The others' arrival was a welcomed sight.
Though the lack of a sun was very disconcerting, I tried not to focus on it.
Jinn, Thorum and Sasaki pulled through. The arrival of those bone and flesh ships that rode over the mists like waves was quite a sight to behold.
How they landed upon the ground, and swathes of Ghosts and Wraiths began to charge through the enemies' lines. The thing about immaterial enemies such as those was that they required a little more oomph to properly fight.
You can't just swing a basic sword at one and expect it to do much. Being able to coat your weapon in Magical Energy, or something similar, would be about the bare minimum needed, and the Draugr, while caked in Necrotic Magics, were very basic.
They were nothing more than cannon fodder.
And the Tide of angry apparitions washed over them.
Thorum rode upon Durheviir and the large Dragon bombarded the battlefield with fire breaths. As expected, he probably couldn't unsummon the Dragon at this particular point.
The Talisman I gave him, I hadn't been 100% sure it would work, but it was only meant to bridge the gap for an instant to allow the summoning. Far easier than most applications of the Kaleidoscope.
Seemed it paid off well.
Jinn and Sasaki stood aboard the ship, laying down aerial bombardments without much recourse from the enemies now that their main players were occupied.
On the other side, Atalanta and Achilles pulled through as well. Even to a greater degree than I had hoped. I admit, I was not confident in their ability to sway the Bird King, considering I knew absolutely nothing about him but vague stories.
But here we are, with a literal army of Birds of varying size and distinction as they cast uncountable shadows over the whole of Asgard.
The King himself was large.
He swooped down and sent the World Wolf rolling across the ground. That was, after a Giant Red Deer crashed into it with its massive Antlers.
I had no idea where the Deers came from, but they stampeded through the battlefield like calvary, splitting enemy lines and disrupting their assault.
But considering that Atalanta was riding upon one of them, I believed it's safe to assume who was responsible for their presence.
Tyr came out and hit the Giant I was fighting like a Whirlwind, and I was extremely thankful, because I had someone else to deal with.
For the first time, I saw Kronos at his truest.
And why his people were called Titans.
Despite his gargantuan size, he treated me with equal reverence. I who looked like an ant in comparison, he was staring at me as if I were a great enemy.
"I don't know if I should laugh or get angry that the Trickster failed so spectacularly." Kronos rumbled.
"How about both?" I offered.
Kronos seemed to genuinely consider that. "I will mock him and let him know my displeasure later." He nodded sagely.
"Pretty confident that either of you will have a 'later'."
Kronos quirked a smile. "I will truly miss your audacity. I can say that you, as a mortal, have the sole honor of being remembered by me after your death."
I forced myself to get serious. Things swung far enough our way that I felt like I could leave everything else to the people behind me. "This will be our last fight."
Kronos's grin quickly turned to a frown, but he nodded "This will be our third battle. Two times I have faced you, and two times you have emerged victorious."
Just as he said that he dropped his weapon to the ground with a loud thump. He raised his hands to the sky, and everything around us distorted.
"I wouldn't exactly call them victories. And you got me pretty good on that last one." I unconsciously put a hand on my side where I had been stabbed. I was mostly back to full fighting shape as it hadn't been too serious, but there was lingering soreness still there.
Like a Bounded Field on a Divine level, walls emerged around us woven from his Divinity and the essence of Time until we were completely enveloped.
"No, every time we engage, and you survive, it is a victory in your favor regardless of the outcome. By all reasoning, it should not be possible, you should not be able to stand against me, yet here you stand for the third and final time." He stated. "You have earned the right to stand here as my equal. I feel no shame in admitting that I require my full effort to take your life, mortal. However, it will shame me beyond acceptance if our conflict is not settled here."
My swords were summoned forth. "It's strange, out of all the enemies I've fought to the death, I think I don't actually hate you."
Gradually, his size shrank back down to the same as when we fought last time, his weapon following suit.
I did not think he was weaker in any way compared to his larger size. Simply, a shift in direction for his power. Sizes of that magnitude can be both a blessing and a curse depending on the circumstance.
There would be no interruptions this time.
Just me and him to the end.
