Purgatory

"The first reality?" Akuro asked.

"Yes. It was the original, but.. it fell into chaos." Azazel spoke.

"I thought the first was destroyed already?"

"It was. But for some odd reason.. every being in the reality survived. It's like they are phantoms, the planets and the reality itself is like a phantom.. why you ask? Because everything is trying to kill everything, yet everything is already dead. They've all been erased ten times over already.. but on the Dawn of every new day, they come back to life. It's an infinite reality of nothing but chaos and destruction, constant never ending combat. That infinite amount of combat is what made Akura strong, it's also how he received those scars."

"How is that possible if Kasziel erased them all..?" Akuro asked.

"We don't know. As I've said, it's like they are phantoms of what once was. They shouldn't exist, and yet they do. It is truly a horrible place.. you don't want to go there. Not ever. Trust me. It is the worst place imaginable, never ending conflict, pain, blood and horror." Azazel explained.

Akuro looked down at Akura, who was now looking back up at him. For a split second Akuro felt that he was looking into a mirror.. but then that feeling faded when he saw the scars across Akura's body. They were different. They may have the same body and soul, but they are different beings in how they've lived.

It was simply a version of himself that could've been. But that was not him, he was his own version of himself, and he'd be the strongest of all. He would not bow to anyone, he would never be defeated. Not ever.

Azazel waved his hand and a black vortex formed behind Akura.

"It's either you go willingly or we force you." Azazel hissed.

Akura suddenly began to chuckle. "I see you are still hiding your scars behind that Aura Cloak of yours, Azazel. Can't accept that I almost beat you? Does it hurt your pride?"

Azazel gave no response. Instead he walked towards Akura, leaned down and grabbed him by the throat, lifting him into the air. The whole time Akura was laughing madly.

"Your mind has completely shattered. What a sorry state you are in. It's sad, I used to believe you were the strongest of all the Akuro alternates. But you are just deranged."

"Deranged?" Akura chuckled, "no... I'm not deranged.. I'm awake.. I see everything.. the truth of it all.. I know what you are after, Azazel.."

Azazel's Aura Cloak shifted suddenly.

"Enough games." Azazel hissed before throwing Akura through the rift. His psychotic laugh could be heard the entirety of the time as the rift began to close.

Akuro shivered. Was it truly possible he could've ended up like that? Deranged and mad? It didn't matter anymore anyway.. why did he care. Why had Akura had such an affect on him.. what was this feeling he had?

Deep down in Akuro's consciousness, his real self stirred, disturbed by the unsettling presence of Akura. He began to see himself as if through a television screen, seeing the way he was, his cold dead eyes, his dark appearance. Was that who he was..? What was he doing..?

"Hush, my love.." came a voice, "my dear Akuro, quiet now. It is alright, you have no reason to worry about anything.. just focus on me.. focus on my warmth.."

Akuro began to sink back into his mind.. but he couldn't help but realize that he didn't feel any warmth, it was only cold.

•

•

•

Sedori sat in the blood soaked sand and stared at the corpses that lay about him. He could only hope that he'd done the right thing, that they would come back, that it would go how he'd hoped.

"Oh.. why do you look so sad, dear?" Came a voice. It seemed feminine, but it was gurgled and sounded like someone trying to talk while being choked, or a smoker's voice.

Sedori looked about and saw a figure standing just far enough away that he couldn't make out their details.

"Who are you?" Sedori asked.

"Oh me..? Just a girl looking for some company."

*SHINK*

The sound of Anubis's blade lobbing off Sedori's head from behind was the only thing to be heard across all the silence of the desert.

"Disgusting demon." Anubis hissed, flicking blood off of his khopesh.

Hecate came forward, letting the light of the moon strike her grotesque features.

"Hurry up and do your thing," Anubis spoke. "Soon as you've made your puppets I shall empower them."

"We get to play?" Hecate asked.

"Yes, play. Whatever." Anubis growled.

"Yay! Play time! Blood!"

Suddenly the field began to glow with a turquoise light.

"Hm?" Anubis looked around, then looked at Sedori. "Almost forgot demons are also immortal." He said.

A solid samurai style armor began to cover Sedori's body as he rose from the ground, his head reforming as a mask covered it and his eyes peered through the slits directly at Anubis.

"You are all gods, I presume?" He growled, a katana forming in his hand.

"Yes, not like it matters. Can you just lay down and die?" Anubis asked. "I am bored of this already."

"You don't belong here." Sedori said. "How did you find us?"

