Merno and Enchantress exited the Time Nest. "Do you have what you need?" she asked the angel, who ignored her.
Rolling her eyes slightly, Enchantress chose to ignore the angel as well, opting to focus on figuring out how to beat Circe.
Back with Beerus and Darkseid, they clashed, sending a pulse of Destruction energy and Anti-Life influence. Darkseid was corrupting destruction energy faster than Beerus could output.
"The Anti-Life Equation, once applied, proves that life, free will, and existence itself are meaningless," Darkseid reminded the Destroyer, who smirked.
"You seem to have one thing mistaken. I know how foul and dark your Anti-Life Equation can be; however, you underestimate what I am capable of. And that, New God, will be why I will add you to the roster of Outerversal Entities I've had to personally introduce to the might of an upper-rank Destroyer God," Beerus explained with a hint of arrogance.
"I see you're nearing your limit," Beerus taunted. Darkseid remained expressionless.
"You've seen nothing." Darkseid's voice rumbled as a massive wave of Anti-Life surged from him, his form glowing with dark, shifting colors, his crimson eyes gleaming with power.
Beerus felt the sudden increase, his mind momentarily wavering as the weight of Anti-Life pressed in.
Darkseid let out a low, menacing laugh. "Do you see now? Even your consciousness falters before the Anti-Life. You're nothing more than a loud fool in the face of a true god."
His voice turned into a snarl. "The only one of your kind worth anything was that angel, Merno. And even he was far superior to you."
A surge of energy flared from Beerus. "You really think I'd believe you fought Merno and lived? You must've crawled away and hid. Things have changed since you ran off. The whole order of gods shifted in our Omni-Verse, and we Destroyers were brought in to handle real threats."
Darkseid watched as more of Beerus's energy was swallowed by the Anti-Life. "This is pointless."
Beerus crouched, focusing. "Enough talking. Let's see who has more power to back it up. No more games. Just raw strength." Markings appeared on Beerus's chest, his energy intensifying.
"Either you break me, or I..." Beerus's gaze sharpened, eyes locked on Darkseid. "Wipe you from existence."
Darkseid's expression remained calm, watching as Beerus began to vanish beneath the overwhelming weight of the Anti-Life Equation. "It is inevitable."
A faint purple light began to pulse, growing stronger. Darkseid growled, releasing even more power.
"Kneel."
But Beerus's power surged beyond measure. "I see the cracks, Darkseid." He roared, as his destruction energy started consuming the Anti-Life.
"You and I... we're not so different. You enslave existence. I erase it. But which do you think will reach its mark first, Darkseid? Will your equation corrupt me before my power... erases you?" Beerus's voice darkened, his aura swelling to monstrous levels.
Darkseid groaned as his form shimmered with the Anti-Life. "Nonsense! I will reveal salvation to you, and you will worship me as my herald!" he declared.
Beerus growled. "As if I would ever prostrate myself before the likes of you!" His form began to shimmer as well, both seemingly reaching into an even deeper dimension of power.
Beerus's strained expression slowly turned into a smirk. "I've been hiding something..."
The Abyss rumbled as their auras clashed, time and space or lack thereof distorted. Beerus and Darkseid locked eyes as they pushed against each other. "By the decree of the Grand Zeno, I am Destruction incarnate! With the power bestowed to erase all, I command the infinite void—let existence tremble, for at my will, all shall return to nothing."
An overwhelming surge of energy erupted from Beerus, more intense than anything Darkseid had ever felt. Beerus's eyes, once sharp, now glowed a furious gold before shattering into nothingness, leaving only the void behind. His entire body blazed with a brilliant aura of dark purple, laced with crackling red bolts of raw power. The very Abyss around him distorted, warping under the crushing weight of his limitless destruction. He had transcended his former self—the embodiment of pure, unrestrained annihilation.
The Lord of Destruction floated forward, erasing the Anti-Life the instant it touched his storm of purple Ki. "A Destroyer God of my caliber, wielding Ultra Ego at its peak, makes the gap between us undeniable. Destruction energy may be challenged, but once unleashed, even power as conceptually bound as yours can be erased. You seek to enslave what no longer exists. You, Darkseid, have already been destroyed—by my will, and my will alone. You will disappear."
