Shards of Destiny
Epilogue

***This chapter continues from this week's Shards of Destiny #17 and #18***
***For previous chapters, go to the Marvel/DC Cosmic Crossovers Archive***

The two twin universes were merged, forever overlapping.

The Brothers were merged into one being, ensuring that they shall continue and for the first time they say through each other’s eyes and reflected upon their past rivalry with even greater understanding. The threat of the Amalgam universe was no more.

And now Access was dead, his body had vaporized and turned into nothing more than chard remains. The one casualty – the martyr – to save the lives of countless and countless of sentient and non-sentient beings throughout the two universes. And the people went about their lives knowing that something of cosmic importance had just occurred before them and yet was unaware of the sole sacrifice that one noble being none as Axel Asher.

“Ming . . . I . . .” The cry came to her in her sleep.

Ming awoke in a cold sweat, the white sheets clung to her body, and a cold wind lashed out upon her. And tears flowed from her wide eyes, uncontrollably, she did not know what had happened to Axel Asher nor did she cared. All she cared about was that he was no more. And she wept.

“Fascinating . . .”

“Is that all you can say, En Sabah Nur?”

Apocalypse turned to the Watcher, a quizzical expression carved onto his stern facial features. “Is there more that must be said, Watcher?” he asked staring at the man before him.

After a moment of thought, the Watcher afford a grim smile, he nodded for a moment, understanding where the mutant was heading in his course of logic. “Farewell . . .” he conceded faintly. “I suppose there is no more words to be said. For none seem fitting . . .”

And with that the two beings turned away from one another and continued to stare at the spectacle of a newly borne earth . . . in utter silence . . .

“What is this?” Darkseid pondered reaching forth, toward a sparkling purple orb of some kind. It burned with an energy within itself, the fires of Apokolips glistened of its surface brightly. And even from this distance Darkseid could feel its power coursing to him. It was strange, needless to say, almost disconcerting.

But Darkseid was not the timed type – even in the face of angry and wrathful gods – he reached for the orb, and wrapped his hand around it.

He could feel the power coursing through him! His eyes grew red with flame and . . .

Then it stopped.

“What?” Darkseid asked, his fingers unwrapping around the purple gem, which had grown dark and black. Lifeless.

“YOU, DARKSEID, ARE NOT MEANT TO HOLD THE INFINITY GEM OF POWER,” a voice boomed from above. Darkseid looked upward to see a being – or at least he took it as such – the “man” was a faint outline of an humanoid, but within was nebulas and star clusters. Black wholes; super novas, some of the most beautiful celestial objects to grace the heavens. And Darkseid looked upon this wonder of the cosmos and was unmoved.

“Who dares!”

“I AM ETERNITY, THAT IS ALL THAT YOUR LIMITED MIND CAN COMPREHEND.”

“How dare you?!” Darkseid’s eyes grew a dark crimson red, as he charged his omega beams for an attack, they lanced forth and struck the being that had introduced himself as Eternity, the blast continued and continued and continued. With no end in sight, the twin omega beams continued in Eternity’s cosmic body. “What manner of magic is this? You should have perished!” Darkseid roared in anger.

With a wave of Eternity’s hand, the object that he had called the Gem of Power started to release uncontrollable power. The sudden shock of the power outburst caused Darkseid to drop to his knees and release his iron grip on the gem, it levitated in midair, it had returned to its natural color of purple. “A SIMPLETON SHALL NOT YIELDED SUCH POWER,” Eternity said, the gem flying into his awaiting hands.

“We shall meet again, Eternity,” Darkseid roared en raged.

“OF THAT I AM SURE OF,” Eternity rumbled. “FAREWELL, DARKSEID.” Then with those words he depart to the nothingness in which he had entered from.

Darkseid smiled demonically. “I have felt power that I have never before dreamt was possibly. And I will possess this . . . Infinity Gem . . . and none shall stop me!”

And off in the distance, Desaad watched, a dark smile parting on his hideous visage.

