“I am the dark at the end of everything. The end of universes, gods, worlds…of everything. I........ am Anti-Life, the Beast of Judgment”.
Its sentence came out slowly, drawing each word for an extended duration than was necessary. The tone was deep, dark, and it didn't even speak, neither was the language in English.
The message was transmitted straight towards Amari's ears, bypassing the travel of sound.
All that combined would equate to one feeling. Creepy!
The massive dark shadow loomed over the entire city, covering Amari within it as the air fissured with antimatter energy.
The giant creature stretched its massive dark hand, its fingers moving to hover above his head.
“...... And thank you ........”.
“Huh?” An exclamation came out of Amari's mouth with slight surprise.
“...... For...... freeing me”.
Oh!
“But I didn't do anything”.
“Hehehehe.......”.
The surroundings shook with great intensity as the horrific laughter emerged. Its face couldn't be seen, neither did it move an inch, but the laughter was ever resounded.
One could use all sorts of words to describe it.
Creepy, disturbing, distorted, demonic
“Your presence................. Was all that was....... needed”.
“Because of you...... The Old God's power diminished rapidly. Giving me........ The chance to ...... escape.....”.
The Anti Life Entity extended its perception vastly. The shield once powered by Area was gone, due to the death of his God form.
And so, the perception of Anti Life emerged from the Necropolis, shrouded all of Apokolips and grew wildly.
In less than a second, the Godsphere was included in its perception range, alongside all realms that lay within its borders. Then, the rest of the DC Multiverse...... Earth 1, Earth 2...... Earth 3...... The Far realms.....
Seconds passed...... And all existence was included in the gaze of Anti Life.
The surviving citizens of Apokolips all felt a chill run down their spines. A wave of negative emotions swept across the multiverses, making all sentient life feel like they were being targeted with great malicious intent.
“The multiverse......... So much life...... So much desire.......”.
It continued to speak without regard for the being before him. Amari, who was momentarily ignored, didn't mind.
If not for the fact that he couldn't see this thing's face, he would have sworn that it was drooling at this point with a look akin to a starved fat man seeing a live pig.
The voice was full of greed, hunger even....... As all of existence was eyed by the Anti Life Entity like a giant piece of candy.
“How it has all grown since I last perceived it....... This wouldn't have been possible....... If not for you”.
Finally, it seemed to remember that it still had an unattended guest before it.
“.... Trapped..... In this wretched labyrinth...... By an old God nearing the end of his time. I have suffered in imprisonment for eons......”.
The tone shifted from mockery to slight rage and anger.
“I feel your pain”. Amari nodded with a look of understanding. “Trapped in the same place while being harassed by an old pervert who refuses to let you go no matter what..... I can't think of anything worse”.
Amari uttered with a smile. His words carrying no regard for the well-built gloomy atmosphere.
“......... Interesting .......... Creature you are.....”. The voice suddenly took a darker tone.
“..... Not a human..... Not an old God either..... Yet possesses the power of one”.
The shadowed hood leaned closer.
“... Yes…. I can sense it. All that power...... The energy within.....”. Unlike Arzaz who had grown weaker and weaker after a million years of resistance, so much to the point that his senses had failed him, the Anti Life Entity bore no such weakness.
He could sense what Amari was. He could feel the connection this being before him had to the Godsphere, yet strangely could not cut this power off.
Neither could he discern the ideal this being belonged to. Was he a God? Or a concept gaining sentience itself?
“No connection to the source........ The perfect host”.
“...... Exactly…. what I've been waiting for”.
“And what's that supposed to mean?”
“...... An offer ….”.
There was a brief silence as both creatures looked at each other without uttering a word.
As the seconds passed by, the tension in the air grew palpable. Until........ Amari broke it.
“For what?”
“..... All of existence".
The space rumbled once again. “I have waited eons to dominate all will, but was held captive by an Old God left in a weakened state. Ultimately, I am an equation. Alone my power is not enough to fulfill my goal, which is why I want you”.
“Integrate with me. Your power and my abilities would make us an unstoppable force. Capable of having all of existence at our disposal”.
“.... Universe after universe, realm after realm...... From one dimension to another….”.
