5. Ascendant
It wanted him for something, that much was obvious with the way its hand was raised, beckoning for him to take it. But the question was, what for?
Wearing his usual calm visage. Anos casted Eviy and Liknos. It knew what he was doing and it let him. In its mind, nothing he could do would even phase it. By the time Anos was done, what he had come to find out was truly... something.
She was called Ophis. And she was not like any being he'd seen before in this world; she hardly had any emotions or morals, and not much, if any, feelings.
And everyone had feelings so what was this sitting atop his table?
If nothing else, she reminded him of the Gods he often encountered in his previous life. The many he murdered, and the select few he forged unbreakable bonds with.
Gods were fundamental, but there was never any enjoyment for them and no blessing in their existence. Everything they did was purely conceptual in nature so it's no stretch to say that they were more platonic concepts and less like living beings.
However, Ophis was very different. She wasn't as complex as them. Her existence was actually rather bland for someone who represented the infinite, the chaos and the nothingness. In a way, they were not so different. Her and him.
"Join me, child of man." She spoke, there was nothing in her voice. No distinction. No sentiment. Nothing, just nothing.
Regardless, he knew what she expected from him. She wanted his aid in killing the dragon famously known as Great Red. This being was cut from the same cloth as Ophis. And as long as there were dreams, the dragon's existence would continue to persist.
The Dragon of Dreams. Rumored to be the most powerful being in this world. But Anos knew better. Much more than he could ever let on.
"No." It was a firm response. His only answer.
Ophis had gathered many supernatural existences to aid her in the killing of such a creature. But without Anos, she would surely fail in her goal. They both knew it, so not giving her what she wanted shook her internally. In a way she had not known in eons.
Anos simply didn't understand. There was simply no reason for this little slithering dragon to start a potential war with every being across the world— hoping to experience something she no longer needed.
The look in her eyes shimmers from indifference to something of a more hostile variety. He knows that Ophis has already decided to fight, the look in one's eyes tells a story, and Anos has read that story more times than he cares to recite.
Further proof solidifies his claim when she wasn't smiling that empty smirk anymore. Anos felt her power beginning to swirl around her short figure.
Just outside the room and over the building did the clouds cover the skies in a darkened hue, the slowly setting sun hidden from view. Violent winds picked up again, ripping leaves off of branches and then branches off trees; Mother Nature herself grew antsy.
If this continued then Japan would fall into ruin— no, it was much greater. She's gathering power that equaled the destruction of the Earth. Its volume increases rapidly.
It goes without saying that Ophis can tell Anos was strong. Too strong to stay neutral and too much of a wildcard to live. So...
"Die," She was all too ready to attack.
But Anos was faster. Incalculably faster.
Time slows to a halt and Anos moves so fast that the concept of motion loses all meaning. Advancing in zero time, he grasps Ophis around the neck and she struggles to amass her strength behind clenched teeth, fighting to do anything in Anos' bone-crushing hold around her throat.
He can't believe the arrogance of this girl. Seeking him out for something so petty and throwing a hissyfit as if she were a child. Not here. He would deal with her elsewhere.
"Gatom."
The scenery turns a silvery white, and the connection of two different spaces reveals the instant shift in location. No longer at his precious restaurant and on the far outskirts of Kuoh. Not the most ideal place but it would serve Anos well.
Ophis still struggles, trying to remove herself from his hold, but his grip does not surrender. His magic disrupts her ability to teleport.
She's never been put in a position like this before, Anos knows it and he watches with a growing grin. Bear in mind, Anos is not a cruel man— at least not most of the time, but this girl, he hated what she was trying to do, utterly despised it.
And he'd let it show.
It was then Anos noticed the many snakes slithering within her sleeve, and her mouth stretches wide. Too wide. Without warning, snakes stream out from her mouth in rivers, larger than her body could possibly hold and quicker than the eyes could catch.
Anos propels a hand towards her chest. But, when he reaches, Ophis completely dissolves into snakes, his hand now piercing the air once occupied. His other holds up nothing but a nest of snakes.
With the activation of his prized Magic Eyes, every single one of the elongated, limbless reptiles were petrified in place before disintegrating. Destroyed beyond repair. Beyond what reason would allow.
