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Chapter 22 Primal Age

"So the High Elves launched an invasion on the Nephilim homeworld and wiped them out?" Malek nodded his head sadly as he wrapped up his story.

"Yes. The High Elves were seeking power and thought that the last Nephilim Administrator would give it to them, so they killed him. By the time I arrived, I was too late to save anybody. Lucifer was the last one left, so I took him under my wing as a favor to a dying friend." Malek's voice trailed off as sorrow started to fill it, and a look of sadness crossed his face. I glanced back over to the training arena and watched as Lucifer and Nemesis were still engrossed in their conversation.

"That's sad. I thought the Angels and the Demons were the sole cause. Also how long ago was it?" I asked him as I tore my gaze back from the training arena.

"It was thousands of galactic rotations ago. Sadly, however, one of the main Administrators that perpetrated the genocide is still kicking, so watch your back. You will be safe during your protection period, but after I am sure he will try something. To touch on your other statement, they were the primary cause. The Elves just happened to deal the final blow."

I felt a wave of stress wash over me as Malek told me this. This was going to be a hard life and not quite the cakewalk that I thought it would be. "What is his name?" I asked him as I felt my Oblivion elemental move from my neck and quickly crawled down to my lap, nuzzling my hand.

"His name is Aylwin. He is a High Elf Administrator and is a guild master of one of our most prominent rival guilds. So watch your back. I tend to keep an eye on the stuff that he is doing, but at the end of the day, I need you to rely on yourself more than us." He told me, as I saw his gaze flash down to the oblivion elemental.

"Thank you for that information. I will keep an eye out, though I will mostly be keeping to myself unless you guys need help. I'll let you know if anything happens."

He nodded his head and scratched his head. "So I see that you decided on your paths of power, do you mind telling me what you chose?"

"Well, I found a planetary god, so I was forced into the Path of Godhood. I chose the Path of the Monster, and as you can probably tell, I started to walk the Path of the Oblivion Remnant." I told him as I pet the elementals head.

"That is a unique path combination. Though if you think about it, most path combinations are. You mentioned godhood. Do you have any specific domains in mind?" He asked me as he shifted back into his seat and crossed his arms.

I thought about his question for a moment. I wasn't sure, myself. There were countless options that I could choose, and the possibilities seemed endless. "I am not sure. I picked up a dimensional magic package when I first made my capital planet, So, I, for sure want to do something involving that. As for my second, I am not sure yet, I may do something that synergizes well with my class, or I may do something involving a path."

Malek quietly listened and took a moment before he spoke again. "Honestly, there are very few transdimensional gods in existence. I don't want to dissuade you from it though, because it is your life. But I don't know much about what that entails. However, for your second, I suggest choosing Oblivion as a domain. Since you walk the path, the domain should be available to you. It will help ease the overall difficulty of the path, though you will probably garner the attention of The Watcher even more so than what you have now."

"Ah, I did receive a message from him shortly after I selected the Path of the Oblivion Remnant," I asked him as I felt the elemental crawl back up my arms and wrapped itself around my neck.

"That sounds about right. The Watcher takes anything regarding Oblivion very seriously, so try not to irk it too much."

I nodded my head in agreement and decided to bring the conversation back to where it was previously. "When I select my domains, will they evolve like my class will?"

"Yeah, they will eventually merge into one unique domain."

That's good to know, I considered my options and decided that I would become a god of Oblivion and take a transdimensional domain. I would make the changes as soon as I got back home. "Thanks for the advice, anyways, how is my family doing, Malek? Are they well?"

He nodded his head, "They are. It's only been a few days since you died on Earth. I have time flowing differently there then I do my other worlds. But they are grieving, and all is well. Elana took your death pretty badly, and so did your former best friend."

I felt my heartbeat quicken, and anger started to flood through my veins. I forgot about them until he mentioned it. " I don't care about them. They both betrayed me."

He only shrugged. "It is what it is. They are about to start. I have a feeling Lucifer is planning something, so this fight should be good."

I fought back the wave of emotions and nodded my head, "Yes, hopefully, she will be okay. She is a newborn, so she doesn't have any kind of training. "

"What class did you give her?" Malek asked me as a bag of popcorn materialized in front of him, and he propped his feet up and waved the bag in my direction.