"It's none of your concern. Stop asking questions, you are going to die anyway so what does it matter?"

"Yes! Die! Please?" Hecate asked. "I wanna play! We all die one day anyways, so just die already!"

Suddenly ominous purple light joined in with the turquoise and aura began to hang in the desert like fog, shifting and condensing down until the entire desert was filled with strange beings of different shapes and sizes, all of them deformed souls held prisoner by Hecate. There were seemingly infinite amounts of them.

Sedori looked about him in all directions, realizing he was surrounded by thousands of the souls of the dead. The he looked for Hecate. She was gone, disappeared somewhere playing puppet master out of sight.

Sedori wanted to find and stop her, but there was the issue of Anubis and the army that surrounded him.

Anubis raised his khopesh above his head, the blade giving off a red glow as black sand began to swirl around it. Then black and red armor covered every one of the animated souls.

"Fuck.." Sedori cursed, realizing how bad this situation really was.

"Come on then, demon. Give me your best." Anubis growled, his cloak flicking in the wind as black sand swirled around his body and red aura coiled about him.

"Fine then." Sedori said with a grin. He held out his sword, tip pointed towards Anubis, then he shifted it downwards and burrowed it into the sand. A wave of aura shot out from the sword as the sand began to be filled with a turquoise light. Then, a moment later, millions of swords jutted up from the desert, skewering everything that stood upon the sand.

Anubis made no love to dodge the strike, swords piercing his body again and again. And then he stood there, blood soaked and head hanging.

Then he began to chuckle.

Sedori froze. Suddenly an intense pressure filled the desert coming off of Anubis. 'What..? Why did his aura levels suddenly shoot up so high..?'

The blades faded out, and not a single soul had seemed to of been affected, nor did Anubis. The god hunched forward, holding his khopesh over his shoulder, then his red eyes turned up to Sedori.

*KOOM*

Anubis moved so fast it was as though he'd teleported, sending a shockwave through the desert and spraying sand in all directions as he crashed into Sedori, the hook of his khopesh locked with Sedori's sword.

"You were able to block me? You have an impressive reaction time, demon." Anubis growled. "You might just entertain me."

Sedori grinned beneath his helm. "Don't underestimate me. It'll be your downfall."

Sedori suddenly leaned forward and tilted his sword back, letting Anubis's khopesh scrap down the blade as Sedori's broke through the God's defenses and the katana cut a gash across Anubis's throat. Sedori then jumped behind Anubis and spun, severing the god's head from his torso. He then waved his hand and seven swords flew through the sky and skewered Anubis's body.

"As I said." Sedori spoke. "Your downfall."

*FWICK*

Sedori jumped aside as he dodged a sword swung by one of the animated souls. Then he remembered he was surrounded. He began to hack and slash at the thousands of souls, but none of his attacks seemed to have any real affect.

"You.." came Anubis's voice as his body healed and his head reformed, crimson eyes turning to Sedori as smoke trailed from the god's jaws, his pointed teeth bared. "Don't seem to understand how I work."

A flash of red light came as Anubis exploded towards Sedori, crashing his khopesh into Sedori's katana as he attempted to block. The strike was much more powerful than the one from before and sent Sedori careening across the sand, rolling to a stop.

"You poor bastard." Anubis hissed. "You are all alone here. And you will be swallowed by the desert."

Then the sand began to turn black and rise into the air and churn like a sand storm. Sedori slowly rose to his feet, but when he tried to back away, he realized that black sand had solidified around his ankles, locking him down.

"Fuck..." he cursed once more, and then Anubis dashed at him again, but this time he had no way to defend himself.

The khopesh flickered through the air, whistling towards Sedori's body... but then it suddenly stopped mid swing.

Sedori watched in awe as Anubis seemed to stop in time, like someone had pressed pause on him.

"The hell..?"

"You alright Sedori?" Came a voice.

Then Sedori grinned. It was Onoma, and he hovered above the battlefield in a cloak of red aura.

Onoma lowered from the sky and landed in front of Anubis, an axe forming in his hand.

"So, this is a god? Anubis? Right? Is he strong?" Onoma asked.

"From what I can tell, yes, extremely. There is another one as well, Hecate." Sedori explained.

"So this guy is supposed to be super strong then?" Onoma asked.

"Yes..?"

"Cool."

*CRACK*

The axe crashed into Anubis's body in an uppercut, shattering his bones and splitting his flesh down the middle as the god's body was sent careening through the air spraying blood.