His arms drop at his sides as Ophis appears behind him at a far away length, with a fist drawn back in a maddened rush. Building momentum with each footfall.
She reaches. He sidesteps. Her body is entirely in his view now. With a motion of his hand, Anos strikes her perfectly between the neck and shoulder.
Ophis twirls into the distance before she adjusts mid-air, her body aches all over and he'd only struck her once. A decisive blow. She briefly nurses the sore area before flaring her magic to speed up her natural healing.
She scans the area with priority, right to left, front and back. Anos is gone.
"Gia Gleas."
Her eyes slightly widen and her attention goes to the sky. From above, a meteor shower rains from the heavens. The large, falling magic stones glisten with a jet-black sheen. Covering the area in shadow.
Ophis' vision goes black as she looks overhead. It's moving too fast.
She responds— seeing how she has little choice— by shielding herself in her magic to avoid being crushed. Her hands shot above her head. She resists the weight placed upon her but finds herself dipping downwards to the earth anyway. The land cracks below her feet, subsequently forcing her to stay in one spot.
Around her, the once solid ground is torn apart by a multitude of meteors, the fire and brimstone larger than the hilltops impact and destroy the lush valley-like landscape. Tremors and flaming debris form sinking craters. The earth is bare, and the grass will never know green again.
Anos watches Ophis struggle from the clouds. As he descends, he says this with not only a growing grin but a slight tone of praise, "Your reaction time isn't too bad, it's quite a shame we're on opposite sides."
Both deriding and complimenting her was the goal. Yet, Ophis doesn't quite understand why he communicates this to her.
It was no surprise, really. She didn't understand his words. She didn't understand feelings, she would never understand Anos.
"Regardless, your strength and mine are worlds apart."
But what she did understand was the obvious rejection from the man. She wasn't getting what she wanted, at least not so easily. She hasn't felt like this since... she frowns.
The hail of fire and brimstone passes and Ophis brings down the barrier encasing her body. She staggers slightly when taking the first step forward and the timeless dragon looks deeply shocked at this, her eyes slightly wide again.
"That... hurt..." Ophis responds, slowly. Her magic is building up again. She is aware that Anos can detect the amassing of power in her lithe body, although it really doesn't matter when he was doing the same.
The Ouroboros Dragon acts first and the Demon turned human strays his attention elsewhere, a hiss from under the earth. Just under his feet. Her attacks are much faster and as much as this interests him, time has nearly run out.
She approaches from behind again, a pincer attack, Anos wastes not a moment. He stomps the earth, and the snake beneath it dies in an instant.
Not losing any momentum, he spins sweepingly, his body twists and he is now face to face with Ophis— but it is too late, for her that is. Her moves were still easily traceable.
They are as close as physically possible yet Ophis still misses her mark. There is a vast difference in their current prowess. Speed. Strength. Power. Intelligence. It all becomes extremely evident when Anos sets his foot onto her shadow. A sudden, unforeseen blow is delivered into Ophis' gut.
She kneels over, hunching forward as a follow up blow is delivered; a vicious impact into her jaw, snapping the neck to the side. Then, to finish the imperceptible assault, her throat was taken once again, a nasty crunch can be heard when the attack strikes true. Anos had not lifted a finger.
Dagdala. A magic spell that enables the user to directly damage a target's real body by stepping on their shadow. A personal favorite of his.
Anos is a calculating individual who knows the best course of action to manage a situation. For this fool of a dragon, his natural strength plus a few abilities from his unique and extensive arsenal were required.
With this, Anos relaxes his body, he speaks in absolute certainty, "You've lost."
Confusion sets in for the Ouroboros Dragon which gives Anos ample time to grab her left wrist with his right hand, twisting it backwards and locking his elbow into her joint. With no waste in movement, he pierces cleanly through the abdomen.
A glaring, gaping hole through her invulnerable body. The Infinite Dragon God could only choke— she couldn't even be afforded the chance to scream. Pools of blood push past her lips, and her face pales when Anos applies pressure against her freshly opened wound.
