Zeus and Bael stepped into a domain that was already lost beyond salvation.
The once-sacred domain of Amaterasu lay in ruin. The ground split into jagged cracks, buildings reduced to rubble, and waves of black mist slithered through the air mixing with other wild and chaotic magic that still raged in the atmosphere.
"Are we too late?" Zeus muttered, his thunderous voice tinged with disbelief as his eyes turned upward toward the source of the devastation.
Up above, the battle still raged. Flares of unstable magic and shockwaves rippled outward every second, shaking the domain with relentless violence.
They had carved their way through Susanoo and then Tsukuyomi’s forces, only to discover that both gods had already fallen. And now, this...
"We have to help them," Bael said, with his hoarse voice. "At this point, it’s clear that those two are far stronger than we ever imagined."
"Yeah," Zeus replied, jaw clenched. "Let us move—"
But before he could finish, sothing bright and burning plumted from the heavens.
A streak of radiant fire tore through the sky and struck the earth like a teor.
The ground erupted with a deafening roar. A blinding explosion sent shockwaves outward, throwing rubblea and dirt into the air.
Zeus, Bael, and their forces braced themselves, digging in their heels to avoid being thrown off their feet.
"What is that?" Bael shouted, shielding his face from the debris.
Zeus’s divine senses narrowed. He focused on the source of the crash and his face paled.
It was a Celestial.
He could feel the presence clearly. But their life force was fading fast.
"We have to help them!" Zeus shouted, his voice filled with urgency, and in a blur of motion he launched himself toward the impact site.
But just before he reached it, another figure landed beside the fallen Celestial. The figure was cloaked in writhing black mist.
The mont he appeared, the air itself seed to recoil.
This presence was unmistakable.
"You!" Zeus roared, lightning sparking wildly from his eyes.
The soldiers behind him staggered at the weight of the pressure. Their minds recoiling instinctively from the sheer threat that the figure exuded.
It was the anomaly himself.
The being they had hunted across domain and had responsible for Susanoo’s and Tsukuyomi’s death now standing before them, face-to-face.
Clyde’s breathing was heav and his black coat now tattered and singed by Amaterasu’s sun power.
His skin bore scorch marks and his features strained but he was still standing.
More than that, he was smiling.
"Oh, hi there," Clyde said with an effortless grin, like he’d been expecting them all along. "Didn’t think you two would join the party this soon."
Zeus clenched his fists, fury boiling beneath his skin. He could feel it, Clyde’s power had grown even more now. He didn’t know that it was possible.
Bael narrowed his gaze, studying the man cloaked in mist.
This was his first ti seeing
the anomaly in person, and it was disturbing.
Clyde looked just like a human, a mortal. But his whole presence was utterly foreign.
Zeus found himself speechless. So much had already been lost.
Then, before anyone could react, Clyde turned back to the body on the ground.
Without a word, he stabbed Amaterasu in the head with the Elderglass sword.
A sudden thick and suffocating silence fell.
Even the wind seed to stop.
Shock rippled through the Celestial ranks.
A Celestial, a goddess of sun, was killed. Just like that.
But what happened next shattered whatever composure remained in them.
Amaterasu’s light, the very essence of her Celestial soul, began to flow into Clyde.
Streams of radiant energy bled from her corpse weaving into his body. His body absorbed it.
And the mont he inhaled her essence Clyde’s aura surged.
It grew brighter and darker at thee sa ti, like a a paradox of Celestial light and unknown corruption.
Zeus took a step back involuntiraly while Bael stared with stunned expression.
No one moved or breathed, even the army. They realized that they had co too late.
And now they were standing before sothing even worse than they had imagined. They see for themselves how a higher being died and absorbed by their killer.
As the last traces of Amaterasu’s divine light were consud, Clyde stood taller.
His wounds began to close. The burns faded. His breath steadied.
Power that surged through him now was not wild and chaotic but focused and controlled. Almost refined.
It wasn’t just that so of his strength had returned, it had nearly doubled.
Clyde exhaled slowly and looked up with a triumphant grin.
His eyes glowed with that twisted fusion of light and shadow as he gazed at Zeus and Bael.
"This..." he said. "is what will happen to all of you."
He spread his arms slightly, as if presenting the corpse at his feet.
"Your reign on the worlds is over. No more toying with mortal lives."
Zeus’s fists crackled with lightning. His rage barely contained, but Bael stepped forward instead.
"How can you do this? What makes you this strong?"
Clyde scoffed.
"I have the power of a being far beyond any of you," he said. "One who has slumbered for so long while buried and forgotten. But now..."
He spread his fingers, and the air rippled with dark resonance.
"He awakens. He will reclaim his throne and all of you will perish."
Bael’s expression didn’t change. "Who is this being?"
Clyde’s smirk widened. "Find out yourself," he said, his tone mocking.
Bael deecided to asked again. His voice steady despite the weight in the air.
"How can you travel between domains this quickly?"
Clyde tilted his head slightly, intrigued.
"You’re pretty calm, considering the corpse of a goddess is lying right there," he said, nodding toward Amaterasu. "You’re not like the others. You’re a Demon King, aren’t you?"
He chuckled. "That’s why you’re not rattled. You don’t care about the Celestials. You’re just curious about my power. You just want to understand what’s coming, don’t you?"
At that, Zeus turned his head slightly, eyes narrowing on Bael.
But Bael didn’t look at him. He kept his focus on Clyde, jaw clenched. He said nothing.
Before the silence could deepened the air cracked again.
Another figure wrapped in fierce spiraling wind fell from the sky .
He struck the ground not far from them, the wind trailing behind him dissipating as he landed.
"Ah, it looks like my partner also done with her opponent," Clyde said.
Then Asqa falling and landed her feet on top of Fujin’s body. Her legs penetrated his chest.
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