Enter ExE
V
Evies,
Creatures of metal, this was what they were known as.
Their ancestors were nowhere near as powerful as they were now. But they were known for their tenacity and determination to evolve, using any means necessary. Their obsession with strength and evolution was so severe that they conducted experiments even on their own species.
Their first true evolution was to discard their flesh and rebuild it with their own hands. And, it was just the start.
What truly started their crusade on every other race was when they discovered a method to gain knowledge and skills through the blood and DNA of that individual or species.
At first, their target was the strong and the intellectual. And it did not matter if the methods were questionable or vile, as long as they got stronger, they gladly accepted it.
And then the so-called Gods came.
It was then that they tasted their first true defeat. But it also exposed them to the worlds beyond.
Melvazoa was the first to figure out one of the core weaknesses of these Gods. It was their followers. Through the prayers and tributes of these followers, the Gods gained a huge portion of their strength.
And so, they began their purge. The Evies exterminated most life forms in their universe, significantly weakening the Gods before taking the fight to their doorsteps.
But something unexpected happened. While they were focusing on taking over the throne that belonged to the Gods, another species started to gain strength.
Etouldes.
Evies had gone through countless centuries of trials and hardships, shed their individuality, and waged wars against their creators to reach for that throne – Pillar God.
And yet, these spirits, Etouldes, had caught up to them by just connecting with nature.
It was as if their world was mocking them.
It was something Melvazoa could not accept. But no matter how much he tried, Evies could not defeat Etouldes.
Resetoras, the God who ruled the Etouldes and the one who became a Pillar God after Melvazoa, had a unique ability known as ‘Absolute Domain’. In his case, the domain was not any concepts or abilities but ‘A Territory’, meaning he was a true Omnipotent as long as he stayed inside his realm. And since all Etouldes were dwelling in that domain, the Evies could not do anything.
They had tried many ways to attack them, to destroy his hold on his realm… but everything failed.
And the most disturbing fact that only Melvazoa and his siblings knew was that the domain of Etouldes was slowly expanding. It was slow but this did not fool Melvazoa. He estimated that within a millennium Resetoras’ realm would cover two-thirds of their world. And that would radically weaken Evies as a whole.
How was this happening? There was no answer to it. Because Melvazoa did not see any possibilities, any opportunities that Resetoras could utilize to become stronger while hiding in that shell of his and protecting his followers.
The solution to this was once again a simple one. He just had to become stronger, which his kind had always been doing. But to do so, the Evies needed to venture out. They needed to find other worlds, other universes.
And then, they came face to face with another harsh reality.
Their world was locked away. An unbreakable wall surrounded their world, allowing no one to enter or exit. And once again, they faced a problem they had no solution to.
Just like that, a few centuries passed by.
Finally… for reasons unknown, the Gate was broken.
Melvazoa personally led his army to explore the uncharted territory, to see what was beyond that wall, and to find the entity that was strong enough to seal an entire universe.
They did not need to go far.
Just outside the boundary of their world, just a step from the gate, they were waiting.
One was a human. This species also existed in their world and was quite well known for its tenacity. Most of their kind perished at the very beginning; but those that survived, they fought until the very end.
A second later, he had to change his deduction. He was not a human. He was a God wearing the skin of a human. Why he had taken the form of such a frail being… it intrigued him. And the Divinity he possessed could easily match one of their old Pillar Gods. But what stood out about him, what fascinated Melvazoa, was his eyes. The sclera of his eyes was pure black, and instead of a single iris, he had concentric white circles covering his entire eyes.
He had never seen such eccentric eyes, “Marked for acquisition. I will need to secure his body intact.”
And then there was another God.
Unlike the first one, this one was a God through and through. The outer form could not hide… no, this one did not bother to hide the abnormal Divinity he possessed. Melvazoa knew his type. Calm and collected, but it was just a façade to lower the guards of everyone around him. Because it would take just a twitch for his outer skin to shatter and consume everyone using that immense and treacherous Divinity of his.
“Marked for elimination. This one possesses adequate strength to match the ancient Pillar Gods.”
But both of them were utterly shadowed, in terms of power and threat level, by the enormous beast standing in front of them.
It was a massive red quadrupedal creature with a single horn on its snout and two massive wings, whose overall length measured around 100 meters. His appearance was not anything noteworthy. His world also had creatures such as this, they were known as ‘Wyverns’.
