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She felt pain, and rage, and hatred. And such sorrow... and Marina closed her eyes as she knelt quietly in the front hall of the Ravenlight Estate. Others had already panicked and run away to hide, her sisters, brothers, and relatives from Hell. But they didn't matter... only her father mattered, only what he felt, and it was time that she helped him the best way she could.

Even Lone and Mahihko were out there, helping aim, load, and fire the magnetic cannons at Athéos's ships... but they were primitive weapons compared to the space cruisers, she knew that as well. And her father had forbidden her from any drastic measures... but his pain was too much, and she knew there was one surefire way she could help him out, as she traced a runic circle on the floor, stolen from the delirious, wounded mind of Sin and ancient, hidden books in the libraries.

Laying nearby, Shelly was choking on her own blood with unseeing eyes as she died slowly and painfully, a child who had always caused Zerrex considerable trouble, and who, like Maya - already dead of blood loss, several of her organs already removed - Marina felt to be a traitor, and worthless. In the blood of these two, she had drawn out the circle... and Marina herself was covered in blood, and she kept licking her red-stained muzzle, still tasting the heart of Maya. She thought about eating Shelly's as well, but she doubted the demoness even had one, with the way she treated her family... and yet in her own heart, Marina felt troubled. She knew Zerrex would be upset about this... but she was here to serve her father, to help him, to love him, to please him, and to save him and those he cared about when necessary, and she felt this was the best course of action.

She was naked, except for the chains she'd wrapped around her body, these also covered in runes and made not of metal, but crystal she had stolen from the armory downstairs and reshaped with her mind alone. They were to help her in the ritual, as she picked up a long dagger made of bone and demon-enchanted gemstones, and Marina smiled as she knelt in the circle, chains hanging over her crotch and breasts, wrapped around her arms and waist... and then she threw her head back and whispered the runes for the spell, the chains glowing on her as the room around her darkened and trembled... and then she stabbed the crystal dagger straight into her chest, shattering bone and moaning, blood dripping from the wound and her mouth as her eyes bulged... before she slumped slowly forwards, dead, the crystal sticking out of her back.

There was silence for a terribly-long time... and then the crystal chains sparked as the dagger flickered with energy, and Marina's dead body twitched once.

Zerrex felt something strange hit his mind, gritting his teeth... but he had no time to figure out what it was as he turned and ran for his combat armor, more of the meteors crashing to the ground nearby. He pulled Blackheart off his back, shoving it into the holder behind the seat of the armor before he hopped into the cockpit, and he shouted at his Nanotech Armlet: "Run program metal wings, C-A-0-0-2-7!"

The Nanotech Armlet beeped as cables automatically extended from the left side of the device, and Zerrex stared as they twisted around and found the slots in the side of the machine themselves before the computer system in front of Zerrex suddenly booted up and the cockpit slammed closed, the Drakkaren grasping the joysticks as the machine stood up. It was a plain, unpainted contraption, the arms of the machine each ending in heavy machine guns and long, angular wings extending from the flat back of the device, which also had a huge, diamond-shaped body-slash-cockpit and enormous thrusters built into either side... but unlike most of the Combat Armors, this machine was also equipped with a force-field device. As the machine cycled up, the reptile reached a hand forwards and tapped a short command on the computer system in front of him, and the clear metal window the reptile was staring out of flickered, a radar image and information bar appearing on it before the lizard winced as he shot skywards, Cherry yelling and waving from the ground.

The Drakkaren grasped both joysticks, angling himself carefully back and forth out of the way of falling meteors as he flew into space, gritting his teeth as he remembered everything he could from training on the mortal world and what Priest had taught him on this... and then, all of a sudden, he was past the meteor storm but now in the middle of the battle, massive, cylindrical ships like submarines or torpedoes that were covered in gun turrets firing against circling combat armors, and even gods and demons and angels valiantly doing their best to ignore the terrible cold and vacuum of space as they battled against not only ships, but metallic golems, human-shaped earth elementals, and Old Gods themselves.

Zerrex flew forwards through the wreckage of a warship, ignoring chunks of metal and girders and dead bodies as he weaved back and forth, gritting his teeth as several blasts of plasma fired by, only for missiles to shoot in return... and then he cursed as something smashed into the side of his ship, knocked for a loop before a voice calmly said: "Damage report: estimated sixty-three percent loss of power to omicron thruster R. Alpha thruster R destroyed. Shields have automatically been activated. Warning, damage to right wing detected. Please repair as soon as possible. Thank you."

"Great." Zerrex muttered, twisting back and forth before he heard a beeping from his armlet, and he made a face, already having enough trouble concentrating as he ordered: "Open communications."

"We've started our attack!" Loki's voice was distorted, and he sounded pissed off, but for once not at the Drakkaren. Zerrex looked back and forth, but then he was struck hard by something and knocked spinning violently, and vertigo tore at his senses before he twisted one of the control sticks hard, and the machine righted itself... or something, since now most of the warships looked upside down as the lizard cursed and shot past them, ignoring several metallic golems that threw things at him as he passed over a massive, rectangular cruised with a large, open deck upon which a group of angels had already landed, fighting their way through electrical elementals towards an Old God holding a staff and yelling orders. "We've landed on a large-size troop transport... fuck, where's our support?"

"Complain to Heaven, not me! I'm on my way towards-" And then Zerrex's eyes widened as he saw Athéos's immense castle-cruiser in the distance, perhaps only a kilometer away... and far more-intimidating, the ray of golden energy that shot from a balcony on the castle before it collided with his armor and completely blew away the front of the machine and tore off both wings, Zerrex's Nanotech Armlet beeping madly as Zerrex covered his face and shouted in pain, the little that remained of his arm sparking and fizzing.

The Drakkaren snarled and kicked off the seat, reaching a hand back to snag Blackheart and leaping away, the legs and half-body left of the armor spiraling and falling behind him... and Zerrex's eyes widened in shock as he fell himself, despite standing in space. It was cold, but not icy, as he landed on the deck of another ship... and he realized after a moment that half of the strange, grayish ships were creating artificial atmospheres and gravity systems around themselves, as in the distance, one of the went up in massive explosion before the flames suddenly simply vanished as the atmosphere around it likely disappeared. The lizard snarled, hating the feel of the strange metal beneath what looked more like talon-ending boots than feet, and then he looked up in surprise as two metal golems charged at him.

Before Zerrex could react, an angelic mouse with a flaming sword appeared out of nowhere between them with a neat spin that left him facing the Drakkaren, and both metal golems fell apart into pieces as Francis looked across at Zerrex, asking him calmly: "Don't you have somewhere you have to be?"

"That's what I'm trying to get to." Zerrex replied with a grim smile, before he asked sharply as he ran forwards and Francis matched his pace: "What the hell took you so long?"

"There's simply too many of these ships... the artificial atmospheres mean that elements that shouldn't work in space are, too. The Old Gods were prepared for this... and you may not have noticed, but we're getting closer and closer to those colonies in the distance, as well." Francis added grimly, and Zerrex snuck a look over his shoulder, wincing at the sight of the red-stained planet and the floating colonies outside of it. "Our forces are spread thin."

Zerrex grunted, and then he swung upwards as a golem simply phased upwards through the steel, and it was knocked flying backwards to crash against a large cabin wall... but the reptile simply ran up this and over it, before he glanced to the side, watching as a warship opened fire on several combat armors flying towards it, and then wincing as two of the armors were shot down and the third crashed into it, the warship creaking ominously.

They reached the end of the ship, and both Francis and Zerrex leapt off as the mouse pointed upwards, towards another rectangular ship that seemed to be floating upside down... and the lizard let his angelic wings push their way free from his metallic back, the white energy all the more vibrant in the deep dark of space. And then the reptile's eyes bulged, pain filling his face, but every other part of his being, too, as he felt a cold like he'd never felt before envelope his being, for a few seconds floating through raw, empty vacuum with Francis bleeding beside him with a curse from a wound on his arm, cursing silently... and then they were in another artificial atmosphere, and both performed neat flips to crash down at the end of the circular deck of another ship, this one with a huge, slightly-curved wall at the end of the ship and a deep pit that earth elementals were climbing out of open in the deck.

Mouse and Drakkaren traded looks, and then both ran forwards and leapt over the pit leading down into the cargo bay or troop carrier, but as they did so, turrets opened in the front wall of the large, mostly-cubical building at the end of the deck... but Francis rose his other arm, a handgun on the spring-clip built seeming into his wrist snapping forwards, and the mouse fired several blasts into the nearest turrets, the other unleashing blasts of flame that missed both of them before they landed on the deck, then both leapt the forty feet up to the roof of the building. Immediately, a trapdoor opened at the top of it and a godling of some kind began to emerge... but then Raze crashed down on top of the deck, slamming his sword down and cutting the egg-shaped head of the uniformed godling in two halves, before he looked up at Francis with teeth grit. "We need your help back at the warships! Zerrex, you've got other support coming in!"

