163 The Conclusion
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(General P.O.V)
Back on earth, not even 30 minutes had gone by since, Aden had left for hell. But in that span of time, so much had happened. For starters, there had been a break out at Arkham Asylum with Batman trying to curb the widespread disaster the inmates were pouring out on Gotham.
Then the Trench had decided to attack 4 of Atlantis' city states which had needed full league response upon Aquaman's request for assistance. The team, 10 minutes after getting back together with the League had been split into two groups sans Robin. Robin was with Batman handling the Arkham issue.
The first team consisted of Superboy and Aqualad who were strong enough to survive the pressures of the sea and Artemis who could control the Bio-ship, coordinating the Justice League and Atlantis' soldiers to fight off the Trench. Even with Atlan's trident, King Orin had found it hard to control the underwater creatures. It was like their minds were overtaken by a deep lust for chaos.
The second team consisted of Miss Martian and Kid Flash who were with Canary and Martian Manhunter at the Watchtower. Black Canary was tasked with coordinated all the teams and sending updates on the situations. Manhunter and his niece on the other hand were trying to dive into Superman's mind to attempt bringing him back while Kid Flash was mostly there to watch over their forms.
(Aden's P.O.V)
Oftentimes characters in movies, anime or comic books who are said to be higher tiered than almost any other character in the setting, never show the upper limits of what they can do due to never being pushed to that level. I think of that perceived peak of their power as the best example of a cushy, ignorant comfort zone. One of two things will most definitely happen. One, if they ever meet their equal, they will either get beaten so badly for their complacency or two, beat the other guy so soundly because of misjudging their actual power. Both roads lead to one eventual destination, stagnation.
Why the rant huh? Simple, my conjectures were being proven correct by the utterly poor showing the Demon Lords were showcasing when they attacked me at Neron's urging. All power, no finesse. But I'm getting ahead of myself. Let me back track a little.
"We have to work together."
I heard Neron suggest to the other three Hell Lords. A slow smile appeared on my face I leaned back into my throne, crossing one leg over the other.
"He's right you know." I called out.
Their attention all came to rest on me. I ran my gaze around them.
"As it stands...none of you can hope to match me. And so to give the Prince of Lies a fighting chance, something he never granted me, I shall allow it." I felt a change in the conditions of the fight. As long as Neron did not oppose the change...it was now a fight of one vs many.
My words were met with anger from the Demon Lords. Two of them, while not flattered by my statements had the good sense instead of jumping in for the time being. However, before Neron could use his power to attack me, an unlikely figure butted in.
"Impudent brat! How dare you act so arrogantly before us!!"
Beelzebub was quick to interject, his form monstrously ballooning up in size.
"Whoa."
I commented in a little intrigue. Beelzebub reminded me of Mnemoth. Good times. My smile stretched even wider, gaining a touch of eagerness. Let's see what you can do.
(General P.O.V)
His throne was crushed under his weight as the now 20 meters tall, fly man jumped off the stands and exploded into billions of buzzing insects. The chittering bugs were coal black with large scissor like pincers and an aspect of energy that felt distinctly similar to a darkened cave with no visible end. Gluttony.
"Is he?"
Lady Blaze questioned from where the rest of them were still sitting, seemingly unperturbed by Beelzebub's outraged charge.
"Fool. Changing directly into his demon form to attack a mere human! Bah!"
Neron ridiculed. One of Azazel's numerous pair of eyes narrowed. Was Neron this disillusioned? Hadn't they all beared witness to the death of thousands of demons against the child's fearsome power!
(Aden's P.O.V)
The cloud of insects covered the sky above the Stadium. Magical shields were deployed by the high ranked demons remaining. They seemed worried. Fear dictating their actions as Beelzebub's form flew around, winding like migrating locusts before plunging down towards me.
I stayed put. One hand propped on the frame of the throne to support my chin while the other was around Equity's handle.
"Let's see what you got, Demon."
I muttered.
