<THE WAR OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS-Resolution>
I watch the chessboard dismayed. I had planned every move and every countermove my adversary could have tough. I was so sure to win.
And now…
…now the game is even. The game of fate, the destiny of creation, the War of Light and Darkness…
…even.
My name is Continuity, and I am the God of this Multiverse. Many would say that I am only one of the Gods that play all over reality, the newer, younger one, to say the truth.
In a way, that is. I was born… recreated, if you prefer, less than two years ago, after a battle that has shaken the Hyperboards like never before, and that paved the way for this War of light and Darkness.
It is known as the Triarchy War. Some minor demons claim to have been the true manipulators behind that game. Sorry, but it were I. Or, at last, my former self.
Doktor Klone. The original one, not one of his infinite duplicate. The one that before was called the Eurotsar. The first. The first to be cloned from Edulcore Cicciotto, the Italian hero Eurostar.
A villain, a sorcerer, a mad scientist, that found a way to gain control over the whole Hyperboards. And the funny thing is that he succeeded in that. Contrary to all the battle that went before, the villain that time did win.
But with the powers, he gained what he had not before. A conscience. And so, I was created.
Continuity.
The Lord of chaos. Because the Hyperboard are nothing else. Chaos.
With my birth, another God came to life. Cancellation. The Lord of order. The destroyer. Because in the void, in total entropy, is the definitive order.
All this to show you that I am the God of this multiverse, just like my twin is the antigod.
All the others, are just different faces of us, came to life in different moments, different places, but part of us anyway.
Good and evil. Light and darkness. Aura Madza and Ahriman. The X and the V. Marc Campbell the Moderator and Casanova Kamphausen the Anti-Moderator. Life and death.
My twin and me are only the newer faces of this eternal force that drive this multiverse.
That drove, I should say. Because, watching the chessboard, I know that from now things will be different. The free will of a man has destroyed aeons of machinations of cosmic forces.
So, I raise my head from the chessboard, and watch Cancellation in the eyes. He smiles at me, stand up, and lend me his right hand. I lend mine, we shakes. Jake the Warrior Sprite, maybe the most powerful superhero ever existed that was called into this place to be referee of our game officially declares it even.
“CALL YOUR CHAMPIONS, AND I WILL CALL MINES. IN TWO HOURS, IN THE PHANTOM BOARDS” I say. Cancellation nods his head, and vanishes.
The entire place vanishes, with Jake and the dozens of funny named boys that were ours spectators.
And I transfer myself into the Phantom Board, waiting for the others to show up.
I sit into the luscious grass, and let the wind to stroke gently my face.
I lie down, watching the clouds running in the blue sky, and let my mind wanders to what could have happened, if not for the will of one of my pieces on the chessboard.
quote:
At the top of the Citadel Tower, the surviving MBL and Tomb members are gathered to heard the words of Eurostar, the late hero just returned from the land of the dead. In the meeting room only Gooz is absent, being in the infirmary to watches his dying son, Richard.
At the round table sits Changeling, Eurostar, with his Snake Headed Son in his arms, Sir Justin, Daniel Page, Bibbo, LLance, Redros, Joker1, Shock, Captain Nemo and Zod.
Eurostar stands up and begins to speak: “Well, I think that first I have to explain how I am here. After our battle with the HE, nearly two years ago, I died, and went to Heaven. There, I enlisted for a flock of angels to battle the Basilisks off Paraxus. I did well, and was rewarded with the position of Guardian Angel for my son. Then, last week, during the battle in Thunder City, two demons were about to kidnap my son. I had no other choice, so I had to fall over the mortal plane to save him. So, now I am back as a mortal, but all my powers, even my original powers of a speedster, have been stripped away”.
The eyes of everybody are wide open.
“Well, never mind. The only thing important is that I know what’s happening, and I own the Book of the Revelations, that the Courts of Light handed to me during the Battle with the Dark X”.
The Changeling looks at the book in the hand of Eurostar and says: “Talk, friend. I haven’t been able to contact the Courts since the end of the battle. What’s happening?”
“After the suicide of Avatar, he has gone to Hell, like every suicide does. But there, Michael, the archangel, which was the one that gave humanity magic, empowered back Kreegan and gave him a mission. Avatar, down in Hell, has killed Viper and freed Chewy. Chewy and Avatar now are in Heaven, and finally they have peace.” On the face of Bibbo, a sad smile appears.
