Rise of The New Champion
[Joshua Allen]:
In a private dimension, Joshua Allen sat, meditating, after breaking through to Demigod rank.
In this dimension, his rule over space and time is skewed and chaotic but definite. The ground seemed to be made of same thing the space around him seem to be made of — Endless red-orange space for as far as the eye could see. It radiated a chaotic aura, everchanging and eternal. This pocket private dimension was a gift to Joshua from his Master and, according to the same voice, his true father,, Chaos himself, or so he's been told, though he hasn't yet met this being. He just knows that he has had access to this dimension during his training and cultivating. And, though it has been 30 tears inside it, despite his teenage appearance on the outside, its only been a few days outside it.
He's been training within this place for a long time. Studying, too, on the world of cultivation, gods and monsters. He was surprised to learn of it, but, in his quest for power, vengeance and the possibility of bringing back his mother, he knew he needed to.
"Congratulations, my disciple, for breaking through to Demigod rank," a voice sounded inside Joshua's head, as he felt the presence of his master become present once more. "The power suits you."
Suddenly, standing before Joshua Allen was a spectre of a being incomprehensible. It had a body made of red smoke and eyes as orange as fire. As Joshua opened his eyes, he couldn't tell much else about this being's form, but that wasn't anything new, so he tried not to focus too much on this fact.
When he first saw this being was when he first broken through to Legacy rank. He was shocked, but the sound of it's familiar voice kept Joshua from panicking too much. He was eventually told that this being was only a sliver of its true consciousness, as, if he had appeared before Joshua in his true form, Joshua would have gone insane — Not that he could've though, because reasons.
"Enough of the pleasantries!" snapped Joshua, feeling impatient. "You said you'd help me get my revenge on Corven for my mother's death when I reached Demigod rank. Are you gonna help me or not, master?"
"Care, boy!" Suddenly, Joshua was assaulted by a powerful presence, falling to his knees suddenly finding it hard to breathe. "I may not be my true self before you, but I am still a primordial. You will respect my name or I will find another son and pupil to inherit my power."
Joshua bit his lip, swallowing his pride, head bowed. He's been so impatient to get his revenge on Corven that he's forgotten that the being before him was a literal god — and a Primordial one at that. The realization he could have been killed nanoseconds by this apparition spike up the beat rhythm of his heart.
"Forgive me, Great One," Joshua bowed his head ins submission. "I must've forgotten my place."
"Hmm…," murmured the apparition "I did promise you the power and resources to get your revenge, though. Perhaps you are ready… There's only one way to know for sure."
The apparition snapped his fingers, and instantly, a stadium appeared — An arena easily the size of an NFL football stadium. Inside, the arena, the seats were empty; on the arena ground, stood a minotaur whose power level was at the Tier S rank. It had dawned an armored set of silver and bronze and had an intimidating looking mace that was at least as long as it was tall. A bronze ring pierced its nose and its muscles were a testament to its strength, as was its red fur and body, along with its 14 foot tall height and god awfully powerful aura. If Corven were present, he would notice that this beasts' aura was similar in power to Pallas, in both wildness and level.
Meanwhile, Joshua had dawned no armour or wielded any weaponry. Looking to the phantom beside him inquisitively, Joshua's questio went unsaid, but the phantom still heard it all the same: What do you want me to do?
"To see if you are ready, you will fight this beast until either one of you dies," the apparition spoke. "And you will do so with no armor."
Nodding, Joshua understood. Summoning his red blended falchion sword, Crimson Vengeance — a Legendary rank weapon — Joshua stepped forward, getting into position. "Ready," was all he needed to say.
No sooner had he said those words had the beast began its charge towards him. It leaped and smashed its mace down upon the arena, sending red sand in all directions. It was a direct hit, it just knew it. There was no way Joshua could've survived that.
No sooner had it thought this, though, then Josshua pierced its chest, slicing down with Crimson Vengeance. The minotaur could only watch in horror as it was sliced from the chest down to the jewels. Then, to its own shock, it was decapitated; it watched as its head fell to the ground, watching its own headless body fall down in two different directions, split down the middle upon the crimson sands.
"These exercise are fun and all, but…," Joshua fixed the apparition of his father and master with a squinted glance. "I am more than read."
