The End

[Tearen Wover]

The bare skinned form of Tearen Wover rocketed through the threshold of the grandiose temple, into the cool and pleasant shade of the immense dome overhead. If the Elder Prime had deigned to look up, he might have noticed that the underside of the globe was painted with the visage of countless, swirling eternities; entire universes that this world's overseer could pluck inspiration and entertainment from at a moment's notice. Instead, Tearen allowed his body to float part of the way towards the immense throne in the center of the room before prostrating himself on the chilly marble floor beneath him. Naked and in utter humility, the eldritch human called out to any angels that might heed him, if not Omni himself.

"I humbly beseech the audience of this Universe's core mind, that I might ask his succor!" the Prime shouted, his words echoing several times across the expansive floor. Tearen had been too bleary eyed to notice if, indeed, the child god had been seated in his markedly ostentatious throne.

"Tearen. Is that what you wish me to call you?" The silhouette's face was doing something. Shivering. "It's been a long time since I felt such ... anticipation!"

He floated forward and abruptly sat down a mere foot from the human, crossing his legs and twining his fingers together. "Let's talk! You and me, let's talk at long last, Tearen!"

Tearen sat upwards and stared flatly into the beaming face before him. Less than an arms length away was a deity so supreme that it put his old Master to shame. It was not in the Shadow's character, at this juncture, to be cowed by such godliness. He himself had walked in Omni's shoes, and, afterall, he owes this pale child many thanks for restoring him to some semblance of sanity. The Elder Prime's mouth twisted into a melancholy smirk.

"Well, I'm concerned I may not have much left to say at this point, and I'm sure there's precious little of which you are unaware. For what it's worth, however, I do need to thank with the opporunity you provided for returning myself to me." Tearen said in a soft tone. To any other denizen of the Omniverse, the elder Prime may have been hesitant to use such ephemeral language, but he doubted such things would phase Omni. Besides, as far as he could tell, the Smiling One treated just about everyone the same. Tearen's tone suddenly became very serious.

"Do you know why I am here?"

Perhaps a pointless question, but it would not behoove such a conversation to skip over the proper procedures of mortal communication.

Omni arched his head comically. "Well ... yeah. But ... let's talk!"

The silhouette was squirming.

Tearen restrained his anxiety to a small sigh. He was really quite unsure what Omni was hoping to get out of this conversation. More than that, Tearen was unsure what might be discussed which Omni could not otherwise simply tell him outright, if indeed he was interested in gloating. The human part of Tearen's mind begged him to try and out maneuver the deity, somehow, in conversation, but the eldritch human could not risk wounding the god-child's pride at the expense of his goal.

Still, it would be unwise to try and spurn Omni's interest in him, despite its seemingly contrived honesty. Fine then. If the Smiling One wanted to cross those blades, Tearen would sally forth.

"This is a nice temple. Did you design it, or is it also something you borrowed?" Tearen asked, gesturing at the whirling dioramas overhead.

Omni clapped his hands together with glee. "Nobody's ever asked that before!" he said. Then he coughed. "A bit of both. Like most of the Omniverse, I suppose."

There was a silence. "I'm sorry to play games, Tearen. But wouldn't you rather have had this conversation? ... Before you go? This never happens again. None of it. That's what makes this special, Tearen. And even if I know what you're going to say, I still want to hear you say it."

Tearen was honestly taken aback. In all of his wanderings throughout the Omniverse, he had never really been given to seeing Omni as anything other than a selfish, animistic impulse of these assembled pocket universes. Now, though, it seemed as if the Smiling One was taking a genuine interest in accommodation of the gravitas which the ex-enigma was carrying within him. For better or worse, the empathy seemed genuine, and it gave Tearen pause. There were hundreds of negative assumptions made about Omni, largely through the fault of the child-god himself, but it occurred to the Shadow that this blank-faced deity might have much more depth than he portrayed. Actually, now that he was confronted with it, it seemed like an obvious conclusion that may have been drawn.

After all, had he not been willing to impart some form of compassion towards Diablo, at least in the desire to understand the demon? Omni could hardly be spurned such consideration, and being that this was a meeting between gods, the least that Tearen could do was extend the Smiling the courtesy of that mutual, deific understanding.

