Gaze rising from his mahogany desk and the various data pads scattered around, Geron sighed, massaging his forehead and the two horns that rested on it. “Here she es again,” he grumbled, eyes darting to the smooth, deep blue door in the er of his small office.

  How long had it been since her st visit to the Citadel of the Six, a cycle? Maybe two? Geron wasn’t sure… Unlike all of his other siblings, Nikra despised staying in the home they all built together for lohan strictly necessary.

  Not without a good reason, he sighed, not for the first time pushing the gnawing guilt into the deep recesses of his mind. It’s for the best; she is a dao everything we created over the millennia. She o be isoted until she es to her senses again.

  Spinning around in his armchair to face the s-covered wall behind him, Geron waved his hand. At once every image shown faded away, be it various ps, major cities, or even the homes of a few more important families. o give his sister more ammunition to fire at him than needed…

  After all, their st versation didn’t end all that well. Geron had to spend hundreds of hours repairing the damage to his part of the citadel. Wonder how many of you I will o repair this time, he grimaced, eyes sing the various shelves scattered across his small study that held tless priceless artifacts Geroed during his life.

  He could try to shield them with his power, but such a only painted an even bigger target on his possessions. It was much better to just let Nikra rage aroy only a few artifacts, than have all of them reduced into ash.

  Let’s just get it over with, Geron took a deep — if unnecessary — breath, and spun around again, just in time to watch the door slide open.

  “Sister,” he tried to smile. “To what do I owe this pleasure?”

  Nikra, one of the Six, once had been called one of the most beautiful beings ienot surprising as the first of his siblings perfected her true body for tless cycles. She took the best features from every race across the entire multiverse and then adapted them to fit her body.

  Only that Nikra did anymone were her wide smiles and shining bright eyes wheiced one of her family. Instead, in her pce stood this.

  A mass of living darkhat still kept Nikra’s body in somewhat humanoid form. It covered everything, not giving away even an ounce of the sister Geron onew. Wisps of shadows danced across her entire frame as they tried to suck every bit of light out of the room.

  How far you have fallen, my dear sister, Geroly shook his head. With every visit, he had seen less and less of the Nikra he knew, and evidently, the day had finally e where nothing remained. Just like I expected, you now hide the taint of one power, under another.

  “Oh spare me the pleasantries, Geron!” Nikra spat, the room darkening even further. “You know well why I am here. I accepted everything you have done, never really stepping in, but you have finally crossed the line. I had enough!”

  Geron closed his eyes momentarily. “I fear, I have no idea what you’re talking about.”

  The entire room shook in response, cracks spreading across the marble floor. Even ented and created by Geron’s power, it stood no ce against Nikra’s rage.

  “Don’t py games with me, brother,” she hissed, shadows smming into his desk, breaking it in two. “I accepted it when you took away my position as the Leader of the Six. I turned my gaze away as you whispered sweet words into the ears of our siblings so they would all turn their bae. For the Void, I even stopped ing back to our home.”

  Every word was like a star smming right into Geron’s gut a, his form never wavered, his eyes never leaving Nikra’s shaking body. It’s for the best, he repeated like a mantra, even when his sister's voice almost broke when she mentioheir home.

  “Obviously, it was not enough for you,” Nikra growled, her pierg gaze felt even behind the cover of shadows. “Of course you had to go and try to take away the st thing that was mine. You don’t even care that you broke our pact, the pact that the Six of us created together. Do you remember what it said, Geron? Do you?!”

  He did, of course he did. He evehe exact rule that Nikra was referring to. Geron was the oo propose it during their cil. “Rule number seven,” he gulped, knowing that he owed Nikra at least this much. “No member of the Six will interfere in the mortal matters of the followers of another member of this Pact.”

  “A, you did,” his sister whispered before she exploded again. “They were mine, Geron! They chose to follow me, but you just couldn’t accept it, right? You had to take them away, just like you did with our siblings, just like you took everything else I loved away.”

  Silence fell upon the room, now pletely shrouded in darkness. Geron’s gaze fell to the cracked floor, every bit of guilt he pushed away throughout the cycles, now rushing to the forefront of his mind. Was I right? Was it really worth it?

  “You know,” Nikra spoke again, breaking Gerom from his trance. Her voice came out softer than what he had heard in a long time. “I always thought that you, of all our siblings, would have my back. I thought that as the sed oldest, you uood my burden, but obviously I was wrong,” she chuckled, a bitter and hollow thing. “Instead of helping me, you stabbed me in the back. All because you fear what I represent even more than I do.”

  “How pathetic,” she sneered, darkness shing out once more, destroying every item ihe room. “But at least you got what you always wanted, eh? I have nothing to give anymore so I think it’s high time I start to take so you get a taste of your own medie.”

  “Nikra, sister...” Geron tried, anything to stop the speeding train from crashing.