"Yes, my son. Yes, you are," was the apparition's reply, its smile proud and malicious at the same time. "You are ready,"
[Korey]:
Later that same day…
Later that same day, at the Blueford residence, Korey was just getting off the bus from school. It was about a 30 minute walk home, but he couldn't shake the feeling that something was wrong. This feeling had been with him all day; even when he was pranking his peers and teachers at school, he was feeling uneasy, but he had no idea why. It was weird because, usually, Korey felt most at peace when he was making other people uncomfortable with his mischief — Why was he feeling this?
Suddenly, the sound of fire trucks on the block he was on sounded. Turning, Korey was surprised to see 2 fire trucks heading down the same street Korey was walking towards.
'It's heading in the same direction…,' Korey observed noticing smoke in the distance, as he speed up his walking to a light jog. "'I hope Miss Blueford and Bella are ok.' he rushed forwards, towards the billowing smoke in the distance.
Unbeknownst to him, what he'll find won't just be the body of Miss Blueford, but also the perpetrator, the arsonist and the man behind the fire…
Upon arriving at the Blueford residence, Korey was shellshocked to see it ablaze. And the person he noticed with a ball of fire in one hand and Little Bella in the other, choking the poor girl. He stood inside the fiery inferno, unbothered by the flames surrounding the both of them.
"You're his little sister, huh? You have his scent, though faint, and…. And something else…," Joshua Allen sniffed the neck of a very uncomfortable looking Little Bella. "A witch and demigoddess, a hybrid…. A daughter of Apollo, I'd wager from the fiery glow of your soul. No matter, you'll tell me what I want to know. Where is he? Where is Corven?! Tell me now, and I will make your death painless. Unlike that old hag, Blueford."
To Korey's horror, Miss Blueford lay holed, tortured and wounded — Bleeding and burning on the wall of the house that wasn't engulfed in fire. She wasn't breathing, more than likely, she was dead.
[Korey]:
Korey stood there, paralyzed with fear, unable to move or make true sense of what's happening.
Before him stood a hooded man, wearing blue jeans, a red shirt and a leatherman jacket with the surname "Allen" on the back. Though he had a hood on, Korey had gathered he must be a teenager, based on the clothes he was wearing and the sound of his scratchy voice.
He saw that Miss Blueford was already dead — Tortured, burned alive and gone, her eyes were soulless husks of what they were when she was alive. And, from the looks of it, if Korey didn't do something, Little Bella would die, too.
Pinching himself to acquire feeling in his body once more, Korey forced his horror down and looks around. He finds a heavy rock, a wicked looking stick and a broken slab of concrete with a metal rod sticking out the other end of it. He also noticed that the fire truck from earlier seemed to have been "paused" in time somehow, but he couldn't let himself focus on that too much.
'Must be him,' Korey remained level headed. 'If I can beat him, even if by surprise, then I can save my sister.'
Deciding to place the rock in his back pocket, Korey picked up a hammer-like slab of concrete with rebar jutting out of one end, which was surprisingly light(Probably the adrenaline) and crouched down, making his way over to the strange man and his sister sneakily.
He was just getting in close when he paused. Little Bella and he made eye contact, a silent understanding passing between them. Sadly, despite ushering her to stay silent, the little girl's eye movement was tracked by the stranger, who discovered Korey sneaking up behind him with his slab of sticked concrete.
"What's this? Another demigod? And one with a slightly stronger scent of Corven…," murmured the stranger who began smiling like an imp, before throwing Little Bella into the flames.
"Bella!" screamed Korey in concern, tears running down his face. Turning to the stranger, he said "What have you done, you monster?"
"Nothing yet, but, if you know what's good for you," the boy said, taking a step towards Korey. "You will tell me where Corven is, son of Hermes."
"I don't know what you're talking about!" cried a tearful Korey exasperatedly. "Who is Hermes? And Corven is gone — I don't know where!"
"Another useless unavouched!" snapped an annoyed stranger, face twisted in a cruel way. "No matter, you'll die soon enough, and I'll consume your soul when I do kill you, just like that old hag, though I'm sure yours will taste so much better."
Before Korey could respond, the man thrusted a his hand forward, and Korey went flying into the flaming house's wall, his vision blurring as pain erupted throughout his body upon contact. Korey felt like he had just hit a brick wall backfirst, which, in a way, he did; only he wasn't falling down.