Zerrex nodded, and then he sprinted past Raze, reaching a hand out as they passed... and Raze swung his own up, hands locking for a bare moment before the two parted, Raze and Francis heading back the way the mouse had just come and Zerrex jumping into bare space again, flapping his wings to launch himself forwards as he grit his teeth, his eyes settling on a massive ship of some sort that was the last one between himself and the palace of Athéos. The ship was gargantuan, both very wide and very long, with a slight oval shape to it... and from the front of the deck, undead-looking things shambled quickly to immense, jet-black cannons, firing blasts of energy at him as the Drakkaren twisted back and forth, dodging this and then cursing as from above, an immense warship fired several long rays of energy past him, sending a jolt of painful energy down one of his wings.

He spun violently, then dived low, past the deck of the ship, before arching his back and speeding up as he felt himself entering the atmosphere around the deck, feeling blood running down his face as he grabbed the edge of the ship wall and jackknifed neatly onto the metal deck. Immediately, one of the shambling, rag-clad undead of some indeterminate, half-rotted-away species tried to turn one of the guns around to aim it at him, but Zerrex smashed the barrel hard enough to warp it in the wrong direction, and then he winced and leapt backwards as the undead tried to fire anyway, before cursing as massive explosion went up and obliterated the three living dead, knocking Zerrex flat on his back.

He jumped up, his metallic body glinting and undamaged, and the reptile grinned as he turned around. The deck was a straight run, with only a single, small cabin at the very back of the ship and several unmanned guns on either side of the transport... and at intervals down the center, immense metal trapdoors. Zerrex broke into a sprint as these slowly began to open and undead started to filter out, and the reptile had a feeling by the look of their pale bodies and broken moans that they were all bound souls kidnapped from other worlds, and that this was likely the Netherworld.

He was close... and then he cursed as something grabbed his foot as he passed by a trapdoor, falling over and then staring in shock as not a bound soul, but a monstrous demon of some sort began to crawl out, with two drooling heads and a rotten body that was half-flesh and half shadowy flames... and then a huge being slammed down on top of the trapdoor, denting it in as a golden sword slashed out with a burst of light so bright it hurt Zerrex's eyes, the reptile half-covering his face before he stared in surprise at a grinning, purple-scaled Drakkaren that was twenty feet tall and covered in bulging, powerful muscles, an X-shaped bandolier connected at the center by a golden ring tight on his chest and plain black pants tightly covering strong legs, and a huge, flaming golden sword held easily in one hand. He has the same eyes as Raze, except his were warm and friendly... and then he smiled down at Zerrex as angelic wings that were white on the outside but pitch-black on the inside flapped once slowly, Lord, Archangel of Heaven, saying calmly: "Come on, there, King Zerrex."

"Thanks." Zerrex said mildly, climbing to his feet and watching as the undead winced back, and then he ducked as a cannon down the length of the ship fired a bolt of energy at them... but Lord easily brought his sword out and deflected it like he was playing a game of paddle-ball, then he shoved his free hand out and the cannon was engulfed in golden flames for a moment before it exploded with such a blast that a large chunk of the deck went with it. The Drakkaren winced, and then both he and Lord started forwards again, the purple-scaled Archangel taking the lead and slashing back and forth through undead like they were toys, making Zerrex feel both humbled and shocked at the sheer power of the tall reptile, reaching the end of the ship in a matter of minutes.

Another warship fired at them, and Lord grunted as he swung his sword up, the weapon glowing as it absorbed the steady ray of energy, and Lord grinned at Zerrex, saying over his shoulder as he winked: "Go on, take care of your job, Zerrex! Don't mind me, I'll keep these jerks off your back, and Lucifer will be along shortly... I hope!"

He laughed... and then his laughter was cut off with a grunt as a second blast fired down from the warship and blew him off his feet, Zerrex wincing but at the same time viciously glad to see the Archangel wasn't totally invulnerable... and then he finally spread his wings and leapt upwards, flying through space and dodging lasers with a wince as he headed for the bottom of Athéos's ship, feeling his blood slowly being sucked from his body as he twisted beneath the bottom of the Old God's ship and skimmed along it, half inside and half outside an artificial atmosphere before he was finally able to round up along the keel of the ship and shoot up and over the wall onto the deck, landing with a grunt and a wince in a crouch, Blackheart on his shoulder as he breathed hard and looked down in surprise to see that he had landed on grass.

At the same time, though, it felt terrible, like all the other ships had... yet this one, this one was far, far worse than even the ship of death he had just travelled through with the assistance of Lord. This one felt like a dimension to itself that had been given shape, and form, and worst of all, life. And inside of it, Zerrex could feel Athéos, could feel his power emanating over the ship, through every blade of grass and every inch of soil, as he slowly stood up and walked down the deck towards the two massive guards standing at the door and grinning coldly as they awaited his approach.

The state of the battle was dire: despite the fact that Hell was still firing both rail guns and magnetic cannons that unleashed focused ion beams that could rock any warships they hit, their accuracy was low and the batteries were further hampered by the meteor storm continuing to rain down on them, the Old Gods that were responsible for the terrible magic hidden somewhere in one of the ships. Many of the batteries had been destroyed, as had many of the Combat Armors: smaller, single-person ships and ice monsters unaffected by the cold or vacuum of space were chasing them, crushing them with superior maneuverability and attack power.

Flying demons and angels were both landing on ships and opening portals wherever they could, however, letting swarms of warriors storm through and attempt to take over the larger cruisers and kill off the Old Gods they found, and Loki - less affected then demons by the vacuum, but more-hampered by the cold - and his friends from the Abyss were ravaging the warships... but there were too many for all of them to cover, and even with the ancient god Hod, standing on a platform of ice in full, gothic-stylized plate armor, only the lion's grey-scarred face unarmored, but mostly covered by a thick, black blindfold, slowing them down by freezing their thrusters and summoning comets of ice to crash into them, the ships were nearly unstoppable. And whenever a ship was taken over by one means or another, the other Old Gods would never hesitate to fire on it, whether it was a warship, a cruiser, or even a transport that likely still held troops inside its depths.

Many had already died... and many more were injured, some of these floating through space and screaming as the blood was slowly pulled from their bodies. Cherry herself was snarling as he steered her Combat Armor - equipped with rockets, a heavy machine gun, and a short-range plasma cutter - back and forth, one of the thrusters missing completely and the wings and body of the vehicle heavily-charred. And then a lucky shot from an Old God caught her in the back, and she howled as she felt the back of the Combat Armor explode and the vehicle begin to spiral violently out of control, covering her face and cursing herself and her luck as she fell straight towards the armored hull of a warship...

And then she was frozen in time, and she stared back and forth in shock before her Combat Armor was gently pulled backwards, and she was only able to gape as the cockpit opened and she felt herself lifted out, not understanding what was happening as the combat armor was thrown at the Old God that had shot at her. The dragon winced and immediately fired another arrow into the armor, but even as it exploded, chunks of it hurled down into him, knocking him flying backwards to crash and roll along the ship as Cherry floated in some kind of strange bubble, before she looked to the side and gasped as she saw Marina.

She was wrapped in black metal chains, smiling strangely, and from her head had sprouted a pair of deadly, minotaur like horns... and her eyes slowly opened, and they had both turned emerald like her father's as she spread her arms, no other demonic characteristics visible on her form... but the power she radiated was beyond supernatural as waves of force seemed to travel through space, and for a moment Cherry thought reality was bending before she watched as the battle cruiser in front of her, some five hundred feet of a metal that was neither demonic nor mortal in nature, bent and twisted, rippling like water before the whole of the cruiser was broken apart like a pretzel, and Marina's eyes glowed with power as she grinned and shouted, not seeming to care as both ally and enemy alike were crushed as the massive war vehicle was pulverized and spun violently around the safe pocket that surrounded her and her sister: "I am my father's weapon, I am my father's will! I shall consume all who stand in his way!"

Marina laughed and arched her back as she rose her arms, and the cyclone around them became almost solid as chunks of metal, corpses, and everything else was drawn in, several of the warships in front of them trying to retreat even as they fired madly and uselessly at the storm of metal, and then Marina shoved both hands forwards, and a terrible shockwave travelled through the vacuum of space, a nothingness that seemed somehow comforting compared to the frightening power of the psychic.

The cyclone halted and violently hurled meteors of debris outwards, which immediately curled around as they glowed purple with the telekinetic powers of Marina to home in on the nearest enemy ships, smashing into them and causing them to rock violently, several of them exploding and beginning to fall slowly before the atmospheres faded out around them. Marina slowly fell backwards, laughing hard and holding her stomach, and then she slowly tipped upside-down before spinning around as Cherry could only look horrified, barely able to believe the sheer power of the psychic as she screamed gleefully: "And I haven't yet begun to try!"

