Chereads / The Book of Abbadon / Chapter 85 - A Losing Battle

Chapter 85 - A Losing Battle

You blink your eyes and before you can say anything back, the dock underneath your feet instantly disappears along with your father and you splash into the cosmic water beneath you. Your immediate instinct is to swim upwards, but you quickly realize that you're not surrounded by water at all as you slowly sink downward into the infinite ocean of multiverses. As you descend, you begin to peer into the multiverses around you, each one containing an infinite amount of universes that possesses their own similar and dissimilar traits to one another. You're captivated by the intricacies and design of each individual world within each galaxy within each universe inside each of the multiverses surrounding you, and observing the sheer number of them puts into perspective how grand and vast The Holy Omniverse really is. Then, suddenly, you witness what appears to be shadowy black roots reaching outwards from one of the distant multiverses and spreading to the surrounding ones, slowly corrupting them and assimilating them into a black mass of nothingness that devours existence like a virus. You watch as entire worlds, galaxies and universes dissipate before your eyes like a force of nature that the Gods of said universes are unable to stop; and you feel a deep sense of dread as you watch one Valghul effortlessly overpower entire pantheons of Gods in battle within one universe inside each of the multiverses. You hear countless Gods' agonizing cries of fighting a hopeless fight, and you notice that when a Valghul kills a God in one universe, that God ceases to exist across all of them.

The black mass continues to spread, consuming existence until there's not a single multiverse visible around you and you're fully enveloped in a dark emptiness that's a dark contrast to the beauty and intricacy that was once blooming with life. You continue to descend into this nothingness until your feet touch some sort of solid ground and you reach the bottom of this quiet and still abyss that's devoid of reality. As you stand alone in this nothingness, you begin to feel an imminent and unexplainable sense of danger and urgency, almost as if you're being watched from all sides by thousands of ravenous monsters that wish to tear you limb from limb, and the feeling of hopelessness begins to pierce your soul as the abyss attacks your psyche. You're unable to move, trapped in a state of unbeing that lacks space and time as you stand completely still at the mercy of this nothingness, and as you continue drowning deeper and deeper into the hopelessness that's consuming your heart and mind, you finally realize where you are and why you're feeling this way…

This place must be The Null.

" 𝕴 π–˜π–Šπ–Š. π•±π–†π–™π–π–Šπ–— π–’π–šπ–˜π–™'π–›π–Š π–˜π–•π–”π–π–Šπ–“ 𝖙𝖔 π–žπ–”π–š π–†π–˜ π–œπ–Šπ–‘π–‘β€¦ 𝕴𝖙 π–’π–šπ–˜π–™'π–›π–Š π–‡π–Šπ–Šπ–“ π–π–Žπ–’. 𝕴 π–ˆπ–Šπ–—π–™π–†π–Žπ–“π–‘π–ž π–‰π–Žπ–‰π–“'𝖙 π–‡π–—π–Žπ–“π–Œ π–žπ–”π–š π–π–Šπ–—π–Šβ€¦ 𝕹𝖔𝖙 π–žπ–Šπ–™, 𝖆𝖙 π–‘π–Šπ–†π–˜π–™. "

Uphedis's omnipresent voice echoes from all directions. Then, almost instantly, the abyss begins to transform and shift into the signature ominous red glow that's associated with Valghuli and their power until you make out the shape of a titanic and terrifying face that's looking down at you with bright white pupils. You feel like nothing more than a speck of dust as you tilt your head back, stricken with fear as you make eye contact with this abyssal demon that dwarfs you in size, and it reveals its jagged teeth to you as it puts on a sinister grin before speaking again.

