"Uhmm… I don't think I have anything to do with what comes next," Nick said, desperately trying to remove himself from standing between two monsters.
On one side was Alice, Elizabeth, and Zeel and on the other side was The God of Death himself – Seth.
The entire situation gave Nick the feeling of a hood fight with two rival gangs trying to slaughter each other.
Unfortunately, he was caught in the middle as an unfortunate casualty or maybe even the damsel in distress that both parties were fighting over.
'What an emasculating thought,' Nick thought internally but forgot that he was cornered by two Gods who could somewhat read minds.
"He is a very interesting human," Seth stated, laughing a bit with a creepy voice that sent chills down Nick's spine.
"Humans are usually that interesting," Zeel admitted with a sigh after gleaning Nick's wayward thoughts.
Alice and Elizabeth were still tense but Zeel kept them busy by running simulations in their minds to familiarize them with what it would be like to fight in the Death Dimension.
Zeel always made sure to cover his bases even if Alice and Elizabeth wouldn't be much help. Zeel also managed to send a pulse of information into Elizabeth's Ring Swords.
Ella and Alle were more excited than scared but even they knew that drastic measures would have to be taken in the upcoming battle.
∞∞
Inside The Ring Swords
"We will have to pull out all the stops sister," Alle stated, twirling inside the void of the Ring Swords happily.
"Will mother be coming?" Ella asked a bit afraid of what might happen next.
The reunion of their mother and father, while a dream of theirs, was also something they feared since it could go either way.
Zeel was a psychopath that would kill anything deemed a threat, while their mother…well, their mother loved their father and that was proof enough that their mother was also crazy.
Alle was enthusiastic for the battle to come but Ella was much more grounded and observant of the changes happening around everyone.
"She is watching us…" Alle replied, closing her eyes to sense the gaze directed at them a bit clearer "I think she is getting ready to come over when father calls for her,"
Ella frowned and also sensed the gaze lingering on her body and noticed something peculiar.
"She feels reluctant to come… like she is leaving something precious behind," Ella said a bit disappointed.
After all, what could be more important than her daughters?
"Maybe she forgot about us?" Alle stated, running her fingers through her short, bob-cut hair "She has always been kind of an airhead,"
*Pop*
Ella flicked her finger, discharging an energy beam that struck Alle's forehead.
"Ow!" Alle shouted, feeling abused by her sister.
"Mother is mother… she would never forget about us," Ella stated firmly and turned around to avoid Alle witnessing the small doubt that was revealed behind her eyes.
"Mother is only obsessed with father so as long as he calls, she will come," Alle replied firmly, trying to appease her downtrodden sister.
Silence followed their conversation but Alle and Ella could both feel the gaze on their bodies softening as if to remind them that their mother still cared for them.
∞∞
Nick felt like he was in Limbo, not sure what to do or what he could do that made both Zeel and Seth attach such great importance to his person.
"You're very important to what happens next," Seth stated, waving his hands as the monuments from all over the Death Dimension trembled briefly.
Seth did it as a show of power to dissuade Zeel from taking rash actions but Zeel didn't even flinch a bit.
Nick, Alice, and Elizabeth were frozen in fear since they never expected that the monuments would actually be weapons of some kind.
"Your thinking is flawed Nick," Zeel stated nonchalantly, not minding Seth's show of power.
"Think about it like this… Seth consumes all these souls and becomes all-powerful in this Universe.
His power expands and expands but that still won't be enough to stop the Mares. Everything he achieves will end sooner rather than later since the Mares only take about a decade at most.
Even if the Mares eat this entire Universe, they won't be satisfied and will still move onto the next one with an even greater appetite.
This will still be the case even if the Mares retain all the energy they consume. However, as Seth pointed out, one percent of the Aether's power can satiate the Mares.
If one percent can satiate the Mares, then maybe two percent can damage the Mares and three percent can drive the Mares away.
Think about it like this… trillions of souls exist in this Universe and even if Seth ate them all, he wouldn't be able to stop the Mares.
Likewise, the Mares wouldn't be satiated after eating just this Universe. However, Aether can stop the Mares and then some.
That is like Seth having access to an unlimited number of souls at his beck and call. Only my species, Homo-Superiors, are allowed to access the power of the Aether.
Seth integrated a Homo-Superior so he can somewhat use the power of the Aether but not enough to make any real difference.
So I need to grant him access to all the power of the Aether to drive away the Mares. Homo-Superior technology is either nothing or everything.
