Lucium: "Do you truly believe a little blade can hurt me?" He let out a demonic laugh, mocking the brave angel. "You might just be the dumbest of the flock you've seen that such weapons cannot harm me."
Uriel: He unsheathed his sword swiftly, disappeared from view, and reappeared behind the monster, slicing off one of its arms.
Lucium: He jumped back from the angel, roaring in surprise and pain. "You son of a bitch!" he yelled. Confusion and rage flooded his head. Why was this angelic relic hurting him when the old ones didn't? He regrew his arm, energy building up in the tips of his claws, firing thin red beams toward Uriel, slicing through anything in their path.
Uriel: He raised his arm, and a shield unfolded from his forearm, blocking the beams. Before he had time to react, Lucium appeared before him.
Lucium: Grabbed hold of his arm, lifting him into the air before slamming him back down to the earth. "All of these changes, and for what?! To barely be better than the others were?!"
Uriel: "Shut up!" He jumped up, kicking Lucium in the jaw before slashing him across the chest with the blade.
Lucium: He slowly looked towards Uriel, dragging his claw against his open wound, sealing it with dark magic. His face stretched, running his claw against his sealed mouth, ripping it open, revealing his mouth. Thousands of rows of teeth lay within the deep abyss, limbs of the damned stretched out within his mouth, trying to escape. "Does it haunt you, Uriel? Knowing your own family is forever condemned within my labyrinth of a body. Even your closest brother, Michael~."
Uriel: His hands started trembling, and he felt an intense rage building up inside him. His aura changed from hopeful to a dark and fuming one filled with anger. His eyes flashed, staring through his hood as he said, "Thou shalt not utter such words about them. Thou art unworthy to even utter their name!"
Lucium: He laughed at the angel's pitiful attempts to threaten him, "Struck a fucking nerve, didn't I?!" The two dashed toward one another; his entire arm glowed a bright red, sparking with unstable energy.
Uriel: His blade glowed a bright white, clashing the sword into Lucium's arm, creating a volatile explosion, wiping the Greenwood entirely off the earth's surface. He lay in the dirt, weakly looking forward as he saw his blade shining a few before him. He attempted to crawl towards it and grab ahold of it. "Ugh..."
Lucium: His eyes flashed through the smoke. He walked towards Uriel, placing his foot over his arm as his talons thrust into his arm, causing Uriel to shout in pain. Crouching down, he hit the sword away from Uriel's reach, "All of this just for you to end up in the same position the others were in; that is extremely sad, considering that I don't even have all of my abilities yet." He sighed, building up energy in his claws, hovering his hand above Uriel. "You let me down, Uriel; I was expecting more from you. Did you think you had what it takes to beat me?"
Uriel: He grunted, looking up towards Lucium, but his grunts of pain turned into laughter.
Lucium: He tilted his head, thinking that Uriel must have truly lost it if he was so willing to accept his fate that he found it amusing. "You believe that this is funny? Perhaps you are farther gone than I."
Uriel: "I never had to best thee in combat; I only had to occupy thee for a time." the sounds of chains rattling in the distance began to surround the two.
The sound traveled around them, moving too quickly to tell where exactly it was coming from. The aura color of the environment changed from a hopeless grey to a powerful deep purple. A shadow-like hook attached to the chain thrust itself through Lucium's arm, tossing him into the air until something yanked on it, slamming him back to earth and creating a crater.
????: "You are still the same arrogant imbecile you have always been." A figure wearing a hood appeared from within the thick trees. A torn cloth hung from their chest and shoulder, connecting to the hood that covered their face. One of their horns was black and purple, while the other was broken. They had deep, shadow-like skin with purple scars and symbols scattered across them. They were wearing very worn pants but were otherwise mostly unclothed.
Summoning the hook back, the stranger quickly caught it and concealed the chain into his skin. He then walked towards Star, who lay unconscious on the ground and stared down at him. The stranger shifted a rune on his arm to his hand and used it to send a surge of energy into Star's body, commanding him to wake up.
Star: He stumbled before regaining his thoughts; he paused momentarily before feeling his face and noticing that all his injuries had healed. He turned towards the mysterious figure, startled by the sudden new face. Assuming the worst, he took a swing at the person.
