"A people without the knowledge of their past history, origin and culture is like a tree without roots."
- Socrates.
The sky cracked as Hermes hurtled upward, her body a blur of motion, her trident now pulsing like a heartbeat in sync with the ocean itself. Wind howled around her as she spun midair, channeling the flame of the Cup through her core. The Dragon lunged—its jaws wide enough to swallow islands, water shearing around its body like blades. In the split second before impact, Hermes exhaled. The fire in her eyes burned away all hesitation. "Third Kata: Sea-Split Reversal!" The Third-Kata Sea-Split Reversal is a technique that uses Water-Dharma to reduce the qi of the opposing fighter while growing the power of the user at the opponent's expense. Hermes was using against the Dragon in order to close the gap in power. She inverted mid-dive, twirling the trident once. The water around her froze into fractal patterns, then shattered—each shard igniting into green flame as she rocketed downward. The tip of her trident struck the Dragon's skull like a divine comet. A shockwave detonated outward, carving a ring in the sea that stretched for miles. But the Dragon didn't fall. It grinned. "Good," it rumbled, rising higher, body spiraling like a storm. "Then let us peel away everything you think you are." Its body shimmered—and from it split six mirrored heads, each speaking in a different tongue: Fear, Doubt, Rage, Grief, Pride, and Desire. They howled in unison and unleashed beams of elemental force: ice, flame, lightning, poison, shadow, and time itself. Hermes was swallowed whole by the barrage. Silence. Then— A whisper. Not in words. In understanding. In surrender—not to defeat, but to being. The ocean. The sky. The Dragon. All of it. Her. From the sea's deepest trench, light bloomed. Hermes rose. But not the Hermes who had entered this trial. Her form was changed—her robes now fluid threads of wind and water, her hair a cascade of aurora-colored fire. A glowing, circular symbol—eight-spoked—hovered behind her head. Her eyes burned not with rage or pride, but clarity. "I see now. There is no next. There is only one now." The Dragon recoiled. "Impossible…" Hermes raised one palm. The six heads lashed forward, but her hand moved once—just once—and all six beams collapsed into a single thread of light, harmlessly weaving around her like silk. In her palm the entire cosmos could be seen. "I don't need to fight you. I already did. And I let go." Her voice didn't echo—it resonated like the greatest of Arhats.
The Dragon shrieked, scales splitting, light spilling from every crack. "Then you've reached it. The State Beyond Names." Hermes nodded. "Enlightenment isn't power. It's acceptance. It's the killing of all attachments." The Dragon bowed, dissolving into stardust, each mote a truth shed. And then reverting to a small lizard. "I am your servant now, let me tell you what you have overcome. That old man you tried to defeat, that was the World or the Universe, that woman you tried to lift above your head, she was the sky, and that last person you tried to push back was the wind. You have overcome and accepted your limitations and thereby ascended above them. I am among your servants now Holy Prophet," said the Dragon. Back in the void between spaces, Hermes stepped forward, wind whipping her cloak. "She didn't just survive the trial…" "She became the answer and she became the word." A lotus bloomed in midair over the ocean where Hermes floated, legs crossed, trident resting across her lap. Her presence stilled the sea. Her heartbeat echoed through time. The Prophet had awakened. And the Tower had found its key.
She awoke and it was clear she was more powerful than she had been before, it was time to head back to the others and prepare for the battle with the final dragon and afterwards the Demon King. Back in the Desert Settlement Lupus was dreaming, he dreamt of the one eyed shadowy being that came from the Philosopher's Stone, "Lupus, by killing me I have become part of you." Lupus in his dream was annoyed, "Great you're going to follow me around now." The being shook its head, "NO! I give you a parting gift, a boost of power that will kick in when you are in need. You will know it's time to wake up." Lupus woke up sweating, "How bizarre, was that all just a dream?"
The next morning hit like a bass drop. Bright stadium lights flared to life over the downtown training dome—Scott had pulled every string to rent it out. The Sythball hovered overhead, projecting holographic blueprints of the arena and fighter vitals. Music pumped from hidden speakers, some EDM remix of Ride of the Valkyries mixed with synths and trap beats. Kazan, Hermes, and Lupus stood on the edge of the ring, the tension already thick. Back in Timeline B, Hermes was headed to the local Gymansium that Scott had rented out. Talus was playing his Nintendo Switch in hand-held mode as they walked the way there, Phyron asked: "Is that the new Sonic the Hedgehog game?" Talus shook his head: "Nah it's the new Highlander game." Phyron was confused: "Like the Highlander films from the 1980s?" Talus nodded. Then the dome's side door slammed open.
Scott stepped in like he owned the place, sunglasses reflecting the neon glow, flanked by four students in black and crimson warm-ups. "Ladies, gentlemen, and gender rebels—meet your teammates," he declared, arms wide.
One by one, they stepped forward.
1. HARPER BLIGHT – She had a shaved head, piercings like constellation maps, and wore brass knuckles that hummed with psionic energy. "I eat psychic types for breakfast," she said with a grin. "Name's Harper. Don't touch my headphones."
2. KORO KUROSAWA – A stoic samurai cosplayer from Japan who wasn't cosplaying. Koro didn't say a word. He just unsheathed a sword from thin air, split a falling leaf mid-drop, then bowed with perfect form.