"Realm, record the biometric signatures of every creature not native to the dimensions and start a file titled 'Deciphering the demon form'. I want to know if its magic that allows them to shift their physical bodies into an aspect tied directly to the essence within them or a conceptual feature woven into their unique genetic map. And while you're at it, start a contrast file titled Angels with a particular focus on an evolutionary path or relation between a demon and an angel. Cerial will serve well for the second subroutine."
The answer came in seconds.
(Affirmative)
And then I was swallowed by a dense cloud of bugs. At the last minute, I phased my body by vibrating my molecules along with anything I was in contact with by merely wishing. Anything was possible for me in my dimension after all. A panorama of energy registered in my senses as he passed through me. My spiritual attunement told me that he didn't possess a soul. Not like a mortal being did. A demon was a different creature all on its own. It's an ambiguous essence of state. Offshoots of the presence yet warped, changed into reflections of what they represented in the past.
I wonder if I can ...
My inner energy rose up from within me, taking form into a blue flame that flickered around my body. Seemingly weak yet it burned deeper and more thoroughly than anything I had ever controlled before. A screech escaped the dark cloud as it manifested behind me. Beelzebub took on his humanoid form and fell to the ground, his body burned, the wings blazing blue with my flame.
He reached out a hand towards Lucifer, pleadingly.
"Help mmmm..."
His charred remains, fell to the arena ground and broke down into ash. Terror gripped every being around...
"No..."
"How?!"
"He...he killed a Hell Lord! What chance do we have!!?"
Lady Blaze gripped the frame of her throne in fear.
"I...I can't feel Beelzebub anymore."
Azazel have no response while Neron simply gritted his teeth. His mind was working overtime trying to come up with a plan because...things were not looking too good.
I looked at the stands, particularly the demon who had asked that. After my brief mental conversation with Lucifer, I understood things better.
"Look around you. At your compatriots, your colleagues, your... accomplices." My statements had them doing exactly that.
"Notice anything...strange?"
I questioned. Even I hadn't seen it before. It took Lucifer pointing it out to me to understand.
My eyes wandered to the three Hell Lords present and I witnessed realization dawn in their eyes. I smiled.
"Now you get it."
The throne behind me disappeared yet I remained floating above the hoard. The center of their terrified gazes. A part of me wondered absentmindedly, 'how had he known that we would get to this point? How did he plan this?'
Unfortunately, being cryptic and mysterious was always part of Lucifer's whole schtick. Infact, he reminded me of Iroh in that particular aspect. I wonder what would happen if I introduced them. There's an idea. I discarded that thought process and brought my attention to ending this once and for all.
Azazel's form billowed out like a huge blanket before I could say anything. The interesting thing was...he didn't attack me. No, he did something even dumber.
"Lucifer!!!! You planned this! Damn you Samael!!"
Hell flame shot out of his body and wrapped around the balcony set in the castle above them. The stone was quickly licked apart by the terrifyingly hot flames, the demons escaping their fate only because I used my authority to shield them. It wasn't time for them to die. They could prove to be useful still. I took a step, covering the distance between me and the castle in a split second, and appeared before The Lightbringer's front. The balcony was behind me as well as Lucifer's confident presence.
Black Flames spread across the length of the walls, propelled through the anger of the Hell Lord, seeking a futile result, the death of Lucifer. Stalwart, I stood between the impossible task and the too enraged Hell Lord to understand the fruitless endeavor of his impulsive actions.
"My first time truly saving someone and I went for the devil. Talk about overachieving."
I threw that over my shoulder, smirking when I heard a soft laugh.
"I give you a 4 out of 10 for the quip."
Luci told me, taking a sip from the wine glass. Maze, was standing behind him, gently massaging his shoulders, rolled her eyes.
I reoriented my body and stood horizontally on the vertical wall, looking down at the approaching enormous plumes of hell fire. I could end this in a heartbeat. So why didn't I? Simple, I had just gotten another Subskill and unexpected or not, this was as good a time as any to see how effective blue fire was from the common flame. I had seen it could hurt Demons just as the holy flame I had wielded with the Light did to Mnemoth, though to a much less degree. Beelzebub could attest to that. Yeah...he wasn't dead despite looking like a pile of ash...just imprisoned in the same place I kept Black Adam and Masali.
