The crowd stared in confusion, startled and afraid as the Archangel glanced around himself smiling all the while he spoke "Let the drums of war play, let the horns of battle sound. For today a world became one, and today a world becomes undone." The sky tore open high above, a black scar that smeared through from one horizon to the other and beyond.
"Call upon your warriors, send forth your champions, announce your heroes. For the end has arrived, your time of reckoning has barged through the door, the apocalypse is here." Said Michael as from the massive rift in space descended out billions of angelic winged warriors, massive bats shrouded in green shadow, goliaths of bone and metal, beings made of pure lightning, stone, fire, wind and water, serpents gushing out waves of water through their emerald scales and last but not least massive cocoon like ships made from dark metal and wrapped in what looked like ribcages.
The ships were holding up the goliaths of bone with ropes, lowering them towards the ground. While the Fallen Angels, Dread beasts, Elementals and Ryu simply flew downward towards the amassed crowd.
But only a few, as most of the armada was spreading out, pouring down like rain all over the world.
And all over the world they were seen, the black scar-like rift flooding its surface with the enemy. Be it Il'tel, Hasharr, Ruk, Barik, some island or the deep ocean. Conflict spanned the entire globe, Orcs rushing through the golden fields in a charge, Ogres defending their forts from siege, Elves stalking the woods as Drakes clashed in the sky, Mer with their Merbeasts colliding under the sea, Avians with their flying kingdom fighting off invasion, Humans, Half-beasts and Scalarians spanning through a bloody battlefield in the snow. Dwarves released their weapons of war, Fae cast their magik upon the hordes, Demons going toe to toe with other-worldy warriors.
The entirety of Chaoz in just a few minutes turned into a massive war-torn battle field.
Birse immediately retreated from the podium, re-joining the rest of the guild below "Fall back!" he ordered as the enemy descended upon them. Evading the falling Earth elementals and explosive Fire elementals as the goliaths of bone and metal crashed all around them trying to surround the crowd.
"They're all over!" said Skill as he windwalked out of the way of a Lightning elemental that surged into the ground where he once stood.
"Regroup, now!" ordered Birse as he pulled Caitlyn and Samala with, throwing them aside to Cherry as suddenly a large monstrous bat-like creature landed next to them, snarling with long fangs as green mist-like mana oozed out of its body. Birse turned to face the creature, clenching his fists as his gauntlets suddenly appeared, then forming the large shadow-like arms out of the ground next to him.
The DreadBeast lunged, and Birse immediately countered. Sending forward his two massive arms of shadowmass bursting forth into the bat's path with so much force that the creature was thrown back at high speed. The creature flew through the air for several dozen meters before suddenly bursting into green porridge.
Behind the explosion of flesh hovered Michael, turning to look at his attacker he sneered "More trouble makers."
Birse turned to face the ArchAngel "So you're the Demon of Light? Fitting name." suddenly the arms of shadow dissipated "So what's your game? We never understood why, why do all this?" he asked as the entire valley turned into a battlefield around him, the guild forming a perimeter around him, his two wives and a couple other Esfeltian noblemen and women.
Michael chuckled "Oh you mean our goal? Simple, we wish for utter pandemonium, followed by resurrection and then…Creation." He riddled on with a wide smile, completely looking down on the beings before him.
Birse's eyes narrowed ("So not destruction, but just chaos…resurrection? Of what or who?") he thought with a raised brow, but realising the answer as he asked it.
Michael seemed to notice Birse's realisation too, his expression turning serious and slightly surprised. As if he thought he had been speaking to beast, not an enlightened being. "Enough talk, let's see if you have the power to match brain."
Author: Boss fight? ">
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n7BLGt0wU48
Behind Birse a shadow briefly appeared, he spoke something to it before the humanoid shape faded away. He then turned back to Michael, a mocking sneer across his face "Come at me bitch, cause like the snake, I'll cut the damn head and the body will fall limp." His eyes turned utterly black.
Michael scoffed as a white bright mist suddenly engulfed him, it was light elemental miasma. The Arch Angel surged forwards, his wide giant wings propelling him as the miasma trailed behind. A bright white sword of light per hand, golden energy flowing through his eyes and an aura of white surrounding his body. Michael descended down upon Birse.
Like a shooting star the Arch Angel fell, bright as a nearing comet of pure light. Yet Birse could only smile as he quickly chanted "Equipment Restraint Release, Equip over, Gear up, Add-on, Veteran's gear, Open slots, Warmage's wear, Taskmaster's collection!"