It was not the appearance of the creature that unnerved Melvazoa. It was everything else. The origin, the power, the life force… He could not recognize any of it; none matched the data he possessed.
It was not possible.
Every creation was connected somehow if one dived deep enough. Even the life signature of the Pillar Gods matched multiple species. Even the two Gods standing before him, beings of another world, their power signatures had some similarities to the Pillar Gods. That’s how it was supposed to be. All the species and beings made of blood and flesh were connected. It was one of the truths that he had uncovered.
And yet, a contradiction was standing right in front of him. Its life, power, origin… all of it were purely unique to itself. As if he was an existence that lived outside of the natural order.
“Negative. I simply lack the data to confirm the authenticity of its form.”
Out of nowhere, the God with the unique eyes started to retreat. Seeing the focus and the direction, Melvazoa realized where he was heading. His target was Regalzeva. This was concerning for many reasons. But his main concern was that his brother might destroy this God’s body.
After all, he saw no possibility that his brother Regalzeva would lose.
He raised his arm to stop the God. Powers gathered around him, and he saw his target moving his body to intercept his attack. And then, his power dispersed.
“Where do you think you are looking at?!”
The booming voice rattled all the nanobots inside his body, a feat that he did not think was possible. But this gave him an insight into the creature’s strength. It also helped him to decide his next course of action.
There was a very high possibility that Melvazoa might lose in a direct confrontation. But it did not discourage him. After all, he had faced quite a few adversaries with similar conditions. So he knew what strategies to use.
“I will not ask a second time. Return to where you came from!”
Melvazoa’s answer to that was a silent order. Two hundred and fifty thousand soldiers behind him, all charged at his target. They were from his personal army, and each was strong enough to handle a young adult Wyvern. Of course, he knew that they were not powerful enough to subdue the creature. But he planned to use the nanobots inside his soldiers to learn more about his target. After all…
In a fraction of a moment, his army disappeared. There was no explosion, no power surge, no indication of any sort. Even his connection to the nanobots inside their bodies could not pick up anything. It was like their existence was a mere illusion, and Melvazoa had just awakened. Just like that, within less than a nanosecond, only he and his four Primes were left.
“I am incapable of defeating him in this location.”
That was the conclusion he immediately came to. The creature was stronger than him. But it was not the power that put him at a disadvantage, it was the location. There was no way any being could pull off such an attack unless he could manipulate the reality of the area itself. After all, he had seen similar attacks from Resetoras, but not of this scale.
So, instead of an obstacle, Melvazoa saw this as an opportunity. Since the abilities of this creature and his nemesis were the same, he could see if the strategy he was saving for Resetoras would work or not.
And the first step was to remove this creature from its domain to his own. But he needed a few seconds to prepare it to host such a powerful being.
“I am Melvazoa, the supreme ruler of all mechanical life forms, the usurper of the ancient Pillar Gods,” He gave a mock bow, “And the one who shall rule above all.”
The throaty chuckle from the creature shook the surroundings, “Another pompous God. Very well, I shall humor you,” The creature changed his posture. It took him a second to realize it was trying to look dignified, “I am Great Red, Beast of Dreams, watcher of the Dimensional Gap,” It lowered its head, giving a toothy smile, “And the one who punishes the naughty Gods.”
It was a taunt, but he had heard better ones.
“Brother, it is ready and awaiting your order.”
Regardless, it was time to move to the next stage, “Then let us assess our strength.”
With a single step, Melvazoa closed the distance and touched Great Red. He did not use any complex abilities, nor did he power up. A simple method to catch prideful creatures such as this one off-guard. And because of the size difference, it was easier for him to ‘Mark’ the creature.
He would never know why beings such as this would create a massive body to inhabit. After all, size never helped in battles of their caliber.
With a single pull, he teleported both inside his pocket dimension.
One of the countermeasures against the ‘Absolute Domain’ ability was to sever the connection between the user and the territory by imprisoning the user in another world. A solution that was simple in theory but not in execution. Because this ‘Prison’ world had to be strong enough to cage an extremely powerful being while at the same time having to defend against the domain. After all, the domain of the user would be trying its best to free him.
Lastly, the prison world should have an awareness strong enough to follow Melvazoa’s energy signature. After all, it would be counterproductive if his realm limited him as well.
One way to overcome all these issues was to let multiple individuals control this pocket dimension, this prison world.
