Nero: [I’m home!]
Stepping through the large front doors of the castle, the oni walked into the familiar household of red and gold. As he entered, a small girl ran towards the door to excitedly greet him.
Varius: [Papa!]
Grabbing the girl as she jumped towards him, Nero held his daughter close to his face, allowing her to hug him as much as she pleased.
Nero: [Hello, Varius! How was school today?]
Varius: [Good! I did a lot of learning to make Mama and Papa happy!]
Nero: [Excellent! Did you make any new friends?]
The girl’s enthusiastic expression quickly faded, with not a single reply given. Caressing her hair as he held Varius with one hand, Nero smiled back at her to cheer the girl up.
Nero: [That’s alright. I’m sure you will make plenty of friends in the future. It is only a matter of time.]
Looking over to the stairs again, Nero watched as a beautiful woman with bright red twintails walked over to him. The two exchanged a kiss, leading Varius to shout “Ew!” after being childishly disturbed by their love.
Yoro: [How was work today, my love? Did anything interesting happen?]
Nero: [It was the same as our usual expeditions. Shiro and I checked some of the southern regions of Mazokuni after a few disturbance reports we had received. Normally, this would have taken multiple days to finish, but Shiro opted for a shared flight between the two of us. I must say, she flies quite fast. I had some difficulty holding onto her shoulder while we made our way to the destination, and on occasion, I slipped off. Luckily, my matōki kept me afloat and Shiro came back shortly after during those moments to continue our travel.]
Yoro: [That’s good to hear! I’d like to invite Shiro over at some point. It’s been so long since we’ve spoken, I feel like a fool for not sending her a letter whenever I had the chance to. I’m so focused on making clothes for everyone that I keep forgetting to do so.]
Interrupting the two, the little girl who had been placed back onto the ground started to jump and wave her hands.
Varius: [I wanna meet Auntie Shiro! I wanna meet Auntie Shiro!]
It was only as she spoke that Nero had realized something unfortunate.
Nero: [Ah! I had forgotten to tell her all about Varius! How foolish of me!]
The red-headed wife of the man rubbed his back, smiling at his worried face.
Yoro: [It’s alright, Nene. We’ll find the time to do so when we get the chance. I’ll invite her over and then, she’ll have no choice but to see Vari!]
Varius: [Auntie Shiro is gonna see me! Yeah!]
Triumphantly raising her fists in the air, the girl with black hair and red tips at the end cheered on her mother’s statement. Laughing as she picked up her daughter, Yoro made her way away from the door and towards the kitchen.
Yoro: [Dinner will be ready soon. Vari said she wanted to learn how to make cookies earlier, but you arrived just as we were going to do so. I hope you don’t mind waiting a bit longer, Nene.]
Shaking his head back, Nero smiled.
Nero: [Not at all. I’ll finish some of the paperwork I have left from today’s trip before it’s ready. Perhaps I’ll even taste test a cookie or two.]
Snickering at him, Yoro displayed her shiny white teeth to her husband and continued to make her way out of the main hall.
Yoro: [As long as Vari doesn’t eat them all, you’ll have a chance to have some! Anyways, see you at dinner, Nene!]
Nero: [I shall see you then, Yoyo.]
Bidding their temporary farewells, Nero fixed his clothing and made his way in. As soon as he took a step forward, he noticed something off about the door mat.
Normally, it showed the words “Welcome to Nene and Yoyo’s loving home!” written out across it.
Now, something entirely different was written on it. That something being:
“What are you doing?”
Before he could question it…
The world around him faded to black.
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In the land of the clouds, a mighty azure dragon had stomped its foot down, angered to the brim by the preposterous statement it had just heard.
Dragon: [Shiro Fuloreen! You dare say such blasphemous words in our presence?! The powers bestowed upon you can be ripped away, should we so choose to!]
Looking back up at the azure beast, completely unamused, Shiro’s nose wrinkled as she snarled back.
Shiro: [Your presence means nothing when the matter at hand involves an issue as great as this. I don’t care how you try to threaten me, I’m not changing what I said. I plan to abolish the system of the gods the three of you have established.]
Flapping its wings, the red phoenix displayed its own burning rage to the goddess.