No, instead, he was seemingly glued to the wall by an unseen force. He could see the hooded stranger heading his way through his blurry vision. He tried to move away, but he couldn't get enough friction. The same unseen force that kept him upright, kept him pinned. He was trapped, and very likely going to die.
Suddenly, before the hooded stranger could reach Korey, he was teleported from the wall to a tree behind the house, where he surprisingly found Little Bella, who lay unconscious, but breathing.
"Wha—?"
The person behind this? A girl he's seen before. She had raven-colored hair styled in a short bob cut(punk style), with dark purple eyes, almost black, and skull earrings. She wore purple skinny jeans, a black long sleeve blouse with a skull in the middle and a pair of black combat boots that had signs of use. She had a dark purple gothic girl's jacket(hooded) and a dark purple lipstick on her face. She had black leather combat gloves that were spray painted with dark purple and black flames. In her hands, she held a long scythe, her weapon of choice named Reaper, though Korey didn't know it had a name.
"You're with Corven, right?" Korey looked up at the girl. "His cousin…?"
"Stay here," she ordered, after nodding.
"Y-yes," nodded Korey, as the girl vanished in a swirl of black mist, leaving only the faint echo of her presence behind..'Not like I can do anything else… Shoot!'
Looking down, Korey noticed that there was a pole in his gut. 'How the fuck didn't I see this before?' Korey thought, keeping as still as he could be. He wasn't sure if moving around would be that wise of an idea, considering he was bleeding through his uniform at a steady but increasing rate.
"Fuck," was all he could say.
[Achlys Keresa]:
A few hours prior…
Waking up in an unfamiliar place was not on Achlys' to-do list. She was not a people's person. She really did not like socializing. And the only reason she even took/accepted her initial mission given to her by Peter Luminaris was, well, its Peter Luminaris. Plus, it was important to Corven, so go figures.
Then, the whole thing with the ambush happened and Achlys won. At least, she's pretty sure she did, anyway. She lost consciousness afterwards.
During that time unconscious, however, she had a visit from her father, Thanatos…
Achlys stood before a pair of fancy black and silver gates, her form astral and see through. These gates were at least 60 feet tall, and looked to lead nowhere, floating in an empty space of darkness, but Achlys knew what these gates were. They belonged to her father — It was one of the ways he could navigate, not just the Underworld and Tartarus, but all of the multiverse. The gates had a direct link to Tartarus and the Underworld.
Of course, she knew these gates were more just an accessory item for her father. After all, Thanatos could enter and exit the Underworld, Tartarus and the multiverse whenever he felt like it. These gates just made navigating the different levels of Tartarus and entering different universes all much easier.
Suddenly, a thought occurred to Achlys.
"If I'm here, then that means—," Achlys realised.
"You're not dead, just tired," came a comforting voice. Achlys turned as her father's ethereal form appeared before her. "Death and Slumber are linked as well, my daughter. Hypnos is my twin brother, afterall. I summoned the part of your soul that was in my brother's realm to my own. We need to have a talk, my daughter."
Achlys, realizing she isn't dead and that this isn't a social call, quickly nodded her attention. "I-I understand. I'm listening."
Thanatos fixed his iridescent black, grey white and silver gradient eyes upon Achlys. "An old power has awakened, daughter. One I feel will shake the foundations of the multiverse. I sense that I will soon be working overtime — A war is coming, a war we primordials will have to pick our champions for. In the last one, I choose not to have one, but I can't afford such reckless decisions in this one. As a solution, I want you, my daughter, to be my champion.
Achlys was shellshocked. Her? A champion? Of Death, no less! This was… well, shocking. Quite a lot to process… However, Achlys was raised amongst nobility, as nobility and royalty herself, a daughter of the witch queen of House Keresa — She, herself, knew when to show respect.
Bowing her head in curtsey, she spoke. "I humbly accept the opportunity. I—,"
"No need to do all that, my daughter," Thanatos waved his hand dismissively. "You're my daughter, not my disciple. Raise your head, be proud. You are my only daughter, and my champion. You will carry yourself with the pride befitting the daughter of Death personified. Your training shall begin now."