" π•­π–šπ–™ π–žπ–”π–š'π–—π–Š 𝖓𝖔𝖙 π–†π–ˆπ–™π–šπ–†π–‘π–‘π–ž π–π–Šπ–—π–Š, π–†π–—π–Š π–žπ–”π–š? π•±π–†π–™π–π–Šπ–— π–’π–šπ–˜π–™'π–›π–Š π–œπ–†π–“π–™π–Šπ–‰ 𝖙𝖔 π–˜π–π–”π–œ π–žπ–”π–š π–œπ–π–†π–™ π–†π–œπ–†π–Žπ–™π–˜ 𝖋𝖔𝖗 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖔𝖋 π–Šπ–π–Žπ–˜π–™π–Šπ–“π–ˆπ–Š π–œπ–π–Šπ–“ π–žπ–”π–š π–‹π–†π–Žπ–‘ 𝖙𝖔 π–˜π–™π–”π–• π–’π–Šβ€¦ 𝕴𝖙 π–’π–šπ–˜π–™ π–‡π–Š π–ˆπ–‘π–Šπ–†π–— 𝖙𝖔 π–žπ–”π–š π–“π–”π–œ 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 𝕴 𝖆𝖒 π–‡π–Šπ–žπ–”π–“π–‰ π–˜π–™π–—π–Šπ–“π–Œπ–™π–, 𝕬𝖇𝖇𝖆𝖉𝖔𝖓. 𝕴 π–“π–Šπ–›π–Šπ–— π–˜π–šπ–—π–—π–Šπ–“π–‰π–Šπ–—π–Šπ–‰ π–’π–ž π•»π–—π–”π–›π–Šπ–“π–†π–“π–™π–Žπ–†π–‘ 𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖒 𝖙𝖔 π–‡π–Šπ–ˆπ–”π–’π–Š 𝖒𝖔𝖗𝖙𝖆𝖑 π–‘π–Žπ–π–Š π–™π–π–Š π–”π–™π–π–Šπ–—π–˜, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 π–œπ–π–†π–™ π–žπ–”π–š'π–—π–Š π–˜π–Šπ–Šπ–Žπ–“π–Œ π–Žπ–˜ π–’π–ž π•»π–—π–”π–›π–Šπ–“π–†π–“π–™π–Žπ–†π–‘ 𝖋𝖔𝖗𝖒 π–’π–†π–‰π–Š π–Žπ–“π–™π–” π–™π–π–Š π–†π–‡π–˜π–Šπ–“π–ˆπ–Š 𝖔𝖋 𝖆𝖑𝖑 π–™π–π–Žπ–“π–Œπ–˜. π•°π–›π–Šπ–“ π–Žπ–‹ π–žπ–”π–š π–’π–†π–“π–†π–Œπ–Š 𝖙𝖔 π–‰π–Šπ–‹π–Šπ–†π–™ π–’π–Š π–œπ–π–Žπ–‘π–Š 𝕴 π–”π–ˆπ–ˆπ–šπ–•π–ž 𝕿𝖔𝖒'π–˜ π–›π–Šπ–˜π–˜π–Šπ–‘, 𝕴 π–œπ–Žπ–‘π–‘ π–“π–Šπ–›π–Šπ–— π–™π–—π–šπ–‘π–ž π–•π–Šπ–—π–Žπ–˜π–, 𝖋𝖔𝖗 π–π–”π–œ π–ˆπ–†π–“ π–”π–“π–Š π–˜π–šπ–ˆπ– π–†π–˜ π–žπ–”π–š π–‰π–Šπ–‹π–Šπ–†π–™ π–“π–”π–™π–π–Žπ–“π–Œ? "

Uphedis says condescendingly before presenting you with an offer.

" π•Ύπ–šπ–—π–—π–Šπ–“π–‰π–Šπ–—, 𝕬𝖇𝖇𝖆𝖉𝖔𝖓, 𝖆𝖓𝖉 𝕴 π–œπ–Žπ–‘π–‘ π–˜π–•π–†π–—π–Š 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖔𝖋 π–Šπ–π–Žπ–˜π–™π–Šπ–“π–ˆπ–Š π–™π–π–Žπ–˜ π–Žπ–“π–‹π–Žπ–“π–Žπ–™π–Š π–˜π–šπ–‹π–‹π–Šπ–—π–Žπ–“π–Œ 𝖆𝖓𝖉 π–™π–π–Šπ–˜π–Š π–“π–Šπ–Šπ–‰π–‘π–Šπ–˜π–˜ π–π–Žπ–‘π–‘π–Žπ–“π–Œπ–˜ 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙 π–ˆπ–”π–’π–Š π–†π–˜ 𝖆 π–—π–Šπ–˜π–šπ–‘π–™ 𝖔𝖋 π–‰π–Šπ–‹π–žπ–Žπ–“π–Œ π–’π–Š. 𝕿𝖔 π–‡π–Šπ–ˆπ–”π–’π–Š π–“π–”π–™π–π–Žπ–“π–Œ π–Žπ–˜ 𝖙𝖔 π–˜π–•π–†π–—π–Š π–žπ–”π–šπ–—π–˜π–Šπ–‘π–‹ π–™π–π–Š π–ˆπ–—π–šπ–Šπ–‘ π–Šπ–π–Žπ–˜π–™π–Šπ–“π–ˆπ–Š 𝖙𝖍𝖆𝖙'π–˜ π–‡π–Šπ–Šπ–“ π–‹π–”π–—π–ˆπ–Šπ–‰ π–šπ–•π–”π–“ π–žπ–”π–š. 𝕿𝖔 π–‡π–Šπ–ˆπ–”π–’π–Š π•Ήπ–”π–“π–Š π–Žπ–˜ 𝖙𝖔 π–‡π–Š 𝖆𝖙 π–•π–Šπ–†π–ˆπ–Š 𝖋𝖔𝖗 π–Šπ–™π–Šπ–—π–“π–Žπ–™π–ž. 𝕴 π–”π–‹π–‹π–Šπ–— π–’π–Šπ–—π–ˆπ–ž 𝖙𝖔 𝖆𝖑𝖑 𝖔𝖋 π–Šπ–π–Žπ–˜π–™π–Šπ–“π–ˆπ–Š, 𝕬𝖇𝖇𝖆𝖉𝖔𝖓. 𝕬𝖑𝖑 π–žπ–”π–š π–“π–Šπ–Šπ–‰ 𝖙𝖔 𝖉𝖔 π–Žπ–˜ π–‘π–Šπ–†π–›π–Š π–žπ–”π–šπ–— π–Šπ–π–Žπ–˜π–™π–Šπ–“π–™π–Žπ–†π–‘ π–œπ–”π–Šπ–˜ π–‡π–Šπ–π–Žπ–“π–‰ 𝖆𝖓𝖉 π–Œπ–Žπ–›π–Š π–Žπ–“ 𝖙𝖔 π–’π–Š. "

Suddenly, you awake and you find yourself laying down on the floor in Moriarch's throne room. You immediately sit up in a panic and see Aatu, Reylesh, Roary, the King of Moriarch, Sir Gerard, and Princess Elise all kneeling around you with worried faces.

