"Behowlest the slaying of one thousand mortals…"
The world froze as the chant began, air stilling, blades of grass ceasing their endless dance. It even felt as though the earth beneath their feet had grown silent, reverent as something above undid the shackles that once bound it. All things in this world was created equal. Supernatural creatures with their might and magic balanced by either strange rules or weaknesses but they all suffered from low birthrates. Something that put a severe time limit on their expected period of dominance. What did it matter if you could destroy a mountain in a single blow? Or cause rain to fall from the sky? If in the end, you were all alone surrounded by all sides by creatures not of your own kind?
Humans, often had the opposite problem. Theirs lives short, weak to the hidden dangers in this world but were gifted with insane population growth. But what did that actually mean to the other factions? For one, normal humans could send a nearly endless wave of bodies their way. Even if one out of a thousand only managed to leave a single scratch before they fell, it would spell the doom of any one creature out there. If that wasn't bad enough, due to their massive population, once in a generation talent was nearly guaranteed to appear. Each further propelling the race forward. For a lot of long lived species, it was like they hadn't even been given the chance before those hairless apes had gone from smashing rocks together in caves to slinging around... well, machines that crash rocks to each other. Just radioactive and more devastating.
And thirdly, it also meant Sacred Gears appeared more heavily in humans than any of the race. Whether it was due to the God of the Bible influence or not. It didn't change the fact.
Once again, all things are balanced in this world. But what happens when something decides to go against that balance? To decide that nature was flawed and that the individual knew better?
"Besingest the slaying of ten thousand goblins.."
To go against the scales?
"Mine name, which tis immersed in deepest darkness, tis the Imitation God traversing the Polar Night.."
"O ye, perishest by mine own black blade…"
It was a rejection of all things.
"Fools ye art, deformed Chaos Gods!"
"Night Celestial Slash Dogs!"
A clear example of what it meant to defy the Heavens. A cultivator true and true. But unlike in those stories, the skies didn't rumble with heavenly lightning. No tribulation from high above coming to smote the insignificant mortal into ash. Instead, time itself seemed to freeze. Halting even light itself. A shadow overlapping the figure of a man.
Floating a bare few inches off the ground, a creature 'stood'. Tall and imposing, excusing an aura of domination and suppression. Like that of a conqueror of old. Covered in blacken fur, fingers tipped with claws, a bushy tail split off into multiple threads and hung just out of sight. But it was his head, a snout of a thing followed by a pair of long and triangle shaped ears that poked up high into the air.
Crimson eyes glared out into the world, plumes of fog ballooning out with every ragged breath. Ikuse felt...powerful. As if the world had grown far too fragile for him to exist without breaking something, it was a familiar feeling. Intoxicating as well. Like he could DO anything. ACHIEVE any goal he had set before him. CUT through any obstacle, and that no could ever HOPE to stop him.
He could feel it, something just barely out sight. Out of his reach, but he knew this form wasn't the end. This power that made all these factions so weary wasn't the end of it. He could enhance it further, tweak it. Cultivate it to do more. Maybe, he could even get it to no longer eat away at his lifespan with every passing moment.
"Jin."
His voice echoed, reverberating through the air. As though he was screaming down an empty tunnel, trying in vein to reach the other side only to just barely be heard. Visible slashes formed, cutting deep into nearby trees and leaving foot deep furrows into the ground. Shock waves followed suit. Leaving visible scars in the air itself.
"On it."
Besides him, his old companion wasn't one to be left out. The large hound, once the size of a man had grown even larger than before. Now being the size of a semi-truck, fangs the size of blades and equally as sharp. The creature was majestic in all ways and even with ethereal sand grains slipping away, he couldn't help but take this nanosecond to admire the hound. Just looking at Jin filled his mind with flashing images of conquest. Or freedom beyond belief, to roaming the lands and taking as he pleased. Whether it be a simple meal, a weapon, jewelry, or even a country. None of it was safe.
In step, they split off from one another. Jin circling around the back and Ikuse meeting the old man head on. A pincer attack, a simple thing if not for the drastically increased attributes. They didn't just move, it was like the space itself was cut and bound together to shorten the distance between the two point. In one instance, they stood tens of feet away from their foe and the next, the pair of them were upclose and personal with the man.
Fangs swooping down high and a blade of congealed darkness coming up from down low. Two pairs of crimsons eyes remained laser focused on the man, strands of black wrapping themselves tight around his low body. Halting any attempt at dodging or retaliation before the thought could probably enter his mind. It didn't matter how frozen this instant felt, he wasn't going to leave anything up to chance.
This...this thing had both severed one hand and torn off his entire arm. Any semblance of mercy he might've once had due to that false appearance was long gone. This would end today and now.
Inching closer, his blade met clothe and sunk in without even a minute amount of resistance. From above, a massive chomped down hard on Yamato Iori's upper torso. Maiming and wrenching it to the side. At the perfect time as he finally reached his target and with a twist of enhanced muscles, he swung in the complete opposite direction as Jin. Both forces combined forming a sort of twisting and tearing motion. Dislodging his upper half from the rest of his body and if not killing him out right, leaving him too injured to continue.
Blood fountain-ed, bones snapped and skin tore open.
The Ancient Senjutsu Practitioner went flying, skittering across the ground a solid two times before being halted by an endless stream of roots sprouting to the surface. The legend's visceral remains hanging there like a sort of macabre offering to an Old God.
"…" Or at-least, that's what should've happened. A human body, no matter how powerful should be nothing more than hamburger meat right about now. But instead, all they managed to do was send him flying. And cause a dull ache to travel up Ikuse's arm. Sure it faded in mere moments, but that shouldn't have been possible. He had struck true, his blade had scraped against skin. That he knew...but instead of the feeling of parting flesh, only a dull ring followed. Like he'd just gotten done striking metal as a mortal. Even Jin's fangs had barely done anything more than tear through the man's crisp kimono. Exposing glossy clear skin. And now he just hung there with his arms outstretched, inky black hair covering his expression. And just as they were prepared to try and take advantage of this frozen time once more, somehow the Heavenly Demon spoke. Moved his lips in this seemingly frozen world, where not even rain drops could fall. "It's good to know the young generation has some strength. That you aren't entirely helpless..but you junior, are courting death."