*back in the present*
Moorza flew through the sky over mountains and forests. A lot of the land was lit by flickering firelight from the battle he had held with Akuro, even though Moorza was miles and miles away, the devastation still reached that far. It was shocking and startling. He hadn't realized how strong Akuro really was, same with his allies. That boy had some unique powers, and that girl could use all three omnis. If it were not for his Moon Realm, he most likely would've lost that fight. No, not likely, certainly. His power outside of his realm was not nearly close to when he was in it, and he was even weaker when the sun was up. He was about the level of a middle tier god when the sun hung over him.
He cursed to himself. He was so very close to defeating them, all three of them, they were in the palm of his hand, but it appeared fate did not want them dead just yet. For some reason he wasn't completely upset about it. Why, he wondered? Was it possible he enjoyed that battle? Possibly.. I had been so long since his last taste of real combat, that thrill, the adrenaline rush that came with it, it was an addicting thing. He wanted to fight them again. He had enjoyed the challenge of fighting them.
The words of Akuro and Darius echoed in his mind. They had called him a coward without honor. But were they so wrong? He wouldn't fight them on an equal footing, he had to cancel their powers. He regretted that. He'd prefer to win honorably, but at the time he didn't have much a choice.
As the wind whipped past his ears, Moorza looked down at his hand. His skin was pale and sickly. He'd used too much aura, and his body was taking the toll for it. When a god overexerts their aura, it causes their physical capabilities to diminish. Often times it can cause a god to take an older appearance. Gods have no true age, the way they look is based on their power, the younger a god looks, the more aura reserve they have, the older they appear, the less aura they hold. For example, Raijin had taken part in the 6th Immortal War and had depleted all of his aura to the bare minimum, putting him into a catatonic state for many years before he woke, and even up to the day when he had died to Akuro, his aura was still recovering, which is why he appeared old. If he had all of his aura, he would have appeared much younger and looked much like a warrior with long black hair and golden eyes and a fit body. There is also a good chance Akuro would've lost to Raijin if he were at full strength.
As Moorza studied his hand, he noted that his skin slowly became dry and slightly wrinkled. Creases and wrinkles appeared in his features and his hair lost its shine. His muscles also began to shrink. The affects of aura exertion were worsened even more so now because of the fact the sun was high above.
He needed to avoid combat for a while, at least until he recovered his aura, which could take a long time. He imagined maybe three weeks if he returned to the Divine Realm, not the Midrealm it would most likely take six to nine weeks.
Then a cold sense of dread struck through Moorza's body, causing him to tense.
"MOOOOOOORZAAAAA!!!!" Came a hiss that echoed through the air venomously.
Moorza turned to the sky above, eyes wide as a sudden shockwave blasted a massive hole through the clouds as a black figure streaked through the air, headed directly for Moorza.
"Azazel.."
*CRACK*
A sound like a thunderclap exploded through the air as a shockwave that caused the air to vibrate blasted outward from the impact as Azazel crashed into Moorza, the two beings flying down until they crashed into the side of a mountain, blasting a massive crater in its side while sending massive splits and cracks through the earth.
"It would seem you've exerted a bit too much aura, hmm?" Azazel hissed, leaning over Moorza, black talons wrapped about the God's throat, pinning him to the ground.
"Why are you here?" Moorza spat through clenched teeth.
"Does it matter? I am going to consume your soul, I mean did you really think you'd get away with what you did to me all those years ago? You are the reason I'm the way I am now after all.."
"How many times do I have to tell you.." Moorza growled, his feet planted against Azazel's chest as he kicked with all his might sending the demon flying back. "It was an accident!"
"Accident!?" Azazel scowled, stopping himself midair. "You call dethroning me and framing me an accident?"
"I never meant it like that. The report was misconstrued!!!" Moorza raised his hand and from it a beam of silver light flashed like a bullet zinging through the air towards Azazel who simply slapped it aside.
"Misconstrued? How could you mess up such a simplistic report? I was the king of the gods! You turned them all against me!!"
"It isn't my damn fault!!" Moorza roared, "you are the one who decided to help the Titans create the Demon Race!!"
The air around Azazel seemed to grow darker, as though a cloud of shadow hung around him. "Enough."
Azazel held out his hand and as he did the landscape began to quake, the earth trembled and in another instant the entire landscape was swallowed in shadow, miles and miles across black aura created a massive pit in the earth. It looked as though some galactic being took a moon sized hammer and crashed it as hard as it could against the side of he earth.
Azazel growled. "That didn't do it, huh?"
"Enough, Azazel." Came a voice. Azazel turned in the air and saw, there, hovering in the air was God. "What happened then is in the past. That was during the first Immortal War, so many years ago, so let it go."
Azazel glared at Moorza who hovered beside God. "You think I could forgive him?"
"You think we can truly trust you? Fact still stands, you did meet with the Titans. We don't know for sure if you had a hand in the creation of demons, but they all carry your aura, even if in small amounts. So the facts are stacked against you."
"Believe what you want. I do not care, I am Azazel, the God of Chaos, and the King of Demons. Your opinions hold no sway over me. I just want him dead, his sight infuriates me."
"I've done nothing. I've told you, it was all a mistake." Moorza said.
"Enough!" God roared. "Azazel, remember why you are here. Moorza, go back to the Divine Realm, I need to speak with you."
"…yes, my lord." Moorza said, his expression one of frustration and rage as he then soared through the sky and out of sight.
God looked down at the destruction Azazel had wrought. The scary part wasn't the devastation itself, it was the fact that the attack took almost zero of Azazel's aura reserves. He was able to do the same attack over and over again, a hundred times over. If Azazel wanted to, he could end the whole world and wipe it out of existence completely. He could create a black hole to seal not just earth, but the entire solar system if he wanted. God knew well the extents of Azazel's power.
"Why are you interested in this battle in the first place, Azazel?" God asked. "I know if you wanted to you could end us all in one move. What is your goal here?"
Azazel stared blankly at God, his cold, empty white eyes sending shivers down God's spine.
"The beginning of a new ending to the story of reality." Azazel spoke then, his voice cold and emotionless.
God contemplated on Azazel's words for a long moment, trying to figure out what Azazel could possibly mean by this. He could quite understand, but he only knew it was nothing good. He wished he could obliterate Azazel right then and there, but he knew that even he, creator of the stars themselves, could not defeat Azazel. He was in a league all of his own.
"What is stopping you from just ending all of reality yourself?" God asked. The question was sudden and uncalled for.
Azazel tilted his head slightly. "Do you fear me…'God'?"
A cold sense of fear shot through God's spine.
"Don't forget your place, Youlgnir. If you try to command me, you will regret it. I am not one of your little puppets for you to throw at your enemies because you are too coward to fight them yourself."
God, or, Youlgnir, was enraged by Azazel's words. But in the end there was nothing he could do or say. He knew Azazel was not wrong. He knew he'd lose if he were to ever challenge Azazel. When it came to Azazel, there was always one indisputable, simple fact…
He was unbeatable.