The Clash of Gods II

War broke loose.

The ground was littered with corpses of creatures forged from both stone and darkness. The grime of battle and death soaked the field, amplifying the gruesomeness of the scene. Stepping over the fallen, more creatures clashed, weapons ringing as they struck against one another.

Each side of the battlefield was manned by a variety of monstrous beings. Some ran on all fours with vicious, razor-sharp claws. Others wore armor and wielded weapons like knights, while a few rode horse-like constructs into the fray. Thousands of creatures met thousands more, and the ferocity of each clash was undeniable.

Above the chaos, winged creatures soared, weapons gripped tightly in their hands or claws extended like natural blades. Just like the carnage below, they too collided midair, stone smashing into living shadow, and darkness ripping through hardened stone.

Behind the frontlines hovered the generals and war strategists, their wings keeping them aloft as they commanded their forces. And further behind them, almost perfectly aligned across the sky, floated Tremor and Abyss. Their eyes were locked on one another, their silence louder than the war around them.

Abyss seethed with quiet frustration. It irritated him to spawn creatures just to watch them die in his name. But he understood that he had no choice in the matter. After all, none of this was for his sake. It was all entertainment for one being alone: The End.

As Abyss's eyes drifted back to the center table of the meeting room, there he sat: The End, his gaze cast toward the sky, a menacing smile carved across his face.

"What a magnificent thrill," The End said with joy. "Entertain me more."

His white pupils, encircled by deep black sclera, appeared to gaze ahead, but the third dimension could not comprehend where his focus truly lay. In truth, his vision enveloped the entire, infinite span of the meeting room, witnessing every battle simultaneously.

And while all three pleased him, one of them amused him just a little more than the rest.

Streaks of light and traces of lightning clashed against one another miles into the skies of the meeting room. The speed between both fighters was beyond mortal comprehension, so much that their bodies were imperceivable. Soon enough, Sol and Tempest hovered away from one another, revealing the anger in their eyes as they gasped slightly upon retreat. The Ouroboros they had called upon in the battle was the sole reason for their exhaustion, but their frustration was a different topic.

"This is starting to get agitating," Tempest spat.

But Sol met the god of Storms with silence, aware that any more words would only be unnecessarily wasted.

Seeing his opponent's silent gaze, Tempest's blood began to boil. Swiftly, he changed his stance, raising his right hand upwards as he kept his gaze forward. Suddenly, the sound of thunder reverberated across the area after a deep purple bolt of lightning dropped from the skies and manifested into his palm.

"Continue to underestimate me," Tempest spat angrily, "and I will bury you here with the tempestuous might of my lightning."

After his words, Tempest took a throwing stance, pulling the bolt back for a moment before hurling it with intense force towards his opponent. The lightning bolt darted at Sol with intense speed, thunder clapping shortly after.

Sol glanced at the incoming attack with focus, despite its immense speed. "What is lightning..." he said, his body tilting to the left side at an even more incredible speed, allowing him to evade the bolt effortlessly and even grab it with his right hand, "... in the presence of light itself?"

Watching his opponent effortlessly grab his attack and drop it to the ground, Tempest's anger began to grow further. He soon raised both his hands, spawning two more bolts of lightning that dropped into his grasp before hurling them with even more force than before.

Sol deftly maneuvered against the attacks, using his wings to move much swifter as well.

Tempest continued to spawn more Thunderclap Bolts, throwing them in succession as sounds of thunder echoed after each one.

Sol's frustration with the situation grew, and he knew he could not stay on the defensive for long. Upon evading one of the bolts, he immediately took a different stance, stretching the index finger of his right hand with haste. Pointing towards his opponent, a miniature ball of light slowly materialized directly ahead of Sol's finger, appearing to compress within itself. And before another bolt could travel to Sol's location, the small ball of light burst forward, instantly turning into a light beam that shot straight ahead, piercing the space between its caster and opponent.

Tempest's eyes widened, witnessing the speed at which the beam of light shot towards him. He managed to evade the attack, but as he returned his gaze ahead, he witnessed Sol close the gap between them. Sol slammed a right fist onto his jaw, causing him to move back a small distance.

Tempest grunted in pain, but as he rushed back into the fight, he witnessed Sol's stretched index finger towards him once again. Immediately, another ball of light spawned before shooting yet another beam of light towards him. But this time, due to his momentum from flying forward, Tempest was unable to evade the attack well, and it landed directly onto his torso.

The beam of light was so intense that it passed through Tempest's armor and torso, piercing through seamlessly.

Tempest glanced downward, watching as pure white blood seeped through him. But as he returned his gaze forward, Sol rushed at him once again.

