Star: He felt a sudden surge of electric energy, and the collapsing of the plague timeline was felt throughout the lands. He hastily stood up, animals running away from him. "Oh no, Aiden!" As he tried to fly into the sky, he felt a tap on his chest, and suddenly, a strange, faded purple dot of energy appeared on his chest. "What on earth?"
Phantom Emperor: "Impact." The Emperor's voice echoed throughout the land around Star, and then suddenly, there was a flash of gold and white as Star's chest exploded with energy. The blast force reduced everything to a blank, white nothingness; the entire timeline collapsed into a blank canvas. The sudden erasure of all that life energy stabbed through Star's spirit, hurting him more than the attack.
Star: He spat up blood, collapsing to his hands and knees, gripping the floor of the blank area. "What- What was that?!" He gasped for air, holding onto his chest.
Galacor: He appeared before Star, his cloak flowing in the emptiness, eventually settling, "Doesn't feel good, does it, Star?" He knelt to his level.
Star: He looked up, gripping his chest, his armor was heavily cracked and broken from the blast, "Galacor? What- How?" His confusion overwhelmed him. The last time they ran into each other, he was not capable of doing so much damage.
Galacor: "How was I able to do all of this? Good question, you see, after I get repeatedly attacked by you and your little friends, including one smoky guy, I had a realization. I wasn't nearly strong enough. You and your pals were training, working hard to get stronger, to defeat Lucium!" He made a mimic gesture of victory, putting his hands out to do jazz hands, "But I was always behind everyone, so at one point, something was awakened inside of me when I was on the verge of death. I got an upgrade...I call it, The Phantom Emperor."
Phantom Emperor: He appeared beside Galacor, staring down at Star, the energy spiral around its form, the golden rings shifting on its shoulders. Its red eyes glared, staring deep into Star's own eyes.
Star: "You murdered...Trillions...just to hurt me?!" His hands shook as he tried to push himself up, but the pain from so much life force being eradicated was too much for him.
Galacor: His wrist blade shot out, stabbing Star in the shoulder, just to cause a bit more pain. "That was just the first part of it..."
Star: "I told you already, I didn't do anything to your family! I have never done anything to you!" His eyes widened, and a sudden sharp pain surged through his back. He spat up gold blood, gripping the floor.
Phantom Emperor: His arm was completely through Star's chest, raising him into the air, energy surging throughout his arm and into Star's body. The energy felt like it was burning the inside of Star's body, like every ounce of him was being rejected by the forced power.
Galacor: He tilted his head at Star, pulling his hood back to get a perfect look at him. "You aren't very threatening without your little followers...You know what's funny? Beings of supreme power or potential have to understand the force they are using in order to be able to manipulate it completely. That's a pretty big drawback, I must say..."
Star: He stared at Galacor, sparks traveling around his body from the Emperor's energy.
Galacor: "Surge." The Emperor listened on command, bursting more energy into Star's body, causing him to scream out in pain for a brief moment. "That means, before, when you thought you repaired a portion of just some random timeline, it wasn't...You kickstarted a chain of events, Lucium's return, all of this negativity, it's because of you. It's all your fault..."
Star: His body trembled. Could he possibly be the cause of all this death and destruction? Could it just be Galacor trying to get under his skin?
Galacor: "Maybe I'll stop by your little home timeline...I know you've grown to care for the ghost child and the purple demon. Maybe that's a good place to start with destroying everything you love, just like you did with me." His eyes remained cold and filled with hate. He thrust his blade into Star's chest, staring at Star's face, watching him cough up more blood.
Star: He gritted his teeth, and an energy resembling golden fire formed around his body, "Don't...you dare...touch them!" He let out a powerful roar, energy firing the two of them back in the blank area. His wounds and armor slowly repaired themselves as his energy erupted, his eyes burning with a bright golden glow.
Galacor: His eye turned into the purple stone, the Emperor formed next to Galacor as he did. He stood up straight, pointing toward Star, "Eradicate. Reveal the power of the Emperor."
Phantom Emperor: "Yes, Master." His diamond-like claws surged with his energy, suddenly blizting forth, slashing at Star. A trail of blue transparent energy followed the claw's slash, erasing the emptiness as he slashed.
Star: He kicked himself off the ground to the side of the Emperor, swinging at his face.
Phantom Emperor: He slashed Star from behind, pieces of his cape being erased into small specs of sparkling energy.
Star: He dashed forward, dodging the attack before it could affect his body. He felt something smack his arm, and a sudden purple dot formed on his forearm. He looked down, his eyes widening, trying to get the spot off.
Phantom Emperor: "Impact."
Star: An explosion of gold energy knocked him back, and the force between himself and the emptiness created a rift, launching him into a different timeline. The force of his body landing wiped everything in sight. More agonizing screams were silenced instantly. "How..."
Phantom Emperor: "Your speed is...substandard. Your attack was blocked before you could motion it. You are disappointing."
Star: He stood up, flying himself toward him, swinging a barrage of punches, the force of each punch firing out shockwaves that shook the empty timeline. He suddenly lost feeling in his right arm, looking over to realize that it had been erased. Without wasting time, he used his energy force to blast himself into the Emperor, punching him in his mask.
Phantom Emperor: He stood still, stepping to the side, letting the sight of Star missing at point-blank sink in.
Star: His eyes widened. How did he miss? Did he block his attack without him realizing it? Time didn't exist anymore, so he couldn't have manipulated time. How did he do it?
Phantom Emperor: His hand glowed with a white and blue glow, the same glow forming around Star's body. He shook his head before slamming Star down through the emptiness, through timeline, after timeline, eradicating every single one until he landed on a black floor.
The surrounding area looked like a blank pocket, some kind of barrier between these other timelines and Star's home one.
Star: He looked up at the white ceiling, staring deep into the hole he came through. The sudden death of an infinite number of timelines made his body tremble, so weakened that hope could barely form within his spirit. "No...this cannot be..."
Phantom Emperor: He knelt, appearing out of nowhere next to Star. "You were not trained properly for a being of such destructive output. Winning is not an option." He pressed his finger against Star's back, surging energy into his body, making him scream out in agony.
Galacor: He hopped out of a rift on the floor, landing next to the Emperor. "I didn't even have to do anything myself, a shame...I was wanting to cause some harm to you as well. But this will do, watching you lie there, drained of all your hope, brings me great pleasure. But nothing will bring me greater pleasure than making you watch as I kill every single person in your timeline." He grabbed Star by his dreads, dragging him through the rift in the floor, into his home timeline.
Phantom Emperor: He looked down at the black floor, tilting his head. He ignored the feeling of being watched, following Galacor into the rift.