Michael slashed down with both swords, light distorting in their path as the blades swiped down from either side and towards Birse's neck. When suddenly "Quick Equip" all over Birse's body appeared dozens of strange equipment. From amulets, to rings and necklaces, from bracers to totems and belts. All kinds of accessories, sub-armour and artefacts. Some bright and new, others ancient in state and design.
Michael's solemn expression turned to bafflement for a brief moment, "Core Overload!" as the next his vision was engulfed in darkness. All around Birse a black mass of darkness formed, it covered him before enveloping Michael and throwing him aside. The Arch Angel stopped himself mid-air and watched as the mass grew and grew, rising higher than even the goliaths of bone, growing larger than the ships of metal and bone above.
The seemingly malleable darkness took form, a wide torso with large thick arms, a short thick neck and a helmet-like head. The giant of darkness seemed armoured yet it was all the same material, pure dark mana condensed into solid form. Its hands ended in jagged claws, instead of legs it had a flow of black smoke that covered the area beneath it.
Michael gazed at the giant in horror "What is this…abomination?"
A voice resounded out of the darkness, chuckling. It was Birse's "I've scrounged, gathered and collected as many equipment slot increasing self buffs as I could manage to find. Oh and not just those, cause you see I have a special personal skill."
The giant opened its arms wide as Birse chanted once more "Lightning Dance! Fiery Aura! Overpower! Mortal Edge! Mana Surge! Rage! Berserk! Quick Flow!" he once more spoke each spell after the other, as buff after buff they stacked over his giant body. Lightning surging through the darkness, an aura of flames forming around it, a rippling barrier of water appearing to surround him and several more unseen effects that covered him.
Over the giant's face, a wicked grin formed out of the darkness "As long as I have just this one skill as my only actually learned skill…I can copy, save and use anybody else's spell, skill, passive or buff I can remember. And my memory has yet to fail me."
Michael grimaced "You think I'll fall to the simplicity of raw strength!? Hah!" suddenly the Arch Angel's entire body flickered bright and disappeared. Reappearing in the same spot, then being replaced by a blinding ray of light that pierced through Birse's dark body.
But the dark mass simply regenerated, unaffected by the magical attack that would have seared mana itself from existence. Michael saw this, and his expression went beyond pale and surprise as he gazed at the giant in utter disbelief "Impossible…".
Birse chuckled "Yeah, you're right. This is a bit impossible isn't it?" he said as suddenly the giant began to fade, each time the Arch Angel blinked it faded further. Until all that remained was Birse returned to normal, standing on the ground and surrounded by his people. Smiling in triumph.
Behind him was Steph with a large aqumarine crystal before her, on top of which sat Lilior. All around them was the rest of the guild, standing in a circle. Further out were dozens of corpses from the invading army, seemingly having not noticed the giant of darkness and had rushed inside without Michael even noticing.
But now he did, he very much noticed "…An-I-Illusion!?" the Arch Angel said in utter disbelief.
"Duped like the sorry idiot that you are." Announced Birse as he glanced to the side, where suddenly a burst of shadow exploded before quickly fading away. In its place stood Jacky, his left hand over Karnage's shoulder. "We just needed some extra time, ain't easy to find someone in the midst of this." He explained with a chuckle.
Michael's expression quickly darkened, from confusion and bafflement it turned to red raw fury "You're over, this world is done, the Goddess will be devoured and your friend killed. Void will be released, and reality will change." His voice was hoarse, his tone growling. "It matters not who comes to aid you, I pledge that your life will now end."
Birse smirked as he took a step back, as everyone did the same with Karnage now standing in the centre "Not if we have something to say about it."
Suddenly runes lit up beneath the guild's feet, a circle of mana that began to rise up and through them. Their bodies faded into the magic, disappearing as suddenly Michael lunged down engulfed in a blinding sun. The ground exploded, white flames spreading out in every direction…
Slowly the fire and smoke subsided…revealing an Arch Angel standing alone, trembling with oozing hatred.
Kyle's mind was blank, but not empty. So full of fear that nothing else passed though. He couldn't see anything, he couldn't hear, smell or feel anything around him at all. The void was so empty that he couldn't even breathe, slowly choking, slowly losing grasp on life.
