[Final floor]
As Ethan's eyes fluttered open, a chilling sensation washed over him, seeping into his very core.
The once grand temple now lay in ruins around him, a haunting echo of its former glory.
The walls bore deep cracks, their surfaces marred by grotesque stains of dried blood.
The statues lay shattered and twisted upon the cold stone floor, their fragments scattered like forgotten relics of a lost age.
A shiver ran down Ethan's spine as he surveyed the desolate scene before him.
The air hung heavy with an oppressive stillness, broken only by the faint whisper of his own breath echoing off the dilapidated walls.
The altar served as a macabre centerpiece, its surface obscured by a grisly carpet of bones and skulls, a silent testament to the horrors that had unfolded within these hallowed halls.
Alone in this nightmarish landscape, Ethan felt a wave of isolation wash over him, a suffocating sense of despair gripping his heart.
The absence of his enemies, the demon guild members only served to heighten his unease, leaving him stranded in this hellish realm with no escape in sight.
With each passing moment, the weight of the temple's desolation bore down upon him, threatening to consume him whole in its relentless grip of darkness.
He heard a cold voice behind him. "Don't be afraid, Ethan. Right now, you're inside your inner consciousness."
Ethan's heart pounded in his chest as he whirled around, his breath catching in his throat at the sight before him.
Upon the desecrated altar stood a figure that mirrored his own likeness, yet radiated an aura of malevolence and otherworldly power.
Crimson hair, ablaze like tendrils of fire, cascaded down his shoulders, framing a face that bore a twisted resemblance to Ethan's own.
But it was the blood-red eyes that pierced through the darkness, gleaming with a chilling intensity that sent shivers down Ethan's spine.
A surge of primal fear gripped Ethan's soul as he beheld this sinister doppelgänger, his hand instinctively reaching for the hilt of his sword.
Every fiber of his being screamed with alarm, warning him of the imminent danger that lurked within this surreal manifestation of his inner consciousness.
"Who... who are you?" Ethan's voice quivered with uncertainty, his gaze locked onto the ominous figure before him, searching for any semblance of familiarity amidst the palpable aura of malevolence that surrounded him.
"Who am I?" The man's smile twisted into a macabre smirk, a sinister glint dancing in his blood-red eyes as his voice reverberated through the temple with a haunting resonance.
"I am the Monarch of War and Blood, the Beast of Apocalypse, the heavenly demon," he proclaimed, his words dripping with the weight of untold centuries of carnage and chaos. "I am the embodiment of Wrath, the indomitable Asura. And above all, I am you."
Ethan's fists clenched at his sides, his anger boiling beneath the surface as he faced this malevolent reflection of himself.
The air crackled with tension, a palpable aura of defiance radiating from his very being as he confronted the embodiment of his darkest impulses.
"Why have you brought me here?" Ethan's voice trembled with a potent mixture of rage and frustration, his words echoing through the desolate temple with a raw intensity that matched the turmoil roiling within his soul.
"Well, I can't let you die here. After all, I have a task to complete," Asura's voice cut through the tense air like a cold blade, his tone calm yet laced with icy determination.
"What do you want then?" Ethan asked, his eyes darting around the temple, looking for a way out.
"I want you to hand over the control of your body to me," Asura's demand hung heavy in the air, suffocating Ethan with its weight.
"Never. I will never let you take over me," Ethan's voice resonated with defiance, his words echoing through the ancient temple walls like a battle cry.
Asura's gaze softened, his demeanor shifting from authoritative to coaxing. "Don't worry. I am not asking you to give me control for the rest of your life," he spoke with a smooth, persuasive tone, his words dripping with seduction. "I just want one hour. Think about it. It is beneficial to you as well."
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Ethan's heart hammered in his chest as he weighed Asura's proposition.
"And why is it beneficial to me?" Ethan's voice wavered with skepticism, his curiosity battling against the primal instinct to flee. "What can you possibly offer me that I would want?"
The air crackled with tension as Ethan awaited Asura's response, the weight of his decision bearing down on him like a heavy yoke.
"The people who came with you. Your friends, your allies, your comrades," Asura's words hung heavy in the air, laden with the weight of imminent danger. "You already know the demon guild and the blood hound are overwhelming in numbers right now. You must have already guessed that your team members are in danger."
Ethan's chest tightened as the gravity of the situation sunk in, his mind racing with images of his companions facing untold peril.
"You think you can save them by yourself. But let me tell you won't be able," Asura's voice cut through Ethan's inner turmoil like a knife, exposing the harsh reality of their predicament.
"But I can rescue them. If you allow me, I will use your body, then I promise no harm will come to them."
Asura's impassioned plea resonated within Ethan's soul, stirring a tempest of conflicting emotions.
"How can I believe you?" Ethan's voice trembled with uncertainty, his gaze locked with Asura's intense stare.
"You can trust me," Asura's words rang with sincerity, his voice unwavering in its conviction. "I never break my promises."
A sense of desperation mingled with a glimmer of faith sparked within Ethan's heart, his decision teetering on the precipice of uncertainty.
-------
Ethan's crimson eyes flickered open once more, but it was not Ethan who beheld the world anew.
Instead, it was Asura, the ancient deity who now wielded Ethan's body as his vessel.
A surge of power surged through him, electrifying his senses as he surveyed his surroundings with a newfound sense of authority.
Before him stood the members of the demon guild, their expressions a mixture of awe and fear as they gazed upon their newly awakened deity.
"God, you are finally awake. We have been waiting for you," Megus's voice quivered with reverence as he bowed his head, kneeling before Asura in humble submission.
