“Huh?” Simultaneously exclamations of confusion spread.

Seeing this, Vykin cleared the puzzlement.

“I don't know whether lower beings are misguided or not in their judgement, but the Motherbox tells me that more than half the news appearing about him are downright negative”.

“That ...... It can't be. I mean, the Highfather clearly said that this being was a powerful and noble warrior”.

“That's right Vykin". The eyes of Serafin lit up with genuine excitement and adoration as he spoke. His little body shook with pure restlessness at the thought of meeting his new hero.

“The Highfather said it himself. You know how lower beings tend to exaggerate things. Besides, how bad can someone who defeated the God Tyrant Darkseid be?”

“Indeed. He may not be as benevolent as we are, but to do such a thing, he can't be evil”. Dreamer also spoke with smile.

Her eyes were bright, and she too was filled with great adoration.

“I agree. I'm similarly looking forward to meeting this brave and powerful warrior. His deeds have spread throughout the multiverse itself. It would be an honor to meet him in person”.

The young New God who was named after an animal that didn't exist on earth also remarked with similar excitement.

The world's of New Genesis and Apokolips had been at war for thousands of years. As the Gods of Benevolence and Freedom, every citizen of New Genesis greatly spurned the beings who seemed to be their natural counterparts in every sense of the word.

This wasn't just a pure escalation of conflicts between two sides, but more like a great rivalry that could and would never be resolved.

Both planets and its inhabitants were complete opposites.

The Gods of New Genesis were the Gods of life while those of Apokolips were the Gods of Anti-Life.

The latter had attacked the former several times, and the two planets were embroiled in constant war for many years.

Upon realizing that nothing would change, their respective rulers came together to form a sort of peace treaty. Keeping a rough stalemate while constantly testing the opposite party as well.

For example, Apokolips had stolen technology from New Genesis and sold it to different Earth's across the multiverse.

One of the reasons why Darkseid used Avatars in search of the Anti-Life equation instead of simply destroying universe after universe in his true form was because Highfather existed to balance him out.

Plus, if he truly took such actions, so many powerful beings in the Godsphere would join forces to stop his madness. Hence, Darkseid's true body never left Apokolips.

(This is my explanation for why TFD doesn't just go searching for the Anti-Life equation himself. As for the theory that his true form is too powerful to accommodate his presence and the multiverse would shatter....... I call bullshit. In the comics, Darkseid fought with Zeus on earth and defeated the latter. Unless someone is going to prove otherwise, I refuse to believe that that was also an Avatar so I'd rather use a more rational explanation)

The point being, after such a long period of rivalry, both sides hated each other to the bones. For Darkseid's disgusting actions, not even the benevolent New Gods could stand it.

Then, big news came around. Darkseid was defeated. So badly that he had to flee for his dear life.

When the information reached New Genesis, its citizens celebrated so grandly that one would think there was no tomorrow.

The forever people were peace-loving Gods who sought peace, Justice, and harmony for all life in the universe. And to these young Gods, anybody who could kick Darkseid's ass was a friend worthy of their admiration.

Hence, explaining their similar reactions.

Vykin was silent. As the oldest and most mature among the group of New Gods, Vykin never took things the way it seemed.

For such a powerful person, it was better to be cautious. Nevertheless, seeing the enthusiasm on the faces of his comrades, he similarly showed a slight smile.

They were right. Just how bad can such a person be?

.............

'Wake!'

Gasp!

The almost lifeless body of queen Atlanna suddenly jerked upward with renewed vigor.

With wide eyes and a disheveled look, her chest heaved up and down as if she had just awoken from a tragic nightmare.

Within her once dying form, an unknown cosmic energy flowed through her veins executing the task of keeping her conscious.

But as far as Amari's ear could hear, her heartbeat was just as faint as it was before. Her skin still remained severely dehydrated, pale, and she looked like a bag of bones.

Logically speaking, no amount of adrenaline should be able to bring her from her comatose state, with her condition still remaining the same. But there she was ....... Awake and alive.

Atlanna was momentarily dazed, her open eyes filled with confusion.

“I ......”. The dark surroundings fell into her eyes, although she could barely make out what was around her.

The first thing that came into sight which was the solid brick wall a distance away let her know exactly where she was. Or rather, let her know that she hadn't left at all.

“Awake?”. The sound of a male voice from behind caused her body to stiffen. Turning her head around, she saw someone she had never seen before.

Dark hair, blue eyes, spotless clothing ....... He ..... Wasn't Ares.

“You. ....... Who are …. No, that's....... Where's ......”. Her sporadic sentences showed her current state of mind and the confusion changed to surprise, the to panic.

The narrative has been illicitly obtained; should you discover it on Amazon, report the violation.

Her gaze roamed the surroundings as she searched for the shadow of the person who imprisoned her here.

“Don't bother. Ares is gone”. She stopped searching as his words fell and turned her gaze to him with those orange colored eyes.

“You .....”. She had barely started when the underground Labyrinth trembled with a quake, causing the queen to sway.

“Oh! Looks like it can't hold on anymore”. Seeing the rock shifting uneasily and sand falling from the roof, Amari couldn't help but mutter.

Ares's palace was built above the underground area. His previous attacks had completely destroyed everything above and destabilized the structures below.

At any moment, the ceiling would collapse on itself, destroying and burying everything in this place.

“What's happening?” Atlanna asked.

“The inevitable”.

“..... What …".

Knowing what was about to happen, Amari lost interest in observing her and turned around to leave the cell.

“Wait! ........ Who are …. You?”