Phoenix: [To abolish the system of the deities would be entrusting the world to chaos! Do you intend to bring all living beings down with you, Shiro Fuloreen?!]
Moving her eyes over, Shiro kept the same glare towards the bird.
Shiro: [Maybe don’t interject yourself into the conversation and you might be able to hear the rest of what I’d like to say.]
Phoenix: [There is no need to hear trivial words! The request is denied!]
Kirin: [... Speak, Shiro Fuloreen.]
Despite the anger of the other two divine beings, the green kirin wished to hear more from the goddess’ mouth. Outraged by the sudden compliance, the two turned to face their fellow deity.
Dragon and Phoenix: [Kirin!]
Kirin: [Silence. If her words are merely those that will lead the world to its end, we shall not listen. However, I would like to know if there is a solution behind them.]
Shiro: [If the three of you were willing to let me speak, you’d hear my solution a whole lot sooner.]
Bowing back down to her, the kirin extended a leg towards her.
Kirin: [Proceed, Shiro Fuloreen.]
The succubus in white took a deep breath, preparing each word she would say in less than a second.
Shiro: [As you can clearly tell, I’m sick of this system. The previous eight gods had no successors for several decades nor could they have chosen any due to their senile states. It’s because of that reason that countless malicious beings ran amok across the lands below you, without a single thing done about it. Now that we have our new set of gods, including myself in the mix, there’s certainly a means to deal with these beings. However, it’s also because of the old system that Nero Virtuoso himself changed, leading to a new age of ruination. Before a war of pure madness can begin, I’d like to change how things work. No more tests, pointless school trials or anything of the sort. None of that determines who should and shouldn’t get the status of a god. Instead, have us do it by our own hands. Each of the remaining seven will take on an apprentice of their own, who can lead the way for the generation after. One of the assistants at the school had shown me the keys which could do so and even mentioned herself that she’d like for them to be used to lead this new generation. That is the change I would like to see. The trials we had taken when we were young were dull and pointless compared to the job we had taken up. At this point, do people truly consider us gods or beings with the highest title of all, that sick back and watch as the world turns to dust? The latter is what your system currently falls under. I would like to bring it to the former, allowing for others to be at peace when the presence of the gods are known to be near.]
Placing a hand at her hip, Shiro’s eyes sharpened.
Shiro: [So? Is that good enough for the three of you?]
Silence. Not a word echoed through the clouds.
Kirin: [... The request is sufficient. However, there is one issue with it, Shiro Fuloreen.]
Dragon: [Your position in this request is still unknown. While you may take on an apprentice of your own, to what title shall they live up to?]
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Phoenix: [You have yet to choose what you stand for as a goddess. Until you do so, you are nothing more than the goddess, Shiro Fuloreen. A mortal without a reason behind her divinity.]
Shiro: [Then in response, I’ll become the goddess of balance. Weighing life and death, good and evil with my own two hands, that is the role I shall take on myself. In exchange, I’d like for not only my request to be accepted, but the gift of a god ability that the three of you had promised from the beginning.]
Stomping each of their feet against the ground, the divine beings stood tall.
Dragon, Phoenix and Kirin: [Very well!]
Dragon: [In accordance with your title of the goddess of balance…]
Phoenix: [Bestowing upon you a gift of the gods from that of your past and rebirthed anew…]
Kirin: [We shall accept your request, creating the apprentice god system, alongside your title and ability!]
A ray of light flashed down onto Shiro, far greater than the last time she had visited this place. Absorbing the grand ray of light into her body, Shiro closed her eyes and accepted the new power.
A smile started to stretch out on her face, joyful over the change she had made.
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Shiros: [You can’t win anymore, Nero.]
Motionless, Nero stared back at the hundreds of Shiros laid out before him. Each matching one another, in appearance and sound, without a single flaw between them. The god ability he was gifted with, All Eyes, could still see each move he would make. The perfection of these eyes was that it had worked in tandem with his clairvoyance, allowing for not ten, but an infinite landscape of time to be curled into his hands. Though it did not stop an attack faster than he could see, it gave him the opportunity to know where it was coming from should he be able to face it.
