The universe trembled before the battle even began.It was not a sound nor an explosion, but a shift in the breathing of reality.The clouds split into straight lines. The oceans curved upward. The celestial clocks of creation faltered in their rhythm.
And in the midst of that vibration, Astrid rose.
The crack that had begun to open in Vita—that thread of darkness that slid like a living wound—grew slowly, fed by her will. It was as if the very fabric of the cosmos refused to be torn apart, but her fury was stronger than any law.Before her, the Guardians descended once more, surrounded by floating geometries that glowed in golden and silver hues. Their presences were so vast that the air solidified around them.
"Stop, Astrid," said Equilibrium with a voice that was both a prayer and a command. "You can still save yourself from yourself. This is your final warning."
Astrid did not respond.Her gaze burned with a cruel serenity. Behind her, the crack pulsed like a dark heart.The brooch on her chest rotated, emitting a constant hum, a single note vibrating through every molecule of the air.
Causality stepped forward."You don't understand what you're doing. The crack will not bring your world back. It will only drag everyone into ruin."
"That's what I hope," Astrid said, her smile sharpening into a blade.
The ground split.And the sky, once blue, turned black.
The first strike was a song.
The Guardians moved their hands, and a set of rings of light descended upon Astrid.The energy twisted, transforming into a thousand symbols representing the stability of the cosmos. They were the very essence that held the multiverse together—the living equation of order.
But Astrid raised the brooch and, with a violent gesture, shattered the structure.The rings broke like glass, and the sound they emitted was so pure it pierced through galaxies.On nearby planets, auroras ignited as if the universe itself were weeping.
The battle began.
It was a clash of ideas as much as of power.The Guardians were pure force: equations, concepts, balance, conservation.Astrid was chaos, passion, and pain distilled into energy. Every time her brooch shone, a star was born and died at once. Every time she extended her hand, the horizon lit up completely.
The space around them glowed as if it were day.And Astrid fired a beam of light at the Guardians, creating an explosion that shook and scattered them all.The smoke moved like waves, and the sound of the attack merged with the roar of existence itself trying not to collapse.
After the attack, Astrid charged at Entropy first. She lunged at him with a strike that sent him crashing into the planet's moon—but she did not stop there. She flew at incredible speed, and before Entropy could react, she struck him again, splitting the moon and sending him hurtling into a planet. Astrid was already flying again to attack him, but this time Entropy managed to react and used the nearest stars as projectiles, launching them toward Astrid, who shielded herself by forming a field of power around her.
She resisted all the strikes, but then the other Guardians appeared and together shattered Astrid's barrier. They aligned and created a synchronized shockwave that sent her back toward Vita.
Astrid was about to crash into the planet but regained control midair before impact. She then opened a portal behind the Guardians and launched a blast through it, hitting them head-on and sending them flying toward Vita as well. Astrid received them with another attack that slammed them into the ground.
Astrid was already charging a sphere of power, preparing to unleash it and destroy them along with the planet—but at that moment, Equilibrium raised his hands and sealed the skies, trapping her in a sphere of pure light. Astrid broke it from within, and an explosion of light swept across the entire battlefield.
The air disintegrated. Colors lost their meaning.It was a symphony of destruction, a dance of ancient wills.
Causality was the first to fall.Astrid took advantage of the distraction caused by the explosion, moved quickly behind him, and unleashed a beam of light so powerful that it completely disintegrated him. His form faded like a comet losing its trajectory.Before disappearing, he extended his voice toward Astrid, filled with infinite sorrow.
"You can still stop. What you seek no longer exists—but you do… you can still exist with purpose."
Astrid did not respond.The brooch's glow intensified, and Causality dissipated into a tide of light that merged with the crack.
Then Entropy fell.Still disoriented by the explosion, the attack shocked them even more, and Astrid wasted no time. She lunged at him and, with a beam of light formed in her hand, split him in half.His final act was an attempt to close the crack with his energy—but Astrid's brooch shone intensely and absorbed him.
Entropy tried to resist, but the brooch roared like a sun and engulfed him as well.
Only Equilibrium and Silence remained. Finally reacting, with desperation and anger, they trapped Astrid together in a new sphere.
"…Damn it," Astrid said, before being hurled across the entire solar system, crashing into every planet as if inside a pinball machine.
Astrid tried to endure inside the sphere, but as soon as she struck one planet, she was sent to the next, making it nearly impossible to act.
However, after several seconds, completely fed up, Astrid created another, smaller sphere around herself to stabilize, then launched herself like a comet toward Vita.
The Guardians saw her approach and unleashed another combined energy attack that collided with Astrid's sphere.
The three powers clashed, and instead of trying to overpower it, Astrid changed direction and attacked from the side, veering right and striking Equilibrium directly. The impact was so massive that it destroyed him completely, causing him to burst and generating a shockwave that sent Silence flying again, crashing into nearby mountains.
Silence was badly wounded. From afar, he looked at Astrid—not with fury, but with pity. Astrid walked calmly toward him, as if savoring the moment.For a second, he saw the girl she had once been—the one who had dreamed of saving worlds.
When Astrid finally stood before him, they stared at each other for a few seconds. Astrid's gaze was so piercing and determined it felt as if she were looking straight into his soul. Her yellow eyes shone so brightly they almost emitted a glow. Silence looked back with a mixture of fear and sadness before asking one last time:
"Why?" Silence asked, almost in a whisper. "Why deny yourself the peace you sought so much?"
Astrid held his gaze.Her voice was a cold thread:
"Because peace born from lies is not peace. It's submission."
Silence lowered his head, and Astrid disintegrated him in a flash that left not even a trace. He was completely erased from existence.
