Is there anything out there that is true? A universal truth. Yes. There is one. Something out there that everyone likely knows. What is that? It's simple.
Evil.
Everyone knows about evil, but what is evil?
By definition, evil is something wicked and immoral. So then what does it mean to be wicked? What are immoral people like? Well, they are evil. Evil is immoral and wicked, and wicked and immoral are evil.
Evil is a concept. One that has brought an end to man, history, and more. Evil brings ruin. Evil is the end. Without a doubt, evil exists. A festering cancer that lies within people's souls. Their egos. But where does evil come from? Is there some elder entity out there that is the spawn of all?
No.
Evil was around even before Supers. Not just on Earth but across the galaxy, the universe, the multiverse, and the outerverse. Evil has always been there. It doesn't come from a single being. That said, there is a single being out there that represents absolute evil. A lone creature. One above all and below. One that filled the very void that was between the universe. One who had stars for eyes and could see everything that both the light and darkness touched.
This creature was, of course, the Shadow. A villain that went beyond any other villain. The first Calamity, the greatest Calamity. The only thing that could be said to be stronger than Full Monarch. This was, of course, the Shadow. A greater being. One that was equal to the Almighty.
The Shadow came to planet Earth, and it brought the world to its new ending. Forced mankind back to the Stone Age. The great reset. Mankind would have been destroyed, but the four Lords stood tall, and they brought an end to the Shadow, giving their lives to do so. It wasn't the end for the Shadow, though. Evil had a way of surviving. Of rising up. Evil always came back. So long as good existed, so too would evil.
As the four Lords were reborn, so too was the Shadow, its power, its ego, and its evil, splitting into four different halves. The four Rulers, the Shadow's counter to the four Lords. Unlike the Lords, who wanted to bond with their host and used the cycle of rebirth to survive, the Rulers were corrupted and broken, constantly eating away at the human they inhabited, draining and breaking their soul, and devouring it so that the Shadow's own power could cultivate and grow. This was the curse of the Shadow and the disease that all Rulers carried.
Truly, they were evil.
The Father of Angels.
The King of Gods.
The Sin of Devils.
The Warrior of Giants.
Death and Rebirth.
Ash and Ruin.
Darkness and Void.
Creation and Destruction.
The shadows of the four Lords. Said to be just as strong as a Lord, possibly even stronger, able to endlessly revive an infinite number of times. Right now, two of these beings were about to face off.
"Hello, little ant," Lucifer stated. "Playtime is over."
The hallway was totally destroyed by now, and the coldness of space rapidly filled it despite the moon having its own environment. Ruby felt herself become hot rather than cold, though. There was something in the air. Pure and utter malice, which radiated from the two Rulers. Both the Emperor and Lucifer stood perfectly still, their eyes locked as they stared at one another. It was the same thing that would happen when two hostile predators realized they had stumbled across their enemy. The air felt heavy and intense, and even the mere act of breathing was becoming hard.
Ruby felt her skin become damp and sweaty, and on instinct, she took several steps back, getting far away from Lucifer, who now stood in front of her. The leader of the Immortals was only a few meters away from the Emperor, who still hadn't said anything. Next to the armored monster, his faithful dog, Hell Hound, growled. The woman was on all fours, her mace cracking the ground as she pressed it down. She didn't act, though. The dog was smart and knew she'd be killed in an instant if she attempted to get close to Lucifer.
Lucifer calmly clutched his tome, and with one hand, he adjusted his robes. The Emperor did the same, casually dusting himself off while his other hand was wrapped around his white blade. Finally, he spoke.
"So, what brings you here?" The Emperor's tone was blunt.
Lucifer's was blank, holding very little emotion. "I was asked to come and fight you."
"Really? And you actually followed the orders of ants?"
"Ants often know the way to their next meal." Lucifer hummed.
"What are you waiting for!" Up on the next floor, Legend yelled down and glared at the two villains. "I asked you to come with us so you could help us beat that freak! You hate him as much as we do, right? So kill him!"