3. BEXLEY REYES – Tall, slow-speaking, arms covered in glowing circuitry. A technomancer from the Denver arcology. "I don't punch people," she said. "I crash their nervous systems. Harder."
4. "DEACON" MALCOLM DEVILLE – Half-vampire, full drama. Cape. Painted nails. Red contacts. He slid forward with a bow. "My fists bleed poetry," he said, voice like velvet. Hermes made a face.
5. LEONE - A gorilla with super strength that could talk and do martial arts.
Kazan blinked. "We're the weirdest damn team in America." "Exactly," Scott said, clapping his hands once. "And you two," he pointed at Hermes and Kazan, "are the captains. Trial-by-fire, ready or not. You'll each lead a squad. Hermes takes Harper and Bexley. Kazan gets Koro and Deacon." Hermes crossed her arms. "You're not splitting us up just to flex your managerial ego, are you?" Scott smirked. "No. I'm splitting you up because that's how the team brackets work, genius." Hermes opened her mouth to argue—but Bexley put a heavy hand on her shoulder.
"Chill. We'll make it work," she said, her voice like modulated honey. "Besides, I've already synced with Harper's neural band. We're linked up. It's kinda... terrifying, actually." Harper gave a thumbs-up without taking off her noise-canceling headphones, the faint pulse of breakcore audible from her earpads. Across the ring, Kazan looked over at Deacon and Koro. Deacon flashed a fangy grin. Koro simply stood there, unmoving, eyes half-closed as if meditating on the moment. Kazan turned to Scott. "So what's the trial?" Scott grinned like a game show host who just revealed the death round. "Gauntlet mode," he said. "Full arena sim. Obstacles. Opposing bots. Environmental chaos. First team to reach the top platform and hold it for sixty seconds wins." Hermes snorted. "That's it? Hold a platform?" "While the arena tries to kill you," Scott added. "And the losing team has to cook for the winners all week." "Oh hell no," Talus said from the bench, pausing his game. "Y'all better win. Hermes can't cook anything but microwave oatmeal."
Hermes didn't deny it. "Let's just get this over with." Within seconds, the arena shifted. Walls rose. Platforms floated. Sections spun like funhouse deathtraps. The blueprints above updated in real time, rendering the chaos in holographic layers. A countdown began, synced to the beat of the music.
3.
Bexley's arms flickered with energy as she initiated a tactical uplink with the Sythball.
2.
Koro vanished into a blur of movement, repositioning twenty meters ahead without a sound.
1.
"Go!" Scott shouted.
They launched. Hermes darted forward, Harper at her side, Bexley lagging half a beat behind as she mapped enemy drone signals. Kazan vaulted up a spire, Koro flash-stepping across vertical walls, Deacon flipping theatrically through midair with a hiss of cape. Within seconds, bots deployed—some like wolves, some like hovering mines, some with shock cannons mounted on spindly legs. "Take the high flank!" Hermes barked to Harper, who grinned and tore into a shockbot with psionic brass knuckles that sparked like lightning. Kazan slid beneath a rotating blade trap, caught a pole, and used it to launch himself upward. Deacon grappled a drone midair and bit it for no tactical reason—just for the drama. Koro cut through three drones in one motion, then stood motionless again, as if the violence hadn't happened.
Back in the Wire-Frame Xerxes stood on the hood of the ship. Alestria made the gesture and the hatch opened, Xerxes dropped in. The atmosphere inside the battleship dropped ten degrees as Xerxes landed with a low thud. She stood tall and still—her black hair trailing like smoke, blue eyes fixed on Farabius and Xenos. The moment held like the pause before a gunshot. "I wasn't expecting you," Xerxes said, voice low but razor-sharp. Farabius grunted, resting a gauntleted hand on his hilt. "You knew someone was coming." "I knew someone dangerous was coming. I assumed Hermes," she replied. "Instead, I get a Void demon and a blue mystery box." Xenos, small and luminescent like a starlit teardrop, tilted his head. "I'm not a box," he said softly, voice humming like distant thunder. "I'm a person." That earned a smirk from Xerxes. "Cute." Alestria stepped forward. "Xerxes, I don't know what brought you screaming across subspace, but we're all on the same side—unless something's changed." Xerxes' eyes flicked to Alestria. "I intercepted fragments of a data-stream. The Void has moved. Not just them—others too. A convergence is accelerating. Someone cracked open a Time Lock." That got the room's attention. Seregrin was shocked: "Wait you know her?" Alestria nodded.
"What kind of Time Lock?" Sergey asked, arms folded across his massive chest. "The kind that shouldn't be touched. Something ancient, buried in the core layers of the Wire-Frame. The Void beings were the only one who knew how to access it, but now I'm not so sure there still in control." Seregrin's grin widened. "Chaos. Delicious." Zelanius's shadows hissed, curling tighter. "If the Void is compromised, the treaty between dimensions is null." Tartus was already bouncing on her toes, eyes gleaming. "So we run fast, hit hard, and fix it before it unravels everything. Sounds simple." "It's not," Xerxes said flatly. "The Void didn't just unlock the Lock—he released something. A signal. It's rewriting sectors of the Frame in real-time. I barely escaped one such rewrite." A hush fell. "Then we go," Alestria said, tone resolute. "We find the Void beings. We contain the signal. And we close the Lock—if that's even possible." "We'll need a location," Gonzo muttered. "Where was the last known disturbance?" Xerxes lifted a small orb from her hip, projecting a warped 3D map in the air. "Here. Nexus Gate 7. The place where timelines fracture and cross. It's unstable—but we've all been there before."
