The rustling chains sank into the swirling portals, vanishing eagerly to fulfill Scott’s will. Around him, the calamities observed the shifting battlefield with wary calm. Their focus remained on Scott, who stood atop the writhing expanse of darkness, his form framed by the void.
“He wields authority,” the Calamity of Destruction intoned, its molten gaze fixed on Scott. Around it, the levitating spears erupted in flames, their fiery hum growing into a vibrating crescendo as they spun faster.
“Does anyone recognize his authority?” the water sprite asked, her once playful tone now icy and sharp.
“Didn’t he declare it himself?” the Harbinger of Rot rasped. “It’s madness,” it hissed. “The authority of madness.”
At those words, the Calamity of Destruction and the Calamity of Disobedience stiffened, their forms bristling with palpable tension. Only the Calamity of Pleasure, colossal and impassive, remained unmoved.
"I suspend all laws within my domain!"
Orion’s voice boomed out of the surrounding void, his form obscured in the roiling darkness. The whispers of the void followed his declaration, weaving an oppressive melody of arcane delirium. The sound festered and multiplied, invasive and unrelenting, as it pressed against the wills of all present.
The calamities stirred uneasily, their composure wavering slightly. Even the Calamity of Pleasure, devoid of visible ears, shifted as though it too was affected by the whispers. Their murderous intent now honed fully on Scott. No matter what, the Scion of Madness had to be annihilated, and the beacon reclaimed.
The Calamity of Destruction moved first. Raising a hand, it stilled its whirling spears, then pointed a single finger at Scott. The spears let out guttural bangs as they launched, streaking through the air in a coordinated assault, their fiery trails converging from all directions.
Above them, the all-seeing eye blinked. The air around the battlefield trembled. Reality fractured.
The spears vanished in an instant.
The calamities froze. Disbelief etched itself into their forms as they scanned the area, their gazes darting to the heavens and back to Scott.
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At that same moment, the whispers grew louder.
The blackened ground bubbled violently, swelling with arcane energy. Then, tens of thousands of Orion’s clones burst forth from the nihilistic expanse, each shimmering with iridescent magic circles. They surged forward with maddening laughter, their eyes alight with gleaming insanity bordering on ecstasy.
The Harbinger of Rot reacted first. Swinging its colossal fists, it obliterated swathes of clones with bone-crushing force. The unfortunate masses rotted mid-flight, their forms dissolving into putrid sludge that sank back into the darkness below. Yet those who survived pressed onward, their suicidal charge relentless as they unleashed volleys of chaotic spells.
The Calamity of Destruction’s flaming spears rained down like fiery meteors, each impact scattering the clones like glass.
The water sprite’s lilac-glinting eyes narrowed. Raising her hands, she called forth a sickening shift in the atmosphere. The air itself seemed to condense, turning viscous. The advancing clones twisted mid-air, their bodies warping grotesquely as water poured out of them against their will. Their agonized forms collapsed, their stolen water pooling into a massive, amorphous lake. Slowly, the pool began to take shape.
Wave after wave of clones emerged from the darkness, each escalating in form and armament. The second wave bore crimson crystals embedded in their foreheads, glowing faintly as they summoned crystalline barriers for protection. Yet the Harbinger of Rot’s fists and the Calamity of Destruction’s spears smashed through them effortlessly, reducing the barriers—and the clones—to fragments.
The third wave rose, more numerous and deadlier than before. These clones bore gatling guns alongside their magic circles, unleashing torrents of bullets that echoed across the battlefield.
The Calamity of Pleasure stirred. Its immense body swelled grotesquely, expanding until it dwarfed even the Harbinger. Standing as a living shield, it absorbed the onslaught, its body trembling under the barrage. Soft moans filled the air, the creature spasming in unsettling ecstasy with each impact.
Meanwhile, the water sprite’s growing lake rippled as it solidified into a gargantuan form—a four-headed axolotl-like creature. Its beady, glimmering eyes roved over the battlefield, unbothered by the stray bullets and spells lodging into its gelatinous body. The heads nodded in eerie unison, then opened their mouths.
No sound escaped.
No blast erupted.
Nearby clones imploded into streams of crimson liquid; their essence torn from within. Even bullets and crystals, no matter how minuscule their liquid content, were not spared. The fluids surged toward the creature’s gaping mouths, feeding its swelling mass.
The surviving clones cackled maniacally, continuing their frenzied assault, but like those before them, they too withered as their fluids were siphoned. Their laughter was cut short, leaving only piles of dry dust in their wake.
“I need more,” a voice crooned, raw with yearning. “This isn’t nearly enough. Give me more!”
