A New Lord

Heavy bags rested under Nier's eyes. The man's shoulders were slumped, and his clothes were soaked down to the bone. He stared past the glass of a store selling various different TVs. They were all on and played the same thing.

"-the newest sidekick of the number one Hero has made her appearance! The one and only Ruby Admiral!" The image on the TV showed Full Monarch saving a city that was burning to the ground. Joining him in the air was a young child who flew alongside him and helped save the day with a smile on her face. Dressed in her red costume. This however was something that never actually happened. Ruby Admiral sadly never got to fight alongside her father, nor could she fly, and eventually ads like these would stop showing, and soon the world would mainly forget about the 'hero' Ruby Admiral.

Nier's eyes were hollow and sunken as he stared at the screen in complete silence. "So instead of trying to permanently stop the Beast, this is what you've decided to do, Jackson. I see where your priorities lie."

'I told you to forget about him.' A voice hissed in his ear. One he had heard many times now. It was the voice of the entity that called herself the Prettiest Flower. Something which had taken root in his head and had begun to speak to him shortly after the death of his family. 'Focus on our mission. You need to let me in more. I can make a new body for her. One that can house the perfect child you seek. Are you listening to me boy!'

Nier took a sip from a flask he held doing his best to drown out the voice that was inside of his head. It was getting harder, and harder for him to figure out who was actually talking and what thoughts were his own.

'Listen to me! Obey me!'

Then it happened...

From a nearby alleyway, Nier heard the sound of a can being kicked. He turned his head and raised an eyebrow when he saw someone standing in front of him. The boy was dressed in baggy clothes and had shaggy red hair. He was shivering from the cold, but there was a look in his eyes. The same look Nier had seen in dozens of soldiers during the war with Lucifer so many years ago. People died so someone like this kid could live.

One of the child's arms was wrapped under the body of a small puppy. The animal was barking and growling as it glared at Nier. In the child's other hand, he clutched an old rusted switchblade. "E—Everything in your pockets," the child announced, and his stomach growled loudly. "Your wallet and everything. Now!"

Nier let out a quiet sigh and got ready to use his power to fly away. He was just about to summon Lucky and leave when the Prettiest Flower spoke up once more. 'Wait! This child! Don't you see who this is! Look closer!' For the first time in his life Nier found himself actually listening to her as he turned to look back at the shivering boy in front of him.

At first, he didn't see anything impressive. Slowly though he felt his eyes shift and change as they pierced past the mortal flesh before him and allowed him to truly gaze at the being before him. He saw every detail. The very cells that made up this child were made clear in his mind. The DNA that caused this human to exist. The boy was a Super. A strong one at that. Likely the child of a Lord of Sky. Or maybe the Sun? Life? Sea? Normally he could tell instantly. It wasn't as rare as one would think to spot a descendent of a Lord. Many people with elemental based powers could likely trace their bloodline back to at least one of the four Lords. Yet as he stared at this child he had trouble truly figuring it out himself. It was such a mess.

One thing did stand out though. The child's father. He was able to figure that out in an instant. After all he had seen that woven strand of DNA many times. He had even used it himself once or twice. He knew without a doubt that standing in front of him wasn't just any random descendent of a Lord. This was a pure-blooded child. A direct offspring.

A large snort escaped Nier before the man totally lost it. He threw his head back and laughed, causing the child to step away.

"I- I'm serious-"

Nier crouched down and allowed the blade to stab into his chest. He ignored the gasps of the child or the puppy, which began to bite at his hand as he got too close. He grabbed the boy by his chin and stared into his eyes. "That's a good look in your eyes. What's your name?"

"I—I don't know." The boy grunted out and tried to thrash around, but Nier's strength easily overpowered the child.

"Well, Mr. No name. I'm really delighted I ran into you. Maybe this is fate. Nah. Nothing so cheap. Still..." Nier smiled as he stared at his reflection in the child's eyes. He really did look so tired. "How would you like to help me save the world?"

***

The city shook. Sini slowly removed his glasses and gently placed them on his desk next to the computer. He had seen more than enough.