Equity changed form into a thick lance made of dense material, looking more like a staff with a blade at the end than a regular spear. I slammed it down on the wall, cracks spreading out from the point of impact along the black surface of the huge structure.
"You shall not pass!"
A blast of blue flames exploded out downwards like a Tsunami, set straight for a collision course with the hell flames. Like two monsters fighting for survival, the blue and black flames roiled around each other, entangling and pushing for dominance, each aiming to swallow the other. I swung out Equity, controlling the flames like a maestro to cover my sides as the hell fire was no joke. As a consequence, a tornado of flames manifested from between us before eventually unravelling into a purple fire that covered our surroundings with no discernible victor.
I slashed out with Equity, getting rid of all the black smoke floating about from the clash of both flames.
Azazel saw me. It felt like he'd been ignoring me all this time but now he SAW me. Saw my power, and it made him surprised. Neron and Lady Blaze covered his flanks, ready for a fight. The female demon looked mildly unsure of what to do. She was tense, alternating between staring at me and the balcony above with caution. Neron opened and closed his palms like clockwork.
I jumped over the purple flame still burning and landed between them and their wrecked thrones, right next to the glass sphere housing Cerial. Standing so close to her, I could tell that this wasn't Allyssa. Not in the ways that mattered anyway. I could feel her soul slumbering deep within the form of this beautiful angel looking at me with hope and amazement. Amazement at my power. All overshadowed by a string desire for freedom.
Her eyes shone with so much yearning it almost momentarily threw me out of loop. With such a look, my determination to see this end blazed even higher. I couldn't keep on wasting time. Each second that passed increased the chances of something meta happening. It was the way of this reality. Plot in other words. So fuck, trying to see the upper limits of what I could do with my blue flames. I needed to get this girl out. And seeing her imprisoned in such a way, a thought on how useful some of these demons could be if I spared them and offered a deal came to my mind.
I looked over at Lucifer's balcony and made a request.
"Do I need to kill them all?"
I felt his amusement through the mental link.
"Aside from those two, I honestly do not care what you do with the rest."
He answered back, making me nod towards him in gratitude.
I laid a palm on the glass sphere, smiling softly at the captive within.
"I am sorry for keeping you waiting. Just gimme a second and I'll get you out. Oh and Gabriel sends his regards."
Tears welled up in her eyes and she started crying in happiness. I looked away at my opponents and cleared my throat. The mission objectives now made a lot of sense. This was as much a rescue mission as it was a judgement. I now understood my role in this and what I needed to do. Balance had been upset. And it was up to me...to restore it.
"I'm sure you now understand what is happening." I addressed the gathered demons.
"You conspired against your King's rule. Seeking to usurp his authority and invade earth under the direction of these 4.... oh sorry now 3 Hell Lords before you." All were silent.
"But the worst thing you could have done...was let your greed and hunger for power cloud your judgement, which is standard fair for demons...I mean who can blame you? But to go as far as to continue scheming against the Morningstar, rightful monarch of the infernal realms, despite the mercy he showed you, I find you guilty." Even as the words left my mouth...I felt something change a little within me. My words were stated with absolute conviction. I relied on my realm authority to impose the meaning onto the world. My mouth moved on its own.
"As the Avatar, Lord of Order and balance, creator of the Elemental dimension, emissary of heaven and champion of the Morningstar...I find you guilty and offer you two paths. One of eternal servitude and the second...of death.
A wave of power washed out of me. A sigil with Raava's symbol branding itself on my forehead, glowing blue. I breathed in... feeling connected to my realm more deeply than I had ever before. Time stopped. Space froze and I was left aware amid the unmoving forms of my enemies. I looked at my body and felt...a new feeling. A feeling that was more intricately woven into my being than any of the elements.
Lucifer stirred. It started with a slow clap and then the Morningstar simply appeared before me, hand clasped together. I was too busy reveling in this new feeling to overly react. He walked around my form, watching me with an intensity that made me feel as if he could see deep within me.
"Fascinating."
He finally commented. I agreed.
