Hats Off (Dar)

As Kyte turned back, he would see a silhouette standing silently in the doorway. The figure was wearing a trench coat and a fedora, both of which seemed to eclipse the man's face in endless shadow. No matter how close Kyte got, the man's face would never be visible beneath The Hat.

"We meet again," The Hat said. "I'm afraid I've become aware of some unsavory information, and have decided to share it. You see, I plan on killing your daughter, Rico. That should upset you. You may claim otherwise, but it is simply safer for me to eliminate you, her guardian, before killing that abomination. Kyte Avytrius, you will now die."

A sphere of anti-magic energy filled the entire museum. The Hat would not allow his opponent to use any powers during this fight. Kyte's demonic blood would momentarily become mortal, and his abilities would fade to the point that he was now a mere human. The Hat simply stood still, waiting to see how Kyte would handle the threat and the loss of his powers. A caged animal was dangerous, but also reckless. If Kyte lashed out in a foolish manner, consumed by fear, rage, or any emotion really, The Hat would be ready to punish that action.

Perhaps at a time like this, a time in which an individual was at an advantage, it would be customary to smile. The Hat did not have a face, so smiling was impossible for him. Beyond that, he had no emotions. Instead, he remained focused on his adversary.

Judging by Kyte's behavior, he had not yet noticed that his powers had been canceled out. That was the only way The Hat could justify such bold words. Kyte was too smart of a man to bluff.

Kyte said that he had heard rumors about The Hat, including claims that nobody who faced him survived. That wasn't true. Many people, more than The Hat cared to admit, had escaped his grasp. One hero, Damian, had even managed to repel him. The Hat said nothing of this to Kyte, however. It was information that the demon did not need to know.

But Kyte did have a point. He deserved to know why The Hat was out for his blood, as well as his daughter's. Without even an attempt to guess, Kyte said he had no idea why The Hat had so suddenly declared this vendetta.

"That is to be expected, Avytrius. You do not know the reason because you have been tricked. You have been placed in an unfair position. Perhaps this is fate's way of punishing you. Like the Cuckoo bird, you have been raising the the child of another. It is not a perfect analogy, for you are indeed Rico's father. Of that I have no doubt. The problem is the identity of Rico's mother: Shivering Jemmy of the Shallow Brigade." The Hat allowed that information to sink in. It was possibly worse news than the threat of being murdered here and now. "You have been raising the offspring of a Lord of Chaos. Despite the form that Jemmy usually takes, she is quite capable of crafting plans, some of which are quite complicated, almost nonsensical until everything comes together to benefit her. It is entirely possible that if the Lord of Chaos is killed, she will simply be reborn in your daughter's physical body. Such atrocities are not unheard of in the realm of Chaos. Whether by my hand or by her mother's, Rico will die. It is only a matter of how many lives might be lost in the process."

The Hat stepped forward, and two men entered the room behind him. Kyte would doubtlessly be surprised upon seeing them, for they were both completely identical to The Hat. They were duplicates. The man had been split into 3 bodies, each just as real and dangerous as the original. Not only was Kyte powerless, he was also outnumbered. This was the secret to The Hat, the inspiration for the rumors Kyte had heard.

The Hat was simply a monster.

Kyte Avytrius had stayed alive a long time, The Hat knew. Over the centuries, he must have fought many powerful opponents. Still, his confidence was...interesting. Despite public opinion, it was usually cowards who survived, not the brave. Then again, this fight was unavoidable, and there was no advantage to feeling fear in a fight.

The Hats, all three of them, reached into their trench coats and pulled out twin daggers. A total of six blades turned against Kyte, and the three Hats broke into a sprint, getting closer to their quarry. With Kyte also fast approaching them, the two forces would clash in the middle of the room. As they drew near enough, The Hats would stab out with their daggers, making quick, jabbing stabs in hopes to inflict damage. They retracted their arms quickly, so that their opponent couldn't grab or strike them.

