14 The Fall of Rome

Ori stood still for a moment, the sky above unnaturally silent, the clouds unmoving as if time itself hesitated.

Then, with the twitch of a finger, everything changed.

A sudden shift of his right arm—elongating, expanding, transforming into a grotesque, fluidy, fleshy blade— was all it took. With one clean horizontal slash, Ori swung his blade across the skyline. A shockwave burst forth, silent at first, but followed by a deafening thunderclap. The strike didn't just cut through buildings—it split the entire city in half.

Neo-Tokyo's skyline collapsed as the massive shockwave ripped through steel, concrete, and glass. Towers fell in opposite directions like dominoes. Roads cracked open. Bridges were cleaved apart. Fire erupted from gas mains and electrical bursts lit up the sky as though dawn had arrived too soon. People screamed, but most couldn't even react fast enough.

Dabo, Fanguar, Nexen, and Ayra stared in horror from the top of the shrine.

Nexen couldn't say anything, her knees weak, she fell on the ground.

"He sliced the city in two," Ayra said grimly, stepping forward. Her face was pale, but her eyes burned with fury.

Ori turned back around slowly. Calm. Composed. Still holding his hands behind his back like a polite observer. "It's always beautiful when something falls apart so easily," he said.

Liu, still lying near the pentacle, groaned. His body was weak, but his eyes flared with resistance. "Dabo... please... tell me we have something else."

Dabo clenched his fists. "Fanguar, the backup ritual—do it now!"

"There is no time," Fanguar whispered. "He's out. He's free. The only thing left... is to survive."

Ori raised one hand. The void surrounding him shimmered like a mirage. He launched several tendrils from his arms and back—each blacker than night, moving at blinding speed. The tendrils struck distant city blocks, exploding them from the inside out. Each impact sent shockwaves that flattened everything around.

"He's targeting buildings!" Nexen realized. "He's trying to disable every form of communications, defense nodes, transport routes and even basic healthcare agents!"

Ayra cursed and took off sprinting down the hill, her boots barely touching the ground. Nexen followed, her hand glowing with scanner-tech as she tried to broadcast emergency warnings to civilians.

Ori raised both arms now, stretching them out like wings. Giant, grotesque wings of flesh burst from his back. They unfolded like curtains of hell, casting a shadow darker than night.

From the wings, small shapes began to drip and fall. Clones. Hundreds—no, thousands—no, billions— miniature, hive-minded versions of Ori, each no larger than an ant, but fast, sharp, and lethal. They dropped like a swarm, spilling across the land like ink on a canvas. They can fly, they can pierce through anything, and most terrifyingly- they don't need to communicate with each other since they are a hive mind.

Dabo muttered incantations beneath his breath, trying to cast defensive wards around Liu. Fanguar stood guard, his hypercharged sword in hand, striking down clones with energy that reached the shrine's edge.

In the city, chaos reigned.

Fire swallowed buildings. Smoke towered into the skies. The emergency force dispatched by the World Defense Syndicate was instantly overwhelmed. Vehicles were overturned. Skyscrapers burned.

And in the center of it all, Ori walked calmly, cloaked in silence and horror.

"This world was never yours to keep," Ori said softly. His voice wasn't heard through sound—it echoed in the minds of all nearby. "You built your civilization atop ashes. I merely return it to that state."

Nexen and Ayra reached a transport hub. Nexen uploaded a distress beacon directly to orbit. "Please," she muttered, tears welling in her eyes. "Someone... answer."

"We're not letting him win," Ayra growled, activating her plasma blade. "We slow him down. Give Liu time."

Back at the shrine, Liu's eyes opened. Glowing slightly.

"He's still inside me," Liu whispered. "Not fully... But there's a tether."

Dabo stepped closer. "You can use that, can't you? Connect to him. Distract him."

Liu nodded slowly. "If I go back into the void... I might trap him there. But I need someone to anchor me to this world. If I fail—"

"You won't," Fanguar said. "We'll hold the door open."

Liu placed his hand on the pentacle again. The runes reignited, pulsing with energy. He inhaled deeply—and vanished into the void.

Ori, mid-step in the real world, halted.

He blinked.

Inside the void, Liu appeared—stronger than before. No longer falling, but standing on solid white light.

Ori faced him. "You again?"

"Let's finish this."

They charged at each other.

Liu throws a furious punch at Ori,

But something feels wrong.

Something isn't feeling okay.

The punch, easily dodged. Ori counter-attacks by throwing a kick at Liu's chin which Liu also dodges.

"Oh!" Surprised Ori

"Didn't expect you to dodge that"

Liu, eyes glowing white, shimmeres coming from his palms. It's clear, he has absorbed a lot of Purity.

Realising this, Ori quickly leaves Liu's mind.

In a blink of an eye, Ori leaves Liu and unites with his half-life in the real world.

Now Ori wakes up. He has no time to think. He sees the truest of the horror Ori just caused. Buildings falling, people running, cars being burned, trams crashed— it's horrid.

Enraged, Liu lunges at Ori.

"LIU KANG, NO!!" Dabo tries to stop.

Ori grabs Liu's head and in a rapid succession, he builds an extremely tall platform for himself, separating himself from the humans below. Dabo sees both of them in awe as more clones attack him.

Meanwhile in the air, Liu doesn't seem to have a platform for himself. He is suspended in the air, being held by Ori.

"Look at me" as Ori tells Liu in a very irritated and grumpy voice.

"LOOK AT ME"

"look at the country, this.... PLANET! THIS.... everything. Is merely a toy for me. Even with everything you take from me, I'll have everything you would want. If only had you and you're pathetic little loser friend circle hadnt stop me, I would've bring mountains of gold. I could've fixed every pain you'll ever felt

."

He then turns Liu's head and says

"Look at it Liu, look at these people suffering" As Liu can do nothing but drop tears from his eyes.

"Do you really think that life is fair? You were born in Lurexia didn't you? I'm sure you had a good childhood right?"

Liu doesn't say anything.

"Aw, that's sad right? I mean, why should a random Earthian have a better life than yours? Shouldn't be entitled to the same life as theirs? Think about it Liu, what if we could make the world fair again? How about this-"

"SHUT UP" Liu says angrily

"Well, that's just sad." As he let's go of Liu.

Ori now gathers all of his clones inside him, his neckgear buzzes, and he quietly flies off into the space.

Liu, now crashing onto ground.

He sees the burning world one last time before dying.

His eyes glow, not with visions of past. But with tears of despair.