There seemed to be a genuine smile spread across his face. "Let all grudges be settled here. Let death wash away all resentment."
"Easy for an Immortal being like you to say. Death is more an inconvenience for you than a true end." I pointed out.
He chuckled. "Then I will make you this promise to express my respect to you as an opponent. I will not seek out those you cherish after I kill you. And should I fall, when I return some time into the future, I will hold no grudge nor seek vengeance. So says the King of the Titans."
That was…I think I gained a significant amount of respect for him in this moment.
"I had a question, if you don't mind me asking."
"Speak."
"You were prepared for me in our last fight, weren't you?"
He tilted his head. "Of course. Why do you ask?"
"Just surprised that someone of your stature would 'lower themselves' to 'study' a mortal like me is all." I shrugged.
Kronos snorted disdainfully. "Only the foolish would not gather information on their enemies when so readily available. I do not understand those mortal devices, but they have recorded many valuable things."
Right, I figured as much.
My past fights against Susanoo and Indra were seen by plenty and I'm sure there was enough to piece together quite a bit about me.
I shouldn't be surprised that he anticipated my trump cards after seeing them once or twice.
"Yet, even then, I am surprised by you. Not one, but two attacks with Origins in Hecates' influence that would bring me to my knees." He shook his head, letting out a tired breath. "The world has changed far too much, and I don't recognize it any longer."
I see, he was talking about my Great God Carved Seal and my Mountain Sealing Incantation. Both of which had been able to pin him down more or less and could have caused some damage. Though, the latter was a Sealing Spell, so damage wasn't its primary directive.
"Mortal – no." He stopped himself. "State your name."
"Wilhelm Henry Schweinorg." Boosted Gear appeared on my arm, and my Zanpakutō in the other.
"It is a name I will remember." He picked his Scythe back up. "I am Kronos, the Titan King!" He let out a roar. "Let this be a good fight!" He wasted no more time and charged at me.
Each step of his shook the ground, and the swing of his Scythe severed the world around the edge of its blade.
I grabbed Ascalon and blocked the blow. The Time withering began to pulse outward, but Ascalon was a Noble Phantasm, Time held no authority over it!
Despite holding firm in the force of his Authority, my feet sunk into the ground and I pushed hard against the blow.
"Boost!" I swept Ascalon out, knocking the Scythe away. My other swords flew at him, stabbing through the air.
The Titan King swept his Scythe, deflecting them out of the way harmlessly, but it was a small opening that I shot forward with a burst of Shunpo, Ascalon aiming at his heart.
"Fus!" I bellowed, aiming right at his leg. His scythe was about to come down again, but he stumbled, nearly falling to his knee due to the sudden and invisible force that collided with him.
He brought his left arm up, the muscles of his forearm tensing as Ascalon pushed into the flesh of it.
Before I could follow up, my vision was filled with the pole of his Scythe sweeping across my face.
My Aura flared up protectively, however, the blow was enough to knock me down and I felt the force of it despite not taking any meaningful damage.
I had let go of Ascalon, still lodged into his arm and rolled to the side, narrowly dodging his Scythe that slammed into the earth, rendering everything around it dead by merely a touch.
I jerked my hand and my other Swords flew back to me. The Titan King let out an annoyed grunt as Mirage nicked his shoulder, drawing a thin line of blood and returning to my hand as I bounced back up to my feet.
He yanked Ascalon out of his arm and tossed it to the side. A quick glance glanced showed that it did not pierce very deep into his arm, but a wound was a wound in a fight like this.
Mirage met his Scythe in a flurry of strikes, each one producing enough force to make the Earth shake on impact.
The Titan King stilled between sweeps, and I felt myself surrounded.
I called upon Ascalon, but his Scythe lashed out, hitting the Noble Phantasm, causing it to impale itself deep into the ground.
"Did you think I would forget your trick with that thing!?" The Titan King bellowed.
Images of his Scythe filled my vision. From every perceivable angle around me, I felt them slash at me from different points in Time, all converging onto this single moment.
I focused everything I had through the Hogyoku and shifted it all to my Aura.
My Aura burst out of me in full force, the Kaleidoscopic colors swirled around me, shielding me from harm as the Titan King's Divine Scythe came down to reap me. It was a far cry from the near absolute Defense that Ascalon provided though.
