A sense of clarity followed as Alex held on to Excalibur’s cold hilt, accompanied by a bout of pain that was bound to slowly get worse as time passed.
Gritting his teeth, Alex utilized the clarity granted to him to happen on a rather simple fact.
If the Jester’s foolishness was powerful enough to continuously affect individuals outside the kingdom, individuals like himself... then why did he think that it wouldn’t be worse within his divine kingdom?
Yet, egged on by the Fixer and his desire to once again attempt the Trial handed to him by Adam, Alex committed yet another blunder born of stupidity by daring to charge headfirst into the Jester’s divine kingdom.
Was this the extent of stupidity?... He didn’t quite enjoy it.
He didn’t hesitate to snap, swiftly escaping the region within the Carnival occupied by Harlequin and Cybele.
Both ladies attempted to go after him, in a bid to claim the GodKiller he wielded, only to be held back by the other.
Alex used the opportunity to create some distance between himself and the Apostles, though he could guess that what he’d done could hardly be termed an escape.
If he guessed, both ladies would be able to reach him and so the only thing keeping him away from facing an Apostle was that they were taking on each other.
With that in mind, he planted Excalibur in the ground, giving him so respite from the pain that sought to devour his senses.
Victoria appeared not too long after, having rushed over to provide aid to Alex.
Taking a deep breath, Alex pondered his options; fight or flight.
Alas, hardly had he begun to plan out his next course of action when something strange happened.
But not just him, almost every single living being in Eventide lost their senses for a moment.
Those who managed to have their wits about them quickly deduced the reason for this.
The Jester had returned, not as a Demigod, but as a Demon God.
At the same time, information gained life and knowledge became a tangible entity, infusing everyone that had been fooled with terrifying amounts of data.
Many lost their minds as they learned of things they shouldn’t have, while others killed themselves due to the veritable realization that, in the grand scheme of things... they were nothing.
The Hexad had completed its crossover, and with that, it had also completed its ascension into an Anti-God.
Almost immediately, the two newly ascended deities clashed, their powers causing upheavals in both the material and immaterial planes.
Those of a Divine nature that persisted within Eventide didn’t dare to intervene, merely watching to see who would win in the confrontation.
Harlequin and Cybele were swept up in the chaos, with Alex and Victoria unable to save themselves as well.
The destruction was extensive as the Jester and the Hexad fought, causing remarkable wounds to reality, wounds that would take forever to heal.
Out of these wounds, a gaze fell from beyond, landing directly on Victoria and snapping her awake.
It was the entity from back then, the same one that had fractured her mind and nearly killed her.
Its presence caused the Hexad and the Jester to pause, both their attention swiftly drawn to the entity from beyond.
For a brief moment, a stalemate persisted.
Only for the entity to ultimately withdraw, allowing the Jester and the Hexad to once again focus on one another while Victoria jolted Alex awake.
"We have to leave!" She said, with Alex taking the time to regard the area about them.
This was meant to be the divine kingdom of the Jester with colorful tents, eerily excited guests, and a lot of buffoonery.
Now, due to the terrifying battle between the Jester and the Hexad, the kingdom was completely destroyed.
Alex tried to snap only to discover with a grimace that he couldn’t.
Space was locked and time was tangled up.
Neither he nor Victoria would be able to leave until the deities finished their battle and it didn’t take long for this to happen.
The Jester simulated the same explosion he’d used to heavily wound Khanna, utilizing it yet again with the intention of mutual destruction.
The Hexad calculated the possibility of surviving in the space of an attosecond and discovered rather quickly that there was no chance of survival.
So, it tried to escape.
The Jester wasn’t about to let it do as it pleased as he grabbed hold of the sentient cube and, without hesitation, detonated the explosion, creating a frightening blast in mid-air that swept over the entirety of the Unending Carnival, covering it in black translucent crystals.
By the time the dust cloud cleared, the Jester and the Hexad lay several meters apart from each other, their bodies damaged heavily by the explosion.
Meanwhile, at another location within this now desolate divine kingdom, Alex and Victoria
Nothing else remained around them, not the colorful tents, nor their lousy Apostles.
It was just them, and together, they both took their final breaths, with the Jester letting out a cynical laugh.
Meanwhile, at another location within this now desolate divine kingdom, Alex and Victoria realized, with great surprise, that they had survived.
But not because of their strength neither was it because they were that lucky.
Instead, it was that entity... indeed, the same one that had driven Victoria to a near-death state.
Neither dared to look above as its gaze peered down on them, instead focusing on its arm that was placed before them, protecting them from the crystallization process.
"... Thank you." Victoria breathed out, feeling quite perplexed by the situation.
She had thought the entity wanted to kill her but now, it protected her, leaving her... unsure of how to feel towards it.
Was it an enemy or an ally?
It was difficult to say.
The hand, having taken the full brunt of the crystallization, slowly retracted into the void before the gaze disappeared, causing Alex and Victoria to wonder if it had truly left this time around.