Chapter Text
Edda and Aven paced alongside one another, examining the swaying vines and overgrown archipelago of the northwestern sanctuary. A beautiful glimmering landscape of teal and green, white catwalks of glassy marble and floating stone platforms making an endless open-air construction of battlefields and balconies.
Aven, naturally, was not nearly as appreciative of it as Edda.
“You alright?” The light starfolk asked, looking over to him as her blue head pulsed with a sonar. “You look like you’re trying to throw your neck out, you’re looking around so much.”
Aven scoffed, somewhat lightheartedly in a small wave of orange from his head. “I don’t like this place.”
“But it’s so pretty!” Edda protested.
“… yeah.” He affirmed. “… maybe I’d like it more if we weren’t looking for trouble.”
“It’ll be fine.” The light assured him. “You don’t have to be scared of him.”
“I’m not scared.” Aven denied.
“Then what are you?” Edda prompted.
“I just don’t like them.”
The subject of discussion was obvious. The very transcendent entity they were looking for. The fragment, the first they’d ever met. And if not for quite a few miracles, it would’ve been their last.
“Why not?” Edda asked, tilting her head and causing her hair to sway.
“Because the last time we fought, they called me an impure and chokeslammed you into a serrated tornado.”
“I got better!”
Aven chuckled for a moment. Edda snickered along with him.
After stifling his laughter, he sighed. “… I know.” He said quietly. “It just… got to me.”
Edda gave him a slightly sad look. “… Alright. I get it.” She put her circular hand on his shoulder and leaned into his peripheral vision. “It means you love me. And if I’ve learned anything from Summum, that means we’ll be fine.”
She gave him a light kiss on the cheek and leaned back again. He chuckled, a different shade of red creeping into his angular head.
“That is not how Summum phrased it.” Aven protested, smiling warmly.
“Its what they meant.” Edda said matter-of-factly.
“Well, I’m not telling Mr and Mrs transcendence that love is more powerful than-”
A force slammed into Aven’s side with a crushing gust of air that sliced marble and stone like grass beneath a blade, gripping him around the neck and sending him flying with whatever had taken him.
He instinctively dug his claws into the thing that currently ensnared his neck, his shout of surprise muffled by his scarf and the grip around his windpipe. He opened his eyes.
Duality had found them.
A humanoid form twice Aven’s height, made of brilliant green triangles with small wings on it’s back, and a smaller version of Summum’s own crystalline head, glaring furiously with two white-green blips. Its clawed hands currently wrapped around Aven’s throat, flying straight forward, too focused on it’s narcissism-fueled rage to actually slam Aven into something.
“How DARE you return to this place, IMPURE!!” Their stoic, doubled voice snarled in fury, rippling with distortion and chorused from two throats. “I’ll tear you and your sinful companion LIMB FROM-!”
Aven jammed his claws directly into the being’s glowing eyes before they could finish. They roared in pain and fury, flickered in a blast of green, then a mix of blue and orange. Then they began to fall.
Aven and Duality slammed onto a a platform of rock in a blast of transcendence, crushing rock and shattering marble and sending both beings tumbling into cave walls. Aven shouted as he fell to the ground, covered in dust and back full of rock shards. He gritted his teeth and growled, pushing himself up and looking up to his enemy.
The fragmented form was stumbling to their feet, the dark half digging its large claws into the rock wall beside it as the light half glared at him. The spikes that surrounded their head like a star were still cracked at the center where their united light was held. Their cracked core glistened with transcendent energy in its breaks. Essence was lightly splashed around it’s neck where Aven had struck their eyes.
“Blasted DEMON!” They spat, voice flickering from shrill and haughty to deep and guttural. “I’ll have your HEAD!”
“Go ahead and take it, couple’s therapy!” He yelled back, using a blast of air to push himself to his feet.
“WE ARE WHOLE!!”
Aven danced to the side as fire and ice burst from where he once stood, soaking in the radiating energy and throwing it too his side. Two drones of liquid dark essence fired their shots and earned grunts from the fragments. He dashed forward with his claws and rent a brutal uppercut across their broken chest, their mixed form manifesting as he ripped along the glowing green cracks.
