Once Upon A Miracle

Chapter 34: The last showdown

"When I despair, I remember that all through history the way of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants and murderers, and for a time, they can seem invincible, but in the end, they always fall. Think of it--always."

~ Mahatma Gandhi

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The solitary strand of lightning raced towards Evil. Time seemed to slow down as Goodness watched Evil's eyes widen, realising that death was streaking towards him.

Goodness pictured how the next few seconds would unfold. The lightning would come down on him and it would pierce through his heart. It wouldn't even hurt. It would almost feel like the prick of a needle.

His body would hum with electricity for a second, energized atoms vibrating with energy. And then he would completely shut down. His heart would stop, his muscles would go limp. His brain would take slightly longer to lose the life in it but it would, one way or another.

But, at the end, it wouldn't be Evil who would wind up dead. It would be Markus.

Goodness felt a despair rise inside of her when she saw the undeniable future that would become the present in mere moments. She wasn't sure if Blue's own feelings towards her father were influencing Goodness's rational thinking process. Whatever the case, Goodness knew she couldn't let it happen.

She told herself that if Markus were to die, Evil would just inhabit another body which would only create a new set of problems and prolong the inevitable.

Thus, with that thought in mind, Goodness took a deep breath and slapped her hands towards a different direction. Unbelievably, just before the lightning could collide with Evil's body, it completely, drastically changed its course. For a second, there was only a pin drop quiet as Goodness and Evil stared at each other, both their eyes mirroring the same shocked expression, the air around them charged and tensed.

Until, Evil cracked a crooked smile. If Goodness was expecting gratefulness, she did not find it. If she was hoping for a sign of something, anything, other than that loathsome expression he wore every time he looked at her, she was disappointed.

Evil only said the words she dreaded to hear, "And that, my dear nemesis, was your first big mistake."

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Goodness was powerful by nature. But even she did have a few limits. After teleporting haphazardly, wielding lightning bolts, she was, admittedly, a little drained. In addition to that, she had given away some of her powers to Miracle not a few hours ago.

So, she could only cry out in surprise as Evil lunged at her, teleporting away from the desert of ice.When she peeked open one of her eyes, she was both relieved and worried to find herself in the backyard of Blue's house again.

"Since I'm feeling particularly poetic today, let's finish this where it started, yes?" Evil said.

Goodness crossed her arms over her chest, ignoring the slight light-headedness that came with even moving. She took confidence on the fact that Evil looked exhausted too, although he tried to hide it behind a mask of arrogance and conceit.

"Actually, I am pretty sure this isn't where it started," Goodness said, gesturing at the normal, insipid neighbourhood all about them. "If you meant historically, I'm afraid our battle is so ancient that it would be nearly impossible to trace down its place of origin. But if you were talking about this particular decade, well, you're still wrong. It probably started in the midst of nowhere, when you were floating around like a piece of garbage in the sea."