"Except us," Farabius said, voice iron. "But we'll adapt." Xenos drifted upward, glowing brighter. "The door is already opening. We either walk through now—or we get swallowed." Outside the ship, the Wire-Frame rippled—like reality itself was stretching. Xerxes huffed: "You know as well as anyone, Alestria we need to make a deal with the Guild, dammit I never wanted to make a deal with those damn bureaucrats." Alestria gritted her teeth: "Neither did I, but I suppose you're right. Honestly I'm no fan of that either. (Sigh) What's the nearest portal to a guild station?" said Alestria. One of the men replied: "It'll take five minutes, if we go north-north east." Alestria nodded and gave the instruction for the ship to go off in the direction. Xerxes clenched her fist shaking her hand, "Damnit, it was stupid to assume that Hermes was here, it doesn't make any-sense, time would suggest they're still in Umi where I saw them last. Oh well, what's done is done." Xerxes' eyes bulged out, "Wait what do we do once we go through all the bureaucratic bullshit, what's the next step, how do we stop these distributions from the void?" said Xerxes. Alestria took a deep breath, "We're gonna have to visit the Professor, the damn bastard just broke free from his cycle of reincarnation and became an immortal, and since then he's become such a dick. But he is powerful and has access to an incredible amount of information. If anyone to knowledge can help us it's him, plus he's been fighting demons for years," said Alestria.
The portal shimmered ahead like a torn vein in the sky, pulsing with pale lavender light. As the ship tore through the Wire-Frame's shifting geometry, the distortion thickened—coordinates folding in on themselves like nervous whispers. Then, with a wrenching snap, they pierced the threshold of the Guild World. Everything went dark. Then— Light bloomed. The battleship emerged into a world impossibly vast. Stacked layers of architecture floated in defiance of gravity—towers on platforms, platforms on towers—stretching endlessly both up and down into glowing clouds. Bridges coiled like serpents between skyscrapers of glass and bone. Streets crawled with guild agents, mercenaries, sentient scripts, time-sick pilgrims, and data-beasts bound in arcane rigging. Each layer buzzed with rules, restrictions, and the tension of barely-contained chaos. Welcome to Abyssos, the capital tier of Guild World. Xerxes muttered, "Still smells like bureaucracy, same as always." As they docked at a rotating spiral spire labeled Consortium Intake – Tier 1 Visitors, a tall figure stood waiting on the platform. He wore white robes coded with fractal sigils and a mask shaped like a hawk's beak. His presence alone parted the air like a knife.
"Designation: Xerxes, Alestria, and affiliate entities," he intoned. "You are in violation of Directive 19.14. Emergency entry without advance notice or clearance." Alestria stepped forward, deadpan. "Override protocol Omega-Stigma-Four. Emergency Paradox Clearance." The masked figure blinked. Then slowly bowed. "Protocol accepted. Welcome, operatives." From behind him, four figures stepped forward—Guild Enforcers. And these weren't the usual paper-pushers.
1. Cael Umbra — a lanky man wrapped in gravity-thread, face covered by a mirror mask. His voice echoed from multiple directions when he spoke.
2. Lirael Flux — sharp-eyed, armored in kinetic glass, and surrounded by flickering probabilities. She was a probability manipulator—dangerous and smug.
3. Grudge — a mountain of dark muscle fused with decayed tech. His right arm was a memory cannon that fired your past regrets at you.
4. Ero — young, silent, floating slightly off the ground, his skin inscribed with lines of law that glowed when he moved.
Lirael grinned at Alestria. "You always bring drama. Is it true what the streamers say? A Time Lock's been opened?" Alestria nodded grimly. "And it's rewriting sectors live. We need access to Grand Archive Level Theta." Cael Umbra flinched. "That's off-limits. No one accesses Theta without Guild Trinity approval." "Then get us an audience with them," Xerxes snapped. "Unless you want half this world turned into memory sludge." Grudge laughed, a deep metallic groan. "Been a while since we had real threats. I'll take you there—but if you lie, I eat you."
They were led into the inner tiers, past layers of initiation arenas, record temples, code vaults, and spirit courts. It was all structured chaos. At the Heart Atrium, where three golden thrones levitated in orbit around a spinning nucleus of law, the Guild Trinity waited.
Archon Vale — a logic-AI grown from seven collapsed universes.
Mother Riven — a blindfolded matron who sees only timelines.
High Intercessor Jyrek — half-man, half-inference engine, voice tuned to truth-frequency.
Jyrek spoke first. "You claim the Lock was breached. Prove it." Xenos drifted forward. "I am the proof. The signal touched me. I carry its residue." Mother Riven inhaled sharply. "He bears the glyph of Rewrite. It's true." Archon Vale buzzed in disapproval. "Containment is required. Exile is the standard." Xerxes stepped forward, rage barely restrained. "Contain us and you doom your own world. The Void isn't the only force moving anymore. Something older... bigger is in play." Silence. Then Mother Riven whispered: "Then you will need his help. Xerxes you are a Demon King (Daimao) afterall, we owe you nothing." "The Professor," Alestria said. "Unfortunately, yes," Riven replied. "He resides in the Null-Library now, beyond the Breaker's Zone. No maps. No paths. Only a challenge: survive the entrance trial."
