We grown Ulra'hno knew different, of course. We knew the stars were balls of gas, ever burning, many millions of leagues distant. But the way they hang in the dark outside, how they relate to our world as it move in perfect balance with Cir and Kir, how we have grown without our home shattering to pieces...what else but gods could place things so perfectly? Perhaps one day, we would reach out to the stars themselves, and see if they held gods.
But it did not happen that way. It came to pass that one of the stars came to us. Nothing like us. Angry. Cruel. Violent. It demanded our worship, and we could not stand. We called out for the gods to help us...
A god has come. Nothing like our beliefs. The stories, the ways...they have never spoken of a being like it. But...it has opposed the star. It fights for us.
The stars help us all. For the broken star will not.
----
Utsuho Reiuji was not the only one that could wield a sun.
Though in truth, Bracha John could not create a TRUE star, like the hell raven could. But with the power of light and the destructive energy she focused into it, she could do a half decent impression, especially when she made it bloom with fiery red color, a bleeding sunset the size of a suburban neighborhood that she hurled in front of her with a laugh.
The hammer met the light sphere like it was an anvil. The light sphere gave first, its energies disrupted and erupting outward from the point of strike, Bracha recoiling backwards as her attack shattered like it was a mere platoon of men. Snorting air through her nose, she began recalling the unfaded energies to her, refusing to let it go to waste.
"Well well, horseface. You might actually have some storm in you after all."
It would not stand.
"You really think blunting one attack means it's over."
"It will be over once I have REDUCED YOU TO DUST!" Bill said, and surged forward, his hammer swinging around on his wrist strap before it found his hand and Bill swung it down, with the force to crack mountains in twain and reduced the finest warships a half dozen alien empires could produce to pieces.
Bill was not a slow being, despite his size. The fact that he missed wasn't much of a surprise. The fact that Bracha blurred away from his three follow up blows, a four strike combo meant to disorient and catch one's foe off guard, was somewhat more of a concern.
"You think you can just smack me with a hammer, horseface? You think I'm a nail?" Bracha said. "I'm light itself. I'm speed incarnate."
Bracha dodged away from the next strike and buried her fist into Beta Ray Bill's gut.
"Speed is WEIGHT, as another enlightened man once said." Bracha said. "You should have left the pumpkin-faces to their new god, wingding.”
“You are no GOD.” Bill said, his voice rift with contempt. “I know what YOU are. You will suffer the same fate as-”
Bracha’s body flashed forward. Bill barely registered the blow before Bracha hit him a score more time, his body racked under the strikes. Bracha reformed a mere ten feet away, immediately having to dodge a thrown hammer, and then a dashing forward punch, Bill reaching out and recalling his hammer before the flying magics stopped affecting him.
“You can’t hit me.” Bracha said, sounding like she was six years old. Then she began splitting apart, clones of light appearing all around her, perfect illusions by the dozens that began to fly around the alien. “You can’t hit me you can’t hit me you can-”
The hammer dropped from Bill’s hand again, and with a spinning whirl wind exploded from the weapon, engulfing Bill and then expanding outward to engulf all the Bracha clones. Caught off guard, the fact that the real deal actually had mass gave her away, the wind sending her tumbling back, the light-controlling woman regaining her vertical bearing just in time for Bill to swing in.
His hammer met her fist, and the sky shook from the impact.
“I told you, horseface. Speed is WEIGHT.” Bracha said, and lashed upward, kicking Bill across the face and sending him flying upward, out of the planet’s stratosphere and actually breaking orbit. “Now move along. I have things to do, places to be, and Kobbers to burn to ash for murdering my brother…what am I saying, you can’t hear me up there.” Bracha said, her body shimmering from flesh to blazing light as she flew up in turn, freeing herself from the dangers of hard vacuum. She also gave herself some other advantages, as Bill met her coming up and his hammer went right through her.
“HA HA!” Bracha said, pointing and laughing like a classic Simpsons bully. Bill could not actually hear her, but the body language was clear enough.
So he thrust out his hammer, and light exploded from it. Her light, smashing into her form and sending her tumbling backwards. Bracha opened her mouth to complain, only for Bill to close it with a swing of his hammer, sending her slashing back down through the atmosphere.
Bracha shifted back to flesh in an explosion of energy, vaporizing the clouds around her. Blood. She was bleeding. Bastard’d made her bleed even in light form.
“I have learned not to give warnings to your ilk. It never works.” Bill said, lowering himself down into the atmosphere again.
