It was a curiosity, wasn't it? How was the connection inside Claire formed? What did it mean?
Despite living with it for so long, even Claire didn't have answers. Her situation wasn't a common thing in the cosmos, or even in all of existence.
The nature of the connection remained unknown, which meant the actual implications it had were the same. The best Claire and those around her could do was seal it off and make sure it didn't cause too much damage.
But it was still anomalous.
For instance, why did Claire's power change?
Why was it that the beings controlling her had an equal and opposite understanding of Claire's laws? She used Creation regardless of her form, but the types of Creation varied so much that it was almost like two completely different people.
When both sides were combined, an ultimate weapon would be born.
Was that the main purpose?
Serena didn't know, but as someone who'd fought Claire before, she felt the clear difference between her two sides.
She was relentless. Unlike the usual Claire, she was heavy on the attack and left no space for her enemy to do anything.
Serena had to fight back. She wasn't given another choice. However, to fight back…
How could she do that without aiming for the throat?
BOOM! BOOM! BOOM! BOOM!
Serena could dodge without a problem where she needed to. Since time and space shared a lot of similarities, she could maneuver in ways that mimicked teleportation.
Her barrier was also perfect against someone with a power like Claire's, since objects had a far easier lifespan to control than energy.
No matter what Claire used, no matter how powerful or mind-bending it was conceptually, Serena didn't have a problem keeping herself safe.
But she still couldn't find a way to take Claire down.
'I might have to kill her.'
In the worst case scenario, she would have to hope that Claire had brought the pig out in preparation.
'But it…can probably only use that power one more time.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64ce79d606107d003c23ea27", id: "pf-5140-1"})If Claire died here, there wouldn't be a next time. Was it worth the risk, or was there a better method?
'No.'
Neither.
'I'll have to play defensive and hope she can regain control when she starts running out of Divine Energy.'
How long that would take…?
Serena didn't know. It could be months or even years, considering how massive Claire's mana capacity was.
However, there was no other choice. She had to–
All of a sudden, an aura arrived on the horizon. It didn't have an owner. Nobody approached, but that aura clearly displayed itself in the Heavenly God Plane.
'That is…'
It was familiar. Of course it was.
Though he wasn't her biological son, she still saw him as one of her own. They'd only known each other for a small time, but she was already more than familiar with his aura and character.
Damien was here.
Not in the Heavenly God Plane, but in the real world.
And somehow…
'...just when did that boy get so strong?'
…he came with an aura almost rivaling theirs.
Serena didn't know what Damien was planning to do. She knew it was dangerous around Claire right now, but she had no way to transmit that information to him unless she left Claire alone here and returned to the real plane.
'I hope he can stay safe.'
And if he was going to create another miracle outside…
'...then I have to make sure Claire stays contained until he can work out a solution.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "64cc9e79c7059f003e4ad4b0", id: "pf-5109-1"})The last person who was able to solve Claire's problem was her husband, Dante Void.
Her son was a spitting image of him in many ways, and even more of a genius.
It wasn't too far of a stretch to believe that he might be able to find the solution that she couldn't.
To keep Claire's occupied so it couldn't cause Damien trouble…
'...that is a far easier task than bringing her sanity back.'
If it was just that much, she could do it without a problem.
Time, after all…was something she could create at will.
***
Damien had indeed arrived outside.
It wasn't hard for him to find his mother since he was the one who originally received the reports about where each member of Straea had positioned themselves.
On top of that, the projection allowed him to pinpoint the exact location, so he didn't have to search around when he reached the place where the battle was supposed to happen.
Claire wasn't that far away. She stood in the air, alone and radiating such a field of thick energy that not even another God could easily approach her.
Malefice Straea was nowhere to be seen. It was the same with Erwin Ellowyn, who'd already died. The latter's real body dispersed into ash when he met his end in the Heavenly God Plane, as for the former…
Damien didn't care about any of that.
His mother was in a precarious state. He confirmed this suspicion the instant he arrived.
'This energy isn't hers.'
For the most part, the assumptions he'd made were all correct. Claire wasn't in the right state of mind right now. She was likely possessed by something.
'The cause…'
Damien would find out soon enough.
'Her soul is in the Heavenly God Plane, but I should still be able to read it.'
window.pubfuturetag = window.pubfuturetag || [];window.pubfuturetag.push({unit: "663633fa8ebf7442f0652b33", id: "pf-8817-1"})His perception changed. The human outline that Claire's body was disappeared. Her soul became clear to him as the ethereal superseded the physical.
Damien instantly saw what his mother hid.
It was something spectacular, especially in the eyes of a man who'd had more experience creating galaxies and universes than anyone.
The portal in Claire's soul was almost completely material. It worked as if it was being powered by strong spacetime laws, but there was nothing of the sort.
It existed purely because it existed. There was nothing that could explain it.
'Wow…'
That was a concept that meant a lot to Damien.
For something to exist without a basis, to exist just because it did…
Wasn't that exactly what he needed to make his power absolute?
'Putting that aside…'
The problem was easy to see when one had such a clear look at the soul.
There was a dark energy leaking through the portal and corrupting Claire's soul. It manifested with the will of those who produced it and possessed her, forcing her to act against her own will.
'The base of the problem is the two way connection between Mom and the otherworld.'
Damien couldn't just get rid of the portal, because just as much as it cursed her, it was a source of Claire's power.
Instead of completely removing it, what Damien needed to do to save his mother and permanently solve her problem was turn that two way connection into a single line, making it so that only Claire had control over what came through the portal.
'Easy, right?'
Not so much.
Because if Damien wanted control over that connection…
'...then I have to fight the beings on the other side.'
Damien put his focus into the portal, carefully maneuvering through Claire's soul so as to not damage or change anything.
And his battle begun.
A fight against beings that even his father could not defeat.
