Even as Earth was facing its imminent destruction at the hands of its own True Avatar, the Great War still continued.
But it was precisely because of the abnormality that Earth was now facing that many of the other worlds found it impossible to open up gates to invade it.
The sheer power of the black flames immediately corroded whatever gate was about to form, even to the point of using the connection to send a few tongues of black flame over to the world trying to invade Earth.
And although its power had weakened through the traversal of space, it still cleanly decimated the armies that had been preparing to enter the gate. This feat was enough to carve an indelible fear into the hearts and souls of the invaders.
But of course, only the soldiers were truly affected by this since the leaders and the other True Avatars have already sensed the strange phenomenon on Earth.
In a world of perpetual darkness and hellfire, a man sat lazily upon a throne on the very peak of the tallest mountain. This lofty position was meant to allow him to gaze upon the world he ruled, but he never once opened his eyes since stepping foot upon this hellish landscape.
Even now, his head drooped slightly as though he was sleeping. His long hair seemed to be forever matted with thick fresh blood. He looked so defenceless as he napped on his throne, yet never had the woman who stood attentively to his side ever once had a thought of killing him in his sleep to take the throne for herself.
Well, there was definitely once a time that she did harbour such thoughts, but it was hundreds of thousands of years ago. She had long since settled on serving him devotedly. But that did not stop her eyes from shining with a hint of desire as she gazed at the man.
This was none other than the Demon Queen of Lust and Lord of the Fourth Hell, Asmedai.
And as she gazed at the man, she suddenly shuddered, feeling her entire being gripped by an invisible power that threatened to crush her to dust. She shook in fear for the first time in centuries.
There was perhaps no one in the Seven Hells who knows this man better than she does. After all, she was his consort and closest servant. But never had she seen him ever open his eyes.
She thought that when the day he finally revealed those treasured eyes, it would be when he finally accepted her as his equal and gave her his love. How foolish and naïve she was.
The man raised his head slowly and stared at the dark sky with open eyes. They were two pits of darkness like maws of the abyss waiting to devour all of existence. But despite all the power they carried, they were reined in calmly as he gazed at something not quite visible from the Seven Hells.
In his vision, he could see a world engulfed in black flames making it look even darker and more horrifying than the Seven Hells itself. And yet, the man only smiled slightly.
"So you've found your way into this war as well. This child shall await our reunion then, dear Grandfather."
Asmedai stared at the man in disbelief before turning her head to look at Earth.
She was initially furious that the first time the man opened his eyes was for someone else rather than her, but upon hearing his words, she could only feel a sharp chill run down her spine.
The one who caused such a catastrophe on Earth was the very same person that her master was being so respectful to, even to the point of referring to himself as a child? And for that person to actually be the Grandfather of this man….
Asmedai could only tremble in fear as her gaze returned to the man on the throne who had now resumed his nap.
Just what kind of existence is the person who is quite literally single-handedly destroying an entire world right this moment? Or could it be that this was the standard of power that runs through their lineage?
After all, the grandchild of such an existence was none other than the Demon Emperor who rules over all the Seven Hells and the True Avatar of the Infernal Heart, Lucifer of Pride.
Meanwhile on another world, in a conference hall lit up by several lights, two beings stood in silence.
Quite unlike their usual bouts of arguments and heated discussions, the Cephalons Simaris and Hyperion waited patiently and quietly. Or rather, they just did not know how to proceed from this point on with the sudden change on Earth affecting the Great War.
The war had been going on for eons and at this point, the remaining forces had been stuck in a stalemate for too long. Earth was supposed to be their means of gaining an upper hand to turn the tables and win the war, but considering the fact that no one could even dare enter it now, that plan began crumbling down.
For the Cephalons of Akasha, although they have chosen not to deal with Earth right away as they have found a much better solution to their problem, the fact remains that Earth was still an unknown threat.
Sooner or later, they will have to deal with it.
At first, they thought that the only problem would be the alf who went to Earth. But if they succeeded in destroying the Divine Obelisk, that alf would also lose her power leaving Earth with no protector. It would have solved their problems so easily.
But who could have thought that the man who was with that alf would be the biggest threat to their very existence in this whole Great War. Simaris, who had personally met him once before, could not help but lament his recklessness.
Perhaps if he had not personally led the scouting operation back then, he would have a way out. Now however, if that man were to come to Akasha to kill, there was no doubt that even if he could not kill everyone, he would at least extinguish Simaris for good.
[You two seem shaken. How unusual.]
The disembodied voice of Atari, leader of the Cephalons and the True Avatar of the Akashic Records, rang out within the hall as orbs of white light appeared in the air, flowing in indiscernible shapes.
She seemed so calm, nonchalant even, that both Simaris and Hyperion could not help but feel even more anxious.
Did their leader not understand what was going on?