My Aura was strong, but it was not impenetrable. The Titan King's Scythe slashed through my Aura in part. Some of his attacks were stopped at the surface, some managed to tear through it part way, and some of them, while much of their strength was lost in the process, managed to cut into me.
"Welsh Dragon Balance Breaker!" I ignored the blood dripping from the cuts around my body and shot forward at him. "Boost, Boost, Boost!" I used my entire body to slam into him at full speed, hurling him straight to the ground.
I flipped my Zanpakutō around in my hand and stabbed down at him. He threw his head up, ramming into mine, dazing me for a brief moment through both my Armor and my Aura, with a punch thrown at me as well. I rolled off of him and my other Swords fell down from the sky.
He let out a snarl and roared furiously, my Swords pushed into his body, but at his size, it was like being stabbed by needles.
He pulled them out and tossed them to the side like merely minor inconveniences. His Divinity gathered around his weapon and his presence was amplified to a dangerous degree.
"Wither!" He called out, sweeping his Scythe outward, and the world answered his call.
An invisible force swept out with it, like a ripple across a still lake, the world churned and groaned as his scythe cut through the 'time' of everything in its path.
"Reflect – Musū Tengai!" My Zanpakutō was released for the first time this fight. I could feel the blood drip from my eyes, but I pushed through it with the Kaleidoscope opening up before me and I saw the path forward.
Everywhere around us, every blade of grass, every insect, every living organism was turned to dust, except for me at the spot I was standing.
I stabbed my Zanpakutō into the ground to keep my balance, looking at the Titan King who dropped his Scythe to his side.
"You are increasingly both impressive and annoying simultaneously." The Titan king noted.
"I get that a lot." I forced a smile. "But it seems you were still anticipating it."
"It's hard to ignore the ability to alter aspects of the world." His face darkened.
So he noticed.
My Swords returned to my side, all but Whisper.
Whisper was needed elsewhere and began forming the Spell Circles needed.
Touching on my Hogyoku again, my Demonic Power burst outwards. Horns pushed up out of my forehead, my eyes split into slits, and a tail came out from behind.
Kronos tilted his head and grinned, holding his Scythe pointed at me.
I reached for the Sword of Destruction, and casually swung it downwards.
It released a blade of Destruction that ate away at everything in its path, including the ground beneath the wave.
Kronos swung his Scythe to meet it. The concepts of Time errant Withering met with a pure form of Destruction. One meant to facilitate the natural cycle of Death and Rebirth, the other that brought about nothing but annihilation.
It seemed at the collision of power, they canceled each other out.
Both Kronos and myself looked at the scene curiously.
I held The Sword of Destruction up again.
I didn't need Mirage to facilitate the use of the Kaleidoscope. Every spell, every ability I used it for, it merely made it easy. Especially in an instance like this where Time was disordered, and the World Tree disrupted Space within its vicinity.
With the Sword of Destruction coated in my Power of Destruction, I swung at Kronos. "Ten-Thousand Birds!"
My Sword phantoms that originally were the product of Mirage due to the ease of use, they were released from the Sword of Destruction and Made from my Power of Destruction, filling the space between us completely with their might.
The Titan King did not stand still, he could sense the threat aimed at him.
Rather than set up some kind of defense, to block or shield himself, he charged forward, roaring in defiance.
One of my Birds hit him. He coated himself in his Authority, fending off the worst of it, but the Power of Destruction splashed across his shoulder, searing away a small bit of flesh.
His Scythe swept out with every step he took, cleaving many in twain, but for every ten that he destroyed, one or two managed to land upon him. Some splashed harmlessly, some were wrought with a Divine power that snuffed out the Demonic Power at its core, but every so often, like the first, they landed.
However, the Titan King didn't falter one bit and pushed through the torrent of attacks.
If I had time to contemplate it, I would have found it utterly terrifying how a Titan's roars shook the very air as he charged at me, parts of his body seared away on the surface and not one gleam of retreat noticeable in his eyes.
He leapt up into the air, and slammed his scythe into the ground, shattering the earth beneath our feet.