????: Star's fist struck the stranger's chest with great force, causing a shockwave that shook the ground. Smoke rose from the impact, but the stranger remained unscathed. He sighed and spoke calmly, "You're still developing your abilities. I shouldn't expect too much from you just yet." He pushed Star's hand away from his chest and continued, "I didn't come here to fight you. I'm here to help you out of this situation."
Star: He scrutinized the stranger from head to toe and then relaxed his fist, allowing the energy he had built up in his arm to dissipate. He took a deep breath and spoke in a calm and composed voice, "I have already had my fair share of demonic encounters today. I apologize for assuming that you were with them."
????: He shrugged it off, "Don't apologize; I would've done the same thing." He approached Uriel, kneeling and using his magic to heal his body.
Uriel: He stood up, turning towards the stranger, seeming quite irritated, "Took you long enough to show up...how long of a walk could it have been."
????: "Aye, I can take as long as I want to get here. Besides, I had to take a piss on the way here." He stretched his muscles out, groaning as his bones popped. Uriel shook his head at the stranger's arrogance.
Lucium: He pulled himself up from the crater, claws stabbing the ground. A raging aura surrounded him as he spoke, "You insufferable abominations! I am the end of all light in this story - the monster that travels in the dark. I am not to be toyed with! I WILL RIP THE BONES FROM YOUR BODY, AND AS YOU DRAW YOUR LAST BREATH, I WILL DEVOUR YOUR SPIRIT!"
????: He turned toward Star, "Take the kid. Uriel and I will handle Lucium," he commanded, scoffing at the thought that this version could be just as annoying.
Uriel: "So what is the plan here? Because everything I did to him did absolutely nothing." He picked up his sword, awaiting an answer.
????: "We beat his ass, duh. Once he is weakened, I'll hold him in place, and you strike him down with your sword, banishing him to the pits of The Forgotten Lands. Trust me, we will get him."
Uriel: "And how exactly will we do that if I couldn't weaken him before, let alone keep one of his limbs off?"
????: "Well, before this, you didn't have me~." He spun one of the hooks by the chain, appearing eager to attack Lucium.
Star: He cut into their conversation, "Wait, WAIT, slow down; you want me to leave the two of you alone with that thing? He is going to be full strength any minute now!"
????: "Nah, we will be fine. It takes longer than that to receive primordial strength again. Oh, and besides, even if he was, that makes it more fun for us~." He smirked menacingly under his hood, his teeth glowing ferociously purple. "Now, get Aiden out of here before Lucium decides he's feeling a little hungry for ghost flesh."
Star: He grumbled at the stranger's firm request but knew he couldn't waste time questioning; he took Aiden as far away as possible to avoid detection. "Don't worry, kid, everything will be handled properly."
Aiden: "I sure hope so; I don't wanna get stabbed in the chest twice in one day."
Lucium: He dashed behind the stranger, building up a rageful amount of energy in his hand. As he went in for a slash, he was met with the bud end of the hook to the chest. "Agh!" The force of the attack knocked him to his knees while he held his chest.
????: "You need to learn to wait your turn. It's rude as Hell." He jumped up, bicycle-kicking Lucium's head into the ground, ripping apart the ground and bursting debris out in all directions.
Lucium: Power surged through the ground as his eyes flared brighter red. He stood quickly, slashing his claws across the stranger's chest. "Taste the fear...Ivik nu Baetrok," he said, blasting a beam of energy into their chest and pushing them back.
Uriel: Swooping in, he grabbed Lucium's neck, throwing him back away from the stranger, keeping the distance between them. "Are you alright?"
????: He cracked his neck and said, "It's just a scratch." As he took a deep breath, the black marks on his chest began to disappear slowly. The stranger then turned towards Lucium and was surrounded by a dark aura. Despite Lucium's intimidating presence, he showed no fear and responded confidently in the Oldreic language, "Alav ni uytil Lucium~."
Lucium: His eyes widened once he heard that this person could speak and understand his language, "Impossible...What the Hell are you?!" The area erupted into a black fog; he attempted to flood the stranger with fear until he regained his abilities.
