Gholob and his forces moved through the forest with frightening ease. One of his scouts had relayed the position of a group of knights, human knights.

This vessel was starting to strain to contain him so he needed a stronger vessel once again. The human commander would be perfect.

His forces broke through the tree line in utter silence. The human scouts spotted them and the battle began.

Genemi was awoken by a shrill whistle and the shouts of his men as fighting broke out. He could hear cries of pain and magic being fired off as he rushed to get his armor on. One of his aides burst into the tent.

"What's going on?" he demanded.

"A large force of hobgoblins and goblins, my lord," the young aide replied, handing Genemi his sword.

"What of our scouts, how did nobody notice them?"

"We're not sure, there have been no reports from the scouts."

Genemi pounded his fist on a chest, causing the top to crack. He wasn't about to have his holy mission ruined by a bunch of filthy goblinoids. He burst from his tent and surveyed the scene.

Hundreds of goblins poured from the surrounding forest, forcing his men into an ever-tighter circle. Something was off about the goblins. With it being night and the moons being down he couldn't tell what.

"Tell the mages to illuminate the area," he ordered.

"Right away," the aide said with a bow before he ran off.

Genemi watched a few of his men fall under the tide of goblins and rushed over to close the gap.

The few that managed to break through rushed at him and he cut them down with contemptuous ease.

Bright lights shot into the sky as mages illuminated the clearing. Genemi looked down at the goblins he cut apart. They didn't bleed green like normal goblins, instead, their blood was pitch black and flowed like tar.

"What unholy abominations are these?" he spat, wiping the substance from his sword.

A flash of green magic drew his attention. Genemi saw a green-tinged fireball blow apart a section of his men, a large hob stepped through the opening. Genemi roared a challenge to the foul beast and charged, his sword glowing with holy power.

Gholob watched the pathetic human run at him, an evil smile never leaving his face. He felt the magic of his shout wash over him with no effect. This would make a good specimen for his control.

The two clashed, sword impacting staff, a loud boom reverberated through the clearing from the impact. Each looked for an opening to attack the other.

Genemi reeled back from the initial impact, it was impossible, his holy sword should have cut the creature in half. The unholy substance coating the hob's staff was protecting it from his attacks. He grit his teeth and fought on, it was his sacred duty to rid the world of all foul corruption.

The two fought on. Genemi's whole concentration was on the fight at hand, so much so that he missed the fact that the sounds of battle had been fading until the entire clearing was quiet except for his fight.

Gholob laughed in the human's face as the man stepped back, breathing heavily. The look in his eyes when he realized all was quiet sent a shiver of pleasure down Gholob's spine.

Genemi looked around in confusion, his men and the goblinoids were all standing and watching, still and quiet, it was unnatural... it was evil. The creature in front of him laughed before it started to change.

"Foolish mortal, you had no chance to defeat me, you and your pathetic excuses for gods. I will spread across this planet and drain the essence out of this universe to fuel my own. I will even let you witness this miracle," Gholob said, bursting out from his old shell and slamming his essence into the human leader.

Genemi jerked back as tentacles of pure darkness struck him. He struggled to try and cut them off but more and more came at him. He screamed, only for the foul things to force themselves down his throat.

He could feel the presence taking over, his body jerking spasmodically as the creature took control.

'Why had Firon abandoned him,' he thought frantically. He struggled with all of his will to fight off the inevitable. The creature was much stronger than him, eventually, his awareness was shoved into a dark corner. He could only look through the eyes of his former body as the creature gained full control.

Gholob smiled, this new vessel was far superior to the hobgoblin. He held up the glowing white sword and inspected the feeble magic that allowed it to glow. He snorted derisively and shoved the sword back into its sheath.

He looked around and inspected the carnage. Some of the soldiers had been torn to shreds by his forces, no big deal. They would help with his new plan, the human's mind contained a vast wealth of knowledge that allowed him to come up with an idea. He snapped his fingers and the goblinoids cleared out to go spread his corruption elsewhere. Any sign of it on the knights disappeared, leaving them looking completely normal. He would have to control them but he now had plenty of power to do so.

***

I watched the battle play out between the humans and Gholob, as soon as Gholob made his move I made mine, slipping through the crack between our spheres into his universe. I made sure to pause all of creation in mine before I left, with Gholob's distracted while trying to subvert the human's mind he wouldn't notice the delay. Similar scenario's played out in ninety percent of the realities I created. It was more than enough for my goals.

As I slipped through the veil I could feel the foulness of Gholob's universe. The god had been foolish to think I wouldn't retaliate. I could feel the spec of his essence that he had left behind to control his puppets. It attacked as soon as it noticed my arrival. Our fight lasted for eons and no time at all as planets were obliterated by our combined power. Eventually, I cornered the weakening bit of soul essence.

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"You will never succeed at destroying me completely," Gholob hissed.

I didn't deign to answer the shadow, instead, I unleashed the remaining power I had stockpiled and wiped his entire universe clean. Now that his seat of power was obliterated I only had to kill off his corruption in my universe to rid all of reality of his pestilence.

I reentered my universe, sealing up the breach, and returned to my place amongst the vortex of time. Once I was secure, I restarted the flow of time.

***

Firon paled, he wouldn't have even known about the stoppage of time except for the flat expanse of vortex that smashed against the shore. He had never once seen anything other than the constant ripples. The fact that it occurred at the exact time that he lost contact with his follower on the planet did not bode well for the future.

Three figures materialized at his mental call. The humans called them angels but they were demi-gods.

"I need the three of you to go down to Halcion and find out what transpired. Destroy the cause if you can."

