“You will not succeed”

Avan looked down upon the creature before him, weak and broken as far as any angel could be. The Lords’ once powerful wings shattered, such a feat considering they were rumored to be able to hold up worlds while still maintaining flight, his once powerful arms pictured in all of his glorified paintings as holding the universe above himself now nothing more than battered lumps of meat, his face once as beautiful as any divine a mess of shattered bone and mangled teeth. It was a miracle in itself he could still speak in his lessened state alone. Where he once had hundreds of eyes, decorating his wings and body alike with various beautiful colors of gold and crimson, now only a handful remained, with the largest being the blue eye in what remained of his skull.

I guess... there is still beauty in even the most depraved of creatures...

Around the two immortals were piles of corpses, mortal and immortal alike. The broken remains of the golden and jewel encrusted palace a remnant of its former glory, broken artistries, shattered mirrors, corpses stacked and nailed to the walls from massive shards of ice and metal. Where the ceiling of the palace once had beautiful paintings of the ascendance of the first Lord of the Heavenly Pantheon there remained only a massive gaping hole from which the Asura had made his grandiose entrance. The once perfect throne, made of a material more precious than any other material in the known Universes was shattered into many chunks and shards of priceless slag.

Around him he could hear the horns of war blaring, angels roaring as they rushed to the aid of their already dying Monarch, the flapping of countless pairs of wings and the marching of millions of soldiers, inside the Citadel and out, causing the ground beneath Avan’s feet to rumble with the promise of war.

How we’ve missed this.

“Success was never the point, ‘Lord’,” Avan’s voice barely concealing his disdain for the word- “the point of all this was to remind you, and the others of the realms, above and below, that no one is above reprisal, no one is above True Death.” as Avan spoke further and further into what would most consider a speech from the Asura, he gestured toward the shattered throne, and broken bodies of his soldiers around him.

“You and your ‘Angels’ have spent millennia tormenting the Waking and the Dead alike, torture, witch hunts, invasions of lesser realms, breaking of sacred contracts, burning Souls like they were no more than kindling for your pyres.” Avan’s voice had begun lowering in tone, like an animalistic growl more than a man's voice “and all you have to accomplish for it is This -” Avan gestured towards the shattered throne and the ruined palace around them. “You haven’t gained anything of worth through the suffering of your own beloved congregation, the only thing you’ve done is spread suffering to your children! Masses of sick peasants climb to your gates only to be kicked down, while your own priests and angels break every Vow and Tenet you have set as pillars for your people, all for what? Gold? Diamonds!? These petty rocks don't even have any Power to them yet you’d gladly sacrifice a million mortals for another chunk of it, simply to line your walls and stoke the pride you so hypocritically look down on others for having!” Avan was standing over the Lords form now, his four legs practically quivering with the wrath that had become synonymous with his very name. “I slaughtered your angels, your armies, burnt your churches to the very ground, and yet the most insulting thing is that you never even cared until I ‘dared’ to threaten you personally.” Looking down upon the Lord, Avan saw as what left of the Lord’s face attempted to appear insulted

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“I Did What I Had To Do.” the Lord’s body was failing him it seemed, and speaking was requiring him to use the last of his energy. “You did what brought you the most Glory and Prestige, nothing more and nothing less. So common amongst your kind.”

He wouldn't even face me until I forced him to, to think he once thought I was beneath him. Arrogance.

Looking the Immortal in the eyes he felt a grim sense of mirth at what he saw. The Lord's body is failing him completely, it seems. Avan thought to himself. He can't even speak without using his Will. “There have been wars with less bloodshed between the most foul of the Forgotten than there is on a single day between your Own Followers'' Avan imbued a small amount of his own Will within the two words and yet the reaction was severe on the Broken Lords body, wounds and golden blood began seeping out at an alarming pace considering the already weakened state his enemy was in. “Every Day From Here To The End You Will Be Remembered As A Tyrant!” Avan decreed, his Will practically making itself reality as the realm shook with his words. “No One Will Regret Your Death, Only Rejoice At The Fact Of It, Even Your Own Children!” As Avan spoke the last decree the Lord's very soul trembled in defeat, knowing his time was coming to an end at last. “You will pay for this Asura!” the Lord spoke, his will failing him, and his body finally breaking down to the very base of its functions “You will understand in time and regret that you made an enemy of the Heavens themselves!” The more he spoke the more he showed how close to the end he truly was. By the end the broken Lord had practically used every ounce of Will he had, and it showed. The shining splendor that had exuded his body was gone, replaced by the cold and dull fate that awaited all who faced True Death, mortal or immortal. Only when his body finished its final struggles, and the once hateful eye had grown blank and empty did Avan finally turn his back to the disgusting creature beneath him.

“The Only Thing I Will Regret Is Not Snuffing Your Life Out Sooner.”

With this final declaration Avan strode away from the broken corpse of the Second Lord of the Heavenly Pantheon and looked out from the ruined ceiling of the palace, and into the stars. Maybe they’ll learn from this… or maybe I'll be forced to come back in a few more centuries. Chuckling to himself Avan walked towards the front doors of the palace to take his leave, I pray they make me come back.

And Thus, Avan The First Asura slaughtered the Lord of the Heavens.