Chapter 82

I had to make a decision. Raymond's somewhat forced proposal of becoming a Great Ancient One only seemed to work to his benefit. If I were to reach my own pinnacle, I would be forced to destroy the world and fulfill the prophecy.

"I-"

Before I could say anything, a pair of large black hands reached from above and took a hold of me tightly. The hands were similar to those who grasped Kaden's spiritual creature form and ripped away its characteristics. 

The hands pulled me upwards quickly, I watched as Raymond, the table, high back chairs and everything below me suddenly disappeared below the grayish white fog that encapsulated everything in my surroundings.

The gray fog suddenly turned shades of black and dark gray, and a black stone floor formed beneath my feet. The hands dropped onto the ground. 

The Umbridge appeared and walked out of the fog, their body emanating a dominant and terrifying aura.

"Don't accept Raymond's deal, Apocalypse."

Even in the midst of their anger and frustration, their voice still remained calm and neutral. I stood up and looked at The Umbridge and sighed, my breath hitting the rather cold air, sending a tiny puff of mist out of my mouth. 

"Why?"

"Becoming a Great Ancient One is not something you should do even after reaching your pinnacle. The last time someone tried to do that they were both destroyed, and their characteristics were ripped from their bodies and were scattered across the universe."

"Are you talking about The Sage of Depravity and the half-mad Almighty One? That's what Raymond told me."

They shook their head.

"It was between 2 powerful angels, and for context; you've met them both. Raymond and Crodio."

Raymond is around during Crodios period? From what I could surmise and study from the architecture I saw during my spiritual visit to the temple, it was probably even before the last epoch.

"How was Raymond able to keep himself alive for over 2,000 years, isn't he just a teenager?"

The Umbridge took a while to answer my question, their dark colored cloak blowing in the nonexistent wind, as if in a constant state of motion.

"With all of his authorities, he was able to achieve pseudo-immortality via accommodating their given properties. Since the Depravity authority was split off of The Sage of Depravity eons ago, a portion of "his" divinity also broke off and fused with the authority."

"So he has some power of The Sage of Depravity? Does that give additional context to why he wants me to fuse with him so he could achieve his pinnacle?"

The Umbridge nodded, considering this blunt possibility. They then spoke in a solemn tone as the crimson moon manifested above their head as they spoke.

"Yes, but this also may indicate he sensed some residual power in you too. The Sage of Depravity entered his consciousness to a certain extent, and it's a possibility that the half-man Almighty one's characteristics dwell somewhere within you."

"So basically, a near omnipotent entity from before time is inside my body for some reason? Why couldn't the characteristics manifest elsewhere?"

I asked, almost feeling illusory tendrils drilling through my stomach and all across my body. The Umbridge scratched their chin and sighed.

"Possibly, but I don't recommend treading too deep into that theory, if you think too much about them, sooner or later you'll succumb to corruption."

"Succumb to corruption? Is that what Aaron could have possibly been referring to with deities in the cosmos who will corrupt and take over you if you even think about them? Why haven't I already been corrupted?"

"Maybe my divine protection has embedded itself in me, and due to Raymond's half given authority to me temporarily, perhaps controlling 2 authorities is enough to hold "him" back temporarily?"

Suddenly in the midst of my thoughts, a chaotic boom shook throughout the realm, and large, glowing cracks began to form around the pillars, ground, and the entire realm.

"Raymond's looking for you, I strongly recommend going back before he uncovers this truth." 

They suddenly waved their hand and I was transported back to Raymond's mindscape. I saw him sitting in his high backed chair, eating hs steak as if nothing had happened.

"I see someone got lonely."

I said gruffly as I stood up and looked towards Raymond. The teenage boy looked back to me and smiled softly.

"I know you already know, Apocalypse."

"That you're almost 2,000 years old and you tried to fuse yourself with Crodio to become a Great Ancient One?"

He nodded as he put his fork down and wiped his mouth nonchalantly. The symbol of authority on the back of his chair was glowing a dim green black color, indicating he used his powers to attempt to pry into the "afterlife."

"Yes, Apocalypse, you're next in line. Although I find the chance of losing control much higher since you have a portion of The half-mad Almighty one's divinity in you, or should I say; corrupted divinity." 

Raymond suddenly picked up his knife laced with his own symbolism, and threw it right at my neck. I arched back as if forming a bridge, dodging the attack.

Raymond raised an eyebrow, clearly impressed by my reflexes and spatial awareness.

"Corrupted divinity?"

I picked up the knife from behind me and tossed it aside, my gaze still fixed on Raymond. The black haired boy laughed quietly before snapping his fingers.

Large, black tendrils rose from the ground around Raymond's chair, and started to slowly slither into the sigil of authority.

"What are you doing?"

Raymond didn't say anything, instead he continued to observe the dark and only tentacles slither into the symbol. Suddenly, the entire dimension began to shake and quake uncontrollably.

"Taking over your mindscape, Apocalypse."

He didn't say anything else. And red and black pillars around the long table began to crumble and break, and the throne behind me started to have an illusory form enter the seat.

I closed my eyes and began to visualize not the statue, but the spiritual creature I saw coming from Kaden. I didn't have enough residual Apocalypse authority and combined it with the tatters of the Depravity authority I had to manifest the creature here without it harming my body.

Suddenly, a booming voice echoed through my soul and my body.

"I won't help you, Apocalypse."