“YOU HAVE MADE A VERY BIG-”
Bill lifted his hammer, and the blast of lighting flew from the clouds several miles distant and slammed into Bracha, sending her flying across the sky. Bracha spun across the horizon in a spastic dance, and then flew back towards Bill, unleashing her own storm of exploding light blasts, Bill’s hammer cleaving through them for a time before he was overwhelmed, falling from the sky. His fall turned into a meteor plunge as Bracha slammed into him, the two hitting the ground like a bomb and carving their way through a whole mountain range before Bracha finally stopped her charge slash drag slash push.
“Mistake.” Bracha said, her body a shimmering mass of gold and white.
The hammer hit it anyway, smashing into Bracha and throwing her backwards again. Bracha just managed to phase out of the way of Bill’s follow-up grab, but before she could counter-attack Bill smashed his hammer on the ground, throwing up a massive dust cloud that consumed both of them. Bracha, for all her talent with light, was still blinded.
The tornado consumed her, carrying her away and slamming her into the ground again. Bracha went pure transformation, fully turning her body to light and flying upwards into the sky. This time, she didn’t waste any time with theatrics. She made a mini sun, and she dropped it on Bill’s head.
The explosion was felt across the whole continent. In a million homes, Ulra’hno cowered under tables and stairs. Many more prayed.
Bill did not believe in gods. He knew there were beings of immense power, and that many demanded worship. In the past, his own species had worshipped him. But he never believed in the concept of ‘higher’ beings, that somehow stood above the universe and its ways. He looked to the heavens, and found them empty. He did not care for how these people perceived him…
But none of that mattered. This creature would do them harm if he didn’t stop her. So he took the star that fell on him, and he punched through it, slamming into Bracha, their blows raining across the sky and finally propelling them out of the planet’s atmosphere again before Bracha went to subliminal speeds to get away.
The two stared at each other, in the airless void. Bill didn’t need any words to know what was coming next. The woman had become impatient…and scared. If she kept brawling with Bill, who knew how it was going to end in a drawn out fight.
She was going to go for an all or nothing shot. Bill knew this the second she disappeared. She was not running. She would not run. She was backing up.
A million miles away, Bracha stopped.
The North Arm of Compass didn’t know that Bill had sussed out what she was doing. She didn’t care. The fastest reflexes in the universe couldn’t stop something going at the speed of light. She was going to hit this interloper, this horse-faced wannabe hero so hard everyone on the planet below felt it.
Blood called to blood. Her brother had been murdered. Everyone responsible for answer for it. The judgment of a god…
…she was a god. She had to be. She couldn’t be human. That way just lay pain.
She would no longer be among those hurt.
The trail she left as she blazed towards Bill was brighter than any comet, any natural body in space. The few who dared look at the sky would speak of its unique beauty to their dying day.
Bill did not yield. Bill did not move.
Save for his hammer.
----
They found him laying in the crater, several miles outside of a town they called Ki’laroh. His armor scorched and battered, his body motionless, his helmet having lost a wing. There he lay, unmoving.
Until they approached. Then his eyes popped open.
The beings known as the Ulra’hno could only stare in amazement as Bill stood up, only the faint hint of ginger movement betraying any pain. His shoulders and neck cracked like breaking tree trunks as he stretched, blinking a few times.
“…It is gone.” Bill said. “I know you may not be able to understand me…but you no longer have anything to fear. So swears Beta Ray Bill.”
---
“The heck was that?” Sine said, looking at the readouts on her spaceship. Had a nearby star gone supernova?
…Something to investigate later.
---
And above Porphyrion, some time still later…other fortunate witnesses, including a young explorer, were blessed to see the brightest of shooting stars.
“You are no GOD.” Bill said, his voice rift with contempt. “I know what YOU are. You will suffer the same fate as-”
Bracha’s body flashed forward. Bill barely registered the blow before Bracha hit him a score more time, his body racked under the strikes. Bracha reformed a mere ten feet away, immediately having to dodge a thrown hammer, and then a dashing forward punch, Bill reaching out and recalling his hammer before the flying magics stopped affecting him.
“You can’t hit me.” Bracha said, sounding like she was six years old. Then she began splitting apart, clones of light appearing all around her, perfect illusions by the dozens that began to fly around the alien. “You can’t hit me you can’t hit me you can-”
The hammer dropped from Bill’s hand again, and with a spinning whirl wind exploded from the weapon, engulfing Bill and then expanding outward to engulf all the Bracha clones. Caught off guard, the fact that the real deal actually had mass gave her away, the wind sending her tumbling back, the light-controlling woman regaining her vertical bearing just in time for Bill to swing in.
His hammer met her fist, and the sky shook from the impact.
