Star: Quickly and decisively, he bent his knees and launched toward the monstrous creature, causing a small shockwave. He pulled his fist back and swung at its chest as he got closer. However, before his punch could land, the creature grabbed his arm with its giant hand, catching him by surprise and hurling him backward into a nearby building. The impact force caused the building to collapse on top of him.
Aiden: "Star!" he shouted as he ran out from his hiding spot, eager to dig him up. But his hands kept phasing through every solid object he touched. "Dammit! Come on!" he muttered, frustrated as he repeatedly tried to move the bricks and wood. Suddenly, his hand made contact with the rubble, and he could feel the texture of it. He turned around suddenly as the torn creature stood above him.
????: Its entire body was visible, its ripped and rotten skin stretched to abnormal lengths, and where its arm was missing was a snapped bone and dangling pieces of meat. Its mouth was ripped open from cheek to cheek, showing its array of needle-thin-like teeth. Its skin rippled on its face as if something was crawling under it; his red eyes gleamed down at Aiden.
"Vik nu alav ro daedrok...The moon of daedrok rises on this unfaithful night." Before he continued, he grabbed Aiden, his fingers wrapping around his entire body. "I have waited for this night to come, for me to strip you of your spiritual life and finally become whole. You have outlived my wrath for a long enough time, child...but all lives must end, and yours has come, Aiden of Greenwood. Fierq ka myarok."
He formed a black sludge over his missing limb, using it to create a temporary arm. With his new limb, he peeled the burned skin off his face. He revealed his true face - a pale, bone-like texture that nothing in Heaven or Hell could love or even look upon: a face of fear.
Aiden felt a sense of dread and fear as the yellow pupils shone on his face.
The single big eye on the creature's forehead fed off his terror, fueling the other four. As he raised his hand to strike Aiden, Star erupted from the ground and punched the monster in the chest, freeing Aiden and sending the beast backward.
Star: He caught Aiden, preventing him from hitting the ground, "I gotcha, kid." he saw that Aiden was in some fear trance and could not communicate with him. "Don't worry, Aiden, I will get you outta here after I deal with him..."
He ran back with Aiden, placing him safely behind some trees; he used his strength to bend some dead trees around Aiden, creating a barrier. As he stood back up, he was backhanded from behind by the creature and sent through several trees until his body slammed into a boulder.
????: "Aral un ve chueq maayka, you are a strong chosen one. Nyvirk qie chueq lofeh...but not strong enough."
Star: He rose from his crash site, shaking off the rubble. He charged up his fists, looking up toward the voice, but his eyes widened as he noticed he was gone. He looked all around, constantly in a stance of attack, "Where are you, demon?! Come face me and leave the child alone!"
The creature's voice came from all directions, "You and I both know I cannot leave the little one alone; he has a destiny to fulfill." An invisible force knocked him to the ground, hitting him from all angles like a pinball machine; finally, a strong force of magic pinned him to the ground, the pull cracking the earth.
????: "I am no demon. I am the eternal damnation of mortal life, the destroyer of the Heavens. I am the true heir to the throne of darkness, the lord of fear, Lucium, Alak nir oloq. The primordial of fear, and you, the chosen one, have nothing that can match my power."
He appeared above Star, stomping on his back and pushing him further into the ground before leaning down to speak into Star's ear, "I will rip apart the child's spirit, and once my final soul is collected, I will rain Hell upon every world you so desperately want to protect, making you watch as I take everything from you, and only then will I kill you. Irthr vuk wol..."
He raised his hand toward Aiden's frozen body, his magic ripping him from behind the trees and floating him toward him.
Aiden: He could only watch in horror as he floated towards the demonic spirit, "W-wait, you need to absorb my soul to be set free! You can't just destroy it! That's what you said!"
Lucium: he thrust his claw through Aiden's chest, causing the child to spit up blue blood. "I lied."
