The shock was immediate, but it did not impede Claudia’s approach. Her resolve hardened, just like every other time her back was against the wall in life. She discarded her cloak other other things weighing her down, as it was apparent by the otherworldly nature of the moment that they would do her no good. She told herself that there was something truly wrong, that it could be fixed, that he could be saved. When Gideon noticed her, he beckoned her to come closer, and parted the flames to allow her entry into this hellscape he created.

Her jaw tightened, no matter how much she wanted to scream in rage, in torment, and her eyes narrowed accusingly towards her brother as she stepped through the fire. Bare-chested, he stood with an arrogance of a madman who did not care for being caught in the act of such destruction. Multi-colored veins of energy pulsed all over his skin, occasionally lashing out hissing tendrils from his body like cracking whips. His mouth, stained with some unknown ichor, twisted in a malevolent grin, his teeth sharpened into jagged rows of bloody bone. Worst of all to Claudia were his eyes, an empty black that felt like the void, a darkness colder than a starless night. A familiar black she felt within herself.

Her anger weakened and she held onto hope. “Gideon,” she said with hesitation. “I came here to find you. I came here to take you home.”

“The coward is no more, only We remain,” they said, the dissonant crowd of voices replacing the singular tone that Gideon once had.

Claudia swallowed hard. “What did Rosa do? We can fix it, we can stop this.” Her words were weak, and she felt them weaken her, all expression leaving her face.

“Rosa,” they said, considering the question, “got away.” The possessed being began to pace side to side, while its eyes never left Claudia. “We will find her and the other one in time.” Standing, it paused a moment and said, “There is nothing to fix, nothing to stop. We have waited an eternity to be set free and retake what was once ours!“

Even surrounded by walls of fire, Claudia felt the cool tears start to run down her otherwise placid face. “Then why spare me? You butchered the rest, why keep me alive?”

“It was the coward’s wish, that you not be harmed,” it cocked its head to one side and the grin sharpened further. “But, truthfully, we tried to kill you anyway.“

The anger swelled within her again. Whatever this thing was, it left nothing in its wake. The incarnation of absolute destruction, and it took her brother as host. Her hands clenched into fists at her sides, her teeth grinding in her mouth. Claudia’s whole life fighting against such horrors, and here she was, face to face with the Ender of All Things. Her breathing tempered as they stared at each other, a newfound hate in her eyes.

It was always going to be this way.

Her possessed brother flinched, as though it heard the words itself. “No…” the voices growled. “We are The Many!” they howled defiantly. “You are no one! Nothing!“

The Other spoke through Claudia once again.

I am infinite, I am eternal. I am your ruin, my children. Come and meet your end.

The Many flew at Claudia, a raging madness across its face. Even for being the host of the Other, Claudia was present-minded and actively involved with the exchange, though her fists carried a strength she’d never known before, and her body barely registered the pain or impact from the thrashing hits put upon her. The boons gifted to her were not wholly understood, however, and she was still on the defensive against the onslaught of violence brought forth. Just when she though she would get an opening, her opponent closed in on it or used it as a feint. In the moments of these furious blows, she altogether forgot about the why, and only thought about what this thing truly was. Vessel to a godlike being, she still felt vulnerable, mortal, and that fear compounded on itself as the thing continued to wear her down. She would die here, at the end, just like so many others she fought alongside.

Her brother’s face twisted in another malicious grin, and it cackled, “You’ll die like your brother, the coward!“

There was a cold sensation that washed over her, a calm that made her selfish, mortal rage all the more apparent. This thing killed and possessed her brother. It was the truest embodiment of what had taken her life and world away from her. Claudia found her resolve once again. This wasn’t about saving the world. This was revenge.

Her fist connected with its face with such force that it flew back, tumbling into the dirt twenty paces away, and the surrounding walls of fire themselves stifled in reaction to the impact. When it stood and charged again, she met it with equal ferocity, tackling it to the ground. Throwing its arms up to defend itself, she landed blow after blow to the limbs, breaking the bones in the mortal shell it possessed. Howling in pain, its hands fell to the side, exposing its chest and head to the unending punishment of Claudia’s rage. It gurgled a sound, but she continued. She only stopped when it weakly coughed her name.

“Claudia…” he said again, the voice of her brother returned from the dead.

She took deep breaths as her face melted into horror at what she had done. “Gideon!” she cried out.

“Fin…ish it…” he wheezed. “Please…”

“No, no,” she argued. “I can save you!”

He tried and failed to shrug or move. “Th-this-is…ho-how…you save me…”

Tears flowed from her eyes as she tried to speak, to argue, but nothing came out. All she managed was, “I love you, baby brother.”

“I…lo-love–“

She acted before she could hesitate any longer. “I release you,” she whispered as she raised an open hand into the air.

I renounce you.

A pillar of black eldritch void space apparated in her hand like a spear, and she brought the point down to her brother’s chest, impaling him on the unearthly weapon. Energy flowed through him, a brilliant white light pouring out from his mouth and eyes as The Many was exorcised from his body. Their essence snaked through the black polearm, escaping into the air only to scatter like familiar ashes in the wind. After the flow had dissipated and the weapon vanished, Claudia slumped, weeping, as she picked up and cradled her brother’s broken body.

---

Two cloaked figures watched through the scrying vision in the water: Claudia, as she stood up from the bloodied remains of her brother in the scorched landscape that now ceased to burn. Rosa flicked a hand through the pool to end the sight, and sighed.

“What have we done?” she asked.

“We broke the cycle, sister,” the other figure offered. “Though I’d be truly dead had you not intervened.”

“The body is temporary, the essence is eternal, brother.” Rosa dipped her hands in the water once more, trying to wash off some of the remaining blood stained on them. “Though it seems even that has become vulnerable. Still, formidable as the giant’s body was, it would fade in time, just like all the rest.”

“The Nameless will come for us, you know this to be true,” he said. “Its vessel is vengeful as well.”

“In time, yes.” Rosa sighed again. “Claudia will learn the whole truth, even if it take a millennia or more, now that she has the time. My only hope is that when they come to claim us, a better world will be waiting after we’ve gone.”