The Calamity of Pleasure squirmed, its grotesque form trembling with desire. Without hesitation, it lumbered forward, its hulking, headless body of pure muscle stepping into the inky darkness of Scott's domain. The black tendrils of the nihilistic zone coiled around its feet, eager to pull it under. Yet no matter how they tugged, the calamity sank at its own maddening pace, moans of bliss echoing from its form.
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The other calamities turned their attention to Scott, who remained motionless atop the sprawling void. The flaming spears encircling the Calamity of Destruction shifted, their deadly tips aligning with the Scion of Madness. With a silent gesture, the calamity unleashed them.
The spears descended with unrelenting fury, but the all-seeing eye blinked once more. As they neared Scott, the spears vanished, dissolving as if erased from existence.
The calamities froze, their features hardening in disbelief. The Calamity of Destruction clenched its fists, its fiery aura flaring wildly. There was no conceivable explanation for its weapons disappearing.
A sharp crack echoed through the heavens, shattering the air like glass. All heads turned upward.
Above them, countless burning worlds flickered into view, their celestial light illuminating colossal tentacles swirling within a thick mist.
The Administrator will not permit a link between dimensions!
The system notification reverberated, halting time itself. The cracks began to mend, their edges shimmering with desperate intensity. The tentacles thrashed violently, surging toward the closing rift. Several burning stars detonated in the struggle, their explosions lighting the tentacles' race against the rapidly sealing breach.
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Before the calamities could comprehend the sight, the cracks vanished, taking the mist and the tentacles with them. Time resumed. A deafening bang rolled across the Endless Bridge, shaking the very ground beneath their feet.
The calamities stared at the sky in stunned silence before their gazes returned to Scott. The Calamity of Destruction began to speak, but its words were cut off as two dozen flaming spears, now cloaked in blackened fire, raced toward the group with deadly precision.
The Calamity of Destruction’s fiery eyes widened. The spears, though corrupted, were unmistakable—they were the same ones that had vanished earlier.
In a flurry of motion, all but the Calamity of Pleasure evaded the incoming attack, their forms moving with desperate agility. The spears struck nothing, disappearing into the void as soon as they missed.
“You dare use my own fangs against me?!” the Calamity of Destruction roared, its rage transforming its molten features into a monstrous visage.
The flames engulfing its form flared with newfound intensity, shifting from orange to blue. Its size doubled as the air around it twisted and warped. The spears orbiting it morphed, growing larger and more jagged, their shapes reminiscent of predatory beasts. Flaming spirits emerged from their surfaces, howling in unison with the calamity's fury.
“Do you know the nature of madness?” Scott’s voice cut through the chaos, calm yet dripping with menace.
“I do not care!” the Calamity of Destruction bellowed, its form now a towering, horned devil with a serpentine tail lashing behind it. “To hell with you and these maddening whispers!”
The spears, now savage and monstrous, descended like meteors, their fiery forms tearing through the air as they homed in on Scott.
“Madness doesn’t differentiate between reality and fantasy,” Scott intoned, his voice steady. “It is ever-present.”
The fangs rained down, a cataclysmic storm that obliterated Scott’s form, reducing it to shreds.
“Should what you see be declared reality?”
Scott’s voice echoed once more, unnervingly composed.
The calamities turned in shock. Floating above the battlefield, Scott stood unscathed, his ominous gaze piercing through the chaos. Instinctively, they looked back to where he had stood before. There, the shattered remains of the massive fangs were sinking into the nihilistic zone, swallowed whole by the consuming void.
Apart from the Calamity of Pleasure, who reveled in the ecstasy of disintegration as it sank into the nihilistic zone, the other calamities focused their attention on Scott. They watched the thin trail of blackened blood streaking down his face, their gazes narrowing at the rustling chains encircling him like serpents come alive.
The whispers of the void grew louder, insistent, impossible to ignore. Though the calamities’ minds remained unclouded by the arcane words, unease crept in. Orion, the summoner of the whispers, remained hidden, his clones nowhere to be seen since their annihilation.
“Should illusions be declared nonexistent?” Scott’s voice rang out once more, cold and enigmatic.
The all-seeing eye above blinked for a third time.
The calamities had no time to contemplate his words as the world abruptly flipped. The once-floating calamities found themselves plummeting toward the blackened abyss of the nihilistic zone, gravity's grip reversed. The Harbinger of Rot hurtled toward the sky, while the enormous form of the Calamity of Pleasure erupted from the void, falling skyward as well.
At the reversal, three of the four heads of the liquid-devouring creature exploded, releasing torrents of water. The liquid surged to the aid of the calamities, forming tendrils that arrested their descent toward the abyss.
“Should what your senses perceive be thought of as real?” Scott's voice resonated, calm yet haunting.
The world shifted once more. Order restored itself, resetting the battlefield. Scott stood again in his original position, the calamities suspended midair, now supported by the liquid coating their forms.