"M-Marina, stop it!" Cherry tried to shout it, but it barely came out in a whisper, as shivers rolled through her body, unable to believe the force of the psychic, not even knowing how so fast she could have become a demon... and then she clenched her eyes shut, grabbing her head as Marina's powers slid through her mind, and time suddenly froze around them as the female turned slowly towards her with a soft, pleasant smile on her face. Cherry could only stare, and then Marina's voice whispered in her head: Oh, no, don't fear: I don't have the power to stop time... at least, not yet. What I can do, however, is speed up your synaptic response... and while it might sting for a little while afterwards, it only seems like time has frozen.

Stay out of my way, Cherry. That's all I have to say to you. And with that, Marina made a gentle shoving motion, and Cherry felt herself flung violently away as time sped back up to its normal rate, things whipping by her as her precognition became confused, jumbled ghost images tearing across her vision as she howled and flailed her arms uselessly before she gritted her teeth, halting suddenly and violently at the edge of the atmosphere, feeling gravity pulling at her but not with enough force to jerk her down from space and through the thin air.

She felt weak and exhausted, her mind reeling and head aching as several large chunks of broken ship and dead corpse floated by, her goggles painfully gripping her face as she let out a sigh and immediately choked on the vacuum of space, which woke her up from the almost-trance she had fallen into. A bit of blood leaked from both nostrils and mouth, and then she cursed as she swung a hand behind her and unleashed a gout of flame, propelling herself upwards as Marina laughed viciously in the distance, the sound somehow echoing through the nightmare of both space and the muffled blasts of thrusters and other terrible devices and battling demons and monsters.

Cherry winced, looking ahead as ghost images snapped by, but they were fuzzy and indistinct: Marina's psychic energies were wreaking havoc on her own powers, and it was all she could do to predict what was going to happen one or two seconds in advance directly in front of her, much less anything else. She cursed under her breath as she arched her back and twisted into the atmosphere of one of the cruisers, freefalling towards the deck for a moment before half-flipping and dropping to a kneel, and then she shook her head, clearing it as she took a look at her surroundings.

A massive boulder of metal and corpses had crashed down into the hull of this ship, and it was floating slowly and uselessly through space now, the weapon systems destroyed and only a few shambling golems still alive, which were being quickly dispatched by warriors. An Old God was laying on the deck, gargling and bleeding as he looked up at Cherry, reaching a hand up for mercy with a miserable look on his face... and then, out of nowhere, a Reaper faded into existence and easily lopped the god's head off with a scythe, holding up a strangely-shaped glass star with the other hand.

A moment later, the god's body turned to energy, and it was absorbed up into the crystal as several other Reapers materialized around the ship, some of them phasing through the walls and others moving immediately to combat other living targets as a large space shuttled touched down on the deck of the broken warship, and White hopped out with his Naganatine companion Silven, and Judge Sabnock, the wolverine dressed in battle armor and carrying a beautiful longbow. Then the shuttle lifted into space again, flying to the side as minotaurs in thermal suits with rocket launchers dropped into position at the open doors, firing their missiles towards the hull of another warship in the distance that was proving to be particularly troublesome.

White looked at Cherry for a few moments, and then he said calmly, as he flicked his revolver closed: "Your sister seems to have gone berserk."

"Marina used a particularly-vicious method to make herself into a demon..." Sabnock said darkly, as she created an arrow made of solid blue ice before setting it in her bow, standing ready as her silver body armor glinted. "She circumvented the judging by already being present in Hell... and by sacrificing two pure demons. I have no idea where she learned such ancient and powerful magic, but..."

"She probably stole it from someone's mind." Cherry muttered, rubbing at her head slowly before she looked surprised as White reached into his coat and held a magnum handgun out to her. She took it, admiring the smooth black metal of the gun, and then White tossed her the clip, which Cherry almost fumbled with a wince. Her head was still ringing, and she could still hear Marina in her mind as the female rampaged, ripping apart ships and turning everything she set her psychic wrath on into kibble. "Fuck, sorry, my head..."

Cherry slammed the clip into the gun, and White said quietly: "Only fifteen shots, so use it wisely. They won't kill what they hit, but instead paralyze them with a mix of a curse and a very effective poison. You may have also noticed the Reapers."

"That's White's version of a joke, you get used to it." Silven said dryly, and then he pointed ahead, adding calmly: "See that ship in the distance, there? There's an Old God and two mages in there creating the meteor storm battering Hell. Let's aim to take that one out."

"Agreed. Allow me to open a path." Sabnock said calmly, and then she tilted her bow sideways before firing the arrow, and it travelled through the vacuum of space as easily as through the false atmospheres before it collided with the hull of the ship and pierced into it, vibrating violently before the wolverine made an easy pulling gesture, and a long stairway of solid ice formed. Cherry stared, then winced as a bird of ice crashed into this, followed by a large missile... but only half the bird was shattered, the other half squawking and flapping uselessly as it was absorbed into the staircase, which was completely undamaged by either collision. "It's as hard as diamonds for the moment... but it won't last forever. We need to move."

Cherry grunted in agreement, falling immediately into line behind the two Judges, and Silven brought up the rear as they charged up the ice staircase... and Cherry could only hope that Zerrex was having more luck than them, as above their heads, Marina laughed and laughed as she ripped through the forces of the Old Gods like a terrible coming-of-judgment.

Zerrex stood quietly in the large, rounded courtyard in front of the castle, standing on a beautiful walkway made of grey stones between green, vibrant grasses filled with alien flowers the lizard didn't recognize... and across from him, the two huge guards stood in front of the golden stone walls of the massive front of the keep, before the reptile's eyes flicked upwards and he noted a third on a balcony not far above, her legs primly crossed over the rail and a thick, very long snake-like tail resting on the balcony itself, seeming to rattle as she laughed a bit before one of the guards said in a rumbling voice: "We are not permitted to allow you to enter, Zerrex of Hell. No one may enter the Cloister of the Eldest God without being summoned first."

"I can and will. Get out of my way or I'll make you get out of my way." Zerrex said quietly, as he rested Blackheart on his shoulder and looked quietly but calmly at the three towering beings. They shared laughter at this, but also looks of nervousness at each other: the Drakkaren, after all, had managed to somehow travel his way through the entire armada... and it sounded like they had been briefed on his abilities as well.

He looked at the guard on the left as he stepped forwards: a towering, perhaps more than twenty foot tall giant wearing a long red cape and black, thick leather armor over his chest, as well as a knee-length kilt of the same stuff, made of separated plates of the material. Several skulls hung from a belt around his waist next to a deadly crescent-bladed axe, and another thick rawhide strap was wrapped around his body, holding a large sword against his back. His body was thick and brawny, and in one hand he held a spear, with a tip like a pointed shovel near a face covered by a heavy white scarf. The cloth of it was ugly and plain, wrapped many a time around his features to hide them from view and then over his shoulders, and Zerrex was able to see only a pair of red eyes and charcoal fur that matched that which covered the rest of his muscular form, as he rumbled: "I am Gilgamesh, who bears the strength of a hundred mortals."

Then the right bodyguard came forwards, grinning with ugly, flat teeth that were lodged loosely inside blackened gums, a single massive eye glaring out of the socket in the center of his face, this giant even larger than Gilgamesh. His eyes was a malevolent, baleful crimson, and his skin brownish and wart-covered, with no nose in his face and features that were vaguely toad-like. His clothes were little more than badly-stitched together rags of different color, with buttons made from crossed bones and bracelets and a shin-guard made entirely from skulls, and his arms were massive, with biceps that flexed almost as large as Zerrex's entire upper body. In his hands he held a huge, deadly weapon that had a gigantic war-hammer head at one end of the pole, and the other end, facing the opposite direction, was a deadly halberd-blade that was chipped and covered with rust. The creature, however, stood only on one enormous leg that ended in formidable, long talons, as he rumbled: "I am Balor, who bears the gaze of death."

Finally, the female sinuously slid down from above, her features albino and serpentine with rosy circles of blush on her cheeks, her pink eyes bright as not one, not two, but four pairs of well-toned, long arms crossed over her upper body, which was otherwise clad only in a beautiful kimono neatly kept closed by a black, thick belt done up in a bow at the front, and which fell gracefully over the front of her body and her thin, beautiful legs, even as she crossed these and sat back as her thick white body-tail coiled up beneath her, a rattle at the end of it shaking once, pausing, then twice... and then it rattled violently for a few moments before stopping as she bowed her head forwards. "And I am Marisha-Ten, who grants great armies victory."

She smiled as she straightened, holding her hands out, and a sword appeared in each: two long-bladed katanas, two vicious scimitars, two tall, thin longswords, and in the grip of her lowest two arms, two deadly claymores, all of her weapons with golden hilts and blades of polished steel. "Now come, Zerrex. Why not stop this? You cannot fight..." Reality fizzled around them, and then the three vanished, as her voice whispered: "What you cannot see."