If they had faces, theirs would surely be twisted in disdain and anger right now. However, Atari's next words were like a bucket of cold water over their metaphorical heads.
[Do not dare think of fighting that man. I am certain you already know that his power is capable of destroying our very existences, but why do you think that is? The answer is simple.
The Akashic Records has told me that he is the Prince of Akasha. We only exist because of him, and so our entire existence is as his tools.]
The hall had once again fallen to silence. From the very beginning, only Atari spoke. But this silence seemed even thicker and heavier than before.
With all the intellect that they possessed, how could Simaris and Hyperion not understand what Atari was saying? However, it was precisely because they understood that they could not help being even more furious.
The Prince of Akasha was perhaps the only legend that exists in Akasha. It speaks of an age long passed, before even the Great War existed. It spoke of the origin of the Akashic Records which now served as the Anchor of their world.
The Prince of Akasha was the creator and owner of the Akashic Records who left it in this part of the Myriad Worlds as insurance. He created the world of Akasha to serve as its hiding place to allow the Akashic Records to rest until the day he would need it again.
To most of the denizens of Akasha, the Prince of Akasha was nothing but a story that originated from a more primitive time. But the Cephalons knew the truth.
The Prince of Akasha was their creator and master.
Knowing this, how could Simaris and Hyperion ever accept a human as their god?
They were Cephalons. They were created as perfect beings by the Akashic Records itself. Theirs was not arrogance but simple fact. They were superior to all organic life. How could they be reduced to mere servants of a human?
And Simaris especially, the pain and humiliation he suffered from that man could never be erased. To him, this revelation was only more humiliation. Realising how the two Cephalons took the news, Atari acted quickly.
[In the name of the Akashic Records, Cephalon Simaris and Cephalon Hyperion are to be stripped of all power and authority as Avatars. You will be detained until the Prince decides on your sentence. This is the will of the Akashic Records. You have no one else to blame but yourselves.]
[Atari, how low have you fallen?! To think you would accept a human as your master!]
[He is not human. He is a god amongst gods. He is an omen, a herald..., a sovereign. From now on, all plans to destroy Earth and Sanctuary shall cease. The Akashic Records commands us to prepare an army for His Highness' return.]
Hearing Atari's words that were not in any way a dismissal of his provocation, Simaris' holographic body immediately dimmed and fell to the ground like actual cubes of glass. They lay lifeless on the floor of the hall which shocked both Hyperion and Atari.
From the very beginning, there had only ever been three Cephalons so they had never seen how one dies. But seeing it now filled them both with endless dread.
Hyperion understood Simaris' feelings as he too did not want to serve a human. But to kill himself for such a reason is something that Hyperion would never do. Just as he was superior to humans, his life was more precious than that of a human's. He would think of countless ways to end his slavery before he would even consider the idea of suicide.
But while Hyperion thought of Simaris as foolish, Atari thought differently. Her pristine white orbs turned a bloody shade of red as her form shifted into one of jagged mountains like a serrated blade. She realised in that instant that Simaris had long since planned to betray them in such a manner.
And she was correct. In a world that looked not much different from Earth before the Day of Black Immolation, Simaris appeared with a body of golden cubes in the middle of a hidden room. His golden light flared brightly, engulfing the entirety of the gigantic room with a fierce brilliance.
And at that moment, a door on one side of the room opened as a pale man with long grey hair walked in. His dull grey eyes stared intently at Simaris despite the fierce light.
But as though he did not even see the man, Simaris continued pouring out his power into his surroundings, washing it all in his golden light. He was absolutely furious.
First, he was humiliated by a human and lost 10% of his power. Then he was suppressed by Atari. And now he was stripped of about 43% of his remaining power.
Although he had contingencies in place for his eventual rebellion against Atari, he never would have expected for the Akashic Records itself to be the one to act against him.
Not only did it make his contingencies practically useless, he was not even prepared for it. He had planned for his rebellion to begin the moment that his conquest of Sanctuary was coming to an end so that he could use it as his base of operations while keeping this current one a secret trump card.
But now, he was forced to abandon that plan altogether. How could he not be furious?
"Please calm down, Lord Simaris. Nothing will change even if you have a tantrum here. I suggest moving on. It's not as if we cannot proceed with our plans. In fact, this would only make it easier for us."
The man spoke with a momentum that did not lose out to Simaris. Although Simaris was now greatly weakened, he was still practically a god to this world that relied on technology since they are without an Anchor. Even so, the man was still quite powerful and of high status to be able to speak to Simaris in person.
Hearing his words, Simaris immediately calmed down. His fiercely burning light was pulled back into his body making it look like the surface of a star. He remained silent for a brief moment as he ran calculations before speaking to the man.
[Indeed. I have recalibrated the output for the beacon. Damian Grey, lead your people to Sanctuary and raze it to the ground. It is time for Terra to show its worth.]
The man turned around and left, his eyes screaming of hatred and murder.