" Sir Abbadon! You're awake! Are you alright? "

The King asks as he leans forward and puts his hand softly on your shoulder like a concerned father.

" I'm- I'm fine. What happened in Voldoor? How did we end up back here in Moriarch? "

Aatu stands up and looks down at you with a solemn stare as he answers your question.

" I managed to buy us time by distorting the space around Uphedis and his Exemplars to send their physical forms to the far side of this universe. Under any other circumstance it wouldn't have been possible, but your shockwaves of power were subduing them and preventing them from retaliating. They'll be back soon, so I suggest we make our preparations for battle. "

Aatu then materializes The Holy Omniverse Transcript out of thin air and holds it out to you for you to grab.

" I believe this belongs to you. "

You look at the cover to see that it's unlocked and you take a deep breath before you grab it and look down at it with grief, thinking about how Tom used to be the one who held onto it. Then, after a brief moment to collect your emotions, you store it inside your robes in the same place that he used to carry it.

" How much time do we have? "

You stand up and ask, looking down at the ground anxiously. Everyone else stands up around you and Aatu answers you in a serious tone.

" They're moving through space at 600 million light-years per second and are expected to reach Aria by midnight. Portals remain blocked, but since Space is my domain as God, we still retain the advantage of traveling wherever we're needed to help our forces turn the tide in this upcoming battle. "

Aatu then turns around and looks out of one of the castle windows as he continues informing you about the state of the current affairs.

" Voldoor has fallen to The None. Their defenses were crippled after your fight in the city and your impact that wiped out three quarters of their infrastructure. Those who've survived the slaughter and have devoted themselves to The None are armed with Voldoorian weaponry and making their way to Moriarch as we speak, and they're bound to reach the kingdom walls by nightfall. They're coming for you, Abbadon, and they intend on killing every mortal and immortal being of this universe until they can take you away to The Null… I believe our best course of action is to bunker down here and protect the remaining mortals of this universe before we intercept Uphedis and his Exemplars to take the fight away from Aria. "

You look out the same castle window as Aatu, staring out over Moriarch's border wall into the distant horizon as Princess Elise asks a question of her own.

" How big is the opposing army? "

Sir Gerard answers in a grim but informative manner.

" Aatu has told us that they have several billion corrupted mortals under their command. We'll be expected to defend these walls with a couple million of our own soldiers, about 5000 of our kingdom guards and 100 of our strongest Champions. Once they arrive, they intend to lay siege to this kingdom from all sides on the ground and the air. If you only count their infantry, they outnumber our forces 3000 to 1. We already have the mass majority of our soldiers stationed to defend the walls and they're on constant guard, but if we're faced with forces that number in the billions, I'm afraid it won't take long for us to get overwhelmed and our defenses will crumble in a matter of hours at best. "

Your heart sinks in your chest as you visualize billions of cultists tearing down the border wall that you're looking at outside the window and murdering all of the people who call this place their home in order to come get you.

" It's a losing battle. "

Aatu says forebodingly before you turn and make eye contact with him.

" Even with the entirety of Moriarch's military armed with enchanted weapons, I can only foresee our forces pushing back and defeating 100 million of The None's cultists at most. Even then, that would require every single one of our soldiers to kill more than 50 cultists before they get taken out themselves, which is already improbable in and of itself. "

The room goes silent as everyone shuffles around uncomfortably with a disheartened look on their faces. Feeling the broken morale in the atmosphere, you respond in a determined tone.

" If Moriarch can't manage to push back the opposing army, then I can fight on the front lines if I have to. With the power of The Holy Omniverse Transcript on top of the power that I already possess, I should be able to take on an army of billions no problem. "

" That would be unwise, Abbadon. Having you on the front lines would be exactly what they want, especially if they have some sort of strategy or plan that we haven't considered. We cannot afford to underestimate the enemy. I suggest we stay back and give Moriarch's army support from the castle until it's time for us to engage Uphedis and his Exemplars. "

Aatu remarks with his hand on his chin, evaluating the situation in his head.

" I'm with Aatu on this one. He's a master planner and if you listen to him, I'm sure we can still win this battle somehow. "

Reylesh says in a hopeful tone before Aatu turns his gaze to her patiently and responds.

" I appreciate your praise, sister, but just because I have a plan doesn't mean that our victory is guaranteed. "

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