Zerrex grit his teeth, bringing Blackheart up to a ready position as he concentrated... and a moment later, purple lighting sparked over the three figures as they moved forwards, Gilgamesh moving silently towards his back and Marisha-Ten slithering to his side as Balor leaned forwards before hopping once... and Zerrex leapt outwards, swinging Blackheart towards his vulnerable leg as he landed, but the giant easily swung the pole of his double weapon into the way with a laugh before he roared and swung it around, raising the hammer behind his head as the goddess hissed at him and lunged, barely visible to the lizard by the purple lightning sparking over her body, and Zerrex jumped backwards before he cursed and arched his back, throwing himself out of the way as Gilgamesh stabbed his spear forwards and Balor slammed his hammer down.

The two attacks barely missed, and Marisha-Ten reared back with a curse, the three fading back into reality before Zerrex winced as Balor gazed at him, feeling his energies literally being shoved out of his body before he brought a hand up and yelled the basic incantation for a light spell, and it went off like a flash-bomb, the one-eyed god screaming and lurching backwards as he grabbed at his single eye, before Zerrex swung Blackheart backwards over his head, catching a hard swing of Gilgamesh's spear before he stepped into a vicious forwards slash, cutting the head of the pole weapon off at the neck and smashing his own huge sword at the same time down into the weapons of Marisha-Ten as she attempted to block, but she was knocked onto her back by the power of the blow, before flattening herself against the ground with a curse as the still-blinded Balor leapt forwards with a scream, swinging his weapon wildly back and forth.

Zerrex simply leapt high into the air, and, as Balor opened his eye, the Drakkaren threw his sword forwards... and it pierced straight through the massive eye, Balor screaming and shaking his head violently back and forth before the Drakkaren landed on top of his skull and grabbed the hilt of his sword, but the agonized God didn't seem to notice, continuing to swing his weapon back and forth as he howled what were likely curses in his own language. Then the reptile grit his teeth as Gilgamesh valiantly tried to dislodge him by throwing his pole, but Zerrex simply tore Blackheart free and swung it upwards to slice the pole lengthwise into two halves as he flipped backwards, and the Old God's eyes widened in shock before Zerrex hit the ground and slashed Blackheart outwards in a single wicked swing through the back of Balor's ankle, shattering the bone-guard wrapped around his lower leg and severing his foot from the single thick limb.

Balor toppled backwards as Zerrex rolled out of the way, and then the Drakkaren's sword glowed white as the reptile leapt onto his obese belly and spun it around, stabbing it through the Old God's heart in a finishing move, and Balor trembled once, his eye still jelly in his socket before he let out a long sigh, and the lizard tore the sword free and neatly hopped to the ground as the Old God's body rotted rapidly away, and the lizard rose his weapon in front of himself, metallic body glinting in the darkness of space as he said coldly: "Even Old Gods have vulnerabilities, it's just a matter of figuring out what they are. This is your last chance: either run away, or be destroyed."

Gilgamesh and Marisha-Ten exchanged a look, and then the two snarled and rushed forwards instead, the goddess propelling herself forwards violently and meeting Zerrex directly in a clash with four of her blades as the other four attempted to swipe in on his sides, but the lizard merely winced as they scraped uselessly against the armor fused against his body before she snarled and instead aimed to trap the blade between six of her swords as her upper two arms spun her katanas rapidly before stabbing them down at the Drakkaren's eyes, but the lizard swung his head backwards at the last moment, and the swords scraped by his muzzle before she attempted to bring them together and cut it off, except Zerrex managed to tilt his head quickly forwards, and only the end of his muzzle received a minor cut before he headbutted her hands firmly, knocking them backwards and making her curse.

The Drakkaren sensed a presence behind him, and he waited a moment before dropping down to the ground in a splits, wincing at the stretch he felt in his groin as he jerked Blackheart downwards at the same time, and Marisha-Ten almost impaled herself on her swords as the snake goddess cursed, wincing and blocking an over-hard swing of Gilgamesh's axe at the same time and shouting: "Idiot, crush him, crush him!"

Gilgamesh rose a foot, and Zerrex simply stabbed hard up into it, making him curse and stagger backwards before the Drakkaren chopped viciously into the goddess's body-tail as it tried to encircle him, and the female screamed, turning invisible and slithering quickly away... but even without enhancing his vision, Zerrex was able to follow where she went by the movement of the grasses, and he created a sphere of energy that he flung hard into her. It exploded and knocked her out of the courtyard to fall into space, screaming as she became visible, several of her own swords lodged in her as she clawed at them, her eyes bulging... and then she screamed silently as blood began to flow from the wounds in crimson streams, her eyes bulging as her body tried to regenerate, but in the vacuum environment, the wounds were torn open all the wider before she finally convulsed violently and went limp, blood gurgling out of her throat as she floated quietly away.

The last guardian roared as he charged forwards with the axe raised high above his head, but Zerrex simply spun around and stepped past him as he swung Blackheart outwards, catching just above his foot with the blade of his sword and tripping him as he cursed, before he screamed when Zerrex spun around and slashed viciously into the back of his leg, clawing at the ground as he stared over his shoulder in horror, and when he tried to angle a kick into the reptile's face, the lizard immediately slashed cruelly outwards into the sole of his foot, tearing through his moccasin and piercing half through it before he tore downwards. Gilgamesh howled in pain again, rolling several times away from the Drakkaren, but Zerrex pursued, slamming his sword upwards to catch him under the chin as he began to stand and knocking him staggering to his feet with a gurgle, before the lizard literally ran up his body and stabbed Blackheart through his chest, the Old God's eyes going wide before he fell flat on his back as the Drakkaren kicked off his stomach with both feet.

The lizard flipped gracefully backwards, landing on his feet as Gilgamesh twitched and sprawled, breathing weakly... and then the Old God slowly climbed to his feet as his wounds regenerated, the scarf knocked down from the short muzzle of the bear as he grinned widely, rubbing slowly at his face as he murmured: "You are indeed strong..." A long pause, and then Gilgamesh grunted as he tore Blackheart free, his hand trembling as the weapon resisted him with a burst of blue lightning before he cursed and clutched it tighter, saying darkly: "But you are not strong enough to kill me. Balor was stupid. Marisha-Ten was luck. I require skills even greater than yours."

Zerrex snorted, then he gestured violently at Blackheart, and the sword glowed blue before it stabbed itself backwards into the bear's neck, the lizard saying quietly as the Old God's eyes bulged and he gurgled: "My weapon listens only to me, Gilgamesh... and ever since I re-forged it myself... we've had a better than ever relationship."

Then the Drakkaren jerked his hand backwards, and the sword flew immediately back to his grip, the lizard catching it easily and swinging it out to the side as the wound healed in the Old God's throat, Gilgamesh wincing as he rubbed slowly at his neck before they both looked up as Athéos's voice said softly: "Enough. Gilgamesh, open the doors. I wish to destroy Lord Zerrex myself, for many reasons... and you should be powerful enough to halt any interlopers."

Gilgamesh turned and knelt at the doorway, bowing his head respectfully for a moment before he stood and reached out, grasping the two heavy rings of the massive metal doors and pulling them slowly open with a grunt, and then he turned to Zerrex as he slid his axe back into his belt, kneeling to him and bowing forwards politely. The Drakkaren looked at him uncertainly for a few moments, but the bear's demeanor had entirely changed, as he murmured quietly: "Go ahead in."

Zerrex walked slowly by the Old God, and then he stopped, his side to Gilgamesh as he said softly: "You're all scared of him, aren't you? It's not adoration... it's terror."

Gilgamesh didn't reply, only looking away silently... and then Zerrex smiled a bit, reaching out and patting him on one huge forearm. "Thank you for the fight. Do me a favor, don't kill anyone you don't have to."

"The honor was mine, Zerrex of Hell." Gilgamesh murmured, looking down shamefully at the ground, and the reptile turned back to the double doors, walking inside and wondering quietly for a moment how many Old Gods he had slain that didn't deserve to die, that he might have been able to instead rally to his side... but then those thoughts were lost, not just because the past was the past, but because of the strange, surreal environment he entered, as he stepped gingerly from metallic floor tiles and onto either an invisible platform, or nothingness somehow made solid.

The room he entered was like a gargantuan dome laying on its side, and the Drakkaren stood at the end of it, standing in midair as he examined it quietly. Here was the base of the dome, and the walls of it were constructed of girders and glass that looked out onto beautiful purple of space, the room entirely empty except for a single tiny platform... and at the furthest point of its curve, directly across from the Drakkaren, sat Athéos.