I flew up into the air to avoid the disruption of the terrain, but Kronos held his hand up, clenching his fist.
I felt a force pull me to the ground against my will.
"Rewind!" He shouted again, from where I was on the newly destroyed and rocky terrain, everything shifted back to where it was before he had utterly destroyed it, and I was now kneeling right in front of him. "Reap!"
His Scythe didn't need to move, instead an image of it came to my head.
"Swallow Returns!"
My Sword of Destruction moved to stab into his back while the false 'me' in front of him was decapitated.
However, two eyes bore down at me.
Kronos, who had his back facing me another, ethereal, reflection of himself seemed to come alive from his body. The 'extra' version of him was barely material, sprouting from his back and swinging his 'scythe' down at me.
He was able to project himself on multiple time-lines simultaneously.
I had no time to acknowledge how absurd it was!
"Bakudō #8, Seki!" I cast a quick Kidō, the spell collided with his projection's Scythe, it was barely enough to avoid a dire blow, deflecting it only a breath away from its intended target, but his scythe still slashed down my chest.
I grit my teeth and push my Sword of Destruction into his back down to the hilt!
The Titan king let out a bellow, and pivoted, swinging his Scythe around fully as his true body followed.
Bakudō #44, Sekisho!" I cast the quickest Shield spell to strength I could manage off the top of my head.
The wall of solidified Spiritual Matter was like paper in front of his Primordial Scythe. It only held it off for a fraction of a second.
I raised my hand up, focusing on my Sword of Destruction still sticking out of his back, especially the Power of Destruction that was wafting off of it. "Transfer!"
The Power of Destruction on my blade magnified several folds in an instant.
I could see the pain flash across his face, the flaring of his nostril, and the near slump of his legs as it hit him. I held my arms up to brace myself as he swung his Scythe at me, some of the power dissipated from my actions, but he still sent me fly, especially after I let go of my Boosts.
I hit and bounced across the ground a few times before I could force myself to a stop and pushed up onto my knee as quickly as possible, aiming my palm at him.
"Scattered Beast Bones! Spire, Crimson Crystal, Steel Wheels! The wind if it not moves, the sky if it not stops, the tone of the spear striking fills the lone castle!" My Divinity intertwined with my Spiritual Power. "Hadō #88, Hiryu Gekizoku Shinten Raiho!"
The Lightning erupted from my palm, like a large dragon that opened its maw, it pounced on the Titan King.
The Titan King, he too let out an earth shaking shout, and his size inflated in magnitudes. I had seen this from him before, the very skies supported him as his body enveloped the stars themselves.
A heavenly judgment, his Scythe, larger than mountains came down from the Heavens, slicing through my spells, sundering the world within this small area he sealed off.
I pushed against the ground, using Shunpo to disappear from the spot I was in, only to realize that I hadn't moved.
Again, I moved fast, as fast as I could, feeling myself moving, yet covering no ground whatsoever.
I realized I had been put in a loop and I didn't have any time to think about breaking it properly.
My Semblance Activated.
"Feim Zii Gron!" I shouted the Ethereal Thu'um on top of it.
And my Aura pushed outward while I held my arms, clad in Ddraig's Scale mail, taking his hit head on.
My eyes, still enhanced by my Shikai, looked at the possibilities. "Reflect -- Musū Tengai!" The pain in my head intensified as I altered the world around me.
I took the hit head on.
My Aura shuddered and I felt a shockwave through my soul. The Scale Mail cracked and shattered in parts, but held its shape, if barely. My Semblance and the Thu'um only held off a miniscule amount of the damage as immaterial things were not something avoidable in front of a Titan's Authority.
The world seemed to flip upside down and I had trouble standing back up once I regained my balance.
I was not in the place I was previously, and I wobbled in place slightly.
I looked down at my left arm and It wouldn't budge as it laid limp at my side, mangled badly.
The Titan King returned to normal, his Scythe propping himself up as well, his breathing heavy and blood seeping from his own wounds.
My Sword was still lodged into his back, however, the Power of Destruction was no longer flowing out from it. But it left him in rough shape from what damage it had done.
My inside felt like they were on fire after taking that hit, and my Aura retreated as it had become too low to manifest properly.