The Harbinger of Rot crashed back to the ground with a massive thud, fissures spreading from the impact. The Calamity of Pleasure, however, landed atop the nihilistic zone, its moans echoing in delight. This time, massive hands emerged from the void’s depths, their fingers curling around the calamity’s squirming form. In a single motion, it was dragged into the abyss.
“Enough with these stupid voices!” the water sprite snarled, shaking her head violently. Her form trembled with annoyance as water rushed to shield her ears. Yet the whispers grew louder, festering and gnawing at her resolve.
The Harbinger of Rot slammed its fists together, releasing a corrosive fog that billowed toward Scott. Its massive arms dug into the earth, uprooting colossal boulders that it hurled with ferocious strength.
The Calamity of Destruction, silent and calculating, summoned a fresh wave of massive fangs. Each was as large as a warship, and they launched alongside the creeping fog and the incoming boulders.
The all-seeing eye blinked for a fourth time. Instantly, the projectiles vanished, erased from existence.
“I said enough!” The Calamity of Disobedience roared, her voice splitting the air. The single remaining head of the axolotl-like form lunged forward. With a snap of its jaws, it devoured the water sprite whole.
The creature’s form contorted, twisting and expanding as it merged with the calamity. Moments later, it transformed into a massive, multi-horned water serpent, its roar shaking the heavens. It unleashed a barrage of cyan blasts, each one brimming with annihilating force.
The all-seeing eye blinked again. The blasts disappeared as before, but this time, Scott staggered. Blackened blood poured freely from his eyes, staining his cheeks. Above, the colossal eye began to fade, its radiant power dimming.
“I don’t know what’s going on, but that ability of his is weakening,” the Calamity of Destruction muttered. Though it could not perceive the all-seeing eye, it noted the diminishing speed of its erasures and the toll it exacted on Scott. “Keep attacking! This is our chance to end this!”
The others needed no encouragement. Attack after attack rained down on Scott, an unrelenting onslaught of destruction. The all-seeing eye blinked repeatedly, struggling to erase each incoming strike. But its speed waned, faltering with each effort.
Scott’s blackened blood now flowed freely, staining his face, and his once-steady gaze faltered as his eyelids drooped.
“He’s nearing his limit!” the Calamity of Destruction roared. “A little more, and he’ll fall!”
“Enough with acting like you’re in charge!” the water serpent snapped, its serpentine form coiling. “We can see that ourselves!”
“That’s enough from both of you!” the Harbinger of Rot barked, slamming a massive fist into the ground. “Retrieving the beacon is our primary—”
The sound of chains rustling violently cut the Harbinger off mid-sentence. All three calamities froze, their attention drawn to the noise. From one of the many portals long swallowed by the nihilistic zone, a chain had gone taut, straining as it began to reel something in. Whatever it had captured resisted fiercely, each pull a struggle.
Suddenly, the chain jerked forward with immense force. Scott, tethered to the chains, staggered, surprise flickering across his bloodied face. His body, already weakened, trembled under the unexpected tension.
The calamities, momentarily still, kept their gazes fixed on the chain. Though they couldn’t sense anything through it, their instincts screamed in unison—something was coming. And it was coming fast.
A resonant chime pierced the silence, cold and foreboding. The next moment, a massive head emerged from the nihilistic zone, dragging with it an air of malevolence.
The head was an abomination, alien in its design. Its shape was humanoid yet grotesquely distorted, stretched into an oblong form with irregular contours that seemed to ripple unnaturally. Two enormous, glassy eyes reflected a dull light, giving them an unsettlingly lifelike gleam. Where a nose should have been, there was nothing but smooth flesh. Its mouth was a wide, lipless maw filled with jagged, dirt-brown teeth, each razor-sharp and irregular, the chains of the abyss clinging to them like parasites.
The creature's eyes darted back and forth, studying both Scott and the calamities with an eerie, calculated stillness. Its gaze was predatory, but its movements hinted at intelligence, a cruel and ancient awareness.
The whispers of the void thundered, rising to an unbearable crescendo as the creature’s presence grew more oppressive. Slowly, it tilted its head upward, its gaze locking onto the all-seeing eye above.
The effect was instantaneous.
Scott’s eyes exploded in a burst of gore, blood and viscera splattering across his face as he unleashed a maddened laughter. His chains quivered violently before slackening as his body collapsed, sinking into the nihilistic zone’s void-like depths. The all-seeing eye flickered and vanished into nothingness, leaving the sky empty and cold.
The calamities tensed as the creature shifted its gaze toward them. Its massive maw twitched, curling into a sadistic grin that sent shivers down their spines.
Its voice echoed, guttural and mocking, as it finally spoke. “What world is this?”