He sat upon a throne made of platinum and some kind of red metal, and he was even more vibrant and powerful now that he was seeing him in person. The throne itself sat upon the tiny, rounded platform... and sitting with his legs dangling over it, crying tears of blood and missing both his eyes, was a bat wearing a purple robe, holding his face in his hands as he shook his head back and forth, whimpering: "No, no, no, please, please have mercy, my master..."

"I wanted to show you that I can be generous... and that I can be compassionate." Athéos said softly, as Zerrex walked over thin air, his emerald eyes narrowed as he fought with every fiber of his being to control himself, barely able to look at the Eldest God for even a short period of time. Then Athéos reached out and gently squeezed the shoulder of the other Old God, and the bat moaned and arched his back, his teeth gritting so hard they cracked; it was the penultimate expression of sheer terror through the body, even more than the features. "Morpheus, you failed me three times. The first time was with you, Lord Zerrex, and for that I took his eye; the second time, another powerful psychic dispelled him, and thus I took your other eye, and with it, your sense of vision. Now, a third time, you failed me... and now, God of Dreams, I will show you mercy. I will take only your life."

And with that, Athéos's fingers grasped Morpheus's head and jerked it backwards, and the Old God screamed in agony before he simply exploded, and Zerrex winced as not flesh and blood, but glass, stone, and dust floated by, Athéos smiling as he sat back and knitted his fingers together, saying softly: "I dislike gore, you know. Blood and flesh... are so distracting, and so hard to get out."

Zerrex snarled as the dust began to settle, before the Old God made the slightest of gestures with his head, and it vanished completely with the few bits of stone left behind, leaving things clean and polished, and the Drakkaren flung a hand out, asking furiously: "That's your idea of mercy? You're a monster, Athéos... my gods, how many lives you've taken-"

"Who are your gods, anyway, Lord Zerrex?" Athéos stood up and walked towards him, looking curious as he put his hands behind his back, and the platform and the throne both faded out of reality, the Old God quietly circling the Drakkaren as he said in a scintillating, almost-seductive voice: "You see... all of the gods bow to my will. Hundreds of them, literally, of all shape, size, and ability... and you can never hope to kill them all. Of course, kill me, and all of this ends... or does it? I am the most powerful of the Old Gods... but your world has already been ravaged by the synthetic Primordials of flesh and metal, and chaos reigns supreme. The world is red with blood and fire, continents are cracking apart and the seas are filled with corpses... water is slowly flooding the world, as it steadily heats up and melts, and you, a product of the powers of Heaven and Hell, and in many ways, the end result of an experiment gone haywire by us, the Old Gods, and our disciple the ancient goddess Thegragon.

"We were the ones who gave her the permission to build her toy city... we were the ones who let her claim this pathetic world as her territory... and we are the ones who will now work to ensure that as she is dead, her experiments will be destroyed... and the filthy civilization built by Naganis is also burned away until not even ashes are left." Athéos said coldly, walking in front of Zerrex before he smiled and reached up, whispering softly as the reptile felt every emotion in his body being pulled, felt himself falling into delusions and confusion as the bird god leaned forwards and whispered: "But you can still join me... and aid me... and I will grant you unlimited power..."

Athéos stroked a single finger over the black metal of the Drakkaren's body, and slowly, it shivered before turning back to scale, leaving the lizard standing naked as his Nanotech Armlet beeped... and the lizard shook his head, looking down at himself. He realized he was nude, and after a moment, he forced himself to not concentrate on Athéos, instead on himself as he reached a finger up and tapped a command into the Armlet, even as the bird god said softly: "See how strong my powers are? I can warp reality, give and take away... even make you mortal again..." He stopped and smiled as the Drakkaren grit his teeth, resisting harder now as clothing spread over his body, before he stared as Athéos rose a hand, and the perfect replicas of two Drakkaren females Zerrex recognized all too well appeared in it. "I can give you back your mother... and the love of your-"

Zerrex punched Athéos as hard as he could in the face with a roar, and the Old God flew backwards, crashing to the not-ground and skidding through thin air before he hit the back wall, looking dazed as his crown fell lopsided for a moment, his robes and armor shivering on his body from the force he'd struck the bird-god with, and then the Drakkaren snarled as he pointed at him, saying darkly: "They are dead and gone, and I will not be bought with bad copies of them! You are not fit to say their names, much less show me images of them... Athéos, I am not your pawn, and I am not your toy, and I am going to kill you!"

Athéos slowly rose to his feet, looking coldly at the lizard for a few moments before he spread his arms, saying softly: "Then so be it."

A massive, silver sword appeared in his hand, the lower quarter of one side of the blade serrated and cruel, and the other side inset with five magnificent gemstones, each a different color. The blade was double-edged and narrow, almost seven feet long, and the hilt of the sword was forged of beautiful gold, with a black-leather grip. Then, as Zerrex stared, Athéos changed before his eyes, his eyes glowing as his body expanded, his clothes changing and growing with him into gold and silver full plate mail made of heavy-duty, segmented and overlapping plates of metal, his crown becoming a circlet with tall fangs of diamond standing out from the top of it and studded with rubies that grew larger than the Drakkaren, as the fanged beak of the bird opened and he said in a terrible voice that sent shockwaves through the massive dome: "Despair, for I am invulnerable to all weapons of mortal and god... and my weapon pierces all defenses."

Zerrex gritted his teeth, covering himself just from that powerful voice: Athéos was now more than a hundred feet tall, and large enough his body was bent slightly back in the dome, even as his sword somehow magically moved through the materials of the room without breaking them... and then he cursed, bringing Blackheart up as Athéos swung at him, but the Drakkaren was knocked flying through the air, and he winced as he fell towards the wall of the dome, Athéos laughing... but the lizard flipped around, then looked down in surprise as he landed on thin air. He gritted his teeth, realizing the mechanics of the room would take some getting used to, as he tried running upwards, as if heading up a flight of stairs... and as he half-expected, his feet ran up steps of nothing as he shoulders his sword, before his eyes bulged as Athéos held the sword crosswise with one hand, the ruby on the massive blade glowing brightly before a huge fireball appeared in the hand of the Old God, and he swung the massive meteor of flame forwards into the Drakkaren, the reptile howling in agony before it exploded and he was sent hurtling backwards to crash hard into the back wall, falling to all fours and groaning in pain, his head thudding with agony as Athéos laughed. The Drakkaren gritted his teeth, looking upwards... and then he stared as he saw the point of the sword only inches from his muzzle, moving back and forth and wincing as Athéos tracked him easily, the Old God grinning cruelly... and then he stabbed forwards, but Zerrex jackknifed onto the sword, and Athéos looked surprised before he snarled as Zerrex sprinted towards him.

Time suddenly seemed to slow down, the reptile forcing himself to move as fast as possible, but it was like he was running through a wall of mud... and Athéos leaned down, his face inches away as he shook his head slowly before the topaz inset into his sword glowed, and Zerrex's back arched as time returned to its normal flow, eyes bulging as a massive blast of electricity ran through his body, lightning sparking up and down the blade before the lizard was blown into the ceiling, one of the glass windows cracking for a moment. Then it repaired itself as the reptile fell with a gurgle, and Athéos caught him with a laugh before he began to crush the Drakkaren in his fist, saying darkly: "None can resist my might..."

Zerrex screamed in pain, pushing Blackheart outwards as hard as he could against the fingers but barely able to stop them from squeezing with enough force to pop him like a balloon, his right arm becoming a mess of spikes... but they only snapped uselessly off against the armored fist of the Old God, before he felt himself flung outwards... only to be frozen inside a cube of ice a moment later, unable to move as the sapphire on the sword glowed, before it faded and the emerald glowed next, and rock encircled the ice prison Zerrex was trapped in, before it began to slowly crush inwards, shattering the ice around the lizard and at the same time forcing spikes of the diamond-hard substance into the reptile's body as he howled again in agony, blood gushing from several wounds and his mouth, until he felt the rock contact with him... and Zerrex grit his teeth, putting his hand out against the wall of earth and concentrating.

The wall of rock shattered around him as he pushed energy up into it, and the Drakkaren leapt upwards, his hand clutching Blackheart tightly before his eyes widened as the diamond glowed on the sword and Athéos swung it crosswise, sending a blade of pure white energy at the lizard... but Zerrex swung Blackheart out into the thick shockwave, and he cursed as white energy passed through his body like lightning before his angelic wings exploded, unsummoned, from his back and absorbed the white energy into them, the reptile's body crackling with it before he roared and spun around, sending a blade of pure energy back at Athéos... but he only smiled as it struck his unarmored face and bounced off uselessly, saying softly: "What a useless but amusing gesture... and now, Lord Zerrex... I have grown tired of playing with you."

