CHAPTER 232

[The Dark Heart of Chthon, Flickering Realms]

The Flickering Realms, or the Other Realm, is the realm where Chthon was inadvertently imprisoned after he fled the hunt of the Demogorge when he and his brother, Set, along with his other numerous siblings had started preying upon their siblings to increase their powers. 

This was a place that had fused with Chthon's dark magic that it had become a representation of his will. A world where he was truly omnipotent, surpassing everything who stepped into its cursed ground. 

In the middle of the realm was a rift, the same one that had served as the gates to his prison, forced wide open which caused the abominable creations of Chthon to permeate the forsaken universe with their evil. 

And on its ground littered with corpses kneeled a man of renowned might and valor. His name one that would have shaken the whole universe if he made any big moves, but here he was on his knees missing both his arms while bound in chains. 

Zeus, God King of Olympus and the Greek Gods. One of the strongest Gods to ever exist with Odin being his only rival and equal, now had chains around his neck and shattered limbs at the foot of a huge throne. 

His two eyes were lost while over a third of his face was gone. On his chest was a red brand mark of a lightning bolt that was carved by his own weapon, Thunderbolt, before it took his arms. 

Chthon looked at Zeus with boredom in his eyes as the God had given up way too quickly for his liking. The fierce light of righteous fury in his eyes had quickly receded in full-blown panic and fear when he realized where he was. 

Chthon wanting to play with him for a while willed his shadow to toy with the God only to have him be beaten before his shadow could even do anything substantial which had driven him to just reduce him to this. So much for a God. 

Chthon stood up from his throne and sorted as Zeus shivered but could only make whining sounds due to having his vocal cords obliterated. 

"I believe Gaea and Oshtur are finished with their preparations. It would be remiss of me not to welcome them with a surprise." His amusement was evident, but not in a way that promised joy or a festive celebration. "I believe I have no need for keeping it stranded in the multiverse any longer."

Fabrics of infinite realities shook as darkness pierced through all of them and drew something that the Dark Elder had long kept in all of its vestiges. 

The red sky of the Chthon's realm darkened as if its vile light had a portion of it sucked. 

Before Chthon's hand was a book that oozed with all the curses of the multiverse and the records of every sin it has perpetuated, with a cover so dark that it sucked in every semblance of light into it. 

The Darkhold. 

The Book of Sins personally written by Chthon before his imprisonment. The most evil object to ever exist across all realities. Before him was the original copy he had written with his magic as he clearly remembered every crease and stroke he put down when writing it in the scrolls. The scroll had transformed itself into a book as the eons passed but not a word from his book had changed. 

The multiverse quivered with abject dread as the First Demon was reunited with his lost fang. 

His voice rang with melody as he held the book with his hands once again. "Oh Gaea. Of everyone I've ever known or killed, you dear sister, are the one I hate the most." 

… He flipped open the page of the Darkhold and everything ceased… 

This book was more than anyone thought it was or more than they could ever hope to comprehend. 

The Darkhold, as was mostly believed, was a key to Chthon's influence and could draw power from his dimension from all who could wield it, but to Chthon it wasn't a key… It was a gate. 

A way to access the full power of this realm without him being in it. That was what the Darkhold was. 

Now that he was out, he didn't need those vessels he had been of the mind to groom, but it wouldn't hurt to keep them by. Strong servants like some of them, especially that girl, were hard to come by. 

"Await my return, Zeus. We'll both have fun when I'm through with the reunion on its way." With that he was gone from the Flickering Realms and took the Darkhold with him which brought back the blood red light back to the sky of the realm. 

… 

[Minutes before Chthon retrieved the Darkhold, Modred's Null space] 

Modred watched as the one of the spells he learnt from the Darkhold wreaked havoc in his realm as it threatened to destroy everything that acted on it. 

'How unfortunate.' He thought in concern for the man who had tried to stand in the way of his master. Chthon was not something that could be faced with unrealistic delusions and powers that depended on how reality dictated them. He was above all preconceived notions. Not even the Celestials and Abstracts wanted to face his brutality. 

The spell he had used erased everything in its path. One of the very rare spells that carried the Null property that was concept wielded by the strongest Abstract Entity – Oblivion. 

The property of such an aspect was so strong that all conceptual laws, regardless of their differences and importance in creation, were evened and erased to the point that it affected acausal beings on different levels. 

Fate, death, emotions, soul, even life, were thoroughly destroyed to nothing in its presence. 

All he had to do was wait for the spell to weaken for just a brief moment and he could use that moment to regain control of the spell and his dimension before it all crumbled away. 

He frowned as he saw how the energy at the center seemed to churn and twist as if it was trying to fit inside something. 

Different magic spells materialized around him as he looked down in confusion not wanting to believe there was any way the man managed to fight Death's deluge. It just was not possible, at least not at the level of strength the man was at. 

