End of Beginnings

The sky was dark as the setting sun hid behind the clouds of ash and blood. The guns littering the desolate field were all he could see as the smell of gunpowder and blood remained in the air.

A man stood before the dreary view as he watched his last sunset. His eyes filled with melancholy as he mutters, "After all the sacrifice, we still lost in the end."

He watches the body of his fellows fade into dust as he takes a knee, taking a gun from what used to be a child, one of the many children that died, standing. If only he could have died with them.

A tear fell from his eyes as He spits out, "Are you happy now?"

A chuckle behind him was all the answer he needed as he aimed the gun, aiming at a man walking through the shadows, smirking at him.

The man clapped as he condescendingly spoke, his overcoat billowing from the wind. "Bravo General, you always were one step ahead."

He looked around, his smirk mocking him, "Too bad you weren't a few hundred more."

The man stepped forward as the dark army smiled behind him. The countless amalgamation of damned souls enslaved to follow the God of Deceit.

He shouts from the provocation as he watches the armies they've fought against obey him like a dog, "Diether! You sold humanity for a scrap of power!"

Diether tilts his head back in laughter, holding his face as he laughed, unafraid of the gun pointed at him as he wiped away the tears of laughter, "Oh Lucius, always so idealistic."

He gestured around him as the army cackles, with enough power to shake the ground. He shouts as his black eyes lit up in an eerie light, "How is this a scrap of power. An army of millions under my command, capable of swallowing nations."

Lucius shoots his gun and a wave of darkness blocks his bullet. He raises an eyebrow. "Is that it? You sold humanity for a power that will never be yours."

The army laughs as Diether smiles, "Oh, I never sold humanity away, because there was a never a chance of victory. I merely sided with the winning one."

"We could've won on the Day of Red, yet you betrayed us for yourself? After we sacrificed so much, after we lost so many."

"I lost nothing! I never cared for your fight. I just wanted to live." He gestured around him, "And now, here I am, LIVING!"

He closes, knowing his friend was long gone, "I see. Then what are you here for?"

"Obviousl-"

"I know what you're here for, "Lucius aims his gun at his head as he interrupts him.

"There's a reason they left me alive and there'll be a reason they sent you."

The expression of panic Diether was showing was everything Lucius needed for confirmation. But as the gun pointed at his head, clicked. A grin was all he could muster as tears fell from his eyes. The realization that this was the end of all their struggles and the end of the world.

With one last hurrah, "Eat shit, FUCKER!"

A bang echoed through the desolate landscape as Diether watched in shock and horror as the last human died, gun in hand.

Lucius floated through infinity. The vast darkness was a welcome sight from the gruesome reminder of his failures.

He was a man of small pleasure. The once mundane world he lived in was less than ideal. But it was a world of relative peace.

He admits the fact it bored him out of his mind, but he would have rather lived a life of a mundane family man than that of a general of a thousand armies.

He remembers when it started, when his life changed, when the alarms blared out, terrifying the world out of its mind. Leaving it unprepared for the horrors that came after.

The sad reminder that it was his birthday, where it started, where he lost everything and where he decided to change the fate of humanity.

It remains a vivid memory, the smell of their blood, the sight of their despairing expression and the feeling of cold skin as he held their hand in their dying moments.

That was when it all changed. That was where the army of demons and darkness decide to rampage through the earth, dyeing it in red and ash.

"Maybe Diether was right, there was never a chance of victory."

He shakes such thought out of his head. NO! Such thought would have dishonored the memory of every man, woman, and child who sacrificed the time they had left on earth to make a stand.

"If only we had a bit more power, we could have done a lot more." He muttered to himself as he watch infinity passed by.

"Then perhaps, I could be of help." A voice utters behind him. Interrupting his thought.

He sits up in shock as he looked around in a panic to see a man standing in a lab coat wearing glasses, bearing a shaky smile.

"Who are you?" Where the first words Lucius uttered towards the man.

"My name is Entirum, the aspect of technology and innovation."

"Aspect?" Lucius asked.

He never knew what an aspect was, after all. All he ever fought with were Demon Gods.

Entirum watches his incomprehension as he explained, "There was never a being titled God, the God which created everything remains unknown. Though we have seen his existence, the title of GOD remains untouched."

He pushes up his glasses as the void recedes, leaving a white expanse, "What you and your people fought were the Aspects of Deceit and Darkness. Along with their acolytes, they comprised the army upon which turned your world to ash."

Lucius sighs as he rubs his face, his expression weary and ready to embrace his afterlife and end his suffering. After all, who cares if they're gods in all but name, "Why are you telling me this?"

Entirum sees his expression and sighs, his own failure weighing him down. "Because I want you to stop another world from burning."

Lucius' expression contorts into annoyance as he points to him, "Then why don't you do it yourself."

Entirum ruffles back his hair of white as he replied, "I would if I could, but no aspects are allowed in the mortal realm."

"No, thanks."

"But why?"

"I'm just tired. I don't want to fight anymore. Every fight remains an uphill battle and more men will die under my command. I can't deal with that anymore." He slumps his shoulders as he laid back down.

"I understand." He stepped forward, "It's hard to fight after all you've seen." He stood at him, looking down with an encouraging smile, "But don't you at least want to avenge them? Avenge everyone you lost? And kill the man who took everything from you."

"And save everyone who died."

"What?" He looked at his expression as he considered his words, "What do you mean."

Entirum looked at his side as a screen pops up to view, "Look at this."

He turns his head to the side as he watches the screen, "T-that's me?" He sees his dead body within the desolate fields of Earth. That wasn't right. Ever since their armies came, no corpses remained.