Achlys raised her head, looking quizzically at her father. "What will you have me do?"
"The 'foster home' you found Corven in is actually a wayward station for unavouched demigods and those with special, unawakened bloodlines set up by Athan Eubeleus decades ago," Thanatos frowned. "He has many of these foster homes and orphanages across the globe…At least, in this particular universe, anyway. That son of the vampire progenitor, Zagreus, has always had a soft spot for the odd man out that everyone seems to forget about, and no one wants. It's admirable, honestly, I have always been impressed by it, truly."
Achlys thought about this for a second. She knew her faction head had a soft spot for those often left out. Hell, his entire faction Mythorus Academy is pretty much made up of neurodivergent, the emos, the goths, the punks, the ADHD'ers and even some autistics and whatnot. The Shadow Faction was probably the most inclusive of all the 7 factions at Mythorus Academy, and that was all thanks to Athan.
But to have foster homes to help the unawakened no one wants? Perhaps there's a layer to Athan that Achlys knew nothing of. Not that a lot of cultivators are this noble. Hell, even the self-righteous pricks and nobles that make up the Heavenly Faction have skeletons in their closets. It made Achlys wonder what skeletons Athan could have.
"Why are you telling me this," Achlys asked her father, after shaking her head to clear her thoughts. "What will you have me do?"
"That old threat I was talking about? It will attack one of these homes — the one you found Corven in," Thanatos said. "You will hold it off until help arrives. Make no mistake, this force is chaotic in nature, so it does not follow the rules of reality. Even though it is stirring inside its host and presenting itself as a Demigod rank, do NOT underestimate it."
"I understand, father," Achlys clenched her fists.
"You will be pulled back into the Sleeping Realm once again," Thanatos explained. "Explain to that nephew of mine, what's happening. He'll know who to contact."
As her environment faded, Achlys vanished…
[Thanatos POV]:
Being the true form of Death was exhausting. He was primal death — Every 'god of death' that exists, exists as an extension of his will. Thankfully, Thanatos had his helpers — Be it the Keres, Azrael, Anubis, etc. they made his job slightly easier to deal with.
Thanatos watched his only daughter disappear, knowing her tasks will be tough, but not impossible for her. She'll survive it, and come out of it stronger than before.
"You think she will succeed?" a hooded winged figure said, appearing beside Thanatos. "This is supposed to be the seed of Chaos we're talking about. He won't make it easy to hold him, you know."
The figure lifted his hood. He was tall, crowning a war helmet with antler-like horns sticking out on either side of it. He wore a cloak of dark grey feathers that hid his full body. Sprouting from his back were two wings, one was a full plumage of midnight violet feathers, healthy and strong; the second was bone-y and dead, decomposing in meat and had hardly any feathers on it.
This was Moros, the primordial god of Doom and tragic deaths; he was one of Thanatos' many aspects and avatars, though Moros was one of the more powerful aspects he created. In a way, every death god that exists is an aspect of Thanatos — they were him, and he was them. Every time one of them reaped a soul, it was him doing the same thing essentially, as is the case with the Dao of Death. They are one in the same — At least, as far as his aspects are concerned. They serve him, even if a handful of them are his siblings.
"She will survive… because she must," Thanatos nodded, as their environments changed.
Suddenly, the two deities of death stood over Corven and Celeste, as Draco knocked Corven unconscious, no one in their group capable of seeing either gods even despite them basically walking amongst the mortals. Athan sniffed the air, briefly looking in their direction with squinting eyes, but he couldn't see anyone. And, as Celeste angrily explained what happened and Crowrella showed everyone present the proof, with Athan vouching for Corven's innocence, they began to make plans to hear the whole story, upon their return.
As they prepared to leave, Athan kept looking in the two gods' direction. While he couldn't see them, his instincts were telling him that there was someone powerful there. He just wasn't sure what. When he reached out a hand to check, he felt nothing, going through Moros' form unknowingly, like a ghost of some sort.
"This is one of that vampire's direct spawns, isn't he?" Moros said, eyeing Athan in a mixture of light amusement and obvious scrutiny. "Shouldn't his base power be much more along?
Thanatos said nothing, but that was not anything new. Death has always been silent. Why should he be anything different? For he is death, not incarnate; Death. If there existed a being that was the personification of Death, it'd be Thanatos. And his quiet personality reflected that fact.