Darkseid growled as the Destroyer approached. "I... Impossible..." Darkseid could feel it. This Destruction truly was bestowed by a Supreme Being, a height he had so desperately wished to achieve.
"Omni-essence..." Darkseid whispered, the word chilling his very core. He had heard of it—the pulse that connected all of existence, beyond multiverses, even beyond the Source. Omni-Essence was the ultimate force, capable of anything—creation, change, reality itself—all possibilities under its command. But what Beerus wielded... it was a mere fragment of that greater power. A copy, twisted into a single purpose.
This was Destruction: a shadow of Omni-Essence, but one that had taken the limitless potential of 'anything' and funneled it into one terrifying function—Erasure. Where Omni-Essence could shape, Destruction could only unmake, but that singular focus granted it a purity, an unyielding force that rivaled any concept Darkseid had ever encountered. Destruction wasn't bound by reality. It erased it.
Darkseid groaned as he saw a figure smirk in his moment of destruction—Beerus, standing with his hand open, slowly closing it. Power surged, and Darkseid could feel it enveloping him, closing in on every part of his being.
'N-No...' Darkseid rumbled out, feeling himself being snuffed out. Slowly, he tried to push back, but the mere gesture of the Destroyer left him paralyzed, unable to even think of opposing him.
Darkseid began to disappear as Beerus grinned. "It seems Destruction reigns supreme! This is the ultimate technique of Destruction—the purest form: Full Power HAKAI!"
It was silent for a few seconds before a purple glow enveloped all of True Form Darkseid. "No! I refuse to lose to a mere cheap imitation of True power." Darkseid roared releasing more and more power but all that could be seen was purple sparkles raining in the Abyss as Darkseid slowly disappeared while releasing his power.
An extremely large portion of where Beerus was located in the Abyss had been lit up by a bright purple light, off in incomprehensible distances Beerus could see and feel multiple Apex Gods from different Omni-Verses watching the battle, ready for anything, they had less than pleased expressions on their faces.
Beerus growled, letting his full power surge through the endless darkness of the Abyss, the oppressive void warping around him under the weight of his immense energy. His eyes gleamed with a fiery intensity, glowing like two suns amidst the blackness. He focused ahead, feeling the presence of countless cosmic entities watching, lurking in the shadows of creation itself.
'Come on then,' he thought, his fists clenching, muscles tensing with raw power as purple Ki crackled violently around him. 'I know you're out there—countless nosy gods, pretending to be spectators. If they have a problem, let them bring it to me.'
'Beyonders…' the name echoed in his mind, drawing a hiss from his lips. He could sense their distant presence, the cold, calculating energy that had once toppled even the Living Tribunal. Beerus wasn't foolish—he knew their power, their detachment from the multiverse. But as far as he was concerned, that was no reason for them to interfere with him.
'They'd better keep their distance,' he growled internally, his aura intensifying as he asserted his dominance in the Abyss. 'I am not the Tribunal, and I won't fall so easily.'
But suddenly, an immense pulse from beneath shook Beerus. Unprepared for an actual threat, Beerus braced himself, only to realize that he wasn't the only one affected. Every Omni-Verse trembled.
A second, more violent shockwave followed, striking him with enough force to cause serious damage.
Blood poured from Beerus's mouth and ears as he growled in pain. "Something is not right..." he muttered, just as a piercing screech echoed through the Abyss, striking both him and everything else that dared listen. It was as though the Abyss itself was rebelling. Beerus raised his hands to cover his ears, even forming a barrier. Powering up to his maximum, he scanned his surroundings, eyes darting around the vast darkness of the Abyss.
Slowly, the light from his Hakai energy began to fade. If not for the fact that Beerus himself was clearly writhing in pain from the tremors, he would have been targeted by almost every Apex Combat God nearby, all of whom now eyed him with suspicion. But something far worse was brewing.