“The spirit of Viper has been banned in the Pit. At the same time, the spirit of the X as been freed from the possession of the Zod of this Earth, and in that moment Ry-Chard has been stripped of his role as the Watcher of Light and Darkness. But it was only a moment”.
“Sadly, the Circles of Darkess still held prisoner the God Continuity. He is playing with his counterpart, Cancellation, a chess game, of which we heroes are the pieces. Until he plays, there is hope for Earth to survive. If he loses, the Circles of Darkness will overcome the Courts of Light, and humankind will be slave of Hell.”
The others begin to speak to each othes loudly, the most obvious remark is: “But we have just won the War!”
Eurostar watches the Changeling, then replies: “You have won a battle, not the War. And for this first victory, Continuity has sacrificed his most important pieces. The ten Promethei.”
“The ten Promethei? There is only one Prometheus in the whole Hyperboards!” says Joker1.
“No, that’s not the truth. The MBL have met the other Promethei during the clash of the Moderator and the Anti-moderator, three years ago. I was there!” exclaims Zod.
“It’s true” says the Changeling. “After the Voice created Light, his embodiment, Aura Mazda, split into ten separate beings, to be not overcome by the infinite power at his disposal. Only in time of greatest crisis the ten beings would be reunited, just like during the antiModerator comings. But this time, Continuity has kept the first nine separated from the tenth, the X, to lessen his powers, that this time were on the darkness side”.
“Sadly, the only place where he could hide them, the only place where Viper wouldn’t have look for them, was in Hell. I don’t know anything else, because I have been separated from the Courts, since.”
“I can continue” says Eurostar. “With the death of Viper, his four lieutenant has begun a struggle to rise to power. They are Azazel, Dark Fury, Carriel and the Fog King. They were about to divide the Circles of Darkness in factions, when Lucifer Morningstar, the keeper of Hell, has bartered the unity of the Circles with the powers of Viper. To be short, he has handled the nine Promethei to the four Lord Demons. They have used their powers to bring back the spirit of Viper, and then have killed them. The result is that now the spirit of Viper is back on Earth, without an X to held it in check.”
“So, the sacrifice of Avatar has only been a waste?” asks Shock.
“No, Avatar has freed Chewy, and that was the most important thing. But the fact that Michael tough that killing Viper and banning him to the Pit would have been sufficient to erase him from the Hyperboards, shows how even the Courts are helpless in this War” says Eurostar. “Now the spirit of Viper lives inside the Tetrarchy, the four Lord Demons. Now, they, which hated each other the most, are willing to cooperate to bring the Darkness to win over Light. Now, after the battle in Thunder have killed so many heroes, we are needed most.”
“What are they doing, Eurostar?” asks Zod
“They have begun four mission. The Fog King at the head of his troops has just invaded Sir Justin realm, to capture Gaia, which is hiding there. Gaia, the Earth avatar, is about to give birth to the Harbinger, the only hope for our planet to win this war. The Fog King wants to kill him before he is given birth”. At these words, Sir Justin and Nemo, the lover of Gaia, exchange sights.
“Dark Fury has taken the role of Viper in commanding earthly forces, that TOMB knows as the Siecle Draco. They have been lying a net of conspiracies among the Earth government for centuries, tricked by Viper in believing he would have brought an age of Enlightenment over Earth. The true goal of Viper is to have Earth becoming the homeplanet of his elected race, the Basilisks, which are near to land on our planet.” Unheard by many, Bibbo is mumbling something about a Saros.
“Azazel is preparing the attack to the Silver City, the home of the Courts of Light. He is gathering the demonic troops to launch the assault”. At these words, the Changeling’s wings begins to shakes uncontrollably.
“Finally, Cariel is choosing the evilest damned souls to prepare an army of undead, just like the one you had fought here in Thunder, to enslave humankind in preparation for the arrival of the Basilisks. All the villain we have killed in all these years will be reborn, and aimed at us”.
The grouped heroes begin to talks. “I will fight Azazel, just like last year” says the Changeling. 2I will defend Gaia” shouts Nemo. “No, we must stay united to fight the invasion” says Zod.
