Sos’ul’nuruo landed upon the base of a nearby hill, watching as Raúl effortlessly outfought both Rancour and David in close quarters. His Sanctuary technique had been nullified by a blast from David’s Dominion, allowing both David and Rancour to damage Raúl. Despite this, neither could land a singular hit, as Raúl’s martial arts proficiency, mixed with his technique usage forced Rancour onto the defence and David onto the offense, when neither were suited to the roles Raúl was forcing them to play.

Sos’ul’nuruo studied the faces of both Rancour and Raúl, learning every detail of them before attacking them. Preparing to jump down in support of David, he froze.

In that instant, true fear gripped Sos'ul'nuruo, the imagery of one who could destroy him in a heartbeat flashed before him.

What... What are you?! Sos'ul'nuruo thought, falling to his knees from the sheer power exuded by Raúl.

I am kilometers away from him. How is he... This powerful? Why does he... Look like an Angel? His Spectral Aura, it reflects true fear. Sos'ul'nuruo thought to himself, as his breaths become shorter, his choking becoming apparent as he struggled to look in the direction of Raúl, as the latter continued besting the greatest powers in history, barely going all out.

Raúl had become true fear to those who would be evil. An Angel, striking fear into the very heart of malice itself. His beauty and his severity, creating the perfect protector. The Angel of Hope and Fear had been born.

Breaking past Rancour’s defences, he slammed a roundhouse kick across his jaw, running onto his chest and flipping backwards and into the air, landing behind David, as the latter barely reacted to him, turning into an Interior amplified punch to his stomach, instantly incapacitating him, as the rain washed his blood into the soil. Rancour threw David to the side, preparing to re-open his Dominion, as he and Raúl drew their hand signs.

“Spectral Dominion”

“Sanctum of the Vengeful”

“Axis of the Beyond”

Mirroring their first fight, both Dominion’s formed around one another, the orange background of the almost serene environment of Raúl’s Dominion melding with the malignant red hues that Rancour’s Dominion projected. Raúl instantly teleported to Rancour, slamming his foot into his abdomen, watching as his face writhed in pain. Sparing no time, he palmed his face, throwing him into his Sanctum with an immense crash, blood seeping out of a wound into his head.

“You know I expected more of a challenge from The Perfect Monster. You disappoint me ‘brother.’” Raúl stated, as Rancour stumbled to his feet, sheathing his blade.

“You underestimate me, Raúl.” Rancour stated, as Axis of the Beyond shattered, revealing Irgoth, who now stood at a length exceeding that of the mountains of Earth.

Instantaneously, uncountable numbers of slashes began pelting Raúl’s skin. His beings very tether to existence being corrupted and torn apart by the sheer intensity of Rancour’s presence. He raised a Pure Dominion, nullifying the slashes and preparing to attack Rancour, before the beast slammed its fist down at him, shattering Pure Dominion and nearly piercing Sanctuary.

“Quite magnificent, isn’t it? As a last act of my tether to Chaos, I thought I’d infuse a portion of my True Essence and Chaos into Irgoth. He’s now able to keep up with us. He’s my most marvellous creation.” Rancour gloated, as Raúl stared at him with a blank expression, holding Irgoth at bay with a finger.

“You think this thing scares me, Rancour? I’ll show you true fear.” Raúl vowed, his smile instantly disappearing.

Lifting a second finger, Raúl expelled an Exterior with an incredible force, creating a shockwave that tore off Irgoth’s arm, blasting him into the vastness of space. He turned toward Rancour, his eyes displaying only hatred and the lust to gain victory.

To Rancour’s horror, Raúl walked through Sanctum of the Vengeful, unperturbed by the constant slashes, projectiles and corruptive essence of his Dominion. Raúl teleported to Rancour, trading strikes, as he swept the latter from his legs, feeling invigoration flow through his body, he teleported behind Rancour, and before he could react, Raúl’s kick had connected.

“Ardour’s Spark!” Raúl yelled, as Rancour slammed into the ground below, unconscious, despite not going all out, Rancour was entirely decimated by Raúl, as the final challenger of the strongest being in existence attempted to sneak up upon Raúl.

“Are you going to attack me, Sos’ul’nuruo?” Raúl asked coldly, as the latter stopped, frozen in fear.

Sos’ul’nuruo teleported to David, stealing his sword. Bravery rushed into him, as his composure returned, his breaths becoming static and adjusted. Sos’ul’nuruo entered a fighting stance, wielding the double-edged sword with proficiency and elegance.

