Chapter 32
Nemesis gazes down at the town; the beast halts, gradually retreating.
The spirit energy surrounding Nemesis became increasingly chaotic; the loose bandages lashed about, creating fissures in the air around him.
"Young Gnario."
His voice was chilling.
Young Gnario appeared behind him, transformed. He possessed two additional eyes, four wings, six legs, and two tails, with red lightning crackling fiercely around his crimson scales. An ominous dark cloud and spirit energy enveloped him.
Below, the Pet of Calamity slowly withdrew. Clara observed, her mind racing with questions.
The beast was retreating, but it felt different; it seemed to exhibit fear, a rarity for something tied to calamity. Even more strange was the fact that not just the beast, but the very concept of Calamity appeared to tremble.
In a desperate move, the beast roared at the dragon that had materialized in the sky.
The dragon dove toward the beast at a breakneck speed; the air around it coalesced, forming steam.
Gnario slammed the beast's head into the ground, causing minor tremors. He sank his monstrous claw into the beast's back and ripped its spine out while its head and tail remained attached to it.
The beast was no more; the air around them felt frozen, too afraid to stir. The body of the beast slowly turned into ash.
Gnario observed the distorted, ominous sky created by the beast and roared; the sky shattered like glass, raining down fragments that vanished before reaching the ground. The ominous sky was gone.
Nemesis descended slowly into the town center, making his way toward Sir Maxwell's location. As he moved, the loose bandages brushed against random objects, which began to disintegrate.
Nearby soldiers fled, except for one injured man, Loid, who was so badly hurt he could not move, resigning himself to his fate.
Another soldier, Joan, was about to rush toward him when the little girl grasped her hand.
"Why are you worried?" she asked with an innocent smile.
Joan stared at her as if she had spoken a heretical statement.
Nemesis approached Loid; one of his loose bandages made contact with him.
Loid did not disintegrate; instead, he appeared healed and revitalized. He gazed at the figure before him, trying to figure out who he was.
Nemesis continued onward; he glanced at the doorway and exchanged a knowing look with the little girl. He gave her a thumbs up, and she smiled back.
Joan observed closely the small glimmer of light; she caught a glimpse of the red diamond embedded in his chest.
"Nemesis?"
Nemesis reached Sir Maxwell and regarded him.
"Where are the Phantoms?"
At that moment, Young Gnario arrived. It unfurled its tail, and Clara and Tezuka were gently laid on the ground.
Nemesis took one of the loose bandages wrapped around them and began to heal them.
"Where is Aenzil?"
"She might be dead by now," Gath replied, standing a short distance away.
Gnario prepared to charge.
Nemesis turned to Young Gnario. "Stay here with them."
He then directed his attention to Sir Maxwell: "I will confront her alone."
With that declaration, they both vanished, leaving behind a symbol on the ground indicating a realm had been activated.
Gath and Nemesis found themselves in Nemesis's realm. Sanity and Knight stood on a drifting landmass some distance away.
"Now tell me again. Where is she?"
Gath smirked. "Even if I told you, what could you possibly do? She might be dead by now, and I can ensure you join her soon. In fact, I might even claim this realm once I kill you."
"Chaos and destruction are nothing before order," she added.
Nemisis remained still, not moving.
"What? Don't tell me you are scared." She asked with a tease in her voice.
"Well," Nemesis finally spoke. "I'm not sure if I will get cancelled if I hit a woman, but I also believe in equality."
Gath looked at him confused. "What do you mean?"
"Never mind," Nemisis said.
Nemesis began to walk towards Gath; the loose bangages drifted along with him. Gath quickly fired a bunch of white energy balls at Nemisis.
The attack had no effect; before she could react, he was already close to her. He grabbed her by the face and launched her at the row of planets.
He followed behind, grabbing her head and smashing it through the 15th planet. Bandages gathered around two massive moons almost the size of Earth and smashed her in between.
Before Gath could catch her breath, she received countless punches, and it sent her through dozens of floating landmasses before hitting a mountain. She slowly got onto her feet, bloody, beaten, and bruised.
At the edge of the landmass she was on, she looked down, and below was the dark, ominous, endless sea; her face grew pale. She watched above, and there was Nemisis hovering above her; his presence felt heavy.
She dropped onto her knees, slowly raising her hand at him as if to ask for help. Her whole body trembles.
"Now tell me where she is?" His tone was cold.
Gath's body shook even more, her words caught in her throat before they could escape.
Suddenly, the surroundings turned white, revealing a tall feminine figure draped in exquisite white garments, her face gleaming like polished gold.
The landscape gradually transformed, showcasing lush green grass and the bluest of skies. It was a breathtaking scene, so serene that the air felt almost non-existent.
The woman walked slowly toward the pond, her bare feet gliding over the grass, which curled beneath her, shielding her from the dirt.
"Why are you here?" her voice was soothing. "Why do you wish to confront him? What do you hope to achieve? Did you not witness what happened to Calamity? Or did you think only the pet experienced fear?
"Order..." Gath murmured softly.
She struggled to rise to her feet.
"We can defeat him; we can restore balance to his chaos. We—"
"'We'?" the woman interrupted. "We? It's amusing to hear that from someone who never heeded my voice. There was never a 'we'; you acted alone. I bestowed upon you everything, every power I possessed, hoping you would listen, but—
You never did. Yes, I am Order in both concept and reality, but our mother always taught us one thing: 'No matter how powerful we believe ourselves to be, it is a death wish to oppose one of them, The Great Ones.'
You witnessed Calamity experience fear; among the Ten Great Ones, this particular one makes us regret our very existence. Though this may merely be his tamest vessel, it was sufficient to instill panic in Fear itself after hearing the news of its existence.
He has the ability to kill and resurrect us with memories of our past and deaths. He inflicted pain upon us. And you think you can establish order; even our mother, whom you refer to as the Mother of Concepts, could not accomplish that with me, her child."
Gath stepped back, her body quaking, tears welling in her eyes.
"I regret to inform you, Gath, but you answered my call too late. Fortunately for me, this is merely a tame vessel, and it seems its purpose does not involve me. However, before I take my leave, I grant you my power one last time. Use it wisely.
Farewell."
With those words, the scene shifted, and Gath saw Nemesis hovering above her. She felt a new surge of energy, but deep down, she understood that the Concept of Order had departed from her.
[Indeed, we are the framework of both concepts and reality, possessing the complete structure of existence and the entire blueprint of creation.
We find it an insult to refer to our mother as the Mother of Concepts, as we define their existence, yet we permit it because it grants her a name—something that neither Creation nor Time could ever provide her, their own daughter, who in turn named us all.
Despite this authority, why would we dare oppose that mad one? Even the other nine tremble before him, for among them, he stands alone as the most feared.
-Chaos]