Stars flashed and winked out as beams of light flew through the void of space. Warriors of the House of Death darted through the void, firing spells and cutting through any fighter craft or opposing warriors. If one of them fell, another stepped up to take his place. They continued their desperate push, stepping over the bodies of friend and foe alike. Their bodies clad in divinity, each a True God in rank, and yet mere foot soldiers in this conflict. Massive warships fired volleys into each other's sides, yet even these massive warships were dwarfed when compared to the fight going on all around them. Seventy-seven enormous titans, each warping and twisting the very fabric of the universe existing beyond time and space, they were everywhere and nowhere at the same time. All of these otherworldly beings were waging war against a single entity, who stood no taller than a mortal teenager, Death.
One of the titans broke off from his brethren and charged at Death’s exposed back. Death floated serenely in the endless void of space seemingly unaware of the incoming attack. The titan’s spear arced towards Death, the weapon larger than the dark-haired youth’s entire body. Leisurely Death turned his head, only glancing back at the titan as the spear shattered against his body. Death’s arm slowly rose as the titan’s body warped forms, shrinking to the size of a mortal adult. Death grabbed the man's face in a death claw grip. The man struggled with all his might, but no matter how hard he tried he couldn't escape. He looked into the eyes of his capturer and his face went pale, as slowly a slit in Death's forehead widened and a third eye looked back at him.
As soon as the man looked into the multicolored eye with its curved tri-lined runic emblem, his very soul burned with agony. His skin began sloughing off and his blood evaporated into dust. Despite the void of space being totally silent, the entire battlefield could hear his scream and the other seventy-six beings backed off as they watched their compatriot be wiped from the very reincarnation cycle itself. There would be no chance of survival. His soul was obliterated, an ability of Death that terrified beings even several ranks above him. There were no divine miracles capable of bringing back someone who met such a fate.
However, the remaining titans renewed their assault, causing Death to question why? Despite one of their own being gruesomely annihilated in front of them, they were all smiling. Their smirks self-assured and full of confidence, and their attitude did not escape Death's eyes.
A black swirl started forming around him as thousands of souls of forgotten warriors swirled around his body, shielding him, whispering to him, helping him. Around him, space began fracturing and planets shattered as he devoured the energy of millions of mortal souls. He stared unabashedly at those who wished him to make him enter his own domain, death.
Though the Primordial of Death outwardly kept a calm facade inside his blood boiled, THESE INSIGNIFICANT GNATS! They don't know their place! I am Leonidas Yakove Deathwing El Statera. I am the Crown Prince of an alliance of 110 houses. I am the Chosen of the First of the Six Constants of Lord Chaos and Lady Order. I am the champion of our people and the bane of the Elderazi. And yet they still dare spark a coup to overthrow me! I will wipe the entirety of their houses from the cycle for all eternity!
He punched one of his attackers away before kicking another through a planet nearly forty light-years away. Though still furious, he calmly analyzed his predicament as he fought off each attack. These old codgers have always feared me, and yet these cowards seem far too assured of their victory. What could have given the council such courage as to challenge me out in the open, where all can see? My parents will kill them for treason if they succeed. Lord Chaos will shatter dimensions in his rage if his Chosen is killed, and that would result in catastrophic damage to these abominations. There is no way for them to win, so why do they persist? Only another Primordial of One of the Six Constants can hope to truly kill me. None of them hold one of the six domains, and even these cowards wouldn’t fall far enough to make a deal with him.
Then Death sensed a tear in reality behind him, followed by a low pulse of life force, without turning around Death's entire body shrank for a millisecond in on itself as his shoulders slouched. Straightening his back, he let out a long sigh as he spoke to the ball of light that had teleported behind him, “Greetings little sister, or do you want to be called Life as we’re not alone? For what reason could you possibly come here? No, don't answer that I think I already know.” Not waiting to finish his sentence, Death spun around and fired a blast of true death from his palm. The blast, only a spell thrown together in haste, dissipated upon coming into contact with the shield of light that surrounded the mortal teenage girl. Though her blood was pure magic, Life appeared as a mortal girl with massive snow colored wings, her appearance was one meant for gaining mortal followers not battle“Why?” Death asked.
The girl gazed at Death as she held a single black and white orb the size of a small moon in her hands. As soon as he saw the small orb in her hands, Death's wrath fell away as he gazed into the beautiful snow white eyes of his beloved younger sister. How could she do this to him? Had he wronged her? He had always protected her, so why would she turn on him?