Lucifer looked up toward Legend, his face not showing a hint of emotion. "Did I give you permission to speak to me?"
Legend gritted his teeth and scowled but held his tongue. He was still holding up the injured Tamer along with Hands, who looked extremely nervous. "Are you sure this was a good idea?" Hands asked, letting out a wince. "I mean, they're fucking evil; won't he just turn on us or something?"
"It's fine." Legend spat out.
"Really—"
"I said it's fine!"
In truth, he was willing to admit his plan wasn't that well thought out. He did have a plan and an idea of how to deal with both Lucifer and the Emperor, but it was one he had kept mostly to his chest, because he had a feeling his teammates wouldn't like it.
The plan itself was really simple. Going into the battle, he knew that none of them would have been able to fight the Emperor. As much as he hated it, he wasn't strong enough, and neither were the others. He could have allowed his passenger, the ego within him, to boost him, something that happened each time he died, but he knew that if that were to occur, it would result in him losing pieces of himself, so he needed to do that as little as possible, no matter how tempting the power-up was. That led to him recruiting Lucifer.
There was no doubt in his mind that Lucifer was one of the only beings left on Earth that could match up to the Emperor. Lucifer also hated the Emperor even more than he hated humans. Likely because the Emperor was Nier, one of the beings who always opposed him. Because of that, Legend knew he could use that to get Lucifer to agree to help him.
The only reason Lucifer hadn't charged in to fight the Emperor was because he couldn't. Most of his army had been destroyed on such a cosmic level by Full Monarch four years ago, meaning Lucifer lacked the versatility of his zombie army. He was powerful, but he had no means to get through space. While he wouldn't die from the cold or lack of oxygen, and even if he did, he could come back; it simply wouldn't matter. Unlike the other Rulers who had a form of teleportation, Lucifer was blessed with wings, and sadly, feathery wings didn't work in the vacuum of space. He'd have no way to aim himself and couldn't get up to the moon properly in order to fight the Emperor. With his strength, it was possible he could maybe jump into space, but only an idiot would attempt to jump from the Earth to the moon and vice versa, because the slightest mistake would result in that person being sent spinning through the infinite void of nothingness.
Lucifer had been looking for a Super that he could turn into a zombie who would get him to the moon, and when he didn't find one, he simply decided to wait in his old homeland until one appeared or the Emperor came back to Earth. That was when Legend approached him and offered him a deal.
Legend gave Lucifer the ability to get into space and fight the Emperor. Something Lucifer couldn't pass up on. Lucifer also couldn't just kill all the Enforcers, as Omega could blow the spaceship up faster than the Dead Virus could kill him, and Omega was also needed to pilot the ship. When he got to the moon, Lucifer planned to turn one of the dragons into his zombies and use them to fly back to Earth. He was never able to take any dragon over before because the portals would kill them before he could get his hands on them, since the Emperor knew Lucifer would use them to conquer his weakness of space. Now, though, the portal maker's powers weren't working, making that plan impossible.
So, Lucifer had a simple goal. He was going to kill everyone in Nier's army, make them his zombies, and then kill all the Enforcers, rip all of Nier's limbs off but leave him alive, and then head back to Earth. He couldn't kill Nier, but he could certainly ruin the man's plans and bring his 'empire' crumbling down.
This was where Legend's plan came in. He had told the others to trust him and that Lucifer could beat the Emperor for them, but what he didn't tell them was his own plan.
While Lucifer and the Emperor were busy fighting, he planned to kill all the dragons and any other mental-based monster he could find, as well as the portal maker. He and the other heroes would all do this, slaughtering them all. This would make it so that Lucifer was trapped, and if the Emperor was defeated and lacked his portal maker, he'd also be trapped, since his teleportation power couldn't move all the way to Earth.