A few moments last before he stands up in anger, with the blood pumping through his veins, his eyes darken as he connected the dots on what occurred.

Every body turning to ash once killed by demons, corpses only appear to those that died before their descent. While, the army of darkness wounded those that faded to ash.

"Any wound I had, had healed by then." He muttered.

"He knew, he knew what would happen if I killed myself, he knew what would happen if we faded to ash." He shouts it anger and indignation as the realization of what happened to his comrades.

The shouts filled with rage echoes everywhere, he continues as he shouts his frustration, his anger, his rage before breaking down in tears, his anger flushed away as the memories of watching them fade resurfaces, he spoke in a voice filled with grief, "I failed them, I failed each and every one of them. And now they remain in eternal damnation."

"STUCK IN SERVING THE ASPECTS THAT TOOK EVERYTHING FROM THEM!" He shouts out in anger as he looks down, his face expressionless as he crumples into the ground, with his string cut, neither dead nor living.

Entirum sighs as he watches it all happen. He knew that doing this would at least give him the reason to fight. And despite his manipulations, he still wishes for Lucius to move forward and fight for the Alliance.

But the amount of rage and hatred was beyond what he thought his reaction would be. He looked at the screen, though he could understand where he was coming from.

An hour passes. "What do I have to do?" A small whisper comes from his depressed form.

Lucius stood back up as he looked Entirum in the eye, his red eyes blazing in a fiery will. Entirum swallows subtly, fearful of the seemingly endless fury the man held.

With his will invigorated, Entirum hurriedly spoke, "Uh, yes. This map holds the countless civilizations and galaxies where we go to war."

He immediately gestures to the screen as it changes, turning to one seemingly endless array of dots. Each dot was red or blue while in the middle stood a frontline, each dot was a combination of red and blue, each signifying a battlefield, a world and a civilization.

Lucius watches it all as he spoke, "Where was our world."

"T-thats here." The screen zooms in to a dot, filled with red. It was on the front lines, but while the worlds beside it was a point of contention, this world has already fallen.

"Why was ours left alone, yet when I look at the others, someone has Aspects designated for their defenses?" The questions were enough to stop Entirum in his tracks.

As Lucius locks his eyes unto him, his eyes finding for some answers.

He sighs as he spoke, "Your world was behind enemy lines." The map zooms out, showing the world behind his, "The world behind yours connects to those beside yours. We cannot allow it to be taken, from its strategic connection to five more behind it. It is of utmost importance. The raging debate only started once your world showed signs of fighting."

He look down in shame, "But before they could enact any decision, the Day of Red, as you call it, wiped out any belief of victory within high command."

A chuckle was all that came out of Lucius, as the irony of such statement felt like a sick joke. Diether betrayed us, knowing no aspect would come to help, yet none came because of his actions.

"HA! Even his reasons for betrayal were invalid." He shakes his head, trying to find amusement from the sick joke he calls fate.

Entirum lowers his head, muttering, "Sorry, I didnt really have much influence to push forward your world's defense."

"It's fine, its already done, we lost." He holds back his tears as he looks away before waving him to continue forward, "Just tell me what I have to do."

Entirum nods as the screen switches quickly. "There have been signs of a forming offensive near a strategic point, one connected to ten other worlds." His screen switches quickly to show it.

"You were the greatest hero to come out of your homeworld or the only hero that survived and they deigned you as the most likely champion to mount a defense against E.N.D."

"E.N.D." Lucius asks about the organization he never heard of.

"Yes, the Eternal Night of Destruction. Named after the three strongest aspects of their organization," He fixes his glasses as the screen shows the three Aspect's symbols, "Infinity, Darkness and Destruction."

Lucius memorizes each symbol, "I see, nevermind that then, Id rather know what you want me to do down there." He gestures to the screen as it reverts backs to the world.

It zooms in directly as a map shows itself. "Ah yes, the world is one similar to Earth but is a bit larger."

Various fantasy races appear on the screen, "It contains a few races, each one holding on a religion from Aspects that has given it their influence, some of which are part of the E.N.D."

"I see. I assume it was like this before the start of this war." He asked as he sat, curious about how they could allow an enemy faction such influence on their territory.

"Correct. What we want you to do is to unite the world into one proper force. In defense against what we believe to be a start of a new frontline." The view changes to that of a familiar army of darkness.

An amalgamation of races, each one enslaved the same way his comrades were. The countless soldiers and their inexhaustible armies only push Lucius further into anger.

"I get it, I just have to mount a defense, right?"

"Long enough for reinforcements to arrive." He smiles as his finger light up, "I'm sure you could do so with the gifts I shall give you."

He touches his forehead, "Gifts?"

"Yes, as the aspects of technology and innovation. I can have you gather followers in my name and gift them what I shall give you."

His hand lit up in a vast array of light, "Creative Existence."

"What does it do?" He studies it intensely.

"It will allow you to cre-" Alarms blared as a look of panic entered his expression. And Lucius looks to him in concern.

He waves his hand as a portal opens. "Get inside. An immediate reincarnation awaits you inside, you have my blessing with you" His hand lights up as he shoves it to his chest, "You will now be my first acolyte."

"What? Why?" he shoved him inside the portal before it immediately closes and darkness crawls up the white expanse.

"I see, he was here." An ominous voice spoke.

Entirum chuckles, "And you'll never get to him."

"Let's see about that, little one. I always get what I want."

Entirum sighs as he disappears, muttering to himself,

"I'm hoping you get more than what you want."