Aiden: "Agh!" He grabbed onto Lucium's arm, his body snapping out of its paralyzed state after he was impaled, only to fall into a weaker state as his blood rained down slowly.
Lucium: "You have served a great purpose, little one, but I have no more use for you." He tossed the spiritual corpse aside as Aiden slowly bled out. A red aura shined all over Lucium's body as his pale skin began to form very slowly over his old shell, and his accurate arm regrew.
Star: As he struggled to release himself from the grip of Lucium, he stared at Aiden's dying body in despair. "No..." He reached out toward Aiden, trying to send some of his life force over to him to save his life, but his body was pushed further into the earth, cracking the ground.
Lucium: "How the mighty have fallen, hmm, chosen one? Even you must realize the faulty of your mind. You came here because of curiosity, and now your actions will cause the death of trillions...maybe even more, all because you felt some sense of purpose here. Ulok Ferir, I will regain my lost strength and spread my darkness through every inch of this disgraceful universe, then spread to others, infecting them with fear..." He raised his foot to slam it down on his body again. Star screamed as the force of this stomp was stronger than the last.
"I will take revenge on all those who have opposed me in my past life, and I will force their champion to destroy everything he deemed to protect...It will be wonderful." He let out a dreadful laugh full of the screams of his past victims.
Star: An overwhelming feeling of hope and pride built up his body as the ground began to shake; he could hear the warming voice again as his energy spiked, "Arise, my son, for it is not over yet. That boy is depending on your spirit of hope to save him, free him."
He released a thundering shout as power erupted from his body. The eruption of power shot Lucium off his body and freed him from the demon's grasp. A golden aura shone all over his body, practically gleaming with willpower. The aura caused his cape and hair to flow, channeling even more power.
"No! I will not allow you to win in this world or any other! For I am the protector of the story, I am the true embodiment of all positivity, and you are nothing more than a shadow, a monster who refuses to leave even after being banished!" The ground shook more and more as he spoke, each word containing so much power behind it. His pride grew with his strength.
"If I am to fail against you, then so be it, but I will be damned if I do not at least try for the kid and the people who died at your hands. I will not be told that I am a failure! I will not stand by and watch as the innocent fall to the hands of a monster; you will not prevail this day or any other!" He launched himself towards Lucium, bashing him across the face, the force of it creating a shockwave that sent Lucium flying into the fading barrier that kept him in the small town of Greenwood.
Lucium: He shook off the blow, rising to his feet. He felt a drop of black blood slowly run down the side of his face. He dragged his long claw against his face, scooping up the drop of blood and licking it off of his claw before staring in the direction of Star. "Miryk Uvut, you are quite arrogant, aren't you? The Angels of Heaven had a fighting spirit like you...and look where they are." His smile grew across his face before signaling the charged warrior to come at him.
Star: His legs charged up with an extreme amount of energy. He ran at Lucium using the super speed ability he had used on the previous demon, thinking this would work the same way. He swung at Lucium from all angles, seemingly all at once, causing slowed shockwave after shockwave. He attacked faster and faster, hitting harder and harder every single time. "This has to be damaging him, it has to." He thought to himself, but he was abruptly interrupted by another voice entering his head.
Lucium: "You would like to think so, wouldn't you..." With his claws, he slashed across Star's armor with the same speed. This caused the slow-time effect to stop as Star was knocked off his feet because of the attack.
Star: He was unharmed, thanks to his armor and callous skin. "Don't bother attacking me; it wouldn't do you any good!" He smiled, hoping to intimidate the creature, "Nothing can penetrate my armor, let alone my ski-"
Lucium: He warped a few feet away from behind him, seemingly moving out of Star's sight for no reason.
Star: He hastily turned around to face him, "What was the point of that-" Suddenly, a cut opened up on his face, spewing a bit of golden blood. He didn't even notice that he had attacked. Did Lucium teleport behind him? Or was that his speed!?
