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STRIFE: A Life and Death Tale

This is an action-packed story based around the second generation of Life and Death. The two entities are to come together to stop the rising of a looming enemy that threatens their very Omniverse. Balance is at stake as they take on old friends, enemies, and new ones alike!

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159 Chs

34.) Bare Witness to War!

The spatial walls that contain Universe 9 in its ever expanding bubble began to finally fall apart and break at the seams. Everyone that was once in the midst of battle had halted their fighting or put an end to it in order to escape one gruesome end. Death by destruction of a universe, t'was a fate no being should have to face. Now… they all sit in place, astonished by the battle before them. A true showing of Gahwardian might was about to take place. And who better to show it than the two most powerful gates currently. A fully transformed Haydes and a fully transformed Shiishii. Their mighty battle has finally hit its climax. Now to await the victor. 

Shiishii: "Good, good. Your form is equal to mine through and through.  Now then… let's see if you can actually make use of it and win this. Or you can lose again, it doesn't matter to me."

Haydes: "Ha! Your confidence is quite annoyance, as always. There's no way for me to lose this, this time brother Shii. Just try and keep up." *FWIP*

Shiishii: "Try not to get lost, eh? Funny… but we'll see who gets lost, brother." *FWIP*

The two full powered gods dash in, holding nothing back as they gun to take it all home. Without question. "HAAAAAAA," yelled the both of them as they closed in on the other. Preparing their right fists for impact, charging their attacks to the fullest. Not a single worry about anything other than the fight. *PEW… BOOOOOOOOM* A huge explosion occurs upon impact. The force is enough to completely finish and tear apart the fabric of time and space within Universe 9. Causing a mass collapse that stirred a massive black hole into the center of the broken universe.

Gaia: "Just one simple clash of their fists and the universe crumbles completely."

Zenki: "The force was enough to make the Universe deem that imploding in on itself would be a better option than imminent destruction. This is the might of the next generation of Gahwardians. Pay close attention, everyone. Most of you will have to fight one of them or their brothers one day."

Thermias: (This is what I came for! This….This is just too damn LOVELY!)

MorZick: "Silvio, watch closely and learn from those two down there. This is what my children are capable of."

Silvio: "Y-yes, sir! (His children are about as scary as mother is when I bring home bad news from school. I could learn a lot about using my powers and hand-to-hand combat.)" *Glare*

Zo'Elaniece: "… Hmph. *Grin* (Seems my son is starting to finally grow). "

Fong: … 

Amiyama: "Come with me, Morpheus." *FWIP*

Morpheus: "Right. Be right back, guys."

Amera: "Ok."

Zoshen: "Alright. We'll continue watching from here."

Morpheus: "Mhm. *Nod* All right." *FWIP*

Malikai: "… *Turn* (If this is truly what they're made of… then my dad has a reason to fear these people.)

Shiishii: "Well, would you look at that… we broke the damn universe by accident."

Haydes: "Small price to pay when pursuing the righteous fealty of fun."

Shiishii: "You couldn't have been more correct than that little bro. Now then, let me show you… my room. Realm of Enders!!!"

Haydes: "What!? What technique is this? (When did he have time to learn and master this? I split him a mere month after I was locked away within his inner prison. And he didn't use it during our first battle-) …"

Shiishii: "Ah shit."

Haydes: "Y-You bitch! You h-held back on ME!?"

Shiishii: "Ah… don't dwell on the past little bro."

Haydes: "Shut the fuck up! How… How dare you embarrass me like that!? You've no respect and for that… I say fuck this honorable match! I'll kill you and take you power to serve as the conduit to my trail of success. Prepare yourself. Blackened Reverse!"

Shiishii: "Hmm!? Damn… he's beyond pissed. He even used enough essence in that last attack to be able to cause my realm to retreat back to me. (That… won't be happening brother.) HRRMN!!! Guild: Absorber's Scythe!"

Amiyama: "Hey Fong?"

Fong: "Hmm? Oh! Lady Amiyama, to what do I owe this grand pleasure?"

Amiyama: "Ah stop the formalities baby cousin. I just came to show you and Morpheus what you should focus on."