A kick in their starlike head as he fell and he hit the ground, rolling to his feet. He readied his magic to continue his assault-
And was rent across the face with the dark half’s brutal claws.
He tumbled backwards, clutching a gash in his face and feeling orange essence drip down his arm as it tried to heal. Then the light half struck him in the stomach with a bolt of lightning and knocked him straight off the platform.
Right. Transcendent entity. Not gonna be a pushover.
Diplomacy, Aven. Diplomacy.
He gritted his teeth and channeled all the wind he could as he fell. He shifted into a gale of sharpened air and hit the ground as it, fluttering gracefully up in an arc before shifting out and falling ungracefully to the ground.
He muttered a curse under his breath as he got to his feet, feeling the rend in his face close and his electrical burns still sizzling painfully. He briefly went on a mental tangent wondering which pieces of his body would heal first before a sound met his ears.
It was the fragment, roaring in anger, their voice growing louder as they fell from the sky above him.
Aven spun, channeling absorption energy into his wrists and tapping into what little transcendence he had without Edda to turn dark to light. Blue rings formed around his wrists and he thrust his arms into the sky.
The fragment’s slammed into the blue seal he’d conjured and crashed straight through. He thankfully danced around their landing point just in time, weakened slightly by the impact but still thinking quick. He clasped his hands and forged another blue seal above the fragments, then slammed it down to pin them.
“We’re not here to fight!” He shouted through their struggling.
“You are here to DIE!”The halves threatened.
“Listen!” Aven said, forcing the seal down with more of his weight, though his will was weakening. “There are more of you! There are more important things than-!”
“I am the ender of the WAR!” They cried out. “If there are more of me, then they will find us-me!!”
“Listen to yourselves-!”
The fragment roared as they called a burst of lightning and shattered the seal. They rolled, pushed themselves to their feet and the dark half swung it’s claws. Aven partied, then parried another swipe, then dashed backward and channeled his energy into his left arm.
His right arm flashed and dissipated, and he swung his newly summoned whip and cracked across fragments like a lick of fire. He spun and struck downward again, then let the energy fall back into him and re-manifest his arm. He tried to cast a burst of fire, but his foe was quicker with a crackle of ice. He barley flashed in an evade as they leapt forward with a claw swipe, then deflected another strike across his forearms.
He ducked under a lightning bolt and flung out his drones with a flip over a claw. He summoned his seals and struck once, twice as they were stunned, then moved to cross his arms and-
A gust of wind flung him backward, then a lightning burst knocked him off his feet. A frost field stuck him to the ground as he tried to roll to his feet, and a brutal backhand rocketed off his chin. There was already a great claw around his throat when he regained his bearings.
He scratched and beat at the dark arm as it raised him into the air, receiving little but a few annoyed grunts. He raised one hand to cast his magic, but the light half grabbed his wrist and sent a jolt of lightning through his whole body. He let out a strangled cry and tried to conjure something with his other hand, but managed little but a small scrape of wind.
“This is where you die, impure.” They chorused. “We- I am whole. You are nothing.”
“Listen to yourself!” He hissed, his voice strangled. “You haven’t even convinced yourselves-!”
They shouted in rage and slammed him into the dirt, now leaning over him as they strangled him on the ground.
“Die.” They snarled.
Aven was out of options. His will was weakening. He had to find a way out. He kicked his legs, dug in his claws, and their grip only tightened.
His vision began to darken.
A sword slammed through the fragments head and Aven was on the ground, hearing them roar in pain. Then whatever force had hit them pulled them back and flipped them over herself and onto the ground with her shield.
Edda dashed in, took his hand, and they joined forces once again.
“Welcome back to life, prettyboy!” Edda shouted, skidding to a stop and turning on a heel to face the fragments. “You awake back there?!”
“Am now!” He said back, orange light emanating from Edda’s head as he spoke in her mind.
“Great.” She muttered. “Look! We don’t want to fight!”
