"What happened to Gary Cooper? The Strong, Silent Type."
Tony Soprano (The Sopranos).
Some time had passed and once again nothing came up. No sight of any of the gods including Kalkia nor any demons on the payroll of the gods like Krampus. Today was actually an interesting day. Everyone was going to go race-car driving. Nova put aside some money and bought a track in City J (Crystal City). Those racing would be: Hermes, Mark, Daniel-02, Talus-B, Ungar, Daniel B, Zaiyal, Qayyim, J, Sarai, Tac0-Man, Chubkins, Narcis Martreya Buddha, and Tatu. Everyone was prepared for the impending race, everyone was ready to start. They were all in expensive cars and luckily all of them were insured. The sun hung low over City J's skyline, casting long shadows across the Crystal City Raceway. The engines of fourteen high-performance cars revved in unison, their deep growls vibrating through the asphalt. The scent of burnt rubber and high-octane fuel filled the air as the drivers settled into their seats.
Mark adjusted his gloves, glancing at his competitors. Hermes leaned back in his seat, sunglasses perched on his nose like he was already celebrating a win. Talus-B drummed his fingers on the steering wheel, while Tac0-Man sat in his car munching on an actual taco, utterly unfazed by the competition. Chubkins, the smallest of the group, had somehow managed to get his paws on a custom-built vehicle, though no one quite knew how he reached the pedals. Nova's voice crackled over the earpiece. "Alright, this is just for fun, but let's keep it somewhat civil. No flipping each other's cars, no reality-breaking powers, and no exploding engines. That last one's mostly for you, Mark." Mark rolled his eyes. "One time." The countdown began. Engines roared louder. Tires smoked against the pavement. The anticipation in the air was palpable. Then— The signal flashed green.
The cars shot forward like bullets, screeching onto the first turn. Hermes immediately took the lead, weaving through the others with effortless precision. Narcis and Ungar weren't far behind, their cars locked in a high-speed duel as they jostled for position. Daniel-02 activated his custom AI-assisted steering, causing his car to take impossibly sharp turns, while Qayyim used sheer skill to keep up. Mark gritted his teeth, shifting gears as he closed in on Hermes. "You're not getting away that easy." The track twisted and turned, with sharp curves designed to test reflexes. Zaiyal's car drifted effortlessly around one such corner, a spray of sparks kicking up behind him. Meanwhile, Buddha drove like he had all the time in the world, somehow avoiding every close call with serene precision. Then, halfway through the second lap, something changed. A flicker in the streetlights. A brief, static hum over the comms. The trackside monitors glitched for just a second, flashing an unfamiliar symbol—one Mahler had seen during his investigation in Neo-Berlin. Mark's fingers tensed on the wheel. Nova's voice cut through again, this time sharper. "Did anyone else see that?"
Before anyone could respond, the lights returned to normal, and the race continued. But the unease lingered. Something—or someone—had just made its presence known. For now, though, the race wasn't over. Mark focused ahead, pushing the uneasy feeling aside. One thing at a time. First, he had a finish line to cross. Hermes was still in the lead, but Mark wasn't backing down. He pushed his car to its limits, the engine growling as he came up alongside Hermes on a straightaway. The god of speed grinned, tossing a casual salute before shifting gears and pulling ahead once more. Meanwhile, Narcis and Ungar's high-speed duel nearly turned disastrous as they both dove into a sharp hairpin turn. Narcis, ever the opportunist, feigned a wide drift, baiting Ungar into trying to overtake him. At the last second, he cut in sharply, forcing Ungar to swerve onto the curb. The crowd roared at the maneuver, but Ungar just chuckled. "Clever," he muttered, regaining control. Tac0-Man, still munching on his taco, was somehow keeping pace, his one-handed steering baffling those watching. Chubkins, despite his diminutive size, had found a way to make his car move almost preternaturally, zipping through gaps like they had been custom-made for him. "How is he doing that?" Zaiyal muttered, shaking his head.