All he could do was sense the malevolent mana that flowed all around him, an energy so thick with hate and jealousy that it dazed his mind. It choked him further, gripping tightly around his neck. The energy wanted him dead, wanting nothing more than to cease his very existence.
The energy hated him with every ounce of its own reality, it despised his very being.
This hate, Kyle recognised all too well.
The same feeling that filled him to bursting when he lost control, the same energy that strung his limbs and actions like puppetry as a child. The same monster that ruined his entire life.
This hate he sensed, caused his own to reach the surface. Yet it wasn't enough, his hatred and anger did nothing to give him strength now. He felt weak, powerless as the energy squashed him. A mere bug beneath Void's boot.
He could only ponder on how he was still alive a second later…and another…then another…
The power that surged around him was so overwhelming that it scrambled his mind, rattled his emotions and restrained his body. Yet somehow, he managed to ask himself, why was he still alive?
Suddenly the energy changed, Kyle sensed extreme heat as a bright light blinded his eyes, as the sound of crackling flames entered his ears. He felt like he was being incinerated, the feeling of his own skin being seared off, his flesh burned to a crisp, his organs boiled up.
Yet he still remained…alive.
The energy changed once more, again darkness filled his eyes as suddenly his body felt cold. Kyle felt frost forming over his body, then suddenly within. It burned like nothing he had felt before, the frosty chill penetrating down into his very core until he felt nothing at all.
But again, Kyle still remained alive…
For the third time reality seemed to change around him, this time the feeling of liquid pressing against his skin was all he felt at first…Then the pressure hit, a force so powerful that Kyle could feel his organs burst, his skin tearing, his flesh being squashed and bones shattering. He felt himself turning to mush…
And once more, somehow he was still alive.
No matter the agony, no matter the damage he felt his own body take, he held onto consciousness. Life lingering within his mind, unable to comprehend what was going on. Until finally, the malevolent energy pulled away. He still sensed it a few feet away, lingering, watching. But now he could think clearly as it didn't invade his senses completely.
Now Kyle could feel why he was even still alive after all that, his entire body had shifted to slime. And slime didn't need breathable air, could resist extreme heat and cold, and apparently extreme pressure as well.
He also understood what had just happened, Void had attempted to kill him in several ways it could think of on the spot. ("Why didn't it expect me to turn into slime though?") Kyle thought, this fact now tearing apart his previous belief that Void had somehow pressed the Lord of Slimes class onto him.
Kyle did all he could do at the moment, think. And that one thought stuck in his mind, did Void really not know about slimes? Then if it wasn't Void, was it truly a coincidence? ("No…that shit doesn't happen in real life!") Kyle told himself.
But if not Void then…who?
("The Avatar…") Kyle then thought, of course it was the Avatar. Kyle now put it all together, the class, the quest, his existence as a Yako and…The Avatar's last words. ("For what is about to happen…Hah…Bastard.")
Kyle realised, what could possibly survive against a Void? Spiritually? Maybe a Yako. Physically? Maybe a slime. He realised that no it wasn't a coincidence, the Avatar had just lead him into becoming just that. Some thing that could survive Void's power.
Kyle was a Yako, somewhat a Kitsune too. Void couldn't break him spiritually without excessive force from its part. Kyle was also a Slime, the most adaptable creature to ever exist. No climate could kill him. And he was also himself, having gone through what he's have so far. Being used like this, it no longer bothered him in the slightest.
But to what point? What exactly did the Avatar think Kyle could do in this situation? He was stuck, surrounded by the very Void in every direction. He couldn't move else he was sure the energy would supress him once more. He could only sense as he floated there, a blob of shapeless slime.
Kyle didn't know, so he moved onto the next question. Why hadn't Void used excessive force? If it wanted to kill him, it could with more effort. Kyle knew that, the Void wasn't just a creature or a single power. Just like the Avatar, Void was an existence in of itself.
He now understood that also just like the Avatar, the Void couldn't directly affect his own existence without Kyle's consent. At least he hoped it was as so…That would be awkward. Which was why it was required to do something so underhanded to take him out, like changing the climate around him to the extreme.
So why hadn't it continued to try other things? Kyle doubted that it was lack of imagination, it has had decades to think up ways to kill him. Which brought him to one conclusion, for one reason or another Void couldn't use up enough energy to try something better.
But why? What could that reason possibly be? Was Void too weak to will up enough power? Kyle doubted that very much. No something had happened, something was keeping it occupied…Then he remembered, he wasn't the only one to be sucked into the Void.
