"If you win, you need not have to explain...If you lose, you should not be there to explain!"
- Adolf Hitler.
The Demon King Beezelbub ruled over the Universe for 20,000 years. His rule was a mixed affair sometimes brutal and terrible and at other times. At other times it was carefree and wonderful. The Demon King through all of it ruled the world with an iron fist. But even iron rusts. As the 20,000th year drew to a close, cracks began to show. Not in Beezelbub's strength—his power was undiminished—but in the world around him. Kingdoms once loyal grew restless. The stars whispered rebellion. Prophets dreamed of a child born with fire in their veins and light in their eyes, someone who would shatter the old order. Beezelbub laughed when he heard the rumors. He had crushed uprisings before breakfast and gods before lunch. What was one child to a king who had strangled time itself? Still, the laughter didn't quite reach his eyes. His dreams, once empty and cold, now burned with strange visions. A sword made of bone and starlight. A throne crumbling to dust. A name he didn't recognize, spoken in the language of the dead.
At Xenos University for Magicians a young girl was going to a school in the clouds. A school and civilization of advanced technology used by the Gods of the Western Quadrant of the Universe. A girl named Yadara stood in the courtyard of the University daydreaming. Yadara's eyes were fixed on nothing, but her mind was full. She stared past the silver towers of Xenos University, past the glinting bridges of light and anti-grav rails, past even the orbiting moons visible through the sky-dome above. Her fingers absentmindedly traced the runes carved into the edge of her datapad, though she hadn't turned a page in ten minutes.
Around her, the campus buzzed with casual brilliance. Students floated midair in zero-g duels, professors lectured in holograms projected across dimensions, and AI familiars zipped by, delivering coffee and coded dreams. But Yadara stood still. Her eyes flickered with a quiet fire, one that hadn't been there yesterday. Or maybe it had, and no one noticed. A boy walked up to her, "Are you alright?" He was exceedingly handsome. "Yeah I'm alright, that happens often I get lost in my own thoughts. It's nothing to worry about." The boy replied: "Oh alright. My name is Mamara. I just started attending this school a few months ago." This was a glitter in Yadara's eyes. A flame perhaps.
Back in the present Mark was stuffing his face with lots of East Asian food. They were on an intergalactic plain that was returning to the Planet Helios. Mark took a giant bite and had soy sauce dripping all over his face. He said with his mouth full he cheeks full of rice so that it was barely audible: "You really got to try this Hermes, this food is incredible." Hermes couldn't stand it: "Eh… do you really have to eat like that. It's so fricking gross." Food began to splatter all over his lap. "Oh come just try a bite," Mark held out his fork to Hermes' face. "Come on just one bite." Hermes began to yell: "Oh my god you're just like Uncle Talus!!" Nova was crass as usual: "Alright lovers enough of this." They both shouted at the same time. "For the last time we're not lovers!!" They were stunned for a moment. And then they said at the same time, "Stop it now! I told you to stop!! Why are you doing this?! You're making us look ridiculous!!" Qayyim began to laugh: "You guys sync up well, so maybe my father has a point." Both Mark and Hermes began to blush and look away from each other. Zaiyal marched forward: "For all we know, Ungar and the others are already dealing with these goons." Nova nodded: "That would be likely." Zaiyal pounded his fist: "Damn it all! I really envy Talus and the neerdowell Lupus. I bet they're growing stronger in a state of serenity while we're down here dealing with this trash."
Speak of the devil, back in the Spirit Realm Lupus and Talus were meditating in the middle of a great desert. They had been fasting for 12 days at this point, eating very little. Lupus spent a lot of time alone with his thoughts: "If this is what it takes to become God it's worth it. Anything that makes me stronger is acceptable for the inevitable goal of becoming the emperor of the Universe. I'll show them all. I'll be the one who stands tall before all others." Talus's mind was like the wind calm and sirene. Eventually Saikyumi Buddha arrived and told them they would now break their fast. He announced after they ate that they would do the Tie Bu Shan Gong. Lupus announced: "What the hell is that old man?" Saikyumi replied: "It is when you balance on the blade." Saiykumi brought them both to a giant golden palace in the middle of the desert. In the main room was a room full of spikes. Lupus interjected: "What the hell did you bring us here for?!" Saiykumi replied: "Observe." He leaped in the air and began to hover just above the spikes. After this he turned his head: "Now you!!" Talus and Lupus were shocked!! Lupus yelled: "For the love of all that's holy if you think I'm doing that you really have a screw loose old man!" Saikyumi put his finger up and said: "Don't you remember you ate hundreds of thousands of immortality pills, you could get impaled for a million years over and over and it would never kill you. It will be painful, yes. But anything worth obtaining will bring one hardship." Talus walked forward: "Fine I'm game." Lupus's pride got the best of him: "Like hell you well! I'm going first!" With out even thinking he leaped and was impaled, blood gushing from his mouth, he slowly began to climb up until he was out of the pit and his wound closed: "Again, I will get stronger."