The universe fell still.The crack continued to grow, spreading like a network of black veins across the sky.The echoes of the Guardians dissolved into it, as if their essence were being absorbed to feed the wound.
Astrid finally dropped to her knees, panting. The fight had been far more difficult than she had expected.The brooch's power pulsed in her chest—too strong, too vast.The air warped, continents trembled, seas withdrew toward the edges of the world.
She stood and looked at the crack she had created, now beginning to expand. She started using her power to make it larger and larger—but before she could fully open it…
She heard a voice.
"Astrid…"
The voice came from nowhere, yet it was everywhere.It was soft, familiar, ancient.
Astrid looked up.Before her, a figure emerged from the shadows, materializing: Elisa.
The goddess had returned.
Her form was human, but her presence was not.The veil surrounding her seemed to contain stars, and her skin glowed with a radiance that hurt the eyes.When she spoke, her voice slipped through the debris like a breeze that needed no sound.
"Stop, Astrid."
Astrid slowly stood, her face drenched in sweat and rage.Her breathing was a fiery pant.
"You," she said, her tone between resentment and contained fury. "I knew you'd show up sooner or later."
Elisa looked at her with a sorrowful expression—almost maternal, almost guilty."I didn't want it to come to this," she whispered to herself. "I didn't want to take physical form again… this puts all balance at risk. But if I don't, everything will end too soon."
Astrid frowned."What are you muttering now, Elisa? Another speech about balance and eternal love?"
Elisa stepped forward."No, Astrid. I just want you to listen. I did all of this for you—for everyone. I tried to bring back what was lost… I couldn't let suffering be the only thing left. I just wanted to restore them."
Astrid laughed—a broken, hollow sound."For me? For everyone? Don't make me laugh." Her voice rose into a shout. "This is not my world! These are not my people! You killed them all and replaced them with imitations! Is that compassion? Is that redemption?"
Elisa closed her eyes, pain evident on her face."I didn't kill them, Astrid. I only… reintegrated them into the flow. Nothing is lost. Everything changes."
"No," Astrid interrupted. "You destroyed them. Just as the Guardians destroyed the first existence, you destroyed the second. You didn't create anything new—you just used the ashes."She pointed to the ground, trembling with rage."What we stand on is a monument to death. This infinite, endless multiverse is nothing but a grave you call creation."
Elisa took another step, her voice trembling."I tried to give you another chance. A life free from pain, a different path."
"And who asked you for that?" Astrid snapped, tears boiling down her cheeks. "I didn't want to forget! I didn't want to be someone else! You decided for everyone!"Her voice broke."You stole our choice… you stole my world, and now I swear I'm going to take everything from your miserable existence too, you wretched bastard."
The silence that followed was unbearable.Elisa lowered her gaze."…I truly didn't want to do this… but now I understand I can't save you," she said in a whisper heavy with sorrow. "I can only stop you."
Astrid raised the brooch."Try it. This time won't be like the last time we fought."
Their battle began once more, as if both were destined to clash no matter the world or moment.Elisa conjured entire black holes to halt Astrid's advance, and each time she did, Astrid dissolved them with bursts of light that erased the darkness.The air turned to fire; time itself seemed to slow to witness their clash.
It was almost poetic—how Astrid's pure light and creation fought to destroy everything, while Elisa's void and darkness fought to protect it.
For a moment, Astrid managed to wound the goddess. Her brooch released a wave of light so intense that space warped. But Elisa did not hesitate.Her power was older, deeper—a force of pure nonexistence. Astrid believed she was putting up a fight, but to Elisa, this wasn't even a challenge. The power she possessed as a divinity was something Astrid couldn't even begin to comprehend.
And as the battle progressed, Elisa, now tired, raised her hand and struck Astrid down with a single attack. Astrid didn't even have time to react. She was hit directly and sent crashing into the ground like a leaf struck by a storm.Her body trembled. Her energy was drained.The brooch flickered weakly as she lay on the ground.
Elisa approached slowly, her face sorrowful."I'm sorry," she whispered. "I truly didn't want it to come to this."
Astrid lifted her head with effort, her eyes blurred.Her voice was barely a thread.
"Why does this have to happen to me again…?" she gasped. "I'm going to die again… why does it feel like no matter what I do, existence itself is against me? It's not fair… if only I were more capable… if only I had more power…"
She let her head fall to the ground, her face shadowed by defeat, while she could only watch Elisa before her charging an attack."Please… I don't want to die. Someone… save me…"
Then the voices came.
"Astrid…"
The young woman opened her eyes, stunned."Who… who is it?"
The voices sounded doubled—masculine and feminine—blended as if two consciousnesses spoke in unison.
"You already know exactly who we are, Astrid. We have whispered to you for a long time… but this is the first time you've wanted to listen."
Astrid struggled to breathe."What do you want? Won't you let me die in peace… for the second time?"
"Please, Astrid," the voices replied, almost sweetly. "Think for a moment. We only want to help you. Just look around you… you said it yourself, didn't you? It's as if all existence is against you. It's not fair that no matter what you do, you can't win."
The crack behind her pulsed. From within it, a faint glow emerged, as if two shadows were watching from the other side.
"But we can help you," they continued. "We can give you the power you seek—the true second chance you long for."
Astrid closed her eyes. New tears, burning, streamed down her cheeks."It's true… I don't have the strength to win. This world… has always been against me."
"That's right," the voices whispered in unison.
"Can you… really help me?"
"Of course, Astrid," they replied. "We can give you the power you desire. Just take our hand."
On the other side of the devastated battlefield, Elisa felt something change in the air.Time froze for an instant.
Astrid slowly raised her trembling hand.Her voice, barely audible, was a sigh that cut through the night:
"Yes… thank you for this second chance."
The crack lit up.And the voices laughed softly.