I moved my palm through the air, leaving behind an afterimage echoing visually. What had I done? I felt on the cusp of a strange feeling. As if I was about to disappear into something. Something wholesome yet empty. Something that called out to me to drown my soul in its depths. I found myself ready to meld into its boundless entirety. The world started breaking away before me, cracks that appeared in reality. My eyes had finally opened to the truth about my purpose. A purpose that transcended the dopamine dose from regular heroics. A purpose of balance. A purpose of...
The sound of the snap of a finger brought me back. Only marginally though, my mind drifting back into that state of conceptual existence almost too easily. One with...a light slap landed on my cheek, yet my spirit was instantly jarred. I blinked my eyes at the action.
"Shut it down Aden! Close off your being to that Domain." I could tell he was right. With every once of my will and self I closed the door I had opened accidentally. I found myself breathing heavily while my throat seized up in discomfort. I massaged it lightly and looked at Lucifer in question.
"You have been screaming for 1 full minute now."
He offered.
The look of intrigue had changed into something else. One of concern yet strangely, no surprise. I narrowed my eyes.
"What..." I cleared my throat a little, panic at my mind almost unravelling into something setting in.
"What just happened!?"
Lucifer merely raised his eyebrows.
"Someone is in an awfully testy mood. Given the circumstances, I'll let it slip." His eyes briefly glowed red. "But next time do not raise your voice at me."
The warning reminded me who I was talking to and normally I would back down and just leave it as it was but not this time. I had had enough of it. I had almost lost everything I had worked and bled for.
I glared at him.
"I have entertained all of your requests and listened to your orders. Never once, did I refuse to do your bidding but what have I gotten in return? Nothing! Cryptic statements and half truths. I have risked my life for you! And You've kept things I should know, hidden from me Lucifer!" I took a breath, adding calmly,
"I am tired of it. So please, if you possess the slightest bit of gratitude and respect for me...tell me what I need to know. Give me straight answers for once, goddamit!"
We looked at each other in silence. The expression on his face had changed into one of deep thought. I should have been afraid. Terrified for speaking out to him like that. However, my mind was on that phenomena that had just occurred. For a brief moment there, I had felt the overpowering call. A promise of freedom.
"You're right." He finally said, sounding surprised by his words. "All this time, I've seen you as a fragile human. Incapable of handling that which would break a regular mortal. Even your revered justice league members would be left...changed by some truths." He stared at me, in quiet curiousity.
"But you're not a regular mortal, are you? What just happened more than confirms it. An existence from beyond the Overvoid. I cannot believe I would ever forget that."
He chuckled in amusement.
"Straight answers."
I reminded him, keeping a tight lid on my annoyance.
A slow smile worked it's way onto his face.
"I suppose you are not going to let this go, are you?"
I shook my head.
"Very well. Let's start with the incident." The sky above us suddenly changed to a dark and featureless black canvas. The fact that I could perceive this without color meant...
"An illusion."
I muttered.
"Yes. You're quite right. No on with our history lesson, in the beginning....blah blah blah Michael supplied power, I supplied imagination, Gabriel supplied form...blah blah blah, Creation happened." The sky changed to reflect his words. With it suddenly exploding in light before spreading out and in its wake, leabing behind various galaxies.
"Now, after creation... that's when things got a little bit... interesting. Born from Time and Night, ambiguous extra-existential beings, came The Endless. Children blessed or cursed with being the representations of the aspects of life. Whether mortal or immortal, that which possesses life is bound to them intrinsically and cannot escape their influence."
The scene above us changed to show featureless yet distinctly different beings based on their silhouettes appear from the union of time and mother night.
I felt...a strong pull towards them, my hand rising up to touch upon their forms.
"Each of The Endless is not just tied to what they represent, they are it. From Destiny, Death, Dream, Destruction, Desire, Despair and Delirium, they are powerful, unkillable and are as much victims to their own power, as they are the wielders."
The view didn't change much, just focused more deeply on each one of them, with information about what they could do, appearing in my mind. I had never been a DC fan but if I had to hazard a guess...I would say, there were probably a handful of characters who could beat these guys.