Lucium: He held up his hand, showing only one finger. He had managed to slice through his seemingly indestructible form with one finger. He licked the blood off the top of his nail, "Oravok, Everything is capable of bleeding, Star, just the same as everything is capable of dying; you will see that soon enough."
Star: He focused some energy on healing his small scratch, "I am not a murderer, unlike you; that truth is something I simply will not find out."
Lucium: He scoffed in disgust at his words, "You do sound like those Angels...But it is in your arrogant nature to be this way; your simple mind cannot perceive the truth even if you wanted to."
Star: "Oh yeah? Well, if the number of people who disagree with you outweighs those who do, then who is the arrogant one here?" He laughed in the face of this danger.
Lucium: He leaned down slowly while remaining in eye contact with Star, pressing his hand against the ground. "Those who disagreed with me...are already dead." He shot some red energy into the floor, shaking it briefly.
Star: "Huh?" He stood confused for a second, but something in his mind yelled at him to move. He quickly dived from where he stood, rolling out of danger and looking up as a large blood-red crystal spike burst from the ground where he once stood. He sensed more and more danger, realizing that it wasn't just one spike approaching; he quickly and hastily rose to his feet and flew toward Lucium, dodging the spikes as they burst free from the earth. As he picked up speed, so did the spikes, and one slipped through, managing to slice the side of his arm open right through his armor.
Lucium: He grabbed ahold of Star as soon as he was distracted from the wound; his five needle-like claws stabbed into Star's body, injecting some liquid into him. He threw him aside, bashing his body against a thicker tree. His strength grew more and more by the second, causing more and more damage from every attack.
Star: As he attempted to rise to his feet, he fell right back to the floor as an overwhelming feeling of dread and weakness infected his body. "What did you...do to me!" He tried to gather his strength to break free from this dark magic but to no avail.
Lucium: "I can feel my true power returning, and with it comes my greatest gift. I can force people to confront their deepest fears," he said as he grasped Star's chin, forcing him to meet his gaze. "You will feel it enter your body, and it will be impossible to resist. Allow yourself to be overwhelmed by your fears and let it kill you."
Star: He began to blackout as fear and panic settled themselves into his soul; visional flashes became a reality right before his eyes as he was kneeling in some void abyss. Before him was nothing but utter silence; everything was gone. There was no life, there was no light, nothing was there. As the poison of fear began to travel into his mind, an outline of a figure formed in the darkness before him; it was barely visible, and the only thing he could make out was its glowing white eyes. "W-who...what are you?" His voice was shaky and weak.
????: Amidst the darkness, its hand slowly rises, causing it to become more visible. The hand was made of black sludge, but it didn't feel like the same substance used by Lucium. This sludge felt worse, darker, and filled with more than just dread. Suddenly, the palm of its hand cracked open, revealing a white light shining through the cracks. The figure spoke only one word, "Begone..."
Star: This world sent a surge of dark energy through his body, which snapped him out of his fearful reality; before questioning anything, he punched Lucium, hitting him away. He recovered quickly, confused as to why his body was suddenly healed back to its full extent if Lucium's magic prevented it.
Lucium: "What?! How is it you were able to break free from my fear magic!?" He was shocked but infuriated that this pest was still in his way.
Star: He didn't bother to answer or understand; instead, he turned to Lucium with an angrier expression than before. "It doesn't matter. It's just another chance to destroy you."
Lucium: "Don't let your arrogance corrupt your mind, chosen one. It is not a good look for you. You have bothered me long enough. I will make sure that you do not leave this place alive," he said as his eyes flashed a brighter red, sending a wave of dread towards Star. Within an instant, he grabbed Star by his neck, his fingers wrapping around his neck and shoulders like snakes.
Star: Determined, he gathered his strength and unleashed a mighty punch at Lucium's side. But before the blow could land, Lucium swiftly caught his hand mid-swing, effortlessly blocking the attack.
