WAR (1)

Out of the darkest crevices of the universe lay a lone, dying planet. Once a thriving world, its sun had long since vanished, leaving behind only echoes of its former glory.

The land was barren and desolate, with turbulent winds sweeping relentlessly across its surface. Acid rain continuously poured from the thunderous skies, flooding the world and corroding what little remained. Darkness blanketed the planet, as thick clouds of dust and smoke obscured any hint of light.

Yet, amidst this eternal night, an unprecedented occurrence presented itself. A single ray of light pierced through the endless darkness, illuminating the barren landscape and signaling events to come to pass. The heavens above trembled as two massive portals warped into existence. One radiated with divine energy, its light pure and blinding, while the other pulsated with demonic Qi, exuding a malevolent aura that threatened to consume everything in its path.

From the first portal emerged the army of light, a celestial host of angels, each one a paragon of divine might and purity. Their golden armor gleamed in the dim light, their wings shimmering with an ethereal glow. They quickly organized themselves into several brigades; each unit numbering in the thousands and moving with disciplined precision according to the plans of their celestial strategist. Shield walls were erected, spearmen poised their weapons, and archers drew their bows, their arrows ready to rain down upon their foes.

Spread across the entire planet, the brigades of angels formed an impenetrable barrier, surrounding the area where the second portal had opened. From this portal, the army of chaos began to emerge, a seemingly endless stream of unholy warriors, demons, and abominations. The heavens shook under the weight of their numbers, and the very air seemed to vibrate with their terror.

As the forces of chaos poured forth, the angels maintained their formation, their resolve unshaken. They knew that their duty was to hold the line, to defend the universe from being consumed by the demons until their trump cards arrived. Each angel stood ready, their weapons blessed and their spirits unwavering.

Eventually, the entire army of Diablo had arrived. At the forefront were the generals of chaos, beings of immense power and malice. Their eyes radiated an unholy maleficence, and their very presence seemed to incite fear around them.

Behind them, seated on a grandiose throne of obsidian and bone, was Diablo himself, the symbol of evil, and the orchestrator of this invasion.

Diablo's presence was overwhelming. A handsome and young-looking deity he was. His raven-black hair is short and silky, his striking crimson eyes burned with an infernal fire, and his aura radiated pure malevolence. He surveyed the battlefield with a twisted smile, relishing the chaos that was about to unfold.

In response, the archangels of the heavenly host stepped forward, their divine energy radiating in defiance of Diablo's authority. Chayyliel, the embodiment of valor; Araqiel, the defender of justice; and Raphael, the divine healer; each prepared to face the impending onslaught. Right behind them were the three mortal kings. Adam, the image of God; Kael, the strongest Thornshrade; and Aris, the lord of the Frostvale.

Strangely though a key set of noticeable individuals were missing from the battlefield. The Lord and archangel Michael were nowhere to be found, which slightly worried the celestial army, but they didn't show it of course.

'We just need to hold them off till they get "him" his weapon'

Chayyliel thought to herself.

The two armies stood in stark contrast. The air was thick with tension, a predominant silence before the storm.

Then, with a deafening roar, the battle began. The forces of chaos surged forward, crashing against the angelic shield walls with ferocious intensity. The angels held their ground, their divine weapons clashing with the unholy armaments of their foes. The battlefield erupted into chaos as the two sides clashed, the sound of battle echoing across the desolate planet.

Throughout the conflict, the angelic forces followed the instructions given by Gabriel with precision, ensuring that their formations held and that their attacks were coordinated. The archangels led the charge, their divine power cleaving through the ranks of chaos, while Diablo watched from his throne, his eyes gleaming with sinister delight.

The sky above reflected the chaos below, with flashes of divine light and infernal fire illuminating the darkness. The fate of the universe hung in the balance as the forces of light and darkness clashed, each side determined to emerge victorious.

However, the Generals still hadn't made a move.

"Null and Reaper will stay behind while you three shall engage in battle."

Diablo commanded, and without hesitation they obeyed as the logic behind the order was sound.

Null wouldn't be needed yet on the battlefield, so he should save his energy for real threats. While the undead king could endlessly raise the demonic army from the brink of death.

Then the full-scale battle began to unfold.

Chayyliel wielded her spear against the demon matriarchs, the high-ranking demons who commanded legions of the army.

*Inhales*

*Exhales*

"Power of Heaven and Earth."

She said calmly, activating her Qi flow technique.

"Multi-Strike Weapons Arts!!!" She roared.

In an instant she darted towards them like a bolt of lightning, reaching far beyond relativistic speeds.

