A Moment of Stars | PJO Chaos

Fourteen

He came as the night.

He was a silver sword glistening in the dead of dusk—reflecting moonlight and silence in the wake of his arrival. The last fighting illumination of dying stars flicker in his eyes, silently promising the presence of demise. Muted clicks of his polished shoes are the only things to be heard as he walks into Aevum's throne room.

Chaos stands at the other end, sword drawn and expression dark and grim. Guards stand at the walls of the corridor, staring intently at the powerful figure.

The silence cuts at their throats like daggers, making it hard to breathe through the building tension. With an adjustment of his tie, he spoke.

"Hello Chaos." The sharp, mocking tone from the figure resonates throughout the throne room, locking the joints of the guards that were ready to defend their creator at any moment. Rigid lines of black and white pattern the man's hair and clothing as he settles into a melodramatic bow.

Chaos' expression remains stone cold. The air is frigid yet scalding all at the same time—writhing with discord and death from the two entities standing on opposite ends of the room. Both not daring to take a step forward.

"Why are you here." Chaos demands, his tone sharper than obsidian as he grips the hilt of his sword tighter.

"Now now," the figure grins, "that's not a way to greet one's brother, is it?" The guards stiffen and look towards each other with wide eyes. Chaos only has one sibling, which means this entity standing before them is—

"Unique situations require nonconventional responses." Chaos says. "Now, I suggest you state your business quickly, End. You are in my realm, I can smite you right here."

"On the contrary, I don't think you can." End laughs, the sound metallic and sharp against the walls of the throne room. "Haven't you heard? The Fates are now out of the picture, which means anything is possible."

A slight breeze jostles Chaos' clothes as irritation etches into his face. "...Indeed. Anything."

"Now, I have come with a proposal. As you already know, your precious galaxies seem to be...disappearing. I can fix your little problem if you give me the throne."

"You must take me for an imbecile." Chaos growls. "You'd keep killing my people off if you had the crown or not."

End's eyes darken slightly, his smirk only growing larger. "You know me so well, brother. Although I may consider sparing them if I were sitting upon that fancy little throne of yours."

"The only way you'd find yourself taking my crown is through the destruction of my very being." Chaos says. "And you and I know very well that will not happen any time soon."

"Ah, but haven't you also heard? Your precious Keeper of Order seems to have mysteriously passed on the planet of Zibara, and Perseus is slowly dying in the deep, underground labyrinth of caves without sight. Not to mention your lieutenant is injured within the broken frame of your spacecrafts. It appears that you may be weaker than you believe, brother."

The throne room falls silent once again, and the guards stiffen. The Keeper of Order is dead?

Chaos knew he felt Elara's presence briefly disappeared from the realm of the living, but before he could send the entire IAA and himself to investigate, he felt her come back somehow. He also knows that Lieutenant Saros managed to get communication back about an hour ago and has several rescue teams coming for the deserted civilians and soldiers sent to help them.

Knowing all of this, he keeps his mouth shut, not wanting to jeopardize his apprentice's or the others' safety. End being the oblivious entity he his, continues to tease and ramble.

"It's quite a shame, I can only imagine the pain of losing a child—Oh wait," he laughs cynically. "I nearly forgot; it seems you have...experience in that field."

Chaos' eyes glow in warning as he grips his sword tighter. "Speak ill of my son's grave, and I will end this right here."

"You're no fun. Isn't that my job?" End chuckles. "You see brother, your reign expired the moment I took it. You and I both know that."

Chaos knew very well.

Order and his son's death were not taken lightly throughout the universe. It took almost fifteen years before Chaos was able to settle the planets back down. Even then, tensions have still been rising over the past five years.

He also knows that End was behind it, and it takes all of his willpower to not lunge for the other entity's throat at the vengeance if his wife and child.

"How bad is it?

"I-I don't know..."

Chaos is snapped out of his own memories as End draws a sword that is made of what looked like inverted galactic marble. The majority of the blade is pure white, but stars and black holes speckle the flat of the edge, making look as if parts of the sword is missing.

Interitus.

A sword of the Origins. Only able to be held by Chaos, Order, End, and their successors. Chaos' eyes narrow as he grips his own long, galaxy infused sword, Astrum.

Interitus was destroyed thousands of millennia ago, him and Order made sure of it. He can even see the fracture lines of where the base meets the hilt. How did he reconstruct it?

End let's the tip of the sword touch the floor. In an instant, the rich color of the marble begins bleeding into a pale, sharp white patch. The guards stand at attention immediately, some of which drawing their own weapons. Chaos raises his hand, stopping them in their tracks.

"The next time we meet will not be on such mutual terms." End's expression darkens as he twirls the death-bitten sword. He sheathes it and turns on his heel. "I suggest you take matters seriously, brother. This universe will be at the mercy of my hands, and there will be nothing you can do about it."

With that, End disappears in a breeze of white rose petals, leaving the bleached marble patch behind. A distant cackle sends chills down everyone's spine.

"Welcome to the New Beginning, Chaos."

•••••

Wow. That was...intense. Elara is alive, the Fates are gone, and now End is in the picture. I cannot be more excited than I am now!!

What's your opinion so far? Am I pacing this all correctly?

There is still so much to unveil, and I'm hoping you guys are able to stay interested enough to find out!