Chapter 33: The Two Gods

A string of explosions erupted through the research district. Flashes of blue appeared everywhere, followed by more explosions. To see what was going on, let's slow down time for a bit. 

"Come on, Lord! Is that all you can do?" 

Kelz ran backwards while taunting Zagon. 

"Says the woman who's running away!" 

Zagon accelerated and threw a kick. Kelz blocked the kick with her arms crossed. Blue glow covered her arms. She punched out and blue light rushed at Zagon. He thrust his palm out. The light dispersed before hitting him. 

"Glad that you've gotten a hang of emitting aura. It must be good to be Lord for 40 years." 

Kelz said. 

"Passive aggression? Really? That's beneath you." 

"Well, sorry. I'm not the type to stab someone in the back!" 

Kelz flew at Zagon with a stomp. He ducked under it and grabbed her leg. He threw her with a spin. She crashed through several buildings. 

"?!" 

The next instant, giant pieces of debris were inches away from Zagon's face. He swept his hand in front of him and the debris were reduced to dust. A blue light shot through that dust. It scattered just as it was about to reach him. He looked around and found himself trapped in a ring of light. The light formed into fists and charged at him. Zagon twisted and turned his body to narrowly evade every strike. 

"Clench your teeth!" 

Kelz popped up in front of him. She slammed her fist in his face. However, she was simultaneously kicked in the gut. The two were forced apart. 

"How did you do that?" 

Zagon asked while fixing his jaw. 

"Don't know. I thought about hitting you everywhere all at once and that happened." 

"The hell? Are you a genius or something?" 

"Well, I am the rightful Lord." 

Kelz puffed out her chest proudly. 

"Yeah, and the ancestors chose me to replace you, so…" 

Kelz's smile dropped. 

"I hate you." 

"Bullshit, how can you hate this beautiful face?" 

"We have the same face." 

"And aren't we pretty?" 

"You got me there." 

As this odd exchange between the two happened, time resumed. The two were standing in a wasteland of burning debris under the moonlight. 

"Zagon, I won't ask why you betrayed me because I understand your reasoning. However, I must ask." 

Kelz looked Zagon in the eyes. 

"Zagon, are you okay?" 

Zagon's eyes widened before narrowing. 

"We're fighting to the death and you're asking something like that?" 

"It's because we're fighting to the death why I'm asking." 

Kelz pointed at Zagon. 

"You aren't the type of person who can betray someone without a care. Especially, not your other half." 

Zagon flinched in front of Kelz's intense gaze. 

"I ask you again, Zagon Tiama Octivinus. Are you okay?" 

"…That doesn't matter. We're enemies fighting for different things. So—" 

"We're fighting for the same thing. The paths we chose may be different but our end goal is the same." 

Kelz clenched her fist. 

"I know this because I can feel your emotions. You can feel mine too, can't you?" 

"….We've always had somewhat a spiritual connection where we occasionally get affected by each other's emotional state. That has only gotten stronger since we've both become Lords. So much so, we might be able to communicate telepathically if we try hard enough." 

"That's right. So here's a question." 

Kelz spread her arms. 

"Do I hate you?" 

Zagon remained quiet for a bit before answering. 

"As absurd as it is, no, I don't feel any hatred towards me for what I did." 

"Because I don't. Even after everything you've done, I still love you. You're still the person I love the most." 

Zagon frowned with a face of disgust. 

"It's because you're like that, why—" 

"Why you betrayed me? I know." 

Kelz brought her hand to her side with a small smile. 

"I'm not fit to be a ruler, especially in these times where our people could be facing extinction." 

"If you know then—" 

"But neither are you, Zagon. Don't get me wrong, you have the talent and determination to do whatever's necessary, however, your mind and soul can't withstand the pressure. The weight of trampling on countless lives to save countless more, your shoulders can't bear it. You'll crumble before you reach your end goal, and when that happens all the things you've sacrificed will be for naught. This was why I asked if you were okay. You're already showing signs of crumbling from just betraying me." 

The smile on Kelz's face slowly faded. 

"It's for this reason why I must kill you. I will end your misery and save the lives you will waste." 

Zagon burst out laughing. 

"And then you will lead our people? Your method will only cause their demise. We need resources, but so do the outside world. However, we're different from them. We have the power to threaten their existence. They showed us what kind of beings they are, when they sent people here whose first thought was to attack us when they saw how different we were. They fear us for being us and they would rather destroy us rather than try to understand us. Why? Because we might try to destroy them, even if it's a baseless assumption." 

"….My biggest mistake was allowing you to interact with the Outsiders called Julius and Feng. You should've never learned the history of the Outside World. You should have never been burdened with knowledge of how dark human nature was." 

"What nonsense are you spouting? Are you saying we should've remained clueless and ignorantly interact with them, only to get deceived?" 

Kelz shook her head. 

"I'm saying only I should've been burdened with this. I was chosen as the Lord. Only I should be corrupted while you remained pure….That alone would've made me happy." 

"But this is reality. I'm corrupted and glad to be. For now, I see what I must do and the path I must walk." 

Zagon lifted his fists. 

"I must create a bright future by plunging into hell. I will build the foundation with corpses. You, my sister, will be the first and I'll be the last." 

"You talk big despite not being up to the task. This is why you must die." 

Kelz's eyes turned cold for the first time. This caused Zagon to flinch. 

"But don't worry, my foolish brother." 

She started walking towards him. 

"I will lead our people to salvation as their Lord." 

With her every step, the ground shook and the tension rose. 

"For those who desire it, I will grant them peace." 

The flames around them reflected in her eyes. 