Meanwhile, back on Helios the battle with Ungar ended. It turned out that Khidr was simply testing the waters. "Well, I think I'm done here." Ungar was stunned and he replied loudly: "WHAT?!" Khird chucked: "That's right big boy I was just testing the waters." They both descend all the way back to the planet's surface. Malik was in the middle of a fight with the others. "Malik, we're going, now." Malik stopped immediately and flew back to Khidr. They began to descend into the ground. "Good bye for now, we'll see you all in your nightmares, hehehehehe." Ungar planted his feet and stood like a tower. "We need to come up with a plan, brute strength might not be enough to take on those monsters." Sarai received a phone message and answered it immediately. Ungar turned behind to look as Sarai said: "Uh-huh. I understand. Yes of course as soon as possible." Sarai put away the phone. Ungar asked: "Who was that?" Sarai responded: "Well it was a government number and its bad. Something odd is happening with Belthazar. They want you and Narcis to investigate in Ungar," said Sarai. Ungar turned back. "Great timing I guess… great timing," thought Ungar.
It had been 20 days and Talus and Lupus may as well turned their stomachs into iron. The blades no longer penetrated their skin; they could levitate on top of the blade. There flesh became stronger if they relaxed a giant spike would go through but it would take much longer for it to break the skin let alone work its way through their whole body. When they stood in front Saiykumi he struck them with a sword in the stomach, legs and head the final strike caused the sword to explode. Lupus was through the moon, "Incredible! I'm so much stronger. I think we're on a whole other level than the rest of those clowns." Talus felt his chest: "You're not kidding, I guess it makes sense, after all we learned how to harden our flesh into iron essentially." Saykumi replied: "You have willed your body into Iron through the practice of Martial Arts nothing more, nothing less. You truly have become incredible warriors. As you can see achieving the Dragon Jewels was truly only the beginning of your journey. Now you'll only get stronger, that's enough for now time to eat." Talus and Lupus were shocked; they expected some long speech but their stomachs started rumbling. Before they knew it they were on the floor eating rice, beef, and fish. Lupus was about to reach towards something until he asked, "What is that?" Saykumi, who was eating only vegetarian food, replied: "It's fried pork. Would you like me to pass you some?" Lupus gasped: "No I can't eat that. I converted to my wife's religion a few years back and pork is forbidden apparently. If she smells it on my breath I'll never hear the end of it." Talus smirked: "Well it looks like our big bad wolf has turned into a cute little puppy-dog. I think you've been domesticated." Lupus said back angrily: "What was that?!" Talus giggled, smiling with his eyes closed: "You claim that you want to become the God of this world yet you bow down to your wife and her false god. You've softened up, you're just a regular puppy dog these days." Lupus, filled with anger began to shout: "You listen here - inaudible yelling." Saiykumi smirked: "Their final trial begins tomorrow."
Nova and the others landed at the Intergalactic airport in Helios. Helios' intergalactic airport was less of a terminal and more of a breathing city. Suspended miles above the ground in a lattice of floating runes and plasma tethers, it pulsed with the lifeblood of a hundred worlds. Nova's boots hit the landing pad first, her eyes already scanning the perimeter. "Helios," she muttered, "always too bright for its own good." Zaiyal stepped off the shuttle behind her, stretching his arms and cracking his neck. "Still smells like overpriced tech and ego." Hermes and Mark followed, dragging bags that looked half-exploded. Qayyim brought up the rear, calm as always, her gaze fixed on something far beyond the city's radiant skyline. "You'd think after all we've seen, landing on Helios would feel normal," Hermes muttered, brushing soy sauce from her tunic. "But this place still makes my skin itch. Thinking about how different it was 20 years from now." Mark chuckled, "Maybe it's not the Time Travel at all. That might actually be the radiation leaks. Heard they still haven't patched Sector-4G from the last solar surge." Nova ignored the banter. "Stay focused. Ungar's call came in ten minutes ago. Whatever's going on with Belthazar... it's serious." They moved through the transit corridors quickly. Holographic ads danced in the air—teleportation insurance, spirit-forged weapons, coffee stronger than prophecy. Nova shoved past it all until they reached the security gate. A woman in a long silver coat was waiting. "Sarai?" Nova called out. Sarai turned, eyes sharp behind tinted lenses. "You're late. The situation's already shifted." Nova frowned. "Shifted how?" "Belthazar didn't just vanish," Sarai said, her voice low. "He's been rewritten. Everyone who knew him, even vaguely, is starting to forget he ever existed. Names are being deleted from official records. Memories are going blank."