“So it’s true, sister. You have betrayed me.” Slowly tears started forming in Death's eyes. All three had a small trickle of liquid and the black ichor that was the blood of primordials. His blood and tears defy the laws of reality as they stayed trailing down his face even in the void of space. Any of his advisors, subordinates, or retainers would have been shocked beyond words if they saw this scene. Death had abandoned most of his emotions long ago, and they had only seen him cry once in his entire existence.
Life looked away from her elder brother's eyes, hesitating as she looked at the orb, before slowly pouring her energy into the orb. All kinds of elements and even the golden glow of her divinity started swirling around in the Orb, mixing with the white and black that had originally been present, slowly turning to a dull grey.
The tears on Death's face evaporated, and his eyes began glowing red. “I curse you, sister! I curse you, Proditor! For as long as your souls exist, I curse them to be followed by the dead! May you never know rest! May you never know peace! May all those who have died for you and by your hand stalk you long past the end of eternity! Do you truly think I will go to the Realm of the Faded peacefully!? If I am to die, I will take you all with me! I am Death, Brother of Life, I am the second to be born to my domain! I am a member of the Six Constants, I am the Chosen of Chaos, Bringer of Order, and without me, stagnancy will rule and the Elderazi will devourer you all!”
Life made no response and continued to channel her energy into the ball in front of her; the remaining seventy-six titans gathered creating a sphere around her to shield her from Death's wrath, but it was too late. A black haze gathered around her and with her full attention on the orb, none of her barriers were active. The curse took effect and immediately ghostly figures began forming around her. They whispered to her, “It's all your fault”.
Her mortal appearance only showcased her struggle as all color drained from her face. Sweat beaded her forehead as blood began trailing from her eyes, ears, mouth, and nose as she forced her own energy and the energy of all the prays her followers directed to her into the glowing orb.
By now all around Life her forces had gathered. Massive warships, fighter craft, warriors, angels, demons, and gods flitted through the void like a million specks of dust the allied armies of Life's blocking Death's forces from reaching him.
Upon noticing Death struggle against so many opponents of equal rank, all of his nearby forces had thrown themselves in a concentrated attack. The forces of the House of Death continued sacrificing every soldier and craft to support their Primordial. Outnumbered by over ten to one, Death’s followers threw themselves in front of missiles, spells, arrows, artillery fire, and bombs, to buy as much time as they could for their God and reinforcements to arrive.
.
Death rushed toward his sister through the darkness of space, ripping apart several warships on his way. He transformed another titan into a mortal form, using him as a living shield as Death made a mad dash towards her, shattering time and space behind him. .
With every second reinforcements drew closer, outpacing light itself, their loyalty to their master pushing them far past their normal limits. They burned their very souls to reach him just one second faster. Their roars and battle cries shook reality itself and the warships of Death fired volleys of anti-god level weaponry uncaring of the billions of credits worth of ammunition wasted, rather driven only to protect their master. Death’s warship FTL drives spooled as they targeted enemy Interceptor class anti FTL warships. As soon as one ship was destroyed and a warship was clear of the interdictor fields, it jumped. Its helmsman ignored anything in their way, jumping through planets and stars alike whether or not they had life on them, only protecting their God mattered.
Death’s forces surged shattering the blockade separating them from their master. Warships of all sizes swarmed the hole made in the enemy fleet's formation, firing every gun and boarding torpedo available, and they joined Death’s fight. Death's warriors and retainers alongside his ships began battling against Life's forces attempting to reach Death in the distance.
Despite their best efforts and just as the first of the millions of warriors and warships reached their master, the Orb in Life's hands finished charging. As soon as it was fully charged, Life’s tired eyes met Death for the briefest second, and he could have sworn he saw tears in her eyes. Then her mouth moved almost imperceptibly, “Farewell… Elder Brother, I’m sorry.”
The orb fired, shooting out a blinding beam of light aimed straight at Death's chest. The cries of despair from his soldiers echoed in his ears as Death abandoned all attempts at defense, knowing his only chance was to stop the incoming attack. He poured every atom of power into his right palm. The beam was fast approaching, and he needed more power and time to stand a chance at stopping the beam.
Death knew he would have to use every ounce of the power available to him. He called on his followers, Across all two hundred and fifty-one dimensions controlled directly by the House of Death mortals began committing ritual suicide by the billions. Their loyalty to Death was ingrained into their weak bodies through years of constant warfare. Most mortals in the dimensions controlled by Death were considered weak and only used as mass soldiers or were protected by the House of Death in exchange for services needed to keep the massive war machine moving. They had long lived in relative peace but now they felt their God in danger and desired only to replay him for his protection. They ran to the temples by the millions and when Death's magistrates said the only way to help him was to tribute their souls, those with no family dependent on them did not hesitate to sacrifice themselves for the glory of their God.