The voice was ethereal and almost angelic and demonic at the same time. A wave of pain and agony rushed through my body, as the illusory red cracks began to form on my body, and the symbol on my forehead was glowing brightly and radiating a bright red light.

The bright light soon transformed into a blast of crimson energy that hit the back of Raymond's chair, breaking a portion of his conceptual authority off.

But due to a fraction of his power being lost, it wasn't without me being hurt too. An inscrutable rush of pain amplified my body even more, and I felt like falling to my knees and curling up into a ball.

"You're making a mistake, Apocalypse."

I ignored Raymond's blunt words, as I continued to envision the spiritual creature that Kaden was for a brief moment. Then, a loud explosion ripped through the mindscape, and I heard Raymond yell in pain.

I didn't even need to know why he was screaming, so I kept my eyes closed and started to step back to safety.

"I won't help you protect them, Apocalypse."

The voice rang out again. I could sense this voice didn't belong to The Umbridge or Raymond, but something that is much higher than them; The half-mad Almighty one.

The Spiritual creature screamed loudly as a stabbing sound and the puncturing of layers of flesh, blood and bone tissue were heard, along with loud and powerful explosions and booms that made my ears hurt.

I quickly opened my eyes and saw that Raymond had actually slayed the Spiritual Creature before my eyes, and was currently absorbing "its" divinity.

"Are you insane?!"

I yelled as I began to run towards Raymond. The young man looked back at me and held his hand out, forming an invisible barrier between me and him and the creature.

All of the symbols and concepts that made up the creature started to enter Raymond quickly. Suddenly, I closed my eyes and began to envision 2 things that wouldn't require much authority to manifest.

The handgun, and the 2 nullifying bullets. I immediately conjured them up and shot the obsidian bullet into the forcefield. The bullet punctured the illusory wall and penetrated the Spiritual Creature I divined.

The creature's body began to simultaneously combust and cave in. And I watched as all the tendrils Raymond had previously conjured up started to disappear, faltering due to the appearance of a shattered uniqueness.

"Now you will be unable to absorb its essence without losing control, Raymond."

I smirked as the handgun and the case with bullets disappeared from my grip. Raymond looked back at me and snarled.

"But you're missing one key component, Apocalypse. I already absorbed a portion of its divinity, and am now able to harness a little bit of control over it."

"Here, that is. Not back in the physical plane."

I suddenly waved my hand, and the red pillars and my authority of the apocalypse started to root all over Raymond's mindscape. Raymond looked around in fear and astonishment, before he too waved his hands, sending us back to the physical realm.

We ended up back in the library, where some of the digits of symbolism were still hanging in the air as they flashed with light. 

Raymond immediately reached for one, but I was able to take out my handgun just in time and shoot him in the arm, making it go limp. He let out a yell of pain as the bullet remained lodged in his arm, glaring back at me with a look of sheer anger and malice.

"Weren't you scheduled to take over the council sometime soon? I wonder what they'll think when their special guest doesn't arrive."

I said as I approached Raymond, holding the gun directly at his skull. The boy remained unfazed as tears continued to run down his arm from the pain.

He suddenly dug his fingers into the wound, gritting his teeth as he took out the blood stained bullet and tossed it aside, it hit the floor with a tiny clang.

"Maybe I will get to that, but I wonder how they'll react to your...sudden understanding."

Raymond smiled softly as his body suddenly turned ink black, and the illusory black tendrils dragged him under the floorboards. The sun-charm in my hands finally stopped vibrating. I then gazed down at the shattered necklace on the ground before picking it up and observing the shattered remains.

"What happened?" 

I heard Cater barge in, followed by Cattleya, Damien, Aaron, Demetrius, Aizawa and Shinso, all looking at me with puzzled looks. I felt like I had to tell them regarding Isaiah's true identity, but I figured it wouldn't be the right time due to everything else that was happening.

"Nothing, a bookshelf just fell over."

I shoved the newspaper aside under the table before anyone could catch a glimpse of it, but Aaron's eyes narrowed, and then widened as if he just heard something.

I-Isaiah

Cattleya turned to him and asked in puzzlement.

"What? What is it?"

Aaron took a deep breath, his heard practically beating out of his chest as he spoke in a fit of sweat.

"He's dead."

Demetruis's eyes widened as he approached Aaron and put a hand on his shoulder.

"What do you mean?"

His voice was dead serious and focused towards the older man. Aaron started to breathe heavily as his eyes began to dart around frantically and quickly around the library.

"He's g-gone...but there's something else."

Suddenly, one of the windows in the library broke, and a group of masked figures entered; The Nightshades.

They all pointed their handguns at Cattleya, before their leader spoke in a booming voice.

"Hand over the information, we know what happened with Madame Fitzgerald."

A group of Nightshades also pointed their guns at Aaron, who backed up and raised his arms in a gesture of agreement.

"I promise you I have no information!"

Cattleya suddenly leapt at their leader, before driving her boots into their head, sending them back into the floor. One of the nightshades fired their gun at her, but she dodged the attack before attempting to punch one in the face.

Carter suddenly ran behind Cattleya and swung his fist at one of the Nightshades, but they dodged the attack and kicked Carter in the leg, before hitting him in the head with the barrel of their gun.

In the midst of the violence, me and Aaron both turned to each other as if we both heard the voices of Spirit Calling;

 Run, hide, fight. 

Run, hide, fight.

Run, hide, fight