On the final lap, the tension spiked. Daniel-02's AI system had learned enough of the competition's habits to start predicting their moves, making him an even more formidable opponent. Qayyim, relying solely on raw skill, had managed to stay neck and neck with him, neither willing to give an inch. But then—another flicker. The street lights dimmed for a half-second, and that strange symbol flashed again. This time, it lingered longer. A faint hum echoed in the air, like a whisper from the void. Then, just as suddenly as it appeared, it vanished. Mark caught sight of it again in his rearview mirror, but he didn't have time to dwell on it. The final stretch was upon them. Hermes, Mark, and Daniel-02 were leading the charge, engines roaring. Mark edged up to Hermes' side, ready to challenge him in the last few seconds of the race. But then, Hermes did what no one expected—he smirked and tapped his brakes, allowing Mark to shoot ahead. "Earn it," Hermes muttered. Mark didn't hesitate. He slammed the pedal to the floor, his car tearing across the finish line just a fraction of a second before Daniel-02. The crowd erupted in cheers as the racers skidded to a stop, tires smoking. Mark threw his door open, heart still racing. Hermes sauntered up, clapping him on the back. "Not bad, mortal. Not bad at all."
Nova's voice crackled in again. "That was a hell of a race, but we've got bigger problems. I ran a trace on any aura similar to Krampus's. I got a major ping in Neo-Berlin in Germany on Earth-02. Coincidentally something odd has been occurring there, I'll explain everything to all of you when you get to the compound." Mark exhaled, glancing up at the flickering streetlights. "Then it's time we started watching back." The race was over, but the real challenge was only beginning.
After Mark and the others returned Nova gave them the heads up. "First of all only a small number of us will be going to Earth-02: Me, Qayyim, Zaiyal, my son-in-law, Mark, Nelly and Hermes.' On what we'll be looking for there's been some bizarre sightings of paranormal activity on the outskirts of Berlin. A certain Detective Mahler has been put in charge of this particular investigation. There have been a string of murders but they're quite unusual. Body changes, people being twisted into bizarre monstrosities and left behind as corpses." Nova hit a button on his personal computer and images of deformed dead monsters appeared on the screams which still appeared vaguely human. Mark clenched his fists, "Krampus." Daniel-02 chimed in: "He was committing these murders while he was also screwing with us on this planet, what's the point, and why send Mark and Hermes there. That's who the gods sent him to kill." Mark replied: "Because we can draw him out too, he's not the only one that can play this game, my research suggests that these murders in Germany aren't just from him but from a group of demons he's in contact with, if we can catch just one of them we can torture it and retrieve invaluable information about him, making defeating him easier." Nova looked over to Ungar: "There will probably be other demons and gods attacking the planet while we're gone, Zenkaisu will help you along with those in the Association." Ungar nodded: "Naturally."
Everyone understood what had to be done the following day our heroes took a spaceship to Earth-02 the trip would take about 12 hours. They suspected they could be on Earth-02 for some time. 1 week passed on Helios, Ungar began training with Narcis Martreya, Sir Rhyme and Zaiyal's son. A week went by until members of the Hero Association actually arrived at their front door. There were five: Zenkaisu, Nightblade, Sarah, Scott Greer, and Gordo. Ungar stood front and center of all that they were coming to meet at the compound. Ungar turned to Sarah: "How are Kai and Noah, are the boys doing alright at school?" Sarah smirked: "They're doing fine, same as always." Zenkaisu stepped forward: "We're here to tell you about strange happenings that have been occurring in City F and City G." Ungar tapped his fingers against his armor: "Strange how?" Zenkaisu: "We'll need a moment of your time to explain." Phyron exploded in anger: "Are you frickin' kidding me!! We just got done with this demon shit like a week!! Get the heck out of here!!" Night blade yelled back: "Yeah, yeah, you were like a villain 2 months ago, you have no right to talk to us that way you've killed no less than 200 heroes and you think you can act like this because of some bullshit redemption arc. Why don't we break out the world's smallest violin!" Doctor Shashin yelled back: "Good for you being goody-tooshoos longer than all of us. Like that makes you superior." Scott Greer: "YOU WE'RE EVIL LIKE ONE MONTH AGO!" Ungar but in: "ENOUGH!... Look we don't have time for this nonsense, what's the issue Zenkaisu."