Stolen novel; please report.
The power of his followers flowed through him but he still didn’t have enough time as the beam closed in on him. He began changing his body to one more able to hold such sheer power. Scales as black as the void around him began flowing along his body, his jaw elongated becoming more angular, as spikes started pushing through the skin on his back. The beam was less than a light-year away when a retainer cloaked in full plate armor, jumped in front of the beam, his shield in one hand and a spear in the other.
The brave soldier blocked the beam and it quickly overwhelmed his defense and his barriers fractured. Still, he held his place knowing that every second he bought was a second longer he could protect his master. For only a couple seconds the soldier blocked the beam with his body, and in the instant, before it consumed all his soul and he would be wiped from the cycle forever he looked back at his God. He smiled, “Glory to the House, all glory to my God. Forgive me for my early departure my prince I shall pray I never see you again in the land of the forgotten”
With his final words spoken he closed his eyes and was consumed by the light. With no one obstructing its path anymore the light raced towards Death once again but now he was ready. The black light on his palm had turned into a glowing ball of energy reinforced by the souls tributed to him by his followers. Before the beam could hit him, he fired his own blast back.
It seemed like it would be enough to save him and his soldiers cheered even as they continued to fight through the chaotic battlefield, their pace never slowing. But their triumph was short-lived as a blade protruded from Death's chest. Their cries of triumph turned to screams of despair, and they charged with renewed vigor. Many had already reached their God but were being held back by the guns and warriors of their enemy.
The enemy soldiers who were fighting against the House Of Death were gradually being overwhelmed. Even with the powerful regeneration abilities all warriors possessed, they were taking damage faster than their physical bodies could heal, and the warships weren’t much better. The smaller warships were subject to warrior and protector boarding parties and the larger warships were brought down by concentrated fire from the thousands of warships rushing through the blockade.
Even with a ten to one advantage in numbers the ferocity of Death’s soldiers shocked their opponents and despite the thousands of battles the opposing soldiers and crewmen who were veterans of battle, never had they seen such ferocity. A single warrior would take on several dozen opponents without blinking an eye, even as they knew their defeat was certain. Fighter and bomber-craft flashed through space, following closely behind their warriors and waiting for an opportunity to strike.
In the few seconds it took for Death to remove the sword from his chest his concentration wavered for only the barest of moments and the light rushed forward enveloping Death's body and immobilizing his legs.
Then five voices cried out in unison, “ELDER BROTHER!” They shook the entire battlefield Death’s head where the light was slowly creeping up swiveled his head upward and his voice echoed in the minds of all his soldiers, “Protect them do not let them get close to me!”
His soldiers, long conditioned to respond to Death’s orders without hesitation, broke away to head towards the five new beings who had entered the battlefield. Then some paused and made the difficult decision to disobey their God's orders, returning to their previous positions fighting to reach their God.
The five newcomers, all appeared as mortal children no older than five, refused to be held back, smashing aside anything and anyone who got in their way uncaring whose side they were on. A galaxy-sized warship tried to block their path and was subsequently annihilated in a single blow by the young girls with metallic gold hair who was leading her siblings at the front of the formation. As soon as the siblings reached Death the three eldest began firing beams of energy at the bonds around him as the youngest among them, a girl and a boy who looked no older than two or three years mortal years flew towards his head.
The two children were mirror images of each other, black hair and eyes as blue as the clearest waters. Their clothes mimicked their elder brothers, long flowing cloaks hiding armor that matched the void around them. Neither of them were larger than one of Death's pupils, and their powers were nowhere near as developed as their elder siblings, having only just begun learning to manipulate reality.
An opposing warrior tried to grab the girl but a chain shot from Death's body, impaling the soldier's heart and slowly rending his soul from his body. He didn't die instantly, rather it took far longer for his soul to dissipate than even the titans had. The two children pressed tightly to Death's cheeks, the helmet that normally covered his head had dissipated as he realized their intentions. The other three others continued to try and free their elder brother. They hit the spreading light with every spell and element they could think of but nothing helped.
“Little ones listen to me! You must go NOW! You must warn mother and father of the traitors in our midst and to prepare for the end of times. He will know I am gone and it will take far more than idle threats from the council to deter him and the Eldrazi. Find my soldiers, they will lead you to safety. Do not worry for me, I will not fade till I have done my duty. Even if I take a billion mortal millennia, I will return to you all. I stand outside of fate, and I won't hesitate to fight them to return to the empire.” Despite the bravado in his words the color of his thoughts betrayed his fear, to his younger siblings who had grown up knowing him as the fearless elder brother who wouldn’t hesitate to destroy an entire empire to save them his words only rang of empty promises and failing bravado,
All five children refused to budge, the three elder siblings floating down to join the other two on Death's shoulder. All of them holding him tightly. Their shoulders shuddering as unheard tears drifted into space. All of them refused to move even as the light began lapping at their feet. Finally, Death moved his head away from them and they began to beg and pleaded with him but he only gave them a forlorn smile. As he once again raised his head to look straight into the endless expanse of space.
