Location - Elysium
Violent rumbles shook the ruins of the heavenly realm. The emptiness machine of hollow transfiguration that broke down the structures of the revered Elysium, metamorphosing it into the Primordial Hellscape of its master's design was in a state of stagnation before the presence of two brothers at war. Thunderous echoes of harrowing drum beats rang out like a symphony of despair as the collisions between the masters of the void clashed against one another.
Flames of Outer Darkness sparked in brilliant forms of light as one who wielded scythe danced furiously against the other wielding a blade made of darkness itself. The scythe-user was Pariah as he skid across the air in a ready stance, steadying his breathing so that he would not succumb to the intense fury that clawed at him deep down towards his brother. Drawing upon his observational memories of the rebellious Stormbringer, Pariah spun his scythe around and snapped it in half before creating a set of dual blades before kicking off of the air and rushing towards Perdition.
A rapid series of slash attacks were thrown towards the Lord of Horrors as he quickly found himself on the defensive. He was forced to hold his phantasmal blade with two hands as he was losing ground against his brother's assault. The repeated clashing of steel against steel escalated in tempo to a point where it sounded like birds were singing in the wind. However, Pariah was not done there.
The Janitor inhaled deeply and still his thoughts. In a moment of pure calm, his body, mind and soul became as one as the teachings of Reina's Resolute Blade Arts manifested. His yellow eyes acquiesced a spin of shimmering frost blue luster as the dark one tapped into Mugen.
As needle projectiles were discharged by Perdition's wings as a defense mechanism, Pariah effortlessly dodged each and every single one of them in a blur of motion that seemingly slowed down space around his body.
"Tch…I see…so this is the power you attained while in the Void," Perdition gritted his teeth upon seeing this revelation unfold. The eons that Pariah spent within the Void and observing humanity enabled his once docile and hesitant brother to transform into a fighter with the knowledge of all known forms of combat. Pairing that with the power of Rakshasa that he had just made his own forged Pariah into a threat to even the likes of the Lord of Horrors.
"Very well, little brother, I grow weary of these games," Perdition declared as he raised his arms out to his sides. In that moment, a subtle, ghastly glow of pearlescent lavender energy emanated from his body as the spectral silhouettes of the fallen or captured members of the Abyss Order appeared. These orbs flowed into the Lord of Horrors, each containing an authority that belonged to a particular user.
Featherine had the authority of narrative-bending truths overwriting the present happenings with just words born from her mouth. Magane's ability was to turn lies into indisputable facts. The Dark Wraith of Hibiki Tachibana had hyper-concentrated and refined control over Outer Darkness. Then there was the mythos of the great Worlds Eater–Jormungandr–which belonged to Vili. Last but not least, was the undisputed endless ego turned strength once wielded by the witch called Vainglory. As each of these came into Perdition's possession, it allowed him to partially awaken his true power.
The Lord of Horrors' appearance changed as a result, turning him into the ancient depiction of an unholy seraph. His face became obscured by a black mask whose teeth were exposed like rows of fangs stacked atop one another. The pupils of his eyes disappeared into narrow slits with a third eye opening vertically in the crown of his forehead. His hair trailed behind him into a mane composed of Outer Darkness. The multitude of wings protruding from his back merged together as the bones therein became like thick tendrils with sightless maws adorned at the tips.
Buried in the surface of those wings were a pair of soulless eyes that gazed into nothingness filled with malevolent intent. His body became a muscular, white zombie with three holes down his chest conveying emptiness, and an abyss of endless evil. His hands and feet were more bestial in nature with flaming talons birthed for the purpose of destruction as tendril-like tails extended from the base of his body. In his central mass of one of the holes was a singular orb that represented the Roots of a myriad stories and the lives from previous cycles that he decimated to become the beast that was displayed before his brother.
"I shall not even require the authority of that butcher to end you," Perdition declared in a distorted, sinister voice.
Seeing his brother's disfigured, cursed and grotesque appearance stirred feelings of disgust and disappointment within Pariah; however, another part of him was not surprised in the slightest given their lengthy history. As a result, the chips were being laid down before him.
"As I am currently, I will not be able to defeat Perdition. Even without Cain's authority, it is a daunting task to attempt to hold him down. Regardless of the damage I've dealt to his body, I will find myself on the receiving end of defeat at some point. However, for the sake of a future…of the promise that is to come, then I must play my part to manifest destiny," Pariah analyzed.
