Thread:ThisIsXenon/@comment-32273133-20190613232837

He’s standing in the middle of a field, staring at the sky. He’s changed a bit, having found himself a tailored white suit and reflective sunglasses. Oil still rolls from his eyes, fizzling away before it can stain his suit.

He cups his hands around his mouth. “Nova! Show yourself, you coward!”

Nothing. No reply.

“Here I am! Have you missed me?”

A slight shimmer in the air.

“Come down, you sneaky son of a—“

It’s almost as if a camouflage curtain falls, and there’s Nova, standing in front of Oganesson. He looks bored, each star on his night-black skin winking slowly.

“Finally,” Oganesson smiles, the scars on his face stretching. “You took your time.”

“Time is relative,” Nova replies.

“Strong words from the god of time.”

“Time isn’t my only gig.”

“Ah. How long were you standing there?”

“Long enough to figure out what you’re here for.”

“Oh, really?”

“I may not be as strong a diviner as my daughter, but you’ve never been one to obfuscate.”

“You’re correct, that’s more your field.”

“I’m not here to entertain you for long,” Nova crosses his arms. “Do what you came here for.”

Oganesson’s eyebrows shoot up. “You’re not going to stop me?”

“That implies I’ll have something to stop.”

“You underestimate me,” Oganesson says softly. “So many people do. So many people think I’m just like Xenon, hiding away, too scared of watching the world grow old. No,” His smile widens. “I’m not scared of anything anymore. And neither, I’ll bet, is Singularity.”

Nova’s form ripples. His brow furrows.

“Oh, you can hear me in there!” Oganesson claps his hands. “Good! Makes my job easier.”

“You don’t know what you’re doing,” Nova murmurs. “You’re plotting your own execution.”

“Really? I don’t see it that way,” Oganesson says. “Guess I’ll have to have a talk with your little diviner daughter to see.”

For the first time, Nova gains a real expression—one of terror. “Don’t touch her.”

“Don’t worry, I won’t hurt her,” Oganesson whistles. A blur of dark blue streaks over, and a tall, four-armed creature slides to a stop. “Might have to talk to my Djinn friend  about that though.”

“Gijinna,” Nova’s eyes narrowed.

“Hiya!” Gijinna waves with all four of her hands. “No promises!”

Nova looks deeply unsettled. “You have no idea what you’ve gotten yourself into.”

“But I do!” Oganesson snaps. “What do you think I’ve been doing this past year? I have everything planned out. You have no idea what’s next, do you? Tell him, Singularity.”

Nova’s form ripples, and he tilts his head back and groans. Oganesson takes another pair of shades from his pockets and gives them to Gijinna, who slips them on.

“He’s stronger than I thought,” Oganesson murmured.

“They all fall anyway,” Gijinna shrugged. “Just give him time—“

This is what you’d see if you could see in very, very slow motion:

Nova explodes. A column of white light shoots up to the clouds, and waves of heat and energy pulse across the plain. Oganesson and Gijinna seem unbothered.

The sound catches up, a crackle that quickly changes into a thundering noise, followed by a faint scream. Then, those energy clouds collapse back in to where Nova was standing, the light falls back to the ground, and it’s like a giant vacuum sucks air and dust and anything it can to that invisible centre point.

If you aren’t that skilled, all you get is Nova standing there one second, then bam really bright light and bam really loud noise and whoosh the wind kicks up and alakazam Nova’s gone, all in the space of a second.

Silence.

“Uh,” Gijinna pulls down her sunglasses.

“Wait for it,” Oganesson says. “Give her a second.”

Exactly one second passes, and Singularity appears. Not in a flash of light, not in a cloud of smoke, not fading in our out. One moment there’s nothing, the next, a teal- haired woman around Gijinna’s height is standing where Nova was.

Oganesson bows.

“Welcome, Singularity.” 