Fong: "Oh really?…  *Stare* Why the both of us?"

Amiyama: "He's a lot like you and you, like him. You both prefer hand-to-hand and study the best ways to use your studies and other abilities when the going gets tough. You're very similar to my husband down there. Shit, he's your older brother after all. But I simply want you both to watch him so that you grow even further beyond your current selves. Watch how they transition and waste no movements when fighting. I especially want you guys to really pay attention to how they incorporate their studies, birthrights and elements into this battle. This can all help you to both grow the way you want to."

Fong: "Ah, that makes a great deal of sense. So Morpheus… interested in sparring in the near future?"

Morpheus: "Heh. Yeah girly, you're on! But uh…let's pay attention here. Not like they're flowing at speeds we could easily keep up with. 

Fong: "Right."

Shiishii begins absorbing the essence within Haydes' attack, lowering its potency. Which in turn, caused Shiishii's realm to stretch back out and push back Haydes' reverse technique. 

Haydes: "Hrrm! Alright then, I'll try something you don't see everyday. Break!"

Shiishii: "What? You broke your own attack apart?"

Haydes: "Just watch, brother."

Haydes' reversal attack broke into pieces and began to stretch out in every direction. Each piece growing and stretching out rapidly as they latch onto the ever-growing realm Shii summoned. 

Shiishii: "What the? You're trying to take it over directly now?" 

Haydes: "Well of course, brother. I've no interest in fighting you within a realm you control. I'd be nothing more than target practice for you while I play defensive for who knows how long."

Shiishii: "Tch! (Seems he'll succeed if it goes on like this. Guess I'll cancel both attacks at once.) This was a great counter brother. But I'll be testing how well I can use reversal then."

Haydes: (The hell is he on about?)

Shiishii: "Absorb."

Haydes: "Hmm?"

Shiishii thrusts his Absorbing Scythe high above himself and quickly absorbs both, his and Haydes' attacks. Once the scythe is imbued with the attacks. Shii sends back a massive wave with a flash of his Scythe. A massive mass of black essence and reversal particles explodes right in front of Haydes, giving him nowhere to run. 

Haydes: "Tch! God... DAMN… YOUUUU- HOU~HOO... Hooo!"

Shiishii: "Huh?"

Haydes: "Thanks for the essence you dumbass. *FWIIIIIISHIP!* Now then. Let me show you… my Ender's Contract-" *SMASH*

Shiishii: "That's enough out of you!"

Haydes: "D-Damn... youuuu!"

Haydes was met with a right handed flying superman punch. Shii makes sure he puts extra power behind this and slightly ups the essence imbued into the punch. As Haydes tries to fight the punch back, forcing a head turn so he can clearly view Shii. Shii sets him into a linear line going straight into the Cosmic shielding that keeps the Universes separated. 

Haydes: "Gaaaaah!"

Shiishii: "Hrrm!" *FWIP*

Gaia: "Let's follow them y'all!"

Strife & Gang: "Hell Yeah!"

Shiishii dashes through the hole made by Haydes' body and gives chase to his brother. The group follows behind him at a safe distance, leaving behind the dusted remains of Universe 9.

Gaia: "Mother will have my head if I don't fix this. But I'll wait until they're done."

Upon entering Universe 10, they find themselves within the latest "final" solar system of this ever expanding universe. From what Shiishii could sense and see, Haydes was located on the 12th planet of this solar system. A large celestial body known as Geera Prime. 

Shiishii: "Just where the hell is this bastard? *Inhales* HAAAAAYDES!!!"

Haydes: "Behind you, fool!"

Shiishii: "Hmm- WHAT THE!?"

What Shii saw before him as he turned around, was a massive star being held up by Haydes himself. The star easily dwarfed the star known as "The Sun". From what Shii could tell… it was more than 1,000 times the size of "The Sun" and had a large nebula behind it.

Haydes: "What's wrong brother? Haven't seen my Hell-ish Nova before? Well now's the time to observe it at its full glory!"

Shiishii: "Damn him! Guild, Slicing + Destruction Scythe: Gashing Meridian!"

Haydes: "Hmph."

