"So, thou art the Devil of Trust now, art thou? How interesting!" Solatin chuckled, observing the pseudo-God in front of Him.
(So, you're the Devil of Trust now, are you? How interesting!)
The Sun God's golden gaze, pride, and confidence met the Devil of Trust's pair of calm blue eyes.
Both of Their inner worlds clashed without a single blow being struck. It was a battle of eyes, more intense than any other.
The Sun God's arsenal was larger than the Devil of Trust's, who only possessed the realms of Fate, order, and chaos.
But realms weren't the most significant factor in a battle of this level.
The most crucial factor to consider was their symbols.
Trust VS Sun.
This was the battle that would unfold.
The Sun God snapped His finger and began to fly high in the sky.
The Devil of Trust also began to float, following the lead of His opponent.
Both figures looked at each other.
Solatin opened the dance and rushed at the Devil with speed beyond comprehension, conjuring a sword out of thin air.
The sword was broad and glowing, shining like the very sun in the sky.
He slashed as hard as He could before the Devil conjured a sword of His own, His being much darker with red and blue patterns all over the black color.
The collision between the two created a shockwave that shook the world.
Waters rose into the distance, reaching heights that weren't usually possible.
The Sun God made countless swings that were so fast they were invisible.
The Devil flew back about a hundred meters, feeling safer now that the distance had increased.
"My wish shall be granted, for this light sha-"
Before Him appeared the figure of the Sun God, whom He thought to be so far that He would have time to cast His spell.
SWING!
Solatin's sword swing connected beautifully, causing the Devil to be pushed away far in the distance.
The golden-haired monarch moved at a speed beyond ridiculous, arriving at the destination before His target and following with another swing.
CLASH!
The blow was blocked at the last second by the dark-haired man. Who then swiftly turned around, using the sword as leverage, only to spin in the air and follow up with Hios very own swing.
Somehow, the Sun God barely blocked the swing, still being pushed back. He went ahead once again as they clashed their swords and advanced in the air, pushing each other back one after the other.
One of the hits was strong enough to bring Solatin back to the ground.
He took a stabbing position towards the Devil, who was flying thousands of meters away.
"LIGHT!"
A beam of light conjured by the Sun God parcoured the distance, hitting the Devil as soon as He finished the spell.
The man barely dodged the attack that would've been fatal.
"Thou art a jester most foul!" Solatin rushed to the Devil's location.
(You're a real jester, aren't you?)
"I could say the same for you!" The Devil of Trust defended His position as hard as He could.
Their gazes met once again, this time from way closer.
"BURN!" The Sun God's sword grew heavier, and so did the temperature, rising by the second. The temperature was so high that He doubted any human would be left alive if they were on the battlefield.
The Devil retracted His soul, breaking the engagement, and cast His first spell. "My wish shall be granted, for this light shall be gone from this world."
Surprisingly, the man decided to let the temperature rise. He instead chose to prevent light from forming, essentially blocking all uses of light spells against the Sun God.
"Thou'rt grown, mine angel." The Sun God smiled brightly as the heat came back down rapidly, realizing that augmenting the temperature wouldn't bring Him any benefits.
(You've grown, my angel.)
"Watch your tongue, old man." The Devil came back with a strong swing, capable of cutting the land in pieces, which it did. The shockwave cut a perfectly straight line, plunging a few dozen meters into the earth, over a length of more than 100 meters.
The Sun God whistled with surprise.
They broke off the engagement rapidly and flew high in the sky, as if they both knew what they had to do now.
The Devil smiled as He spoke a single word to close the dance.
"Trust."
Suddenly, a black shadow tinted and isolated the world in its color.
The Sun God could've looked around the entire world for something, but nothing other than Him and He would be found.
Nothing but both the Sun God and the Devil of Trust existed in this place.
It was a space built from the deepest desire of the Devil of Trust, with its properties attached to it.
Solatin snapped His fingers, but no light emanated from His body; only a pitch-black color remained.
"Welcome to my domain." The man sat on a throne of words, literal words. Chains bound each of them, forming a throne of promises and lies.
"So, 'tis thy world, forged in trust, where naught but verity doth dwell?"
(So, this is your world, made of trust, where nothing but the truth exists?)
"Trust and truths are not synonymous. This worlds exist in the middle of the border between truths and lies."
"For this is a world where one can be trusted. All words spoken here become the absolute truth in this place."
Solatin looked around at nothing but pitch darkness.
"See, there is no way for you to win this battle."
Solatin laughed out loud.
"Look, you now have long hair."
Solatin felt a strange sensation on His shoulders. He turned His head towards them and noticed the strands of golden hair falling on them.
"Ha! Thou speakest the truth!"
(Ha! You really speak the truth!)
Solatin chuckled at the prowess of the Devil. Changing the appearance of a God was no ordinary feat for one person. This meant His wish was stronger than the will of trillions of people across countless ages and worlds.
"Alas, I deem it wise to curtail this parley, lest peril befalls me."
(Unfortunately, I'll have to cut things short. Otherwise, things might get dangerous for me.)