“Silence!” shouts Gooz, just returned from the infirmary. “Days ago, at the beginning of the battle in Thunder, the X spoke to me. It was a prophecy…Hell will rise. The boy. Pete McLebovich, the son of Marc Campbel, is the key. The Colony has risen, spreading throughout a city. Death will follow as you attempt to protect the next generation. You can only lead so far, others are needed. An angel will need to find his humanity to understand what must be done. Love will be taken away from he who needs it most, a god will be created at another’s death. This I warn you. So, the X is suggesting us that Eurostar, the angel that has found his humanity again, knows what we have to do. I say that we follow his advice. Bibbo?”
Bibbo looks at Gooz, and then at Eurostar. “Agreed” he says, laconically.
“Thanks” says Eurostar. “What I know, comes from my last minutes as an angel. Sadly, now I am cut away from the Courts, and I have lost all my powers. This advice is all the help I can give you, then I will retire. I have a son to raise. I will pray for your success, I don’t want my kid to be enslaved by Hell.
Anyway, that’s what I would do. Our forces are lessened, we have to concentrate over a few tasks. The most urgent things to do is to stop the Fog King and Carriel. You have to split into two groups: one will be lead by Sir Justin into his Realm, to stop the fog King. The other will go into Hell, lead by Joker1”
At the name of Joker1, some of the heroes begin to laugh.
“It’s true. God appointed me months ago!” says Joker1.
“Right” says Eurostar. “In Hell, you will have to retrieve the Chalice of Power, the Saint Graal. That’s the key to defeat of the Circles of Darkness. Until they have it, the angelic flocks are unable to attack Hell”.
“I will battle Azazel” shouts the Changeling.
“No, Collector” says Eurostar. “In Hell, you could find an ally in Morningstar. He doesn’t want this War to end with the victory of Hell because is power come only from the status quo. With humanity replaced by the Basilisks, there will be no humans to tempt no damned to rule over. You, Kyle, have met Lucifer before, you are needed there”.
“OK, but don’t call me Kyle. Kyle is dead” says, with a grim face, the Changeling.
Eurostar continues: “Zod, you will have command over the Corps, your MBL and the remaining metas of Earth. Some ex-leaguer have not responded to Gooz call, would be good to find them. The current displaced Leaguers should be here soon. You will have to defend Earth from the invasion of the Basilisks.
“And Azazel?” asks the Changeling.
“The Silver City will have to defend itself…Now form the two teams and go. There is no more time…”
That was the crucial moment.
In my plan, that would have been the moment in which the building of my lasting victory would have begun. In the end, I would have emerged as the only winner of the War. And a new, definitive age of Chaos would have spread all over the Hyperboards.
Nemo, Bibbo, LLance and Redros, led by Sir Justin, would have followed the trail of the Fog King to the Hidden Land, the realm from which Justin came. There, Gaia, the Earth Avatar, was hiding, to protect his unborn son, the Harbinger, from the wrath of the Fog King.
The quest would have been difficult, and long, but time, there, goes with a different pace from Earth. After one hard battle with the foglets, the minions of the King, Nemo would have vanished, thrown away into a different Hyperboard, where he would have joined the Lost Boys, a group of stranded metas from various time and places. In the end, he would have returned right at the moment he left, but much more versed in the use of Ladnikia, his damned sword. Versed, but the true word would have been enslaved. Enslaved to a point that all he was looking for was death.
And in the end, defending Gaia in the moment of her labour, while the other heroes fought the foglets, Nemo would have given his life to destroy the Fog King.
Meanwhile, Joker1 would have led Gooz, Danny, Daniel, Changeling and Shock into Hell, to retrieve the Chalice of Power. They would have battled Cariel, another one of the four Demon Lord, and his army of undead, among them the Guild, the old servants of Doktor Klone. It would have been impossible, if not for the help of Lucifer Morningstar himself, eager for destroying the other lord demons, to conquer the place of only ruler of Hell.
Meanwhile, on Earth, the months would have passed. The Klone Dome of JAMB, with Smasher, Doc Quantum, Disco Steve, Jason, Lorelei, Giovacchino the supercat, the young Eurostar, Beckeneker, Joker2, Hourlyquinn, Crush, and Supersloth would have arrived in a world conquered by the Basilisks Armada.
In the previous months, the Siecle Draco, the secret society of worshippers of Viper, under the order of the third Demon Lord, Dark Fury, would have convinced the various Earth government, infiltrated by Saros long before, to surrender to the invading armada. The heroes still on Earth included all the MB Corpsmen, were put into prison camps, thanks to the betraying of KidBucket, which had turned villain years before. No heroes knew that, only Kristogar Velo, which left the board three years before, without letting the MBL to know.