Haydes launches the massive star at Shiishii, full throttle. Shiishii readies his Scythe so he can intercept the blast and destroy it. Shiishii bides his time right and waits until the last minute to strike. Once the star was within inches of Shii's face, he took his swing. Slicing straight through the star and the nebula with relative ease… or so he thought. 

Shiishii: "It… doesn't feel like I sliced through anything. Hmm?"

Haydes: "Expand." 

Shiishii: *PEEEEEWIP* "W-what?!"

The star was shrunk to the size of a ping pong ball and rested near Shiishii's torso. The star began to expand after Haydes' command was spoken. The growth was far too rapid for Shii to dash away from in his position. 

Haydes: "Now then, Burst."  

Shiishii: "God daammiiit-"

*Fwetooof* *BOOOOOM* a massive supernova had burst forth as the star collapsed in on itself. Shiishii remained at the center, being bombarded by temperatures well beyond 100,000° celsius. Upon hitting the climax of its collapse, the star plunged further in and began distorting the space around it and shifting into a black hole with one massive pull to it. 

Haydes: "Sorry brother but this is the end for you. That star had the amps of an attack that could've leveled half the universe if I was going for a wide range attack."

Shiishii: … 

Haydes: "Seems he's gone quiet now. 

Gaia: "This is…"

Kishin, Vashjai, Amiyama, Morpheus: *Shiver*

Morpheus: "What is this… bloodlust!? Brothers!?"

Kishin: "I-Its… Shiishii."

Vashjai: "It's been too long since I've witnessed this."

Amiyama: "Haydes is in trouble."

Jollister: *Grin* "This is all too familiar. He got like this when those Machinelord bastards attacked us in the past."

Tristan: "I… hate this side of Shii."

Haydes: "Huh? The… atmosphere has gotten quite heavy. Just what's going on here?"

And in that instant, Shiishii reversed the flow of the black hole. Causing the black hole to grow unstable and within a blink of a God's eye, dispersed it with pure destruction particles. "This… bastard never quits", said Haydes as he looked onward at Shiishii. 

Shiishii: *GLARE* *WOOSH*

Haydes: "Hmm?! What's that form? Its not his wolfic form… it's someone else's entirely." 

MorZick: "That's not Shii's wolf essence that I'm sensing… well not just his at least."

Zenki: "Yeah. Gaia?"

Gaia: "Its his strongest scythe and the strongest study he's come across to date. The beast Scythe, derived from the legendary class beast study he found in Gahwardia. One of the only standard studies I've seen where you had to beat it within its psyche plain to win."

MorZick: "So this is where that study went. I planned on harboring it after conquering the ruins that surrounded it. Seems my son beat me to it."

Gaia: "Indeed, but… I have to admit. This is my first time seeing him use it let alone fusing with it."

Zenki: "Hmph."

Haydes: "So this is his most powerful Scythe? If I can beat this out, he won't be able to touch me with anything else. Bring it on-"

Shiishii: *GLARE* 

Haydes: "He's not holding any of his bloodlust back. Easy to say he's going full animal instincts from this point on. But if that's the case… I'll just have to go wild as well. *Inhale* GRAAAAAAAAAGH!!!"

Haydes also sprouts his tucked away tail and wolf like ears. Showing off some of his hidden genetics that stem from their parents. The likes of the Senkozen family that leads Gahwardia are all wolf related warriors. They do not simply appear as humanoid wolves. Moreso human shaped gods who can bring out wolf like appendages amd parts at will. Of course this also means they can transform into full wolf form if deemed necessary. The Senkozens are the only tribe within the clan that have these genetics due to their direct lineage. 

MorZick: "Seems they're both cutting the bullshit and going for gold in this fight. Been so long since I've seen them use their wolf awakenings."

Zenki: "Indeed. Hideaki barely ever uses his."

Kishin: "This… should be good."

Vashjai: "Yeah. Watch closely Morpheus."

Morpheus: "Right."

Tristan: … 

Haydes: "Shall we start now brother- Oh? W-Where did he go?" *THWACK*

MorZick: "This speed."

Shiishii blitzes Haydes and sends him flying halfway across universe 10. Shii gives chase and speeds after Haydes. Haydes catches himself and decides to astral project himself to a universal level, so that he can delay Shii with galaxy tossing. 