Two of them gave me a particularly weird feeling. The one named Dream and another called Desire. It almost felt as if I'd seen them before. Still, one question remained.
"And why are you telling me this?"
I wondered, still failing to see how I was connected with these aspects of reality.
"Because you are like them." His words stunned me to silence. Heedless of my surprise, Lucifer dropped another bombshell. Infact he looked almost happy to see my dumbfounded reaction.
"You laid claim to a conceptual authority. Of which, only you can say, though the whole 'order and balance ' pretty much confirms what kind of concept it is. And because of that, it makes you more than just an equal to the Endless...it makes you one of them. A sibling."
The revelations were too much for my mind.
"How...? Why.. what am..."
I rubbed my temple and turned to Lucifer, who nodded solemnly.
"I understand that it is a lot to take in. And I won't lie to you, that knowing any of it will make your life easier. The interest that was on you before will more than likely skyrocket if anyone realizes what you are now connected to. About that..."
His hand landed on my shoulder, his eyes blazing with seriousness.
"Do not let it get to your head Aden. Whatever concept you are now connected to will devour you as you are. Do you UNDERSTAND me?! Do not. Even if it's a matter of life and death, do not access that authority before your soul is strong enough to bear it. As you are...you wouldn't even last a single split second."
"But..."
I started only to be cut off.
"Did you not listen to what I just said? You would need to be as powerful as a high level god like Zeus to even dream of surviving another touch. Promise me?"
Lucifer had never acted this extreme before. It was unlike him.
"Do I have to lock your memories of the event?"
He threatened after I'd taken so long to answer.
"No...no, I promise."
I shifted in uncomfortable uneasiness as a binding appeared inside my soul. A binding caused by my words to the Morningstar.
"Can't take any chances, lad. This is your welfare we're talking about. I still need you alive for something. Plus, now you know to never promise anything to a powerful being. They can exploit that."
The annoyance on my face at the invasive action slipped off. I was miffed but knowing myself, I would have tried to access and try to control that level of power. So in a way, it was better this way.
"So what now?"
I asked him, to which he shrugged.
"You carry on, complete the task and get Cerial back to where she belongs. In any case, my curiousity has been sated."
I frowned.
"Curiousity? What are you talking about?"
The red eyes came back along with a devilish smile. A thought made its way into my mind. I spread out my hands to the side.
"Wait, was all this a plan? Did you orchestrate events so that I would be pushed far enough to actually touch upon a concept?"
Despite the unlikeliness of the whole thing, I found the prospect of Lucifer going to such lengths to sate his curiousity more and more feasible. It had to be grating for him when he realized he couldn't see my future. So given the chance, he would try to put me in a position where I was pushed to the limit and see how I respond to search stimuli. Hell! He'd said it before! All in a bid to understand me. An enigma. The enigma, outside demiurgic influence.
"Don't flatter yourself." He rolled his eyes but I simply narrowed mine. There was something he wasn't saying. I crossed my hands over my chest and levelled an impassive stare at him.
"You're only half correct. Yes, I gave you the mission to dispose of these... nuisances because I wanted to see how far they could push you. But you blew my expectations out of the water. For starters, you came prepared and when you lost the first round, you understood that you had to change tactics to take into consideration your opponent's strengths and Weaknesses." He praised.
"You adapted and not only have you, Aden Strong, brought entire legions to their knees and turned out to become the Demon Lords' undoing, you managed to do so whole suffering no loss. You have earned my respect as well as an appropriate compensation for such a marvelous showing."
His tone was sincere, halfway changing to unexpected pride.
"The other reason was that I needed to clean house and make things simpler for my new replacement. Which is why I requested you to spare Blaze and Azazel. They will be valuable advisers to Maze when I leave the throne in her hands."
"Huh." I snorted in disbelief.
"I'm guessing you have a plan on how to deal with Azazel...you know to make sure he doesn't get any more ideas."
I told him.
"Do not worry about him. You will find that I can be quite... persuasive when I want."
A section of Beelzebub's throne floated along the ground, through my air bending and stopped below me. I sat down, suddenly feeling tired with the last few hours.
"This is all so...weird." I raised my eyes to find his gaze.