Sol grabbed onto Tempest before rushing down to the ground, the speed they traveled moving them like a comet to the ground beneath them. His wings propelled him further, and before long, he slammed Tempest's body onto the ground.

Tempest felt immense pain as his back slammed onto the floor, the combination with the beam that had pierced him making things far more difficult. He was pinned beneath Sol, who now appeared ready to end the fight quickly.

Sol extended his left hand, his gaze serious as it remained fixed on his opponent. In a moment, a small metallic blade materialized in his grip, and he pointed it at Tempest. Yet, just before he could drive the blade into the god of Storms, Sol hesitated.

He no longer saw an opponent lying below him, but rather his own sibling. He had been forced to fight a fellow god, all for the pleasure of another being. That realization froze him in place, even if only for a second.

But where Sol found pain, Tempest found fury, instantly recognizing the pity in his opponent's eyes.

Taking advantage of the moment, Tempest opened his mouth wide, unleashing a deafening roar. The sound, akin to a massive thunderclap, shattered the area around them instantly.

Sol winced, pain clearly etched across his face. Tempest then kicked him away with great force, sending him flying a fair distance before Sol managed to stop himself using his wings. Regaining his stance, he looked back and saw Tempest slowly raise his left hand while his right clutched his wound.

Tempest's eyes turned skyward, his teeth gritted as he spoke through the pain."Blessed rain..." he began, "fall upon this stormcaller... and cleanse him of all abnormalities."

Suddenly, a dark cloud formed above him, and soon, droplets of rain began to fall.

Sol understood what was happening, but he could not move. The lingering pain from Tempest's roar still pulsed through him. He regretted hesitating when he had the chance to end it, but no amount of regret could change who his opponent truly was to him.

Still, Sol knew he was fighting for more than himself. He fought for the reality he had shaped, and so, he forced himself to remain standing. His eyes watched as Tempest rose to his feet, his wounds gradually healing under the blessed rain. Moments later, the cloud dissipated, the rain ceased, and Tempest stood tall, restored and renewed.

Siege swung Enforcer, the great battle axe among the Weapons of Imperium, with vigor.

As the battle progressed, Tundra recognized the necessity to evade the attacks, resulting in fewer clashes and more evasions on his part.

"This is getting annoying," he spat in frustration, his smile fading as he realized that Siege was somehow overpowering him.

Tundra tried to find an opening, but failed. The ferocity of Siege's strikes left no room for counterattacks. Suddenly, he was caught off guard as Siege hurled himself toward him, swinging Enforcer above his head and bringing the axe downward to cleave his foe in half.

Tundra managed to place his blade of ice between the strike and his body, but he failed to grasp just how powerful the weapon truly was. In a flash, the clash shattered his blade, placing him in danger once more. But because he had noticed the force in time, he quickly moved backward, evading the blow and leaving behind a frozen echo in his place.

Enforcer fell with force, shattering the icy statue Tundra had left behind. But with that gained distance, Tundra was finally able to switch to offense. He manipulated the fragments of ice from the destroyed statue and hurled them at his opponent.

Siege swung Enforcer with precision, batting some of the shards away. Yet, he noticed the weight of the weapon slowed him significantly. As more shards began to form in his enemy's grasp, Siege retracted Enforcer. He stretched his right hand forward, placing his forearm before him.

"Stand impassive against all ferocity," he said. "O Defender."

Soon, a mighty shield began to materialize within his grasp, covering his entire front despite his divine stature. Its midnight purple hue, so dark it nearly appeared black, was highlighted by thin white lines that gave it a commanding presence.

The shards of ice rushed at Siege, but were immediately halted against the face of the mighty shield. Tundra summoned even more shards, hoping to overwhelm Siege's defense and break through, but each and every one met the same fate. Not a single shard left even a scratch on the aegis that protected its wielder.

Recognizing the futility of his efforts, Tundra ceased his assault. Siege calmly returned the shield to the arsenal upon noticing his halt.

"I expected better from the so-called god of War," Tundra taunted, the smile returning to his face.

"Bold words from the losing opposition," Siege replied, his gaze steady.

Tundra grew irritated but refused to let his opponent's words ruin his composure. He leaned forward, stretching both hands to his back. Slowly, two frozen blades spawned within his grasp.

"Now to fight for real," he said, his smile softening as he used his wings to launch himself forward.

Tundra's speed surged, forcing Siege into a purely defensive stance to avoid the rapid strikes. Tundra continued to swing with intensity while Siege evaded. But Siege knew that if he hoped to win, he needed to change the tempo of the battle.

Evading one of Tundra's swings, Siege stepped back. He stretched out his left hand, his focus sharpening as another weapon began to materialize.

"Shatter crowns forged in lies... O Usurper," he declared swiftly.