The assembled MBL/TIAMAT/JAMB survivor would have found the adult and powerless Eurostar, with his Snake_headed_son, hiding in the Eurocave, under Eurodisney. He, although powerless, would have introduced himself into the White House, to confront the new governor of the Americas, appointed by Saros, to find that he was no one other than the new incarnation of Doktor Klone. After a bloody fight, Eurostar would have prevailed, discovering the location of the Metahuman detention camp. The Klone Dome heroes, at this point, would have attacked the camp and freed the prisoner. The superhero squadron, then, would have declared war to the joined Siecle Draco/Basilisks force, in an all out war. There would have been many casualties, and many Earth cities would have been destroyed, but in the end the metahuman forces would have prevailed, especially thanks to the idea of Crush, of relocating the reptilians alien to Mars, which was terraformed in an early adventure of JAMB. Without the alien forces, Saros and his men would have been defeated soon.
At that moment, the last of the Demon Lord, Azazel would have finally succeeded into breaking the gates of the Silver City, and the demons army would have attacked the angels. Thanks to the possession of many mystical artefacts, the Hell’s army would have taken over the Silver City, and Metatron would have thrown the Rhymer back on Earth taking away his Godhood, when the whole angelic city would have been shaken to its foundation by the arrival of the newly born Harbinger and the two teams of heroes, with the Chalice of Power.
The new harbinger would have been no one other than the Hyperboard Entity, which was destroyed years before by the sacrifice of Eurostar, and whose powers contributed to the transformation of the first Doktor Klone into myself. When I “joined” Gaia, those powers impregnated her, recreating the HE into her womb.
And then, the HE confronts Azazel, and the final battle would begin. Thanks to Chalice of Power, the heroes would overcome the demons, freeing the angels. In the end, Azazel would have been defeated, and Light would have win over Darkness. And the HE would have taken Ladnikia, the sword of the now dead Nemo, and would have crushed its hilt, that mysteriously housed the Circles of Darkness, thus materially destroying Hell.
But my plan did not ended there.
At that point, the restored power of the Courts of Light would have taken the path began with the creation to his final stage. Metatron would depower all the demons, and, now mere mortals banned them on Earth. Then, he would have declared Earth as Light territory, and order the angels to bring Project Eden to fulfilment.
Project Eden. Light’s pet. Metatron pride. Replacing humanity, the descendants of a race of apes, the product of evolution, with a superhuman race created by the Light. The first time, many thousands years ago, it ended with murder, and with the banning of those supermen on Earth, to meddle with humans. It was the origin of the metagene, and also of the first civilisation Earth saw, after the destruction of the Basilisks own, 64 millions years ago.
Metatron then would have ordered the angels to enslave all of humankind, to remodel the planet for the new superhuman race. The heroes would have been helpless, being held at bay by the same power of the Chalice, that previously destroyed all the demons.
And then, my stroke of genius. Gooz, Ritchie Stevens, would have done all what he could to prevent this situation. Finally, he would have let himself to become what he was destined to be. He would have let himself to become, finally, the X, like Prometheus predicted him many years ago, although for all these years he tried to wander away from that path, allowing first his son, and then this Earth Zod, to become the hosts for the X.
So, Gooz become the X, and imbued by his power, kill Metatron, but the battle shift the Silver City from his dimension, making it falling over Earth, destroying the whole of Athanon County. But his citizen would have been saved by Eurostar and the superfast heroes, like Tobias Cristopher, FlashXIII, Superfastknowitallman, LLance and the young Eurostar, which would have collected all the people and brought them to safety in the Citadel. Then, just before the crash, Eurostar would have piloted the Citadel, like a spaceship, into orbit.
And in the renowned headquarter a new, definitive MBL would have been born. With many deaths and much destruction, most of the heroes would have chosen to dedicate their life to the rebuilding of the civilisation over the planet. But seven supermen would be needed to watch over the planet.
And the new MBL would have been born, by the seven men that much dedication gave to the team.
Dan E. Boy, back to his human form, as Rypta Gud’n.
Jack Eimann, returned from a Hyperboard where he succeeded into starting a revolution, as the Indestructible Man.
Edulcore Cicciotto, now powerless, but with much more experience and a powerful son to raise, as the Eurostar.
The lone survivor of a long dead Universe, back where he belonged, the man known as Zod.