"Then open the way," Alestria said. Archon Vale's eyes flared like stars collapsing. "So be it." The floor split beneath them. They fell—not through space, but through time. Down, into the entrance trial. To find the Professor. To stop the Rewrite. To survive the Guild World.
TRIAL ONE: THE ROOM OF INTENT
They landed hard—but not on stone, or steel, or glass. On words. The ground was made entirely of paper—stacked, layered, endless sheets of living parchment, whispering in dead tongues. Above them, no sky. Just a ceiling of ink slowly dripping in reverse, letters ascending into it like smoke. They were inside the Null-Library, and the Trial had already begun. Xerxes stood up first. "Where are we?" A voice boomed from nowhere—and everywhere. "TRIAL ONE: THE ROOM OF INTENT." "HERE, THE DOOR ONLY OPENS TO THOSE WHO KNOW WHY THEY ENTER." The paper beneath their feet stirred, rearranging into a circle inscribed with nine blank doors—each identical, featureless, and sealed shut. Alestria scanned them. "Nine doors. One truth. Eight lies." Farabius snarled. "Riddles. Of course." A new voice echoed—this one closer. Warmer. Mocking. "Not riddles. Reflections." A figure appeared in the center of the circle—faceless, but shaped like each of them at once. Its armor flickered between styles. Its voice shifted with each word—sometimes Xerxes, sometimes Xenos, sometimes Alestria.
"One by one, step forward and speak your intent. Not your mission. Not your role. Your why. If it is true, your door opens. If you lie—" The figure smiled without a mouth.
"—the room eats you." Xerxes stepped forward. The floor rippled under her boots. Her fists clenched. "My intent is simple. I want to stop the Rewrite before it consumes everything, before I can fight Hermes." The room was silent. Then: shhhk. One door cracked open. A faint blue glow within. "Truth," said the figure. "But you left something out." Xerxes flinched. "You also want revenge. On whoever separated you from Hermes" Her jaw tightened. She walked through the door without a word.
Farabius stepped next.
"I'm here because I was ordered to be. That's it." Nothing. The paper beneath his feet slithered like snakes. The doors stayed closed. The figure smiled. "A half-truth. Try again." He growled, hesitating. "...I need to understand why the Void left me alive. When they slaughtered my world, they looked at me—and spared me. I need to know why. Why the Void denied my right as king." A door opened. Rust-red light poured out. "Truth," the figure whispered. "But you're afraid you won't like the answer." Farabius stepped through.
Xenos walked forward with her arms crossed.
"I want to know who I was before I became this." The room froze. The figure was silent. Then, almost gently: "Your truth is too big for this room." All nine doors opened at once for him. He drifted through one that shi
Alestria walked up last.
She hesitated. The others had gone. Only she remained. "My intent is... to stop the Rewrite. Yes. But also... I need to see him again. The Professor. Not just for knowledge. I need answers only he can give." A pause. The figure tilted its head. "He broke you," it said softly. "And you never healed." Alestria didn't look away. "No. I didn't." The paper floor folded open. A door emerged—not from the wall, but from within the parchment. This one looked like it had been written into existence. She stepped through.
The Room of Intent faded.
All doors closed.
Trial Complete.
After the trial our heroes were given access to the files on the Professor. There was a lot to go off of. They had to sign an agreement that they would join a single Confederation of over 200 Guilds, the Guild World had access to hundreds of thousands of Confederations, they were only obligated to join one. Alestria pulled up the information on the 'Professor' on one of the Guild's computers:
Data-Log: PROFESSOR AMADEUS CLAUSWITZ
Alias: The Demon-Killer, Architect of the Lux, The Immortal Scholar
Birthplace: Cynon B, Planet V-9 12, Year 5962 IC
Species: Human (currently Immortal, Post-Physical)
Age: Appears 37 — current age - 500,000,000 years old, actual time alive in total: Approx. 2 billion years.
Appearance:
White, silver-toned hair flowing past his shoulders
Eyes like fractured sapphires, glowing slightly
Wears a battle-scorched scholar's coat over hex-plated armor
Wields a massive, rune-etched sword named "Luxcordis" (Latin: Light of the Heart)
Carries a portable library-core embedded in his spine—data storage of a thousand civilizations
PERSONALITY & MINDIQ: 230, though traditional measures don't apply—he thinks on hyperdimensional vectors
Has the composure of a sage, the sarcasm of a madman, and the fury of a hell-slayer
Brilliant but deeply flawed—obsessed with order, haunted by failure
Thinks ten moves ahead, but still prone to reckless choices in the name of progress
ABILITIESMartial Arts: Trained in 18 different systems of kinetic and void combat. Moves like a mathematician solving a knife fight.
Magic: Specialized in anti-demon hexes, temporal containment fields, memory burns, and void suppression.
Weaponry: Luxcordis, his sword, can "split" a demon across parallel layers—killing not just the body, but erasing its echo from the cosmic, temporal, metaphysical, Nusian, etc. script.
Science/Magic Hybridization: Pioneered the concept of Techno-Thaumaturgy—blending spellcasting with neural networks and quantum drive cores.
Immortality: Escaped the Cycle of Reincarnation through a singularity-based neurological transfer system of his own design.