Her arms and legs go limp in his hold. Her body isn't responding in the way she wants it to. She is an injured sheep in front of a hungry wolf. There is a very real possibility that she does not see tomorrow and it terrifies her profoundly. Deeper than her mind, body and soul.
"What's the matter, having some trouble?" He speaks dauntingly, his wintry voice and powerful cherry-red eyes look right through her.
Proclaiming to her one promise; destruction.
Removing his arm from her stomach, a process that is both intentionally slow and agonizing, light gathers in his palm.
The jet-black conflagration produced by his hand, a hell fire that those unfortunate enough to find themselves facing— reflected in Ophis' eyes, burning her with temperatures exceeding that of all the stars in the universe.
"Jio Graze."
Ophis, amidst a frightened look, can vaguely feel Anos' hand light up with darkened particles. Condescending enough heat and power to shake the heavens and the earth as it assumes the form of a miniature blackened sun. The Ouroboros Dragon lit up, reflecting into the multi-hued sky.
She was sent sailing back, so far in fact, that she is out of Anos' view entirely. Finally, letting out the deafening shriek of pain as her physical body perished without form. In the distance, a thundering boom, the area is illuminated in a blinding brilliance at her demise.
He couldn't feel her presence anywhere. For all her dignity afforded her. The Ouroboros Dragon had long since fled against total destruction. Vanishing moments before his attack reached its peak.
Anos had gone somewhat easy on her this time. If she were to come back and face him, then she needed an entirely new resolve. Not with the machinations of a centrifugal war effort but something deeper than a simple, unsure desire.
Setting those feelings aside, Anos ponders the ramifications of playing around with Ophis and not simply extinguishing her vigorous torch. Though, one thing should be made clear, her quick exit had no impact on his thoughts, he could find her no matter where she hid.
One would find the universe to be a very small place when Anos sought you out.
Besides, murdering Ophis wasn't an issue. Unlike a true God, she wasn't integral to the world in any facet; her destruction wouldn't bring about any disruption of order. So his decision shouldn't require any further thought.
Still, Anos felt unsatisfied by this conclusion.
Perhaps his time as a human did indeed teach him restraint. He was becoming soft in a way. He first did this with the fallen. In his previous life, neither Raynare nor Ophis would have been allowed the prospect of fleeing.
Now he was handing out chances for them to lick their wounds and try again. Whether they knew it or not; whether they liked it or not.
Maybe with this, they could all benefit in some way, if only to understand each other a little more.
Putting a pause in that line of thought. There was another, less obvious reason, Anos took the opportunity of clashing against Ophis. Forcing a conclave like this was what he needed to accurately determine the strength of the upper limits of this world.
So this goes without saying; meeting Ophis now was no happy accident nor simple luck. It was carefully orchestrated.
Anos, since his run-in with the fallen, was careful to exercise his magic in such a way that only the truly exceptional beings of this world would take notice. He did it all throughout the night until the sun started its hours in the morning. Ophis just so happened to be the prize. Taking the bait like a fish unto water.
Although, he was less than impressed. Their entire sequence of battle took less than thirty seconds.
In such a short window of time, Anos had sent the second most powerful being in this world running with her tail between her legs.
Cleaning the drying blood from his arm. Anos gains a certain look in his eyes. He lightly frowns because when his eyes move over his surroundings, it is evident a grandiose battle took place. The signs of a coming war— or one that had thankfully passed.
Spreading his magic over the area, various green magic circles move to the craters, fires, and deformed land. He'd even let go of the barrier magic he placed before the confrontation began. He needed to get the Ouroboros alone. There were likely watchers but no one would know what transpired here.
Stalwart as Anos is, all evidence ends today, only two people will know this truth.
Once the last magic circle was deployed in full, the previously battle-used region on the outskirts of Kuoh never looked better. Mother Nature herself was all too grateful for his actions. Parting onto him a small gift with a chilling zephyr of the air kissing his cheek.
A smile takes Anos' lips after that single moment. It's nearing dusk now and the remnants of the multi-hued sky complimented his surroundings. Not so much of a normal day anymore. But Anos feels it is worth it. He was just a little more closer to the mysteries that previously eluded him.