Athéos held his sword out in front of himself, blade pointing downwards, and all five gemstones glowed before a spike of ice, fire, earth, lightning, and pure energy formed in the air around the reptile, and Zerrex had a moment to stare in horror before they shot forwards through him, sending agony through his body as the made-solid elements held him in place, the reptile wriggling uselessly, clinging tightly to his sword as his eyes bulged and Athéos reached out, putting a hand on either side of the Drakkaren as he whispered softly: "Goodbye, Lord Zerrex... it's a pity you refused my power."

And then Zerrex could only look down in horror, screaming uselessly as his eyes bulged, watching as inch-by-inch, his body slowly and simply faded from existence, hands and feet going first, followed by limbs, and then his body as the magical spikes vanished, no longer necessary to hold him as his wings shattered and vanished, and then he shook his head in denial, even as it dissolved... until nothing was left as even Blackheart dissolved.

There was only bright white light... and then Zerrex looked down in shock, looking back and forth before he touched his chest, his Nanotech Armlet gone but plain clothes on his body, which was all there and fine, and he could feel Blackheart on his back... and he stumbled forwards, groaning and grabbing his head before a strong but gentle hand steadied him, and a friendly voice said: "Hey, don't strain yourself. Take a seat, huh?"

Zerrex's eyes opened, and he watched as a plain chair appeared out of nowhere, and a black-scaled hand spun it easily out and he was guided into it, sitting stupidly down before a Naganatine walked in front of him, dressed in plain, casual clothing. He was of average build, maybe as tall as him, and he had two proud horns coming out of his skull that pointed upwards and intelligent, sensitive blue eyes. Moving carefully, he grasped Zerrex's chin and gently looked back and forth over him, and then he smiled, stepping backwards as the reptile stared around at the pure whiteness around him, before he looked forwards, and asked weakly: "Are you..."

"Oh, hell, I'm sorry. I'm Naganis." The person, the God, that had created everything, extended his hand with a friendly smile to Zerrex, who gaped stupidly at him before Naganis gently reached down with his other hand to grab Zerrex's wrist, and pulled his hand up into his own, shaking his limp fingers firmly before he let it drop. Then he leaned backwards, a table appearing behind him for the Naganatine to relax on as he looked around with a sigh, shaking his head slowly. "Sorry there's not much to see here, but well. Disassociated energy and all, it's really what you have to make of it."

"Dissa... I... what?" Zerrex looked stupid, and then he jumped to his feet, saying immediately: "But everyone thinks you're dead, and I... goddammit, I need to stop Athéos!"

"Frig, but you panic a lot. Don't worry, we have all the time in the universe... Athéos might think he's the be-all and end-all, but he tends to forget that it's the little things that matter, like subatomic particles." Naganis winked as Zerrex immediately stopped, swallowing and humbling himself as best he could... but the god across from him didn't seem to care one way or the other as he reached a hand out, a pot of tea appearing, and he poured this into a cup that appeared beneath the stream of steaming liquid that flowed out before he offered this to Zerrex with a smile. "Want some?"

"Do you... know if I'm going to say yes or no to that?" Zerrex asked quietly, and Naganis sighed and rolled his eyes, picking up the cup and sipping from it himself as he looked mildly at the Drakkaren for a few moments.

"I really wish people would get off that idea. Oh, gee, lets make God do this and that, he knows everything, he wrote the bible, fuh-fuh-fuh!" Naganis made a few irritated gestures, and then he spilled tea all over himself, which made him sigh and drop his head, looking morbid before he was suddenly wearing a clean dress shirt instead of the plain t-shirt. "There, better. Anyway, no, I do not know everything. I do not have a great master plan. I am neither for or against raising taxes. And I do not think that shoving things up one's butt is a hell-worthy crime against nature." Naganis pointed at his own rear, his long tail flicking as he did this, and Zerrex could only stare. "Believe me, the evolution of species is mostly random with a few nudges from me here and there. And if I really was all knowing and all powerful, I wouldn't be here, a stream of conscious energy banished to a frequency so high it's in the nth dimension.

"Anyway, my energy is mostly gone. This... well..." Naganis made a gesture as if to touch his own chest, and instead he turned transparent as he reached through it with a soft sigh. "Yeah. Not exactly all here. I guess that banishes the idea of an invulnerable god... and I guess it teaches me a few things that I desperately wanted to learn, and have ended up cursed with, due to my own hubris. Irony, huh? What a bitch. I hope she isn't a goddess lurking somewhere in a plane higher than ours... but anyhow. You see, Athéos dissolve you... but you, unlike me, have a very special, almost unique grasp and control of your own energies. With a little push... you can return to the physical plane.

"But listen well." Naganis dropped his teacup, and it vanished into whiteness as the Naganatine looked at him with quiet seriousness. "I didn't have to be a genius to know that one day, Athéos would probably find my world, our home... which is why I've been here. I've had company from time to time, mostly souls dissolved in the Unworld... but otherwise, I've been waiting, right for this moment, which I halfheartedly hoped would never come... and yet am only glad that it did, because it means Athéos is facing resistance. And great resistance, at that. Yes, I can read your mind, yes, I know what happened.

"Zerrex Narrius, High King of Hell... I can't see the future... but I do have instincts. And my gut tells me that if you face Athéos, you will almost certainly die." Naganis said quietly, and Zerrex looked down silently, before the Naganatine whispered: "Do... you hate yourself that much?"

Zerrex looked up, and his gaze told the god better than words his answer, before Naganis quietly wiped at one of his eyes. "And yet you helped everyone so much... your mind is truly terrifying, Zerrex. You are such a well of sorrow... yet you are exactly... what you are. Brave and honest, moral and focused on the right thing, not just good... but what would be best. And enduring... and compassionate and loving. Yet not without sin. Cruel, hateful, violent, envious, lustful, full of despair and wickedness... but it balances out. Poor Zerrex... cursed by your strength, huh? Another victim of hubris... but fine then, go. Go. Go!"

Naganis shouted the last in a voice that made reality tremble, and Zerrex staggered backwards in shock before he looked down and watched as once more, his body began to dissolve as he was lifted into the air... and as he looked up, he saw a familiar face, a familiar hand, and his eyes filled with tears as once more, he was pulled away from her, the female Drakkaren jumping towards him as he reached his hand down, and their fingers missed by mere inches before he vanished...

And then Zerrex snarled as agony wracked his body and he reformed between the hands of Athéos, and the Old God looked shocked, leaning back as the reptile stood in thin air between his fingers as his body glowed with energy, before he tore Blackheart off his back and threw it hard, the blade sparking with ivory energy before it collided with the middle of the set of five gemstones, shattering the middle one. Terrible bolts of energy arced back and forth violently through the set of jewels embedded in the sword, and the Old God looked down in surprise for a moment before the sapphire exploded in a burst of blue light, Blackheart flying out of the blast and the reptile running backwards to leap up and catch it as red, white, gold, and green explosions followed up the blast, Athéos pummeled backwards into the wall of the dome with a grunt of shock, his hands spasming with each blast before he snarled and grabbed the sword, jerking it upwards and undamaged but humiliated as he shouted: "No one resists me! I am eternal, I am the universe, I am God!"

He slashed his massive sword hard upwards, and Zerrex leapt upwards and rested his own feet on the flat of Blackheart as he gripped the handle in one hand and shoved his palm against the top of the blade, and Athéos struck the bottom of the flat hard, knocking it through the air as Zerrex grunted, half-flipping his body as he pulled Blackheart out from beneath him before his feet smashed into the ceiling of the dome and he charged towards Athéos, and the Old God snarled as he stabbed his sword upwards, blade phasing through the dome wall and making it ripple as he dragged hard backwards to try and hit the lizard, but Zerrex kicked off, swinging his feet forwards immediately to kick next off the front of his circlet and land on the wrist of his free arm.

Unthinking, Athéos swung downwards... and Zerrex arched his back, gracefully flipping backwards at the last moment, and the Old God struck into his own arm, cutting through the armor and nicking his wrist with a grunt of pain and shock, and he drew the blade quickly back to stare in horror at a bleeding, thin wound... and the Drakkaren gritted his teeth as he stepped forwards and stabbed Blackheart hard down into the cut, and Athéos screamed in pain, back arching as he shook Zerrex violently off, and the reptile leapt backwards as the Old God stared at him, the Drakkaren's angelic wings ripping from his back as he shouted: "You see Athéos, you're just as vulnerable as anyone else!"

"No, no, I am... I am invincible!" Athéos screamed, but his voice had a hint of fear in it as well, and his aura of power was weaker. Immediately, the Drakkaren shot straight at his face, and Athéos swung his hand up incredibly fast... but Zerrex grabbed one massive, tree-like finger and swung himself around it before he jerked backwards with his full strength, and Athéos cursed in pain as it was stretched backwards before he tried to slap the Drakkaren with the flat of his sword... but this time, Zerrex swung hard upwards with a roar, and their blades collided in midair as the Old God screamed in denial, staring in horror as their weapons clashed, the lizard's huge muscles flexing as he held his ground against the sword before leaping suddenly backwards, and Athéos swatted himself before the lizard jumped on top of the flat of the sword.