Asura's lips curved into a predatory smile, his features contorted by the foreign presence that now inhabited Ethan's form.
"You? What's your name?" Asura's voice, laced with Ethan's memories but driven by his own ancient will, echoed through the temple halls, a harbinger of change and upheaval.
"God. This lowly one's name is Megus," Megus's voice quivered with excitement, his words tinged with reverence.
He had long awaited this moment, harboring hopes of gaining Asura's favor and securing his coveted reward.
Asura's gaze, now Ethan's eyes filled with the ancient deity's disdain and boredom, bore into Megus with a cold cruelty that sent shivers down the servant's spine.
The weight of Asura's presence loomed over him like a specter of doom.
"So, Megus, do you know what thing I hate the second most?" Asura's voice sliced through the air like a blade, each word dripping with venomous contempt.
"N... no, God. What is it?" Megus's voice wavered with nervous anticipation, his curiosity mingling with a palpable sense of dread.
"It's Gods, you fool," Asura's voice dripped with mocking scorn, each syllable laced with disdain as he delivered his cruel reprimand.
With a swift, fluid motion, Asura conjured a blade of blood in his hand, its crimson hue gleaming ominously in the dim light of the temple.
In one merciless stroke, he cleaved through Megus's neck, severing his head from his trembling body.
A fountain of blood erupted from the gaping wound, staining the ancient stone floor in a grotesque tableau of violence.
As Megus's lifeless form crumpled to the ground, a chorus of horrified gasps filled the air, echoing through the chamber like a dirge of despair.
Hugo, his features contorted in shock and terror, stumbled backward at the sight of his comrade's brutal demise.
"We are sorry, my lord. We didn't know you hated gods. Please forgive us," Hugo's words trembled with fear as he pleaded for Asura's mercy, his eyes wide with horror as he beheld the grisly aftermath of Asura's sudden and merciless act.
"Who said I killed him because he called me a God?" Asura's voice cut through the tense silence like a blade, his tone betraying no hint of remorse or explanation.
"Then, why did you kill him?" Rick's voice reverberated with anger and defiance, his gaze locked with Asura's, daring him to justify his brutal actions.
"I killed him because the thing I hate the most are humans," Asura's words hung in the air like a dark omen, each syllable dripping with venomous rage and disdain.
Asura rose from the altar with a sinister smile etched upon his lips, though it bore no warmth or friendliness.
It was a smile of malice, a harbinger of impending doom.
"And you are all humans. Humans who have betrayed your own kind," Asura's voice reverberated through the chamber, each word dripping with venomous contempt.
His gaze swept over the demon guild members with a cold disdain, his hatred for their humanity palpable in the air.
"I despise them more than anything in this world. And I will end your life," Asura's words thundered through the temple, his voice rising with a crescendo of hatred and rage that sent shivers down the spines of all who heard it.
"Everyone run," Hugo's command cut through the chaos with desperate urgency, his voice tinged with panic as he realized the true nature of the being they had once revered as their savior.
Asura was not their ally, nor their savior, nor their god.
He was their enemy, their destroyer, their nightmare made flesh.
A wave of terror swept through the demon guild members as they scrambled to escape the wrath of the deity they had unwittingly unleashed, their minds reeling with the horrifying realization that they had invited their own doom into their midst.
"It's no use; you all are already trapped," Asura's voice cut through the chaos with chilling finality, his tone cold and triumphant.
A collective shiver ran down the spines of the demon guild members as they surveyed their surroundings, dread tightening its grip upon their hearts.
Their eyes widened in horror as they beheld the ominous crimson circle glowing upon the ground, its sinister aura enveloping them like a suffocating shroud.
Realization dawned upon them like a bolt of lightning as they understood the dire predicament they were in.
They were already ensnared within Asura's blood domain, a nightmarish realm where the ancient deity wielded absolute control over the very essence of their being.
"Blood impact," Asura's command was delivered with chilling calmness, his voice dripping with cruel indifference.
With horrifying precision, multiple spears crafted from blood erupted from the circle, hurtling towards the demon guild members with deadly intent.
Screams of agony and despair pierced the air as the crimson projectiles tore through flesh and bone, leaving a trail of carnage and devastation in their wake.
Limbs were rent asunder, bodies impaled upon the merciless spikes of blood, while crimson rivers flowed freely, painting the once pristine temple with the macabre hues of death and despair.
The anguished cries of the fallen mingled with the sickening sound of tearing flesh, echoing through the chamber in a haunting cacophony of suffering.
"Please spare us," the desperate pleas of the demon guild members filled the air, their voices trembling with fear and desperation, each word a futile attempt to appeal to Asura's mercy.
"Don't kill us," the cries of anguish echoed off the blood-stained walls, the terror in their voices palpable as they begged for their lives, their pleas tinged with a sense of hopeless resignation.
But Asura remained unmoved by their supplications, his heart as cold and unyielding as the stone upon which they stood.
He did not heed their cries, nor did he offer them any mercy.
With a cruel flick of his wrist, he unleashed a relentless barrage of blood shots upon the cowering demon guild members, each crimson projectile finding its mark with deadly precision.
Their agonized screams filled the chamber, a symphony of suffering that reverberated through the temple halls as life ebbed away from their broken bodies.
Limbs were torn asunder, flesh rent by the merciless onslaught, while crimson rivulets flowed freely, painting a grisly tableau of death and despair upon the blood-soaked ground.
In their final moments, the demon guild members found themselves engulfed in a maelstrom of agony and terror, their futile cries for mercy falling upon deaf ears as Asura's merciless wrath rained down upon them like a torrential storm, snuffing out their lives with brutal efficiency.