"I understand you, Avytrius," one of The Hats said as they stabbed over and over, moving to wherever Kyte moved to continue the assault. "Your chaotic emotions have clouded your vision. You do not see what must be done. Even though you wish to kill Shivering Jemmy, you are now protecting her. No doubt, this is what she planned from the start, when she infected your heart with emotions. She has made you her Agent of Chaos, against your will, and stolen your power to reason."

The Hat dismissed Kyte's words. He no longer possessed any human emotions, so he would not be aggravated.

Kyte, on the other hand, was clearly allowing emotions to drive his actions, perhaps without even realizing it. Unfortunate. The manifestation of wrath could have been a useful ally, but The Hat could not allow Rico to live any more than he could allow Shivering Jemmy to live.

The middle Hat was pushed by Kyte towards the wall, but managed to recover his balance in time to avoid injury. The remaining two Hats jumped over his sweeping leg, and then jumped back to avoid the ax kicks aimed at their chests. They wasted no time in rushing forward to stab at Kyte with their right-handed daggers, keeping their left blades close as a sharp defense. An unfortunately timed attack would have Kyte impaling his own arm or leg on a dagger's tip.

Even in a three-on-one fight, The Hat hadn't expected Kyte to fall right away. He was infamous as a fighter. In a one-on-one fight, this probably would have been no contest. "You enjoy war, Avytrius," the Third Hat (the one that had been thrown) said. "It is only natural that you would have to die before the passing of this age. Fighting is a disease that I will soon remove from this world that has suffered for too long."

With Kyte hopefully busy dodging the attacks from Hats 2 and 3, Hat 1 sheathed his right dagger and drew a steel dart instead. From a distance, he started throwing the darts at Kyte. They approached silently, with deadly accuracy. Every injury, no matter how small, would slow this especially dangerous opponent.

Impossible dream? The Hat thought about that as Kyte used his agility to avoid the daggers and darts. As Kyte ran to hide behind a display, none of the Hats pursued. Guessing at Kyte's intentions to better arm himself, two of the Hats moved out to the sides to seek better equipment. Hat 2 opened a glass case and grabbed a whip sword. Hat 3 grabbed, interestingly enough, an emergency fire extinguisher on the wall. Hat 1 reached into his coat pocket and pulled out a hand grenade, still contemplating Kyte's words.

Honestly, it didn't matter if Kyte enjoyed fighting or not. If Kyte was telling the truth, then it was true what they said: love and hate really were two sides to the same emotion. Emotional beings hated what threatened what they loved. Did The Hat feel either one? Of course not. Killing Kyte was not a crime of passion. It was simply a cold logical decision, one that had the potential to obtain what The Hat really wanted.

"Not even I dare to read the book of Destiny, though I have had the opportunity, Sin. I do not believe my goal to be impossible. Order is stronger than it has ever been, for we have suffered much lately. Perhaps it is arrogant of me to pursue the total eradication of Chaos, but as you've said, I am not your kin."

The Hat pulled the pin on his hand grenade and threw it in the general area where Kyte was hiding. Accuracy wasn't too important, considering the impressive yield. If there was one thing humans were good at, it was making weapons to kill each other. The tragedy of that thought only affirmed The Hat of his decision. He was doing the right thing. After the explosion sent displays, and hopefully Kyte, flying, all three Hats would approach their foe, slowly.

"Indeed, I am no mere Sin. You wonder how I know your past, Kyte Avytrius. I was watching you that day in Egypt, as I have watched over the universe since it's birth. In this form, they call me Hat, but I have another name: Void, Lord of Order. Once I kill your daughter, your siblings will fall by my hand as well. The world doesn't need Sins. The world doesn't need to exist. All that is needed is perfect Order, a perfect Void."

As the grenade got deflected back towards the three Hats, Hat 1 ran forward, reached out and caught it. He pulled the grenade close and curled up into a ball. As the other two Hats ran to the sides and jumped behind displays, Hat 1 simply accepted his fate. As long as one instance of him survived, he would be just fine.