Lucium: He squeezed Star's hand with extreme force, cracking his golden gauntlet. "I am sick of your continuous attempts to stop me. They are worthless, meaningless, and, most importantly... pathetic. The child of Alfium put up a better fight than you..." The force of his grip cracked the gauntlet more and more, even bending it inwards, which started to crush Star's hand.
He released his grip on Star's gauntlet, lifting his body into the air with his tightening snake-like fingers. With a sudden and strengthening pull, he slammed Star's body into the earth, shattering the ground beneath them into a small crater. "This is the supposed golden warrior?! The one who is meant to destroy all evil?!"
Star: He bled from his mouth; his body went from being at its full strength right back down to zero. Did he run out of time? Did Aiden breathe his last breath of air and give Lucium his full strength again? Is this where his destiny ends?... It can't be; he is supposed to protect the innocent and destroy the evil within the darkness.
Lucium: "Having doubts, are we? You had your chance to leave...Now, you will be buried here, alone, consumed by your guilt as the failure you are. You were supposed to be something great, and I looked forward to it the moment the angels spoke of you. But ultimately, I was let down...how disappointing."
He punched Star across his face from the right, letting blood spew out from his nose and mouth, and then he swung from the left, repeating the process over and over, faster and faster. He continued this for a few minutes before stopping, staring down at Star's almost motionless body as he was on his last few breaths. "Pathetic worm..." Before he could land a finishing blow, he was suddenly smacked in the back of his head by a branch. He turned his head slowly to look where the pathetic attack came from.
Aiden: "Hey, forgot about me, didn't you? I thought you liked killing." His horrible attempts at making an insult didn't phase Lucium; if anything, it just confused him.
Lucium: He stood up, leaving Star's motionless body alone for the time being, turning his body toward Aiden before speaking. "So you live, even after I absorbed your essence fully, you still managed to return to be a pain. I admire your courage, little one, but did you honestly think a stick would stop me?"
Aiden: "It wasn't meant to stop or even harm you. It was to get your attention. Do you believe in divine intervention, Lucium? Because an Angel stopped by to give us a hand..."
Lucium: He laughed at Aiden's attempts to phase him, "You think an angel stopped by to heal you and prevent me from killing Star? You mortals are something else... No angels are left; I made sure of that long ago."
????: "Art thou certain of that, Lucium..?" A brilliant, celestial light formed behind Aiden, and soon, a hooded, armored figure emerged. The Angelic being was draped in a light brown cloak with white and silver plated armor underneath, bearing symbols on some parts. Its four wings spread far, and a warm light radiated from them. Its hood covered its face in darkness, and it rested its hand on the handle of a hidden sword. "Pray, hast thou made sure to get all of them?"
Lucium: He could not believe his eyes. Did an angel survive the destruction of the holy temple so long ago? He did not look frightened; instead, he was furious and confused. "This is impossible; an angel should not have survived my attack."
????: "Lo and behold, I found myself in this very predicament. Ever since the day of your abandonment in my desolate homeland, I have honed my skills tirelessly. You ravaged all that I held dear..."
"My brethren Archangels, my abode, everything was ripped away from me on that fateful day. You deemed me a symbol of loss, forsaking me, but lo, I have returned to ensnare you once more... I am the forsaken, the Angel of Faith, the embodiment of hope throughout the celestial realms."
Lucium: He stared down the angel before finally realizing who it was; this realization made him smile. "Uriel..."
Uriel: "Verily, it is I, who was not prepared to vanquish thee in our previous encounter. Yet, this time, I have arrived armed with a weapon of great significance. Behold, a sword forged by the hand of the most esteemed divine smith."
"Witness as its blade, aglow with holy light, sears with purity and celestial radiance. With this sacred blade, I shall once again triumph over thee, just as the ancient Elder Lords afore me. Thus, thy spirit shall be eternally bound beneath the surface of the Pit of Eternal Spirits."
Lucium: "Hmmm ~ I was hoping you would say that...Come on, show me what you trained all those eons for, Uriel the Archangel."