"Hmm?" The Devil of Trust seemed intrigued by Solatin's declaration.
"Sun." A singular word came out from the Sun God's mouth, as the darkness quickly disappeared.
"Wha—" The dark-haired Devil didn't have time to finish His sentence before a subtle change in the atmosphere appeared.
Pure light.
This was the only thing in front of the man.
He could not look away; the warmth of the sun was too enticing for Him to do so.
The Sun God posed in front of the light.
The Devil looked down at His hands and slowly observed as His hand decayed bit by bit.
He wanted to panic, to scream and escape, but His body would not. He would slowly burn by the enticing light of the sun, without being able to resist.
The Devil would progressively be purified by the sun's light until only His soul remained, which would then be absorbed into the Sun God's.
Such was the domain of the Sun God, born from His dearest wish.
Solatin's eyes were tender as He observed the man, frozen in place, only looking at the light, unable to depart.
"Aye. Quail now, and feel my embrace, cleansing and warm."
(Yes. That's it. Feel my purifying and warm embrace.)
The Sun God smirked while observing the decaying Devil.
He then approached Him, and neared His hand to His, their hands were now almost touching.
SPLURT!
The Sun God stopped in His tracks.
As He looked down, He noticed that while He was trying to touch the hand of the Devil, a hole had been formed in His chest, with a lance penetrating Him.
"Got you." The voice was calculating and playful.
He looked back and could now see the attacker's face.
A man with curly black hair, a pair of lifeless black eyes covered by glasses, and a hat of their nation.
"Ra...gel..."
The man grinned from behind with His lance inside the God's body.
"My child..." Even with a lance in His chest, from the person He had most cherished in this life, He could not bear any resentment or hatred towards Him.
The lance retracted from the chest, as the pure light slowly went away.
"I told you, you will lose." The long-haired man looked down at Solatin, who now also had long golden hair instead of His previous short cut.
Solatin lay on the ground, golden blood seeping from His body.
"Your own angel rebelled against you, and not just one, for that matter."
Solatin grinned softly at death's door.
"I see. How foolish of me." He sighed deeply, as if He understood something after a long time.
His angels walked before Him towards the Devil of Trust. He did not bear any resentment towards Them in the end.
Only a single angel did not go towards the Devil.
It was a masculine man with long red hair, the color of wine. His eyes were now bright golden.
"Don't you dare die on me!" Meastra tried everything He could to keep the Sun God alive. But nothing worked. As the Archangel of War, with His powers focused solely on chaos, He had no way to heal the fallen God's body.
After a long time, seeing that His attempts led nowhere, the Sun God put His hand on His angel's head and patted it.
"There's no use to it, child; it's over. I've lost." He closed His eyes.
"How can you say this! I thought you were the strongest, the bravest, and the kindest! Why is it that you're losing? Why is it that you're giving up! Why is it that you're leaving me alone!"
Solatin chuckled, some blood coming out of His mouth.
The angel seemed to be truly desperate in His voice.
"I am none of those, child. How can I be the strongest when I can't even win a game for 7.000.000 years? How can I be the bravest if all I do is dodge my responsibilities? How can I be the kindest? I am the most foolish God there is in this world. A pathetic excuse of a God, of a being."
"I am a cruel being, killing those I hate and resurrecting those I don't. Despite that, I still proclaim myself as the most benevolent of all. Ah! I'm just a hypocrite."
He chuckled.
"You're wrong!"
A tear dropped to the ground next to Solatin's body.
Meastra's fist hit next to Solatin.
"I've never met a kinder person. See! Even in death, you cannot bear to wish death upon your angels."
"You could've very well healed your chest and continued to fight. Cast despair and death upon the souls of your angels, devour Their souls and duel Arnaken."
"But you're too kind for that..."
Solatin looked perplexed. He did not understand what was happening to Him right now.
"Why is it that you're not crying in the face of death?"
He waited a bit. His mouth could not form the words He wanted to say. "Why would I?"
He looked at Meastra's crying face, while His was empty of emotion.
He had no idea why His angel was crying, but a memory surged in His mind, making Him pat the man's head as if He were a child.
"Don't be sad, child, for your soul is now free from my grasp."
He smiled lifelessly as His body was getting near its end.
"I never wanted you to free my soul in the first place! I'm happy enough as I am."
He plunged His head on Solatin's opened chest and didn't speak for a while.
Solatin kept the angel's head on His chest as He waited for death to arrive upon Him once again.
Sorry.
Sorry for being such a pathetic, horrible, and cruel being.
Sorry for not being as strong as you wished.
Sorry for not being as brave as you wished.
Sorry for not being the man you wished for.
For me, this isn't the end; I'll awaken once more next to the white table and repeat it all over again.
Unless a miracle happens, I will not even remember you once this is done. My memories will be lost once more, like usual.
I think this is what I wished to say to you the most.
Sorry.
Suddenly, a bunch of memories passed through the mind of the Sun God. Memories of a life that was not His own, but rather that of the countless souls inside His body.
He smiled for the final time in this life.
"Sorry, Meastra."