a steadily deepening frown on his brows.

<No, no, no. Time-dilation isn't the issue here! It's the pacing! Dammit, whatever this is about better be crucial to the plot.>

"Oookay, then first question: who are you?"

"I already introduced myself. I'm the Shadow Guardian of the Seven Altars. You may refer to me as—"

"No! I mean, explain it in a way I can understand!"

The tall stranger nodded and made a vague gesture with his right hand.

"According to my understanding, you are currently referring to the Seven Altars as the Mana Wells. During the creation of the Ayyakku, which you now call the Abyss, my master created eight Namzaku. Keys. Seven of them were passed down between his most ardent followers, and one last Key, the Secret Key was gifted to his unsuspecting betrayers as a token of peace."

"You mean... my sword?"

"Indeed. The Seven Keys were lost, but you possess the—"

<Oh, balls. This is just the info-dump we skipped before, isn't it...? Skip.>

…

"So... wait. Does that mean I'm the Herald after all?" Joshua asked, sounding a little uncertain.

"That would be correct," the man replied and pointed at him with two fingers. "You are Nagiru. Harbinger. Not the one who rules, but the one who appoints the rightful ruler. My master designated it so that his followers would—"

<Nope. We're not doing this. Let's skip a bit more.>

…

"Listen, you... You called yourself Sillu, right? Listen, Sillu. This is all interesting and stuff, but the Abyss is literally going to explode at any minute now! I don't have time to look for an emperor right now!"

<Precisely. Good going, Josh.>

"You must. Only by initiating the ritual of succession can I exercise my authority as the Shadow Guardian and restore the Seven Altars to their proper function. I shall now explain the meaning behind the ritual and how you can—"

<Argh, whatever. Let's just skip directly to the end of it.>

…

Sillu, the Shadow Guardian, finished explaining the astounding secret history behind the creation of the Abyss and the contingency plans the wise Bel of the Tenebrous Flames put into motion, all of which made perfect sense in retrospect and tied many seemingly disparate bits of knowledge into one satisfying whole. Now, Joshua had a seamless understanding of the past and the grand destiny that now rested on his shoulders.

"I have been monitoring the situation, and I'm aware of the conflict," Sillu stated as he linked his fingers in front of his chest. "I will provide you with my unreserved support, so that you may fulfil the duties fate had bestowed upon you. You must hurry."

"Yes, I'd like to hurry, but you were the one who—" Before he could finish saying that, Joshua blinked for the second time, and suddenly he was back in the crater, his sword held high, wings spread, and feeling rather disoriented. "What? Did I just...?"

<All right. Finally back on track again. Did the Predator Moon do anything while I wasn't looking? Doesn't seem so…>

His attention was immediately drawn to the Lord of Inanna's avatar, still roaring his lungs out, so he wisely set the myriad questions aside for later and prepared to make his move. He raised his sword again with new determination, and his aura swelled, silently supported by the steady radiance of the Mana Well in the back. And so, three lights of pale azure, a golden crimson, and deep amethyst intertwined in the crater, three beacons illuminating the pitch darkness of the Abyss.

<... Okay, so I didn't want to dwell on this before, because we're already getting sidetracked by last-minute twists and info-dumps and whatnot, but why is everything so dark? The battle started in the morning, so it should be getting brighter. What gives?>

...

In the far distance, well beyond the battle raging within the evaporated ruins of Castle Shamash, the sky was made of bones.

<Oh.>

Countless silent jaws, from the microscopic to the titanic, were all gnawing at the fabric of the sky. Beneath the mountains, uncountable maws were devouring the land, and their teeth were grinding the earth into nonexistence. There were no waters beyond the shores of the island, only tides and waves of claws and teeth lashing and biting at the world itself with each ebb and flow, and it was slowly, inexorably shrinking.

Of course, there was nothing strange about that. After all, the Abyss being eaten was perfectly normal.

<...>

<You've got to be bloody kidding me...>