User blog:Seieireppa/God Eater:Universitas, chapter 45: No Other Choice, part 1

It started out simple enough.

The five of them—Sigma, Idenn, Blake, Lyrr, and Jack—linked hands, Idenn activated Lifespring, and in an instant, they were gone—

—and faster than they could blink, they arrived.

It was a sight that Sigma recognized all too clearly—the expanse of absolute darkness, lit only by a brilliant line of sparkling blue light that stretched on and on into infinity in either direction.

“We made it…” exclaimed Lyrr, his God Arc at his side. “Sigma… how, exactly, did you do this?”

“It’s like I said before,” came Sigma’s reply. “When Idenn activated Lifespring, I essentially hijacked the flow of time and shunted our path of travel off in a different direction. Instead of spitting us out wherever Idenn intended—which didn’t actually matter, of course—I had us dropped off here.”

“I see…” spoke Jack, hand on his chin. “So, if what we’ve been told is true, we’ll have to prove to the Horizon our resolve to achieve our deepest goal in order for it to grant us power?”

“Not this time,” came Sigma’s unexpected answer. “Feldman could come back at any time now, now that he has the full power of the Horizon. To expedite the process… I’ll have you all fight me.”

Blake, Jack, and Lyrr all gasped in unison.

“Fight… you?” inquired Blake, shakily. “But… there’s no way we can win!”

“With that attitude, you’re right,” Sigma replied. “But I’m probably the only one out of all of us who is capable of fighting Feldman one on one, so if the three of you want to have any hope of attaining the Horizon’s power, you’ll need to prove that you have the resolve to throw your lives away. Plain and simple.”

“I see…” came the voice of Idenn, who stood off to the side. “Should I—”

“You are not to interfere, Idenn,” Sigma interjected. “This is between me and them. I will come at them with my full power… and they will prove that they are truly willing to do anything to defeat me, including outright dying.”

“That’s all well and good,” spoke Lyrr, “but… you aren’t ACTUALLY going to kill us… are you?”

Sigma merely turned to face the three of them, looking Lyrr directly in the eyes.

“Care to find out?”

Lyrr only scratched his head. “I suppose we don’t have much of a choice, do we?” he replied, readying his God Arc.  “It’s either us or you… or the rest of the world, right?”

“Let’s not hold back, then,” followed up Jack. “I’ve got a future—and a grandson—to save. Isn’t that right, Blake?”

Blake nodded, pointing his God Arc at Sigma. “If killing you is what it takes,” he began, “then I guess you’ve gotta die!”

“Good… very good!” exclaimed Sigma, holding out his hand and putting up a barrier in front of him. “But enough talk… have at you!”

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