The smoke had blinded Asher from the view of the battlefield. All he could hear were screams of terror and rage.
'What are they doing?' Asher thought as an image of the seven men from before flashed inside him.
However, before he could contemplate more about that, a sudden scream echoed through the dimension. Instantly, the smoke cleared, and the view of the battlefield finally became visible.
'What?' Asher thought, his left eye twitching slightly in confusion. A line of orange-red flames circled the battlefield. In the middle of it, the black-haired man lay, his being stained entirely with blood.
Suddenly, a flash of light blinded everyone for a fraction of a second before vanishing. A huge explosion occurred across the battlefield, just beside the line of flame.
The army stood there. Each soldier had an expression filled with fear of what was coming.
'Wait what is even coming?' Asher contemplated, his eyes narrowing with weariness.
"It's good to see your survival instincts work sometimes. You know, I once knew an indifferent idiot who thought he could defeat one of the Gods of the Void. How foolish of him indeed." The Cosmic God beside him said with a laugh.
Asher suddenly found himself resisting an urge to slap the god beside him.
"Yo-" Before Asher could finish, several explosions occurred simultaneously alongside the original impact.
His eyes widened as he looked ahead. Several men stood, the ground beneath them jagged, broken into rubbles.
The first man had a demonic face that made Asher's mind crumble as he tried to decipher his face. Blood started to flow from his eyes and nostrils, forcing him to back off from looking at their faces.
The Cosmic God behind him let out a small chuckle; red lightning cracked behind him. His raven black hair waved in contrast to the bloodied sky.
"Listen closely now." He muttered under his breath as if awaiting something grand.
Asher nodded to his words before closing his eyes. His sense of hearing heightened to its maximum; even the smallest winds didn't escape his sight of hearing.
"To think you would against the order, such a daring act indeed." A deep voice entered his ears. Instantly, he realized it was one of the seven demonic creatures who crashed from the sky.
"Why interfere now? I was already coming for you." The voice of the black-haired man entered him, his voice frail yet oozed with such might that sent chills down Asher's spine.
'Just how strong are these guys?' Asher thought, one of the corners of his lips curled upwards. It was at that moment that a sudden fire ignited within Asher. A flame that lived on a thread between life and death.
Yet it was enough to fuel Asher's spirit. He...
wanted to spite them all.
"What can I say? We were just that bored. Here, let me finish these guys off for you." Another voice entered him; it was a scorching-deep, unfamiliar voice. It had the confidence of a sun, yet it felt like it belonged to a dead man.
Instantly, the winds crashed on Asher, seemingly screaming their powerless rage. Bits of mud and rocks flew in the air, crashing on him. A sound of splattering liquid entered his ears.
'Don't tell me...'
"Yeah, the army is dead." The Cosmic God said, completing Asher's thought.
Feeling chills down his spine, a bead of sweat dripped down his strand of hair.
'That army... how?' Asher thought in disbelief. However, before he could contemplate more, another voice echoed.
"This is getting boring. Stand up and fight me, so-called the God of the Unknown Heavens."
The voice was deep-hoarse as if the man was being choked.
Suddenly, a burst of maniacal laughter started to echo. The world started to feel terrifying to Asher; at any moment, he felt he could die.
"Sure, sure, why not? Just do me a favor; don't run, will you?" The black-haired man said with a devilish voice, reeking his murderous intent.
"I'd suggest you open your eyes." The god beside him said before Asher opened his eyes. The entire battlefield had been turned scorched to ashes. It was as if the lands of hell had ascended itself to the surface of the earth.
Only eight men stood amidst this aftermath. The black-haired man, seemingly the same person beside him, stood facing the seven devilish beings in front of him.
As Asher was about to look at the devilish beings, the god beside him stopped him from doing so.
"You want your soul to crumble, you idiot." The Cosmic God said with a solemn voice, retracting his hand that had covered Asher's eyes previously.
Ashes smiled for a second before reverting to his nonchalant expression.
"Yeah yeah sure-" Before one of the demonic beings could complete its sentence, another explosion occurred, this time right in the middle of the two parties.
Asher felt his skin getting scorched apart; the explosion was much more impactful than the others; it almost engulfed the entire battlefield in it. Even the two parties.
Suddenly, the sound of shards breaking echoed, blending with the explosion. Asher's pupils contracted as he looked towards the sky.
'...'
The sky had been shattered like glass; a gigantic hole in space remained in the center.
"Is this the same world?" Asher said, a hint of suspicion in his voice. The Cosmic God nodded beside him in agreement.
"Yeah, it is. You got summoned in this ordeal, a trial even. And what you are watching right now is its history." The Cosmic God said with a solemn voice, his eyes emitted a ferocious yet familiar glow.
"What do you mean I got summoned? Aren't you all just illusions?" Asher exclaimed with visible confusion on his face
The Cosmic God palmed his face with a chuckle before stepping back a couple of feet.
With a sigh, he added:
"Of course, they would say that; how foolish are those mortalish humans, I thought they were the most intelligent of them all!"
The Cosmic God halted his words for a moment before continuing:
"Neither this is an illusion nor what was before. You got summoned to the first trial, The trial of judgment, by me, The God of the Unknown Heavens, that is, the black holes."
Asher tilted his head slightly, his eyes narrowing with caution.
"What was the purpose?" Asher said, his voice mixed with confusion and caution.
The Cosmic God sighed once again, after a brief moment of silence, he finally spoke:
"To defy fate. For you to become fateless."