~95~ A Trial

Xinoll was as cold and dreary as ever. Darius led the way through the empty, silent halls with Inari, Onoma and Sedori in toe.

Firelight cast ever shifting shadows across the walls as they walked, dark images of themselves dancing across the tunnel to the rhythm of the flames.

"So just who is this Gatekeeper guy?" Onoma asked.

"I honestly don't know." Darius responded, "he gave no real name."

"That is because the Gatekeeper has no real name." Sedori spoke.

"You know of him?" Darius asked.

"Yes. The Gatekeeper has existed as long as Xinoll has. He's often depicted as a spirit on a boat, taking you down a river to the afterlife. But this depiction of him isn't exactly accurate." Sedori explained. "His powers, name, origin, and strength are all unknown."

"Sketchy." Onoma said. Then he glanced at the wall. "Man.. this brings back me memories. I can't believe I honestly thought I could be Akuro's rival back then.. I was so dumb."

"It really wasn't that long ago." Inari chimed in.

"Yeah, crazy how conflict can result in such immense growth over such short time." Onoma spoke.

"Growth in more ways than one." Darius added.

"I wonder what he is doing at the moment." Onoma said.

"No clue. It doesn't matter right now. What does is that we become strong enough to compete against him." Darius responded.

"With how strong we are now, it's hard to believe he is still stronger than us." Inari said.

"You think we'd have a chance if we all teamed up?" Onoma asked.

Darius chuckled, "no."

"Akuro has reached an entirely different level of power than us, we've still got quite a ways to catch up." Sedori explained. "He can literally bend reality, that is not something we can even hope to touch."

"Not yet." Darius spoke. And then they ascended the steps leading to the gates of Xinoll, and there waiting for them was Gatekeeper.

•

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•

The moon hung high over the clouds, it's light casting an eerie glow on them. Moorza hovered, drogonic wings outspread, as he stared down at the clouds below his feet. But he could see something beyond them. Rather, someone, but at this rate, it might as well of been a thing. And he knew that they sensed him too.

To his side, the shadows began to ripple and a demonic figure emerged to float in the air beside Moorza.

Azazel.

"What business could a god of your stature have in a place like this.. Moorza." Azazel hissed venomously.

"Nothing to do with you, Azazel. I am here for Akuro." Moorza responded.

Azazel laughed, a hissing cackle. "You can't even match me, yet you believe you could defeat the Ender as he is now?"

"The Ender?" Moorza asked.

"Yes. Akuro is not the boy you knew before, he's changed in quite a drastic way. He's not even the one in control anymore. That boy is gone, and now, all that's left, is what we call the Ender."

Moorza scowled at Azazel. "You intend to use him to reset all the realities. I should have known you were in line with Kazsiel."

"Say what you will. Either way, you should wrap up this business of yours soon. This world is about to end, we have a visitor on their way. We shall be taking our leave, so you have not much time left."

"What? A visitor..?" Moorza's eyes widened. It hit him suddenly. If Akuro had the power to destroy realities… that meant.. "Apophus."

Azazel cackled again. "Good luck stopping the Calamity Serpent. Not even Akuro would be able to stop it, much less you puny gods and demons."

"You bastard… are you purposely luring it here?" Moorza growled.

"Maybe. Maybe not, either way, your little pocket reality of Moon won't be able to save you. I will say, your only chance to stop Apophus is to eliminate his target. In other words.."

"I need to kill Akuro before Apophus gets here."

"Correct. Well, I wish you luck, Moorza, not really though. I am eager to witness your downfall." Azazel bowed, disappearing into the shadows. "I bid you adieu."

Moorza clenched his teeth, glaring down at the earth below. He tucked in his wings and began to nose dive down, plummeting through the clouds as the moon framed his figure in the sky.

But, as soon as Moorza broke through the clouds, Akuro's presence simply… vanished.

"What..?" Moorza unfurled his wings and hovered in the air. "The fuck..? Where'd he-"

He suddenly felt a sense of dread wash over him as shadows began to blot out the sky above him. He felt a searing cold that burned his scales from behind. Moorza dashed forward and whipped around to see that Akuro had been standing behind him, black aura oozing from his body in waves like a chaotic storm. His red eyes gleamed through the shadows, locked onto Moorza.

"Akuro. I see a lot has changed after all." Moorza spoke solemnly. "What happened to you?"

"Nothing that is any of your concern." Akuro spoke, his tone dead and emotionless.

"I guess you are right. Do you still hold a grudge against me?"

"I don't hold any emotions to begin with, how could I hold a grudge?"

"Hm. Well, I hope that won't hold you back in this fight. Because I have no choice but to kill you. You are aware your presence here is drawing Apophus to our galaxy, right?"

"That does not concern me. This reality will end soon enough anyway the dice rolls, either by hand or a serpent."

"And can you honestly say you do not care for your allies who will fall in the process?" Moorza asked. He was testing the waters to see if Akuro truly was gone. To see if that boy he'd acknowledge as a worthy opponent still existed or not within this vessel.

"I do not. They can always be recreated, and bonds only hold you back." Akuro said without any hesitation.

"I see…" Moorza sighed. "It would seem… I truly have my answer."

Moorza raised his hand above his head. The clouds were shot away by a gust of wind, leaving the sky clear as the moon reigned down on them from above. The ground below became quartz and the sky multicolored like an aurora borealis. Moorza's appearance changed form and his aura spiked.

Four quartz pillars jutted up from the earth, the fate strings reaching out from them towards Akuro. But as soon as they reached him, they simply phased through him.

"That won't work on me, Moorza." Akuro said. "Not anymore."

•

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"Welcome to my humble abode." Gatekeeper spoke. "I presume the demonic powers were to your liking, yes?" He asked.

Darius looked down at his own hands, thinking back to the change in his own power. "Yeah. The boost was more drastic than I thought, but it's not enough."

"We need to get stronger if we want to come anywhere near Akuro's level. A lot stronger." Inari added.

"Yes, and that is why you are here… but first." Gatekeeper turned to Onoma and approached him. "You must be Onoma. Pleasure to make your acquaintance, and I must apologize for what I am about to do."

"What do you-" Onoma's features went pale as Gatekeeper placed his hand on his chest. The life faded out of Onoma's eyes and his corpse slumped into the old geezer's arms, lifeless and cold, a hollow husk.