Akuro's arm was yet again covered over with black scales and aura as he stood beside Darius. He couldn't help but smirk, happy to have his friend standing beside him once again. As it was. Just as it was before. He became giddy. It had been a long time since he had fought beside someone. It was always him alone fighting the world. But now he had his friend with him again, he had someone to watch his back.
A couple hundred yards away Moorza slowly got to his feet, his bones snapping back into place as his head reformed.
"What is it with you guys and my head? Why is it that you are always decapitating me?" The god growled. "You could hit the body instead. I mean, god. Having your head blown off multiple times over give such a major headache."
"You rather us cut out your heart then?" Darius asked, almost in a joking manner.
"Not that it would have much of an affect." Moorza responded, then glanced up to the sky. The moon was growing ever closer to the horizon. "It would seem I don't have much time left. Looks like I will have to wrap this up soon."
"You really think you could defeat us both?" Akuro asked, waves of black energy flowing about his figure like black flames.
Moorza sighed, putting his hand to his forehead. "Honestly not sure. Can't say I've ever been pushed this far. But.. I still have a play."
Suddenly Nerrik and Nezzra appeared at either side of Moorza, taking a knee.
"I'm sorry, my children." Moorza spoke. "I have to ask… for your souls."
"It is our pride to be of use to you, Lord Moorza." Nezzra spoke fervently.
"Yes. But Id rather it not come to this. Though, I'm not left much a choice."
Moorza held out a hand to both of the siblings, strange markings appearing in his palms as pale light emitted from the bodies of Nerrik and Nezzra and their aura became visible, a faint green light that was absorbed into Moorza's markings. As he absorbed their aura, their bodies began to seemingly decay, their flesh sinking in as they became deathly thin. A moment later both of the siblings feel over, dead, and Moorza's appearance began to change drastically. Four horns now grew from his head light a moonlight crown while massive dragonic black wings with brilliant silver scales like stars against a night sky grew from his back. Spikes grew across his arms and shoulders like the spine of a dragon while brilliant silver scales covered over his entire body. Talons grew from his hands and his hair turned pure white and grew down past his shoulders, his eyes became luminescent silver and the air around him became distorted from the sheer power of his aura.
Moorza held up both hands, silver chakrams of aura forming around his lower arms while two katanas formed in either hand, the silver blades marked with pale blue markings that depicted a crescent moon and flickering stars.
Akuro shivered. He could feel the aura that hummed in the air. The mixture of not just his but also Darius's and Moorza's auras caused distortions in the air and gravity itself. The land began to crack and break apart as massive chunks of earth floated into the air.
"Now then." Moorza spoke, his voice deeper than before. "Dream."
I the sky, the moon's light increased exponentially as a symbol depicting a circular shape with a star in its center and lines of light at its edges appeared upon the face of the moon, and then reality itself shifted. The sky changed in color, becoming a mixture of blues, purples and greens like a galaxy in the sky on a clear night. The land shimmered until it became pearl white, as if the land as far as the eye could be seen had become quartz. It was as though they had been transferred into an entirely different reality.
"Welcome, my dear guests, to my reality!" Moorza announced as his wings rushed downwards sending a wave of wind through the air as he launched into the air where he hovered over the endless land of quartz.
As Akuro observed his new surroundings, he couldn't help but think of how it resembled the dream state from when he had first met Mato and Brimgarn. He looked down at his hand, aura waving around it as he raised it. His hand left after images as he moved it. Was this reality physical, he wondered, or was it just a dream? Are they fighting in a dream world, or does this have any real affect on their bodies?
"Well, this is fancy." Darius observed as he also observed this world they stood in. "I wonder what could possibly happen next."
Akuro turned his eyes up to Moorza. "Does it matter? Whether this is a dream or reality, the fact still stands that we will fight."
"Well duh. I'm not as stupid as you think, you know." Darius said, waving his hand, causing waves of after images. "Whoa." He said, taking note of it. "That's trippy."
"Are you done talking?" Moorza growled. "There isn't much time left."
"Well, I wonder if we could just talk until the sun comes up then. Ya know? Want some tea?" Darius responded.
Moorza's expression turned to one of rage. "Enough games." He hissed, then held out his hands to Akuro and Darius, the chakrams about his arms, four in total, flying at an astonishing speed towards the two Deities. Akuro attempted to jump, but the ground suddenly fell in on itself, shifting and changing before exploding upwards, launching him and Darius straight towards the chakrams. Akuro raised a wall of black aura to block the attack, but the disc blades simply phased through the wall. He dodged one of the chakrams, but the other managed to sever off his right arm.