Everyone had entered the main computer room. "What's up with him?" said Scott. It was Sarai who was sleeping. "Don't bother him, once he gets like this he can sleep for hours," said Daniel-B. Scott began to poke Sarai over and over again with a silly look on his face, "Wow he really is asleep." He then began to comically poke him faster and faster until he stuck his finger up Sarai's nose waking him up. "What the heck was that for?!" Ungar screamed with his arms crossed: "WILL ALL OF YOU STOP HORSING AROUND! I'M TRYING TO HEAR WHAT ZENKAISU HAS TO SAY! SO SHUT UP!!!" Zenkaisu took a deep breath, his expression grim as he pulled up a series of images on the holographic display. The screen flickered, revealing a collection of grotesque figures—twisted, malformed creatures that bore disturbing remnants of human features. Limbs stretched unnaturally, faces frozen in eternal agony, flesh warped beyond recognition. Some had additional appendages, others had lost their human shape entirely, turned into abominations of sinew and bone.
"This," Zenkaisu began, "is what's happening in City F and City G. People are vanishing, only to return as… this." He gestured at the display, the weight of his words heavy in the room. "Reports describe individuals acting strangely in the days leading up to their disappearances. They exhibit erratic behavior, extreme paranoia, and in some cases, hallucinations. Then, they vanish without a trace—until their bodies are found, completely transformed. Whatever is doing this isn't just killing them. It's changing them." A tense silence filled the air. Ungar narrowed his eyes. "Is this Krampus again?" Zenkaisu shook his head. "Not directly. These mutations are different. Our analysts believe another force is at work here—something with a deeper connection to these cities. If Krampus is involved, he's either working with someone or something is using his chaos as cover to enact his own agenda." Nova crossed his arms, studying the images. "Any commonalities among the victims?" "Age and background vary, but there's a pattern in their location," Zenkaisu continued. "Each one lived near a specific set of old ruins—places that date back centuries, long before these cities were even built. We believe the transformations are linked to an ancient ritual, one that's now resurfacing. Some sort of entity, or entities, are orchestrating this." Mark, his jaw tight, exhaled sharply. "And if this keeps spreading?"
Zenkaisu's expression darkened. "Then we're looking at an epidemic of something far worse than death. If more people succumb, we won't just have monsters roaming the streets. We'll have an entirely new kind of war on our hands—one where the enemy was once human." The gravity of the situation settled over the group. Hermes, who had been listening quietly, finally spoke. "Then we stop it before it escalates. Where do we start?" Zenkaisu pointed to the map displayed on the screen. "City G. There's an abandoned church at its outskirts—one of the oldest standing structures in the area. We've intercepted coded transmissions mentioning the site repeatedly. If we're going to find answers, that's the place to start." Ungar clenched his fists. "We have to make a plan first and then we have to head to the church, obviously we'll get some of our answers there, God willing."
Meanwhile in the Spirit Realm, Talus and Lupus had reached a beautiful mansion with peaches everywhere. It was as if the snow on the mountain had faded away, and one could see beautiful Rainbow Mountains, made of rainbow color granite in the distance. They entered the palace, this was the palace of Laozi, who was known for his production of his immortality pills. Laozi appeared before them and said: "I have heard that you would arrive, I was informed that you are Talus and that you are Prince Lupus. As you can see all food and beverages have been provided for you. Prince Lupus interjected: "Cut the shit old man, we're here to grow stronger." Laozi stroked his beard. "If you can land one hit on me, then I will teach you how to grow stronger." Lupus clenched his fist: "Is that all." Lupus charged towards him and he went straight through what seemed to be harder than they thought. Laozi used an afterimage technique which made it hard to tell which one was the real Laozi. No less than 60 Laozis began spinning around Talus and Lupus. How long would it take to pass this trial?