HISTORY (CURRENT FORM – PROFESSOR CLAUSWITZ)
Cynon B was a peaceful highly-advanced world overrun by dimensional bleed; it was advanced for over 200,000,000 billion years up to the present—Hell and the Void pushing into physical reality. Clauswitz was born into an era where science and magic had no choice but to merge. He became the youngest High Theorist of the Arcane-Synthetics Guild at age 15 and designed weapons meant to fight not just creatures, but concepts.
When his homeworld (or the small outpost moon-colony of Zeta-05), was nearly consumed by the Demon Plague of 5968 IC, Clauswitz led a desperate mission into the Core Rift, destroying the Void Nexus at the cost of every other member of his expedition. He emerged from the Rift not dead, but changed. Cut loose from fate itself. From then on, he refused to die—and became obsessed with preventing others from falling to chaos and entropy. He began constructing the Lux—a new breed of warrior-scholars who would live on through numbers and sometimes reincarnation. Not just fighters, but preservers of balance across space. Alesttria and Xerxes were his two greatest prospects—until he vanished.
FUTURE FORM — UNGAR, THE STAR CHILD
2 billion years from now, Clauswitz dies at the edge of reality—consumed in the collapse of Cosmic-Stara 770900-Gamma. But death doesn't claim him.
Instead, he undergoes an event known only in legend as The Singularity Baptism. In the birth of a new star, something ancient takes root: every soul, every spark of life from 600,000 collapsing universes is condensed into his consciousness.
He becomes Ungar.
A living celestial being
Incorruptible yet unknowable
Wears a form resembling the Death Dealer—cloaked, faceless, eternal
Speaks in fragments, sometimes as one voice, sometimes as millions
His presence bends reality—dreams die near him, but truths emerge
Carries Luxcordis, now evolved into Solfracture, a weapon that can kill ideas, gods, or histories, within reason and in some cases with totality.
Ungar no longer fights demons—he corrects entire timelines.
CLAUSWITZ'S ROLE IN THE CURRENT STORY
Alesttria and Xerxes are searching for Clauswitz because they know he's the only being alive who:
Understands the Rewrite Signal's origin
Has fought the Void not just as monsters—but as systems
Holds the map to the Cycle Engine — the core mechanic driving time, fate, and reincarnation across the multiverse.
But Clauswitz is elusive. Since breaking the reincarnation loop, he's grown paranoid, eccentric.
Xerxes stepped back for a second mouth spazzed out like an anime character stating: "Whoa that's tripping it catalogued what we're currently doing." Seregrin laughed: "Of course, it catalogues everything in the collective timelines within its knowledge in real time of course." Xerxes stopped for a moment: "UNGAR?????!!!" Zelanius replied in haste: "You know something???!!!" Xerxes nodded, "We'll deal with it as soon as we meet the Professor, I just know a way to convince him to aid us," said Xerxes.
Back on Umi, Hermes had just returned from the tower and they were ready to take on the final dragon. Hermes asked Ungar point-blank, "I felt Xerxes' energy on the way back. That shouldn't be possible. Tell me who she is." Ungar sighed: "She is your other half." This statement confused everyone. "Long ago Ebisu split your body into two halves one of them was you Hermes the other became Xerxes (one of light (you) one of darkness (her). Long ago you two beings were one. A single entity with two opposing sides. You see when Hermes made you with the unknown aura he found in the divine realm something that he could sense with all five senses and beyond he soon realized that essence made you too powerful, the essence was pure but in a mortal body it was unbalance created a being with incredible good but also incredible evil. As a Kami 神 (Spirit or God) and as the guardian of Helios at the time he knew that you couldn't be left in your original form for you not only threatened that planet but the Cosmos. So you were separated into two, the light being you Hermes and the darkness became Xerxes. It took many years but finally Ebisu was able to remove the impure desires from the body of your embryo, that evil became Xerxes." Mark was stunned: "So Hermes is evil." Ungar laughed: "She once was, but millennia ago she became indifferent. Long ago she plundered every world and planet she came across into chaos much like what I did back on Earth until I was stopped by Percival. Hermes destroyed mortals as a Great Demon King but one day that all changed and she became bored so she went off no one knew where she went, at least I didn't know, until now." Ungar continued: "There's a catch if either of you die, the other one will die, but if you merge into one you will become a being of incredible power. The Gods and the Demons of the Void both fear that so they have sought to destroy you both Hermes. In the end you will share the same fate." The wind whipped around them as Ungar's words settled like thunder in their chests. Ungar's black cape fluttered in the breeze. A heavy silence fell across the plateau of Umi's northern cliffs, broken only by the distant cry of a skybeast overhead.