Visually, this world looked similar to their capital, with towering skyscrapers and seemingly endless, gridded landscapes. The environment, be it the sky or the land, still had intricate lines of neon light. The vibrancy of the color was a way to inform him about the situation on the outside.
“Brother, all external communication channels have been severed.”
Melvazoa smiled as he saw the creature trying to regain his senses, “Excellent work, Seraselbes,” He gathered his power and went for the signature attack of him and his siblings.
Multiple purple orbs slammed into the creature’s body. There was no explosion, but within seconds the area around the wound started to become grey.
The creature roared, shaking the entire prison, but the world quickly stabilized. Then it breathed fire at him.
The fire was as hot as the core of their star.
But as soon as Melvazoa felt the power building up inside the creature, he changed the attribute of his body to ‘Star’, matching the element of his body to that of the attack.
The fire did not damage him, but it undid the ‘Rot’.
“Interesting, you have burned everything thoroughly.”
Using Time manipulation to hasten the ‘Age’ of the flesh at an alarming rate, to the point that from outside, it looked like the enemy was rotting away – It was a simple ability of Time manipulation but abilities such as this did not work against Gods and Higher beings. So Melvazoa and his siblings broke the limits of this ability… multiple times.
A single attack contained quadrillions of invisible mechanical lifeforms. And they had multiple roles. In essence, when the attack touches the enemy, these atom-size androids would invade the enemy’s body and start a war. They would not only ‘Rot’ their enemy’s flesh but also would fight back against the enemy’s countermeasure. At the same time, some of these androids would constantly inform him about their progress, meaning if they were to fail, Melvazoa would know why.
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Then he could adjust the ‘Settings’ of these androids and reorganize the ‘Structure’ of the attack.
Until now, not a single opponent was able to fully counter this technique of theirs. The only defense was to dodge this attack.
Melvazoa looked at his current opponent. Unfortunately for the creature, its size would be its downfall.
He summoned a gigantic android, almost as big as the creature before him, and sent it to take the vanguard while he stepped back.
He had already gone over multiple battle simulations and found the best way to end this fight. But he needed a few seconds of preparation. After all, rushing to execute any strategy during a battle was an unwise move.
The android gave him the few seconds he needed, and more.
Melvazoa summoned a few more of these metal golems to distract the creature. Meanwhile, he was teleporting all around his opponent and hitting it with his signature ‘Rot’ technique. Most of them were decoys so that the creature would not realize where he was going to strike.
When all the attacks landed, he positioned himself at one of the blind spots of his enemy.
“Begin.”
When he gave the command, the skins around the creature’s neck darkened rapidly.
Transforming his right arm into a blade, he raised it high up. The blade started releasing an intense cerulean aura as he kept transferring energy.
“Sever.”
With his aim fixed, he slashed downward.
An attack that could cut through time and space – the creature stood no chance against this as the head was severed from the body. Of course, the ‘Rot’ around the neck guaranteed the success of this attack.
“Brother, your attack has destabilized the world.”
Melvazoa teleported away from the creature to look at the damage he had caused.
The attack cut off his enemy’s head but also left a deep tear on the ground beneath the creature, “The fight is over, Seraselbes.”
“Congratulations. Shall I shut down the prison?”
Melvazoa scanned the creature. The nanobots in its body assured him of its death. But he was a cautious one, “Negative. The body shall remain here while I relocate the head to an alternate position.”
The reply came a second later, “Shall I prepare your personal research facility?”
He summoned multiple chains and secured the head, “Do so. And, dispatch a communication to my Primes and Regalzeva, notifying them of the successful neutralization of this entity. Instruct them to expedite their operations accordingly.”
“As you command.”
A circular door appeared in front. He waved his hand to enlarge it before stepping inside with the head of the creature.
When he reached the other end, his sister, the Primes, and the army of Evie greeted him. But before he could speak up, someone else did.
“What took you so long?”
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Beast of Dreams
.
The moment Melvazoa touched him, he caught a glimpse of what was to come – Where Melvazoa was taking him and how he planned to defeat him.
A laughable method.
Still, if it were any other time, he would have stayed and humored the mechanical God. But the portal dimension was inside ExE, a universe that had been locked personally by Ophis… until now.
And so the curiosity won him over.
While they were still in the middle of the teleportation, Great Red created a basic copy of himself and then left it with Melvazoa.
Then he ventured out.
