Heal and Null were breathing as if they had held their breath for entire days. Their foreheads dripped with sweat, reflecting the spectral light emanating from the parallel dimension. From their position, they could see what had happened: the entire Hell erased and remade in moments, as if a capricious god had taken a cosmic eraser and played with existence.
Abyssal remained motionless, suspended in a nonexistent point, where time and space were forgotten echoes, whispers that reality itself had ceased to perceive. Each instant arose and disappeared at the same time; every microsecond of existence folded upon itself like a broken mirror, and nothing, not even causality, could touch it.
The newly recreated Hell seemed to hold its breath. The frozen lava rose in impossible towers, the air solidified and turned liquid, piercing, colder than absolute ice, while fragments of rock floated without obeying any physical logic.
Every particle of existence bowed before Abyssal's absolute stillness, aware that any movement of his, however subtle, could undo entire worlds.
The infinite branches of reality folded, recomposed, and vanished. Causality fragmented into simultaneous instants with no beginning or end, and yet, nothing disturbed his silent calm.
Not even the oldest demons could do more than bow before him; every action of the survivors was a shadow that vanished before touching him. Matter, energy, time, and existence were suggestions obeying his silent will.
Even in slumber, Abyssal imposed absolute judgment: reality held its breath, and fragments of space-time vibrated faintly, aware that he was the measure of all that was, is, and could be. He did not need to move; his stillness was enough to bend the entire multiverse effortlessly.
Null, wary, watched Heal as she wiped the sweat from her forehead.
Null: Tell me, Heal, what are you? Why did you save me? And you hunt demons too? —points to her hood made of demon skin— And most importantly… what was that thing?
Heal: Well, I'll only tell you that I'm a demon, but of a more intelligent and reasonable kind. We have a realm in these parallel dimensions; it is said it was created there to be separated from Hell by Abyssal… or at least that's what history books said. I used to believe Abyssal wasn't real… until now.
Null: (sighs) "Separate dimension from Hell"? And what is Abyssal?
Heal: Alright, I'll tell you, but first I need you to trust me… or do you kill all demons the same way?
Null paused for a moment. The tension of the parallel dimension seemed to compress around them. Finally, he lowered his sword, detecting no ulterior motives.
Null: Fine… I'll trust you, at least for now (sighs) And to clarify, I killed several demons only in self-defense, not because I wanted to.
Heal: Good, that's better.
Heal moved her hands toward where the portal had been, and a spectral window opened before them. Through it, Null could see infinite parallel realities, each separated from Hell, like bubbles floating in an ocean of possibilities, all away from Abyssal's destructive focus.
Heal: These are the realms and civilizations we built. The exact reason why we are separated from Hell is unknown, but legend says Abyssal had something to do with it.
Null: Wow… all of those are realms? But they look like bubbles.
Heal: (laughing) Apparently, you're human.
Null: How did you know?
Heal: First impression of someone with limited understanding.
Null: Alright… so what are they then?
Heal: Those "bubbles" are the outside perspective. In reality, each one is a complete universe, with infinite timelines. None have limits. Many travel between them, using time differences for rapid transport.
Null: So… they are universes.
Heal: Yes… but not simple universes. They are universes containing other universes, infinite parallels, and dimensions that many of my kind use to move. Some with accelerated time, others slowed. A whole ocean of possibilities.
Null gazed at the window, realizing that what he saw was nothing compared to what actually existed.
Heal: Also, each reality contains countless timelines with their pasts, presents, and futures, infinite branches that never end.
Null: And how do you know they are infinite?
Heal: I knew you'd ask that —she extended her hand— Imagine my hand as the realities and my fingers as the infinite universes.
Null nodded and listened.
Heal: Well, to measure the distance of something, you have to travel that distance —she places a finger from her other hand on the palm of the extended hand— and in this case, we discovered it is infinite…
Null watched her hand carefully, listening intently as Heal explained.
Heal: When my finger had to traverse all the universes and timelines and reality at a speed beyond time —the finger slides over the hand, passes its limits, extends beyond perceptible space, as if touching what cannot exist— only then did we discover it.
Null: Wow… the "discoverer" must have been incredibly fast to traverse all that.
Heal: Exactly. Only then did we know they were infinite. And each universe has the same size… except one.
Null: (surprised) Is there one beyond?
Heal: Yes, but we can only enter if it allows us. I cannot guarantee we can take you.
Null: I understand… though traveling through all these realities has left me speechless.
Heal opened a portal to one of the realities, and Null followed her.
Heal: Now I'll tell you the complete legend of Abyssal when I find the books, so I don't make mistakes.
Null: You're not human and yet you can make mistakes… (laughs) We're not that different.
The portal closed behind them. Meanwhile, Abyssal remained in its slumber, unaware that the anomaly, Null, was still alive.
Null and Heal were safe… but that safety would not be permanent.