Thus, he could see it. The places in which he would hit the Shiros from along with where they would strike. Except there was a limit that was present, a limit given to a living breathing being of the world. There was only so much one could do in such a short span of time. When faced with multiple opponents, it was key to target who would strike first or draw the closest to your body. Using this knowledge effectively could allow for the attack to be redirected onto someone within the opposing force, or at the very least, cornering the enemy which would lead to them backing off.
But what about a scenario where the amount was perhaps infinite? What would one do in a scenario where the foes they had faced could not be hurt in the slightest? It all meant nothing, just as Shiro had stated. Even if he predicted where she would attack from, they would all attack him at once. Even if they were hurt, they would simply return. Hurting each other did not matter, as they were both real and fake at the very same time. A painful needle of fate that the oni could hardly decipher with his brain.
Smoke started to leak out of the sides of his gritted teeth. His fangs bore a terrifying appearance, gaining far more length than the teeth around them. Veins protruded all across his body, displaying his rage in full.
Nero: [I refuse to believe it…]
A thick aura of matōki, blue in hue and viscous in quality shrouded the smoke filled domain. Nero tightly gripped his sword, dashing towards the Shiros in front of him.
Nero: [I REFUSE TO BELIEVE ANY OF THIS!]
Sending a massive slash of matōki towards them, he watched as multiple Shiros were cleaved in half, their eyes losing any signs of life they had left as they faded into nothing. In their place, several more Shiros came forward, appearing through the smoke.
Nero let loose slash after slash, tearing and gibbing his old friend endlessly as he moved around the room. Not a single one showed a shred of care nor remorse. They all kept the same blank, cold stare at him, as if he was utterly worthless in their mind. The only time in which their faces had changed was shortly after they were killed, leaving behind a dead look as they faded into the smoke, only to return without a wound in sight.
Shiros: [Is this your only tactic, Nero?]
Nero: [SILENCE!]
Slashing the mouth of another Shiro, he watched as a brutal death welcomed them, only for another revival to transpire. Spreading his free hand out, constant matōki blasts were shot towards the Shiros, blowing each and every one of them to bits. He had hoped this would be enough. Surely, if every single Shiro was destroyed, none would remain. That thought was merely a foolish hope, as each came back from the dead, surrounding him.
Like he had almost done during their previous battle, Nero created a massive ball of matōki. Throwing it forward, he watched as it consumed the Shiros and hit the floor, exploding with a tremendous power. The matōki placed inside of the ball was far too great, leading even Nero himself to be hit by the blast and sent flying back.
Nero: [Khgk!]
He landed back on the dark floor of eyes below him, his arms raised up to reduce the damage he had taken. For a brief second, the Shiro clones had not returned from their dissipated state. However, Nero’s foolish greed to finish them off had gotten the best of him, as the ball of matōki quickly became meaningless. Like the ancient myths and folklore had often spoken about, without knowing how to kill an undead beast would only lead them to rise from the grave again. Scattered across the darkness, filled with smoke and eyes, were more illusions of Shiro.
Shiro: [Are you truly that desperate to strike me that you risked injuring yourself, Nero?]
Nero: [If it means that the dead shall remain deceased, I shall cast judgment upon you, no matter the risk!]
Along the dark ground of the room, vines of ice were spread out, making their way towards the Shiros. Patterned along them were flower buds of a similar, ice blue color. Nero looked back up at the visages with fury, snapping his fingers in retort and screaming his next move.
Nero: [Ice Maiden!]
Sharp spikes of thick ice rocketed through the air, piercing the Shiros in brutal manners with their bodies being held high. Blood decorated the ice, dripping down along the sides as the Shiros faded away. But just as they faded, so did the blood on the ice, leaving it as nothing more than a dangerous sculpture.
Shiros: [Fine then. If you’re going to make a move, then so will I.]
The worst Nero could have feared was here. Each of the Shiros charged at him holding Tempest in multiple different ways. Panicked by the sudden difference, Nero tightly held the right side of chest, as if gripping something inside and preventing any damage.
What he experienced next was hell of the highest degree. Each area of his body was violently ripped into by Tempest, his blood spraying with a visceral pain as proof that the wounds were real. His legs, the left side of his chest, his arms, his neck, his face, all were struck by Tempest as the Shiros ran by.