Hermes clenched their fists. Lightning crackled faintly along their arms — not out of rage, but something deeper. Recognition. Memory. Power. "…So I was never whole," Hermes muttered, eyes narrowing. "I've been fighting half-blind. Half-awake." Ungar nodded solemnly. "You were light… but without your shadow, you were never complete. That's why your powers have plateaued. That's why Xerxes is gaining strength faster." Mark stepped forward, fists shaking. "But if merging makes Hermes that powerful… then why not just do it? Why not become whole again and destroy the Demons of the Void before they have the chance to destroy us?" Ungar's expression darkened. "Because merging isn't a handshake. It's war. Two wills fighting for dominance. The moment you try to reunite, your light will battle her darkness inside the same soul. Only one can lead. If you lose, she takes over." Hermes exhaled. "And if I win…?" "Then you'll become something the gods fear. Something they can't control. Not Kami. Not Demon. Not Human. Something… beyond." Ungar shifted his tone: "There is a third path, it's a long shot but based on what I've felt in Xerxes' soul it is possible." Lupus became angry and irritable: "IF YOU KNOW SOMETHING DON'T HIDE IT! Explain!" Ungar replied: "I've known of Xerxes for over a thousand years and in all that time the feeling in her soul went from dark to a lighter state. The darkness in Xerxes heart is fading, perhaps she's found comrades of her own somewhere else, perhaps something else has occurred but either way it's fading. So it's possible to unite peacefully though even if Xerxes fully consents this would still take considerable time. The end result would be more than worth it, though," said Ungar. Ebisu replied: "What do you mean by that, how so?" Ungar laughed: "Because if this happened Hermes would become the most powerful version of herself, to the forces of this world she would be unstoppable." Everyone looked on in awe. Ungar turned around: "Well in a day's time we'll reach the final dragon it's time we get moving, we don't have any time to waste."
In the Void a grand Sanhedrin of Demons gathered to speak of the future. "So the Prophet has learned about her other half, we can't have this. We need to destroy her as soon as possible." One of the other demons began to speak up: "Should we send out the 12 Deadly Sins." The 12 Deadly Sins were 12 terrible beings of incredible power, they are beings are multi-cosmic level power, Hermes is currently at a multi-galactic level power. Actually she's stronger than that, Hermes current power level is boundless and infinite with the ability to warp reality itself. But "Pride," the strongest of the 12 Deadly Sins has the power of 100 billion infinities at least and his power greatly outweighs Hermes and Xerxes. But all of the Sins are incredibly powerful:
1. Greed — The Golden GluttonAppearance: Tall, armored in gilded plates fused with cursed coin armored plates. His left hand is a dragon-shaped vault, devouring anything it touches.
Powers: Absorption and replication. Every time he steals from someone—powers, weapons, memories—he gains a fragment of them.
Personality: Arrogant hoarder. Doesn't fight for victory—he fights for ownership.
Signature Move: Mammon Break — steals the energy of an entire battlefield to create a cannon blast of condensed avarice.
2. Wrath — The Crimson CataclysmAppearance: Massive, shirtless brawler covered in burning brands. Eyes glow like molten iron.
Powers: Rages harder the more damage he takes. His aura ignites with fury—literally.
Personality: Unstable berserker. The line between friend and enemy vanished long ago.
Signature Move: Fury Spiral: Red Planet Smash — he launches himself like a meteor, igniting the sky and cracking mountains.
3. Envy — The Skin ThiefAppearance: Genderless, ever-shifting form—patches of stolen faces stitched together like a patchwork doll.
Powers: Shape-shifting. Copies opponents' forms and powers, but twisted.
Personality: Jealous mimic, obsessed with erasing uniqueness.
Signature Move: Mirror's Curse — becomes a grotesque version of the opponent and turns their own strengths into weaknesses.
4. Lust — The Crimson ChainAppearance: Elegant, seductive, draped in red silk that moves like tentacles. Eyes like twin galaxies.
Powers: Emotional manipulation. Can bind anyone who feels desire—lust, ambition, hunger for power.
Personality: Calculating, theatrical, plays with victims like toys.
Signature Move: Velvet Guillotine — snares enemies in silk threads that crush the body as they stoke the heart's darkest cravings.
5. Gluttony — The Endless MawAppearance: Blob-like humanoid with mouths all over his body. One massive central jaw constantly chews reality itself.
Powers: Eats anything—matter, energy, even time. Grows with every meal.
Personality: Dumb but cunning. Has no goals. Just wants to feed.
Signature Move: Devour Null — erases a zone from existence by swallowing it whole.
6. Sloth — The Titan of StillnessAppearance: A mountain-sized humanoid bound in chains of stasis. Eyes half-lidded, but ancient.
Powers: Time distortion. Moves slowly, but warps space-time around him to make others slower still.
Personality: Detached, speaks in riddles, seemingly indifferent.
Signature Move: Absolute Inertia — creates a field where nothing can move, even thought and breath are frozen.
7. Venom — The Whispering PlagueAppearance: Wears a plague doctor mask fused with organic armor. Carries syringes and blades dipped in liquid corruption.
Powers: Toxins—physical and psychological. Can infect dreams and minds.
Personality: Sadistic scholar. Speaks calmly, like a doctor explaining your autopsy.
Signature Move: Mindrot Symphony — a virus that turns a fighter's memories against them in hallucinogenic torment.
8. Malice — The Living GrudgeAppearance: Shadowed, with glowing scars across a cracked black skin. Bleeds smoke.
Powers: Weaponizes hate. Grows stronger from resentment—his or others'.
Personality: Pure spite. Will kill you even if it kills him.
Signature Move: Spite Reflux — reflects all damage dealt to him back at his attacker, multiplied by their hatred.
9. Asmodeus — The Flame of ObsessionAppearance: Noble demon with a peacock-feathered cloak. Flames dance on his fingertips, but never scorch him.
Powers: Amplifies desire until it drives others mad—love, revenge, perfection.
Personality: Obsessive genius. Always calculating, always watching.