The matriarchs instantly became weary of her, unsheathing their blades as they braced for impact. Her form blurred as she traversed across the entire planet. In mere moments she struck down thousands of the so-called noble demons. Obliterating their bodies with pinpoint accuracy she wouldn't waver until they were all slain.

"Hmm, now this will be a real challenge."

Diol, the prideful anarchist. He stood tall and striking, his white skin contrasting sharply with his jet-black hair that fell in perfectly dishevelled waves. He wore a long robe, stained with deep hues of crimson and black. Intricate patterns of twisted thorns were embroidered in silver along the edges.

Around his waist, is a polished black leather belt adorned with dark gems. His slender hands were sheathed in gloves resembling the hide of an otherworldly creature. A midnight cape draped over his shoulders, its inner lining shimmering with an eerie red.

Finally, the clasp of his cape was a grotesque mockery of a holy cross, twisted and contorted into a demonic symbol.

"How delightful." He said to himself.

"It seems they all still believe we haven't gotten any stronger than them."

He then focused his attention on her, charging up his energy beams before vanishing from sight.

'Good, there's only a thousand or so matriarchs left' She thought to herself.

But then, something felt amiss.

"Surprise bxtch."

Diol yelled as he instantly appeared before her with his attack fully charged.

"Huh?" She said as her eyes widened in shock.

Then two massively powerful eye beams blasted Chayyliel point blank.

The beams blasted her hundreds of feet into the planets' surface, emitting enough light to light up the entire galaxy cluster. In fact, the entire war had momentarily stopped due to the temporary blindness of both parties.

"Hehe, this planet sure is durable." He said, looking directly into the pit he had dug.

Then some angels who had been scattered from their formation all attacked him at once, trying to buy time for Chayyliel to recover.

His head twisted in an unnatural manner as he looked at the angels with disgust.

"Don't interrupt my fun you bloody rejects."

He charged up a Qi ball in his right hand as they approached him, aiming right at them.

A hand tightly gripped his own stopping him from moving.

"Don't you dare turn your back on me." A slightly battered Chayyliel said.

"Hehe!"

"I don't remember giving you the right to touch me."

His face twisted and contorted into a scornful look of disgust before another pair of eye beams charged up. Chayyliel quickly used both her arms to lift him into the air before slamming him right into the ground.

*Cough*

*Cough*

He was coughing blood as he lay there in a massive crater.

"Now return to nothingness."

She said, calling forth her spear, readying to deliver the final blow.

"mmm" Diol murmured.

"What?" She questioned.

"You're too slow."

Then a massive beam of energy fell down from the heavens. It blasted right through her wings and bore a hole in her abdomen.

"U-Ug-gh"

Chayyliel barely managed to stay on her feet as her body began to fragment.

Diol then stood up, charging another set of eye beams.

"Enjoy your time in the abyss." He said as he instantly launched his attacked.

Then in an instant something came in front of it, nullifying the attack without effort.

"Oi, who the fxck do you think you are?" Adam roared.

Then a great pressure came over the General, a feeling reminiscent of Diablos' very presence. His knees nearly buckled, sweat trickled down his face and he couldn't move from his spot.

It was as if a being more terrifying than the devil himself stood before him.

"I-I-I a-aa-am."

Diol was surprised when he found himself stuttering before a single individual.

Chayyliel had then reached her limit, falling unconscious as she had nearly fragmented completely, but then Adam got hold of her.

"I'll be right back." He said with fury seeping out of his lips.

In an instant Adam vanished from sight, handing Chayyliel over to Raphael who was nearby.

"How dare he; no one can disrespect me like, NO ONE!!!"

Diol had only one thing he cared about, and that was his pride.

So, ignoring his natural instincts telling him to run he instead chased after them.

At relativistic speeds he caught up with Adam, and immediately attacked him.

Adam had handed over his beaten master to Raphael, hoping that it wasn't too late to save her from erasure.

"How dare you try to interfere with my masterful work."

Diol had somehow managed to muster some confidence, challenging the father of mankind.

"And you, I can tell that you're an archangel. Those healing abilities will definitely become annoying to deal with so I'll come for you later." He said with a twisted expression

"Worthless."

"Huh." Diol said.

"How can something so worthless be allowed to exist."

A raging fury engulfed him as his aura burst to life. Shockwaves were sent across the entire planet paralyzing the armies with pure, unadulterated fear.

"Go now." Diablo commanded.

In an instant Adam appeared right before Diol with his fist reeled back. Similarly, Diol had already charged his most powerful attack till date.