“I don’t CARE WHAT YOU WANT- SILENCE, IMPURE- SHUT UP!” The halves roared as they got to their feet. It was unclear who they were yelling at.
“We’re here for diplomacy!” Edda called out, bracing her shield in case they struck. “Peace!”
“I AM THE HERALD OF PEACE!” They shrieked. “I SHALL CLEANSE LIGHT AND DARK TILL ONLY PERFECTION IS LEFT! AND YOU ARE IMPURE!!”
“We-!”
Edda’s voice was cut off as a flash of green heralded their combined form, and a claw of transcendence slammed into her shield. She parried and swung her sword, parried and was knocked back, planted feet digging into the rock below. She deflected another, spun as she slotted her sword into her shield, and slammed her axeblade into Duality’s stomach as the swung again. They had broken to their regular form again by the time she slammed them into the ground and shifted out, Aven channeling his seals and again pinning them down with two blue walls of symbols.
“Listen to us!” He shouted as they struggled beneath him, the dark half clawing the air near him as the light tried to free their arm. “We don’t have to fight!”
“Stop TALKING!!!” They screamed. They roared and again became their full form, then shot upward with Aven braced on their clawed hands. Edda yelped a curse in his mind.
Aven moved to go for their eyes again, but they grabbed his arm and flung him off his seals. They dragged him behind them for a moment as they rocketed through the sky. Then their form flickered, and their flight faltered just a bit. They shouted, flickered again.
“Duality! Listen to us!” Aven roared through the wind, trying to claw up onto their shoulder. “You know you’re- kidding yourself!”
“BUT!” Edda yelled, having taken his place. “You don’t have to hide from who you are!”
Duality screamed in fury and their form broke again.
They began to fall.
The dark half punched Edda in the mouth and sent her tumbling away. Aven shifted into place and used his air magic to steady himself as the two halves tumbled through the gale. He slammed into them within his bubble of air only for the light half to spin and grip his throat. Edda took his place and took the ensuing shock, then bashed them with her shield. The dark half grabbed her, placed their feet on her stomach and kicked her further down.
Aven took her place and rolled out of the way as they shot forward in a half assembled full form and conjured an air bubble to continue the skydive.
“We’re only making them mad!” Edda yelled in his mind.
“They are ALWAYS mad!” Aven shouted back. Supporting his theory, a lightning bolt struck him in the stomach and knocked him back into a tumble. Edda groaned, took his place and sparked her form with lightning.
“They hate non-transcendent stuff!” Edda suggested, her voice distorted through her electricity as she shot down like a lightning bolt. “How about we show them our green magic?!”
“I don’t have a unified division in me!” Aven yelled angrily.
“Can you find one?!?”
“NO!”
Edda grunted in exertion and doubled her pace. She slammed into the fragments stomach as a bolt of pure electricity and fell back into her usual form, her sword through their chest. They were nearing the ground. Aven’s arms reached out of Edda’s shoulders and pushed seals down to pin the halves. They were almost there.
The dark half barely clawed at Edda’s cheek and made her lose balance. Then they grabbed her by the midsection and placed her underneath themselves. She barely summoned her shield before they slammed her into the ground with the force of a meteor.
They grabbed her by the foot and tossed her like a rag doll before she could get up. She barely raised her shield as a gale of knives rushed against her, nicking the sides of her arms and legs. Aven shifted into place and rolled out of the corner, then absorbed two blasts of magic. Four drones firing as he dashed in. He punched the fragments in the stomach then cartwheel-kicked backwards across their chin. Then Edda took his place and put her sword through their stomach.
They moved to claw at her face, Aven shifted to catch the punch. The light half put a lightning bolt in his stomach, then kicked him away. Arguably better than the claw swipe the dark half was planning to tear across his chest. Edda rolled to one knee and raised her shield, but a gust of air knocked her to the side. Aven shifted fully out of her and caught a claw swipe with both hands, bracing his feet as Edda tried to get up on shaking arms.
Wounds covered the fragments body. They shook as they tried to push him down, the light half angrily swiping at the air nearby, unable to reach because of the dark half’s posture. Green and orange fluid dripped from the muscular arm that was currently trying to crush Aven.