Athéos cursed and swung the weapon hard outwards, and the Drakkaren grinned as he sprinted down it, using his energy to grip into the smooth blade before it exploded into golden flame, and immediately the lizard cursed and leapt upwards, tail and feet charred by the god's fire before time slowed and Athéos swung a fist out into the lizard, slamming him across the room. Then the Old God snarled as he stabbed forwards, but Zerrex's wings left burn marks against the stone as they shoved him upwards, his back grinding against the cracked stone before it was shattered as Athéos's blade didn't phase through it, but pierced into it. He cursed furiously, his eyes glowing as he tore the weapon free and Zerrex shot towards him, and then he slashed upwards... but Zerrex swung outwards, his sword glowing blue with his energy and clashing with the blade, golden flames licking at him and burning his hands and arms as he snarled before leaning hard into the attack, bracing himself against the very air and shoving violently.

Athéos gaped as his sword was knocked backwards, leaning away in shock... and then Zerrex flew at him and slashed viciously across his cheek, and the Old God's head was knocked to the side as he screamed and blood exploded from the wound, his eyes bulging in shock before the Drakkaren created a sphere of energy and threw it hard into his eye, and it exploded in a brilliant blue blast that knocked Athéos's skull backwards, cracking the windows of the room as his eye turned to jelly, blood and viscous, disgusting fluid exploding from it as he held a hand up and a shockwave exploded through the room, every window shattering into pieces but the broken glass only floating as the reptile felt himself frozen in midair, and then Athéos reached up and grabbed him, yelling furiously as blood and ooze dripped down his face: "You will worship me before you die!"

Athéos crushed the Drakkaren in his hand, his fingers turning white and Zerrex screaming as he felt the metal-covered fist snap his ribs and grind every bone in his body painfully together, and then his eyes blazed as he jerked Blackheart upwards with his full strength in more of a sawing motion than anything else, cutting open his own arm but ripping through the thin armor protecting Athéos's fingers and making them spasm. The Old God shrieked in pain and surprise, and then his remaining eye bulged in horror as Zerrex stabbed through one of his fingers before massive, corrupt spikes of rock and metal tore into another, and several bony, cruel tentacles burrowed their way through the remaining digits, wrapping around them before the reptile flapped his wings of energy once and then propelled himself upwards, roaring as he pulled with his full might and tore several of Athéos's fingers completely off.

Athéos let out a scream, dropping his sword and grasping his hand... and immediately, Zerrex spun around, cutting his own tentacles off with Blackheart and snarling in pain before he threw Blackheart hard, and the blade pierced through the back of the Old God's palm and into the other, knocking both hands together as if he was about to pray and making him gape in horror, before it turned to a desperate howl as he saw the Drakkaren catch his massive sword by the handle and spin it around with a grunt as his hands glowed with energy and his muscles bulged, and the lizard propelled it with an extra blast of sapphire power, sending the huge blade shooting straight through the chest of Athéos.

The sword knocked him backwards as he gasped and leaned forwards, looking down weakly as his eye finally healed... and then he gritted his teeth as the sword exploded into gold flames before slowly vanishing into motes of energy, and Athéos shrank slowly down, losing more than a quarter of his former immensity as he pulled his hands apart and tore Blackheart free, snarling and throwing it at Zerrex. The Drakkaren easily caught the weapon, however, grinning as he shouldered it... and then the Old God swung both hands outwards, and the reptile burst into golden flames before Athéos lunged forwards, catching Zerrex against his palm and crushing him into the front wall as he screamed: "I am the alpha god, I am the creator of the universe!"

He released the reptile for a moment, drawing his fist back, but Zerrex immediately flew upwards before he gritted his teeth, swinging Blackheart out in his left hand and holding up his right arm to stop Athéos from crushing him between his palms, and the two glared furiously at each other before Zerrex sprouted a long row of spikes along his corrupted arm, and the Old God cursed before Zerrex shoved his right arm forwards, and the topmost spike shot from the reptiles wrist and straight into Athéos's opening mouth.

The Old God lurched backwards with a gurgle, shrinking down further... and then Zerrex flew forwards and smashed him hard in the beak, knocking him crashing to the bottom of the dome, making him shrink another ten feet of height as he held up a hand and yelled something, and golden fire exploded over the reptile's body before runes formed across his wings and down his arm, and a moment later, they exploded, the reptile howling in pain as he fell to the ground and landed heavily on damaged girders and floating shards of broken glass, gritting his teeth before he gargled and vomited blood as Athéos started to stomp on him again and again, at the same time lobbing a ball of golden fire down into the Drakkaren, the reptile howling in pain as he felt his hair catch on fire and his scales slowly begin to melt away as the Old God continued to try and crush him underfoot.

Zerrex realized he was still clutching Blackheart, and he rolled and swung the blade outwards when the Old God tried to stomp on him a fifth or sixth time, and instead Athéos shrieked at the wicked cut he received before the Drakkaren concentrated and gritted his teeth, forcing his body to absorb the golden flames covering it before he lashed Blackheart outwards as his blood boiled with the terrible energy, releasing it in a vicious wave through the sword. The blade of golden fire shot back at Athéos, who stared in shock before it smashed into his face and set it on fire, and he stumbled back and forth as the lizard closed his eyes and murmured: "Just a little..."

Blackheart pulsed... and energy flooded from the weapon into the Drakkaren's body, the stump of his shoulder twitching before it grew into an ugly, twisted branch of an arm, and the wounds over his body regenerating as the lizard looked over at Athéos, who was still staggering back and forth as reality rippled around him and his form shrank, and with a roar, the lizard flung himself forwards, feeling the air turn solid beneath his feet and letting him run quickly upwards before he slammed Blackheart into Athéos's chin to knock his head back, before the Old God gurgled as the lizard slashed across his throat, then let himself drop as he cut across his chest with the huge sword, the wounds not spurting blood but instead golden fire as the lizard halted his fall in midair to slice through the Old God's arm and move around to his back, running up it and dragging his blade behind him before he smashed the sword into it and staggered him.

Athéos howled, great crescent waves of golden flame bursting from his body as he flailed his arms weakly, but Zerrex landed on his shoulder and sliced one of his ears cleanly off, making him shriek and stupidly turn to look at the reptile, who immediately took the chance to plunge the sword into an eye before ripping to the side and outwards, scooping most of it from its socket. Athéos covered his face immediately with another scream, and the Drakkaren jumped on top of his arm, skidding down it before he slammed his sword into the elbow of the Old God, dislocating and fracturing it and making him gargle before the Drakkaren was knocked backwards by a shockwave of golden fire... but the reptile rolled in midair, skidding across thin air with a snarl before he fell to his knees with a grunt, blood dripping from his mouth and the burns across his body as Athéos shrank, and the lizard shouted: "It's because of faith, isn't it? Because of the sheer amount of faith they put in you... you became invincible, you became their savior and their terror! Well, no more, Athéos!"

Zerrex stood, ignoring the pain, the shakes, how tired his body felt... and Athéos slowly stood, staring across at him with hatred, loathing, and absolute horror as he asked weakly: "Why... why... why are... how are you... doing this to me... I am God, I am, I am!"

But now he only sounded weak and petulant, and the Drakkaren charged forwards with a roar as Athéos staggered backwards, the reptile's teeth grit even as he felt reality trembling violently around them, as if the universe was threatening to tear itself apart: but now he knew. Faith, the ultimate weapon... faith in him was what made Athéos powerful... but Zerrex knew people had faith in him as well. That people believed in him, and that the world could yet be saved... and as the Old God staggered backwards, Zerrex roared and swung forwards-

A massive blast of golden fire and energy knocked Zerrex flying across the room to crash into the wall, feeling his body threatening to snap into pieces, vomiting blood as waves of golden energy and flame washed over him, and Athéos howled before he fell to his knees, back in his regular form and clothing... except it was tarnished, ripped and torn. Energy crackled through the air in all shapes and colors as the reptile fell to all fours and vomited, and Athéos was barely able to climb to his feet, breathing hard, his eyes filled with horror, covered in abysmal wounds and leaving a thick trail of black blood beneath him as he staggered forwards through thin air, blood dripping slowly down behind him as it running off a platform, as he whispered raggedly: "No more... no... no more..."

Zerrex, however, gritted his teeth, climbing slowly to his feet and dragging Blackheart behind him as he panted hard in and out, and Athéos shook his head mutely as the Drakkaren rasped: "No, Athéos... you're finished. And I can't stop until you're dead... until you're no longer a threat to anyone and anything..."

