Sol gasped for air, his left hand placed over his right shoulder. The armor he once wore was shattered across the top, and his back bore a massive wound where one of his wings had been torn off, and the other was in bad condition.
He sat on his knees, his breaths betraying his godly status. He had taken a lot of fatal damage, but as he glanced ahead, he recognized that his condition was evidently better than his foe's, who lay a few meters away.
Sol mustered the strength needed to rise to his feet before he slowly walked closer to Tempest. His steps were crooked, and he could barely stay upright. The hue of the battlefield softened, and only the aftermath of their attacks remained around the scene.
Finally arriving at his opponent, Sol stopped, his gaze on Tempest, who lay flat, staring toward the skies with his hands spread apart.
Tempest's breaths were soft but still audible. He tilted slightly upon noticing a shadow, witnessing Sol stop ahead of him, before returning his gaze to the skies.
"Art thou here... to boast of thy... triumph?" Tempest muttered between breaths.
"I will do no such thing," Sol said calmly, his expression soft, signaling a turmoil that was not physical.
A few moments of silence pressed on before Tempest spoke once again. "W-Why?" he asked. "Why dost thou... care so deeply... for these mortals?"
Sol remained quiet, his gaze fixed on Tempest as his mind reminisced over every connection: from the first creation of mortality after The End's imprisonment, to his descent upon Earth, to his moments with Natalie and her words to him.
"Because they are better than we are," Sol finally said.
Tempest slowly returned his gaze to Sol once more as Sol continued. "I lived with them for a year... and I learned so much in such a short time," he explained. "Their lives being limited by years means that they choose to spend it appreciating the world around them, as well as the people they love and care about."
Tempest saw the passion in Sol's eyes. His breaths began to slow before he returned his gaze to the skies.
"And thou... holdest such faith in them... that thou wouldst strike down thine own kin... for their sake?"
Sol gazed at Tempest with pain, reminded of his siblings' state. "We may have our differences, but you are still my sibling," he began, his words soft. "Just like how you fought on behalf of Father, I fought because I truly believe in them. And unlike Father, who cares little for us or this reality... I care about these mortals just as much as I do all of you. Each and every one of them."
Tempest remained silent for a moment, recognizing the truth of Sol's words about The End caring little for them. "Is that... so?" he finally said, his gaze softening. "Then... perhaps I was... wrong."
And after his final words, the light in Tempest's eyes slowly faded, signaling his passing. Shortly after, both halves of his body began to change form, turning into a golden, petrified state within moments.
After this transformation completed, the effects of Ouroboros broke, allowing Sol to revert to his normal state. His wings returned, and his armor replenished as he cleansed himself of every battle scar. But while his body changed, his gaze remained the same, fixed on Tempest, who lay deceased ahead of him by his own hands.
Sol felt nothing but a wave of sorrow, but he knew he had to suppress it. His battle was over, and now he needed to head to Siege and Abyss to assist them. However, just as he turned to move, his eyes widened at the sound of something sudden behind him.
Standing before the god of Light was The End, his gaze cold and menacing. Sol slowly lowered his eyes, only to see The End's right arm driven straight through his chest.
The god stood frozen, unable to act despite all his strength. The absence of Ouroboros had returned him to his peak form, but even that meant nothing now. He was locked in place, utterly subject to his creator's will.
"Thy time to entertain me hath reached its end," The End said calmly, his gaze unwavering as he stared at Sol.
Siege stood in silence, tall and composed, his gaze cast downward. In his lone hand, he held Conqueror, and stains of clear, divine blood marked both the blade and his armor.
Before him knelt Tundra, grounded and crouched in exhaustion. He was severely beaten, his left arm gone, a deep scar stretching across his chest to mirror the one slashing across his face and left eye. What remained of his armor was hardly anything at all. He was in the worst condition he had ever been.
"How?" Tundra asked, breathless. "How can this be? How doth a weapon bear such formidable might?"
Siege remained silent for a moment, his expression unreadable, his body revealing no trace of fatigue. "The effects of your ability mean nothing against Conqueror," he said as he stepped forward. "Though it matters not now... your life ends here."
At those words, Tundra stumbled back. For the first time, his expression revealed true fear as he began crawling away.
"P-Please, sibling," he stammered, his voice shaking. "Thou knowest I sought only to grant thee an end more honorable. Thou wouldst have perished by Father's hand all the same."
