*
Countless realities crashed and burn under their soles, a flood of different coloured lights lit up the imaginary space much like an underground concert. Arcane fog settles with divine stature, spawning untold quantities of world's and beings. What would you do when you're engaged in a battle beyond comprehension?
Long... Too long, an unending battle for supremacy... She raises her fist from up high and smashes it down, her opponent pulled up their arm in the last moment and blocked with their wrist. They couldn't pull up their forearm in time, leaving their bones shattered from the impact.
"... You've only gotten stronger." (Kaori, the Primordial one)
"Only to reach closer to you." (Giselle, sanguine will of the world tree)
"You remind me all too much of myself." (Kaori)
How long has it been? Hundreds of years? Billions? An unimaginable amount of time has passed, likely due to their hyperspeed perception. Compared to normal people, they perceive time infinitely slower than others. At a certain point, it would even feel like time has stopped and the universe stopped spinning, but these tow have gone beyond even that.
That's why... Giselle knew all too well, she was unable to kill Kaori. Fighting her has only made Giselle understand the gap in power... And it also made her close that gap. In such a manner, Kaori felt Giselle was unkillable as well. They've developed a strange bond as enemies, but they've never lacked for entertainment. For instance, every now and then they've allowed perception to speed up and flow freely, back to the human level of perception for the passage of time. Bringing out trinkets, eating snacks, talking about something else other than fighting. It might not have been possible before, not without Giselle opening her Oblivion Magia from the start and showing Kaori how her world looked like, how her humanity looked like.
Even if Lastia and the rest, even if Giselle's humanity is considered a subspecies not meant for sovereignty over earth. That slight bit of humanity did soften Kaori's heart just a tad bit. Though, she might have been soft from the start. And how did such a sensitive person become the Primordial one? One of the many mysteries she hadn't touched upon. As time passed quickly, it was only to Giselle's advantage if one believed Lastia and the others could serve as reinforcements one day. Kaori had no such fears, she merely grew bored of fighting over 24 hours.
Human... Humans... What did human form looked like? The little tea breaks here and there caused time to move forward normally, but between those were bouts of combat that costed an innumerable amount of time. She was starting to forget... No, how could she? She was an information entity first and foremost, a soul that reached the world tree diluted into memetics. Just... Draw that information forward from the right folder...
She could feel nothing. No light, no matter, only the endless void persisted at the edge of the universe. But she could feel warmth, her body was simulating it from the earliest memory, a memory of her time on earth. She could feel her heart beating, her breath leaking. A visual image of her opponent is simulated, calmly sipping tea across the table.
Her flawless porcelain skin stood out in the barren darkness, as if glowing with an ethereal light. Her eyes gently flit from her teacup to Giselle, a faint sense of wonder, composure and dominance mixed into her gaze. Never a moment of concern, always certain that she would come out on top even if Giselle were plotting an ambush at this moment.
"... Oh? Did you forget how you used to look like? That's okay, that's why deities have followers. Those who lose their shape will be shaped by those that care for them." (Kaori)
"You're talking about... Lastia, Arin and Sariel. I suppose they are trying to follow me right now, tracing a path towards the end." (Giselle)
"I'm talking about no one in particular~" (Kaori)
She smiled with a sly glint, her words are woven lightheartedly, as if nothing else mattered under the comfort of the stars. A starry sky is simulated, as if they were savouring tea below the veil of night and merriment.
"... I know it might be too late, or rather because it's too late, but did we need to fight?" (Giselle)
"You awakened beautifully to a profound and unprecedented level of power... All so you could protect your master, didn't you? What if I were the same?" (Kaori)
"Couldn't they coexist?" (Giselle)
"Giselle... They died in the age of mystery. Do you seriously believe this is not a continuation of that war? I surrender and they stop existing... They don't even get remembered in your history. " (Kaori)
The era of mystery was scrubbed clean from any historical accounts, that was a fact. When she was still acting as Lastia, there was no means of acquiring any information from that era. At best, the only data left on that era resided in Eterna... The Primordial being's presence will cause her to spiral and eliminate herself, naturally someone needed to be strong enough to kill Eterna but Giselle was always certain that Lastia had the capability.
There was no particular reason for it, Lastia was long dead. But she always believed she'll come back and eventually right everything. When everything went wrong... When the world was too much for her to bear in her master's place, she would hope to leave everything in her hands and take a long nap. But this... This is existence, she grew too strong too fast, she didn't even need sleep anymore and it would never comfort her. The best she could do is simulate a deep rem state and even then it'll just be playing pretend.
"Thinking of her again?" (Kaori)
"Wha!? How!? I thought I finally learned to block off mental intrusion mroe than 500 bouts ago!" (Giselle)
"... Hmm? The moment I ask a question you think about your 'creator'? Dependent much?" (Kaori)
With a face like that, she didn't really need mind reading magic to know Giselle was reminiscing fondly.
" Dammit, I still can't crack your firewalls, but I'll use this time to reinforce mine. " (Giselle)
She had truly grown stronger. Kaori couldn't tell how many times she had tricked Giselle into thinking she could still read her thoughts. Having them read during battle was really disadvantages after all, and battling with no thoughts would be even more disastrous when calculations are needed to crack arcane defences, temporal coordinates and unfurl traps that could ensnare even deities.