Liliana was here too, somewhere.
And the last time he saw her, she was glowing brighter than either of Chaoz's suns. He'd guessed it was the Quest releasing the limitations put upon her Godly blood. If so then it made sense that the Void was occupied, busy keeping the Deity at bay as it existed within itself.
But even then, what was he supposed to do now? He was alone, surrounded by a reality level being who's power was beyond even a God. He was sure the system was non-existent here just as it wasn't back home, Kyle had no stat advantage like he did with Behemoth.
And above all, this being knew everything about him. From the moment he was born to this one right now. Void knew it all, just as much as Kyle didn't know what to do Void knew that he didn't. It is why it backed off and stopped wasting energy, it was why it kept watch around him.
But the Kyle it knew, was not the one that existed right now. It had only been a couple weeks since his connection with Void had been broken but it was enough. Kyle had changed, in and out he was no longer himself. No Kyle was different, he felt as much.
He knew as much.
Author: I have no words other than this one, enjoy 😊
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CYDP_8UTAus
("No, I'm done. I'm done feeling weak, I'm done feeling sorry for myself. This hate…doesn't thwart me any longer. I fight for other reasons now, better reasons.") Kyle thought as he felt his Spirit beginning to swell within, as his inner voice echoed out of his slime body "You won't hold me hostage again. Choke me, Burn me, Freeze and Squash me. Break my fucking mind. But I won't give in, because there is nothing else for you to do to me. You've done it all, you've broken me several times over!"
Kyle felt his Spirit gush out of every centimetre of his slimy body, he felt it collide with the existence that was the Void. "You cannot touch me, Void. No more, I am nothing like the child you destroyed. I'm not alone anymore, I'm not weak."
"Oh but you are." A disembodied voice responded, cold and distorted it pained Kyle to hear it "You are still that child."
"No! I've grown up!" Kyle responded.
"You're still alone." The voice said.
"No, I see them now. In my mind, I see their faces, the people who've made my life worth living. I hear their voices, as they say my name." Kyle countered, his tone growing fiercer "They tell me to fight!".
"You're still weak." The voice returned.
"No I'm strong, because unlike you I can finally stop looking back at the past. I gaze at tomorrow, a day where I've defeated you!" Kyle shouted, feeling his Spirit push against Void's as the energy resisted his attempts like a brick wall.
"You're still afraid." The Void hissed.
Kyle felt his heart sink once more, indeed he was, he felt his Spirit being pushed back for a brief moment… "Yeah, I'm afraid. I'm afraid that I can't get it done, I'm afraid I cannot make it out. But that just means I'm still alive. And while I'm still alive, not for another moment will I think of giving up. Because if I cannot get something done then I'll find another way! If I cannot make it out then I'll rip open another path! One way! Or another!"
Kyle's Spirit lit up like a firestorm, burning bright gold as it tendrilled out through the thin Void. "I'm not you! I will never be you! Because I'm better than you!" further and further his Spirit reached out, pushing back with all his might as the golden flames burned away reality.
"You will fail, you will fall, YOU WILL BE DEVOURED!" the voice rumbled, shaking everything that was.
Kyle's flames faltered as suddenly the Void's energy thickened, tearing off at his tendrils of Spirit and pushing back fiercely. But it was too late, Kyle had found what he was reaching out for. Hovering alone, surrounded by the thickest amount of Void's power and very far away he found her. Liliana was there, engulfed but conscious.
Kyle pulled his flames back and condensed them around himself, then willing his slime to absorb them. The slime seemed to suddenly burn up, the flames too much for it to adapt to at first. But Kyle kept trying, replacing what slime was disintegrated with more, controlling the flames to a calm light.
Until finally he succeeded, not needing a notification as the slime that made up his body naturally changed. From the usual plain bright blue, the slime turned a translucent gold with patterns of fire flowing through its surface. Kyle sensed not just Spirit within himself but also a specific kind of Spirit, just like his Holyfire it was warm, bright and like a mother's embrace it was so full of positive emotion.
Through this slime he reformed, taking shape, gaining eyes, ears, a mouth and further. Even though Liliana was already so far away, Kyle watched as Void stretched space and moved her further. But he charged forwards anyway, the blazing gold that lively burned around him tearing a path through the Void.
The further Void pulled the Goddess away, the faster Kyle moved.