Using Martire with one hand, Nero tried to clumsily defend himself against his enemy, but each of the fingers that clutched his greatsword were cut off with an electrifying sting. Throwing his fingerless hand down, the blood within his body reattached them back into place. Just as he did, his wrist was cut clean off, dropping the blade back onto the floor.
To match the similar pain they had delivered to his left arm, the Shiros cleaved off the elbow on his right, leaving the right side of his chest now exposed. As several Shiros went to strike the newly exposed section of his body, Nero’s eyes exploded into a bloodshot look, screaming as he blasted them back with a barrier of matōki and thrusting his cut arm down to reattach itself.
Nero: [OOOOOOAAAAAAH!]
Seeing this sudden spike in power, Shiro was bewildered by the instant attack. Though it had not dealt damage given that she was now multiple of herself, it was strange to her that he had reacted this way.
Shiro: [That was the move Ryuusei had done, albeit with far less power behind it. Why would he put such a burden on his body for the sake of the right side of his chest? Is this a sign for me to strike there?]
Trembling with his arms held out, Nero heaved deep breaths of pain while wincing his eyes. He tried to stand up straight, but could hardly muster the strength to do so after his attack and the injuries he had sustained. Thus, he fell to the ground, holding himself up by his hands and knees. His blood poured out along the dark floor of eyes, each displaying a look in them that no longer matched his own pained gaze. A detail he had yet to realize was the direction of the eyes.
When he had first activated the ability, the eyes stared solely at the singular Shiro that was in front of him. Following her activation of My World, each eye looked at a different Shiro in the cube, proving that they were both Shiro herself and also a mere copy.
It was only then that the smoke along with the cube around him had started to fade, leaving the rocky field that was there from the beginning as the sole survivor. The Shiros around him disappeared, leaving only one who descended down in front of him.
Shiro: [Don’t get the wrong idea, Nero. It’s still active. I’ve only changed the view back to where everyone else is. If you decide to attack me, you’ll see the same thing as when I first activated the ability. You’ll be met with a version of me who refuses to die.]
Crushing the earth into his hands, Nero grit his teeth while keeping his gaze low.
Nero: [I refuse… I refuse for this to be the end… Gah!]
From the sky above, bright beams of holy light struck down at Nero, leaving both him and the goddess in front bewildered as to what was happening. With each ray that struck him, an odd bubbling had coursed along his skin, fizzling his body with an unbearable pain.
Nero: [What… What the hell is this?!]
Staring into his bubbling, gloved right hand, Nero gazed upon the source of his pain before turning to look at the origin of where it had come from. A spotlight placed upon him, far greater than anything the sun would normally give, struck down at the oni and crushed the earth below him. From beyond the light and above the clouds, a visage of a golden Buddha could be seen.
Shiro: [Why is there a Buddha in the sky?!]
Surprised by this deity of unknown origins, Shiro questioned why such a mighty figure was now before the two of them. Her answer would appear soon enough, in the verbal form of–
???: [Cleanse this soul of its impurities and seal that which makes it divine! Bodhisattva Jail!]
The demons of white and black looked across the battlefield and towards a nearby clifftop above them. Standing on the rocky edge was an angel with blond hair and a white tunic dress, holding two fingers in front of her face as a holy light wrapped around her visage. Her golden eyes staring directly back down at the oni, who experienced the hellish pain she unleashed.
Shiro: [Helig!]
Slowly raising himself from his slouched posture, Nero bared his fangs at the angel.
Nero: [That woman is the cause of this?!]
Raising his hand, dark blue matōki started to build up along his palm. In response, the angelic goddess pointed her two fingers at him.
Helig: [Don’t aim your foul hand at me, despicable oni.]
Nero: [GHK–GAAAAAAH!]
Nero’s jaw widened with agony as his pain increased. From his back, a red translucent aura was pulled out and sent towards the buddha in the sky, who clutched it in their hands. A screech was let loose from its palms while the divine light from inside shined forth. Fading into particles of gold light, the sky split apart at the exit of the Buddha. Looking down at his body, Nero came to a horrifying realization.
Nero: [All Eyes… Why is All Eyes not working?!]
Helig: [Have you not realized yet? What an utterly boorish fool you are. I’ve used my very own god ability, Bodhisattva Jail, to trap yours. So long as I live and breathe, yours shall never see the light of day ever again.]