He adjusted the tie to his business suit and steeled his nerves. It had been years since he last took up arms against a threat. His hair now sported dozens of specks of gray, and his face was full of wrinkles. He was still a Lord though.

He would do what he was born to do. Protect the Earth, and its people.

All around him was destruction. The bomb had nearly torn down the stone tower that served as their base and destroyed most of Sini Corp, the company he created to bring mankind one step further into the future.

Before the Calamities, they say humans stood at the top, that they were far more advanced. It had taken nearly fifty years and the work of every Super he knew, but slowly, Sini had brought the world back to its true self. Now, though, it was all in ruins once more.

The building was falling apart. Black flames ate away at the walls. Most of Rose City was already gone. "If you wanted my attention, rest assured. You've gotten it," he called out.

Outside the building was dirt. The road, the street, the buildings, the cars, and even the city had been wiped clean off the map in a one-mile radius, leaving just a flat stretch of land directly outside his front door. At the very edge of this bizarre, strange new battlefield that had been created, Sini saw him—his once-long-time friend.

The thing might have been Nier once, but he wasn't that soldier any longer. A twisted, jagged throne created from living flesh had been forged directly at the edge of the arena. The Emperor's proper form was blacker than even darkness itself, melding in with the wisps of night. What he could see, though, was a pair of glowing blue eyes that stabbed out of the black void that rested on the throne. He couldn't make out arms or legs or anything like that, but he could feel the thing's tremendous power. A power that was rivaled only by the other Calamity threats.

Directly in front of the shadowy throne, the Emperor's bodyguard stood. Hell Hound wore blood-red armor, something she had been gifted from her dark master. Sini traced her form as she walked forward slowly. In her hand, she gripped a jagged mace, one stained in blood—her weapon, the very same that had shattered dozens of heroes' skulls. Able to negate and cancel out weaker powers.

Sini strolled forward, walking out of his building. He stopped fifteen meters away from Hell Hound as he and the villain glared at one another. "You could have just knocked if you really wanted to speak with me. This destruction was uncalled for, Nier. I know that you're hurting but this isn't the way. This isn't what she would have wanted-"

Hell Hound's fingers grew tighter on her weapon, and he could see her eyes narrow. "You have no right to speak as if you know who the master is or what he's gone through."

"I'm the one who raised him. I have every right."

"I'm going to teach you a lesson." The monster hissed crouching low. "One you should have been taught long ago."

"Oh? And how do you plan to do that?"

"I planned on hitting you so hard your head pops, and I'd get to see the inside of your skull."

"I see." A ring of water began to slowly twirl into existence around Mr. Sini. "It's been fifty years since this old man bothered to fight. That said, I hope you don't think I've gone soft-"

Hell Hound was on him in an instant. Moving faster than most pro heroes, she swung her mace down so hard that the world had trouble keeping up, space twisting and bending to her will. Sini's water barrier barely had time to rise up and block the strike, and even then, the force of the attack was enough to send him flying back. His water struck out like a whip, but Hell Hound twirled herself around and slammed her weapon down onto the wave, sending a powerful shock wave through it that was so hot and fast it caused the water to instantly boil to steam.

Sini held both his hands out and let out a loud battle cry. From the sky, the clouds were torn in two as a long trident slammed down into the ground, and he ripped it out with one hand. "Do me a favor and help this old man get back in the swing of things, will you?"

He didn't need to win this fight. He just needed to hold this monster off long enough for Full Monarch to save Max and Ruby.

Hell Hound threw her mace at Sini as hard as she could, and he swung his trident out, smacking it out of the way. The villain dropped to all fours and darted forward like a wild beast, her armor's helmet ripping in two and allowing the wolf-shaped maws on it to lash out. Sini vanished and reappeared behind the woman, bringing a sword made of water down in an attempt to rip her head clean off.