A man jealous of his private life and of his family, which knows when is the moment to serve: Captain Carrot.
Arnold Bibowsky, a man of many lives, fine strategist and field leader, as Bibbo.
And finally, a hero whose life has been weird and complex, but that now has completely surrendered to his fate: Ritchie Stevens, as Prometheus X.
That would have been the new, definitive MBL.
And I. I would have been the only God to watch over this multiverse. No more Courts of Light, no more Circles of Darkness. No Viper, and the X reduced from Godhood to cosmical level, as it would have been from the start. Streamlined continuity, to begin a new era for the Message Board League and the Multiverse over which it watch.
What a dream.
Yes, it would have caused the death of many heroes, and of millions of common people. Whole nations would have been cancelled, and maybe the Earth would have never returned to his former level of civilisation.
But, who cares? It would have been, finally, a great, cohesive continuity. My duty would have been fulfilled.
But, no.
The will of a single person destroyed all of my plan. My greatest creation, gone forever.
That fateful day, when Eurostar asked to prepare two teams, to invade the Hidden Realm and Hell, he shook his head and said: “No. I have finally given up. Over the last few years, things have just got worse and worse, up to a point where things don’t make sense, like some higher beings are just trying to fuck us over. The League is dead. TOMB is gone. Maybe, just maybe, it is better that way. I died along with the League.”
In that moment, he finally made the decision he left on suspension for many years, from that fateful day Promethus X revealed him that they were the same person, and that Ritchie Steven was destined to become him.
That revelation never really tempted him. It frightened him, because he never feared anything most than loose his humanity, to become the cold stranger called Prometheus X.
And when, years later, he met the now human Prometheus, enjoying his now found mortality, happy among men that he finally could call friends, his destiny become more and more a burden to heavy to sustain.
And after the vanishing of Prometheus, the destruction of Mandelovia and Thunder City, the suicide of Avatar and the death of so many heroes and peoples alike, he simply gave up. He never could have been Promethus X. That future could go literally to Hell.
In that moment, Prometheus X never existed anymore, in any point of the timeline, in any segment of the Hyperboards.
And without Prometheus X would never have been a Message Board League, Edulcore Cicciotto would have never travelled to America, the Eurotsar would never have been created and never would have gained uncanny powers to become Continuity. And the War of Light and Darkness would never have started. So, in a few time I will simply disappear, never having been created. Like me, many other things will disappear from various points in history AND in space. The multiverse will not disappear. Simply, it will be different.
<THE WAR OF LIGHT AND DARKNESS-Resolution End>
<TOMBL Universe-Resolution>
On the luscious field of grass shaken by the wind, the forces of Hell, Heaven and Earth began to gathers.
There are dozens of MBLeaguers, the few surviving members of TOMB, thousands of demons led by their four Lords, with Lucifer Morningstar and his little brother, thousands of angels with the seven gods of the Courts.
From the crowd, an enraged Captain Nemo runs toward me, and then, brandishing his sword, shouts at me: “I was about to kill that bastard”, pointing his index finger toward the Fog King, “why are we now here?”
“Calm yourself, Nemo” says Eurostar, the adult one, coming near us. “There will be no more War”
I speak :”THAT’S TRUE. THERE WILL BE NO WAR. NO WINNERS, NO LOSERS. AND ALL THE WOUNDS WILL BE HEALED.”
“What does it means?” asks Nemo.
“That all the inconsistencies and paradoxes created by our travels trough the hyperboards, and by the fact that many of us defied our pasts or our futures, will be cleaned up. After all, it his duty” explains Eurostar, looking at me for a moment.
“But… but all our lives will be cancelled! What is the difference from dying in a War or be retconned?” shouts nNemo, waving Ladnikia.
“We will not die. We simply will walk a different path. In a world easier to understand, and maybe with lesser higher beings that meddles with our lives.
Nemo seems to think for a moment, than says simply “Bah!” and drives Ladnikia in the ground. Then walks back, toward Gaia, which smiles at him.
“So, it is time?” asks me Eurostar.
“YES, IT’S TIME” I respond. And I began to vanish away from reality, just like everybody else is taken away to its new life.
The last thing I saw is a dark dressed hero, the Brit known as Nowhereman, pressing a button on a strange device connected to his helmet…
And then, I am no more, and, with me, the past….
<TOMBL Universe-Resolution End>
