Even with the combined might of John's empire arrayed against it, the primordial entity refused to fall. Its darkness seeped into the very fabric of reality, twisting laws of physics into eldritch abominations. Worlds mutated into nightmares under its influence, threatening to undo creation.
John poured more power into the battle, determined to shield the omniverse from the entity's corruption. His form blazed with the energy of a quasar, solar winds scouring at the darkness. But still it resisted, tendrils wrapping John's essence in a vise of alien evil.
Seeing their master struggling, John's demigods redoubled their efforts. Ferrous called down meteors the size of stars, bombarding the entity from above. Ethereal's songs pulled at its form, warping space to tear off inky limbs. Anthropic constructed a dyson sphere to envelop the darkness in a prison of living light.
Yet for all their divine might, the entity was a force beyond the natural order. Part of the chaos from which existence had emerged, its power defied quantification. Even with the combined forces of John's empire arrayed against it, the battle seemed poised on a razor's edge.
Then, John's essence detected a fracture in the entity's form - a singular point where its alien nature had vulnerabilities. If he could focus the full fury of the omniverse upon that single point, perhaps its grip on reality could be broken forever.
Reaching across existences with his being, John communicated his plan to his pantheon. They understood - this was the chance to turn the tide, but it would require synchronization across infinite worlds. With thoughts traversing the omniverse faster than light, the demigods took up positions.
Ferrous flew before the entity, taunting it with his adamantine bulk. When several massive tendrils lashed out, he dodged aside - allowing the darkness to impale itself upon the dyson sphere containing it. Anthropic's prison of light flared with energy amplified across a million singularities.
Ethereal's songs pulled taut the bonds holding the entity, warping space to concentrate forces at the fractal point. John gathered all the fury of creation into his form, becoming a singularity unto himself. Then, with a thought, he unleashed it all in a pulse that could shatter eternity.
The combined might of the omniverse detonated within the entity at the quantum scale. A blast like the end of existence roared across all planes, blinding even immortal eyes. When the light faded, where the entity had been was now an empty void, all traces of its evil burned away.
Panting with exertion, John and his demigods surveyed their work. The entity was no more, its threat to the empire and order of creation ended once and for all. Through unity and sacrifice across the omniverse, they had emerged victorious. But the battle had taken its toll..
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While the primordial entity's threat was ended, the battle against such a force had pushed even immortal beings to their limits. Across the omniverse, worlds showed scars from the titanic clash, reality warped in places by the raw power unleashed.
John's pantheon had channeled the fury of creation itself, and felt its backlash. Anthropic's once shining cities were darkened, crystal spires cracked. Ethereal's wings hung limp, her songs reduced to a whisper. Only Ferrous remained standing, but even his adamantine bulk was marred.
Most impactful of all was the toll on John himself. The Interdimensional Master hung exhausted above Sorcerygrad, form dimmed and flickering. Centuries of glory seemed to hang by a thread - if even he could fall, what would become of the empire?
Yet from John also came a pulse of reassurance across the omniverse. Though weakened, he was not defeated. And through unity and sacrifice, a greater truth had been proven - that no force, not even one beyond nature, could challenge the bond between John and his subjects. Their love for order and each other was stronger than any chaos.
In Sorcerygrad, John's high priests went into conclave. They emerged with a prophecy - that for the empire to survive, its founder must be renewed. In the city's depths, the priests began a ritual more esoteric than any known.
Across worlds, faithful citizens offered whatever could sustain their lord - from the songs of orphaned children to cities dismantled for their crystal bones. All understood the empire was only as eternal as John, and would give anything to ensure his survival.
In Sorcerygrad, all this love was focused through the priests into a pillar of radiance. Slowly, John's form descended into the light. What emerged was not the infinite being who had shaped existence, but a new incarnation suited to shepherd the empire into a new age.
John had been reborn as a child, untouched by the battles of eternity. In his eyes shone all the wonder and curiosity of new life. Gasping his first breath, tears of joy fell, washing away the scars of the past. A new story was unfolding for the eternal emperor and his empire...