Blood splashed down onto the floor, and Sini's sword slipped from his grip as he stared down at his stomach. A beam of blue energy had stabbed through him. His glare turned towards the Emperor, who still rested on the throne. The man's finger was raised ever so slightly, poking out of the black he had covered himself in. "Have you no shame! I was fighting her, and you- Wait! How did you do that energy-"

Hell Hound's mace smashed into the side of Sini's head so hard his neck nearly snapped and he was sent flying with dozens of his teeth flying out his mouth. He rolled across the ground, spitting up blood, and groaned. Hell Hound stalked forward, raising her weapon, but stopped when she saw her master's hand raised.

"Let me guess..." Sini slowly pulled himself back up and nearly collapsed to his knees. "Now that I'm like this, you want to fight me, huh?" He stalked forward, moving past Hell Hound and back to the sword he left stabbed into the ground. "You really aren't Nier, anymore. You're just as bad as Lucifer." Sini screamed and ripped his weapons out of the ground. He gripped the sword tightly as ice armor began to form around his body. "I won't give up, monster! This old man has some fight left in him!"

The Emperor made no move to defend himself, staring at Sini quietly. As the hero limped forward with his sword raised high, the Emperor remained still. Sini swung down and…

The Emperor struck out faster than the wounded hero could react. His armored fist jabbed forward, slamming into Sini's chest with an echoing crack. The hero fell back, barely standing, as he tried to breathe, a monumental task in that moment. Each breath was painful, a strange wheezing sound accompanying every rise of his chest.

He fell to his knees and looked up at the throne. The Emperor stood, holding a bright white sword. He slowly walked forward and raised his blade. As it raised fully, the blade began to glow. As it faded, the blade was no longer held in the Emperor's hands. Instead, Avalon stood in front of Sini, dressed in a bright white lab coat that held a glow for a few seconds before the light faded out.

"Hey Mr. Sini..." He said, his saddened eyes staring into the hero's.

"What… are you doing with them?" Sini wheezed as he held a hand to his chest, trying to use his powers to force things to work inside his body. But one of the boons of being a Lord was his curse in that moment; the Lords were difficult to alter or affect with powers.

Avalon smiled at his old friend, his mentor, the man who inspired him to work harder than anyone else. "I wish it didn't have to go like this." He stated, placing a hand on the man's shoulder.

Sini sucked in a breath as he felt bones shifting and grinding. "Then don't… You don't have to… join them. Please." He gasped, pleading.

"I'm sorry. I… He turned me into a monster. Nier did. He twisted me." Avalon stated, looking down at his hands. "You know, he called me his Sword. I'm not a fighter, you remember that. Hell, I don't like hurting people. But, hey… Can't really say no. Not anymore. Now I have a job I have to do."

Bloody hands grabbed onto Avalon's white lab coat, leaving bloody streaks. Sini looked up at the man. "At least… tell me what this is all for." He asked.

"That's only fair," Avalon replied with a smile. "It's to save everyone, obviously. He's going to take your essence, your power and status as a Lord, and absorb it. You'll live on. Who knows? Maybe I'll be able to pull out your memories and mind once he's done saving everyone. I'm sure I can find a body for you. But first, we need you and the kid."

Sini looked up. "Max? How could you… absorb him into the Emperor?"

"Are you asking about the method or the reasoning? Don't answer, I know you want to know the method," Avalon stated, kneeling down. "Well, you know my power used to be that I could pull memories out of people and transfer them into objects or other people. A little like a memory teleportation of sorts. Useful for helping people remember where they left their keys or figuring out what song they heard on the radio. He found me, after the Beast. After his family died. He asked me to use my power on the Ego of his power. I never thought to go for the core of someone's power, but when I did… The things I saw… They're alive, you know? Our powers. Most of them aren't sentient enough to accomplish much, but others? Well, some very bad stuff is just waiting on certain Egos to get their chance."

Avalon sat down, cross legged, not seeming to care as a trickle of Sini's blood dripped across the lab coat.

"I… know about… the Egos." Sini muttered, eyes beginning to lose focus.

"Yeah, I figured," Avalon chuckled, "You Lords are a special case. That's actually a really interesting thing. You see, when he twisted me, broke me into pieces and let my power's Ego consume what was left… Well, I learned something. A little secret. You want to hear it?"