Siege didn't respond. He continued to advance, eyes sharp with focus. His movements were deliberate and composed, his lack of visible exhaustion carefully maintained. In truth, the weapon drained him immensely, but he refused to show it. He couldn't afford unnecessary motion; any wasted movement could cost him just as much as it would Tundra.
Tundra kept backing away on trembling arms, his eyes fixed on Siege. "Mercy... please," he pleaded, his voice cracking as he tripped and fell onto his side.
"I would advise against that," Siege said coolly. "It would be humiliating to die begging."
Siege inched closer, arriving at his opponent, who could do nothing but watch as he prepared to strike. But just as Siege raised his hand, his eyes widened.
Glancing down, Siege saw a fist driven straight through his chest from behind. Standing behind him was The End, a menacing look on his face as his white pupils stared at the god of War.
Tundra witnessed the scene, a smile slowly spreading across his face as he began to let out maniacal laughter.
Far from this occurrence, Abyss and Tremor continued to swing their fists at one another in exhaustion. Their movements were slower than usual, but they remained alert and focused. Abyss charged a punch, but before he could land it, a strange chill ran through his body.
Glancing ahead, he saw Tremor suddenly fall to his knees, the god of Stone's gaze lowered to the ground. But before Abyss could react, a pair of eyes met his own.
In a single moment, The End appeared before him, driving his fist through Abyss's chest just like the others, his gaze silent and cold.
All three instances across the separate battlefields occurred simultaneously, with a different variant of The End present at each one.
Shortly after, the entire meeting room began to morph, and almost like a dream or fiction, the three separate battlefields began to dissolve and shift. Each scene was drawn back to the front of the meeting room, where the large table remained. At its head, The End was revealed to have been seated the entire time, calmly watching. The versions of himself that had appeared in battle were constructs--projections of his will which vanished as the world reset.
Sol, Abyss, and Siege were moved to the front of The End, collapsing to the ground as the constructs faded. The other elemental gods were repositioned to The End's side, including the lifeless body of Tempest.
Sol grunted in evident pain, his eyes fixed on his creator, who still sat idly at the head of the table.
"That was an enjoyable spectacle," The End said, his gaze turning next toward Tundra. "Thy proposal was... pleasing."
Tundra shifted in his wounded state, lowering himself onto one knee and bowing his head. "Thou dost honor me, Father," he said, the strain of his injuries still evident in his voice. " I seek only... to please you."
The End glanced around the room briefly, seeing no further reason to remain in Higher World. "The time hath come to advance unto the next stage of mine design," he said, his gaze falling on Tremor and Tundra, who knelt nearby. "The two of thee shall depart unto the next world. Make thy way to the planet they call Earth... and there, await mine arrival."
"Yes, Father," Tremor responded, his breath labored and his bruises from the fight with Abyss still fresh.
Tundra and Tremor then rose and silently walked out of the meeting room.
As the two elemental gods exited the meeting room, a distinct note echoed--a signal marking the deactivation of the Ouroboros. With this divine rule now absent, Tremor's stance shifted from a slouch to upright. His armor restored itself to pristine condition, and all his wounds and scratches gradually vanished. A massive, vertical halo also appeared and hovered over his back, signaling the return of his infinite power.
Tundra's armor and stamina were also replenished in the absence of Ouroboros, as well as his halo. But unlike his fellow god, his injuries remained, his left hand still missing as well. Realizing the reason, he scowled in frustration and conjured a new arm entirely made of ice, forming a jagged prosthetic in place of the original.
"What troubles thee?" Tremor asked, his tone neutral as his eyes moved to Tundra's lingering wounds.
"That damned Siege," Tundra muttered bitterly, moving the icy fingers of his new arm as though they were his original. "Though mine infinite power hath been restored, I cannot mend the harm caused by his weapons."
Tremor was surprised by this but gave it little thought. They had been given a task by The End, which was of more importance to him. "Thou shouldst make haste," he said simply, as his body began to shift into stone. "Father hath given us orders."
"I know that," Tundra scoffed in annoyance, stretching his neck with his right hand as a dull pain lingered.
Tremor's body soon became fully petrified before it began to dematerialize, signaling his transition to Main World as commanded.
As the god of Stone vanished completely, Tundra prepared to depart as well, but then paused. After a moment of stillness, a faint smile crept onto his face. He had felt something--a strange presence.
"Thou art still present?" he murmured, amused. "Interesting."
His smile widened before his body slowly began to turn to ice, initiating his transport to Main World. The frozen construct that remained gradually vanished upon his departure.