Adam Warlock was extremely troubled, for his gem of soul was missing and was no where to be seen.

“I fear that this merger has called terrible upsets with the cosmic balance.” Warlock turned to see the Living Tribunal before him. “And your soul gem is merely the one part of the problem.”

“I do hope that you are – in this case – not right, Living Tribunal,” Warlock declared lost in thought.

Then all of a sudden with no preamble a wave of disorientation descended upon him. Visions of the future flooded his mind. Images of dark beast, and pilling dead, mutilated bodies stocked upon one another in an alter formation. “No,” he hushed, trying to fight off the images. He screamed out in sheer pain, the images never wavering from his field of view. He turned to face the Living Tribunal, only to find that he was no longing standing before him, his god-like presence was no more.

Then from out of no where words tumbled from his lips, words so ancient that their meaning even eluded his grasp of knowledge, which was formidable, needless to say.

“Ph'nglui Mglw'nafh Khtullis R'lyeh Wagn'nagl Fhtagn.”

“And I will possess this . . . Infinity Gem . . . and none shall stop me!”

Thanos watched the exchange between Eternity and Darkseid upon the main view screen of his vessel, in the icy cold depths of the vacuum of space. This Darkseid will prove to be quite an opponent, the Mad Titan pondered, his hands interlaced before him. Quite an opponent indeed.

SR-32 approached, slowly, cautiously. SR-32 was one of the many mechanical robots that tended to the ship’s every need, in fact he was the supervisor robot.

“What is it, SR-32?” Thanos asked clearing the main view screen, to be replaced with the image of a vista of stars both alien and familiar.

“There is something that you must see for yourself, Thanos,” the supervisor robot reported. Thanos arose from his throne chair and proceed to follow the robot. Soon he found himself in the far off corner of the bridge. It pointed its mechanical claw in the lower compartment right above the deck plates. “It is there.”

Thanos kneeled down and pulled the small compartment door within the compartment among the wires and neatly collected there stood a small technical disc, it flashed red and black. That should not be there, he mused reaching in and pulling it out. He studied the deceive a little more closely.

“We discovered it on our normal espionage sweep,” SR-32 reported.

“A most worthy opponent, indeed.”

The place, a small handmaiden's bed chamber. The room was dark and cold, the stench of putrid decaying flesh filled the still air.  The night sky blanketed the small, cold country of Latveria. A faint candlelight, which was nearing its end, provided the only light; the luster reflected off the monarch's armor dark and menacing.

Doctor Victor Von Doom flanked by two of his advisors marched into the handmaiden's bedchamber, a young woman by the name of Scarlet Gray, a young woman whom had caught even Doom's eye in terms of beauty.  But there was no beauty in what he saw on the bed.

Doom walked into the dark building with an air of disgust for he knew what he would find. It was fairly disheveled, and the light flashed on the corpse that was once a young woman filled with life and a spirit that even touched Doom's cold and dark one. Broken and bloodied, that's how she appeared. It was quite a horrific sight even for the monarch of Latveria. No atrocities were ever committed in Latveria! It was unheard of.  But here, now… one of the greatest atrocities of all.  Her tongue had been ripped out and placed in her eye sockets, and the eyes were placed in a mouth that had been forced open and held by a small knife. Her long dark hair had been torn from her scalp and discarded upon the gaping wound across her bosom and stomach. Through the mess of hair the woman's blood soaked hands jetted outward, clawlike, as if they had sprouted out from her torso. It was clear that her last moments were not pleasant ones. A pool of blood continued to ooze its dark way toward the door.

And on the back wall, written in blood it read "Ph'nglui mglw'nafh Khtullis R'lyeh wagn'nagl fhtagn."

"Sire," one of the advisors hushed solemnly, his back turned to away from the woman. "This is not the first."

"What?" Doom questioned, fixating him with a deadly gaze.

"There are others reported all over Latveria, Sire.  Five total, all in the same shape as Ms. Gray here.  With the same message written somewhere near with the victim's blood."