As Tundra rushed back into the fray, swinging with relentless force, Siege raised the newly formed weapon to block the incoming strike.

Tundra caught a glimpse of a jet-black falchion in the god of War's grasp, its hilt a striking crimson red. Its design matched the aesthetic of the other Weapons of Imperium, marking it as another weapon of the same divine ranking.

Siege swung the weapon at Tundra repeatedly. Now armed, he was able to alternate between offense and defense. However, his opponent's dual blades made it difficult to maintain a steady offensive.

Siege swung with his left hand, clashing against Tundra's guard. Tundra blocked it with one blade, which gave him an opening to strike with the second. But as he thrust the other weapon forward, Siege stretched out another arm, revealing a second weapon that blocked the blow instantly.

"Spill the blood of the treacherous... O Treasoner," Siege said, unveiling the newly summoned blade.

With his foe briefly caught off guard, Siege kicked Tundra backward, creating space between them.

Tundra glanced in slight shock. The second weapon bore a near-identical design to the first, but instead of being black with a crimson hilt, this one was crimson red with a black hilt, a perfect contrast to Usurper.

Tundra's blood boiled further. "Spawn as many weapons as you desire," he shouted, preparing himself again. "It will not save you from Tundra the Arctic."

A warm breeze stirred within the forested expanse as two beings suddenly materialized from thin air: Klaus and Shade.

Klaus opened his eyes, scanning the area with a flicker of amusement. This was his first time in Flage's world.

"Zero World," Shade said, glancing around. "It's been a while."

He soon regained focus. "Guess there's no time to reminisce," he added, knowing they had a task to complete without delay.

"Do you have any idea where he could be?" Klaus asked.

Shade took a moment. "Yeah, there's a--"

But before he could finish, a thunderous roar shattered the calm, and a towering beast charged toward them, tearing through trees as it approached.

Shade immediately recognized the creature from his last visit to Zero World, where it had nearly killed him twice. But this time, he merely sighed at its ferocity, aware they had no time to waste.

As the beast lunged forward and extended its claws toward the brothers, it suddenly froze in place, its claws halted mere inches from Shade.

Shade's hands remained in his pockets, and the creature's shadow had deepened unnaturally, revealing that Shade had already bound it with his Binding Shadows. He exerted no visible effort as the creature thrashed, unable to break free.

In sync with his brother's action, Klaus soon raised his left index finger above his head, a third-grade Solar Ball forming within seconds. Wasting no time, he flicked his finger forward, hurling the sphere at the restrained monster. The impact was immediate, triggering a blinding explosion that shook the forest.

As the light faded, a massive crater was revealed, strewn with scattered remains of the beast. Shade's body, fully cloaked in the Abyssal Pit, emerged unharmed as the darkness peeled away, having protected him from the blast. Klaus had likewise dispelled his Phantasmal State, which he'd used to evade the debris and shockwaves.

Klaus turned back to Shade with urgency. "You were saying?"

"Right," Shade said. "There's a cabin he stays in. If we find it, he should be there."

"So, how do we get there?" Klaus asked.

Shade faced forward, his expression sharpening. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply, listening to the wind, then pointed. "That way. Keep heading straight, and you'll see it."

Immediately after Shade finished speaking, Klaus had already arrived at the cabin, his Burst Speed propelling him across the forest in the blink of an eye. Upon arrival, his trench coat floated briefly at his sides from the momentum before slowly settling.

Moments later, Klaus's shadow began to darken and ripple as Shade slowly crawled out of it, his body veiled in dripping darkness that slid off him in rivulets. He paused for a moment to collect himself, feeling the strain from the shadow transport that deconstructed and reconstructed his body, before continuing onward with Klaus.

The two moved closer to the cabin, spotting a lone figure seated on the steps leading to the entrance: Flage. The god calmly sharpened a piece of wood in his left hand, his focus unwavering as the demigods drew near.

"That's him, huh?" Klaus asked quietly.

"Yeah," Shade confirmed. "The god of Hunting… Lord Flage."

Siege and Tundra drifted back from one another, each hand of both warriors gripping a blade as they hovered miles above the ground.

Tundra exhaled sharply, recognizing that he was being bested for the moment. But before he could catch his breath, Siege lunged forward once more, swinging both Usurper and Treasoner with deadly precision. Tundra held his defensive stance, but it wasn't long before Siege found an opening, slashing across the god of Frost's right arm.

The blow pierced through Tundra's armor before he hurled backward, propelled by his wings, and immediately erected a massive wall of ice between them. He glanced down at his wounded arm, placing his left palm over the gash. A grunt escaped him, noticeable pain flashing in his expression. The sensation was scorching, like salt on an open wound.

"Curses," Tundra spat, his voice laced with irritation.