Sini didn't answer, or perhaps he couldn't, as Avalon leaned forward to whisper into his ears. Sini's eyes widened and he shakily raised his head. Avalon nodded and stood.

"I suppose this is goodbye. I hope that, when this is all over and the world is truly safe, I can pull you out of him and you can rest in the first true age of complete peace," Avalon stated, glowing brightly and disappearing as the sword reappeared in the Emperor's hands.

Sini closed his eyes as the Emperor brought his sword down.

"Goodbye, Mr. Sini. Goodbye, father." Were Avalon's final words to the man who raised him.

***

Far away, in the Domain of the Lord of Sky, thunder began to rumble.

In the flipped realm, where the clouds solidified above and the endless blue sky lay below them, Max, Ruby and Legend fought against Golden God, Fairy Queen and The Princess of Life. Though, saying it was a fight would be an overstatement.

One of Golden God's hands shot forward at Max, aiming to end this realm before it could do anything, but the man disappeared in a burst of lightning. Before anyone could react, Golden God let out a distorted scream as a column of lightning as wide as a skyscraper descended onto him. Max reappeared on top of Golden God as the lightning dissipated.

"Tin can in a storm. You were the wrong person to send for me," He stated in a blunt tone. "This is the power I discovered after my fight with Water Prince. This is my realm. My world. This is the power Nier brought out of me!"

Both Fairy Queen and The Princess of Life sprung into action, leaping at the Lord of Sky. As they did, Fairy Queen felt a tug on her leg, turning to find Ruby grinning at her.

"Remember me? Because I sure haven't forgotten about you!" The red haired girl announced.

Fairy Queen swung at the self proclaimed villain, but Ruby took the altered reality punch head-on and punched at the leg held in her hand. There was a sharp crack sound as Fairy Queen screamed and held her hand out at Ruby, who braced but was still blown back as reality around her rejected her presence.

As she slowed to a stop, Ruby blasted forward, dodging the larger blasts of distorted reality but taking the smaller slashes on, grinning even as they left faint cuts.

All of them were flying. Max's wind caused them all to stay above the blue sky that was below them all the while the clouds above spat out lightning.

This allowed Ruby to move in ways she normally didn't. As she reached Fairy Queen, she grabbed the woman by the head and gripped down.

"I'm not stupid, I can tell you've got some regeneration. Never had to fight someone like that. You mind if I test some attacks out?" She asked with a laugh as she rammed a knee into the villain's stomach and sent them into one of the pillars of storm cloud.

Meanwhile, when The Princess of Life leapt for Max, she felt a hand grip her foot. She turned to find a twisted, ugly face with scraggly black hair and a thick beard. Legend held her in a meaty, thick hand and punched at her with the other. The Princess of Life blocked the hit, but even she was surprised at the impact those fists left. Even for super strength, this was too much. Those hands held the heat of volcanoes and hit hard enough to form even the toughest metals, the hands of a smith.

The Princess of Life was sent falling into the endless blue sky below but stopped and floated back up to Legend. She flipped some of her long white hair and gave a gentle smile.

She didn't look like a monster unlike her two teammates. She looked human, beautiful and peaceful. She wore a long white gown and her eyes almost seemed to glow and spark.

"How are you here?" Legend questioned. "You died. I was sure of it. I was there when Nier found your body."

"The real Princess is long gone." The woman hummed. "I guess I'm nothing more than a body holding onto what little memories were able to be transferred into me with that white sword... Still I have a job to fulfill. I will be the one to carry my Lord's child within me."

"Nier really is the Emperor, huh?" Legend sighed tiredly. "Sounds like he really went off the deep end."

"Please, surrender," She asked, looking at the man as he shifted back to his normal form. "You are an Enforcer. You fight to save this world, so, please, allow us to save it despite our evils."

The hero grunted and shook his head. "No can do. If there's anything I've taught my children, it's that evil cannot be allowed to win, no matter what. If I'm going to leave anything when I'm gone, I want it to be that lesson."

The Princess of Life frowned. "You don't know what you're accomplishing with this resistance. But alas, you believe it is right."