"I chose the Justicar class for her," I told him as I politely declined the popcorn. I didn't want to risk opening my mouth since I had discovered what would happen when I drank that alcohol.

"That was a good choice. They tend to do pretty well, and they evolve based on the weapons they use. Besides, she is a goddess, so she is born with basic knowledge of how to use her class and whatnot." He told me as he started to dig in his bag of popcorn. "After this fight, tell me what you chose for your other deities. I am curious."

"Sure," I told him as I watched Nemesis and Lucifer start to walk over to a far wall that had a screen hovering in front of it.

Nemesis’ P.O.V.

"Remember, a duel to a Nephilim is one of the most honor-bound traditions we have. A duel should always be initiated by stating your full name and your title. Anything less is considered an insult to one's honor." Lucifer told me as he walked over to a panel and quickly typed a command into it. The wall broke apart, and a line of weapons inset on racks slowly extended from it. "Pick whatever weapons you like." He told me as he grabbed a massive sword from the wall, and effortlessly threw it across his shoulder and walked over to the arena.

I eyed the weapons and ran my fingers over a few hilts. They had a massive amount of weapons that I could choose. There were many long swords and swords with slight curves and hooks on them. I didn't even know what they were called, but they all seemed to be well designed and viscious. As I walked further down the weapons rack, I passed massive hammers that dwarfed me in size. Some were beautifully designed, while others were just hulking slabs of metal.

I walked further down the weapon rack, and just after the bows sat, some of the strangest weapons I have seen. I assume they were ranged, considering how most of the weapon rack was set up, but I have never seen anything like them before. The first few sets were large and cumbersome. "Lucifer what are these weapons called?" I called out to them as I ran my fingers across the smooth metal surface of one.

"Those are projectile weapons. Specifically, the one you are touching is called a blunderbuss. It is a primitive projectile weapon. If you walk up further, you will see more variety and more advanced ones. The first set is marksman rifles after those are assault rifles, then the smaller, more compact ones are submachine guns and handguns. The other variants are locked away in the next weapon rack if you are interested in using them." He called out to me as he was stretching in the arena that he claimed for us.

I shook my head and pursed my lips. It wouldn't be necessary. The large weapons seemed cumbersome enough as is and would probably hinder my motions quite a bit more then I would prefer. I walked down to the smaller versions and immediately narrowed my choices down to a few that seemed streamlined and easy to maneuver around.

I believe these are what he called handguns. I ran my hand over the first one and found it to be slightly boxy. The top was perfectly flat with a small indent on top. I ran my fingers over the side and over an unfamiliar word. It was something like Austria though I have no clue what that is. I placed the weapon to the side and touched another. It was streamlined and broken into a few different white pieces that hovered inches away from each other and was connected by blue mana trails. I reached my hand into a small circular space, and the weapon clasped itself around my wrist, and the pieces hovered there aimlessly. I glanced over to the other handgun I was just touching and thought about the shape and I felt the weapon shift in my hand.

I glanced over to it and saw the pieces rearrange into a facsimile of the other, and I felt a grin appear on my face. "What is this weapon called?" I asked him as I walked over to the swords and grabbed a long slender sword, and went to the arena.

"That is an ancient weapon of the Angels. It was called the artificer. It shifted its form based on the user, though it was restricted on small arms or bladed weapons. It can be a sword with a thought or a handgun. It was a nifty weapon that, unfortunately, was lost to time. Thankfully Malek collected a few." He told me as he dropped his sword and embedded the tip into the floor.

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I gazed at it a moment longer and thought about the sword that was in my other hand. The weapon shifted itself around, forming a facsimile of the blade. "How do I use the ranged version?" I asked him as I continued to experiment with it.

"Just channel mana into it. It converts the mana into a ranged projectile; it also adapts based on the type of mana that you push through it. Once the mana is stored, there is a trigger by your index finger. Just point and pull."

I felt the familiar twinge of fire course through me as I forced my mana into the weapon, and the blue trails shifted into a deep orange. I pointed the gun at an empty arena and pulled the trigger. A small light built up at the tip before it shot out and impacted the distant wall in a small gout of flame. Perfect, I enjoy fire. It made it easier to purge the wicked.

I swung the sword in my left hand to familiarize myself with it, and a notification appeared on my screen.

Skills have been changed to fit the user's current weapon set up.

A two-handed hybrid style has been detected.