He pressed his palm over the wound, freezing the area before returning his armor to its former state.

Tundra needed a moment to recover, but before another thought could form, the massive ice wall ahead of him shattered in an instant. On the other side stood Siege, now wielding Enforcer with both hands, having breached the wall with a single devastating swing.

In one fluid motion, Siege dematerialized the great axe, returning Usurper and Treasoner into his grasp as he charged toward his opponent once again.

Tundra dodged and weaved through Siege's ferocious strikes, but his frustration only mounted. His right arm was so damaged that it had become nearly useless, and he had no way to counter the relentless assault. After evading another barrage, Siege finally slowed, easing his aggression. He crept closer to the frost god, blades lowered at his sides, their tips pointing downward.

"Impressive," Tundra admitted, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips as his left palm met his injured shoulder once more. "Who could have expected such mastery from someone like you?"

"You think I would sit idly by, knowing you all still drew breath in that prison?" Siege murmured in return.

The pain in Tundra's arm continued to burn, causing a brief flinch. "This pain," he said slowly. "It is not normal."

"That is to be expected," Siege said, drawing closer. "The Blades of Treachery cut deep, and even deeper the more you embody the role they were forged to punish. You were struck by Treasoner, so that pain you feel is the betrayal your soul harbors."

With those words, Siege launched back into the fray.

Tundra's annoyance shifted, not at the pain, but at the unwavering, almost arrogant focus Siege displayed. Still, amid his search for a way to turn the tide, a knowing smile spread across his face. He had remembered an ability he had not yet used.

Without warning, Tundra suddenly leapt back, releasing his ice blades. He clenched his right fist, a vortex of frost swirling around it.

Siege closed in quickly, trying to interrupt whatever his opponent was preparing. But just before he reached, Tundra drove his right fist into his own chest, causing Siege to halt in sudden confusion.

Tundra began to laugh--softly at first, then louder, his amusement clear. "Now the real fun begins," he said with growing confidence.

Immediately after, an ice vortex ahead of him expanded, shards of ice spiraling until they formed a new, glimmering ice blade in the air before him, this one more detailed than the others prior. Tundra reached out and grabbed it without hesitation.

His newfound confidence unsettled Siege, who tried to analyze the strange technique, but was unable to because of the lingering presence of Ouroboros woven into their battle. With little time left to think, both fighters rushed toward one another again, wasting no more time.

Despite Tundra's strange action earlier, Siege still held the upper hand, maintaining the offensive more than the god of Frost. But with each swing of the blade, that reality began to shift slowly.

Soon enough, Tundra started to turn the tide of the battle in his favor. He caught his opponent off guard, landing a clean slash across Siege's cheek. While Siege remained stunned, Tundra drove the hilt of his blade into his opponent's jaw, sending him flying to the side a short distance.

Siege stared in disbelief, unable to process what had just occurred.

"You seem surprised," Tundra said with a grin. "Do you finally recognize you have no hope against me?"

Somehow, Tundra had elevated his swordsmanship within seconds, and Siege couldn't understand how. But there was no time to dwell on the details. Without hesitation, he let go of his weapons, sending them back into the arsenal, and assumed a more upright, composed stance.

"Bring forth the omen of ruin," Siege murmured as a new weapon began to take form. "O Harbinger."

Slowly, a sleek, completely white, ethereal bow materialized in his grasp. Wasting no time, he nocked it with precision, his eyes never leaving his foe.

Tundra simply maintained his smirk, releasing his blade and mirroring Siege's stance. He extended his arms, a frozen vortex spiraling around them as a bow of glacial ice formed within moments. He nocked his own weapon, and a deep blue arrow began to materialize between his fingers.

The air around Tundra grew heavy and frigid, the sheer power of the arrow freezing the atmosphere with its presence.

"Harbinger's arrow... strike true," Siege whispered, his focus unwavering as his own arrow began to form.

Slowly, a sleek crimson arrow appeared in the heart of his draw, burning with an intense heat that directly opposed Tundra's cold. The energy it radiated warped the surrounding space, scorching the air around it.

After a brief silence, the two warriors released their arrows.

Tundra's Arctic Arrow froze the very space it passed through, while Siege's Harbinger's Pierce ignited the air, tearing reality as it blazed forward. The two arrows flew at incomprehensible speeds, meeting with immaculate precision at the dead center of their trajectories.

The impact was catastrophic.

A massive shockwave rippled through the space around the entire meeting room, fire and frost colliding with such force that reality itself fractured where they struck. Flames scorched through the frozen air, and ice smothered the fire in return, yet neither element could fully overtake the other.

Soon, the explosive clash expanded outward, enveloping both archers in the echo of their combined powers.