“Have you peered into my mind yet? What are your thoughts, because your mind is similarly complex. I can see at face value we’re similarly intelligent, although you are most definitely a higher calibre of genius than I, but I know that isn’t what you care about. So I’ll tell you exactly what you want to know. You didn’t pluck the information directly from my mind because you wanted to hear it from me. My philosophy, hm? I never considered what I was doing too deeply, to be quite honest. I know what I am doing is righteous, and I enjoy fighting for what is right, I also know I’m the only one who could hold people like Rancour and David at bay, for now, at least. I suppose what I am trying to say is, I enjoy fighting, I enjoy doing what is right, and who else could do what I do right now? No one.” Raúl explained.

“I see. What does righteousness look like to you, why are you fighting for the weak, rather than yourself?” Sos’ul’nuruo posited, as the rain seeped into his hair, causing him to adjust it, as his purple eyes met those of Raúl.

“Righteousness is choosing to do what benefits others. To do what is better for everyone, rather than being selfish and allowing others to suffer for your decisions, that is what righteousness is to me, and I would die upholding that view. Why do you hold the view you hold, why must you find perfection, what difference will perfection make?” Raúl replied, as Sos’ul’nuruo stopped.

Sos’ulnuruo’s gaze flickered, taking in the information in front of him, he had never been challenged for his way of thinking, never truly reflected on the essence of why he needed to be perfect, why he needed to attain perfection.

“I see. Perfection matters to me, because I have never grasped the meaning of my life, it is so empty. I connect, I watch those I love die, I become more empty. The cycle started with my parents, and will continue with Adonis, and the next generation and the next. What is the point in living then, King Raúl? What is my life worth if I will outlive everyone who has meaning to me?” Sos’ul’nuruo asked, tears forming in his eyes.

“I honestly don’t know. I haven’t been burdened with immortality for long, I am only sixty years old, and yet I look thirty-three, so the effects of immortality have already seeped into my skin. The point of my life however, for as long as I live, will be to uphold righteousness, that is the purpose for which I live. What I’m trying to say is, find something to live for, your nihilistic view will never reach perfection because we aren’t capable of it. You think those two could grasp perfection? They couldn’t even beat me, despite having power superior to mine by three times. If they were perfect, I’d be dead, but I still stand before you. Your nihilism will only lead to your downfall, appreciate the gift of your life now, appreciate the connection you have. Have you never thought of finding someone like you? Adonis is not capable of immortality now, yes, but why not focus your efforts upon him? He is like a son to you, I can see, so why not use your abilities to grasp what immortality is, and grant it to him?” Raúl questioned.

Did you know this story is from Royal Road? Read the official version for free and support the author.

Sos’ul’nuruo’s eyes continued to flicker, not knowing what to make of his philosophy being challenged.

With a vacant expression, Sos’ul’nuruo looked at Raúl, raising David’s blade.

“I hope you come to your senses eventually.” Raúl remarked, charging toward Sos’ul’nuruo.

Sos’ul’nuruo swung the blade down at Raúl, grazing his shoulder. Interweaving his bladework with his martial arts skills, he kicked Raúl, as he stonewalled the attack, to his horror.

“The only reason you can fight me is because of that blade. It contains power similar to David’s, it's an artefact of the great war in the first age. I learned its story when he cut me with it. You’d ought to bond with it, because it’s using you, not the other way around.” Raúl explained, disarming Sos’ul’nuruo and knocking him out.

As Raúl prepared to turn around, he was stabbed from the abdomen. Looking down, Raúl saw David's blade protruding from his stomach. The blade retracted, causing Raúl to attempt to catch his breath, nut he couldn't, his breaths came fast and hard, unable to slow down.

“So you can create illusions?” Raúl asked.

“Yes, not even someone with an intellect on my level could perceive they were in it, even if they knew it was active. Absolute Deception confuses the Body, Soul and Essence, placing anyone it targets in a complete psycho-physiological prison, not even you, Raúl, with the ability to resist mind alteration can resist it.” Sos’ul’nuruo explicated.

“I’m impressed, but a few tricks won’t save you.” Raúl responded, as the wound closed.

“Don’t be so sure of yourself, king. I have far more than a few tricks, remember, I’m thousands of years older than you. I’ll show you my ultimate power, because I know there’s no other way to best you.” Sos’ul’nuruo commented, opening his own personal dimension, The Eternal Reflection.

The Eternal Reflection manifested. A geometric, hyper-advanced realm resembling an infinite grid of luminous lines and shifting, crystalline panels appeared before Raúl. The space was rather oppressive yet eerily beautiful, embodying a kaleidoscope of light and razor-sharp edges that felt alive.

“Originally, this realm refused to submit to me, so to gain its power, to reflect my inner world, I beat it in a direct fight and outsmarted it. The realm decided to become one with me, fusing its Essence into mine, which is the source of my immortality.” Sos’ul’nuruo explained.