Haydes: "Just for a little reassurance, Contract: Intimidation!"

A glare from his left eye of Contract quickly casts a grand mural of monstrosity behind himself. In an attempt to play on Shii's current animalistic nature. 

Shiishii: "He's trying to use my damn animal instincts against me? Not a chance kid!" *pew* *Pew* *PEW*

Shii quickly smashes through the oncoming galaxies using the traits of a cosmic tortoise for defense and stacking it with his destruction scythe. He makes quick work of them and ups his speed as he coats himself with pure death particles. He rises to speeds well beyond 10 times the speed of light, becoming a blackened arrow in the process. 

Haydes: "I can't let that make contact with me. (I'll fuse my element to a defense contract and block the attack.) Alright, War-torn Contract: Great Shields of Mittengard!!!"

Haydes summons a great cluster of shields that sit in front of him. There were more than 50,000 shields there. Each one was roughly ⅛ the size of Earth 52. Shii barrels straight into the shields causing them to clump together in order to resist the impact. 

Haydes: "Alright I'll fuel the shield with Shii's natural war fury and essence. (Our Gahwardian war fury fuels our battle spirits and is highly compatible with the war element and its properties.) This should push my defensive capabilities to great heights."

Shiishii: *FWIP* Sounds like a great plan, but… I'm not dumb enough to try and force my way through a shield of this caliber."

Haydes: … "Auto-Contract: Insta Counter!" *Woosh*

Shiishii: "Ah. (His right fist has a shit ton of reversal particles imbued into it. He's molding a war mirror.) Hmph! Beast Scythe+Death: Cosmic Tortoise's Black Coffin!"

Shii wraps his fist in a heavy concentration of death particles. His body became as hard as a Cosmic Tortoise'a shell, which can withstand the full force of a big bang. Shii needed this to withstand the brunt of the oncoming explosion. 

Haydes: (With my reversal wall. I should be able to avoid any damage, and reverse the full force of this attack back in Shii.)

Their fists collide and a massive wave shoots out in all directions. It grows silent for a faint second and a great flash of light shoots out from between their fists. Within the blink of a God's eye, universe 10 was engulfed in that light and decimated in a flash. From within the aftermath came Shii and Haydes dashing out towards universe 11 as the tenth universe sees its last moments. 

Gaia: "Yet another universe destroyed by those two. Might have to work a little if this keeps up."

Morzick: "Seems they haven't lost any of their tenacity from that last attack. But I doubt they'll be keeping up those forms much longer if another attack like that is dished out."

Zenki: "Their war forms are reaching their limit on how much they can withstand."

Jollister: "And yet, they carry the fight at full throttle. Neither one is trying to give the other an inch. From what I can sense though, Haydes' Improvement birthright gave him a slight edge. He's an eighteen point five right now. Shii is only at an eighteen. But… that can still spell doom for Haydes."

Gaia: "Indeed. Let's follow them everyone!"

The group follows after Shii and Haydes as Shii tries to pummel Haydes into space dust. As they travel into the inbetween realm(a spatial drift dimension found between the universes. They're usually skipped over when passing through boundary gates but can be seen if one breaks the dimensional wall.) Haydes begins to wield control of the space around them with a high class manipulation contract. Throwing multiple spikes of spatial mass at Shii as he speeds after Haydes. 

Shiishii: "Damn this brat. He's throwing just enough to keep this distance between us. Guess I'll have to cheat the system then. Guild: Sycthe De Presence." 

Shii continuously dodges Haydes' onslaught and waits for a perfect opening. Upon dodging the onslaught for over thirty seconds, Shii decides to force an opening. He opens his ancestral eye, Specks of the Strategist and attempts to look Haydes directly in the eye. Haydes recognizes the eye and closes his own in order to avoid having his plans read and broken through. Shii uses that moment to summon a clone and forces contact with Haydes so that he may appear behind him in an instant. 

Haydes: *Squint* "Damn bastard actually can use one of the three eyes of Death now. *FwiiTIIING* Huh!? *Turn* 

Shiishii: "Hup!"