Seeing him walk away, the former queen supported her thin figure on the iron bars, her gaze fixed on the departing male, not knowing what she was thinking.

It happened then. A distance away from where Amari was, the space began to swirl like rushing water before splitting apart into to form a crack.

Dark clouds, heavy rain, ocean roars ...... These were what could be seen and heard on the other side.

Bang!

A large amount of water suddenly splashed through the portal into the underground Labyrinth due to two waves crashing against each other.

Following which, he moved right through the space crack and fell downwards.

Amari's figure disappeared, but Atlanna's attention wasn't on him anymore.

Seeing and hearing the roars of water from the other side, her pupils glowed with frenzied excitement. Without regard for the weakness she felt, she let go of the iron bars and walked forwards.

Plop!

Unfortunately, her weakness wasn't gone. She fell down to her knees after barely taking three steps.

Her enthusiasm, however, didn't diminish in the slightest as she propped herself up with whatever strength she could muster and moved towards the portal.

Boom! The earth shook once again as the roofs began to collapse on itself, causing her face to change drastically.

Looking back, Atlanna saw the cell where she once laid was completely submerged as the earth above began to sink downwards.

From nowhere, strength suddenly pulsed through her veins as her weary body secreted as much adrenaline as it could give her. Overwhelmed with the fear of death, she took wide steps as fast as she could.

The ceiling fell apart, and giant rocks fell from above. Finally, the whole space collapsed completely.

As for the Atlantean Queen, she gritted her teeth and used all the strength she could muster to leap through the space crack before she was buried under thousands of tons of solid rock.

Splash!

The body of Atlanna made a splash as she fell into the sea. As for the portal behind her, it closed automatically the moment she made it through.

Darkness, pain. This was the only thing she could see and feel during the first few seconds after.

The next, however, her body reacted to something she hadn't felt in a long time.

Water! And not the teaspoon - sized drops Ares gave to her every four to five days.

Glorious, wondrous water. Like a dried up sponge, her body began to suck as much as it could, instinctively filling itself and carrying out the process of resuscitation.

Barely three seconds later, her pale skin became vibrant, the flesh immediately enveloped the bones, her chapped lips grew pink, the weary bones received life and strength and the wounds automatically closed up ........ What was once a bone bag was now the body of a well-endowed woman, sinking deeper into her domain.

Controlling her figure, she navigated the water with her eyes closed, deep joy bursting within her heart to finally be in the ocean she longed for.

And so, regaining the demeanor and aura of royalty and a queen, she floated vertically and opened her eyes, having escaped from an unfortunate demise.

Unfortunately, what she saw when she did nearly frightened her to death the following second.

Trench monsters ......... Hundreds, no, thousands of trench monsters, all floating around while looking at her with hungry, covetous eyes

“By the blood of Poseidon.......”.

Atlanna was dumbfounded. She had just escaped from Ares, now she had fallen into the territory of the Trenchers.

Panic emerged on her features as she felt the undisguised murderousness from all directions.

Meanwhile.

“Sir....... She will die if you don't do something”.

Feeling the unconcealed amusement in her master's eyes, Alice felt the need to speak up. Least the poor woman died from a heart attack before the Trenchers had her for dinner.

When did her master suddenly have such bad tastes?

“Alright .......”. Resisting the urge to chuckle, his eyes glowed brightly, and a large telekinetic wave swept throughout the waters.

The trench monsters who were about to pounce forward on their new prey suddenly stiffened in place as their eyes turned dull.

Deep within their minds, an orange rune mark glowing with waves of antimatter energy appeared, the clear characteristics of the Anti-Life equation.

This was the first time he had used the Anti-Life equation since he defeated the fragment of the Anti-Life life entity back at the ruins under Apokolips.

As for his purpose ....... Just like the derange Old Gods of Urgrund, he was going to transport an entire race across the multiverse.

With the will of his mind, a large amount of energy was consumed in an instant, and the bodies of the Trench monsters turned illusory and were sucked into a different space. Hundreds of Thousands of Trenchers were taken away from the Atlantic Ocean in an instant.

With the disappearance of the Trenchers, Amari couldn't help but raise an eyebrow.

'They're more than the Dreggs'. He had also transported the reaction of old Gods, but their number wasn't so exaggerated. Less than a tenth of the total number of Atlantean monsters.

To transport such numerous living creatures from Earth 16 to the Axiom, more than 75% of his total energy reserves were consumed.

Speaking of Earths .........

Meanwhile, Atlanna watched Amari from a distance with countless thoughts passing through her mind. The scene of thousands of Trench monsters disappearing into thin air had left her incredibly shocked.

Though, her outer expression portrayed nothing but solemnity. A trace of hesitation flashed through her eyes as she pondered her next course of action.

She knew not whether to approach or keep a distance as Amari's identity remained a mystery to her.

Although he saved her, she knew not whether he was a friend or foe.

The fact that he didn't kill her didn't mean he had no ill will.

And what had he done with the ocean trenchers?

However, while she was deep in thought, Amari disappeared into thin air, just like the trench monsters from earlier.

The ocean returned to silence with queen Atlanna being the only being left in these waters.

Seeing him disappear, she lowered her head slightly and decided. Determining the general direction, she kicked off towards her perception of Atlantis.

No matter what, she had to warn whoever was the current ruler of the horrible events that were about to ensue.

Within the depths of the earth, a great evil was sealed. And Ares was planning to release it.

...........

Earth -1

Dark Multiverse.......

On an arid wasteland, a swirl appeared within the surrounding space. Following which, a figure appeared from thin air.