????: His laugh echoed through the pitch-black fog, a glowing purple outline formed in the mist as he laughed. "You know exactly who I am..." His hook flew through the air, latching onto the ground beneath Lucium's feet, startling him. He yanked the chain back, ripping the earth's opening, exposing a pit of red; the screams of the damned echoed into the mortal world. "I am the aftermath of your acts against the Greenwood family."
He appeared before Lucium, punching him down into the pits of Hell. Lucium's body hit the ground, shattering the ground of Hell. The stranger jumped into the pit after Lucium, "I am the creation of the mortal will, demonic essence, and hope. The abomination of the Primordial gods!" He landed right on top of Lucium, shattering the earth beneath them, causing the two to fall deeper into the ten rings of Hell. He beat Lucium mercilessly, the force of his attack breaking through every layer until they landed in the last domain.
Lucium: With his strength, he tried to blast energy from his hand, the magic flickering before the stranger slapped his hand away. He was kicked in the side, flipping him onto his stomach; he looked up slightly, gazing upon the Throne of Damnation, remembering when he once sat upon that chair.
????: "You claim to be a king, but you are a fraud to the throne!" He wrapped a chain around Lucium's neck, pulling on it. Magic burned off the chains, keeping his body constantly weak. He gazed around the surrounding environment before shouting, "Is this your ruler?! This is who you put your faith in to keep order, and yet he destroys your homes, devours your souls, and offers you no chance of redemption!? To the Underworld with him! He is nothing but a false god, a ruler who seeks not to keep order but to destroy it, and I will not stand for it! I have traveled far across different stories to return to where I am needed!"
His thundering voice echoed throughout Hell, catching the attention of both damned spirits and other demonic creatures; the creatures and spirits looked down the pit where the two were; they gazed down as they saw the King of Fear in a defeated state under this mysterious person. "Brothers and sisters of the Hellfire, hear me! The tyranny of the cursed king is no more! Your true king has returned!"
Lucium: He laughed weakly, "You arrogant fool...you think any of these demonic fucks would listen to a word you say? Heaven has fallen because of me; they bend to my will. ALAVIKNO!" His voice roared throughout the ten rings of Hell; something snapped within all the by-standing demons, and all different creatures rushed towards the stranger.
????: "Hmm..." He grunted in response to this sudden ambush, realizing the demons would not listen to him unless Lucium were completely taken down. He snapped his fingers; chains burst forth from the ground, latching onto Lucium and holding him down, "I'll be back for you...I know they don't want this."
From above, it looked like a raging red river was approaching the stranger from all angles, closing it more and more. Uriel tried to swoop in to help, but the stranger held his hand.
Uriel: Reluctantly, Uriel backed off, "What ho, what art thou up to?..."
????: He twirled one of his hooks, morphing into an angelic-like spear, and held it up in the air. A holy light shot down from the open hole above, surrounding him and scaring back all the demons closing in. They remained at a standstill, watching the stranger.
Lucium: His smile dropped immediately, "That is impossible; a demon can't have..." He growled as nearby demons tried to free him, but they were incapable of breaking through the chains.
????: "Gaze upon me! I wield Heaven's once-thought-lost power and can bend Hell's power! I can give you all the peace you deserve, recreating what made the realms beautiful, or banish you all to oblivion! I respect free will, so I will let you decide!" The demons all looked at each other, and the sounds of muttering grew louder, considering their numbers.
Demon: A small demon stepped forward before speaking, "How are we supposed to know you will keep your word? Lucium promised that Hell would rise above all the other realms, and then he destroyed the temple! From then, we had no choice but to listen to him; how do we know you aren't exactly like him!" The other demons got louder, questioning the same thing.
????: "Then I shall prove my word!" He snapped his fingers, unchaining Lucium's body. "Lucium, by the laws of Hell, I challenge your position of the king of Hell by hand-to-hand combat! No weapons, no magic, just straight hands." He waved his hands, his weapons disappearing.
Lucium: He rose from the ground, staring the stranger down, "Hmm, I respect your bravery, strange one. Very well, I accept your challenge! If you win, you will claim the throne of Hell, but if I win, I claim your soul~!" His abnormally large hands balled into fists, the energy fading from his hands.
The surrounding demonic creatures backed up to give the two more space, creating a circle around them.
????: He stood his ground, staring Lucium down, awaiting his first move.