"And for those seeking war, I will give them Divine Retribution." 

Zagon's body tensed up with every word she spoke. 

"For I am the Lord, and I will shape this world in any form I see fit." 

"?!" 

Waves of chills ran up Zagon's back. The woman before him wasn't the girl he betrayed all those decades ago. Standing before him was someone determined to create any form of salvation she desires, no matter the cost. Before Zagon realized it, a smile crawled on his face. 

"This is the sister I love." 

He stomped the ground and the earth cracked. 

"And the woman I must kill!" 

The two kicked off the ground creating hurricane-level winds. Punches clashed and a thunderclap erupted between them. The earth burst open and buildings were blown away. 

"I will conquer everything to ensure survival!" 

Zagon roared. 

"Then I will create a world where we can live in harmony!" 

They pulled their arms back and roared in unison as they punched out. 

"And I will destroy anyone that stands in my way!" 

The entire district shook as two forces of nature clashed. The two started trading blows after blow while roaring at the top of their lungs. Zagon kicked Kelz in the stomach and sent her flying. He flew at her gathering essence around his fists. He threw a barrage of punches from a distance. Blue fists made of essence flew at her. Kelz gathered essence around her feet while flying through the air. She thrust them down and she was blasted into the air, opening a crater in the process and evading the fists. 

Kelz gathered essence beneath her feet and started kicking down. Zagon saw dozens of blue feet flying down at him. He moved around evading the bombardment of attacks. Footprints appeared in the ground before the earth was burst open. Zagon stopped and started punching up. Blue fists clashed with blue feet. Blue light exploded in the sky illuminating the night. 

"Alright, let's do this." 

Kelz twisted her body upside down. She kicked the air and blasted towards the earth. She started spinning while gathering essence around her feet. She swung her heel down. The blue fists of light shattered and an explosion of blue light covered the sky. Zagon looked at this explosion and blinked. 

"?!" 

He opened his eyes and a heel cloaked in blue light was inches away from his face. Time halted and the world became still. Yet, this heel slowly but surely moved towards his face. Zagon's body disappeared and the world moved again. 

*BOOM!* 

The heel crashed into the earth and the district shook as large cracks opened up in the earth. These cracks spread and swallowed up trees and corpses lying about. 

"Tsk!" 

Kelz clicked her tongue. A foot appeared next to her head. She flung herself to the ground. The foot flew over her head with a boom. She rolled to her feet and blocked another kick with her arms. Her feet dug through the earth as she tried to stop herself from flying back. Her ankles snapped several times before regenerating stronger than before. Zagon popped up above her, swinging down his heel. She crossed her arms overhead. 

*BOOM!* 

A crater opened up underneath as she blocked the kick. She punched him back and created some distance. The two flew at each other again. 

"What an insane fight." 

Zyna mumbled seeing the destruction happening around her. She and Xeroi were watching their respective leaders fight to the death. 

"Goddammit, die already!" 

She turned her head to see a bloodied Julius and Raphael glaring at each other while breathing heavily. 

(So they're still others.) 

She placed her hand on her sword while looking at Julius. 

"....." 

She shook her head while taking her hand off it. 

"Wise decision." 

Xeroi mumbled while taking out his phone. 

"Feng, where are you?" 

"Xeroi! I'm glad I finally got to one of you!" 

Zyna heard Feng's voice over the phone. 

"What's wrong? Don't tell me you didn't evacuate?" 

"How could I when I couldn't find my masterpiece?!" 

"Masterpiece? Ah, you mean that outsider Drax brought." 

What Xeroi said caught Zyna's ear. That's when she recalled a conversation from earlier. 

"Gustav Fernandez?" 

"Yes, he's our original leader and father. Drax took his body and we fear this Feng person is going to do something with it." 

Raphael said to her. He and Kelz spoke to her privately. 

"I see. They might revive him and turn him into a soldier." 

"That's right. If that were to happen, it will be a problem. Not because we couldn't fight him, it's because of how fearsome he could become." 

"…Was he that strong?" 

Raphael nodded. 

"Even at his old age, my siblings and I couldn't beat him unless we ganged up on him." 

This memory caused Zyna to look at Raphael again and then at Xeroi. 

"Did you find him?" 

Xeroi asked Feng. 

"That's what I was calling you about! Xeroi, you guys need to get out of there! After examining the knights' corpses I'm certain he's on a completely different level!" 

Feng's frantic voice caused Zyna to tense up. Her instincts were telling her something horrible was about to happen. 

"Feng, what are you—" 

"Get the fuck out of there! All of you! He's already there!" 

*BOOM!* 

A devastating explosion erupted in the opposite direction of Kelz and Zagon's fight. This explosion caused everyone to freeze. Whether it was the Lords fighting, Raphael and Julius going for each other's throat, or those who evacuated to escape the fight. Everyone stopped and looked in the direction of the explosion. Eyes widened at the sight of body parts raining down from the heavens. A sea of flames had opened up with bodies lying under debris. What was once a group of buildings was now burning rubble with limbs sticking out. 

The sounds of footsteps echo in this silent world of ruin. These footsteps, despite being far, were clear to everyone watching. Soon a silhouette appeared in the sea of flames. This silhouette walked through the carnage with light and gentle steps as if merely on a scroll. Their figure soon became clear as they basked in the light of the flames around them. 

"So there were more than one god? They look identical too? A man and a woman? So twin gods." 

His voice rang in everyone's ears, as if he was next to them. Giovanni looked in Zagon's and Kelz's direction with an apathetic gaze. 

"This looks interesting. Let me join in."