"Abandon your false hopes, you cannot compare to me. You cannot stop the storm that is to come, you cannot defeat the enemy that faces you now. You're too little, too weak, to stand a chance." The Void's voice echoed after him.
Yet Kyle smiled "No I will never abandon hope again, because the storm to come is not the one you are expecting! Your winds are mild, your rain dripping. Our storm is raging, our rain pouring, our thunder shaking you to the core. I can feel it Void, it is YOU who is afraid! So watch and cower, because it is I who is this story's monster now!"
Kyle's form shot through the seemingly endless emptiness, reaching out as he finally reached the chained Goddess. Dark tendrils flowed out of the space around her, wrapping around her glowing body, binding and restraining her. Kyle elongated his right arm forward, towards the dark shackles.
Before suddenly the darkness that surrounded them converged. The Void imploded on itself, like an impossibly large mass of energy shrinking and reforming into a smaller shape. Until a bipedal fox, black flames making up its body, wide and crazed white eyes, long blade like claws, jagged dark fangs and thousands of flame-like furry tails growing down its back.
Void appeared before Kyle, taking its original shape "From the very start, you've been an annoyance. From the moment you came into existence, you've been a hole in my plan of freedom. It ends now, you shall cease to be now." It stood a hundred times larger than even Kyle's own Spirit form, a humongous being of dark flames. It stood in between him, and what he was after.
And even against these odds, Kyle wanted to press ahead. He stopped himself, surging aside as Void's massive claw slashed through his previous position. Kyle willed his flames to pull him forward, allowing him to fly through the emptiness. He evaded the claws, withstood sudden bursts of Darkfire, resisted the Spirit that pressured on his mind. Kyle pressed onwards, unyielding no matter the attack sent his way.
Even as he was knocked aside, he realigned and kept moving. Even as the claws ripped him apart, he reformed and regenerated. Even as the dark flames engulfed him, he resisted them and shook them off with his own. He flew around the massive form, for several moments he flew.
Until he saw the light, as it ascended over the dark horizon like a star. Until he finally reached Liliana, and gripped onto her bindings. He was blinded by her light, and he felt the dark form looming over his back.
"Even if you free the little deity, you cannot escape me! You cannot defeat me! You cannot stop me! I am endless! I am forever! I am infinite!" the voice rumbled, closing nearer. He didn't have much time.
Kyle sneered as he glimpsed Liliana's pale and weary face through the blinding light "You are only right about one of those things, I can't defeat you, not yet." He gripped tightly onto the dark tendrils, yet not tearing them off to free her "To make the right decision…" he gazed into the Goddess's eyes, they were pleading "Forgive me, Liliana. But it seems like, we were both played. And it's either existence, or you."
Kyle's hands reformed to slime as suddenly the golden goo engulfed Liliana's entire body "And I very much like to exist."
"You…No!" the voice thundered out behind him, as Kyle took a deep breath and prepared himself for the shock that was sure to come. As he willed his slime, to absorb the Goddess.
Liliana finally spoke, quiet and short so that only Kyle could hear… "Then I leave them to you, if you so wish to accept the responsibility…"
Kyle nodded "I accept it, I'll fill those large boots of yours."
Liliana smiled, even as her form cracked and deformed, fading into light as the light itself faded into the slime. The tendrils that bound her fell loose before pulling out of the slime, unaffected and returning to Void's main body which now loomed over Kyle.
"Wh-What…WHAT HAVE YOU DONE!?" the baffled voice demanded to know as the looming beast gazed down at the small being with fury.
Kyle lay still, as his flames slowly died down in brightness and mass until they dissipated. He was silent, completely unmoving. But his mind was shattering, filling up to bursting with an unending rush of information. He saw it all, from the start to now.
The Void grew even more infuriated as no response came from Kyle, "DIE! DISSAPPEAR! BE ERASED YOU VILE FOX!" screaming out with fury as it lashed down with both claws closing around Kyle's form. As the darkness enveloped him, as the Void clasped his body within its claws.
"Hah…I might be vile, but I ain't fucking going nowhere yet." responded Kyle as suddenly Void's hands exploded.
As he turned to face the creature that for so long plagued his life.
As behind him, runic circles formed. Through them appearing his entire guild, Caitlyn and some other Esfeltians…with them were also Karnage and Zaahr.
Kyle gazed up at the void, at the Nogitsune, at the monster "I told you, I'm not alone. And I'm not a Fox either. I'm a Wolf, and this is my pack."