Back on Earth-02, Mark and the others had landed in Berlin. The air was cold, the sky iron gray, as if mourning what had already been lost. Nelly adjusted her coat, scanning the city with sharp, suspicious eyes. "Neo-Berlin is quiet," she muttered. Hermes floated beside her, ethereal and barely visible to anyone outside their group. "Quiet means people are scared. It means they know something's wrong but don't have the language to explain it." Detective Mahler was already waiting at the rendezvous point—a rundown safehouse tucked between two ancient buildings not far from the edge of the city. His face was haggard, eyes bloodshot, gun at his side. "You're late," he said, not out of rudeness, but out of sheer exhaustion. Nova stepped forward. "You've seen them? The bodies?" Mahler nodded. "Three more yesterday. All of them near the ruins. All of them changed. The thing is, I'm starting to see things too—visions. Dreams. Like someone else is in my head." Mark's eyes narrowed. "Then you've been touched by the source." Mahler didn't flinch. "Good. Then I can help you find it." Zaiyal's voice came in calm and low. "Let's move. Every second we waste is a second closer to someone else losing their mind… or worse." As the team loaded up and made their way to the outskirts, none of them noticed the figure watching from a rooftop above—a cloaked shape with glowing eyes and fingers wrapped around a jagged, obsidian shard. It whispered something under its breath in an old, dead tongue. Far beneath the church, something stirred. And it was heard.
Meanwhile back on Planet Helios, Ungar, Zenkaisu, Narcis and the others arrived at the old abandoned church on the edge of the city. They travel by flying through the air, it was normal for the people of the Qatari empire to see people fly through the air like superheroes so this didn't attract any attention. The Church was small and it seemed to be abandoned for some time. It was a Roman Catholic Church and had a large crucifix of Jesus hanging on the cross at the front of the Church. It clearly had been abandoned for over 20 years or so. There were some dusty Bibles strewn across the floor. "Are you sure you got a ping here?" said Ungar. Zenkaisu looked around: "Absolutely, there's no doubt about it. One of these things is at this Church. I checked local headlines that some humans have gone missing around this area." Ungar stopped for a second: "Wait, I feel something." Ungar turned around in an instant and punched a demon into the wall. It flew right past Scott Greer who leapt back. The demon was pinned up against the church wall, it had a white face with no eyes and a grin of razor sharp teeth with black tentacles penetrating from its back. It snickered and then opened its mouth a large tendril came from it. Ungar kicked out of the way. Behind Gordo a thing kicked him. It was a fat little demon that looked like a pig that was obese and fat, had large muscular arms and a large nose, a giant grin, and insane eyes wearing strange rags for clothes with curled up shoes. This thing charged Narcis with an elbow charge which Narcis blocked with a Buddhist spell from the Pali Canon. Everyone backed up back to back with each other. Scott Greer steadied his rifle and fired a concentrated plasma round into the grinning pig-demon, the shot grazing its side and making it roar in fury rather than pain. "They're organized," he spat. "These aren't wild attacks. They knew we were coming." Zenkaisu muttered a curse under his breath and activated his halo field, a golden circle of protective energy forming above him and extending outward. The church walls rattled, dust and shards of stained glass falling as something larger began moving beneath their feet. The crucifix at the altar creaked—slowly twisting, unnaturally, until Jesus's face tilted downward, eyes now glowing red.
Gordo grunted, slamming his fist into the floor. "Something's coming up!" With a deafening crack, the center of the church split open, floorboards snapping apart like toothpicks. From the pit emerged a massive, serpentine creature—a fusion of man, beast, and machine, covered in holy relics twisted into grotesque armor. Around its neck dangled priestly vestments, now soaked in black ichor. It spoke with the voice of a hundred souls, layered and distorted: "You trespass on sanctified ground. The covenant has been broken. Now judgment will befall you." Zenkaisu's eyes flared. "It's a relic warden. A corrupted guardian spirit left behind to protect the site… but it's been overtaken." Ungar got in a battle position, his muscles glowing with battle energy. "Then we free it—or we end it." Before anyone could reply, the creature lunged. It moved impossibly fast, sweeping with a tail made of rusted chains and bone. Narcis raised both arms and called out a mantra, projecting a barrier of golden text to block the blow. "Yathāpi rukkho chinnobhūto, evam-pi so vinassati!" The chant held just long enough for Zenkaisu to leap into the air and exercise the beast.
The two other demons began to cower in fear the tall lanky one escaped but Zenkaisu caught the small fat one in a metaphysical jar. Zenkaisu picked up the jar with the little imp in it. The imp yelled: "You can't do this to me. I have rights." Zenkaisu smiled: "Is that so?" He smirked and swallowed the bottle whole which shocked Ungar. Zenkaisu said: "I'll throw up the bottle when we're back at the compound, I've known Nova for quite a while and I know for a fact that he has advanced tech suitable for containing demons."