Qayyim stepped forward. "That's... metaphysical manipulation. Beyond even temporal erasure. It's not possible that no one either a mortal or a god is can achieve something like that. Not even Ungar could. So it has to be something else right?" Sarai nodded. "I thought it was impossible but that's exactly what it is. And here's the kicker—we traced the disruption's origin." Zaiyal folded his arms. "Let me guess. The Shatterfield?" "No," Sarai replied. "Worse. Underneath it. Deep in the Vault of Echoes which is deep inside the oceans of the Demon Realm." Mark blinked. "That place is a myth. Assuming it's even real, the gods sealed it off millennia ago." "Well," Sarai said, handing over a holo-map, "guess what's back on the menu." Mark looked at the screen and his eyes and voice began to shake: "No… it can't be."
Back in the world of the Devas Saiykumi showed Lupus and Talus to a door. Lupus was deeply confused: "What is this old man?" Saiyumi smiled: "This is a door to a completely different dimension, universe, omniverse, and timeline it's one of the Nakaras (Buddhist hells) its Mahāpadma the coldest of those sister hells, its a frozen tundra, the Qadar in this realm is 100 trillion times greater than in this world, for a normal mortal it would flatten them into jelly in an instant. I think you have grown strong enough. You can't die so it can't kill you. But even still before it could break you and make you give up on trying to conquer it. But now I believe… you have hope of mastering it and mastering yourself." They both entered the door, and immediately they were incredibly cold, the door disappeared. It would not appear for at least 1 year in this world which was an hour in the outside world. It would be tough but they would be ready already their bodies fell apart in their fragments and this occurred over and over again. They would have to get strong enough to maintain their form in this world and in turn grow stronger.
Yadara and Mamara stood at the edge of the city in the clouds. Mamara said: "I would love someday to go on an adventure and see what's out there." Yadara was confused: "Yeah but that's not possible? There's no way to break through the barrier." Mamara got excited and angsty: "That's not true. I met this guy named Ebisu. He's going to chart his own course, he's going to become a full-fledged god, he's only a demigod like us right now. If anyone can chart his own course, I know he can." Yadara was perplexed who the kid he was talking about was, probably just some dreamer who had his head in the clouds and possibly his heart on his sleeve. But surely he couldn't be so great as to break through the barrier. But Mamara was dead set on showing her this kid, she would meet Ebisu tonight, and see the man who would break through the cosmic ceiling.
Back at one of the great imperial prisons Ungar and Narcis arrived when they landed a large group of government officials greeted them. "Where is Belthasar?" said Ungar. One of the officials declared: "He's this way. Follow me Monsieur Ungar." The man was a ridiculous looking man with a pink mohawk, big puffy lips, a black handlebar mustache and a ridiculous plump body shape. Ungar and Narcis walked through a lone dark hall full of prison cells with glass windows, insane lunatics and vagabonds shouting at them from every corner. "Pretty typical," said Ungar. Narcis looked around, examining all of the different criminals. They were looking for a red-haired lion-faced man they had known before who had betrayed them, formerly known as Chancellor Belthasar, the Wise. The official stopped in front of an empty cell. "Here," he said, with a nervous tremble in his voice. "This was Belthasar's holding chamber. Maximum security. Runes carved by Fourth-Level Chronomancers. Layered anti-teleportation fields. Psychic dampeners. Reality anchors every seven feet." Ungar narrowed his eyes. "And yet..." "It's empty," Narcis said flatly, staring into the cell. "Not broken out. Not tunneled. Just… clean."