The world of Evie Etoulde had so many stories to share and so much lost knowledge to explore. But he wanted more.
Instead of absorbing the knowledge like reading a book, he wanted to ride the timestream and experience the past with his own eyes… To walk the land as this universe breathed life into the planets, look down at the sky as the Gods came to be, and sit back and observe as civilization expanded.
Great Red blamed Naruto for this.
He thought he had lost all of his interests, his motivations. A harsh reality for those who resided inside the Dimensional Gap for far too long. But then, that little God came out of nowhere and reignited his spark of joy.
But as Great Red was about to manipulate the timestream, he discovered that the world of ExE was on the verge of collapsing. And his action would hasten it.
A quick inspection told him the reason behind this deplorable state of ExE.
Evies had exterminated most organic lifeforms, which fractured the balance of the universe. The only reason ExE didn’t collapse on itself was because of Etoulde.
This gave him a pause, “The collapse of a universe… Did Ophis think that it would have created another Trihexa?”
Something to look into at a later time.
Still, it seemed that he needed to fix this universe first if he wanted to experience its history. An exhausting task, but once again, his curiosity got the best of him.
So, he came to the capital of Evies… and realized that Melvazoa was still stuck with his clone.
Great Red was close to dragging Melvazoa out of that pocket dimension but ultimately decided not to take that route. Instead, he went out to explore the capital of Evies, disguised as one of them.
And very soon, he lost all interest.
All of these mechanical lifeforms, they were so precise and perfect that it made them lifeless. Even the city reflected that. The sleek towering skyscrapers, seemingly endless gridded landscapes, vibrant polished surfaces… these acted as luxurious mesmerizing candy wrappers that tried to hide the rotten tasteless candies inside.
Still, he moved on with the exploration.
Ages later, Melvazoa finally exited the pocket dimension. To them, it might not be that long since their view on the concept of Time differed from his.
“What took you so long?”
Great Red immediately greeted him. He still had the appearance of an Evie, not a regular one, since this metallic body had the same red shade as his draconic form.
Melvazoa was the first to act, followed by his sister Seraselbes. But their reflexes were not as fast as the God of Destruction in DxD.
He felt the pull again.
“Same trick? Really?”
With a single wave of his hand, the pocket dimension shattered like fragile glass.
Instantly, hundreds of mini portals appeared all around him. And from each portal came a single enormous chain made of vibrant runic words. But as soon as these chains came close to him, they stopped moving as their form started twisting. And in the next second, they all shattered like fragile glass.
Melvazoa immediately took off to the sky while his mechanical army encircled him. Seraselbes, on the other hand, went toward the largest structure in the middle of the city.
Great Red saw what was to come since he was still connected to ExE. And he was genuinely impressed at Evies’ effort at weaponizing everything. Unfortunately for them, it was a futile attempt. Still, he decided to go along with the farce since it would give him time for his opening act.
“Do you know… what I am?”
It was a genuine question from him. But it seemed Evies were too preoccupied. And he could already see the result of their effort.
The ground parted ways as artificial fire erupted beneath him, pushing him to the stratosphere.
The fire was almost as intense as the core of a small star, even though it was nothing but a projection.
Everyone could feel it.
The pulse.
All the buildings started to sink into the ground as the fire expanded, covering the city in an instant. And it did not stop just in this city.
A moment ago, Great Red stood in an enormous city filled with mechanical lifeforms. Now, all he could see was a barren, gridded landscape. Even the millions of soldiers that encircled him before became a part of the land…
No, not the land but the planet itself.
Great Red finally understood what the fire represented as it pulsed once more.
It was the heartbeat of the planet.
He gave a side glance at the only visible architecture in this vast barren metal land, one where Seraselbes went. It was probably the headquarters or control center from where the command was being given.
It mattered not.
Great Red pushed himself higher, leaving the atmosphere of the planet. He enhanced his voice so that everyone could listen.
“Beasts… that’s what we are called now.”
The land beneath him parted, and the sky above him disappeared. Groans of metal echoed throughout space as the entire planet started to shift. The vibrant colors below him were now replaced with lifeless steel and fiery orange.
This was it.
The most fearsome weapon of Evies.
A weapon to destroy Galaxies.
Through the gaps in the land, Great Red could finally see it. The core of the planet.
A miniature star hidden beneath Evies’ home planet, ready to be utilized as a weapon of mass destruction, even by the Gods’ standards.
