The throne had turned, facing away from the hall and facing towards the massive window. With a weird, static like buzz, the window seed to flash a few tis before disappearing all together. In it’s place was a massive mirror like screen that showed a third person view of the massive castle. Several other floating screens appeared in front of Nagi as she pressed buttons on the throne that had popped up from the armrests of the giant chair.
"Would everyone who doesn’t wish to die please report back to the throne room? Thank you," Magi said with a smile while watching on. Several of the screens were following groups who were still patrolling around along with so on the outside walls. After the ssage was broadcasted to the entire castle, every group could be seen making their way to the throne room where rows upon rows of benches popped up from the otherwise empty floor. Several seats also appeared near Nagi, these much more decorated than the benches.
"Daddy. You sit here. Mommy wants to talk to you," Nagi said, indicating the seat on her right.
"Everyone else, please find a bench seat and sit back. We will be making our way out soon," Nagi instructed.
Everyone instinctively looked to Laz who sighed.
"Let’s do as she says all," Laz answered before sitting in the seat Nagi had pointed out to him.
His vision turned black the mont he sat down as a massive creature appeared in his vision. Just like before, two massive eyes that seed almost a world apart appeared, but this ti they were focused on him.
As L:az watched on, the two eyes started to grow closer together and smaller. Even in the absence of light, Laz could clearly make out what was happening as the mature figure of a woman appeared, walking in the darkness like a pale skinned goddess, the black dress encompassing her body glittered with an unseen light.
After she was a few feet away from Laz, she stopped her walked and looked at him, the hint of a smile on her gorgeous face even while her overall being still appeared a bit blurry for so reason.
Laz stared back without saying anything, giving her all the ti she needed.
"Thank you."
"It’s my honor."
"Your kind... was just getting out into the omniverse when I was killed. I rember hearing about the great race, sweeping the cosmos. The whispers talked about their prowess in combat, warfare but also in statecraft. I race that could conquer yours one day, but would help you rebuild the next. I was truly waiting until the day I t such a people."
At first, Laz was confused, but then looking down he noticed his body had taken on his Asura form.
"What happened to you?" Laz asked, curious. He had seen the mories from before, but there was a lot about it that didn’t make sense since he had no context.
"You’ve seen it, haven’t you?"
"I did."
"And you’re still asking?"
"I am. Where I am from, they say a picture is worth a thousand words. But they never said those are the correct words. And more importantly, people demand context as what you’re seeing is nothing more than a snapshot of what’s actually happening. So what I’m curious about is what actually happened all those years ago?"
"Hmm... you’re human side is just as bright as your Asura blood..." she laughed a bit.
"I thank you for the complint."
"So many years ago now. If it weren’t for sealing a shard of my soul within, I wouldn’t even be here to speak. But I knew my babies would still be with this part of my body and might need guidance or protection. But it seems like I didn’t give the young one who survived enough credit. So let tell you the answer to your question. The planet I resided on all those years ago was a hot and desolate world, one in which little life could survive. But it was the perfect place to absorb the energy of the dwarf nova along with the astral rays coming from the nearby cosmic storms. So I laid there for thousands of years and grew. What I didn’t know was that my being there would absorb so much from the nova that it would stabilize the temperature and allow life on the planet to thrive in the shadows my body created. Thinking I was their god, they worshiped even while I slept. And all of this was ok for the several thousands of years I was there. But then ca the hunters of the divine, those wretched creatures who refused to allow divine beasts to exist. According to their lore, divine beasts, if allowed to live, would grow endlessly and drive disasters upon the omniverse. So it was their job to hunt us before that happened. It was a part of my bloodline mories that I saw what my predecessors experienced so I knew enough about them to know that I wasn’t nearly powerful enough to fight them. The problem was if I ran, the people who relied upon to survive would soon die off once their planet heated back up once I was gone. So I was stuck. I needed to run, but the number of innocents who died would... weigh upon my soul. So I could do nothing but wait, even while knowing their were coming..." The woman sighed at this mory which clearly still bothered her now.
"And you were pregnant at this ti?" Laz pointed out.
"I made a gamble. If I died and my yet to be born children died, our line would end. But to sacrifice billions of living creatures just to survive? No divine being would be able to do that, even if it lead to the death of their bloodline."
"But... if there is only one of you... then how?" Laz asked, but all he got was a slight smile in return.
"So... did it work?" Laz asked before thinking about it. Could she had known what would happen after her death?
"It did... in a way. While the hunters have their mission, they do have so restraints as well for they too are bound by rules and one of those states they aren’t to put normal people at risk more than necessary while doing their duties. So after I was killed, they figured out that my existence was what allowed for that planet to live. As such, my death would an their end as well. So while cursing for my evil mind, they had no choice but to leave a massive portion of my skin and scales to continue to protect the planet. Not only that, but they also had to do many other things to assure that the people of the planet would have a chance to thrive for at least a few thousand years after my death. I’m sure they were quite angry for a long ti afterwards," the gorgeous woman laughed, her full bosom shaking with the movent.
While she was laughing, Laz could sense the profound sadness within her.
"A first ti mother who had to die, just to give her kids a chance to live along with billions of strangers? I can see the tears behind the smile you know. It’s alright to feel as such. You should have had the chance to live a lot longer of a life," Laz said, words not ant to be uttered, but ones that he couldn’t keep within. While he felt the imnse power this soul fragnt still had, he could also still sense the feelings she was hiding within.
Her laugh suddenly ended as her face beca a bit twisted while looking at Laz. Before he could apologize for his inconsiderate words, she was in front of him, her head laid upon his chest as he felt her body shake slightly. Without thinking, Laz wrapped his arms around her thin and still blurry form, holding her in a gentle embrace as she cried tears she had never been able to express before. It was a long while before she was able to stop and face him again.
While she had been a bit blurry before, her face was now clear for Laz to see and he couldn’t help but be stunned by her beauty.
"It takes an arrogant man to make a divine being cry," she said, half laughing.
"Right now, I am just a normal man while you are just a lonely mother," Laz responded.
"My children... born from within ... only one is ever destined to survive until adulthood. The laws that govern all things would not allow a divine being to raise more than one child for fear of what could result if a clan of them were able to rise. I knew this... but I still didn’t understand just how much it would hurt to witness the death of almost all of my children."
"I could never hope to understand the pain you’re going through, but at least one did survive this ti as well."
"And only one ever will. Not unless one could overturn the heavens itself would it be possible."
There was only silence left after this as her figure started to fade.
But while it was doing so, it reached a hand up to Laz’s cheek and pulled his head downward before kissing him. Deep, passionate and full of sadness. When she finally broke away, right before vanishing, she whispered,
"I was once also known as Nagini, young Lazarus."
And with that, her body faded into nothingness.
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