Darius had called forward a mirror beneath him, which he fell through, disappearing as two discs sunk into the pale ground. He reappeared above Moorza, rushing downwards with his dagger held in one hand while his other was outstretched towards Moorza, who spun in the air, his wing swinging in a wide arc and crashing into Darius's side and sending him flying to the ground where earth rose upwards, slamming into him and increasing the force of the impact. The sound of Darius's bones shattering echoed across the desolate reality. Moorza then soared downwards like a falcon descending on it's prey as his crashed down on Darius, both katanas sinking into his shoulders.
Moorza rose his foot, about to bring it down on Darius's chest, but as it came down a mirror formed between him and Moorza creating a reflective image as the god's own foot crashed into his face, shattering his jaw and knocking him back. As Moorza fell back, Akuro dashed at him from behind, scythe forming in his hand as he swung it in an upward slash poised for Moorza's spine, but before he could follow through with the swing the ground sank in, swallowing his feet before violently shifting back, cracking his shins in half and swing him back, crashing to the ground on his back as his head slammed into a segment of the floor that had rose up, cracking the back of his skull.
Darius ran at Moorza before he could recover, but the floor rose up like a podium, lifting the god skyward, blocking off Darius's attack while Moorza's wounds healed over.
"Damn!" Darius cursed, then turning his attention to Akuro, who was sinking further and further into the ground as it crushed and shattered his bones.
Darius held out his hand to summon a mirror to free Akuro of his pearl prison, but a disc of aura flashed by, slicing his arm at the elbow. Ignoring the pain, Darius then stomped the ground and a shimmering mirror flashed into existence beneath Akuro, his body disappearing into it and reappearing next to Darius, who held him up so he wouldn't fall as his body recovered.
"You alright?" Darius asked.
"Yeah, I'm fine." Akuro growled as his bones painfully snapped back into shape. He looked up at Moorza who stood above them, looking down on them with a glare of indifference as he stood atop a pillar of quartz.
"Do you see now?" The god spoke, his voice a booming echo across his reality. "This is my world! You cannot defeat me in my own territory!"
Akuro grit his teeth in irritation. He did not enjoy being talked down to, it was something that pissed him off more than most things.
"Moorza." Akuro growled through clenched teeth. "Do you understand who I am? Do you realize who you are even talking to?"
"I do. A child who is drunk and blinded by his own strength and overconfidence. You are nothing to me." Moorza responded, "to me you, Deities, are merely disgusting insects for me to crush underfoot."
A sudden burst of aura exploded out from Akuro, a shockwave that sent shadows dancing across the pale white ground. Moorza's expression became more stern and his eyes narrowed.
Darius glanced over at Akuro, a shiver running through his body.
"Well." Darius said with a shrug. "Now you've done it. You've pissed him off."
Shadows began to chaotically churn around Akuro's back as black, phantom like wings of smoke emerged from his shoulder blades. Akuro then held his hand at his side, the God Slayer appearing, the butt of the staff against the ground while black aura engulfed the blade.
"Darius." Akuro hissed.
"I know." He said, raising a hand lazily as his bow appeared. Green aura began to form around the ends of the bow, forming green blades of energy at each side of the weapon.
"Do you honestly believe you can defeat me in my own world?" Moorza asked in a mocking tone. "I have rose above what you can imagine, I have rose above anything you could ever hope to be!"
"I've done many things those said I could not." Akuro spoke. "Don't tell me what I can and can't do. You are pissing me off."
•
•
•
Wind beat against Inari's ears as she dashed forward running at full speed towards the battlefield. Ahead of her she could see a strange field of shifting light, like a heat wave or a mirage, off in the distance covering a massive span of land.
"I'm on my way.." she spoke, both to herself and to her friends, even though she knew they could not hear her words. "I don't want to sit on the sidelines anymore.. I want to be useful! I want to help!"
Two more orbs formed at her back. She shot forward like a bullet flying through the air. She could not fail. Not again. She recalled when she had been struck down the day she and the others returned to New York. She had been kicked out of the fight, made useless. She could not do that again. She was tired of feeling helpless. She wanted to be there for Akuro, for Darius. She would protect them at any cost.
She drew ever closer to the strange field of light before, without any hesitation, she jumped into it, disappearing into the waves of dreaming light.