"It would seem what we are seeing are one of his realistic blood clones," murmured Thanatos, eyeing Athan in study. "Athan's original body is likely still in the underworld somewhere."
"I get he's a clone, but his power should still be even higher than just a measly Chaotic rank," Moros scrutinized Athan curiously, as they carried Corven's unconscious body and led Celeste to the portal exit.
"He must have sealed most of his true power to help maintain his clone for longer periods," Thanatos observed. "Though I'm sure that he could release a max of Peak Legendary rank without completely destroying his clone. Gods knows, his real body is a much higher ranked body than that of his clones, especially given he's the son of a Progenitor of vampires."
"Hmm… how fleeting a topic." He lost interest with a whisper of dispassion, his gaze sliding toward Corven like fog creeping over a battlefield. "So… that is our new little brother."
A pause, as if tasting the weight of fate itself.
"Is it true, then? Has Mother truly claimed him as her champion? Curious… She has never done so before. Not even for Umbrovante — the mortal she once shared that long night with. Ironically, that same boy would one day find the Great House that now reigns monarch over the Shadow Realm… such quaint symmetry.
"If it is, then, he has a long road ahead of him. After all, Pallas Lycaon is only one of the Lycaon Progenitors — And there are over 90 children of that mutt, each deadly existences with various affinities and menacing power…. For mortals, anyway. Pallas, due to his reincarnation, was amongst the weakest. The others will come after him and the girl, especially when they learn what they have done. Those mutts are highly protective of their own."
The two lords of death watched Corven even as they were approaching the exit gateway. Thanatos said nothing, merely watching everything play out before him. A moment of silence passed between the two primordials.
"It is, she did, he does and they will," Thanatos answered all of his companion's questions at once, as he watched Corven's sleeping form with an unreadable expression. "The House of Lycaon is powerful, but so is the Erebean line of the House of Khaos. He is one of us; he won't fall so easily. Besides, father has gifted him many of his own abilities, and, as have I. I'd imagine he will love the gifts I've left him. If he can master his gifts, not even the Olympain gods will be able to touch him."
"You've increased his already abnormally high aptitude for shadow magic… And added some of your own darkness to his," Moros said in awe, his eyes glowing crimson red briefly in surprise. "Careful, you might end up spoiling him."
"I've never had younger siblings before… not ones who could be called normal, anyway." His voice drifted, as if sifting through the dust of ages. "You—my aspects—don't quite count and Aether is an insecure whelp with daddy issues. And don't get me started on all the others."
A faint, humorless smile tugged at the corner of his lips before fading. "These two gifts I've placed within him… they shall remain dormant, sealed until he's ready. He's aware of the others—those, I've permitted. But these… these will awaken only when the weight of their meaning no longer breaks him."
"You've granted him more?!" Moros chidded. "You really are a dotting older brother. Who would have guessed?"
"Ha, ha. Very funny," Thanatos was not laughing and his dry tone suggested he was unimpressed. "Besides, he's only going to get more gifts from our relatives as time goes on; might as well give him the most useful ones. I'm genuinely surprised Father hasn't given him his yet… ," Thanatos said in wonder, before shaking his head in realization. "Then again, Mother's gift was her patronage, and then some, so maybe I'm not… You can only guess what Father's gifts will be."
"I won't worry too much about this, brother," Moros began, eyes taking on that mischievous glint. "Don't let Akhlys, your sister-wife, find out what you're doing to him, she'll mistake him for your son. And you know how she behaved when she found about Achlys; I reckon the only reason that girl and her mother isn't dead right now is because she shares namesake, and even that had taken you years of convincing not to make the poor girl's life miserable."
Thanatos paused in thought, then shivered. He wasn't wrong. "Let's not even speak that into existence. Besides, I'm more worried about the stirring of Chaos. Any word of our father? If anyone is stronger than our uncle, it'd be him."
"None," Moros said with a frown. "At least, nothing new, anyways. The other aspects are gathering, though, as you requested. Our siblings are, too."
"Good," Thanatos stated. "We will return to our father's domain soon, to be there upon his awakening. The House of Erebus will stand strong… Now, if I can only find that lost twin of mine…".