The Liberation Sword devoured the accretion disc surrounding it, and in a flash of brilliant light it transformed into a sword that appeared to be made of a black plasma core, surrounded by a cloud of orange, red and blue fire.

It was only at this point that it became visible what happened to the Plane. With the sky ripped out and the ground also torn out, there was nothing there except solid blackness. After all, nothing in the Planes was real. It was all a Manifestation of a Concept, belonging to some Principle or other. This Plane was close to entropy and, of course, fire. Even with this kind of damage done to the Plane, it would not be destroyed. In fact, Ain could annihilate the entire Plane, but that would not erase the Concept or even the Principle. Eventually, the Plane would Manifest itself again, as if nothing happened. Only the Edict could erase a Concept or Principle.

Ain's sword spanned the entire Plane; to an observer, it appeared infinitely long and this was a result of the rule-breaking, reality-defying tendencies of Conceptualization magic. One could create a sword that had no understanding of such a thing as 'distance', and it appeared as infinitely long. In truth, it wasn't the sword that became longer, but the fact that the Liberation Sword existed beyond space itself.

When Ain swung it down, it appeared as if the entire universe came crashing down on Agon, and all he could do was stare at its relentless, indomitable approach.

And then it passed through him.

"Don't you think that it is strange," Agon said, appearing on the top of the sword's edge, with the abyss of nothingness above and below him, shrouded in the plasma of the sword's core and apparently unharmed. "That we love what makes us suffer?"

Agon traced his finger against the icy blue edge of his frozen-flame sword, and a stream of cyan energy followed in the wake of his finger. "I've dedicated my entire life to serving Creation, I have done unthinkable things, and yet, I am shunned, while you are regarded as a hero. What did you do?" Agon asked, tilting his head at Ain. "You went off into the Exom, slaughtered things unrelated to Creation, but when you returned to the Human Realm, you were hailed as a Savior. How is that fair?"

Ain pondered Agon's question. In truth, he didn't expect Agon to survive the Liberation Sword, nor did Ain know how Agon did it, but it wasn't that surprising. Agon was an omnipotent creature in this Era; like Ain, he was a relic of a different time. Still, the fact that Agon could survive the attack gave Ain some critical information about Agon's power.

The Liberation Sword was not an attack that burned to cinders, or cleaved flesh, no matter its appearance. It was the pull of the beginning; it contained the power of a nascent universe. No mortal creature or thing could disobey returning to the origin of its existence -- After all, the attack did mostly obliterate the Manifestation of this Plane. In that itself was the clue to Agon's nature.

Agon, also, was in the Akashic Realm, or, alternatively, one of the few other ways he could avoid death.

Ain pitied Agon, though. In a way, Agon was right. Even though what he did was wrong, it was, ultimately, what saved Creation. Had Agon not slaughtered the millions he did, they would've most likely triggered another Cataclysm, like during the Calamity Wars. In the Culture of the Fae and the Spirit folk, becoming Abyssalized was not wrong and the destruction that followed in the wake of the True Demons was the natural order of things. They had to be stopped. However, no one, except Agon, took it upon themselves to do the deed that had to be done.

Strictly speaking, Agon was absolutely right. Agon was the true hero of that Era, and the savior of Creation.

However...

"Agon, don't you see that you have become the very thing you destroyed in the previous Era?" Ain asked, as the Liberation Sword dismantled, the energies and plasma making up its form evaporating into the air. "With each action, you move us towards another Cataclysm, and another change in Era. This world, and the people in it, are not ready for it yet. But you have no regard for them -- all you care about is your own fame and vanity. You are right; you maybe did save Creation in the previous Era by destroying all those Sects and Cults that proliferated Heavenly Realm Methods, but neither the mistakes nor the achievements of the previous era matter now. This is a new age, and a new beginning. That is all there is to it. You have to be stopped before you can destroy everything."

Agon chuckled, drawing symbols into the air with the light tracing his finger. "Back then, you may have been able to kill me with a thought. But you Reincarnated, you are no longer the same you were back then. How do you plan on stopping me?"

This story has been taken without authorization. Report any sightings.

Ain's expression became cold. "I was being considerate," Ain said.

Agon snorted. "Considerate? To who? Of what?" Nonchalantly, Agon flourished his sword, and dashed towards Ain, using the fading motes of the Liberation Sword as a platform to cross the distance. Towards the end of the dash, Agon pulled his arm back, holding his sword high as it pulsed with terrifying energy. Ain could sense lightning, entropy and plasma from that sword -- all extremely troublesome elements for most living creatures.

However, when Agon slashed at Ain, the sword was not parried. Instead, Ain slapped the sword with his backhand, and it exploded into innumerable fragments of frozen blue fire, lightning sparks and black particles that resembled snowflakes.