"What did I ever do that was wrong..." Athéos asked weakly, and then he gurgled and grabbed his stomach, staggering to the side as his crown fell off his bare head, falling to foot level and shattering like glass hitting the ground that wasn't there. It lay in pieces before it slowly melted into a slimy substance that dripped like blood towards the bottom of the dome, but it vanished into steam before it ever reached the floating broken glass and girders, and the Old God looked up, asking Zerrex: "Is order... so wrong?"

"No... but the way you imposed it... thought of us as... toys, as... nothing but... experiments..." Zerrex grit his teeth, and then he halted, only a narrow space of emptiness between the two as their eyes locked, and the Drakkaren held up his sword as Athéos created a blade of his own and winced, holding it up in a single trembling hand. "This... is for all of those you've hurt. We have emotions... we have lives... we have souls. And now I'm going to teach you what we can do... that we are not worthless. That we all are a people! There is no difference between us... from the weakest mortal to the strongest angel, demon, god, whatever... we are just all people... and I will stand up for all of them against you, Athéos."

"Then let us finish this..." Athéos rasped... and the two swung hard outwards, their blades clashing and grinding together in midair, as two combatants snarled at each other... each opposed... and yet seeing themselves in the eyes of the opponent.

Mortal ships had appeared to help the battle, several of them filled with soldiers wielding weapons designed to be most effective in the terrors of space... and Cherry was admittedly extremely glad for the support, as she yelled commands to the squad of demons she had taken over. White and Silven were on another cruiser ahead, Reapers surrounding them and battling it out... but despite their support, the Reapers were far more interested in collecting souls than fighting, so they would only attack targets that were actually alive and had the nasty habit of stopping to check and drain corpses of any remaining energy they had.

Marina, meanwhile, was going crazy, in the middle of the pack of space ships: she was screaming and ranting, grabbing enemy cruisers and ripping them to pieces with her mind, only so she could form them into deadly spears and massive blades, which she hurled into anything that came within range of her. Every now and then she'd stop and grab her horns, roaring and howling, and her body had thickened up, the chains wrapped around her weaving and contorting... and those unlucky enough to come within a short distance of her were immediately wrapped in the loose ends of them and shredded into pieces. Cherry didn't like what was happening... mostly because she knew it meant either Marina was going to lose her mind to her own powers... or worse, something very bad was happening to Zerrex ahead.

It was chaos: the ships were by now starting to close on the space colonies, but they were also even further spread out. Athéos's castle-cruiser, for instance, had barely moved, and the two warships on either side of it were starting to have a hard time fighting against the combined might of Lord and Lucifer, despite the fact that both also had at least four Old Gods and their servants stationed with them. Worse yet, the Old Gods had released several Primordials, and while the creatures didn't seem to care whether they killed friend or foe, they were proving to be extremely difficult to battle against by mortal means.

The whole thing felt like it was quickly becoming fucked up beyond all reason, and Cherry grit her teeth as she rose the magnum White had given her, firing a single round into the back of a monstrous Primordial composed of sheer darkness and ugly metal plates, and the creature arched its spine before it spun around and half-slithered, half-scampered towards her with its segmented body and hundreds of tiny legs... and just as it opened its huge mandibles, the thing shrieked and froze up entirely, and Cherry shoved her hand into its semisolid body and snarled, filling its insides with fire and making it howl and twitch uselessly as it fought against its paralysis before it burst into flames for a moment, then turned to ashes, chunks of metal and its large, very-physical jaws uselessly falling to the ground. The female snorted in distaste, then she looked up as Tinman shot by, shoving both hands up towards a warship and denting the metallic hull with his abilities, before he forced the rounded, submarine-shaped ship to slowly twist to the side until it rolled into a cruiser with a loud bang, and Cherry winced at the sparks that travelled over it as the angel fused them together.

Before she could call out to him, a ghost image ripped through her vision, and the female immediately ducked to avoid an ice creature that swooped overhead, screaming before Cherry threw a fireball into it and burnt a hole through its form before it exploded into pieces, chunks of melting ice raining down over several golems that were slowly stalking over the deck of the ship towards her, and she snorted in distaste, cracking her fists as she spat and muttered: "Hurry the fuck up, Boss..."

And then she heard a terrible scream and felt a massive shockwave ripple past, knocking her to the ground as the golems simply exploded, angels, demons, gods and monsters shaking through the air, and Marina's voice shrieked so loudly in defied the laws of space and time: "Daddy!"

Zerrex and Athéos slashed at each other, and the Old God sliced into the Drakkaren's left arm as the reptiles smashed into the being's chest, knocking him staggering backwards with a grunt as the reptile fell to his knees and Athéos barely managed to remain standing, his legs knocking together once before he straightened and charged with a raw yell. Zerrex, however, threw himself to his feet, ramming his shoulder into the Old God and sending him flying backwards to crash onto his back, rolling several times with a curse as the Drakkaren almost fell over, stopping himself at the last moment as he said finally: "You have lost."

Athéos slowly sat up, his sword lost and fallen to the bottom of the dome, and then he slowly gave a twisted, insane grin as he whispered: "No... I cannot lose... I am God." He stopped, then said it with more conviction, gritting his beak together: "I am God!"

He held his hand out to the side, and it filled with a darkness that hurt the reptile's eyes to look at, the Drakkaren stumbling backwards and half covering his face as the Old God said darkly, even as blood burbled out of his jaws: "This... I will crush you. I will crush you and all your friends, eat your world and force both Heaven and Hell to spiral into this... a black hole so deep, so powerful, it will pierce through into the Nothingness itself! This entire section of the universe will be wiped out, pulled into a place between dimensions, banished for all eternity... you shall be destroyed, eliminated, exterminated, and I shall reign supreme!"

Athéos thrust the orb upwards, laughing insanely, and Zerrex shook his head, shouting: "Athéos, stop, you'll destroy us all, you can't control that!"

"I am God!" Athéos screamed in return, and then he looked up in shock as the sphere flickered in his hand, and he whispered stupidly, looking at it as if trying to explain something to a child: "But I'm God."

And then the sphere expanded rapidly, releasing a shockwave and a terrible explosion of dark energy that knocked both Zerrex and Athéos flying, the reptile wincing in pain as Blackheart was thrown with enough force to bury it into the wall... and then reality bent and twisted, glass shards and metal girders warping and distorting before the air itself seemed to crystallize and then shatter as the black sphere behind them that had grown to a terrible size imploded, and behind it was a whiteness far terrible than anything else the reptile had ever seen, far more desperate than darkness and more painful than the brightest light... it was sheer Nothingness, and around that hole, reality shattered and cracked like glass before it was pulled down a tunnel that had black edges and into that whiteness.

Girders and glass were sucked in first even as Zerrex and Athéos were slowly dragged backwards towards it, a terrible hissing noise filling the room as Athéos clawed to his feet and ran forwards, shrieking, and Zerrex managed to leap upwards as part of the dome cracked and bent violently downwards towards the hole in the universe, grabbing onto a girder and gritting his teeth as he cursed, feeling agony ripping through every part of his being as Athéos was finally jerked off his feet and pulled backwards, screaming... and Zerrex reached out and grabbed his wrist, holding tightly onto the Old God even as the tunnel began to slowly reach forwards as if seeking them out, and he screamed and arched his back in pain as first his feet, and then his ankles were ripped into pieces, parts of his robe and armor torn off as he shook his head in denial and stared up at Zerrex for a moment with eyes full of childlike fear and pain... and then he let go of the reptile's hand, falling backwards as energy crackled through the room before he exploded, and the whole room glowed as Zerrex grit his teeth, losing his grip on the girder for a moment before he clutched tighter into it, feeling himself dragged inexorably backwards nonetheless and howling, yelling in denial and in pain before the girder bent violently, and the reptile felt the smooth metal beneath his fingertips sliding away, clawing at it as time seemed to slow... and then he was pulled backwards, spinning around and staring down the tunnel, and even as he felt terror, he looked up and saw the tunnel closing... and he closed his eyes and felt glad.

Sin... Cherry... Marina... Mahihko... Cindy... Lone... Lily... Selena... Mercy... Balthazar... all my friends... all my daughters... Memories and names passed through the Drakkaren's mind with no rhyme, no rhythm, no order that he could understand, chaos taking over a life lived mostly by some order, some reason... memories of the good times, of the people he'd saved, of the things he'd survived... and a gladness in his heart of hearts that the fighting was over and that he had fallen into darkness... and it was calmness, not fear, that touched him gently as he felt the despair fade, opening his eyes on the Nothingness beyond...

And slowly, he reached out, taking the hands of Allie, not caring if this was real or an illusion, as she descended down towards him... and he smiled, not knowing if this was memory or reality, as they spun slowly together before they hugged each other tightly... and as they clung together, spinning slowly through the nothingness, they dissolved... and for a few moments, two distinct streams of energy spun in a helix with one another before both became motes in the stillness, in the nothingness, that faded quickly from sight.