Meanwhile, back in the Spirit Realm, Lupus was panting, blood trickling down the corner of his mouth. Every time he struck, Laozi vanished. Every time Talus tried to counter, he hit air or was thrown back by a gust of pure chi. Laozi floated in the center of his afterimages, voice calm and ancient. "You strike with rage. You strike with ego. You will never land a blow while you remain divided inside." Lupus roared, charging one last time—but this time, Talus stepped forward, stopping him with a hand on his chest. "We're not going to beat him with brute force," Talus said, locking eyes with Laozi. "We have to move as one." Laozi's eyes twinkled. "At last. Now we begin." And with that, the real trial started.
In the realm of the Gods, King Apollo sat on his throne while his chief warrior Qora stormed in and began to protest. "What's this about the Gods making an alliance with the demons? And we're apparently willing to hand over Earth-02 and Helios if they work with us?! How could you do something so reckless?!" King Apollo cleared his throat: "Because we don't have a choice, that girl is the personification of a creature that could destroy the universe if we have to give the demons a planet or two it's worth the lives of everyone else in the universe. Besides, if they decide to expand beyond those realms at any point we can easily destroy them. Our wrath prevails before our mercy after all." Qora was stunned: "It's really that bad? We're forced to side with Demons. That's how dangerous this girl is." King Apollo added: "And not just her." Qora looked up confused. "The boy her partner is the reincarnation of the great Demon King, Beezelbub." Qora stepped back: "Beelzebub?! Apollo nodded: "Over 30,000 years ago a great Demon King appeared; his name was Beezelbub. He was powerful and his domain expanded to no less than 14 Universes and 13 Abodes of the Undead he would reign for approximately 20,000 years. For the first 10,000 years of his reign he was a tyrant destroying entire civilizations with the wave of his hand. Many tried to stand in his way but to little avail. His horde of demons were unstoppable but if the demons didn't in the population Beezelbub would." A flashback plays of a horde of demons attacking the temple of a monk on a mountain. A green alien monk destroys them all with the single wave of his palm. But it wasn't over a large red demon with large horns, antenna, pointy ears, fangs and a Demon Kanji on his Gi descended from the clouds he was no less than 8 or 9 feet tall and he grew larger growing to at least 15 feet tall. "Well you sure are a feisty one. You destroyed an entire army of my demons without breaking a sweat. You must think a lot of yourself, huh?" The green monk replied: "You need to go to a cruel apparition." The demon king stood up: "Don't worry I'll make it quick." With a single snap of his fingers, the monk, the temple and the entire planet we're destroyed in an instant. King Apollo paused: "In the next 10,000 years of his reign his rampage cooled and he became distant from creation. Some say he was the one who created the universe in its current form but either way eventually everything changed." Apollo cleared his throat: "Roughly 10,000 years ago a young ocean god named Ebisu from the Ocean Realm of Umi 海 challenged the demon god, the Demon God grew to over 400 feet tall and began to fight Ebisu in the Ocean Realm. But Ebisu, who was no less than 5 feet or so, managed to kill the Demon King, reducing him to a giant pile of bones, most of which sank into the sea. If one were to consume even a small piece of his remains his power would grow 10,000 fold. But of course his body remains in this Ocean Realm some say it's under a sunken civilization as there are many cultures that live in that realm to this day. Close to the present day it was confirmed that the Demon King's essence continued to exist, it impregnated a virgin which gave birth to his reincarnation. That was Mark's mother, the boy was his son and reincarnation, this boy Mark destined to work with this so-called Prophet. So you can see they're both far too dangerous. This boy has all the demon king's latent potential. He's weaker than her but together they could be unstoppable, they would destroy all life in the universe." Qora stepped back and sat down, Apollo was right they had to work with the demons as contemptible as they were. They had no choice if they wanted to secure the existence of life. And besides, the demons were weak compared to the gods.
Mark entered Frank's old room. He saw the Warhammer 40,000 game set they were playing with each other. They weren't very creative. Frank had the Space Marine faction and Mark had the Chaos Marine faction. A tear came to his eyes, there was no reason this kid had to be killed. Mark opened his eyes, that was a memory he revisited over and over again.