Sadly, this would also mean all the heroes were trapped as well. It was not a good outcome, but one Legend was willing to let happen. He could fly, and so he'd be able to eventually head back to Earth. He'd return the lone Enforcer member, and he'd be able to tell the great story of how he defeated both Lucifer and the Emperor, leaving them trapped on the moon, after all the other Enforcers and Ruby died. Without a doubt, he'd be crowned the number one hero, and he'd leave behind a legacy even greater than that of Full Monarch! Truly, it was a foolproof plan!
Well...
There was one issue with it.
"So," The Emperor said calmly. "You're here on the moon?"
"Indeed, I am." Lucifer's eyes narrowed slightly as he felt a faint twist in the air.
"And all the other strong heroes are also here?" The Emperor noted, then nodded. "Interesting. So, the Lord of the Sky and Weather is unguarded. In the past, I knew I couldn't make it to him and enact my plan, as you would get in my way, but if you're here, there isn't anyone left who could stop me, right?" Lucifer took a step forward and raised his free hand. Black energy began to surround it, looking like a mix of fire and lightning. The sound of a hundred crying babies also filled the air. The Dead Virus ate away at matter, looking like droplets of ink that formed into the air. Before the villain could do anything, though, the Emperor calmly raised his sword and held it with both hands. "Story Maker. Do it."
The serum, which was created, could only negate portals forged from Imaginary energy. It could do nothing to stop other forms of teleportation. That meant if the Emperor had another way to teleport, then no one would be able to stop him. Unfortunately for the good guys, they never saw Story Maker. The sword was witnessed only by Sini and Full Monarch. So, they had no way to prepare for what happened next.
Lucifer's attack launched, and Story Maker glowed with a bright white light. There was a loud popping sound, and then suddenly, shadows rose up and blocked the glob of Dead Virus that had appeared. The attack rippled out and destroyed more of the hallway, along with dozens of monsters that had arrived, reducing them into torn paper and ash.
When the attack died down, the Emperor stood with his arms folded, but only Ruby noticed right away that something was wrong. His armor wasn't dented or dirty like it had been. All the marks she left were gone. Hell Hound was also missing from his side. Had she been caught in the blast? Most worrying of all, though, were the Emperor's eyes. They weren't blue and instead had become a fiery red, blazing out of the helm like magma. Also, shadows were bending and twisting to his whim, turning his already dark armor even blacker, and bathing him in a silhouette that sucked light in. The Emperor had changed somehow; that much was clear. Story Maker vanished as well. Had it fused with him? If the Emperor was, in fact, Nier, did the glowing red eyes mean he entered his Lord form?
Lucifer's look changed, and he now looked utterly enraged. "Nier." He raised his voice slightly, and more of the Dead Virus blasted out of his hand.
The Emperor let out a single grunt and held his hand out. Suddenly, an unseen force sliced through the hallway as an invisible wave of energy split it apart. Lucifer dodged out of the way just in time, avoiding the unseen slash. Ruby also managed to dodge, letting out a squeak as everything crumbled and broke. The Emperor then spoke, his voice coming out deeper and booming. "Come." He commanded. "Let's settle our battle from years ago."
Lucifer's wings expanded and stabbed out of his back, becoming long and angelic. He flew forward at incredible speeds and rammed into the Emperor. He wrapped his arms around the man, and the two of them went flying off. Ruby watched as they rammed into the wall and blasted through it, flying outside of the castle. Lucifer's Dead Virus was surging like a tidal wave, trying to devour and swallow the Emperor, but his shadows kept pulling the energy in and were negating it somehow. As they flew, the Emperor would also slap down with his hand, causing dozens of marks to appear across Lucifer's body, tearing his flesh and clothes, but Lucifer barely reacted to the attacks.
They crash-landed somehow out in a forest the Lord of the Land and Life created, and they began their battle by throwing out waves of energy that blew parts of the moon to bits and caused everything to shake, crumbling more of the castle, despite the fact that they were now nowhere near it.
"Holy shit." Hands cursed. "They're going to tear the fucking moon apart if they keep this up!"
"Did the Emperor seem different to you guys?" Ruby asked.