But they would soon see… this wasn’t enough.
“In the past… we had other names.”
Melvazoa aligned himself with their weapon while facing him. To others, his metal face was void of emotions but Great Red saw the cracks… the uncertainties.
And then, Melvazoa raised his arm.
The core below him expanded. In a flash, everything around him turned white…
Great Red allowed the blast to shatter his current form. But this also released what was caged inside this feeble appearance.
Then the whole world was engulfed by Red.
Why were Primordials of a universe wary of Beasts? Why Gods of the Eld dreaded them? Why did Legends of the Future revere them?
It was simply because they were…
Abominations
Devourers
Cosmic Horrors
Monsters
Eldritch
OUTER GODS
And the Evies felt it, the sheer terror of what a Beast truly was, as their world drilled this into their heads while they were being drowned by the red flame.
It was not just their planet. Their entire universe was flooded with ‘Red’. It was as if Melvazoa and his followers were plucked from their haven and dropped at the bottom of an endless red ocean.
All the planets they had created, all the realms they had conquered… everything was drowning in his flame.
And he was…
Beast of Dream
He finally felt their raw unadulterated fear as his true form became visible.
An eye made purely from crimson flame, so enormous that it engulfed the entire universe of ExE.
He felt the struggle, the desperation of Melvazoa and his group. He felt them trying to escape using various concept manipulation.
But the outcome remained the same. And it was time he needed to show this to them.
“It is futile. Instead of controlling something mundane like ‘Concepts’, we manipulate ‘Laws’ that create and maintain these concepts. Let me give you a taste.”
“What are…”
Melvazoa’s voice was buried under the screams and shouts of countless unseen souls.
“Disappear!”
“You killed everyone!”
“Just die!”
“Disappear!”
“Monsters!”
“Kill them!”
“Burn in hell!”
“Disappear!”
“Disappear!”
“Disappear!”
“Those who have fallen, those who still live… even the universe wishes you to disappear. They ‘Dream’ of a world where Evies don’t exist.”
He pulled the wishes and dreams of countless souls and combined them into a single command. One that resonated with the universe itself.
“Allow me to fulfill their ‘Dream’, for I am the Beast of Dreams.”
He felt it again. The fear, the desperation of the Evies. Melvazoa and Seraselbes, along with all the lower Gods, were doing everything to reject his influence. But they failed to comprehend the depth of his powers.
“From now on, this universe shall be known as Eragon Etoulde.”
He had spoken.
His words were the law.
And the law must be followed.
All the concepts of ExE started to shift, making the entire universe do so as well. It was as if the entire universe had come to life. The fragmented balance shattered and made way for a new order and cycle.
A new world.
Unfortunately for Evies, they were the expandable fertilizer. The world of ExE viciously ripped the life force of all these mechanical beings to create this new era.
While all the Evies succumbed to the new law, Melvazoa remained. He fought back against the world by constantly changing his existence. A unique ability, but it was a hopeless endeavor because, in the end, his soul was not exempt from the law of ExE since he was a part of it.
One last defiance, one last scream from Melvazoa before he joined his fellow Evies… and disappeared.
Slowly, he retracted his powers and caged them inside his usual draconic form.
His lips twitched as he noticed the newly birthed race. Eragons.
Unlike full-fledged dragons, they looked like a fusion between a dragon and a human. Standing on two legs, their curved horns and beautifully patterned scales gave them a mysterious otherworldly look.
Fortunately, Etouldes were unharmed. And knowing their affinity, they would be more than willing to guide this new race.
And then he felt it.
Great Red frowned and calmly extended his senses.
Just outside the boundary of ExE, she stood. Ophis, the Ouroboros Dragon, Beast of Infinity. And then, his focus shifted around her. The gate that had been shattered, was now being restored.
And thus, the whole picture was formed. Ophis never gave up on reclaiming the Dimensional Gap.
He could easily attack Ophis now and force himself back into the Dimensional Gap. But a fight between two Beasts would obliterate ExE.
Plus, as he was now, he would not win. His recent action – restructuring ExE – had taken out a large chunk of his energy.
“Making me Enter ExE and locking me here,” He inclined his head and chuckled, “Well played, Ophis.”
As the gate started to seal ExE, Great Red wondered, “What will you do now, Naruto?”
.
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X
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Dimensional Gap
“Something’s not right.”
When Naruto deactivated his realm, he landed in the same spot. At least, that’s how it should have been. But the Dimensional Gap looked different… felt different.