The End hovered before Siege, Abyss, and Sol, his feet never once touching the ground. "I will admit, ye did entertain me," he said. "So, in return, I will grace thee with knowledge before thy end--knowledge of how I did return."
His gaze turned to Siege, noticing that the god was quickly losing consciousness. "It would be a shame for any among thee to perish before I am finished speaking," he added. "Thus shall ye remain alive until my tale is told."
At his command, Siege's flickering eyes steadied, though the pain in his body remained. He stayed conscious, forced into awareness. The same held true for Abyss and Sol; though weakened, they remained present, compelled to listen.
Shortly after, The End's expression darkened as the memory of the Void surfaced. "After countless eons in that wretched realm," he began, his words reverberating as it always did, "I did sense a disturbance. One among thee had dared to open the Void. Upon sensing this, I made my attempt to escape... yet it did not suffice. I could release but one percent of my full being alone, while the others followed too. The one who opened the Void perished before releasing me fully."
His voice grew sharper, his teeth clenched as the memory stirred his rage. "Recalling the betrayal upon my return," he continued, his tone venomous, "I released every remnant of care I once bore for any of thee and cast it away. And in doing so, I made a vow: When I am done... no god will live."
Sol winced, his body aching and mind racing as he wondered who among them had released The End. He had a guess on who could do such a thing, though it seemed impossible at the moment, confusing him further. Yet his thoughts shifted when he noticed Siege and Abyss, both locked in pain.
The End's gaze remained steady, his fury gradually cooling. "And thereafter," he said, "I destroyed each and every one of thee without pity."
Sol stared, confused by The End's words. He was certain the other gods had not been destroyed, since their bodies were clearly still present in the meeting room. None of it made sense to him.
"With all of thee fallen," The End continued, "I brought thy precious worlds to ruin with ease, terrorizing them all into eradication."
His gaze soon shifted. "And then... I felt it," he said softly, "a sudden disturbance at a fixed point in reality--upon the realm thou callest Earth. And when I did arrive, I beheld the truth: I stood not within the natural point in time."
Sol's eyes widened, fully understanding what those words implied.
"By the time I reached it," The End went on, "the source of the disturbance had already slipped away. Yet it sufficed to unveil the truth: a being had traversed to that future and returned, a deed most possible... were I truly bound within the rightful point of time."
Sol immediately recalled Klaus's mention of how Ace had accidentally run into the future and experienced The End's presence. With the context now laid before him, Sol understood. This was that same version of The End--one released from that exact timeline.
"When at last I grasped what had transpired," The End said, bringing his tale to a close, "I merely returned to the rightful timeline. But having already unleashed my fury upon the former reality, I chose not to destroy everything at once. This time, I sought entertainment first."
The three gods of the pantheon lay in silence, knowing full well there was nothing they could do.
"Why did you..." Sol began, gasping for breath, "not just release the rest of your presence from the Void?"
He had long wondered why The End's being had not simply overwhelmed reality completely as it did before. Until now, he believed it was a deliberate suppression, but learning that only a fraction of him had emerged clarified the mystery.
At the question, The End turned to Sol, a faint smile curling at his lips. "Where would be the fun in that?" he asked.
After a long pause, his smile faded to a cold neutrality. "Ye were expected to set an example for the others," he said, his white eyes fixed on Sol and Abyss. "Never had I imagined that either of thee would permit such a deed... much less take part in it. Yet it would seem our time together hath drawn to its end."
As his words faded, Sol felt the slow sensation of death return. A creeping stillness sank back into his body, and whatever had paused their end was no longer in effect.
He looked to Abyss and Siege, watching as the two began to fall into unconsciousness.
Siege clutched the stone necklace that had once formed Conqueror in his only hand. His gaze remained fixed on it as memories of his time among humanity surfaced, then slowly began to slip away.
Abyss turned to Sol, a soft smile forming as he noticed the sorrow written across the god of Light's face. "Worry not, sibling," he whispered. "We did all we could... for their sake. That alone... is enough."
And with those final words, the light in Abyss's eyes began to fade.
Sol watched in pain as the bodies of both Siege and Abyss began to slowly petrify, signaling their gradual passing. For the first time, tears welled in his eyes as they scanned the meeting room, taking in the corpses of the rest of his siblings, including Tempest. It was a sight he had never imagined, and though the pain was unbearable, a strange stillness began to settle within him.