But I didn't feel dejected, nor did I feel a sense of defeat just yet.
Whisper returned to my side.
I dropped Musū Tengai, letting it impale itself into the ground and called out my Staff of Magnus.
"You know my tricks well at this point, but there's something you haven't seen yet." I forced out through haggard breaths. Spell circles began appearing all around me. Carefully carved into the air by Whisper while we had been fighting.
Roots began to emerge from the ground.
"Behold, recreated and appearing once more in the world. Blessings of the World Tree – Yggdrasil!"
They climbed upwards, building upon each other until a newly formed World Tree was recreated through my Spell.
"You….you had something like this?" Kronos's eyes widened at the sight of my spell fully emerging.
I wanted to laugh, but I only ended up spitting out blood caught in my throat. "Against someone like you, I had to wear you down a bit first." Honestly, he would probably be one of the worst targets to use this Spell against. But at this point, we were both pushing on empty, which meant it was the perfect time to break out the last Trump Card he'd never seen so far.
I contemplated bringing out my Authority, but he would just render the battle back down to something tight and closed off. No opportunity to create an advantage by sealing away his Authority temporarily, and it's not like it's easy to maintain my Authority in a state like this.
I chose which Realms to utilize and called out to them.
"Asgard, Muspelheim, Vanaheim!"
I had no symbols to utilize at this moment for either Asgard or Muspelheim. Odin had my spear, and my Sword of Destruction was currently stuck in his back. As for Vanaheim…I tossed my staff up into the air and the Spell took hold of it, accepting it into the Spell Formula quite easily.
No longer in the shape of a staff, Vanaheim's true form took hold and wrapped itself around it.
Vanaheim was basically the origin of Magic in Norse Mythology. Asgard had warriors, but Vanaheim had Magic Users.
Thus, Vanaheim took the form of an ever changing Magic Circle.
A Magic Circle that could amplify, alter, and otherwise change Spells as needed in real time.
"Strike with Absolution – Gungnir!" A golden light emerged from where Asgard was 'located' upon my Tree.
The Spear of the All-father, a hollow copy that it was, jutted off and collided with Kronos.
He of course raised his Scythe to block, but the force of it sent him pushed backwards several feet as his heels dug into the dirt.
Kronos growled, taking a step forward, his size increased, each step he took, he further turned to his 'normal' size, a towering Giant capable of cutting down my tree with but a swing of his Scythe.
I held up a finger, pointing at him. "Bakudō #4, Hainawa." A simple Kidō that produced a Spiritual Rope to wrap around the target.
Vanaheim shined. "Breath of Magic, Vanaheim."
The ever-changing Magic Circle shifted and churned in response, it ate my spell for lack of a better word, and then it recast it accordingly.
Massive Spiritual Chains were cast down upon the Titan King from the Realm of Magic.
They wrapped around his body, stifling his movements until he was forced to a crawl, each step of his shattering chains, but for every one that was shattered, several more took its place.
"I AM KRONOS"
Despite being nearly covered head to toe in the Spiritual Chains, they began shattering at breakneck speeds.
No, they were being unmade, undone, reverted.
A Monochromatic aura enveloped the Titan King, and all my Spiritual Chains were destroyed.
He reeled his arms back, both gripping his weapon tightly, intent on fully cutting my spell in half, and as blocking it went, I had nothing left in me but to take the blow head on.
"Even Gods Die." I held my hand up. "Twilight of the Gods – Laevatein."
The Realm of Muspelheim shifted into its intended form.
The Blade of the Fire Giant – Surtr.
The sword which brought about Ragnarök.
It was but a hollow copy without the added shape of the Sword of Destruction, but it was still molded from the concepts of the Norse Cosmology and given form through the Primordial Runes passed down from Odin Himself.
Kronos once more showed concern on his face. His emotions were not hidden at the end of our fight, and he pushed forward regardless.
Gungnir returned and shot out again, hitting him in the chest.
The Titan stumbled, but still moved forward.
Laevatein followed, burning the very sky and space in its wake.
Where Laevatein went, everything disappeared. And his right hand that held his Scythe, flung up into the air, completely severed from his arm.