Signature Move: Inferno Waltz — unleashes a dance of fire that burns in rhythm with a target's obsession.
10. Belphegor — The Silent CrownAppearance: Thin, frail boy sitting on a floating throne of bones and broken machines.
Powers: Can manifest thoughts into reality—but he's too lazy to do much unless forced.
Personality: Apathetic god-tier threat. Doesn't care. That's the danger.
Signature Move: Dream Collapse — creates an illusion so perfect it replaces reality, trapping enemies in eternal stasis.
11. Andras — The Bloody WolfAppearance: Beast-like, half-wolf, half-knight. Carries a massive sword dripping black fire.
Powers: War incarnate. Gains power from violence, can raise fallen enemies as cursed soldiers.
Personality: Relishes war, not for victory but for chaos.
Signature Move: Hellmarch Requiem — summons a battalion of undead warriors to recreate the battlefield of his most savage conquest.
12. Pride — The Emperor of NothingAppearance: Perfectly human. No armor, few weapons. Wears white. Eyes like galaxies collapsing inward.
Powers: Absolute dominance. Can rewrite reality around himself because he believes he is superior. And so he is.
Personality: Cold, regal, untouchable. Speaks little. Doesn't need to.
Signature Move: Sovereign Rewrite — bends the laws of power, making his opponent weaker the more confident they are.
Pride for his part doesn't fight to win battles he fights to show others their inferiority. Pride has been having a recurring dream,"Ungar, Professor Amadeus, Hermes, Xerxes, Talus, Jellal, Lupus, and Narcis stand in battle against Pride by himself in his own domain. Pride smiled: "Soon."
Enter: PROFESSOR AMADEUS CLAUSWITZ.
Professor Clauswitz dropped from above like a judgment. His coat was torn, glowing faint at the seams. His boots cracked the ground on impact. One hand rested on the hilt of Luxcordis—a blade far too massive to be legal, far too elegant to be brute force.
The first demon cackled:
"You are late to die, human."
Clauswitz tilting his head slightly replied:
"Incorrect on two counts. I'm not late, and I'm barely human. Now, do me a favor and don't scream when this next bit gets existential." He drew Luxcordis. The blade hummed in three frequencies—light, willpower, and paradox. He spun it once, mathematics solving themselves in the arc. The demon lunged. Clauswitz didn't even step aside—he moved sideways through time, slashing not the demon but the demon's potential to exist. It screams anyway—somewhere in six dimensions at once. Clauswitz was sliced to death by one of the other demons, but he simply used his Save State ability which brought him back to the last place where he died. As he reappeared in a state back in time which simultaneously in the present he struck the same demon down while another demon appeared. DEMON #2 (emerging from a tear in the air shaped like a violin note)
"You erased Gozhuth! That was one of our great generals!"
CLAUSWITZ smirked and began to giggle:
"Oh, was he? Shame. He left his entire tactical history open-source inside your collective etherbrain. I've downloaded it. Categorized. Improved. Honestly? His flanking technique was garbage. You demons have a lot of fucking gall to call something like that a technical genius. He was a waste of oxygen." He slashed upward. A rune combusts midair. The demon doesn't just die—its molecules forget how to exist in the material world and its own body begins to tear itself apart. Voidbeasts start flooding the ruin. Six. Ten. Dozens. Each moving like nightmares bound to a drumbeat only madness can follow. Clauswitz inhales.
CLAUSWITZ (low, almost apologetic) and he begins to laugh like an evil villian, manically, its goes on for at least a minute, this actually confuses the demons. "Heheheheh…Hahahahaha….HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! HOOOO!!!!!!!!"
"Fine. Time to escalate." He opens the palm of his free hand. Magic symbols unfold in golden chains. One by one, he speaks twelve languages at once—none native to any world you've ever heard of but all laced with the authority of a man who has rewritten the laws of causality before he begins his chores in the morning. The air folds. Gravity begins to laugh.
And then, Luxcordis splits into seven copies of itself, orbiting him like celestial bodies drunk on bloodlust. Clauswitz steps forward, his eyes glowing like fractured sapphires under floodlight.
CLAUSWITZ was grinning now:
"You wanted a battle? You've stumbled into a lecture. And today's topic..." (he hurled a sword into a demon's throat; it exploded into static)
"...is ontological invalidation via weaponized intent!"
The Demons charged. The battle was chaos—but Clauswitz was always precise. Every strike a thesis. Every dodge hypothesis was disproved. His laughter was sharp, unhinged, and far too aware. His mind was running ten layers ahead, playing four-dimensional chess against horrors that don't know how to play checkers. And just as the last demon fell, split across time and soul… CLAUSWITZ caught his breath and replied: "Well, that was an absolute catastrophe of etiquette." He taps his temple. A HUD flickers. Clauswitz continued: "Note to self: next time the Rewrite Signal pulses near a Class-V Rift, do not forget to bring snacks. And maybe a fresh library-core. This one smells like shit." Behind him, space buckles. Two figures approach: ALesttria and Xerxes. They stopped short. Clauswitz turned, frowning like a man who just remembered a dream he was trying to forget. He said: "Oh. You two. I Thought I told you never to follow me ever again." "…you wouldn't be here unless it was bad." ALESTRIA (quietly)
"It's about the Rewrite Signal." XERXES
"And the Cycle Engine. We found it. But we can't open it." Clauswitz stood there in silence. CLAUSWITZ:
"…Eh great, of course you two would screw something like this up, I guess I need to un-fuck up your mess."