He lay motionless, his gaze flickering, the light in his eyes beginning to dim, signaling that his own end was near. The only reason he had lasted longer than the others was because he had replenished his infinite power mere moments before The End's attack. But as the final seconds ticked away, Sol realized something critical... something he had been waiting for.
While all of this unfolded in the meeting room, Klaus and Shade had just finished their conversation with Flage and were now departing for Under World. Throughout the battle, Sol had kept watch over them, ensuring that they would reach Nekro's side safely.
As he observed them vanish from Flage's realm, a faint smile curved across his face. With what little strength he had left, he slowly raised his left hand to his side and reached toward the ground beside him. Extending his index finger, he traced a symbol, creating a circle, and then a line striking through its center.
The moment the sign was completed, The End turned his gaze back toward him, a smile pulling at the corners of his lips. "Still thou fightest for them, even on thy deathbed?" he asked. "Though I trust thou knowest well that severing the connection between the realms will not stop me."
Sol let out a faint laugh, blood dripping from his lips as he struggled to speak. "Even after all this..." he said, pausing to cough up more blood, "I still do not... regret anything."
Sol's life began to flash before him, memories cascading like starlight. He lay flat on his back, eyes pointed toward the sky, but his true gaze was elsewhere. He was watching Klaus, who had just arrived in Under World, and Natalie, who sat far away at home, suddenly placing a hand to her head as if chilled by something unseen.
His smile lingered as one final moment of thought passed through him. Then, his eyes began to lose their light, and his body slowly turned to gold, just like the others.
The End stood still, his gaze fixed on the petrified corpses of Sol, Abyss, and Siege. His expression was hollow--almost contemplative--as if he were searching for a feeling he no longer remembered how to feel. But after a brief moment of silence, he turned away, ready to carry out the next part of his plan.
Yet before he could move, a slow smile crept onto his face. Something interesting had caught his attention.
"While I commend thy curiosity," he said, "and acknowledge the intellect thou dost possess as a half-mortal, I would advise thee cease thy observing my actions, lest thou wish to suffer mine wrath prematurely... Quinn Atlas."
As Klaus and Shade opened their eyes, they realized they had arrived at the Facility in Under World.
Looking ahead, they spotted a few demons waiting for them. The demons bowed respectfully upon noticing their presence. "Welcome, demigods," one of them said. "Lord Nekro has asked us to escort you to where the other demigods are. This way, please."
Klaus and Shade began to follow, but suddenly, Shade froze in place. His eyes widened, his mouth slightly parted, as if something unseen had struck him.
"Shade?" Klaus asked, confused.
Without a word, tears began to spill down Shade's face.
The moment Klaus saw this, he immediately turned to him, all other thoughts and actions pushed aside. "What's wrong, Shade?" he asked with concern. "Talk to me, please."
Klaus couldn't understand what was happening. He stood helpless as he watched his brother break down, weeping in a silent grief that pierced deeper than any wound. But then, gradually, something hit him as well, potentially of the same nature as what had hit Shade.
It was Sol's voice.
Klaus heard his father's words, and within moments, he realized they were words of farewell.
Tears began to stream down his face, the weight of those final words striking him deeply, leaving him frozen in place beneath the burden of overwhelming grief...
"Klaus... if you are hearing this, then I have unfortunately passed away.
I am glad that I was able to give you and the other demigods enough time to vacate Higher World, but I am saddened that I could not do more than I had hoped. Fortunately, I was able to take down one of the traitorous gods before my demise.
While that may be an advantage, I have always made an oath to be truthful to you, and because of that, I cannot guarantee your safety at the end of this encounter. Despite this, I know you will continue to fight for your reality, just as I did until my final breath.
Natalie... I have ensured this message would reach you as well.
In these final moments, I want to thank you for raising our son to become the remarkable person he is. I know how difficult it is for a single mother to accomplish what you have with him, and for that, I thank you.
I am sorry, my love, that I must leave this world in this way. But if there is anything that gives me peace in this moment, it is the time and love we shared. Words cannot express how much you mean to me, or how truly grateful I am.
Klaus... I am sorry... for everything. When you poured your heart out to me weeks ago, I was too overwhelmed to express how I truly felt, and I know that was my fault. I still struggle to understand true emotion as a god, but even so, I will not let that stop me from telling you the truth...
I have lived for eons... I have created a thousand versions of mortal life... I have witnessed countless eras of mankind and other species. But in all my existence... you are my greatest achievement as a god, Klaus Walker.
I love you... my son."