A'grappa had grown tired of the Scarrin people. There were so few of them left and they were a shell of their former selves. Their willingness to kowtow to his whim made it very difficult to find joy. A'grappa loved suffering, death, and destruction. These people had once been crafted by his hand as warriors. They were meant to serve those ends. Except, now they wanted anything but. They preferred the peace of their dying world to the cold reaches of space. They stayed isolated. A'grappa wondered what kind of event led to their complete reversal of nature. What foe had beaten them so soundly that they refused war? He had given all his creations such ingenuity and resilience.
In the end, A'grappa decided it was best to find another planet that could serve his desires. He took to the vacuum of the in-between, the space between worlds, to find what he was looking for. He closed his eyes and scoured the worlds nearby. Most of them were husks of their former selves. The lifeforms raised on each one were long since extinct. All that was left behind were broken cities left to erode with time and the fauna that managed to eke out a means through whatever they could find. No intelligent life remained. The Scarrins had done their job at some point in their past. But, no longer.
"Are none of my precious pets still living?" A'grappa mused to himself. He had purposefully put many warrior races together to see who would fight to the last standing member. Their suffering pleased him greatly. The suffering they caused to others pleased him even more.
He spread his wings, gliding through the void, using his mana alone to create a wind to guide him through the vastness of the nothingness. Where he intended to go would only be determined by the scent of death. There was not much in this part of the universe. The Scarrins had been very good at their cause.
"I doubt Rammel will let it end there. He is quite persistent when he chooses. Those Fractions he brought with him proved to be slightly amusing." He continued to talk to himself. "I wonder if I could manage to find them once more."
The idea of playing with Rammel's group of Fractions made A'grappa smile. It had been so long since he had a proper fight. Not since Gilgahlad. But, that was many eons ago. Gilgahlad was most assuredly dead and there hadn't been a Fraction like him. Well, almost. That young cub that Rammel tried to protect, she seemed quite promising.
Thinking of Gilgahlad made A'grappa wonder why that Fraction chose to seal him and his brethren away rather than to destroy them. It had been the first time A'grappa had been pushed to his limits when not fighting with Marthukas or Hered. Surely Gilgahlad had the power to end all of the Great Ones. The fact he didn't meant he knew something. That had to be it. Galadyn must have let their secrets slip.
"If I ever get my hands on Galadyn, I am going to make him spill all his failings before I end him." A'grappa barked. "Surely, no one alive knows why we eight were chosen. We have a purpose. A path which we must take. There is no stopping it."
A'grappa laughed to himself. He had never been very good at creating life, like Marthukas had been. He had been keen to shape it, however and chose to do so to many of his siblings' creations. That was much easier than to make something of his own. That never truly sat well with Marthukas.
"Damn Marthukas." A'grappa snapped. "Lording yourself over all of us like you were something more special than all the rest of us because you had the most mana. I hated every time you barked out orders or scolded us because you thought we were not keeping to the path. If I ever see you again, I will destroy you this time. There is no doubt about it." A'grappa seethed. Every thought of Marthukas made him feel like destroying something. That was his suffering. He enjoyed the suffering of others but, despised his own. A'grappa knew his purpose. He need not be reminded of it. He understood why life needed to be created, why it necessitated destruction. Why the cycle of life and death created the order that had been brought to this multiverse. The greater purpose had to be fulfilled.
A'grappa felt weak in this void. He could tell the Great Ones had largely been forgotten. Perhaps that was the Minor Ones' doing. He needed to gather strength. Not just to destroy all that opposed him now but, to also destroy his siblings too. If he was the only one left, all the mortals would have to pray to him and fear him. He liked the sound of that very much.
Finally, he came across the signature of a planet teeming with life. His smile grew wide. He shifted back into his humanoid form. It made for great fun, scaring the locals.
He began his descent onto the planet, cutting through the atmosphere like a shooting star. His body rocketed towards the ground, glowing bright in the sky. He could feel the warmth as the atmosphere heated against the friction of his body, desperately trying to erode his very existence. He could hear the sound of his fall, a screaming whistle reminiscent of some large steam powered monstrosity. A large crack of a sonic boom followed as he broke the sound barrier. The ground came up faster and faster as he fell. He let himself go, closing his eyes and embracing the impact.
When it came, he could feel the hard dirt give way beneath him and spray into the air like a fine mist. Large boulders and smaller rocks were ejected into the air around him, crashing down with such force that whatever lay in its way was obliterated. An enormous crater lay below A'grappa. How he loved making an entrance.
As he rose to his feet, A'grappa could see the sky above him. A slightly large earthen planet with two natural satellites. One of which bore a large crater that could be seen from the surface of the planet without any form of aid. He looked around him. The chaos had begun. He could hear the screams of the people topside of the crater. He could feel them scurrying about trying to aid the wounded or remove the dead from the area. No one had come to inspect the crater yet. But, he could feel his mana returning to him as the chaos took place overhead. Such delicious mana.
He quickly wondered if he should bother giving them the time to even try. Ultimately, he chose not to. It would be more fun to see their faces as he emerged from the crater unharmed. He made his way up the side of the crater with the surefootedness of a gazelle or a mountain ram. As he came to the edge, he could see hundreds of Fratali moving about. They had called the paramedics and fire department. The crater had already been quarantined off by vehicles blocking the roads. A'grappa smiled and flexed his will as a greeting.
Someone finally took notice of him. Several stop and stared as the female Fratali screamed. She couldn't help but point.
Joy filled A'grappa. It swelled in his breast like nothing else. This was exactly what he had been missing with the Scarrins. He needed fear, not subservience. One was not only meant to serve their god but also fear them. That was the natural order to things.
"Fratali," he bellowed, "bow before me! Fear me!"
This time the onlookers began to run from A'grappa. The screams and smell of fear soaked his ears and nose. Their panicked nature made him want to cut them down, make them fear him even more.
Suddenly, the sound of sirens blared through the air. A'grappa looked towards the sky only to see several large military ships close in on his location. It was as if they were trying to block his escape. He could smell their fear from here, even through all that steel. They had no idea who they were dealing with. He was only too happy to let them find out.
Before A'grappa could do anything however, he felt a presence of two individuals approach him. They were quick. The did not reek of fear like everyone else. A'grappa's smile grew even wider as they took their positions to either side of him.
"Don't move, interloper." The man commanded, "I am Franc's protector, Weakman."
"And, I am Weakwoman." The woman chimed in.
Superheroes. A'grappa wanted to roll his eyes. But, he decided to play along. He twitched one of his fingers.
"I wouldn't move if I were you." The man's index finger was touching A'grappa's shoulder. He moved very fast indeed.
"Weakman, did you call yourself? Let me see what Franc has to offer."