Marching through the hallowed halls of the Dark Gods palace, a large beast of a man stalked forwards with purpose, steps echoing throughout. His bulky, plated form hunched over, his red eyes narrowed and his face twisted into an ugly scowl.
Everything about him exuded barely restrained rage and every creature that crossed his path quickly clung to the walls in hopes of not further angering the being. For you see, this was no simple or ordinary Dark God. This was not one of the many thousands spread across their great empire.
No, he was a prince, son of Majeston Zelia, the ruler of the Dark Gods. He was a being who had forged his own place in history, beyond just that of a Dark God. A being whose exploits inspired fear and awe in all he knew and heard them.
His name was Perrikos and he was the God of Power and Energy.
Reaching a door, Perrikos with no effort at all, sent the two doors swinging open with such force that they cracked the walls when colliding with them. Yet, Perrikos paid it no mind only continuing his march up the stairs where his mother sat on her throne watching him in amusement, his anger and power not even a threat in her mind.
"My son, you seem angry." She noted, her snake-like body moving ever so slightly as she leaned forwards. Behind her, stood the tall armoured figure of Adva, the Goddess of Portals and Wisdom.
With a snarl, Perrikos continued to stalk up the stairs, his stomping feet cracking the ground and Adva shifted warily in an effort to protect Majeston Zelia should Perrikos attack her. Uncommon it may be for Perrikos to be this angry, it would not be the first time he had attacked his mother either in a fit of rage or simply because he was tired of her talking.
Still, she had nothing to worry about as Perrikos came to a stop in front of his mother, his large form casting her in shadow as she looked up at him with that same condescending smile on her face. "Why are we still here when we should be attacking Asgard?!" He growled and Majeston Zelia hummed in thought.
"Why?" She questioned. "Because we are not ready just yet."
"Ready?!" Perrikos continued, his anger growing. "We have our armies, we have all the Dark Gods gathered here! We can win! Do not tell me you are going to let this opportunity pass us by in a petty way of getting back at Tserron, my wife! My wife who was killed by the Asgardians! I will not stand by and watch as the perfect opportunity for my revenge slips from my fingers all for your petty vengeance!"
As his tirade had continued, he hadn't paid attention to the shift in Majeston Zelia's temperament.
Gone was the condescending smile and nonchalant slouch and instead replaced by narrowed eyes and a straight posture that shook with anger. Then a hiss was released from her mouth subconsciously, a sign of her anger that Perrikos did notice.
"You dare!" She hissed and quickly Perrikos realised his mistake. "Speak to me in such a way!" Stepping back, Perrikos moved down the steps as Majeston Zelia rose out of her chair, floating in the air till she was above Perrikos and had cast him in her shadow. "I am your queen! You answer to me!"
"Yes, my queen." He replied, dropping to one knee subserviently and Majeston Zelia remained above him for a few more moments as silence engulfed the throne room entirely. All those present held their breath, just waiting to see what would happen.
Fortunately, nothing did as Majeston Zelia sat back down on her throne. "Luckily for you, my son, I am merciful." Adva who had been prepared to aid her queen released a sigh of relief, she had not been looking forward to facing Perrikos who could kill her with ease. "I shall overlook this incident as a sign of grief, but never, speak to me in such a way again, am I clear?"
"Perfectly," Perrikos responded, his glare directed to the throne instead of his mother.
"Good." With that, Majeston Zelia sat comfortably on her throne once more. "I never planned to let this opportunity pass us by, but Asgard is currently too strong for us to invade and are our own forces stationed here are weakened from the rebellion the Asgardian spy created to cover his escape."
It was true that Asgard did not inhabit a planet but instead existed within a separate realm, parallel to their own dimension. They had then expanded into other parallel realms and even expanded into this dimension with their taking of Earth. But their main difference came in the fact that they not only tried to expand their position and power but did so successfully. It was their actions that had sparked similar pantheons to try something similar, the Dark Gods one of them.
They did not reside within a separate realm like the Asgardians, but they did exist on a planet that worshipped them doggedly. With their fanatical followers, they expanded from planet to planet, conquering all those that inhabited them and turning them away from their Gods and into their arms. They had carved out a small area within the Cosmos, an empire they could call their own.
But unlike the Dark Gods, Asgard didn't need to have soldiers placed on their planets to act as both a deterrent to internal and external threats. Instead, their ability to travel through the Bifrost and appear near-instantaneously from one location to another as long as it was connected to the Yggdrasil made having a permanent garrison obsolete.
Why have soldiers away from their home guarding conquered territory when they could teleport there instantly and defend it when under attack?
That's exactly what the Asgardians did and it resulted in Asgard having the entirety of its military – while not one of the largest, is one of the most disciplined and well-trained militaries in the cosmos – to defend it from invasions. Not to mention, there was the All-Father himself, Odin who alone was capable of wiping out armies single-handedly.
No, while Asgard had grown soft over the years, having allowed the Dwarves and many others in the Nine Realms to gain some measure of independence and rule themselves, Asgard was still a strong presence in the cosmos, especially amongst the Gods.
That was something that had always been an affront to Majeston Zelia.
She was a Goddess of Darkness, birthed and raised to be a cruel and tyrannical ruler that would lead the Dark Gods into a new age. It was her destiny and her birthright to create an Empire of Darkness. Already the foundations had been set with her predecessor's many conquests that led to the formation of their empire. Now, her conquests would begin with the destruction of Asgard and the conquering of the Nine Realms, something they had tried and failed to do once before in the past.
Unlike the Asgardians, she would not bow to the whims of the Celestials and let them continue with their experiments upon the people of Midgard. Nor would she allow the Dwarves, Elves, Jötunn and the other species of the Nine Realms to run free.
She would rule with an iron fist crushing the rebellions that Asgard suffered from the Frost Giants once and for all and when all was said and done, she would watch the once great, Asgardian Empire fall to ruin and be swallowed by her Dark Empire.
But first, she would need to turn Asgard's attention to something else, someone else and she knew exactly who to ally herself with.
"Adva, get into contact with King Rugga, tell him I have a proposal he might be interested in." Adva bowed and like the loyal servant she was, the Dark Goddess disappeared through a portal. It would take a while for Adva to reach Jötunheimr where King Rugga was located due to Odin's watcher, Heimdall always keeping his eyes open, but it would give her the time she needed to call in her forces from across the Dark Empire
Combined with the forces she had here and the Dark Gods under her command, Asgard would burn. She would make sure of it, this moment meant everything to her and Majeston Zelia would not allow this opportunity to slip by.
Not after the humiliating defeat, she suffered at the hands of Odin in the past.
This time, she would be the one to humiliate him, make him watch as his entire world burned around him. Majeston Zelia would do what no one else had done, she would break Odin Borson, the great All-Father and King of Asgard.