The Orb that was once the Fleece was miles high in the sky now, spinning at an incredible rate of speed, siphoning in more lightning. But as Pat and Rapha stood there, it was as if time slowed down for everyone and everything but them.
Rapha looked at Pat, who looked back at him. Pat was still smiling, believing he still had an advantage.
"What took you so long?" Pat asked Rapha.
Rapha laughed at this statement, "That sounds about right from you."
"I see you haven't changed much over the years," Pat said.
"Maybe not in form, but certainly in my mind," Rapha replied.
"So, how about a little catching up then. How's it been going?"
"Enough with the jokes, Pat, or whatever your name is now."
"I've had so many over the years."
"Yes, I remember your first one, Morning Star."
"That was too cringy, honestly. I really couldn't believe it stuck for a while."
"Perhaps you prefer Lu..."
"Don't say that word," Pat stopped Rapha from finishing.
"You have a few names too, Rapha, is it? Did any of these people you just turned into insect lights up above know what your real name is?"
"They know."
"Yes, of course they do. So, what should I call you this time?"
"You can call me Nissi."
"Nissi? Interesting. What exactly does that mean?"
"It means victory."
"Over me? For what, this world? This planet is about to destroy itself, but you knew that too, didn't you?"
"I set that part into motion."
"So, genocide is it? You decided to kill billions of people?"
"You've killed far more than that."
"Have I, now? Not all at one time like this. Mine were a little more spread out, I'd say. Over millions of years, watching these worthless things you call humans die generation after generation after generation. Until you brought this man Jay into my midst. Why was that, anyway, Nissi?"
"Jay was a means to an end, just as you were."
"Oh, I'm helping you, is that it?" Pat laughed. "And just how have I helped you?"
"You helped to create this moment. One that the Earth has been waiting for a long time."
"The Earth, a ridiculous creation just like these humans. It doesn't matter, though, when this world is gone, I'll simply take over another one with my armies. Display another race of creatures you helped bring into being and watch them pummel themselves for eons just as these did."
"About that army..."
After Nissi said this, a large flash shot out of the Orb above in all directions, consuming the planet in light and energy. This blast wave began liquifying the Cals where they stood. The components of the machines burst, melted, and dissolved where they stood. Eventually, the land melted too, turning into lava as the Earth cracked open, spilling molten rock out like blood.
Pat looked at his armies dissolve around the hillside, which miraculously remained untouched.
"Nice, Nissi. I really appreciate you destroying my handiwork once again. It's no issue, though. I'll simply create a new army. A bigger one with more capabilities on the next planet I show up on. Because you have no control over me. You don't really control anything. Control is your illusion. You can't even control people from dying. This planet just liquified and killed billions instantly. You let them all die."
"Yes, I did. But their story doesn't end in death."
In a loud voice, Nissi exclaimed, "Arise into the air!"
Just then, objects began rising out of the lava flows, glowing orbs with faint figures around them that looked like people. More and more of them began rising into the air above Pat and Nissi.
Pat looked on as the spirits continued to rise into the stratosphere of the now-dying world.
"Ah, how nice. You brought them back, just like Jay, huh?"
"Death is never the end."
"Not even for me, right, Nissi. You can't kill me any more than you can kill them."
"You're right. I can't kill you, but there is something else I can do."
A bolt of lightning shot down at Pat and surrounded him, encapsulating him where he stood.
"Oh, that's right, you've bound me. I'm surprised it wasn't a lasso, Nissi."
"This leaves you bound for a very long time to come."
"Oh, for a thousand years, Nissi? Really? That's a drop in the bucket for my existence, and you know it. Once I'm free again, I'll ravage this creation of yours. No one in this universe will ever see it coming this time. So, have you moment for a time, times, and half a time, but in the end I'll have the final word."
"That's not true, nor is your interpretation of things."
"What do you mean?"
"Well, it is written that a day in heaven is like a thousand years here on Earth. But all the word ever said was that you would be bound for one thousand years. But it never specified whether that would be Earth's time or heaven's?"
Suddenly, the smile left Pat's face, and he looked at Nissi with a blank stare.
"I guess you should ask yourself this, Pat. If a day in heaven is a thousand years on Earth, how long is a thousand years in heaven in this universe? A very long, long time."
Now Pat had a look of fear on his face as he realized he was about to be bound for eternity, unable to leave the position he was in on a dying world. Pat began thrashing and trying to get out of the encapsulation, but it was no use. He was trapped.
Above Pat, the Orb that once was the Fleece began descending rapidly, headed straight for their position. Pat looked up and saw the Orb approaching and began to scream loudly, "NO!"
Nissi rose into the air above the hillside as the Orb came crashing down, smashing the hillside and taking Pat into the lava below with it. They both descended into the fiery furnace that was now the Earth, the final name of the planet to be uttered. The Orb, once having been the Fleece, and Pat disappeared into the smoldering heat and destruction of the planet's core.
Nissi looked down as the lava had consumed Pat's final resting place.
"Good-bye."
Nissi and the rest of the figures surrounding him ascended into the sky. There were hundreds of billions of orbs surrounding Nissi as they all arrived at the vessels. The vessels themselves began to change into orbs as they moved quickly away from the dying world. Suddenly, the orbs merged and shot off into the cosmos at speeds faster than anything ever recorded.
The Earth sat there in the vacuum of space, with plumes of molten rock erupting out into orbit, as the planet began to break itself apart. Finally, in a single burst, the planet's core erupted, and the world's fabric and framework collapsed, unleashing a massive explosion that scattered dust and particles in all directions.
The Earth, Terra, and so many other names the civilizations had ever given to them, was no more. The moon was caught in the shockwave and blown out of orbit. From the nearby red planet, also known as Mars, a brilliant shockwave could be seen, with all the colors of the rainbow. On the planet's surface, the remains of a civilization lay. Visitors from Earth had reached it, built colonies and lived there, only to watch them wither away over time.
Time was the only thing left in the universe now. It would continue on for many more years to come. It was also the final prison for Pat. Time was unyielding and incorruptible. It was the only thing no one could control. Unfortunately for Pat, his time would not run out for a long time.
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