The Titan King Clenched his jaw tight, the muscles on his gigantic left arm bulged, and he still swung his Scythe out.
I was blown back by the sheer force, and the Bounded Field encompassing this area vibrated as his Scythe cleaved through my tree.
The top half of Yggdrasil began falling over.
"VANAHEIM!" I shouted, pointing at him before it disappeared. And I had no time for anything complicated. "Hadō #4, Byakurai!"
A single bolt of lightning, intertwined with my Divinity, but Vanaheim amplified that to an obscene degree.
Thousands of similar bolts of lightning rained down directly upon the Titan King.
He shrunk himself again to avoid a good amount of them, but plenty still collided with his body, charring significant parts of him black, crackling and thundering across his body as he clenched his teeth and persisted.
Vanaheim shattered as the Tree began to dissipate.
I jerked my hand to the side, and what remained of Gungnir slammed into him, lasting only a moment both because the spell was ending,but the Authority of his was still coated on his body and dissolved the spell without any means to sustain it., but enough to knock him on his ass.
I wanted to call upon Laevatein too, but it quickly disappeared as the spell fizzled out.
My legs felt heavy, but I put everything I had into a Shunpo and called upon Mirage.
"Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost, Boost." I pushed way past my limits and I went faster than I ever had before.
I barely registered Mirage in my grip, and swung down.
Myriad Slash!
Kronos jerked back, but it was too late, his left arm went flying along with his Scythe.
I fell to the ground with the momentum of the swing, having used up the remainder of my stamina and strength on that.
Kronos, however, roared defiantly. His head jerked forward, and he grabbed his Scythe with his mouth from the air, using his head to aim it down at me.
With a twitch of my finger, I called back Ascalon that had been abandoned much earlier in the fight.
It arrived just in time to stop his Scythe from going through my heart, deflecting it to the ground next to me, and the Titan King didn't have the strength to fight it.
My other Swords came to my mental call too.
Flashing through the air, the remainder of the Titan King's limbs were cut from his body and finally he fell to the ground.
I barely pushed myself up onto my feet, everything aching in my body, but I wanted to see him.
I wobbled the few steps over to where his limbs were scattered and his body laid, bleeding out.
His Authority suddenly burst outwards, threatening to consume me, but my swords didn't need a physical indication from me as they came down from above, stabbing into him.
The Titan King's last attack dissipated as quickly as it came, and his Divine Power completely receded.
The Titan king began to laugh, quickly changing to coughing blood. "Worth a shot…."
"I win." I breathed out.
"Well fought." He acknowledged. "The victory is yours."
"Was it worth it?" I asked. "Allying yourself with Loki? Doing all of this?"
The Titan king looked up, the barrier around us began to disappear gradually. The sky peeked through, and despite the sun missing, it wasn't a bad sight to see in one's final moments.
"I just…..wanted things back to how they used to be. Was that so wrong?"
"No, it isn't." I shook my head.
I couldn't agree with the consequences of his actions if he won, of the destruction he wrought, but simply wanting the life you once had….I couldn't fault him for yearning for it.
The Titan King breathed out, and I could feel a hint of his Divinity. I was on guard, until I realized what was happening. Odin's spear appeared, apparently it was sealed away in a moment of time.
It landed next to him and he smiled awkwardly. "Can you look after my Scythe for me? Frankly, I don't want Zeus to get his grubby hands on it. Give it…..give it to Rhea if you can. I know it won't make up for anything, but….I want her to know that I'm sorry."
"I'll do so."
"Hah." He coughed some more. "It's funny, in a different set of circumstances, maybe we could have been friends." He closed his eyes, and his primordial spirit went to sleep.
Goodbye, Titan King.
I wanted to sit down and rest, but the hairs on the back of my neck stood up.
I looked to the side where the feeling was coming from, and the barrier barely receded at this point, and all I could see were Flames that reminded me far too much of Laevatein.
[***]
A/N
The conclusion to Wilhelm's rivalry with Kronos comes to an end, but Asgard isn't doing very good.
If you want to read 10 chapters ahead or support me, visit my p.a.t.r.e.o.n.c.o.m / astoryforone
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