Mortality

"This is getting way out of hand." God spoke. "The birth of a being this powerful.. plus a battle between two impossibly strong beings.. this is just too much."

"Do you want us to go down there?" Asked Sun Wukong, who sat across the table from Moorza as God, Youlgnir, looked out a window.

"I don't think we could do much of anything." Moorza said. "I don't think even Youlgnir coils beat Azazel, much less you or I. Not to mention the other beings there."

"He's right. I suggest our best move is to just watch for now." Youlgnir spoke.

"Tch! As you wish. I just don't approve of this cowardice. We should be fighting." Sun Wukong said.

"Soon. We will be on top." Youlgnir spoke, mostly to himself. "Soon."

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"You really thought you could take me?" Azazel hissed with laughter. "It is quite entertaining. You are strong, but you aren't enough to take me. I am far beyond your level, dear Gozzu."

Smoke slowly trailed up from Gozzu's jaws.

"Hah. You can't even do anything." Azazel laughed. "I must say," the Demon God waved at the deep split in the earth. "I am impressed by you, really, but it's just not eno-"

Azazel suddenly stopped, lurching forward. His aura cloak began to faze in and out. "What.. the hell..?" Black blood began to dribble from Azazel's mouth as he hunched over and fell to his knees. The spikes that held Gozzu began to fade out and the gargoyle stood over Azazel, aura being absorbed into him in mass as he grew ever so bigger, almost thirteen feet tall now. The air around Gozzu's body was distorted and colored by the immense aura that he absorbed and, in turn, gave off.

Everything near Gozzu became fuzzy from the immense pressure as the earth began to tremble. Azazel was pressed down against the ground, crumbling beneath Gozzu's pressure.

Gozzu held his hands out at either side, the markings about his arms and claws beginning to glow and become swallowed in aura, creating distortions in gravity and the air.

"How.. are you...?" Azazel choked.

Gozzu slowly rose his claws above his head, the aura about his hands leaving a trail of after images. Gravity then began to increase insanely then, every rock that had once been drifting from distortions crashing to the ground as Azazel was crushed as well, pressed against the stone.

Then Gozzu dropped his fists, clasped together, like a hammer of execution on Azazel, the impact so intense that it was as though a massive meteor had struck the earth, sending a massive shockwave across the land's surface that scorched every inch of the ground and tore the earth's surface apart.

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"Akuro. It seems you've gone berserk, again. Except this time you are a lot stronger." Sedori spoke as he casually walked towards Darius. Sedori extended his hand out, and Darius took it, allowing him to help him up.

"You.. you are alive?" Darius asked.

"Not really. I'm just a demon now." He lifted his hand and grabbed a set of chains wrapped about his chest. "These are the shattered parts of my soul."

Akuro released a shockwave of black aura, blowing away the blades embedded in his body as his wounds healed instantly.

"Ah.." Sedori sighed. "This really is gonna be a pain in the ass."

"Gonna be? It already is." Darius said.

"Fair enough. Either way, I would like to know what exactly caused this to occur in the first place?"

"Honestly... no clue. Also, be careful.. I'm pretty sure he someone unlocked the ability to bend reality." Darius said grimly.

"Hm. We will se about that." Sedori spoke, then all of the blades around him began to swirl in a furious cyclone of steel as he walked towards Akuro. "Hey, Akuro. Wanna know something?" Sedori said, his aura becoming a darker shade now. "Becoming a demon gave me a new power. Every time a blade of mine tastes someone's blood, it steals their power and adds it to my own. Permanently. So now I've got some of your aura as mine, forever. I'll say, it's pretty impressive how much you've got, and I only took a small portion."

Akuro began to slowly walk towards Sedori now too, and, miraculously, every single blade in Sedori's storm missed. Some how they all simply missed Akuro, their paths changing, altered by some outside force.

Both Akuro and Sedori came to a halt, staring one another down, though Akuro was expressionless and seemed like he could care less.

Then a flash of white light went through the air and Inari flashed into existence behind Akuro, her short sword flying for his throat.. but she missed. How did she miss? It was like she was placed somewhere else.

"What the..?" Inari asked in surprise. "I'm sure I hit him..?"

"Enough games." Akuro said suddenly. His voice was cold and completely devoid of emotion. "I will be kind into you. I will not kill you, but I will destroy all chances of your victory."

"What-?" Inari asked.

"I will eliminate any hope you have left, and as your dreams die you shall wallow and suffer in hopelessness and despair." Akuro said coldly.

Then he held up his hand and his fist closed. Darius's ears began to ring in that moment and he felt as though he lost a part of himself, he felt his legs go weak, he felt pathetic and small, everything overwhelmed him and he suddenly crashed to the ground, his face against the stone ground. He felt pain.. he felt weak.. why was this..? What happened..? Wait.. no.. he knew this feeling.. the fear of death.. the helplessness.. this mortality.. he had become a mortal once again. Akuro had reverted him back into a mortal!

Inari also lost her Aura Cloak, crumbling beneath Akuro's pressure. For some reason, it seemed, Sedori was the only one unaffected.

"Why are you still a demon..?" Akuro asked curiously.

"You tell me." Sedori said, his aura shifting to a darker shade. "Maybe it's because some of your aura is mine now."