The official nodded, sweat forming on his brow. "There are no signs of struggle. No alarms tripped. The monitoring data for the last 48 hours? Wiped. Like the system itself forgot he was ever here." Ungar took a step forward, placing his palm on the transparent wall. He muttered a word in an ancient dialect, and a faint shimmer lit up the surface—barely visible energy threads—frayed and twitching like dying nerves. "This cell wasn't broken from the outside or the inside," he said. "It was unmade. Pulled out of continuity." Narcis crossed her arms. "Someone is rewriting the architecture of memory, place, and being. You don't get that kind of power from a forbidden scroll or stolen divine relic. This is something new." Ungar turned to the official. "We need to speak to the Architect of Records. Now." The man stammered. "She—she hasn't been seen in two days. Her office is sealed." Ungar sighed. "Of course it is."
Back in the sky-cities of Xenos, Yadara and Mamara wandered the glowing glass paths that curled like tendrils between the cloud towers. The night above them sparkled with orbiting satellites and false stars, while below, the planet's surface looked like a forgotten dream. "Are you sure about this?" Yadara asked. Mamara nodded. "Ebisu said to meet him on the edge of Sector 7, near the old gateway node. He's going to show us something." When they arrived, a boy no older than sixteen was waiting. He wore tattered robes woven with faint circuitry, eyes glowing like twin novas. His hair was black yet had a silver complexion, not with age, but as if it had been kissed by cosmic dust. He was smiling, but there was something underneath that—an ache, maybe. Or defiance. "You're Yadara," he said, his voice calm. "I've been expecting you." She blinked. "You know me?" "Not yet," he said. "But I will. You're going to play a part in tearing down everything. The sky, the rules, the order. Everything." She instinctively took a step back. "What are you talking about?" Ebisu raised his hand and pointed upward—then dragged it downward in a slicing motion. The space in front of them shimmered, cracked, and split. A rift, thin as paper, opened up revealing stars and shadows beyond.
"I'm leaving tonight," he said. "This place... it's a cage pretending to be a palace. I'm done asking for permission to fly." He turned to Mamara. "You coming?" Mamara looked at Yadara. "What about you?" Yadara stared into the rift. She felt fear. And longing. "I... I don't know." Ebisu smiled. "You don't have to know now. But when the stars begin to fall, and the great lie of the gods starts to crack—remember this night. Remember me." The rift closed as suddenly as it opened, and Ebisu vanished in a blink. Yadara and Mamara stood in silence. "He's insane," she said. "Maybe," Mamara replied. "Or maybe… he's right about everything and we've been asleep this whole time."
Meanwhile, in Mahāpadma, Lupus and Talus screamed silently as their bodies were shredded and reassembled again and again. Time moved like a glacier, but pain came instantly. Talus hovered, barely maintaining coherence, his eyes frozen open in the blizzard of pure dimensional cold. "This... is... torment," Lupus hissed beside him, his face cracked like porcelain. "I can't even think straight. Damn it. How can I conquer this world if I can't even overcome this frozen wasteland." "That's the point," Talus muttered. "We have to learn to think through it. We're not here to survive this. We're here to conquer it." Suddenly, in the distance—a flicker of gold. A shape. Moving toward them through the endless frost. It was humanoid, but burning with impossible energy. Lupus growled. "What now...?"
Talus narrowed his eyes. "I don't think this is part of Saiykumi's trial." The figure drew closer, and as it did, the cold bent around it. The snow stopped falling. Reality slowed. It spoke with a voice that echoed across timelines. "You who dare seek godhood in the halls of death. You've drawn attention you are not ready for." Lupus screamed back, defiant even as his form wavered. "Then bring it! Let the gods themselves bleed if they stand in my way! This world belongs to me not to them, it's my birthright. I'll destroy all false idols until I, the one true god, stands alone." The figure raised its hand—and reality fractured. Their true trial was about to begin. As he said this the being began to straighten its hands and in an instant, Talus and Lupus solidified into their regular forms. The beast began to charge at them, Talus and Lupus began to fire off ki blasts towards this strange and mysterious figure. The figure appeared behind Lupus kicking him in the back, then Talus knocking him to the ground. Lupus hit the ice-hard ground with a crack, sliding back through the frozen dust, breath torn from his lungs. Talus tried to rise, but the figure was already on him—a blur of flame and light. It struck with precision, not rage. Not cruelty. As if it was measuring them. Testing.