Lucium: He smirked, "Letting me go first? So be it." He dashed toward him; before his fist could land, he quickly opened his hands so his claws would thrust into the stranger's chest.
????: He dodged the attack, grabbing Lucium by his wrist and bending his arm down before stepping down on his forearm, breaking it. "Did you just try to use that move on me? Come on, I am not that dumb; gimme a little more credit than that." He turned toward the other creatures, "Did you all see that? Your king is a cheat!" He leaned down towards Lucium, face to face with him. "Filthy little fucks like you don't deserve a crown. You disappoint me, Lucium; this would've continued longer if you had honored the duel. But, since you didn't...I gotta do this the lame way." He reached into his hood, lifting the patch covering the cracked side of his face; a purple light glowed from underneath it, flashing onto Lucium's face.
Lucium: His eyes turned white and lifeless, he became locked in the Death Trance, his body collapsing to the floor, his mind alive but his body not.
????: He stood up, letting go of Lucium's lifeless arm. He looked around at the rest of the demonic creatures as they looked at each other. One of them bowed down before him, and as one did so did the rest of them.
Demon: "What do we call you, sire?"
????: "My original title is only meant for very few; only the future may hear my real name. But you all will call me Radna, King of the Unseen."
Uriel: He flew down to Radna, landing next to him. "So, King Radna. What say you? What course of action shall we pursue henceforth?"
Radna: "We deal with this limp dick corpse; he will be locked in this state for a long enough time for us to rebuild everything that was destroyed by his tyranny..." He put his hand over his cracked face.
Uriel: He held out the sword toward Radna.
Radna: "What are you doing?" He tilted his head slightly.
Uriel: "Thou hast emerged victorious in the duel, even after he hath forsaken it. It is thy right to banish him from this world, not mine. I yearn to strike him out of revenge, yet I am aware it is not just." He got down on one knee, holding his sword out with grace and respect.
Radna: He hesitated at first, but after taking a deep breath, he grabbed the sword from Uriel, turning toward Lucium's still corpse. He stared down at the blade and then at Lucium, "The last time I saw you, I could never defeat you alone. But now that I have achieved new heights, it all came too easy...and it is disappointing." He thrust the blade into Lucium's back, watching as his body glowed a bright white, and as the light faded, so did his body. "It is done." He handed Uriel back the blade.
Uriel: He put the sword back in its holster, flying around to the surface, and Radna followed close behind. He waved his hand, a blinding light shining off his palm, sealing the pit of damnation. He turned towards Radna, "What will you do now?"
Radna: He looked up toward Uriel, a smile forming on his face, "With the corrupted king gone, I can work on rebuilding the temples in each realm. Perhaps you could help me rebuild your home when the time comes."
Uriel: "I dost think I wouldst like that...very much."
Star: He flew back to them, setting Aiden down on the ground, "Is it done? Has Lucium been dealt with? I no longer sense his fear and dread."
Radna: "Yes, it has been done." He looked toward Aiden, placing his hand on his shoulder. "I was hoping I wouldn't see you like this again, but I suppose some things just stay the same."
Aiden: He raised an eyebrow at Radna's remark, "What are you talking about?"
Radna: "A story for another time, my friend." He turned toward Star, pulling him in for a hug, confusing the positive entity. "Man, I truly have missed you.."
Star: He patted Radna on the back, baffled about what he was talking about, considering they just met. He pushed himself out of the hug, "What will you do now? I overheard you have a lot to do."
Radna: "Besides that plan, I must look for my brother. I know he searches for me, too. Uriel, keep things in check until I return." Uriel nodded at his request, "And Star, when the time is right and you need me, come find me." He gestured bye to them as he backed up, jumping down into a shadow.
Uriel: He patted Star on the back, "Thou hast performed admirably this day; thy heart doth incline in the right direction, my friend." He flew up into the sky, leaving the two alone.
Star: He smiled, watching Uriel fly into the sky, knowing he could be at peace. He placed his hand on Aiden's shoulder, "How about we find you somewhere safe to stay at?"
Aiden: He smiled at Star, "I'd like that very much." The two of them walked away from the destruction, walking into the distance as the stars began to settle into the sky. "It's been one HELL of a day."
Star: He chuckled, "Indeed it has been."