As if dead set on defying everything he knew, the spell that ate even reality sifted, spun, twisted in on itself and was sucked in a swirl into the remains of Bucky's body which was just half of his skeleton and some leftover flesh but there was doubt that he had survived. 

Modred was surprised by what he considered impossible happening in front of his eyes and stared transfixed at the half destroyed skeleton twitched and shook until a spark of life reentered its eyes which prompted the attack from Modred. 

However it was that he had survived, it was pretty clear that it took everything the man had in him, energy, flesh and even some essential aspects of his life, just to keep whatever spark he could alive. 

The volley of magic barraged the almost dead form of Bucky and encased him in another round of destruction that chipped away at everything that was keeping him alive with every impact they made. 

~Imperial Vase of Bale Curses~

Opening the small calabash that appeared in his hands, a putrid and gelatinous plume of purplish smoke liberated out and swarm at the dead man that refused Death's advances at every turn, and ate into whatever was left of his soul to grant him death as soon as possible but unlike what Modred expected, the Bale Curses screeched in agony as they were sucked into the skeleton of Bucky which then sprouted new flesh, a little portion that covered his face down to one side of his chest. 

"What taboo have you invoked? Have you forsaken you sou-" 

"Shut up." A rapsy voice escaped Bucky's reformed throat. "Your voice is grating on my ears."

The skin that were trying to grow back were shunted and only bubbled out mashed flesh and wriggling veins. He needed energy to put himself back, something Modred immediately caught on, unfortunately for whatever he thought Bucky had his own plans for his energy deficiency. 

As a being who finally moved on a step further down the steps of evolution and also having a clear picture of his evolutionary path, he knew exactly what he had to do. 

"Guess, I have to die for the second time in the same day and hour."

Before Modred could understand what he was saying, all the flesh that had grown on his both receded back as if they were being reversed only for Bucky to explode the next moment in a shower of blood and calcic particles. 

Modred's face gained a perpetual frown as Bucky's action showed its result as the reverberations that was sent through all four directions were reabsorbed just for another explosion to take place immediately after. 

Picking up on Bucky's plans, Modred's first reaction was manipulate his dimension to forego all laws of physics and not produce any type of heat, sound and energy fission but that did nothing, the opposite actually as Bucky's body reacted to the new changes, which was the lack of physical laws, and destroyed itself to the point that every particle immediately effervescent and disappeared entirely without producing even a light breeze which once again stumped the cool headed Emissary. 

He looked around and spread his senses to case the entirety of his domain but he didn't find Bucky, which rattled his mind as he was sure the man didn't escape his realm and he also wasn't dead. 

He waved his hands and the reality of his domain manipulated itself and searched for any foreign entity or substance yet couldn't find anything which made Modred greatly worried. Still he remained cautious and waited as surely the man would show himself. 

"You know…" A hand was placed on the back of his head, in such negligible distance that it was impossible for him to miss it. "Death's hella comfortable, but the Lady herself is fickle."

BANG!

A simple flick sent him crashing deeper into his domain while Bucky remained in his position with only pants on. 

Bucky's ability was Reactive Adaptation, an ability that perfectly mixed both the physical condition and the energy inside the body and evolved both at the same time in an equilateral fashion in a way that made them compatible with whatever was acting on them, a perfect representation of Newton's third law – To every action, others is an equal and opposite reaction. 

Bucky struggled as much as he could because the reality of this domain heavily impeded the very nature of his ability as it worked with the laws of convention and physics. To resist the total suppression of his abilities, he had to find a way to fight it and also react to it as much as he fought – equal and opposite reaction. 

It was only when that spell that broke even reality down started erasing him that he finally had a way to absorb the energy that had been against him and also the new one which was quite hard. 

To battle against reality and an acausal magic spell, he expended every ounce of energy he had just to battle them for an instant and push his body to take at least one of their features. 

Unfortunately for him, doing that was a gamble that he lost only to see death for a few moments before he was yanked back as he finally got a property of the shattered reality and acausal magic. And that brought another problem… energy. 

He used everything he had just to gain a drop of what he needed to survive and he was really thankful the dude hit him with a basic spell rather than that reality warping shit. He absorbed the energy and when he found out he wasn't getting more, he simply detonated to cause an energy build up that he'll further react to and help heal himself with. 

As if the dude named Modred was apologizing for being a dick, he stopped the laws of physics further which only spurred Bucky's reaction to reality manipulation and when he had exploded himself for the last time without any laws of convention acting on him, he was given a first seat to feel how reality was extremely malleable and he just reacted to everything he could even when the dude warped and spread it thin, helping Bucky further his assimilation… and now? 

He had reacted well enough to this domain's reality, at least to some level, that he could exert his own reaction on this reality and its occupants. 

In order words he could now hurt this guy without this domain's bullshittery getting in the way while the guy could also hurt him, though that'll be a high task to hurt him in any meaningful way. 

"Got more spells like that, 'cause I kinda like the way they feel. I'm back on a clock so that leaves me no choice but try to end this as much as possible."