"I thought that it would all be clear cut." I explained.
"You know, fight the Hell Lords in an epic battle, save the damsel and that would be the end of it. To find out about a possible relation to the Endless due to my touching of a concept, that you probably planned every step of this to sate your curiosity and that you're leaving hell in someone's hands despite that being the whole reason the scheming behind your back happened is... overwhelming. Too much."
I sighed.
"Does Maze even want this?"
Lucifer had his hands inside the pockets of his pants, leaning a bit heavily on one of his legs while his head was slightly tilted to the side as he stared at me.
"Maze understands that as I am... ruling hell should be in someone else's hands. Of the two candidates I had...one of them is too inexperienced and the other is Maze. It's clear who should have the keys."
He said pointedly with a deep gaze.
"No..." I did a double take. My mouth opening up comically.
"Don't tell me...were you seriously thinking of leaving the keys to the infernal realms with me!?"
He shrugged.
"Look around you, Aden." He spread out his hand to indicate my surroundings. The clear blue skies that had been revealed once he'd pulled down the illusion, the beautiful environment outside the arena...
"You are a Realm Lord by right. If anything that merits a consideration." He clapped his hands.
"Now. How about you unfreeze time and end this? I have better places to be, my young Padawan."
I let the star wars reference slip by without comment, that's how done I was with the whole day.
Using my authority...the world trembled a little and sound came back. Neron and Azazel jumped back upon finding Lucifer so close to them. The Morningstar simply smiled at Azazel and Lady Blaze.
"You are both coming with me. Let's talk business."
Then they disappeared without much fanfare.
The arena was left occupied by two figures. Neron and I. In the stands, the hoard were in various states of emotional upheaval. Thousands of them were dead, Beelzebub was dead( to their knowledge) and now Azazel and Blaze were simply gone. The only Hell Lord left was Neron. Green smoke started pouring out of the Prince of Lies. He made to speak, probably shout out insults or use his silver tongue to get out of this but I gave him no chance.
Equity was buried inside his heart before he could even move.
"Devour."
I gave my sword the order, recalling that it could drain the power from powerful beings and enhance it's abilities. I was eager to see just how powerful it could get with the addition of demonic energy. Neron tried to remove the sword but I imposed a 200Ă gravity upon his form. His body trembled to keep stable before the pressure became too much and he fell to the ground, a crater forming behind his back. Bones creaked and blood poured off his orifices from crushed organs and burst veins.
I stared down at him.
"Finally, I see fear in your eyes Prince of Lies. Let me dash any dregs of hope left in you demon." My jaw became hard.
"You will not survive this. Not because the ancient laws decree it based on the conditions of our challenge but because you are a thorn. I would be a fool if I ever let someone like you live. I will destroy you, sending your being into oblivion. Your fate is to cease to exist, Neron."
He remained furious, eyes burning red with rage and discontent. Even as he withered, with Equity's length glowing and pulsing with a green color, he remained defiant until the end. Something I could respect. Equity rose to my hands slowly without urging, leaving behind a husk of the former HellLord. A husk that broke apart into flakes of ash and disappeared with the wind. And just like that...I felt Cerial's glass cage break apart from behind me. Neron was dead and the challenges were over.
Equity felt...more alive in my hands than before. Our connection had grown deeper but I could tell it was still in the process of evolution, so I sent it to my hammerspace and turned to address the hoard. Millions of demons seated in a mega huge stadium. No cheers or insults from before. Now all that remained was fear.
A snort escaped me. I had achieved all this in less than 5 hours.
Blue flames appeared atop of each Demon's head. Flickering beautifully.
"I give you a choice. Life under me or death. Should you choose life, touch the flame above you and you shall be transported to a prison before I decide how I want you to serve. Should you choose death... attack me now."
Clouds of demons rose up as a Tsunami, falling down towards my form like a hailstorm. 99% had chosen death. It seems that not even fear could destroy their pride. It makes sense I suppose, they were all high ranked demons. I smirked. Well then, I just got an easy way to train my Combustion bending along with perfecting control over the blue fire.
Plus...I already had one Hell Lord in my custody.