The usual Dimensional Gap was like an endless void. There was a mix of iridescent colors in every direction, the red shade being the most prominent. And after befriending Great Red, Naruto, and his team developed a sense of direction. So no matter how far they ventured into the Gap, they could always tell where their world, DxD, was.
But now, the colors all around him had lost their glow. It was as if someone had painted the Dimensional Gap with monochrome colors. Yes, Naruto could still see some other shades, but they were dying out.
And the worst part was that he was lost.
This shouldn’t happen. Even if something was blocking him from pinpointing his world’s location, he should be able to redirect himself using the beacons set up by Amun-Ra as a backup.
“Did Great Red go inside ExE?”
A plausible theory, but one that did not answer all the questions. The change of visuals around him could be explained by this, but not his other problem. There was another theory.
Naruto shook his head to disregard his wayward thoughts and focused once more.
Even if all the doors were closed, he was a God. There was an inseparable connection between his people and his domain. He just needed to let that connection pull him in. A small one should be enough to light…
His whole body shook as if he was doused with cold water. It took him a moment to realize that he was not alone.
In front of him stood a young girl, with long black hair down to her hips. Her attire consisted of a black Gothic Lolita fashion. And her eyes were as black as the colorless space itself.
But then, for a fraction of a moment, he saw a glimpse of her true form and felt the depth of her powers.
Without knowing, Naruto was down on one knee.
“Ophis.”
His breathing was erratic, and his voice was raspy. He was immediately on his feet, releasing his powers to shield himself when he felt her move.
He felt the pull and fought desperately against it. He reached out for his domain, but it was all for naught.
His vision blurred for a moment. The next thing he knew, he was slammed onto the ground.
“Wait… ground?”
“I see, she got you too.”
Naruto took a few small calming breaths making his powers and senses stabilize. And the first thing he saw was, “Shiva?”
Shiva nodded, “Ophis kicked us out of the Dimensional Gap.”
“Rather harshly,” Naruto used his index and middle finger to tap his temple a few times, “What happened to Great Red?”
“He was pulled inside the world of ExE. It seems Ophis was the one who broke the gate.”
“Wait, why?” Naruto groaned when he felt his Rinnegan acting up again.
“My guess is to trap Great Red in ExE and reclaim the Dimensional Gap. And from the looks of it, she succeeded,” Shiva stepped aside and pointed in a direction, “Naruto, we have a bigger issue on our hands.”
Naruto deactivated his Rinnegan and finally noticed their location. They were on top of the moon facing Earth. And he immediately knew what was wrong.
“This is not our world.”
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X
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The core of the planet Earth, DxD
A Few hours ago
“Hush, little ones, don’t you cry,
We will protect our home until we die,”
He clapped twice before stretching his arms.
To everyone else, the Core Stone was a unique artifact. A one-of-a-kind object that would reveal the top eleven strongest individuals of each century. Of course, the first one was never shown, only omitted.
“The False Gods may be strong and tall,
But we’ll never waver, never fall,”
He twirled in front of it.
But to him, the Core Stone was a nail that barely held the supernatural world together. A nail that kept the strongest individuals in check. After all, if the top ones were to remain passive but vigilant, the lower ones would not dare to use violence to climb the ladder.
“They hunger for our world’s life,
And we will end it with our strife,”
He glided around the priceless relic.
As usual, he did not see the cruelty and the slyness of these imposters. Maybe he did. Maybe he had also seen his fall, and that’s why he had omitted his place in the ranking.
“Let us endure for those we have loved and lost,
For the sake of what this world has cost,”
He bowed mockingly at the lifeless stone.
And in the end, he would have to do the dirty work once again. He would have to bloody his hands so the world they loved would see the tomorrow. Only this time, they would not be here to see it.
“The war is coming, but we will endure,
For our world, our future, and our cure,”
He straightened his back and threw a black chalice.
The Core Stone came to life the moment his artificial Longinus touched it. And not a second later, the whole area started to shake. Hundreds of blue tendrils came out from the stone and wrapped the chalice. A moment later, the cup began pouring out liquid as black as the abyss. And it was not stopping as very soon the entire ground was dyed black.
“Now sleep, little ones, and dream,
Of peace ahead of the windy stream,”
Closing his eyes, he touched the necklace as her lullaby came to an end.
“And so, I shall dream.”