“...... All Existence will be ours to control .....”.
The hoarse words were eerily disturbing.
“Interesting...... Proposal. Good sales pitch”. Amari nodded.
“The idea of having everything at your disposal is quite tempting. Unfortunately.......”. His glowing blue eyes shone with ambient light.
“.... You found the wrong customer”.
Following which Amari gestured.
“But in case there's ever a next time, I think you should know. Beings, at our level, have cosmic awareness. And your desire to possess me....... Is a bit too strong for my liking”.
“....... Hehehehe…. Hehe hahaha.... Hahaha haha.....”. The giant dark silhouette that looked akin to a grim reaper laughed eerily.
Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.
“...... Hehehehe...... What…. A shame..... No matter. Your soul will be granted the chance.......... to witness me enslave all sentient life that exists”.
It happened then. The earth beneath Amari that was bombarded with large amounts of Divine power suddenly lit up with a sinister orange color.
Antimatter emerged from the hole at the speed of light, encasing Amari floating above it.
“Your power is tremendous........... And your soul will be mine to command”.
The condensed silhouette of darkness that was the Anti Life Entity suddenly turned into a stream of light, flying straight into Amari's body.
With the Entity rushing straight into his body. ..... Streams of Dark energy flowed constantly as the giant silhouette of Anti Life shrunk rapidly. Until it was completely absorbed.
Silence ............ The booming atmosphere grew deadly silent as Amari hovered in the air, completely motionless.
His eyes were closed, and his hands lay beside him. The air around began to twist and turn rapidly as vortexes converged at his left and right.
The next moment....... On his flawless skin emerged deep glyphs representing the power of the Anti Life Equation.
His eyelids fluttered for a few seconds before opening to reveal a characteristic pitch-black color akin to that possessed by the dreggs.
Meanwhile, within Amari's spiritual space.
“Hmm?”
Squelch!
The scene of the Anti Life Entity appearing out of the void and piercing through Amari's chest with its large bone like hand played out.
Squelch!
“Hehehehe......”.
Blood began to rush out rapidly as the dark silhouette trembled with ecstasy as he looked at the unmoving figure that was Amari's spiritual form.
“Your body truly is a treasure. Your soul ...... Even more. Again...... I say thank you”.
Glyphs of Anti Life began to appear in the space around them.
“I can sense the unique signature on your soul. Now I know ........ what's so special about you. Hahaha....... A soul not from this multiverse. One from beyond the Source itself. Truly priceless”.
The dark shadow leaned closer to Amari's ear.
“This will be the final key I need. Your soul will enable me to pass through the source wall after all of existence in this multiverse is under my control….”.
“The old Gods are gone. Nothing can stop me”.
“Your actions today will mark the birth of a new Era, the era of the end of free will, the era of Anti-Life”.
The eerie laughter resounded in the atmosphere.
At that moment, the still spiritual boy within Anti Life's grasp suddenly moved.
“A new era? Why didn't I hear anything about this?” The lowered head rose to face the stiffened posture of Anti Life with a smile on his face and eyes brimming with murderous intentions.
“.... What.....”.
Anti Life was shocked.
At that moment, the ball of destruction appeared on Amari's palm. Following which, he slammed it right on the chest area of the dark looking grim reaper in front of him without restraint.
A cloud of a dark red energy engulfed the dark silhouette, smashing it dozens of feet into the distance.
“Rawrhhhhhhh”. A ghastly shriek like a devil's cry emerged, one no human throat could possibly replicate.
It sounded like the Dreggs, only more horrid.
The Ball of Destruction didn't explode and scatter in all directions as a bomb would, but rather began to spread around the Anti Life Entity rapidly, seeking to consume it whole.
Feeling the spreading energy that clung tighter than an obsessive girlfriend, the dark silhouette roared in pain for the first time in all of its existence.
Following which, its body turned illusory, just like Amari's did whenever he wanted to avoid something.
“The Gods are dead? No one can stop you, huh?"
With a single thought, the blood flowing from his chest area disappeared without a trace. His clothes were back to normal, looking as good as always.