Doom's eyes flared crimson red with rage.  He turned away and stormed out of the handmaiden's chamber, his green cloak whipping across his body. "Whoever is responsible will pay with blood!  So says Doom." And with that he walked into the thick blanket of fog leaving the advisors standing at the grotesque form of the once lovely, innocent creature.

“Awake,” the Father boomed, his hands closing around the torn form of the Access. “Awake my creation and breath life anew!” A blue vortex of energy swirled around his hand. Then the energies exploded creating a soundless shock wave. Once the task was done, the Father’s white gauntlet uncurled, and Access stood a golden hue encompassing his body.

“What - - What am I . . .?” he started, but was silenced by the Father’s wide golden eyes.

“Your True Destiny, Axel Asher, has not yet been fulfilled,” the Father started. “Your services are still needed, in the coming years. But there is still much that you need to learn. For if you are to be the champion that earth, and the cosmos, requires that you become you must learn to finely hone your power to extremes even you cannot even fathom.

“And I am the only one who can teach you, Axel Asher.”

“But,” Access reasoned, “if the two universes are merged, and the threat of an Amalgam universe is no more, then what is my purpose? I am a man with no goal in life.”

“You’ll see, Access. You’ll see, all in due time.” The Father stared off deeper into the starless void as if he was lost in deep thought. “I believe that there is one who wishes to see you, Axel.” A portal opened, a golden rim surrounded it, and the portal was waving in and out of existence, as if it was a mere reflection upon the water surface. Access peered within to see Ming, his love, crying her eyes out, and crying out his name and asking the most universal of questions: Why. “Do not question, my motives for your resurrection, Access. Merely except life and then live. Go to her, and tell her what is needed from you.” Access opened his mouth to form a protest, but once again feel silent with only one sight of the Father. “Fear not you will return to her, when you are ready you will.” And with that a golden doorway appeared. Access turned and opened his mouth to say something, only to watch the Father shack his head from side to side. He shrugged, and leaped through the doorway, beaming a wide smile.

Ahh, the Father mused, in bemusment, youth.

“Ming!” Axel Asher called, bolting from one of the far corners of the apartment. “Ming! Oh, God, I love you, Ming.” Ming beamed a smile of warmth and beauty as they embraced on a hung on the bed, and her tears of sorrow and despair turned into ones of uncontrollable joy and warmth.

And for the first time in a long time the world seemed to be a brighter place.

T H E  E N D

Collaborator’s  Note:

Many people are to be thanked for this massive epic that is “Shards of Destiny”. But none as much as the readers who continued to read my first attempt at writing. By eternal thanks are extended to all of you.

Now, many have complained that “Shards of Destiny” along with “Dark Allies” the mini-sequel that it is centered too much around the Marvel characters. And this is true. I will admit it. And that there have been concerns that Darkseid’s Lesson’s story arch was too short. This is also true.

However, there are reasons – logical ones – behind this. First off, “Shards” and ‘Allies” was centered around Marvel’s characters so that the next two story arches will focus extremely on the DC elements of the Shards Universe: The continuation of the Khtullis Saga in “You Can’t Rune Your Fate” and “Soul Brothers” along with a few other limited titles, and the Cold War Epic, think of it as compensation. Now why Lessons was short was due to the fact that the Cold War Epic mentioned above centers around Darkseid, and the mythos created by Jack Kirby and continued on by all the wonderful writers at DC Comics. Against the forces of Thanos, and myself and Jeff did not wish to over do it, after all the two of us have big plans for our merged universe that’ll change everything.

(I do not wish to release too much out to the public but I will leave you with a small little tidbit of knowledge: The Fall of Earth and The Solution to the Anti-Life Equation are only two of the smaller topics hit up in the future.)

Thanks for your time, while I indulged myself – and tried to clear a few matters of debate over “Shards of Destiny” and “Dark Allies”. And please continue to enjoy all the wonderful titles supplied here at Cosmic Powers Unlimited.

- Jim “WarlorTVor” Seals