  His sister raised her shadowy palm, a ball of crag darkness f above it. “No, Geron,” she murmured. “You had your ce, a lot of them. Now it’s my turn to act.”

  In a blink of ahe darkness crashed into the s behind him. It went on and on, obliterating everything in its path until only a rge hole remained. It opened Geroire office to the deep space filled with shining stars.

  Soft steps brought his attention back to Nikra, who sloroached the . She stopped right o it, her form shifting around to face him.

  “I hope you are happy, brother,” she spat. “Remember this feeling well, because you won’t experie again for a long time. I will make sure of it.”

  With her part said, Nikra's body shot through the hole, disappearing into the vast gaxy.

  What have I done…

  “So you finally decided to e out and face me,” Nikra’s voice, dark and twisted, boomed through the area. Even with the two of them standing high in the air, Geron didn’t doubt for a sed that everyone otlefield below could see ahem.

  Yet another burning po add to the list.

  The Old One of Creation and Light sighed, taking a few steps towards his twisted sister. “It’s partially my fault that billions died at the hands of shadow structs. It is only fair that I will be the oo put ao this.”

  The darkhat made Nikra’s body spasmed at his words, expanding even more. At this point, it didn’t even remind Geron of anything humanoid, just an amalgamation of different creatures straight out of the darkest parts of the multiverse.

  “A,” the darkness exploded in ughter. “Yet for weeks you hid behind our siblings like a worm, while the cities of your followers drowned in blood. Was it too much when you felt their light disappear? Or was it the guilt that didn’t let you stand against your dear sister?”

  Geron took a deep breath aended his four arms, bdes of light f in each of them. “I’m sorry to say, but you are wrong, sister. I was always there at Citadel, waiting and hoping that you would e to your senses and realize what you have done… Obviously, you didn’t, and now the time has e to end this, ond for all.”

  Tens of shadowy limbs erupted from Nikra’s body, all sharp and ready to strike. “So be it,” the monstrous head growled.

  Like one unit, the two eldritch forces moved, colliding in the middle. Shockwaves created by their every csh killed thousands of beings on the p underh them. A phat soon, like every other visited by Nikra, would be left fotten, broken.

  A necessary sacrifice to stop this madness, Geron gritted his teeth, his arms moving at speeds only ever matched by his siblings to deflect the thousands of strikes thrown in his dire.

  They fought like never before, blurring out of view as soon as powers ected. There was no point in trying any plicated teiques. The simplest maion of their power, their speed and strength were more than enough to twist the fabric of reality, to shred away what once was a beautiful p.

  Even though we are like two sides of one , light and darkness, you were always the stronger one, Nikra. The stro of us all despite only ever using half of your destined powers.

  I should and a ce against you in a one-on-one fight, Geron chuckled bitterly, cutting off yet another k of darkness from his sister's body. But, I'm not truly alooday, am I now?

  Geron desded onto one of the many rocky pieces of the pheir battle destroyed. His steps never wavered as he walked toward the fallen figure in front of him. For the first time in a very long time, his gaze settled on the sister that was always hidden behind yers of darkness.

  What happeo you, Geron swallowed, sing every inch of Nikra’s body.

  Gone was the dusky skin and her luxurious deep violet hair that became Nikra’s mnizable feature in the past. Instead, her entire frame was covered in scarred bck flesh, without a hint of hair anywhere on her scalp. It was as if she melted her skin and the some vulpines chew on it for days.

  To think that the Void corrupt evero being ience, Geron shook his head lightly, stopping a fair distance away from his shaking sister.

  “Of course,” she suddenly whispered, voice raspy and filled with pain. “Even without half of my power, you could have never beaten me alone before. But you’re not alone, are you, brother? I feel their Essence ging to you like a sed skin…”

  Geron shook his head, ing just a few steps closer. “It doesn't matter now. You have made your choid we made ours. I’m truly sorry that I ever let this progress to this point. I hope that one day you will find it in your soul tive me.”

  g his hands, Geron reached deep within himself and pulled on the endless pool of Essence he and his siblings prepared for this exaent. “Kartroma Dar,” he muttered, watg as five pilrs, all covered to the brim with the symbols of the First Tongue, erupted from the ground and encircled Nikra’s fallen form.

  “It’s the end, Nikra. Goodbye…” A whisper was all Geron could get out as transparent golden walls slid into pce between the pilrs. They shone brightly, illuminating the area like a star and he quickly averted his gaze, refusing to look at what was essentially his fault any longer

  “No,” Nikra snapped, her voice f Geron to meet her ruby, slitted gaze as she rose to her knees. “It’s just the beginning brother. After all, what is the point of my fear if I have nothing to lose anymore.”

  No! He tried to scream. Only it was too te as Nikra’s flesh cracked and exploded in a deep crimson fsh, plunging the entire Universe iernal darkness.

  The era of the Void has e.