The grenade exploded, sending blood splattering everywhere with a deafening boom. Oddly enough, the blood began to fizzle a few seconds later before completely disappearing. The two remaining Hats, still shaken, stood up as Kyte talked.

The javelin hit Hat 2. The man dropped to his knees, dying slowly. The whip sword hit the floor beside him as his body shook. There was now only Hat 3 left. The man set the fire extinguisher down and quickly pulled out his own hand grenade. It had duplicated along with everything else the Hat had been carrying before splitting. He held the explosive ready, but did not pull the pin yet.

He spoke, his voice brimming with anger. This wasn't the emotionless man speaking, it was Void himself. "I thought you were smarter than that, but it seems you are simply a fool. If the balance between Order and Chaos tips in Order's favor, Chaos will not result. I am not going to create Chaos. I am not going to create anything. I am going to destroy the universe. Nothingness is the perfect state of Order. Only then will I die. Even if you destroy this form, I will remain as long as the universe does. You fail to grasp the forces you inevitably surround yourself with, Wrath. I am no pawn, of Jemmy or anybody else. There, because of my teaching, you now possess at least a single intelligent thought. Welcome to the universe, Kyte. Say goodbye to it."

Hat 3 pulled the pin on the grenade. He held onto it and didn't throw it right away. The Hat would not make the same mistake twice. He timed this grenade throw so that the timer would run out just as the explosive reached Kyte. Redirecting it would be of no help this time. Kyte would have to find some other way to counter it, or else eat the bomb.

The Hat released his grenade into the air, and it soared towards Kyte.

So much had been said in such a short span of time. A normal human would probably still be processing everything. But these weren't normal people. Wrath and Void, two immortal reflections of the universe, both, in one way or the other, currently tied to this realm of existence. In the short moments that this conversation took place, between blades flashing and grenades exploding, Void had a revelation.

Wrath was right. Void had become angry, and prideful, too. He had become angry because his pride had been hurt. Perhaps his motives were not as pure as he had once thought. But how could that be? Surely, the universe needed to be cleansed by the Void. Wasn't that the purpose of the Vanishing? Hadn't that been a sign that it was Void's divine mission to end this miserable existence?

Perhaps he had been mistaken. How could he have the universe's best interests at heart if he had fallen to Wrath and Pride?

All was not lost, though. If Void was guilty of wrath, then the easiest way to remedy that seemed to be to kill Wrath himself.

As Kyte approached, The Hat picked up the fire extinguisher from before. This model produced a thick cloud of powder, which should do quite nicely. Taking the nozzle in one hand, The Hat pulled the trigger and aimed it in Kyte's general direction. The extinguisher did not disappoint. Before Kyte could get within melee range, The Hat had disappeared into a thick cloud of white powder. No matter how good one's eyesight was, they would not be able to see the tip of their nose.

But The Hat had one final card up his sleeve. He didn't need to see when he could sense his opponent's location.

Kyte had brought up Nabu, saying that someone so powerful would have had no trouble defeating a Sin. Such a comment deserved a response. The Hat's voice came from all around, making it difficult to judge his location. He made no sound from footsteps or breath, but his voice continued to echo. "Nabu is no more. Aside from your friend, I am the last Lord of Order. You can make me bleed. You could even kill me, but it does not matter, for we are all doomed. The Realm of Order owes you a debt, Wrath. You have taught me something quite valuable."

Kyte would hear the feint "click" sound of a third grenade pin being pulled. Hat 2 had not actually died yet, though he would certainly be dead within the minute. Under Void's command, the man was able to perform this one last action in service to Order. Before Kyte could react to the third grenade, Hat 3 would rush up silently behind to grab him around the waist. He would do his best to hold Kyte in place, so that the explosive's blast would destroy them both. "Every victory has a price."

Hat 2 threw the grenade as the cloud of powder faded. He had waited as long as he could. The weapon would explode as soon as it got to Kyte and Hat 3, perhaps even an instant before. His job done, Hat 2 died, and his body disappeared.