Darkseid's own chambers were located at the basement level of the palace. It was a prison before he claimed it as his territory. There were even some leftover traces of prison cells and guard chambers all over the dungeon. He had not bothered with cleaning up the whole level.
The dark energy of the place was perfect for his rituals, which he practised whenever he had time. The desperation and apathy in the air that had permeated the black stone of the walls were a powerful tool at his disposal.
"Why do you live in a basement?" Dreamer asked him.
"I assume he uses the energy of the place for rituals", Suli replied instead of him. She was a witch, she understood immediately the advantages that a place like this can bring to a practitioner of dark magic.
Soon, they had approached the doors to his chambers. A teal-colored gleam was shrouding the doors; it was a protective barrier meant to guard the entrance and scare off nosy people. Darkseid placed the palm of his right hand on the surface of the barrier. A purple ripple spread through the shield; it recognised its owner and subsided into nothingness.
He looked back at his companions, noting their worried looks. No one had entered his chambers aside from him; these two would be the first ones that he would allow to come closer to his secret. Not allowing himself to think over and hesitate, he determinedly started going down the wide set of stairs. His chambers were built even lower than the dungeon of the palace was before. When he built his chambers he dug deeper into the ground, building them closer to the core of the planet, allowing him easier access to the essence of the planet.
Here, at the bottom of the stairs, way deeper into the core of the planet, was his lair. Most of the secrets of which he was yet to reveal to the rest of the world, and the only exception would happen today. He was here to show his two… love interests the machine he had built with the meta knowledge that he was given before.
Darkseid led them to the tridimensional gates that he had built. IA machine that if powered with enough energy would open the gates to other worlds. He had used it before to summon Hogyoku and an asauchi, as well as the place where he had met Delirium for the first time.
"What is this? I don't understand." Suli had asked. Neither she nor Dreamer seemed to understand what the machine was.
"That's a dimensional gate, or a gate to other worlds in other words".
Darkseid walked to the control panel and pulled up one of the menus to the main screen.
"This here is a list of available worlds for us to travel to. Currently, it's small and contains only a dozen worlds".
The two women leaned over to look at the screen with a bunch of unfamiliar names of different universes.
"When I was eight, I got gifted with advanced knowledge on other dimensions and travel between them. Delirium was the one who had gifted it to me. I was able to build this based on that knowledge. I call it meta-knowledge. I know not only information about other worlds, but also information on the future of this one. The future that I had worked hard to change. As it's not a fun one."
"Not a fun one? What does that mean?" Dreamer walked closer to him, stopping only a bit away from him. She wanted to look into his eyes to gauge how truthful he was. What he was saying was very hard to believe, but he was the ruler of Apokolips, a New God, there was no reason for him to lie. She was willing to believe him considering that the Endless had been involved in this situation.
"After a series of unfortunate events, this universe ceases to exist in a span of 60 to 70 years. I don't know the exact timeline, only the broad strokes of it."
His eyes looked sincere, his voice was straight and unwavering. Somehow, she got the feeling that he was being truthful… And yet, her mind refused to believe his words. Seize to exist? All of the universe?
"What?" She could hardly find words, her emotions were sent into a storm. "Why?"
"Terra. It's the most important planet in the universe. It gets destroyed, and with it the whole universe ceases to exist."
"Terra? That small, primitive planet? I'm confused." Suli couldn't believe her ears. If earlier today she hadn't experienced being possessed by an Endless, a being powerful enough to erase the whole universe, she wouldn't have believed his words.
They were too much, too out there; they sounded like some tall tale an insane person would spin to attract attention. And yet… He was also the ruler of this world… This had gotten insanely more complicated than the matter of her family and her children… It seems that on the shoulders of Darkseid, and now on hers, laid the burden of the future of this universe.
"I don't know how true those visions, or that knowledge are. But I know that the stuff I had seen mostly came true. The things that I was not able to change or influence".