Preference for fire mana detected.

Purge > Judgment

Rend > Retribution

Skill added - Condemnation

New skills overview

Judgment- Allows the user to judge their opponent's previous crimes and corruption. This is an A.O.E attack and will affect friend and foe alike. This skill is based on the user's sense of law and morality. However, skewing from your path will result in this skill growing weaker. Skill Effects: A successful Judgment will weaken the opponent to other judgment based abilities by (20%) for a duration of (10 Minutes) and deal (5-25%) of the opponent's health in damage based on the severity of the crimes committed.

Retribution: This is innate passive. This reflects (5%) of the damage done to the user, and gives the user (1-12%) scaling damage based on missing health

Condemnation - Condemnation can occur at any point after a successful judgment. A bright wall of fire will descend on your opponent and damage them for (5-25%) of their maximum health. Chance to occur (15%) *Condemnation chance to increase is based on will and the severity of crimes committed.

*Maximum health skills only scale based on class level and evolutions.

Due to the nature of this class, your choices and weapons will affect its evolution.

Current evolution status:

Inquisitor: 10%

Paladin: 5%

Arbitrator:4%

Adjudicator:7%

Crusader:7%

Current judicial alignment: Extreme legalism

I dismissed the notifications, and I felt a wicked grin part my lips. "Are you ready?" I asked as I raised my sword and a handgun. I felt righteousness start to course through me warming me up and making me excited for the fight.

Lucifer nodded his head and grabbed the leather handle of his obnoxiously large sword. "My name is Lucifer Velatus, the heir apparent of the Nephilim throne. I will be your opponent." He raised his blade and pointed it at me as his wings extended out, and his halo lit up.

I raised my sword at him and channeled mana into my artificer. "My name is Nemesis, the goddess of justice and retribution, and I will be your opponent." I extended my wings out and allowed my halo to appear. I felt a fire course through my veins along with a sharp sense of euphoria. I love dishing out punishment.

Kairos’ P.O.V

I watched as Nemesis flared her wings out and raised her weapons. I moved forward to the edge of my seat as they started to circle each other, their eyes locked on each other. Nemesis raised the strange weapon on her right hand and shot a bolt of mana at Lucifer. He swung his stupidly large sword out and used the momentum behind it to dash forward, closing the gap between the two.

She quickly jumped to the side and fired off two quick shots that caught Lucifer on the back. His clothing started to smolder, and small wisps of smoke began to rise off of him. He swung his sword faster then I thought possible, and Nemesis shifted back, but the tip of the sword caught her tunic and left a small cut across her stomach. Her tunic tore, revealing her tan flesh underneath.

A look of fury appeared in her eyes as she stepped back. She rose a foot into the air, and a set of simple golden scales appeared behind her. A wave of mana shot across the room and rebounded off the window that was in front of us and locked Lucifer in place. It was rather strange not hearing a thing through the window, but it was probably for the best.

"Oooh, she is casting Judgment on him. This has just gotten a little more exciting." Malek said as he reached his hand into the bag of popcorn and ate another small handful.

"What is Judgment?" I asked him as I shifted in my seat, trying to abolish the nervousness I was feeling at watching her fight on her own. Am I starting to develop a fatherly instinct?

"It's a class skill. It allows her to judge his past and his crimes. If he is found wanting, then he takes damage and receives debuffs that would enable other skills to do more damage. Lucky for him, she is a newborn, so she only has a few abilities at her disposal." He told me as he leaned back into his chair and munched quietly on more popcorn.

The scale that sat behind Nemesis tilted quickly to one side, and fire shot up from the floor and wrapped itself around Lucifer like a second skin. I could faintly hear his screams as fire racked his body and burned his clothes. After a few seconds, the fire vanished, and his clothes were almost completely seared off, revealing his scar laden body underneath.

He glanced up, and a look of pure incomprehensible fury radiated from his face as he shifted his hand further up the leather hilt of the sword. He stepped forward and swung the flat of his blade towards Nemesis just as she was descending. Her eyes flashed briefly with surprise as the blade swung faster then the eye could see and connected with her side in a bright flash of steel. She was sent flying into the corner of the arena in a heap. Once she landed he raised his hand and a ball of grey mana appeared above his palm in a tight rotating sphere. After a second it started to quickly creep down his wrist and healed every spot it touched. Nemesis struggled to stand as she coughed up a small amount of blood, causing my heart to lurch in my chest in fear. She raised her pistol once more and fired off a few more shots towards Lucifer.