"DIE!!!"

Diols attack blasted right at Adam with full force, the excesses energy alone cracked the planets surface. However, there wasn't so much as a flinch from the human.

 "My turn."

Then he struck him right in the gut, the strength behind the blow was evident by the bulge that was seen through Diols back.

"U-U-U-UG-G-GH!!!"

Diols eyes went blank, his body went limp collapsing to the floor.

"I'm not done with you yet."

But then a dark presence covered the area.

A black seamless ooze manifested itself through space. It covered the fallen general, whisking him away and in his place stood the formless enigma. Null.

Diol manifested right beside Diablos throne as a beaten mess.

"You need to learn child, that there are beings even you cannot face."

The entire battlefield fell silent as the two entities faced each other.

One the pinnacle of darkness, while the other the image of God.

Null expanded across the entire space, warping it to become a part of his arsenal.

"Raphael, take her and leave."

"Right, but for her sake please come back."

"Yeah, I am the strongest remember."

Adam said before he was entirely surrounded by barrier of darkness Null built.

"Now, let's get this over with." Adam said, his voice brimming with excitement.

Adam stood surrounded by the impenetrable barrier of darkness that Null had summoned. It stretched over a thousand feet, trapping them in an arena of shadow. Null's expression was unreadable, but Adams expression changed from his usual stoic look to one of ecstasy.

The barrier pulsed, and thousands of tendrils erupted from all directions, each moving at light speed toward Adam. Without much effort, he dodged every single attack with fluid grace.

"Huh."

Then he counterattacked. Adam vanished from sight before appearing right before the enigma with a terrifyingly immense amount of power in his fists.

However, to his surprise his fist passed right through the entity as if he was punching empty space. Then immediately he passed through completely, Null outstretched his hand.

"Shit!"

Adam instinctively used his arms to defend against the incoming attack.

Then a literal wave of tangible darkness swarmed Adam, pushing him back while inflicting massive damage.

*Huff*

*Huff*

Adam breathed heavily as his arms were cut and bruised from the impact, while his bones cracked under the pressure.

"Damn, you're str-" Adam began.

But then, Null warped right behind him, placing a hand on his back. Then a multitude of tendrils bore through Adams body from the inside out.

*AAAAAAARGH!*

He roared as his organs were pierced in an instant. Blood gushed out of the holes left by the darkness and for the second time in his life Adam was outmatched.

He fell to his knees, out of breath and weakened.

"Do you think you can win?" Null's voice was omnipresent, echoing with an eerie childlike quality.

"Yeah, I do."

"I'll call your bluff. How?"

"I've figured out your ability." Adam said

Null is not a physical entity; he could be considered a living universe. As such he can warp the basic foundations of creation such as space-time by simply infusing himself into it. But as is the nature of all things, it also requires energy to perform such a feat. Due to the very type of powers he has there has never been a point when he needed to use it to its maximum.

"You were able to figure that out in such a short time. Impressive." Null acknowledged.

Adam laughed, a deep, hearty sound that resonated through the dark barrier.

"What's so funny?"

"You haven't realized it yet."

This confused the enigma, could the mortal have finally gone mad? Then a sudden pain jolted through his entire body, causing the barrier to destabilize for a brief moment.

For the first time he was outdone by an opponent. Soon after Null fell to one knee. He looks at his body and sees a massive gap in his chest.

"When, did you-?"

Adam stood up proudly, seemingly unfazed by the damage received.

"I destroyed the very space you are composed off in an instant."

The attack Adam threw was at such speeds that even time needed to catch up to it before it resonated with Null.

"How dare you!!!" Null screamed.

In response to this Adam laughed hysterically.

"You know what, all you generals are the same. Prideful pieces of shit that need to be put in their place."

The following moment the barrier opened up, and then the entire battlefield froze. Warriors halted mid-strike, the flames of war extinguished, and time itself seemed to stop. Even Adam was immobilized, unable to move.

"I never thought something like this would be necessary for the likes of him."

Null then looked at the frozen Adam.

"But you are still nothing more than a mortal weakling."

But then something unprecedented occurred. Adam took a single step forward, then he took another, and another.

Slowly but surely, he was able to move in the absence of time itself. Although this did not come with its limitations. He could not see, breathe, or hear as all those things required the flow of time.

Adam simply moved based on instinct alone.

"Fine, I take back my statement. You are no weakling, but a god."

Null paused.

"A god that I will slay."

The battle between these two pinnacles of strength was about to reach its peak.