"...there have always been two things that confused me, you know. First of all, most gods, when given the chance, will be eager to create entire universes entirely of their own design. Each meticulous detail something made by their own hand. You, on the other hand, primarily seem interested in collecting the ideas of other realities. I can't tell if that's product of arrogance or self-doubt." Tearen said slowly. His viridian hues flicked up to meet Omni's eyes, if they had existed.

"...which leads into my second question. You call us Primes here, give us incredible power, all under the auspices of your personal entertainment. You must know this will inspire hatred in them, and yet, you invite them to come and sit with you. It's perplexing."

Omni just smiled.

Tearen raised his eyebrows softly at the Smiling One's nonchalance. Had he been in a more angry state of mind, the mindset of Nealaphh, he may have interpreted this ambiguous grin as intentional obfuscation. After all, Omni had been the one to goad him into conversation; now that Tearen was bringing an honest discussion, the god-child was clamming up. Now, however, Tearen saw something else. Arrogance or self-doubt could explain much of Omni's seemingly sociopathic tendencies; now that he seemed to be unwilling to answer a genuinely digging question, Tearen thought that it was perhaps the latter of those two. Omni himself did not know why he did these things. The smile was a facade. Tearen tilted his head, and thought for a time.

"...some gods demand that their people pay them homage, to love them and revere them above all else. Their mortal flocks are called, just as unbidden, into their worlds and expected to follow that god's law. You...do not. You call us here, allow us to roam around your Eden, and ask nothing of us..."

Tearen twiddled his thumbs furtively.

"...I think you are far more benevolent than many people are willing to admit. You are not the Omniverse's ruler, you are its caretaker. That is a position I am very familiar with. It is not an easy place to be."

Tearen took a deep breath. It was impossible to know just how human Omni's mentality may or may not have been, but the Shadow was beginning to think he pitied the god-child.

"I would offer to give you a hug, but I'm not wearing pants."

"Frankly, it might be a bit weird for you. And I'm not talking about the bodily contact." Omni pointed between Tearen's legs, as though it needed any extra explanation.

"But since you're not going to be around to tell anyone, exactly, I might as well tell you." Omni slumped forward, toothy grin continuing in spite of his body language. "I never chose this." Even saying it seemed to pain the silhouette on some level. "I had to. Whoever comes next .... they'll have to. Or everything will vanish. That's the game. That's how it works."

"We're more similar than you think. That's why I brought you here. You of all people ... might understand. And I'm sorry for that. It was selfish. But ..." he shrugged unapologetically. "I'd still do it again."

Tearen just smiled.

"So tell me, Tearen. Why did you come here?"

On some level, Tearen almost felt bad. This lonely god had singled him out from countless infinities simply because he wanted someone to relate to. It was very obvious at this point that Omni was, indeed, very human after all. Still, he had come too far and made too much of a statement to renege on his goals at this point. Omni knew this, and they had shared their moment. For what it was worth, Omni had Tearen's empathy. That would have to be enough, for now.

"I'm here to make a deal, Omni. To put it simply, I would like to create an artifact capable of permanently destroying Diablo, and I am willing to sacrifice the accumulated Omnilium of my power to do so."

Omni nodded. "It is possible. But not with the omnilium you have. You know that already, you've tried to summon it."

"I do know that. That's why I'm offering to expend my physical Omnilium as well; to reconstruct myself into a weapon that can be used to rattle the status quo of this Omniverse. The details I leave in your hands, but it is my destiny to create opportunity where there is stagnation." Tearen said in a professional tone of voice. The potential imminence of his doom added just a slightly quavering affectation to the Elder Prime's otherwise stalwart tone, but he would not back down now.

Omni responded in a flat tone. "I can do it. But you'll have to help me. You'll have to want it."

Tearen considered allowing himself to agonize all that he was leaving behind once again, but that pain had already been suffered once. The elder prime had made his arrangements, he'd ensured his legacy. All he could do now was look his death in the hypothetical eye and follow through.

...

Still...

"I'm...not sure. But I'm here. So just do it before I change my mind."

Tears tried to burn their way out of his eyes again, but the Shadow held them in check. This was a goodness. This was an honorable end.

"It's your choice."

Omni extended his hand.

"When you're ready."

Tearen grit his teeth.

"Just do it, dammit!"


Their hands touched. At first nothing happened, and then Tearen appeared to take a deep breath. In that moment, his image wavered. Past, present, future - they changed. Folding in on one another.

There was a scream that echoed down the halls. The angels looked around, towards Omni's hall.

And then there was nothing but green light and a tiny, black orb.