Darkseid touched his face unconsciously. In the original timeline, he would turn into an ugly hulk of a man, a machine geared for war and tyranny. But here, using various rituals and other methods from other worlds, he was able to shape his appearance. He was able to change his appearance.
He changed the future by allying with New Genesis; he made a new trading partner in the Terrans. Yes, of course, there would be more work to do still, so much more of it, he was sure. But… it felt like that future was put against his neck like a cold, dull blade of a guillotine. There should be something that he would be able to do, more than he already did. He should make sure that the future he had seen would never come true.
Gathering allies was one of the ways that he could influence the future. If the two women before him could do something to even prolong the time that was given to them… He was sure that he made the right decision today telling them about his burden.
Dreamer and Suli both looked confused and afraid; frozen in a state of fear and doom, their eyes were in a dreary state of emptiness, like a dirty, unclear glass, void of light. He understood why, today they had learned about the eventual doom that the universe was heading towards.
That same knowledge made him go into his training rampage; the same feeling of dread that made him lose himself in studying. He had had changed, willingly or not, now he was a different person.
Someone other than the god of tyranny. Someone more. And the two girls before him were a direct confirmation of that. They had different fates now that he had changed them. Before, one was destined to die by his side, the other would have been his enemy.
"I want you two to help me", he looked at the two of his women again. He was hoping to see them care, to see them overcoming the fear. Their eyes lost their emptiness, but only slightly.
He sighed. That was less than he was hoping for, as they were still frozen in fear. But it was enough to tell them more. Maybe the two of them wouldn't spiral like him; with him to tell them what to do, and with other people sharing their burden… Yes, they should have hope.
"I'm planning to make my next move soon. I want to gather more power to combat the future that I was shown. But for that, I need multiple things."
He took them by their hands. Suli's hand felt warm to the touch, maybe it was the influence of the Apokolips, she was a native after all. Dreamer's hands were colder, but somehow smoother, to the point that her skin felt almost sculptured or inorganic… Although both of them felt perfect in his hands. What a surprising feeling.
"I need you two to work on this machine. The power from other worlds is one of our aces, something that can help us improve our chances."
He shook their hands, hoping to shake off their stupor. Suli and Dreamer visibly changed; colour had returned to their faces, and light had returned to their eyes.
"I'm asking you two to help me. My power alone won't be enough, no matter how strong I would become. I need someone to rely on. I need people who would help me save this world, someone like the two of you.
Both of you are the most brilliant minds that our two planets can offer. You are one of the most capable people in the universe, even if you are yet to discover that yourself. And I need someone as genius as you by my side".
In that moment, Suli and Dreamer had felt the same feeling. As if they had witnessed a miracle happen in real life. Even the air around them, the hot air of Apokolips, had changed, becoming more pleasant, accepting. There was something that had changed in the laws and structure of the universe, and they had felt the strength of that change firsthand. They were right in the epicenter of it, looking it straight in the eyes, holding its hands in theirs. Darkseid was smiling at them.
"I must admit, both of you are smarter than me. I'm no scientist, no sage; I'm just a warrior. My other skills developed out of necessity, not from talent. You will surpass my mind soon, and I know it".
He was still holding their hands tightly. There was no one he cared about like he cared about these two. Even Dreamer. He had known her for a couple weeks, and yet he felt that she somehow belonged to their group. She was meant to be here with him. It was a strange feeling.
"I'm planning on leaving soon, and before that, we need to establish communication with each other". Something flew out of the sleeves of his armor, as if sensing his intent. "The motherboxes. Each of us needs our own, that way we could talk to each other over long distances."
"Move in here, the two of you. Closer to me and closer to the machine. This secret… It should remain between the three of us for now".
They blushed. Each for their own (but similar) reason, the three young gods' faces were overtaken with pink color.
They had nodded in response. Each of them, feeling sincerity behind his words, their hearts were moved by the warmth and determination in his voice. Unknowingly to the three of them, something budded inside them. Something far greater than one could think of. Camaraderie that would link them through time and space. A bond that would last aeons.