“Look at yourself!” Aven yelled once more, straining beneath their strength. “You can’t fight the war alone if you can’t fight us!”
The light half shrieked and shocked him with lightning. The dark half grabbed him by the head and tossed him away like a rag doll. Then they kicked Edda in the face to knock her down.
Aven struggled to his feet, stumbling into a run to get back to Edda. The fragments grabbed her with the dark claws and slammed her into the ground again. Then the light raised a hand, and blades of air began to swirl around it.
“NO!”
Aven summoned his seals, light in left and dark in right. He flipped into a handspring, spun through the air, and pulled his arms across his body in an x as he stuck the landing into a crouch.
Time seemed to slow.
A sound like a shockwave of sound and force emanated from the fragments.
A massive green seal exploded out from their torso in a firework of pure, refined transcendence, branding every inch of them in symbols and magical shapes as the seal expanded to twice their size. Aven rolled out of his acrobatics and ran forward.
He kicked out their leg as they stumbled away from Edda, then spun and launched his foot into their stomach and sent them tumbling away. He kept moving and leapt onto them, pinning them to the ground and grabbing them by the neck. He bashed their combined head into the dirt once, twice, giving no mind to their words. He channeled all his fire and air and raised his hands to create a flame thrower of pure magical power, then slammed his hands down onto them. He kept striking, punching, clawing. Something was pulling at his shoulder. Why weren’t they fighting back?
“Aven! Aven!”
That didn’t sound good.
“AVEN!”
Edda pulled him off the fragments and onto his back, his hands smoking and his scarf singed. She collapsed next to him, both their breathing heavy.
“They’re beaten!” She gasped.
It occurred to him what was happening.
He let the magic drain from his hands and fully collapsed.
The three beings laid in the grass, exhausted, the fragments form smoking and sizzling with Aven’s seal magic as the brands slowly dissipated.
Stillness.
The dark half of duality began trying to sit up.
“… H-how… did you do that…?” He asked breathlessly. “You- you’re…”
“Transcendent.” Aven answered, not sitting up to meet them. “Yeah.”
“That is… impossible!” The light half chimed in, trying to get to her feet (much to the dark half’s annoyance).
“It’s a different process…” Edda answered, propping herself up. “But we are… transcendent.”
“No, no, no…” The light half muttered to herself. “You- I must be whole, I can’t-”
“Silence, witch!” The dark ordered, causing her to flinch. “I must be whole!”
“You cannot be the one in power!” The light shrieked. “We- I-!”
“SILENCE!” The dark shouted.
“BOTH OF YOU, calm down!” Aven ordered, finally sitting up. “Neither of you are in power! That’s why you’re cut in half!”
“I cannot be a failure!”
“I cannot be a traitor!”
The two chorused the words, then glared at each other with anguish in their eyes. Aven noticed that rather than one head, they now had two. It looked as if they only kept their heads together to maintain their symbiotic delusions.
“Dude, look at me!” Aven yelled to the dark half, pushing himself to his feet. “I’m the definition of failure! The person I tried to absorb is standing next to me and I can do that!” He yelled, gesturing the spot where he conjured the seal.
“Ma’m, you aren’t a traitor.” Edda said gently, getting up next to Aven. “You’re still you, you’re still of the light, even more than it. You just have a mind now. You shouldn’t be ashamed.”
“You both have to look past all this nature bullshit.” Aven said firmly. “All of that is nonsense. You said it yourselves; you don’t want this war. All that self-hate is just the light and dark trying to take you back.”
“And look at what you can do when you’re together!” Edda chimed in. “Not because you turn to one, but because you are two. Look at what we can do! I know it feels like you’re abominations, I know how it feels to be different, but you should be proud of who you are.”
“For fucks sake.” Aven cursed.
“Please.” Edda said gently.
“Stop hating yourself over what you are.”
“Try to appreciate what you can be.”
The half’s stared up at them, the light still halfway to her feet and the dark still on the ground.
“… We didn’t even rehearse that.” Aven muttered quietly.