“.... Tch....... You're awfully presumptuous, wouldn't you say?” Clicking his tongue, he looked at the abstract entity materializing a great distance away.
“This....... Is impossible”. A roar emerged from the darkness under the hood. If his eyes were deceiving, Amari was sure that he saw this thing tremble slightly.
“I...... You can't.....”.
“Can't what?” Amari cut him off and waved his hand.
“Did you really think it would be that easy? This is my space ....... My reality......”. A giant sword appeared out of thin air. His hand grabbed the hilt, and he thrust it forward with extreme strength and precision.
Seeing the attacking sword, Anti Life wanted to avoid this. It didn't like It, but this creature was capable of harming him. Until it could solve the issue of that dark energy, precautions must be taken.
However, it was horrified to discover that he was immobilized.
'I..... I can't move'.
“I control everything here!”
The conjured weapon pierced right through the face of the hooded creature, sending it flying several feet away and causing it to scream again in the process.
“Your chances of winning outside were so slim to begin with. What the hell gave a mere fragment the courage to think it could defeat me within my soul space?”
With obvious annoyance and anger in his tone, his will spread out and the figure of Anti Life was pulled back towards him at a speed faster than it flew out.
'No…. No! I can't lose...... I won't lose….!' Time dilations emerged from it, in an attempt to twist the course of the battle.
Too bad, they were nullified before they could take effect.
A giant force acted on it the next second. Freezing it in place a meter away from his enemy.
“Your types are annoying. Wanting nothing more than to rule all of existence. If you want to rule so badly..... Create your own universe”. Amari's face carried a hint of annoyance.
He just dealt with one such fellow a few hours ago.
“...” The frozen Anti Life Entity looked at Amari through the dark hood.
“.... How? With the earlier trap, your time should have been frozen. You shouldn't be able to even think”.
The ray of orange light was antimatter energy. As an abstract entity, The Anti Life Equation was capable of manipulating time to a certain extent.
Chronokinesis was a specialty it possessed.
“I know. I absorbed it”.
Absorbing all forms of energy was one thing. But there were things that couldn't be absorbed.
For one, Gravity...... Another Time. So, Amari decided to fix this weakness, and he did the day he absorbed the essence of Amazo and the Parasite monster.
Amazo could analyze and replicate the characteristics of any ability it could see regardless of distance. No physical contact was required, while parasite would absorb the characteristics of anything it could touch.
Their essences combined with his, a little adjustment and a dash of massive amounts of power capable of destroying a universe..... He gained the ability to absorb, copy and negate anything and everything he could lay his eyes on. Abstract concepts were well included.
“I-impossible”.
Anti Life exclaimed.
This was really impossible. Absorbing time itself was unheard of.
“Shocked? Don't worry, I'll show you”.
He had a doubting Thomas before him. This must be corrected at all costs.
And so, to the horror of the Abstract entity, it found itself getting assimilated into the surrounding space.
“No! No..... Nooooo!” The shrill roar resounded yet again.
Amari watched passively as his subconscious devoured the Anti Life equation without mercy.
“So this fragment of Anti-Life is gone, huh?" He called out to the empty space.
“Yes...... But it's just a fragment and, therefore, just a part of it. The sentience of Anti Life exist in the full equation itself. It basically resides in the minds of anyone who knows it, as well as the Antimatter universe”.
A voice replied to his question behind him.
Amari turned around and the exact replica of his face appeared before him.
“...”. There was silence for a few moments.
“I see we're adapting well. So how does it feel to..... Feel”. The other half asked.
“Sometimes, its messy”. He replied.
“Still, I don't feel any drastic changes”.
“There weren't supposed to be any. We're the same. You just stopped being too emotionless and learned to give a damn every now and then".
“I guess........”.
“...”. There was another bout of silence.
“Are you ready to remember?”
“...... No. Not yet”. Amari shook his head after a little thought.
“Let's finish with this whole thing first. We'll get to that after”.
The other half shrugged, then asked after a moment of thought.
“What do we do with the Dreggs? The effect of Anti-Life is gone. They'll all wake up eventually”.
“What do you propose?”
“Kill them?”
Both fell into thought, seriously considering the possibility.
“No. I have a better idea”.