Beerus could feel a cold, oppressive force rising from below.
"Impossible..." he mused, squinting as he peered downward. The Abyss was endless, or so he thought, but he had never ventured deep into its depths. A cold shiver crawled up his spine as a sudden burst of white light flooded the Abyss, illuminating countless Omni-Verses in every direction. In an instant, every Pantheon of Gods broke into panic. A thick, ominous mist began to seep upwards.
Suddenly, Beerus found himself choking. 'This mist...' Suddenly he was teleported.
He fell to a floor, writhing in agony. "This... pain..." he gasped. Before he could lose consciousness completely, a soft glow washed over him. Beerus blinked through the haze of agony to see the Grand Priest standing over him, staff glowing as it rested against his chest.
Beerus groaned, slowly regaining his strength. As he attempted to stand, and bow his head toward the Grand Priest, but the priest raised a hand. "You are granted permission to remain at ease, Lord Beerus."
Beerus slowly sat up, eyes still flickering with pain and confusion. "What just happened? This has never happened before. I felt countless gods panic when the tremors hit, and the Abyss... it lit up like day. My battle with Darkseid couldn't have caused something like this."
The Grand Priest sighed, stepping aside to reveal the figure of Grand Zeno, his face now half-shadowed, darker than usual. Beerus instinctively tried to kneel, but the Grand Priest raised his hand again, stopping him.
"No need. Grand Zeno is not currently on the throne," the priest said.
Before Beerus could ask further, Grand Zeno's voice interrupted, his childlike tone carrying a weight that chilled Beerus to the core.
"This omni-cycle is approaching its end. When I created reality, it would always collapse and return to darkness. So I established the omni-cycles, where I, Grand Zeno, uphold balance. As the cycle nears its conclusion, I lose the ability to see beyond it—that is the first sign of the shift. I hadn't expected Merno to be the one to trigger the next cycle," Zeno explained calmly, though Beerus struggled to fully grasp the implications.
"But you're Grand Zeno, ruler of all creation. Surely you can—"
"I made the rules," Zeno interrupted. "It was strange to feel my power blocked when I looked ahead, but it makes sense now. It is still my power."
"Surely Merno succeeded." Zeno continued.
"The shockwaves you felt—they were Onez's way of announcing his return," Zeno continued, his tone eerily casual.
"Isn't that... a bad thing?" Beerus asked cautiously, trying not to provoke the Supreme Being.
"Onez cares for nothing and no one. He is my opposite. I watch over and maintain order; he allows chaos to spread unchecked. This dark cycle will force gods and mortals alike to confront true chaos. More dark gods will emerge, and the balance will shatter. I designed this shift to happen only when the collapse became inevitable."
"Chaos will reign. Protect your universe, Beerus. Onez doesn't uphold the borders of the multiverse, let alone the Omni-Borders." Zeno's face darkened even further before slowly returning to normal. "If you survive until I return in the next cycle, perhaps I'll reward you," Zeno added with a careless shrug. "The Omni-Borders may fall, but your universal barriers can be sustained. Be prepared for Onez's final announcement—the shift will be devastating, and many will lose their gods when it comes."
Beerus struggled to comprehend what he was hearing. He had thought Merno was simply a threat capable of killing gods—he hadn't imagined a force that could alter the very fabric of reality at the highest levels.
"As you've already felt, the Abyss is now hostile to all. Onez may not act directly, but I consider the Abyss mine, just as he views it as his. He won't tolerate lone beings drifting through it, disrupting the phantoms. The Abyss will soon become a game of survival—" Zeno's face remained mostly in shadow as he froze.
The Grand Priest sighed. "Unfortunately, I cannot say when Grand Zeno will return. Even we Angels have been denied free passage through the Abyss. The light you saw is just the beginning—soon, the Abyss will be so dark that neither gods nor angels will know what lies ahead until we come face to face with it. And even for me, treating the poison that seeps from the Abyss is a nearly impossible task." He glanced at Beerus, noticing his confusion as the staff continued to glow, gently healing the God of Destruction.