“I told you, horseface. Speed is WEIGHT.” Bracha said, and lashed upward, kicking Bill across the face and sending him flying upward, out of the planet’s stratosphere and actually breaking orbit. “Now move along. I have things to do, places to be, and Kobbers to burn to ash for murdering my brother…what am I saying, you can’t hear me up there.” Bracha said, her body shimmering from flesh to blazing light as she flew up in turn, freeing herself from the dangers of hard vacuum. She also gave herself some other advantages, as Bill met her coming up and his hammer went right through her.
“HA HA!” Bracha said, pointing and laughing like a classic Simpsons bully. Bill could not actually hear her, but the body language was clear enough.
So he thrust out his hammer, and light exploded from it. Her light, smashing into her form and sending her tumbling backwards. Bracha opened her mouth to complain, only for Bill to close it with a swing of his hammer, sending her slashing back down through the atmosphere.
Bracha shifted back to flesh in an explosion of energy, vaporizing the clouds around her. Blood. She was bleeding. Bastard’d made her bleed even in light form.
“I have learned not to give warnings to your ilk. It never works.” Bill said, lowering himself down into the atmosphere again.
“YOU HAVE MADE A VERY BIG-”
Bill lifted his hammer, and the blast of lighting flew from the clouds several miles distant and slammed into Bracha, sending her flying across the sky. Bracha spun across the horizon in a spastic dance, and then flew back towards Bill, unleashing her own storm of exploding light blasts, Bill’s hammer cleaving through them for a time before he was overwhelmed, falling from the sky. His fall turned into a meteor plunge as Bracha slammed into him, the two hitting the ground like a bomb and carving their way through a whole mountain range before Bracha finally stopped her charge slash drag slash push.
“Mistake.” Bracha said, her body a shimmering mass of gold and white.
The hammer hit it anyway, smashing into Bracha and throwing her backwards again. Bracha just managed to phase out of the way of Bill’s follow-up grab, but before she could counter-attack Bill smashed his hammer on the ground, throwing up a massive dust cloud that consumed both of them. Bracha, for all her talent with light, was still blinded.
The tornado consumed her, carrying her away and slamming her into the ground again. Bracha went pure transformation, fully turning her body to light and flying upwards into the sky. This time, she didn’t waste any time with theatrics. She made a mini sun, and she dropped it on Bill’s head.
The explosion was felt across the whole continent. In a million homes, Ulra’hno cowered under tables and stairs. Many more prayed.
Bill did not believe in gods. He knew there were beings of immense power, and that many demanded worship. In the past, his own species had worshipped him. But he never believed in the concept of ‘higher’ beings, that somehow stood above the universe and its ways. He looked to the heavens, and found them empty. He did not care for how these people perceived him…
But none of that mattered. This creature would do them harm if he didn’t stop her. So he took the star that fell on him, and he punched through it, slamming into Bracha, their blows raining across the sky and finally propelling them out of the planet’s atmosphere again before Bracha went to subliminal speeds to get away.
The two stared at each other, in the airless void. Bill didn’t need any words to know what was coming next. The woman had become impatient…and scared. If she kept brawling with Bill, who knew how it was going to end in a drawn out fight.
She was going to go for an all or nothing shot. Bill knew this the second she disappeared. She was not running. She would not run. She was backing up.
A million miles away, Bracha stopped.
The North Arm of Compass didn’t know that Bill had sussed out what she was doing. She didn’t care. The fastest reflexes in the universe couldn’t stop something going at the speed of light. She was going to hit this interloper, this horse-faced wannabe hero so hard everyone on the planet below felt it.
Blood called to blood. Her brother had been murdered. Everyone responsible for answer for it. The judgment of a god…
…she was a god. She had to be. She couldn’t be human. That way just lay pain.
She would no longer be among those hurt.
The trail she left as she blazed towards Bill was brighter than any comet, any natural body in space. The few who dared look at the sky would speak of its unique beauty to their dying day.
Bill did not yield. Bill did not move.
Save for his hammer.
They found him laying in the crater, several miles outside of a town they called Ki’laroh. His armor scorched and battered, his body motionless, his helmet having lost a wing. There he lay, unmoving.
Until they approached. Then his eyes popped open.
The beings known as the Ulra’hno could only stare in amazement as Bill stood up, only the faint hint of ginger movement betraying any pain. His shoulders and neck cracked like breaking tree trunks as he stretched, blinking a few times.
“…It is gone.” Bill said. “I know you may not be able to understand me…but you no longer have anything to fear. So swears Beta Ray Bill.”
---
“The heck was that?” Sine said, looking at the readouts on her spaceship. Had a nearby star gone supernova?
…Something to investigate later.
---
And above Porphyrion, some time still later…other fortunate witnesses, including a young explorer, were blessed to see the brightest of shooting stars.