"Of your warrior's spirit," Ain said, as he casually slashed Avarice at Agon, and the blade went through Agon's armor and arm, cleanly chopping it off. Space collapsed in the wake of Ain's sword, and before Agon could even react, his right leg was unmade, ripped atom from atom, and consumed by the rift of oblivion following Ain's sword.

Ain could only imagine what Agon's expression must've looked like when he realized what just happened. Agon's leap backwards gave Ain a good hint, considering Agon's body language -- extremely defensive.

"Sae Idona!" Agon screamed, his voice colored by panic. And then something strange happened. Although Agon pulsed with a brilliant light, his limbs did not become restored.

"Ais Ae Idona!" Agon called out again, and this time his voice broke. He wailed the words out, and although space rippled as the reality-altering magics took form, nothing happened.

"It is called the Sword of the Void," Ain explained. "It is the Pinnacle of existence, and the sovereign of all Akashic Realm Methods. I went into the Exom looking for this Method. In the end, I found it. It is Perdition's Sword."

"Iriae Sa Ido--" Agon trailed off as he registered Ain's words. And then he was overcome with horror. "You comprehended Perdition?"

Once more, Ain lifted the sword above his head, the way he did when he was about to use the Liberation Sword.

Agon laughed. He laughed so hard, Ain wouldn't be surprised if he went insane. In all fairness, this was precisely the reason why Ain was holding back in the first place. "You comprehended Perdition!?" Agon wailed. "And you say I am the one threatening this world?! You are insane! Hypocrite!"

"Through the Sword of the Void, I obtained the next step," Ain said calmly, and this revelation silenced Agon's laughing. "The Apotheosis Realm Method capable of destroying the True Heavens. Although, unfortunately, even with that, I was unable to defeat the Calamity Lord and obtain the Edict."

Agon remained hovering in mid air, speechless. He didn't appear to be in pain, even though almost the entire right half of his body was missing; still, there was no blood pouring from the wounds, only glittering particles of red energy.

"We are not that different, when you think about it. You asked me if it was strange that we love what makes us suffer, and I'd have to say that it is and isn't. I also dedicated my life to obtaining the Edict, but in the end failed to do so. It seems we can never get what we want," Ain said. "I wanted the Edict, I failed. You wanted to have my fame and glory, and you were thwarted as well. It makes you wonder: What did he want, when he got the Edict instead?"

"Please..." Agon whispered. "Don't do this..."

"In the end, the world doesn't care for our wishes. Even if you obtain unthinkable power, some things will forever remain out of reach. That is simply how it is. If you want to avoid madness, and live for more than a thousand years, you just have to accept the inevitable defeat, and the inevitable death."

"Please... Ain... we were friends once..."

"Singularity Sword Method," Ain said calmly, and his sword pulsed with white and black energy. Cracks appeared in reality as even the solid blackness of nothingness began to disintegrate.

"Origin Sword."

Ain swung the sword down, and even though it was dozens of meters apart from its target, Agon's body disintegrated into white stardust, blown away as if by some strange, immaterial object passing through it.

The Plane around Ain collapsed on itself, the blackness crumbling away to reveal a blinding white light. The white light was Heaven itself, existing at the center of all things, and it couldn't be seen clearly. To Ain, it looked like a vortex of energy, spiraling up into nothingness.

Even as the blinding light suppressed his vision, Ain turned towards the vortex and stared at it. This was the dynamo that turned Chaos into Creation. That was the true purpose of Heaven. On the Compass of existence, there were four Forces: Heaven, Chaos, Good and the Abyss; of those four, only Good and Abyss had a will of their own. Good was the Force that aligned Creation to what it was supposed to be, and the name had nothing to do with its moral alignment -- someone just decided to call it Good. More apt, perhaps, would be Destiny. Abyss was the opposite; it desired to return all things to the Primordial Chaos, and it was the origin of the Abyssalized and all antagonist creations that exist in the Planes.

The Logos was considered an Agent of Good, while the Radix was considered a Manifestation of Heaven and its creation.

Then, without warning, a pulse of pain ran through Ain, and he felt his form falling apart. His hands turned to dust, little by little, as he was becoming burned away by Heaven. It was forbidden to look upon it, after all. This was the punishment -- death.

"Tir Idona," Ain said calmly, and his fingers reshaped themselves, even as they crumbled away. "Don't be so hasty, cursed thing," Ain whispered as he glared at Heaven and the faint flash of golden light crowning the vortex of white energy. "Your turn will come."

Ain slashed the air in front of him and stepped into the spatial rift, returning to the chamber where this all began.