The three nodded silently and disappeared. Firon grew nervous, he knew interfering directly in the lives of mortals was wrong. He didn't know where this notion came from, only that it had been imprinted on his very essence since his inception. Using the demi-gods was a way to bypass this rule but every time he had to do this it felt like he was going to be punished, by who he had no idea. Nothing had ever made itself known that resided above the gods in power but something like that must exist, the universe didn't just spontaneously spring into being. He could only hope that when that day came his actions would be looked upon favorably.

***

Mios, Fios, and Dios appeared on the planet in a flash of light. They were limited in where they could appear, the magic in most places not strong enough to sustain the transfer. The three looked around. Stone sentinels stood to mark an ancient place of worship. A creature nearby hissed its disapproval at their arrival.

Mios waved a hand at the basilisk and a wave of power obliterated it, along with half of the stone circle.

"Brother, you must not waste your power, it may be needed to deal with the threat," the melodic voice of Fios said.

Mios turned towards his sister, "apologies, I forget how weak the creatures are on this plane."

"Should we split up to locate this threat?" Dios asked, toeing the ashes of the once-mighty creature.

"Firon has given us two possible locations. You two head towards the farthest one, I will hunt for the closer one. He suggested we take the guise of humans to not stand out."

The three nodded in unison, their forms melting and reforming until they each looked human. Mios looked like a farmer, while his siblings resembled the peak of human sexuality. The three did not understand this, simply copying a random human template. Even Mios's disguise stood out. The grey-skinned Alnaqui resided on the other side of the planet.

After they changed form, they sped off at inhuman speeds, straight towards their targets.

***

Gholob led his defeated force back to Garmon. He had to suppress a grin when he heard the whispers around, talking about how they had been defeated in battle or forced to flee. He was quickly granted an audience with the King to discuss events.

He didn't need the King to carry out his plan but it would speed it up significantly. The King was devout, as were most people in Vitor. Gholob used that fervor to stir up the King's emotions. Sure he had promised to send troops to the front but the plans kept being delayed by other lords and royalty. Gholob couldn't allow this to continue. He had felt the pulse from the south again, and he now knew it came from Nur. It worked perfectly.

Gholob told the King how his forces had been attacked in the night by a large party of soldiers from Nur. They had managed to fend them off at the cost of a dozen lives. He recounted the fact that the heathen's had fled when they were being pushed back.

Each new revelation incensed the King more until finally, he had enough. He called in his war council. In the end, the King signed a formal declaration of war against Nur, citing the attack on sovereign land against a member of the chosen.

Gholob couldn't hold back a smile. This would force the lords and other royalty to capitulate and send troops or fear losing their titles and land. His smile only grew as he felt his controlled minions take out the rest of the church's devotees. Now he only had to wait for the forces to gather.

***

Chuck startled awake, he wasn't sure what had woken him, he only recalled a feeling of impending doom. He looked around the dark dorm room but saw nothing. He tried to slow his rapidly beating heart. As his heart rate settled he could still feel a slight pull to the North. It didn't take him long to realize what it might be. The feeling faded after a few minutes, he only hoped he was ready for when the time came.

***

Fios and Dios appeared outside a large city, they had already stopped at the first location, the signs of battle clear. It was easy to follow the trail from there. As they entered the city they got plenty of stares.

Fios turned to her sister, "I don't think our disguises are adequate."

"I agree, but we can't change them now, it will have to do, our journey is almost at an end."

The two strode into a large building of worship, dedicated to their patron Firon. There were dozens of people inside the cathedral but one stood out. He sat upon a golden throne in the place that an alter would have sat at one time. He had a lazy look about him as he eyed the two of them.

The doors shut behind the two as they continued forward.

"Ah, the broken pieces finally come to pay homage to their new ruler?" the man asked, a leer appearing on his face.

"By Firon's will, we are here to rid the world of your presence," the two said in unison, unleashing their power at the figure.

Gholob raised one eyebrow as the mass of energy sped his way. It was more than enough to obliterate this town but he had nothing to fear.

Shadows rose from the floor and devoured the energy, eventually coalescing into a human shape. Inky shadows spilled off the form as it turned towards the two women.

Fios and Dios both hissed, "Niros, you break the rules by being here."

The man let out a laugh, filled with madness. "Rules! Whos rules?" he cackled madly.

The two tried to flee but they were no match for the elder god, bindings wrapped around their forms, preventing them from moving or shifting. They were slowly dragged towards the thing on the throne.

"A gift to help seal our deal," Niros laughed hoarsely.

"Yes, a wonderful gift, fear not, I will give you the knowledge about how to capture souls that you seek, once I have conquered this world."

The god let out another mad cackle as the thing from beyond sucked the life force out of the two demi-gods. He would finally be free from the torment the souls reined upon him daily as they constantly slipped through his grasp. It was easy to arrive before the demi-gods and make this deal. Firon was a fool to hide his knowledge from his brother.

Gholob grinned from ear to ear, he now had enough essence that he didn't even need to fear the broken bits that called themselves gods. When the time came he would take his true form and lay waste to this pathetic world. Before that he needed to locate this pest that was tracking him.

***

Mios fell to his knees in the street. A scream of pure anguish escaped his lips as he cried tears of light. People fled in terror at the sight, a group of guards ran towards him to see what was going on.

He felt the deaths of both his sisters. It felt like a part of him was ripped away and his mind was unable to cope with the loss. His body slowly melted into a pool of glowing essence as his mind destroyed itself in his grief.

None of the guards risked getting too close to the individual as it melted away. A few gave solemn vows to whatever gods they worshiped, praying to keep them safe from whatever had caused the man's death. The incident would be talked about for weeks to come. Mages from the Tower were brought in to examine the substance left behind. After one mage accidentally touched the substance and exploded, they determined that it was liquid mana. Ever so carefully they managed to gather up the substance and store it away in enchanted bottles for study at a later date.