Legend let out a snort. "Of course. He's a fucking Lord. He powered up into his Battle Mode. You should know about it. After all, your dad has it, doesn't he? Same for your husband."
"I know what a Battle Mode is." Ruby snapped. "I've seen them enough. I think he is in his Battle Mode now, but there's an issue."
"What is it?" Hands asked, doing his best to support Tamer, who still wasn't looking that good.
"He didn't seem to get stronger."
"What?"
Ruby frowned and folded her arms. "He's moving the same speed he did before and hitting just as hard. A Battle Mode should have greatly boosted him, but he doesn't seem to be any different now. In fact, he might be slightly weaker." She winced slightly and bit her lip, replaying the fight with the Emperor over and over again in her head. "Something about the way he is moving and acting now seems off. Wrong almost, I guess. It doesn't feel right. What happened to his bodyguard? And that sword? It glowed and then vanished?"
"The sword might be what is letting him control the shadows?" Legend offered up. "Perhaps it's some sort of monster he created that has a form of Umbrakinesis, and he absorbed it? As for the bodyguard, she was likely blown to bits by the Dead Virus. Good for us since it means we don't have to take down one of his four generals."
"Why would he let her get killed, though?"
"Because he's a sick fuck."
"I thought he cared for his bodyguard." Ruby's frown deepened. "Was I wrong?"
"Who cares?" Legend let out a grunt. "It doesn't matter. What's important is that we need to find the portal maker right now. Omega and the others are looking and tearing this place to bits. We need to find him as well and wipe out any other monster we see, especially the dragons, before Lucifer can get any. Let's spread out and—"
"I'm going to go watch the fight," Ruby said casually. She jumped through the massive hole and was gone before Legend could even come up with a retort.
"God damn it!" Legend let out a yell in rage. "I hate that dumb bitch! God, why do we put up with her?"
Hands winced and let out a weak chuckle. "You and Feast should go on ahead. I'm going to stay with Tamer. She's injured and can't help or defend herself if any villains show up."
"Speaking of Feast, where is that fat bastard?" Legend sighed and looked around.
"You know," a voice purred out, causing his and Hands' eyes to go wide. "You really shouldn't belittle your team like that." Floating above the castle, staring down at them through one of the many holes, was Fairy Queen. The woman had a sadistic grin on her face and looked like she just found a new plaything. "I'm really ticked off." She lifted her hand, and reality began to shunt and crack around her, bending to her whims. "Let's have some fun. Try not to die quickly, okay? I want to peel you slowly."
Hands let out a grunt and raised his glowing palm up. "Alright!" Energy filled the air and blasted out. "I guess we're doing this now!"
Meanwhile, over with Ruby, she soared through the air and landed down in a destroyed clearing. At one point, it had been a beautiful forest, but now it was a barren lot. Ash filled the air, and everywhere she looked, she saw dead monsters crumbling and breaking away. All because they happened to get a little too close to the battle that was taking place.
Said battle happened in the center of this lot, a crater getting deeper and deeper into the moon.
The Dead Virus twisted and screamed, turning into hundreds of hands, which stretched out from Lucifer's one arm. Everything the hands touched crumbled and broke to bits, being destroyed and eaten in a second, but the Emperor was able to counter it by forming long, shadowy legs. He was raised up, and he swatted at the air, sending more unseen slashes in the direction of Lucifer, but the villain's wings grew larger and formed a ball around him, blocking the strikes. The crater grew deeper, and Ruby watched it, her eyes narrowing slightly.
Lucifer lifted his arm up and twisted it, the Virus screaming even louder as it formed into a blade of pure death and malice. With his black wings, he soared toward the Emperor and swung his sword out as hard as he could. The Emperor managed to block the strike with both his arms, using them to shield himself, but the force of the attack sent him blasting away. His body cracked and jutted out in an awkward way as he rolled across the ground, and everywhere he touched, the crater filled with new grass and flowers. When he finally stopped spinning, an entire tree formed around him, anchoring him in place.