"It doesn't matter if it's right or wrong. I'm going to do what needs to be done and let you finally rest, Ghost of the Nier's past."

Max watched his allies fighting from on top of Golden God. The giant villain seemed to object at being used as a viewing platform as several hands zoomed towards the Lord. Right before they hit, he disappeared with a burst of lightning, reappearing away from the robot.

He kicked towards the villain, air and lightning twisting together as the blast hit, denting metal and leaving the air smelling like static.

Breathing heavily, Max looked down at himself, feeling the adrenaline running through him like electricity. He knew this place deeply. Even without looking up, one of Golden God's hands were blasted out of the air by lightning as it shot towards him.

As Fairy Queen readied for another clash with Ruby, the air around her compressed and the pressure rapidly increased, steadily crushing the villain with pure air even as the villain warped the area.

The Princess of Life dived down into the endless blue, but it wasn't enough. Cloud tendrils wrapped around her instantly and dragged her up, slamming her into the cloud roof.

The pillars of storm clouds gathered behind Max, collecting and forming together, growing cloudy wings and talons. Behind him, a colossal bird made of clouds let out a shriek. Max held his hand out at Golden God and opened his mouth.

"Loudest Thunder-" His words were cut off as the clouds above them cracked and shattered, as did the endless blue, all of it detonating on the villains in a massive storm cloud explosion.

The realm collapsed, and Max fell for a moment, caught by Legend as the man shot forward with winged feet.

"Whoa, that took more out of me than I expected. You got an energy bar in those robes?" He asked the Enforcer, sweat beading on his face.

Mermaid rose to greet them, riding a platform of floating water. "What was that?" She asked, looking at the three heroes and the wind carried them softly to the ground now that they were in the real world.

"I don't know but flying was a lot of fun." Ruby announced, rubbing her fist. "I'm going to need to figure out how to do something like that myself one day."

"I don't see that happening." Legend said flatly.

"I'll show you! I'll say screw gravity and just fly!" Ruby announced.

"So, uh. What do we do about those guys?" Mermaid asked, gesturing to the villains. "Are they still alive?" Left in a large smoldering crater directly over most of the rampaging monster, Golden God was flat on his back along with a beat-up Princess of Life, and Fairy Queen. Both villains were still up and glared down at them.

Before they could move though, Golden God let out a creak. They all turned to see the robot leaning backwards, exposing his stomach. The metal unfolded, revealing a doorway built into his gut. His job was to be a vehicle. If Fairy Queen and Hell Hound were both the bodyguards of the Emperor, and the Princess of Life was to be the mother of his child, then Golden God's job was to simply carry the man...

An armored figure stepped out of the doorway, walking onto one of Golden God's hands, eyes blazing with red energy. Max growled as he recognized the figure. The Emperor stood before them.

Fairy Queen and The Princess of Life both bowed, paying respect to their master. As they did, Legend and Mermaid shot forward. Legend grew a flowing white beard as his muscles expanded, jabbing forward with a lightning bolt. Mermaid gathered as much water as she could to send a giant water tentacle at the villain.

The Emperor smacked out at the attacks, blasting Legend back with a punch and slapping the air to send a shockwave that sent Mermaid flying.

"Feeble attacks. I have fought with Giants everyday, and their strength eclipses yours. Do not waste your efforts." A voice echoed out from under the armor, almost seeming to mock them.

Max growled and flew at the Emperor, Ruby following behind, still carried by the flowing winds. The Emperor swung his fist out lazily and Max dodged under it, thrusting a crackling palm out at the villain, but the energy faded before the hit landed as the Lord of Sky breathed heavily.

Ruby kicked him away from the Emperor as she kicked between his legs, only managing to hurt her foot as the villain shook his head. He backhanded the hero and she was sent flying back.

"This guy's tough," She stated.

Max growled through his teeth. "He killed Wano. I'm going to beat him, no matter what."

Ruby smirked. "Then you're going to need to bring your a-game. Match my pace, okay?"

