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THIRD POV
Somewhere within the Dragon World of Kalidor, the three Dark Stars stood in silence, watching as the Dragons advanced in the distance, their presence growing with each passing moment.
"He belongs to two creators. Deceiving him is pointless. Just kill him directly."
The Void Emperor said, his tone calm and absolute.
"Got it."
"This makes things easier."
Mors replied, Absolith resting on her shoulder.
"Three Dark Stars, breaking into the Dragon World that's surely odd."
The Star King's voice echoed throughout Kalidor, his still presence concealed.
"A trusting presence shall be with you. But he's not. State your being, evil ones."
"To cut the chase, we're here to kill you. Black Sun!"
Mors moved first, her blade igniting as jet-black flames surged outward, sweeping across the field and clearing the advancing Dragons within its range without restraint.
"Hold on. We need new species… and soldiers."
Kenos stepped forward, his voice cutting through the chaos as he spread his influence across a vast stretch of ground, claiming it before the destruction could go any further.
From his feet, shadow stretched outwards beneath the airborne dragons. As soon as the Dragons flew within the range of his shadow, a replica of themselves but as shadows were created.
From beneath the scorched earth, the Shadow Dragons rose, their obsidian scales gleaming faintly under the dim light, each one mirroring its counterpart above. The sky trembled as Dragon faced Shadow Dragon, light against darkness, creation against reflection.
"Can't you turn them into shadows?"
Phoenix asked.
"As I said, we need a species of Dragons among us. I will capture a handful and convert the rest."
"How odd."
Mors tilted her head slightly, studying him with faint curiosity.
"I, the Angel of Death, should've been responsible for necromancy."
"A duel, then. If you win, you can have all my shadows."
"And if you win?"
"I'll make you one of mine."
Kenos answered without a hint of emotion, his expression unchanged despite the weight of what he had just said.
She let out a quiet scoff, unimpressed.
"Exsurgete, servi mortis! Ex tenebris voco vos, ut iterum in vita serviatis!"
(Rise, servants of death! From the darkness I call you, that you may serve once more in life!)
She cast without hesitation, and countless black portals tore open across the field, each one spilling out the Stars she had slain.
They looked almost ordinary at first glance… almost. A veil of living darkness draped over their heads like a hood, swallowing every trace of light that dared touch it.
Above each of them burned a halo, sharp-edged and searing, its violet flames shaped like a serrated crescent. There was nothing natural about them anymore. They were puppets.
Her army surged forward together, a tide of death given form. The Star Dragons stood no chance, their resistance collapsing almost immediately under the overwhelming force.
"Impressive. Just how many did you kill?"
Phoenix asked, his tone steady as he watched the scene unfold.
"With Solaria being the largest and strongest fraction… around five billion."
Phoenix exhaled slowly at that, the weight of the number settling in, before he spoke again.
"Abilities?"
"Nothing much. They can only die on my command. Plus, I can also use the skills they possess. But what I have is more than enough."
"Buckle up, he's approaching."
Before Kenos's words had fully left his mouth, the Supreme Star Dragon was already upon them, its majestic form blotting out the heavens.
"Rebellion. You've destroyed the Drops below as well, haven't you?"
It's only logical they did.
"And you're next."
Phoenix replied with a faint, daring smile.
"I'd like to see you try."
Vyrakos said, extending his hand. Flames spiralled into existence upon his palm, burning with a brilliance that threatened to consume even the surrounding light.
[[IMAGE]]
[[IMAGE]]
Mors moved first, launching herself forward as jet-black flames roared along her blade.
"Black Sun!"
She brought it down again with full force. But this time, it did not land.
Vyrakos raised his left hand and caught the strike barehanded, the flames folding into his grip as though they had lost their purpose. Not a flicker escaped him.
"Nothing works twice against me."
He spoke coldly, then slammed the flame burning in his palm against her armour. Space rippled like water struck by thunder, and she was hurled backwards, vanishing along with her army in an instant.
'The soldiers faded, which means she's unconscious ot worse.'
Kenos turned to face the Supreme Star Dragon with full focus.