“Dominus of the First, I call in the favor you owe me. Take my siblings to safety and safeguard them until I return.”
All five of the children started shaking their heads and begging their brother not to go. The beam of black light began snaking its way around them. It slowly tugged them upwards, but before they could disappear into the portal the beam had come from Death managed to free a single hand and gently wrapped it around his siblings in a strange kind of hug.
As the siblings watched Death's eyes finally shut and the last thing they saw was a bloodthirsty grin on his lips as the light fully consumed him and he was gone.
Of the five the Eldest was a young girl who had only just reached her sixth divine year. She had been born into the domain of life but after being rescued by her eldest brother when she had been kidnapped by another empire she had Idolised him. Upon her safe return to the alliance she renounced Life and embraced the domain of Death upon her third birthday. It had been her goal to be inducted into her eldest brothers house with full honors ever since she was a young godling. On her fifth birthday she forced her brother to promise her he’d personally conduct her into his house after he fought her in her right of passage duel once she turned six. Now she knew she would never see him or receive his teachings again. Locking eyes with her eldest sister who was staring at her in shock, she projected her telepathy into the minds of every single being within hundreds of light years.
“I, Elisa Palladis el Statera in the name of my brother, Leonidas Yakove Deathwing El Statera declare a blood feud between The House of Death and the Alliance of one hundred and ten houses. Until the criminals, rebels and traitors who are responsible for the Fading of the Primordial of Death are handed over to us and forced to fade there will be no trade, no military support and no communication between The House of Death, its allies and vassals in regards to the alliance of one hundred and ten houses this I swear on my name, my family's name and my honor!”
The battlefield which had been beyond chaotic suddenly went quite as her declaration reverberated throughout the void. A blood feud between two of the Pillar houses of the Alliance had never happened before. A blood feud between mortals meant the families would always be at odds with each other, but a blood feud between primordials would result in a total war that would result in thousands of planets being destroyed and would continue until one was annihilated beyond any hope of ever recovering even a fragment of their soul. Death's soldiers were the first to recover from the declaration and each of them slammed the butts of their weapons against their armor as they began chanting in support of the young Princess.
“We are the soldiers of Death, and we declare this feud to be true to the laws of our house. We have been trampled down and our leader killed. In accordance with the laws of retribution We will torch the earth, burn the cities and erase the planets of our foes until the blood lost to us today has long since been repaid!”
Then to the beleaguered soldiers of Death came relief in the form of thousands of portals appearing all around the battlefield. From them came millions of warships, trillions of warriors, an uncountable number of mortal soldier transport ships and several dozen primordial level Deities. All around the soldiers and warships brought by the seventy seven and Life began falling back from their battle lines to form up in a massive circle around their own primordials. Emblazoned On the sides of the newly arrived warships and the pauldrons of the soldiers were coats of arms never before seen by any outside of The House of Death. While they also carried the House of Death's sigil on their bows the coats were new even to the other Primordials. The primordials who had fought Death were already exhausted and they knew they stood no chance against a fleet led by Death's 17 stars so they made the only choice they could and ran. Abandoning their soldiers they warped away to safety.
The massacre that followed in the seconds after become known throughout the Dimensions as The Eve Of Bloody Waves and is regarded as the most body intensive massacre in the Alliances entire history, casualties among the Alliance are rare as destroying a beings soul is extremely difficult and normally it would take whole armies only days to regenerate their corporeal forms after they were destroyed, but the House of Death was privy to techniques and weapons created and blessed by Death himself. No prisoners were taken that day and no quarter given as the House raged over the loss of their Primordial. The result was for the first time in eight hundred and fifty three divine years a dimension was destroyed outside of a War against the Elderazi and by non primordials.
But somehow amidst all the carnage and blood, A single body remained pristine and untouched its eyes closed and clad in armor that could only belong to a single being it was found by a royal guardsmen sent by The House of Death to find any traces, any possibilities of Their master having survived and upon being brought back the house confirmed the body belonged to Death but no soul could be found in any crevice of it. The body was placed in a sarcophagus layered with runes and guarded by a battalion of royal guards and at least two of the seventeen stars at all times. Whether their master's soul still existed in this realm was unknown but they had placed their trust and loyalty in him long ago and they would continue to serve in his name until he returned to lead them again.