Nero: [Wha–what?!]
Ignoring Nero’s wide eyed frustration, Helig turned her attention to Shiro.
Helig: [Succubus.]
Shiro: [... Yeah?]
Helig: [I still require more damage in order to deal with the rest. Finish him off quickly.]
Shiro’s crimson gaze turned from Helig to the oni kneeling down in front of her. Clutching the loose Tempest in her hand, she took a few steps forward to do as Helig requested. With her eyes casted down, she looked towards the defeated Nero.
Shiro: [It’s over, Nero.]
Pointing Tempest towards the right side of Nero’s chest, Nero’s teeth made sure to show his anxiousness.
Nero: [You intend to strike me from the right, Shiro?]
Shiro: [Yeah. I do.]
Nero: [... A smart choice.]
Shiro’s eyes widened ever so slightly, puzzled by what Nero had said.
Shiro: [Why is he saying that?]
Nero: [Only a fool would attack from the left. If they struck from the left, and added enough of their own matōki or element to hit the surrounding areas, it would lead to their own utter failure. Even if you were to pierce my heart, it would lead to nothing.]
Shiro: [Why is he saying that?!]
Nero: [But you’re free to choose the side that pleases you best.]
Shiro: [I don’t get it! Why is he trying to get me to attack the left side of his chest using everything?! I hit him there before when Devi was with me, but he still got back up! So why?! Why does he want me to attack that side so much?! Is he trying to trick me?! Does he want me to strike from the left so I don’t hit the right side?! More importantly, why is he so afraid of–]
Staring down at Nero’s jacket, Shiro noticed something odd. Unlike the left side, the right was being suspiciously pushed by something held on the inside. Something was placed between Nero’s jacket and his shirt.
Shiro: [There’s… something in there… There’s something inside his jacket… It looks… pi–]
Helig: [Succubus! Enough wasting time! Finish him off!]
Snapping back to attention, Shiro looked towards the shouting Helig before moving back to Nero. Raising Tempest to her right and Nero’s left, she held the blade to the side while keeping it at eye level. Though he was in pain, Nero started to smile towards the goddess.
Nero: [Shiro…]
Shiro: [... Yeah?]
Nero: [... Please, take it when you’re finished.]
Shiro: [... Got it.]
Thrusting her blade into the air–
–Shiro felt a heavy loss in power behind her entire body, leading her to fall to her knees as well. Tempest hit the floor, while the goddess who once held it clutched her chest.
Shiro: [Damn it! Why now…?! I needed just one more minute at the least!]
The angel from afar shifted in place, wondering what could have happened to Shiro. She could not see anyone who intercepted the fight, nor was there a change from Nero himself. It was as if Shiro was struck by an invisible force.
In opposition, Nero’s tired face morphed back into the cold glare he had always shown. Standing back up as his wounds healed and reattaching his missing hand back on his left wrist, he gained access to Martire again. Looking down to the one below him, he gazed upon Shiro in her pained state.
Nero: [I was certain that there would be a limit to an ability, even that of a god ability, as powerful as yours. From what I can assume, there’s a time limit for how long you can use it. That time most likely being five minutes, which has now passed. How unfortunate, Shiro. I’ll commend you for your efforts. You managed to do away with my All Eyes. However, I’ve reached this far without relying on such a thing. It was a valiant attempt, but one that will ultimately make way for the new world I plan on creating.]
Looking to the ground beside Shiro, Nero had noticed Tempest out of her reach. Placing a foot on the blade, the spur of his boot rang as he shifted the sword over to her. The snow-like goddess looked at the blade, before looking back up at Nero above her.
Nero: [I shall not smite you while you are down. Stand, Shiro. We shall begin our final duel, without any tricks left in the game.]
Placing a hand on her knee, Shiro used the other to grab Tempest and rose from her kneel. Standing back up on her two feet, she shifted back into the sideways eye level stance she had taken before with the jagged sword. In response, Nero raised his own with one hand, facing it to the side just like Shiro had done and pointing it towards her.
With Nero’s god ability now sealed and Shiro’s depleted, all that was left to use was the weapons Kōkatsu had made for the two.
Their final dance of blades would now begin.
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