The brothers clashed again, the symphonic drum beats quaked the heavens from their powers coming to blows. Every impact was tearing away the reality around them, as the corruption spread faster than black ink dumped on an empty canvas. Unfortunately, the gap that the Janitor feared between himself and the Lord of Horrors was weaving itself into truth. As the damage that was dealt to Perdition during the course of this skirmish was seemingly weakening the dark lord, he utilized his newly acquired authority to rewind the truths of their impact thereby erasing the cause of his wounds from the tale.
"Ever the fool…little brother," Perdition mocked with scorn as the overwhelming strength that continuously grew thanks to the authority of Vainglory allotted the great destroyer to cleave off one of the Janitor's wings.
Pariah felt towards the bleeding landscape below where the fields of Sanctuary once were. A legion of Tacet emerged from the land beginning to swarm his location. Before they had a chance to enjoy a meal, the Janitor was forced to tap into the darkness that he converted into his own power–his own law.
"Vera…Libertas…"
True Freedom–the Rakshasic Law of the Human Monster; through the usage of this power, Pariah separated himself from the world at large. He engulfed a domain that grew past the landscape of the former golden realm of Elysium, transforming into a formless singularity with an undetermined existence.
"Oh? So you've decided to try and detach yourself from the world around you so that my Abyssal authorities do not affect you? How interesting of you to do something so–..."
Perdition's monologue was then interrupted as he felt something snatch him up by the face.
Pariah was now outside of any given system; much like how one of the great Eldritch Horrors could exist outside the realms of dimensionality except on an even grander scale. In this state, the Janitor could truly travel anywhere. During his brother's potentially long-winded rant, Pariah materialized a small part of himself to seize him and send him ragdolling through Heaven, then the Void and lastly, out into the Archaeus thus disregarding the Root itself to enter the primeval page.
Recognizing that they were in a place where only the truest of Gods could exist, Perdition gathered himself as small droplets of blood seeped from his fangs. As Pariah materializes a soft echo of himself to stand triumphant over his brother, the Lord of Horrors merely laughs.
"You made a fatal error in choosing to bring me here for the final stage of our battle," Perdition declared. With his authority over narratives, he drew upon the great canvas below as the stories therein rekindled the other authorities he lacked at the moment.
The Authority of the First Murderer was reclaimed by the overlord at first as it was recreated from a million storyworlds as fuel. The invulnerable Kinslayer, a state imposed upon Cain by God rendered him invulnerable to all statuses of harm or effect used by creatures considered living; the very essence of life in all regards currently had no effect on Perdition. Then in conjunction with that came the authority given to Bellona: Reckless and Relentless–born of a true Warmonger and bloodlusted battlemaniac. It was something that rendered unto the wielder a state of being unable to die unless there was a battle worth dying for. And as the body of the user grew and adapted to every changing form of battle over time, the conditions to meet that fate grew. That property was now applied to the Lord of Horrors as well.
"Even so," Pariah thought to himself, "I should be able to hold my ground with Vera Libertas. Endless strength through Vainglory, total invulnerability through Cain, and reactionary combat adaptation through Bellona may grant him godly power; but my state of true freedom should be able to outlast those effects."
However, that was just theoretical thinking proven to be false.
Perdition vanished from Pariah's sight for but the smallest moment. In that instant, the formless vessel of the Janitor was cleaved in half as his upper half wound up flat on his back against the blank page below while his legs were left behind to erode away. The Lord of Horrors loomed over him as he smiled insidiously whilst looking down upon his brother's dumbfounded expression.
"I told you that I won't even need the authority of that butcher to end you, did I not?" he mocked with laughter.
"My own Rakshasic Law–Ad Profundis. It can bring about the deepest desire of one affected. It controls all senses to the point where it can make the target misinterpret another person's form, shape, mass, feel, energy, and smell to be whatever desired. These illusions appear indistinguishable as reality to the target."
"But…you never called upon it…" Pariah coughed.
"Since when were you under the impression that I need to call upon my Law in order to activate it? This entire time, Pariah, you merely thought that your law was in effect. Once one has laid eyes upon me they will inevitably be under the effect of Ad Profundis and from there, their written destinies are mine to decide. The smoke and mirrors are mere theatrics to stop things from getting too boring and give you ants a change to play along. It was a good dream and a good fight; but in the end all dreams must come to an end."
Just then, Acedia arrived on the scene from nothingness as a purple hue enveloped her body.
"You've grown, my dear. How did negotiations fare?" the Lord of Horrors asked.
"We will get what we seek, my Lord, so long as I end this foolish stain with my newfound power," the daughter of Perdition responded.
"I have no qualms against it. My peace has already been stated to this worthless sibling of mine. Now my focus must turn to Satanael. However, before you bring about his unceremonious end, stitch him back together and bring him to Elysium. His death should be made public to all who still seek to defy me."
"At once, Father."