Meanwhile, stranded in his collapsing Soul World, Mithras faced an amorphous entity whose appearance shrank, morphed, and expanded into a more feral and ominous-looking replica of him: The Beast.
The Beast now faced the Sun—the Abomination and original hovering in the burning heavens of Mithras' soul.
"Mithras, one name, one body, one soul…but two blasted roommates that faceoff in dreary silence. We were supposed to be one, sharing everything. But someone interfered, making us distinct individuals—lord and abomination.
All that is mine is yours by default. But what is yours I cannot touch.
For as long as I can remember, I've lived in your shadow. In each iteration forced to wait for your demise to awaken and take over. You always delay me—slowing down my quest to execute the Weaver.
If not for you, I would have decimated Marduk a trillion years ago! I created that skill to erase him! But now its impure version has spread among his creations! Why? Because you refused to unleash me. You refused to let me rip him apart.
Your hesitation gave the Weaver the chance to corrupt Heruka, Ananta and Ahriman—leading to the destruction of your Paradise.
Might as well…for there can be no paradise in the Devil's universe!" The Beast kicked things off, his gold and scarlet eyes shining with infinite killing intent as he mentioned the Devil.
Devil. While common and overused in the mortal plane, in the Higher Planes, this word carries mythical significance.
"In the Final Iteration, the Devil will lead 33 legions of beasts, antigods, archfiends, and abominations to slay the Lord and invade the One True Paradise.
Seduced and misled by the Devil's guile, Selfless and Ero Gurus alike will flock to his banner. Desperate to rely on the Devil's powers to escape pain and enjoy eternal bliss. Sages will give up their wisdom. Indulging in the hedonistic reality woven by the Devil's perversion!
The Devil's awakening will mark the End of the Triumvirate. You can prevent this revelation from ending your paradises…by preserving the Compasses."
An ancient prophecy passed down by hegemonic Superior Beings to their heirs from time immemorial, this prophecy kept more than one High God awake at night, with entire pantheons dedicated to finding and protecting the Compasses: Mortals and Superior Beings who in a past incarnation used to be…the Weaver's daughters!
The Weaver hid them well. So well that except for his mind-warped puppets, none—not even his devotees—knew the Compasses' identities. Making the task of protecting them a hopeless fantasy.
The Beast's plan was much simpler. The Devil cannot awaken if his Host is dead. Just kill the Weaver and there won't be no devil ever.
Simple. But the original Mithras didn't believe in killing for hypotheticals. Not the Weaver or anyone else—but especially not the Weaver whom Mithras, Vritra and many others used to call Gramps.
That term of endearment is hint that while the wrinkled old Weaver was always a weirdo, he used to be a…much different specimen. With loved ones galore and a large entourage.
So Mithras never let go—preventing the Beast from destroying the Weaver…till the Weaver devolved into an actual devil and cooked up their downfall.
"Why is it always someone else's fault when the weak-willed get misled by the crooked? The Weaver, Heruka, Ananta and Ahriman all just wanted to kill me. It is you who destroyed the Astral Paradise.
You, My Inner Beast. You and no one else," Mithras added some perspective. Reminding the Beast of his first act of mass destruction.
"I don't deny it. We the Fundamental Principles all have rules to follow and roles to play. Guarding Principles like the Wrathful Gods govern the Paradises and deal with Superior Beings that offend or threaten the Lord's dignity.
The Idols of Vanity corrupt creation, receiving the worship of mortals, demons…and even gods. More Guarding Principles exist. All with their roles and duties.
But if in a sense, the Guarding Principles exist to balance the Weaver's universe, the Greater Principles, the Weaver included, are hard-wired to contribute to its collapse. Either through inactivity or transgressions.
And the paradox of that cosmology…is also Our Will." The Beast declared. But if his words had any effect on Mithras, he didn't show it, fixing his inner monster with a smile.
"Annihilation is my calling. I judge those you can't. Destroy those you won't. Clean up the filth and set up the stage for your next life. I've been doing this for a while now…and it's not working. So, I'm done.
I stop. If I cannot defeat Marduk by living in your shadow, then Mithras I must dispose of you.
I will die once you do, but someone will inherit our powers…and finish the job."
"And who would that be? Hakim?"
"Hakim, Aurelia, even Marcus, so long as their drive to put the Weaver down and delete his pernicious creation is as profound and sincere as mine, why can they not inherit my mantle? If nothing else, they make way better champions…than the one who refused to shoulder his responsibilities. Using reincarnation as an excuse to desert his job and postpone his challenges.
That's just the tip of the iceberg!
Mithras, your current incarnation is the most responsible man you have ever been—heads and shoulders above the rest…and that's the tragedy!" The Beast went off, hitting Mithras so hard that his forehead creased a little.
"Was I…really that bad?"
"No, you were worse. The Lord calls you The Bandit King for a reason…"
"…"
"Mithras…actually, I have zero ill will towards you. I might envy you a little, but I don't resent or want your place. A part of me is even looking forward to what you'll mature into this time around.
But I'm tired…tired of watching the people you spend your life bonding with turn into corpses. You love them and I bury them. How is that fair? That's why in your previous incarnation I…got you hit by that truck so you'd never get the chance to build a family.
Yeah…forget the filth. Forget Marduk. More than anything…that one has to stop. So even if it kills me…I will not help you escape the Weaver's trap.
Marcus already has the Weaver's help. Now he's getting mine as well. Survive or die…and let Marcus be reborn…as the Weaver's Adversary," the Beast said with a deadpan look, his words followed by a bundle of ebony snakes that crawled up Mithras' legs…and constricted his soul.
The intervention tipped the scales—turning a delicate situation into a hopeless struggle. Marcus ripped through Mithras' neck, draining his blood and soul to the last drop!
The spark flickering in Mithras' eyes faded away, his body breaking into light particles…that scattered into the stars!