The Fall

Part 3: Void

The magic did its work, and Count Bleck collapsed, quietly exhaling for the last time. Dimentio bowed his head in a moment of respect.

"Are you ok?" Luigi asked, seeing the jester's pained expression.

"...Not really. I have just lost everyone I was beginning to care about." He raised his head. "You have a few casualties on your side as well, yes?"

Luigi nodded. "Yeah...The Princess and Bowser..."

"Ironically, the two who started it all," Dimentio said whimsically. The Chaos Heart left the Count's body, floating just above it.

Outside, the Void ceased its rumblings, but only briefly before it began to grow anew. Mario and Luigi looked at him, confused. Dimentio turned to them, smiling sadly. He lifted up his left hand, and the Chaos Heart flew to it, settling into his palm.

The brothers prepared to fight once more, but Dimentio didn't give them the chance. With a snap, they found themselves contained in one of his magical boxes. They kicked and punched at the shimmering walls, but escape was impossible.

"Wh-What are you doing?!" Luigi cried, bloodying his knuckles in his desperation. Mario ceased attacking and stilled.

Dimentio's smile widened, and his eyes sparkled with happiness. "I must thank you. If they make greeting cards for helping people accomplish their evil goals, I owe you a few."

"So Tippi was right then! This was all one big lie!" Luigi growled, tears streaming furiously down his face.

Dimentio shook his head. "Oh, not at all. Everything I said to you was the truth. You were simply foolish enough to think I'd let an opportunity like this slip away. Just because the Count is gone doesn't mean I can't control the Chaos Heart myself. I WILL have a perfect world of my own, so I'm afraid you fell right into my hands." He shrugged, as if he didn't care.

Mario's hands clenched at his sides as he stared at his shoes. He'd been played, and now he was helpless to prevent all worlds from being destroyed. Luigi started sobbing harder and pounded at the walls, spraying the inside of the box with his blood.

Dimentio's expression softened a little. "I really mean it though. You have my gratitude, and I'm sorry to do this to you, but I cannot have you soiling my new world. It must be all my own." He held up his right hand, fingers poised to snap. "Goodbye, Heroes of Light, and ciao..."

With finality, the snap echoed through the air before the sound of explosions took over. Dimentio turned away, listening to the final throes of the two heroes as they met their demise. He winced inwardly, but as the screaming died away, so did his guilt. Finally, all fell silent again.

With nothing but the sound of The Void to accompany him, Dimentio was, at last, the final occupant of Castle Bleck. He indifferently floated over to a window and watched the Void finish its approach, confident that it couldn't consume him. He smiled, closing his eyes as the world around him crumbled in a flash of light.

There was no sound for a moment, until he remembered to breath. Cautiously, he opened his eyes and was greeted with the sight of nothing. Aside from a piece of colorless rubble here or there, there was nothing to see except a vast canvas of blank whiteness. He took a calming breath, but couldn't contain the excited grin that spread itself across his face.

He had done it. The universe was his to do with as he pleased. He felt a sudden rush of loneliness, but didn't worry about it. He would create a new people soon enough.

He wanted to take to the skies and survey his new realm, but found that he couldn't. Something was wrong...He felt...empty. He tried to conjure up a starburst, but nothing happened. Reaching inside of himself with a pang of pure terror, he discovered that his magic had abandoned him. The power of the Chaos Heart had fled, taking his natural talent with it.

Dimentio stood there for hours, unmoving and expression blank. There would be no perfect world. He was now incapable of creating it.

With a deep, involuntary shudder, he slowly lied down on the ground and curled up into the fetal position, awaiting the cold embrace of death.