The Lord of Sky nodded as the duo rocketed forward, ignoring the calls to retreat from Legend and Mermaid.

Ruby struck first, punching at the Emperor's chest, and when she dodged his swipe, Max dove in with a charged fist, ramming it into the armored back. As the villain turned around, Ruby slammed an elbow into his head, but even that didn't shift him.

Before they could retreat, his fists lashed out and they were both sent crashing to the ground. Max held out his hand and the air twisted to cushion their impact.

Legend and Mermaid landed nearby.

The Emperor and his Generals landed. Before anyone could object, Ruby shot forward, yelling. "I'm taking your place, damn it!"

The Emperor dodged her reckless swing and grabbed her by the throat. As she struggled and choked, he leaned toward her.

"Poor little failed experiment. I'm going to do the right thing and put you down, now." He whispered, his hand jabbing at Ruby's stomach.

As it neared her, Ruby was suddenly dropped to the ground as a burning mass slammed into the Emperor. As everyone turned to look, they watched as the Emperor pushed back and leapt away.

"Full Monarch, a shame. I thought Lucifer would hold you for at least a little. That cretin is useless," The Emperor cursed, looking into the eyes of the number one hero, Full Monarch.

Full Monarch stood, smoking and steaming, and crossed his arms. "He let me pass. Wanted me to let you know that he doesn't work for you."

The Emperor swore and dashed forward, sending an elbow at Full Monarch's face. The hero ducked under the attack and rose with a beam of fire directly into the villain's armored mask.

As it hit, there was a cracking noise as the Emperor jumped back.

Everyone watched as the mask cracked and fell to the ground, revealing the blonde hair and red eyes of Nier.

Max let out a choked noise as he stumbled and dropped to a knee.

"Nier, it's you? Why? And… how? I saw you there!" He yelled, disbelief clear in his voice.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," Nier replied, "I had hoped he would go quietly, allow me to absorb him. I told him that it would be sparing you. Instead, he chose to kill himself and pass on the Lord to you. Now you have to die, too. Of course, I had to strengthen you, first. Had to make sure the Lord Ego assimilated with a strong enough host. Now that you've reached that point, I can continue with my plan!"

Full Monarch frowned. "You cannot absorb a Lord's power. Even if you could absorb another's power, us Lords… Those Ego's cannot be passed on except to a direct offspring of a Lord."

Nier only smirked. "I have found a way. Once I have gathered all of the Lord Egos, I will finally be strong enough to truly save this world. You see, the only way for this planet to truly be safe is to make everyone a Super. Ensure there is no weakness in my perfect world. But humanity's weakness is an even greater hurdle than I expected it to be. I can twist them all I want and grant them powers to make them into a Super, but they all fail going crazy. Even I don't want a world full of mindless Monsters. I will not- No! I cannot, bring my daughter back in a world of insanity or weakness. This planet must be perfect! It must be a world where she will never again be harmed by forces outside of my control!"

"Let's say you did find a way to somehow absorb another Lords power! What makes you think having all four Lords inside of you will cause the people you change to become Supers instead of the monsters they are now!" Full Monarch demanded.

Nier threw his arms back and looked to the heavens. "Don't you know the legends! The first Supers to ever set foot on this cursed rock we call our planet were the four Lords! The four of them then came together to slay the entity that called itself the Shadow! After that point not only did they find themselves stuck in an endless cycle or reincarnation, they also brought forth an age of Supers! That's the key! It must be! If I can get the power of all four Lords to be together once more just as they did in that fateful battle all those years ago then I'll have the power to bring about a brand-new dawn of Supers! There will be no humans! No weakness! It will be a perfect planet!"

"You're insane," Full Monarch muttered sadly. "You know they wouldn't want this."

"What they want!" Nier yelled, "They don't want anything, now. They're dead! Their dreams and their wants died with them! As did any hope I had to save a planet full of weak trash."

The number one hero shook his head. "There's no getting through to you, is there?"

Nier's glare was enough to answer.

Full Monarch sighed and readied himself. "Then, I make this vow; I will defeat you, old friend. I'll end your pain, and finally bring you peace."