He raised his blade quickly and swatted away all but one shot that trailed behind the others. It shot past his blade and impacted his stomach causing him to drop to a knee and quickly swatted out the fire that was engulfing his flesh.

As he dropped to the floor the gun in Nemesis' hand reorganized itself into the shape of the sword in her left hand, and she quickly dashed forward towards the kneeling Lucifer. "That was a mistake on her part," Malek spoke through the popcorn in his mouth causing a small spittle of food laden saliva to escape from his mouth.

I went to ask why but just as I was about to, Lucifer quickly brought the sword up and caught Nemesis' blades in a shower of sparks and delivered a powerful punch to her gut that sent her flying backward. "She may be a deity, but she is still just a newborn, and he has faced down his fair share of powerful opponents. She is lucky he is taking it easy on her." He told me as Nemesis managed to get back on her feet. She was only hit twice, but you could tell she was on her last legs. She had small trails of blood that leaked from the corner of her mouth. Her clothes were tattered and torn, revealing her flesh underneath. Her side was covered in a large purple bruise and heavily disfigured. Her stomach was pushed in and discolored and her breathing grew labored and forced. Her beautiful wings were broken and dripping blood.

"Will she be okay?" I asked as I stood up and pressed my hand against the glass as the anxiety started to grow within me.

"She will be. It is much like a control room. She can't die. Once she leaves the arena, all the damage done will vanish, and she will be as good as new."

"I hope so," I told him as I watched the fight unfold further. Nemesis' weapon shifted back into the gun, and she shot a few more shots of the red mana towards Lucifer, which he easily parried. The grey mana writhed across his flesh as it continued it's journey and removed all traces of the fight he was currently in. Just as he took a step forward, and a wall of blinding blue flame shot from the ceiling and engulfed him.

"It’s now or never for her. He was just condemned, so if she hurries up she may have a shot." Malek told me as I quickly followed the action unfolding in the room.

Nemesis forced herself over and fired a few more shots into the wall of fire. But the mana from the gun was growing fainter. She shifted it into the shape of the sword and jumped into the wall of fire. Her teeth bared and swords raised.

I held my breath for a moment as they were both out of sight for a moment. I felt my heart pound heavily in my chest as I watched her throw herself into the fire. I hope she would be okay.

A moment later, Nemesis was thrown from the wall of fire. Her arms were bent at unnatural angles and her weapons flew through the air shortly after and landed a few feet from her. I saw the fire in her eyes grow even more resolute as she struggled to stand. It broke my heart to watch her do this over and over.

She coughed again and painted the floor under her red with her blood. After a few seconds, she drew her legs under her and forced herself back up. Her eyes were flicking with flame and anger as she took a step forward, towards the discarded weapons.

The wall of fire vanished, revealing a bloodied lucifer. He had multiple gashes across his chest, and blood was pouring freely from them. His skin was blackened and charred and was slowing flaking off. He rose off of the ground, and another wave of grey mana washed over him that slowly repaired the damage that was done. He took a step forward, and Nemesis weakly grabbed her sword with her broken arm and stepped forward. Lucifer shot across the arena and used the flat of his sword to batter her down into the floor. I saw her chest cave in more, and my heart started to shatter. "Malek, why won't he stop?" I asked him as I began to reassure myself that she will be okay.

"A duel between Nephilim will only end in death, or if the other person yields." He told me as he calmly watched Nemesis get beat to mere inches of her life. "I know what you are thinking. Don't interfere with the fight. It will only bring dishonor to both of them. Besides, if she loses consciousness, he will drag her out of the arena, and she will be fixed once she passes the barrier."

I closed my fist in anger as I watched Nemesis struggle to stand once more. She won't stop. She won't give in. I know what she was going to do and I didn't like it one bit. I was starting to regret that I made her like this.

Her struggles started to slow as Lucifer threw haymaker after haymaker into her broken face. The fire in her eyes raged like a sun showing her will to fight but her body refused to cooperate but A few seconds later, the fire started to fade out as her body went limp and finally struck the floor. He looked over her for a moment in sadness before gingerly reaching down and taking her broken and bleeding body in his arms and walked towards the observation area.