"Lucky!" The Emperor's booming voice shattered through space, and the tree got even bigger, twisting out of the ground like hundreds of roots and vines, becoming a serpent-like, wooden dragon. The Emperor stood on its head, and the dragon fired into the air, flying through the moon's atmosphere, though unlike the actual dragons, this one couldn't survive in space, its body freezing and cracking, bits breaking apart. The beast roared in pain, but the Emperor ignored it and sliced his hand down to Lucifer, sending a barrage of slashes his way. Lucifer sliced his death-bringing sword up, the crying baby's sound growing in intensity as he swatted the invincible attacks away.
More of Lucky broke away, and the dragon was starting to crumble to bits at a faster rate. It caused the Emperor's footing to slip slightly, and Lucifer used that as his chance to fire into the air, rapidly catching up to the dragon. Since it was a construct and not a proper monster, he couldn't absorb it with his Dead Virus, so instead he used his blade to split it in two.
The Emperor jumped off his dead ride and began to fall toward the ground since he couldn't fly. More darkness lifted around him, and he clasped his hands together and then opened them, sending a massive wave of slashes out, but Lucifer ignored the wounds and reached the Emperor, stabbing through the man's stomach with his sword. They rammed into the moon hard enough to crack it and sent out a shockwave that nearly blew Ruby back. She managed to stand her ground and gritted her teeth, watching as the battle grew even more intense.
Black fire exploded out of the Emperor and sent Lucifer tumbling off of him, and the man stood up. His shadow expanded, and from it, figures began to lift up. Each one was the outline of a person and lacked all detail. They were just blank silhouettes. Seeing them, Lucifer opened his bible and tore out some pages, tossing them into the air. The pages began to expand and multiply, taking on the form of dozens of his zombies, which met the shadow beings head-on.
Ruby watched the fight and finally nodded. "Crap." She sighed.
"What is it?"
She nearly jumped when she heard the voice, and she whipped around, but her heart settled when she saw that it was just Feast. The hero had somehow made his way over to her and had his arms folded. "What are you doing here?"
"Saw you ran off to go fight the Emperor, figured you could use some help." Feast shrugged. "You aren't fighting, though, just watching them battle it out. Which one do you think is gonna win?"
"It doesn't matter." Ruby shook her head. "You have enhanced senses, right?"
"Yeah?" Feast scratched at his belly. "Why?"
"Does he smell different?" She pointed down to the Emperor.
"It's kind of hard to smell him while they're fighting—"
"Just try!"
Feast rolled his eyes, and his nose twitched. He made a face. "Hmm."
"What is it?"
"He smells totally different." Feast nodded. Ruby let out a curse. "What? What's wrong?"
"That's not the Emperor."
"What?" Feast blinked, not seeming to understand. "Yes, it is."
"No." Ruby shook her head and felt a chill go down her spine. She recalled that flash of light and that popping sound. The Emperor changed after that, and Hell Hound was gone... "Fuck."
"What?"
"He teleported."
"But we stopped the portals?"
"It wasn't through a portal." The words the Emperor said moments before he did it rang through her mind. "Shit! Yeah, he's gone! He left and put whoever the fuck that is in his place! Nier isn't here anymore! Unless that one down there is Nier? I don't fucking know, but I can tell you that that guy isn't the one we fought. He dipped, and I bet that sword let him do it. He took Hell Hound with him as well. Shit."
Feast winced and also made a face. "That's not good."
"No, it's not," Ruby growled. "Fuck, fuck, fuck, shit, fuck!"
"So where did he go?"
"Where do you think?" Ruby looked up and stared out into space toward planet Earth. "No one's in his way now."
Meanwhile, on planet Earth, the air rippled, and in a loud twisting 'pop,' two armored figures appeared. "Finally." Hell Hound bowed to her master. "Can we begin?"
"Yes." The Emperor's grip grew tighter around his blade. "We've reached the end."