“You were a mortal once? I see. You were like me in a sense, a man with a hunger for power. However, you were selfish, you wanted power for yourself, which caused you to go down an avenue of total disregard for what matter in the moment, or more accurately, what truly mattered, which was the people you loved.” Raúl commented.

“Yes. I was not originally this way, I was a talent, The Great Prodigy and David’s most favoured pupil, but I was still a mortal. My intellect, as you may have experienced, caused arrogance, pride and ego to fester inside of me. They lead me down this path, blotting out my mortal life and for the past three thousand years I have known nothing but anguish, leading my way up the ladder of David’s empire. Over these three thousand years, I have placed small, nearly inconsequential seeds amongst the population of the Grand Overseers, and I have been slowly weaving my way into David’s inner circle, to kill him." Sos'ul'nuruo explained, as he and Raúl squared off once more.

Raúl casted Pure Dominion, disallowing the blades of the dimension from making contact with him. Raúl instantly blitzed Sos'ul'nuruo, shattering his right leg with a kick and dislocating his shoulder with a punch.

Sos'ul'nuruo flew backwards, sliding on the ground and healing his wounds before stopping.

"Do you know what the greatest technique within The Eternal Reflection is? It is called Zero Divide. It is an Omnidirectional slash that erases everything within its radius, most specifically, techniques. The Eternal Reflection has been monitoring you Raúl, you've opened seven Dominion's today whilst fighting those two, but you've reached your limit, you cannot expand another Dominion, in this case, Zero Divide will leave you techniqueless because not even your Sanctuary will be enough to stop it!" Sos'ul'nuruo yelled, preparing the technique.

"Zero Divid-" Sos'ul'nuruo attempted, as Raúl raised an amplified Interior and Exterior into the air, forcing Sos'ul'nuruo to close the realm.

He couldn't call my bluff. What an amateur. Raúl thought to himself, attempting to strike at Sos'ul'nuruo as the latter cast a Dominion hand sign.

"Spectral Dominion: The Perfect Paradigm." Sos'ul'nuruo chanted, opening his Dominion.

The Perfect Paradigm formed around the two, as an ethereal, infinite library-like realm, with towering shelves filled with glowing books, scrolls, and artefacts containing the "truths" of existence manifested. Every object within the Dominion was a piece knowledge Sos'ul'nuruo has acquired to reshape reality.

"How do you like my Dominion, Raúl? This is my truest form. Knowledge and Truth, or, more accurately, the truth as I see it. The Dominion gives me perfect knowledge of what you'll do, so there is no escape at this point." Sos'ul'nuruo commented.

"Do you think knowledge of what I'll do will save you from it?" Raúl asked.

"It will serve. Why don't you find out?" Sos'ul'nuruo cockily added.

Raúl teleported toward Sos’ul’nuruo, striking at his head, to which he blocked, lightly slashing his leg as he flipped away.

"I might add, everything I deem to come to pass will come to pass, I am the controller of my story, and my Dominion is the key." Sos'ul'nuruo explained.

"You seem to have forgotten, my very existence as a member of The Next World makes me able to be free of the bindings of this world. Your story is no different. I am only myself, and you Sos'ul'nuruo are inferior to me." Raúl replied.

Raúl enhanced his Spectral Aura, shattering the Dominion immediately. Sos'ul'nuruo immediately fled to David, using a device stored in his pocket, two pillars of an energy similar to David's holy blasts lifted them away, beginning to send them to the moon.

"He cannot hear me as of now, as you have quite clearly sought to, so none of what I say matters, but let me make it clear, you will play your part in this coming war, and you will play it well. I will expect you to find a way to Immora, the homeworld of The Grand Overseers. Goodbye, King Raúl, I have benefitted greatly from this discussion and fight, I hope we may finish it before this war truly begins.” Sos’ul’nuruo remarked.

Raúl watched as Sos’ul’nuruo and David were encapsulated in pillars of light resembling David’s own energy. They quickly made it to the moon, evacuating the entire force of Grand Overseers.

Momo ran up to Raúl, panting as his wounds slowly filled, the rain stinging them with each passing second.

“What are they doing?” Momo asked.

“Sos’ul’nuruo underestimated our forces and pulled his from our timeline. He has a greater plan to fulfill his own goals, it seems. I am wary of how we will be a part of his plan; we must tread lightly from here.” Raúl concluded.

The instant Raúl’s words left his mouth, Rancour returned to his feet, prompting Momo to stand behind Raúl, knowing that at any moment, he could kill him.

"I suppose that's my queue to leave the timeline too, right, Raúl? My plan shlouldn't fall behind if theirs won't." Rancour noted, bringing his allies to him.

A portal opened before Rancour, as he and his allies entered it, leaving the timeline, and The Kingdom of England in their lonesome. Freedom from the constant state of war had been achieved, but this was only the beginning, The Second Great War of Existence was still to come.