Clauswitz put his hand out and created a portal: "Very well, follow me, I'm sure I can do something to help." The two followed Clauswitz into the portal on the other side was a man with spiky blue hair. "Doctor who the hell are these people?" Clauswitz tsked, "Some ingrates who have refused to leave me be, but trust me I would not have brought them here if I couldn't find a way around it." Alestria grew angry: "Are you still mad at us leaving you behind in the Alphonse System, that was over six years ago." Clauswitz laughed, "Leave me, as if I was even in danger. NO! It's about you two always being a colossal pain in the ass." The red hair man grew annoyed: "Who are these two?" The Doctor simply remarked: "This is Alestria and the other is Xerxes, you two this is Zalmon the 5,087th Gate Keeper." Alestria was stunned: "You're a Gatekeeper?" Zalmon smiled: "Did he stutter?" Zalmon took out the Spirit Blade and began to spin it around with incredible ease. A loud booming voice could be heard, "Boss who is making all that noice, I'm trying to sleep." A large purple aliens with antenna, pointy ears and a giant Kanji of the word "Demon" on his Gi walked up, he was at least 8 feet tall and the same race as Mozi. Zalmon responded: "Former Great Demon-King Kaisho, this is Alestria and Xerxes. Alestria and Xerxes, Kaisho." Xerxes smiled: "I'm a Demon King myself, I'm the Demon God of Time." Kaisho responded in a booming voice with his arms crossed: "I'm the former Demon King of Wrath." The Professor brushed all this off: "Now that we have all the formalities out of the way let's get down to brass tacks."
INT. THE NEXUS CHAMBER – LOCATION: CORE DIMENSION 11-BETA
The room was colossal. Hexagonal glyphs burned across the ceiling like constellations drawn by madness. Reality bent at the edges of perception. The Rewrite Signal pulsed faintly in the distance like a heartbeat made of starlight and screaming data. Time didn't pass here—it was as if it was beyond space and time. PROFESSOR (the Professor spoke with authority, gesturing at the flickering holographic schema of the Cycle Engine):
"Here it is. The Cycle Engine. The mechanism responsible for reboots across multiversal strata. If this thing falls into the wrong hands...well, let's just say reality would get a hard reset with none of us saved to the cloud."
CLAUSWITZ with arms folded replied:
"Big, shiny, and holding secrets like a drunk clergyman. What's the problem?" ALESTRIA said nervously:
"It won't respond to any known quantum dialects or divine tongues. We tried brute-force spellcode, harmonic keys, even sang to it. Nothing."
ZALMON (snickering)
"That's because it only listens to someone who's already broken causality on purpose. You know nothing of the dialects of the Gods, that much is clear."
CLAUSWITZ with a widening smirk replied:
"Well, lucky for you all, I'm the valedictorian of unmaking reality with incredible flair and gusto. You should really thank me for pulling your asses out of the fire."
He stepped up to the pedestal. His aura exploded—an eruption of blue and violet flame laced with golden runes that orbit him like angels with knives. The Cycle Engine flickered. Shivers. Respond. Lights begun spinning around Clauswitz's hand.
KAISHO said with his arms crossed nodding:
"He's got it. The thing's purring like a scared dragon."
XERXES watched intently and said:
"So now what? We reboot?"
CLAUSWITZ (his voice now layered, echoing with a dozen versions of himself replied:)
"No. We synchronize. This thing doesn't just control resets—it remembers. Everything. Every cycle, every war, every betrayal…"
He casted a glance at Alestria and Xerxes—cold, calculated.
CLAUSWITZ:
"…even who let the Hollow Signal breach the Astral Gate in Cycle 387."
ALESTRIA (wide-eyed)
"That was erased—! No one remembers that! Well now that I say that out loud, go figure,"
CLAUSWITZ (eyes glowing, stepping back from the pedestal as it powers up:)
"I do. Because I will never forget the important screwups."
Suddenly the Cycle Engine BOOMED. A hole in spacetime rips open like a scar. From it steps a figure—tall, hooded, wrapped in data-static. Eyes like burning software bugs.
???
"You accessed what was sealed. You have invoked the Final Layer. Prepare for—"
CLAUSWITZ:
"—your goddamn thesis defense."
Luxcordis shatters into cosmic filaments and reconstructs itself as a twinblade. Zalmon whistles.
ZALMON
"Time for midterms asshole."
KAISHO stretched out his arms and cracked his knuckles:
"I haven't punched a paradox in centuries."
XERXES with a clock sigil glowing behind her said:
"Guess it's time to find out who's the real god of time."
ALESTRIA (pulling back her cloak, revealing the twin psion cannons on her shoulders) said:
"No more running. This ends now."
The Final Layer pulsed again. Eight more figures step through—the guardians of the Old Rewrite. Their presence alone causes nausea in space and hiccups in light.
CLAUSWITZ who's aura and 'Qadar' was roaring like a supernova said:
"All right, class. Today's lesson: HOW TO DELETE IMMORTALS! IF YOU ERASE THE MOLECULES OF THEM IN THE PAST TIME-STREAM! Well it goes without saying. THAT'S EXTRA GOD-DAMNED CREDIT!"