Moments Long Awaited

Nauseous was right. Lore and Rhy’fel had merged five times already and they still couldn’t keep their stomach settled. Piper couldn’t help but laugh. Rhy’fel had fallen on their arse for the fiftieth time and it was more than past the threshold for hurting.
“Why are we doing this?” They struggled to their feet.
“Yeah.” Char made her way over to them. “The three of us could do this just fine. Why do we need them?”
Lore clicked their organic fingers repeatedly in thought. “Right… You know how Time could wield all this power by itself.” Char nodded. “Well, we weren’t designed for it. Three mortals could never use the full power of time or we’d die. Simple as that.”
“Are they not Quatarrians?” Rhy’fel pointed between Piper and Char.
“We can still die. We’re long lived but if we come back wrong or screw something up, we can still die a natural death.”
“Anyway, three mortals can’t use the full powers of Time without dying. I came up with a theory. When we merged with the other Cornerstones, we gained access to new abilities, stronger abilities and not just theirs, our own powers became stronger because there were more people in the merge to spread out the load.” Lore clicked their fingers rapidly, the confused faces around them didn’t help. “It’s like…” They pulled open their arm exposing the inner circuitry. It was a mess, a nest of parts that were obviously not standard. “It’s like my arm. Time gave us our abilities just like Brian gave me this arm but if I used the arm as it was, I’d crush your hand every time I tried to hold it because it’s an inherently unstable design. Too much power and too complex for my brain and chip to control alone.” Lore flexed their fingers. “But with these stabilisers I’ve installed, all that power is still available, but I can actually control it. Our powers are not just godlike, they’re god given. To have them at their full potential would kill us but if we add more people to the equation, we gain stability.”
“And with each person added, each stabiliser, we don’t gain power, we gain control.”
“Exactly. It appears we’re getting stronger because we can safely access more of our abilities.” Lore smiled.
“So I’m just a stabiliser?” Rhy’fel didn’t see why they were putting so much effort into being a counterbalance for their powers.
“What’s the limit?” Piper cut Lore off.
It took them a moment. “Forty nine, not including us three and the other Cornerstones. They can be added without diminishing returns.”
“What sort of returns?” Piper kept glancing at Rhy’fel. They had no idea what he was up to
“From my estimates, too many cooks will spoil the broth so to speak. Any more than fifty two merged individuals will lead to instability. We become too massive and begin to crumble.”
Rhy’fel waited until the silence became awkward. “This is all well and good but what difference will one person make?”
“Four is more stable than three. You’d be surprised at the power increase.” The suns were beginning to rise. “It’s time. Let’s hope we don’t need to separate for this then.” Lore held out their hand. They blanketed it in their energy. Char and Piper did the same before placing their hands on Lore’s. The three of them became one. One which grabbed Rhy’fel and forced them to join. United as a four, The Reaper took flight. It was still early so their glowing green wings stuck out like a sore thumb against the morning sky. The unlikely and unknown nature of their presence worked to their advantage however with most of the enemy soldiers below mistaking them for a rogue comet or heat emission. That was until it started firing at them. The Reaper curved their fingers inwards, summoning great balls of white light, and began firing on the enemy below. Bright-white bolts rained down like heaven-fire on the field below, stunning both those who were hit and those who observed their fall. The affected stood, frozen in awe as their comrades desperately tried to free them from The Reaper’s spell. They only ended up frozen themselves. Waves of energy rained from the skies with prescient accuracy. Within minutes, The Reaper had completed a task that would have taken Rhy’fel’s troops decades of unknown trial and error. They fired three final shots before slamming themselves into the ground before The Leadership’s feet. They too stood in awe of the being before them; pure light made humanoid, closing wings that once measured nearly twenty metres across. The Leadership knew not what to do but kneel. Before them stood an obviously superior power yet it did just that. Standing, completely motionless. Reverence didn’t fully summarise the feelings they felt as they lowered themselves to the floor. They knew a god when they saw one.
“I surrender myself to you. Time.” The Reaper seemed almost surprised to hear the words leave his mouth. They had expected surrender but not worship. “I ask however that you take only me. My men only followed their orders and obedience should not earn them death.”
“We aren’t going to kill you.” The Reaper spoke with their four constituent voices. Lore’s being slightly more prominent. “Nor are planning to kill your soldiers. We wanted only your surrender.” The Reaper smiled.
“Then you have it. Time itself requesting such a thing must mean that it’s of the essence that I do. I do humbly obey.” The Leadership tapped at their wrist. An order that failed to send.
“Your troops will receive it… now.” With a click, time unfroze for the soldiers and the wonderment returned temporarily. Wonder filled fear turned to confusion however the fear persisted. The Eastern army was abuzz with The Leadership’s declaration of peace. For the first time in eleven days, the troops all laid down their arms.
“Good physical presence will get you everywhere. Being a god helps.” Lore spoke, splitting The Reaper. Behind them, Rhy’fel vomited.
“You. You’re Time.” The Leadership smacked their own head in realisation. “Of course.” What followed was incoherent.
“Rhy’fel, I trust you know what to do?” They nodded. ”Right then, I’d love to stay and help but, that would be a lie. Good luck.”
Lore and the family gave Rhy’fel one last glance as they watched them run off into the trenches to return to base with the good news. It was good news for them too, Lore’s map now displayed the universe as being stable.
“That was easier than I though. So, we going to recruit them like the others?” Char looked over to where Rhy’fel had retreated.
“Not just yet. Ten years of war. They deserve a break.” Char gave Lore a strongly worded look. “But no rest for the wicked.” They smiled, withdrawing a stream of purple energy from their arm and creating a portal. On the other side, Time. The End’s Beginning.