'If he killed Mors with that one strike, it'll have to be a one versus one.'
Though Phoenix was still available, Kenos dismissed him and was ready to take care of the Star Dragon himself.
Once the battlefield cleared of Dragons, Kenos turned his focus toward the Star King, commanding his shadows to advance. But the moment the Dragon-kin shadows, born solely from his darkness, stepped forward they froze. Not a single one could move.
The reason was clear. Vyrakos' aura, imbued with Dragon's Fear, had begun to leak into the air, an instinctive, primal terror that crawled through every draconic species, forcing even darkness itself to kneel.
"Worthless shadows."
Kenos cursed under his breath as one of the orbs behind him dissolved into molten light, then reformed into a sleek, obsidian rod pulsing with condensed void energy. Without hesitation, he lunged forward, meeting Vyrakos head-on.
They collided, their movements blurring beyond mortal comprehension, each strike echoing across Realms, each clash bending the fabric of existence around them.
Kenos's rod struck with devastating precision, its impact cracking Vyrakos's divine scales, while Vyrakos's counterattacks seared through Kenos's non-existent flesh, burning the very non-essence that held him together.
At last, the two broke apart, drifting across the torn sky.
"You're good. Stronger than Algol I'd say."
"Who knows. Phoenix..."
"I'm afraid none of them are working. But I have a lot to try."
"Good."
With Mors out of the picture, the Emperor is all to himself. Kenos dashed again and swung down the rod but as they hit his scale, they didn't crack.
"Didn't work?"
Kenos tilted his head slightly and asked, his tone calm yet edged with curiosity.
Then launched a sudden jab, Vyrakos's fist blazing with golden flames that seared the very air. The strike connected squarely against Kenos's chest, yet he didn't so much as flinch. The flames dispersed into nothingness upon contact, swallowed whole by the void.
"Didn't work?"
Vyrakos muttered, frowning.
"Void above cause."
Kenos replied, his voice low and resonant.
Vyrakos drifted backwards, wings unfurling as radiant star particles began to swirl around him, each one awakening under his command, pulsing with the raw power of a stellar sovereign.
"Stra Nova; Burst."
Kenos stood his ground, waiting for the inevitable strike, the starry explosion ignited just meters before him, a blinding burst of celestial energy that tore through the air without touching him.
In that fleeting instant, Vyrakos descended sharply, his blazing form streaking toward Phoenix, who remained focused on weaving an intricate, unknown spell. The Star Dragon struck with lethal precision, catching Phoenix completely off guard yet Phoenix made no move to defend himself.
"You can't touch him now!"
Mors's voice thundered across the field as she appeared from nowhere, her presence cutting through the chaos. Kenos had already acted, one of the orbs behind him shot forward, streaking like a comet toward Vyrakos, its trajectory meant to shatter his perception and throw his senses into disarray.
"Arc of Severance."
Caught in the middle of the chaos, his hands glimmering with Star Dust, Vyrakos snatched the incoming void orb from the air and slammed it straight into Mors's face, the impact sending her hurtling out of the battlefield once more.
Midair, he spun with fluid precision, his leg now wreathed in blazing Star Dust and unleashed a devastating kick aimed squarely at Phoenix, a strike powerful enough to erase everything in its path. In that split second, Kenos appeared beside Phoenix, pulling him down as one of the orbs expanded, morphing into a void wall to intercept the blow.
However, the Star Dust carved through the void barrier with surgical precision. The resulting shockwave ripped through the heavens, the Drops shattered, the force paving through the Pond and the very fabric of Unknown Space was torn asunder, leaving trails of fractured light.
"I'm ready."
Phoenix began his incantation, his voice low and resonant, yet before he could finish, Kenos reached out, placing a hand on him. In an instant, Kenos vanished, surging forward like a streak of void light straight toward Vyrakos.
The Star Dragon raised his hand, intending to swat him aside but Kenos moved unpredictably, ducking beneath the sweeping strike with inhuman precision. A crimson magic circle flared to life in his grasp, its intricate symbols spinning rapidly as he drove it toward Vyrakos's abdomen, the air around them bending and shrieking under the pressure of the converging powers.