Shii smacks Haydes square in the forehead with a right hook. Haydes withstands the blow and tries to counter with a left, high-kick. Shii blocks the blow with his right arm, Haydes then quickly follows up with a rapid jab barrage with his right hand. Shii dodges each blow fluently, Haydes then tries to end it all with a full nelson left haymaker aimed at Shii's jaw. Shii ducks from the attack then bobs to the right. Hits Haydes with another clean right hook, but misses the mark with his right open hand palm strike aimed at Haydes' chest. Haydes weaves to the left and swings at Shii with a left uppercut. Shii ducks at the last second and lands a clean right elbow on Haydes' side. 

Haydes: "Gah! You son of a-" *SMACK* 

Shii follows up with a left uppercut of his own before Haydes could catch himself. Then proceeds to throw a barrage of very quick rapid jabs. Haydes catches himself and does an x-guard for the duration of the barrage. Shii throws a heavy left hook to finish it off and breaks through Haydes' guard. Shii wastes no time and immediately follows up with a full throttle right, overhead punch. Haydes is sent flying through the dimensional wall and into the eleventh universe. 

Haydes: "Damn. He's starting to utilise his martial arts. Hmm?!"

Shiishii: "Cosmic Delete!"

Shii throws a massive black ball of Death particles at Haydes. The attack is set up to naturally absorb the essence in the space around them to power itself up. With Shii there to amp the absorption potency, the attack grew to the size of Betelgeuse in a matter of five seconds. 

Haydes: "Tch! Physical Contract: Phase!"

The attack phased straight through Haydes and continued its route and growth. By the time it had reached the center of the universe, it was the size of five galaxies in one. The attack finally exploded and the force and range was enough to affect the universe, with the death particles it had in bulk. The universe was torn asunder as Haydes and Shii continued on towards universe twelve, throwing galaxy level attacks as they proceeded. 

Gaia: "I feel as though Shii knows it, but they'll tap out of those forms if they take the full brunt of a universe collapsing again."

MorZick: "I believe they plan on ending it at that point."

Zenki: "Yeah. They've both been building up massive amounts of essence as they proceed onwards."

Jollister: "I think I know which attack Shii is going to use."

Zo'Elaniece: "This has been just fantastic to watch."

Silvio: "Agreed mother."

Thermias: "Mhmmm hm."

Morpheus: "Y-Yeah."

Shiishii: "I'll end it all with my next attack. The ultimate death technique with a spicy scythe addition. Guild: Destruction+Slicing-"

Haydes: "I'll have to end it with my next attack for sure. War+Secret Contract: War-Torn Collapse."

Shiishii: "Death-Rising, True Scythe Formation: ERASURE!!!"

The two dash straight through the dimensional walls and dash into the twelfth universe at full speed. They immediately turn to the other and unleash their attacks at full power. The attacks meet head on and a struggle begins.

Shiishii: "You'll lose no matter what you do Haydes. I'll make sure of that!"

Hadyes: "You won't even make it out of this fight. I'll erase your sorry ass!"

Shiishii: "Hmph! We'll see."

The attacks grow far more fierce as Shii and Haydes put out more essence. Universe 12 begins to shake and rumble, ready to crumble at the seams. The two attacks create a wave of force that gashes out like a flash of light. The attack expands throughout the universe and tears through the fabric of time and space. The resulting split affects the existence within the universe at a molecular level. More than one septillion atoms were split and the universe crumbled from the explosion.

Haydes: "I could get completely paralyzed and torn asunder by this. But as long as I win… I could CARE LESS!"

Shiishii: "Seems we'll get caught in this too. So long as the audience is fine… fuck everything else. Just fall, Haydes."

The two are caught within the blast and engulfed by the light. The light stretches far beyond the boundaries of the twelth universe and bursts into the thirteenth, fourteenth and even all the way back to the eighth universe. All were being broken apart by the might of these two attacks. Destruction was imminent. 

The final attacks from Shii and Haydes destroy far more than what any could've predicted. Will the two of them both be obliterated in the process or will there be a definitive winner? Only time can tell as the battle continues. 

Next Chapter: Who Claims Victory?!