Should I give A God of Death the power of infinite souls?" Zeel asked Nick the final question that would determine his fate.
If Nick denounced Seth in front of another God, then The Laws of the World would recognize him as a free agent and Zeel could depend on Nick in the upcoming battle.
However, if Nick sided with Seth out of fear, then The Laws of the World would recognize Nick as a part of Seth's party and Nick would have greater access to Seth's domain.
Giving a God of Death unlimited power definitely didn't add up in Nick's head but what was he supposed to say in the face of self-preservation?
"I approve?" Nick said, hoping it was the right answer to get him out of his hotspot or at least prolong his life by a couple of minutes.
Zeel smiled approvingly at Nick's response while Seth had mixed feelings since there were bound to be advantages and disadvantages to Nick taking his side.
Receiving Nick's reply and confirming that negotiations had come to an end, Zeel and Seth gathered their Divine-Energy as the atmosphere turned thick with the sensation of violence.
Zeel began chanting as codes flickered across his pupils.
"[Pure Fusion], [Deuterium and Tritium], [Gasses], [Nuclear Fusion], [Fission], [Plutonium and Uranium]…"
The scientific concepts spewing from Zeel's mouth did not cease even as Seth tapped the ground with a single finger and the wasteland environment of The Death Dimension change once more.
Zeel, Alice, and Elizabeth now stood at the top of a pyramid surrounded by humans for as far as the eyes could possibly see.
The trio could feel the powerful sensation of the human worshippers calling their names with obsessed reverence that bordered on insanity.
Amongst the worshippers, Alice and Elizabeth saw everyone they were familiar with during their journey: John, Cindy, Claire, Chris, Jill, Marina, Sam, Laura, Vishnu, Henri, Sarah…
Ella, Alle, Jenny, Nick, Dr. Isaacs, Alicia Marcus, Luther, and even Lorien.
Everyone was praising them, everyone admiring them and it felt euphoric… almost as euphoric as sex with Zeel.
Alice and Elizabeth quickly lost themselves in the overwhelming praises and departed from Zeel's side to enter deeper into the illusion created, but Zeel remained standing in place.
"[Boosting], [Fusion], [Intermolecular Convergence], [Neutron-Lithium Reaction], [Chain Reaction], [Bombardment]…"
Zeel continued chanting even as the illusions tried their best to consume him.
There was even a moment where Zeel's voice quivered when he saw Aurolana amongst those worshipping him inside the illusion.
Alle and Ella were also there looking at him with pleading eyes as if asking why he abandoned his daughters?
Similarly, everyone's eyes became blaming as they knelt but Zeel still stood high above them with indifference in his gaze.
'Story of my life,' Zeel thought sadly, knowing that any more time in the illusion would lead him to intense guilt.
"[High Energy Neutrons Collision]," Zeel whispered with a tired breath.
Normally as a Homo-Superior, Zeel would be able to perform all these calculations and words in his head but his abilities as a Homo-Superior were reduced when Aurolana died.
As a final effort to bind Zeel to the illusion, Zeel's mother (Clara Crawford) walked up the pyramid and knelt in front of Zeel with her head down.
Zeel stared at his kneeling mother and just smiled indifferently, raising his feet and crushing her head without any hesitation.
'If you wanted me to hesitate, you should have sent some food instead,' Zeel thought as he watched the illusion around him shatter into tiny pieces.
Once again, he was within the barren wasteland of the Death Dimension with Alice and Elizabeth standing at his sides, but their eyes were dead since they were still entrapped in the illusion.
Nick stood in front of Seth also in a daze as Seth tried to manipulate his body to start the transfer of their consciousness.
"[Anti-Proton Charge]," Zeel said as his body trembled to bear the attack he would unleash.
With a final bellow, Zeel darted forward within a thin blade made of nanites materializing in his palm "[Thermo-Nuclear Explosion]!"
Zeel's thin blade pierced through Nick's heart as a formless pressure manifested on the tip of the blade and ripped Nick apart.
The blade continued forward unhindered towards Seth as the formless pressure on the tip of the blade exploded into a blast unlike any other.
*BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!*
*BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!*
*BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!*
*BBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBBOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMMM!!!!!!!!!*
A thermo-nuclear explosion of 200 tera-joules shook the ground, shredded the Earth, and burned as hot as the sun for twenty miles…
The battle between the God of Speed and Dimensional Travel – Zeel Crawford, and the God of Death – Seth, had officially commenced.