"Abomination."
It rotated, sending rays which dispersed into the atmosphere. He stopped, shocked.
"He.."
He was cut off mid-motion, his head snapped cleanly to the side by a single, effortless backhand from Vyrakos. The impact echoed like thunder, and his body staggered backwards through the air.
As Vyrakos turned, ready to face Kenos, he froze. Standing between them now was Phoenix, his presence burning brighter than before.
"What is this?"
"Welcome to the World of Abomination. A World where my nightmare comes to an end."
Golden flames coalesced around him, swirling with divine intensity before collapsing inward, devouring Phoenix whole. The fire clung to his form like a living thing, burning not just flesh but essence, each flicker radiating unbearable majesty and destruction.
Yet even as the sacred inferno consumed him, Phoenix did not scream. He simply stood within the blaze, eyes closed, as though embracing the agony that sought to unmake him.
"It's useless. Anything I think is harmful to myself won't work."
He spoke amid the flames.
"I see, how about..."
Vyrakos closes his eyes and concentrates. The moment he opens his eyes, spikes putrid form from Phoenix's body.
"What... how?"
The victim spat a streak of blood, his voice strained as he managed to ask, but Vyrakos didn't so much as glance his way. His golden eyes stayed fixed ahead, cold and unyielding.
Without hesitation, the Star Dragon lunged forward, his colossal presence tearing through the scorched air as he advanced on Kenos.
"I can't believe I had to pull this to dispose of a lizard!"
A woman's fierce voice cried out, and Mors appeared. Her armour was completely destroyed, and she wasn't holding a sword this time but a scythe.
She swung down without aiming at her target, and Vyrakos's arm fell off, but he didn't stop approaching Kenos.
"Stand back."
Kenos issued a warning, but Vyrakos had no reason to heed it.
Without warning, his footing faltered. His wings flared open instinctively as he veered sideways, scanning for whatever had caught him off guard. His gaze dropped, and there it was: Amethyst Void, seeping like liquid corruption into the ground beneath him.
He barely had time to react before the wave of Amethyst Void surged upward, crashing toward him like a tidal flood.
Vyrakos halted midair, unleashing a storm of Star Dust to counter it, his radiance clashing violently against the devouring amethyst force. The collision erased sound itself, a stillness born from absolute destruction.
When the haze cleared, his body was already regenerating, scales knitting back together in molten light. And before him now stood two figures, their presence heavy, confronting him in silence.
'I can't afford to go dragon mode in Kalidor. I'll win, but I'll end up destroying all I've created. I can't risk Lord Veldanava's dream for mere victory. In that case...'
Mors swung the scythe, and Vyrakos's shoulder was severed, but he didn't flinch the slightest.
'Unpredictable Qìnéng-based arcs.'
He immediately spotted the attack as he could see everything through Etherium.
"Scythe of Unwritten. All I have to do is swing, and nature will take its course."
Mors informed, but Vyrakos with Etherium knew better.
'That's dangerous. Anytime she swings, an arc of Qìnéng is made and released randomly. I can easily counter that, but that RISK has to be taken.
Then we have Kenos's new void. Unlike the previous one, I don't think Qìnéng can handle it completely. Star Dust was the only option which I couldn't use more than I've wasted.'
He sighed, noticing the position he's in.
"Can't win?"
Mors asked.
"While in human form, he's still ill holding back so as not to destroy his home."
Kenos knew best because these are the odds he wanted. Fight him in Kalidor where he's unable to transform.
"I can't escape this confined space because of Phoenix's magic. World of Abomination was it."
"Oh, you've figured it out. Then you should know you can't win."
"I just came up with the perfect plan."
He said, golden energy surging violently around him. Kenos's eyes widened.
"Don't tell me, you're planning to use that!?"
Even Mors froze at the overwhelming sight before them.
The golden radiance expanded into a monstrous form, swelling until it fractured like glass, revealing Vyrakos's True Body. A Star Dragon.
To be continued...