“Don’t ruin the moment.” Edda whispered.
The light and dark glanced at each other a few times, to their own broken and strange form, several things flickering in their eyes.
They looked back to Edda and Aven.
“… Do you guys have names?” Edda asked.
“… Dual-ality.” They both stammered, slightly out of sync.
“… No, like. Separate names.” Edda amended. “Not the name of your combined form.”
“… I- I… A- an…?” The light stammered.
“… No.” The dark said plainly.
Aven sighed, walked over to the dark and crouched by his side. “Man, don’t start with that. You have a name.”
“I do not-”
“Deserve one? Yeah, I know it feels like that.” He interjected. “But I’ve got one. It’s Aven, if you’re wondering.”
“I’m Edda!” Edda added. She trotted over and sat down by the light, gesturing for her to do the same. After a moment, she complied.
“I… I am… angel?” The light said uncertainly.
Edda tilted her head. “… Sorry, I don’t think that’s right. You can’t hold onto the light like that.”
“And you don’t have to hide from the dark.” Aven added to the shadowy foe. “C’mon. You kicked my ass a bit, you deserve a name.”
The light and dark sighed in unison.
“… Infern.” The dark muttered. “I… suppose.”
The layering and distortion left his voice. It was still gravelly and deep, the voice of a warrior, but less monstrous. Infern himself seemed surprised by this as well.
“… Sol… Solcita.” The light stammered. “I… I think that is my name.”
Solcita’s voice as well became less shrill, less ear-grating. More high and gentle, delicate.
“… Infern and Solcita.” Edda repeated.
“Infern and Solcita.” Infern sighed.
“Those are rather pretty.” Solcita commented.
“Aren’t you an optimist.” Infern muttered.
“Oh, lighten up.” Aven said, giving the dark being a light punch in the shoulder and standing up. “Get up.”
Infern reluctantly took Aven’s hand and pulled both himself and Solcita to a stand, though the latter wobbled on her feet. Edda helped her steady.
The two stepped away and let the half-beings gain their bearings. Infern was broad, heavy, slouched down and shorter on thick legs with thicker arms. Solcita was taller, thinner, her foot steadying the two while Infern’s braced them. At full height, Solcita was double Edda’s height while Infern slouched at a head or two over Aven’s.
“So… what now?” The two chorused. Infern glared at Solcita. She gave an anxious look away.
Edda gave a gentle smile. “… To Summum.”
“And that is?” Infern asked.
“… Give him… bout’ eight seconds.” Aven answered.
Intern gave him a puzzled look. About seven seconds passed.
A massive blast of transcendent energy and green light hit the ground behind Edda and Aven, causing Duality to raise their hands.
“Called it.” Aven said to himself.
“Hi Summum!!” Edda said excitedly, turning around. “We did it!”
“This is Summum.” Aven said, pointing a thumb at the dragon. “He’s chill.”
“My… he is magnificent!” Solcita exclaimed.
“And has a flare for theatrics.” Infern muttered.
“You and me are gonna get along great.” Aven said to Infern.
“Is everyone done with their introductions?” Summum asked, his voice radiating louder than any other in the clearing.
“And he talks!” Solcita said, interest in their voice. “Or- perhaps they, I suppose. Might I ask…?” Infern rolled his eyes.
“Refer to me at your convenience.” Summum answered. “May I have your names?”
“Solcita!” She said happily.
“Infern.” He growled.
“Edda!” Edda added.
Aven did not finish the joke. Edda gave him a pouting look.
“… All is well, then.” Summum said with a nod.
“… It is good to meet you, Infern and Solcita. You have much to learn, but I am sure with their help…” He gestured at Edda and Aven. “… You will figure things out.”
“Here’s hoping.” Infern muttered.
“Chill with the pessimism.” Aven suggested.
“No.” He replied plainly.
“Well, fuck you too.”
“Fuck you, too.”
“Language!” Solcita chastised.
Aven chuckled and Edda giggled. Infern sighed.
“… You guys are just perfect for each other.” Edda said happily.
For the first time today, the two were able to agree on something.
“No.”