Talus coughed blood, eyes burning with fury. "You think you're above us? You're just another wall to break through." The figure stood still, head tilted, light pulsing from within its chest like a second heart. "No. I am not a wall. I am the reminder. That power without purpose... is still failure." Lupus spat onto the ice. "Spare me the philosophy." He roared, body flaring with shadow like fire, and launched himself forward, fist glowing with raw will. Talus followed an instant later, his own energy coursing into a spiraling blade around his arm. They struck together—one from the ground, one from the air. The figure didn't dodge. It caught both blows mid-strike. The ice beneath them shattered from the force. The moment stretched. Then— It pushed them back with a pulse of force that tore a trench through Mahāpadma's endless plain. The voice returned, quieter now, but deeper, layered like a thousand versions of itself speaking in harmony. "If you survive this encounter, remember what you felt. Pain. Inadequacy. The terror of being truly seen." Talus rose, shaking. "Who are you?" The being's form flickered—human, then machine, then a star wrapped in skin. "I am the Echo of Judgment. One of seven. And I have seen what you will become if left unchecked." Lupus wiped blood from his mouth, snarling. "Then you should've killed us when you had the chance." "I wasn't sent to kill you," the Echo said, turning its back. "I was sent to warn you. Saiykumi's trial is only the beginning. The rift has opened. The Balance is failing. Choose your path carefully, conquerors—because war is coming, and not even gods will survive it unchanged." And with that, it vanished—leaving only silence, and the sound of wind resuming its slow, endless howl. Talus looked at Lupus. "We need to get out of here."
Lupus laughed: "Notice anything we're not falling apart in this frozen wasteland. We know where the door is. It's just a few feet that way. We couldn't go because our bodies were adjusting to it. But now we've conquered this world." Talus looked over, Lupus was right, the door was right there. They walked towards it and opened the door they were back in Saiyumi's palace. The Buddha bowed before them, "You two have achieved a great reward and this is most certainly an auspicious sign. You have achieved not only immortality but have unlocked the early stages of Buddhahood and Godhood, you are now at a low-level currently, both Buddha with a Buddha-nature and a Deity with a god-nature." Lupus flexed his arms, "It's no joke, I feel more powerful than ever." Talus began to flex his muscles as well, "You're right, this is incredible." The Buddha bowed again, "and you must impart this wisdom on others like the Bodhisattvas in every age." Talus replied: "I need to teach these fighting-arts to Mark and Hermes, it will surely aid them in their struggles." Lupus laughed menacingly: "And now whatever we come up against it will be like swatting away flies."
In the Underworld the demons converged, Krampus, Malik, Khadir and the others met and confronted their lord Anton Volker. He was a disgusting grotesque monstrocity. Volker began to laugh; he was a human face sticking out of a large tendrilled flesh monster with hundreds of mouths and terrifying rows of teeth. He cackled and hacked: "You have done well all of you. Soon my vessel will arrive. He's just broken out of prison and he will be momentarily. Admittedly it's not ideal but it will serve me well for the time being." Malik replied: "Sir it's approaching right now." Anton replied quickly: "THAT'S NOT IT!" He was right, it was the goddess of Malice, Kakia. Krampus growled at her, "What the hell are you doing here? You're not a demon, you're one of the gods, so begone this is not your realm." Kakia laughed: "Oh you silly-billies I'm not a demon but you should know by now I go wherever I please. Mr. Anton is still a gruwmpy-wumpy it seems." Anton growled but then said, "I'm not going to let you get to me, my vessel this being named Belthasar is going to arrive this red-haired lion-faced fellow he's going to give me his body and soul, he knows his soul will experience soul-destruction but I've convinced him to do it anyway. I'm over the moon right now and there's nothing you can do that could ever ruin this incredible feeling I'm experiencing right now."
Kakia floated closer, her smile widening into something unsettling. "Oh Anton, you poor deluded pile of meat. You're celebrating too early again." She leaned forward, plucking a dripping tendril from his mass and twirling it between her fingers like a strand of hair. "Your Belthasar? He's not coming. Not the way you think." Anton's laughter stuttered, then stopped. His central human face twitched. "Explain. Now." Krampus and Khadir shifted uneasily. Malik narrowed his eye. Kakia dropped the tendril, which hissed and writhed on the ground. "Your vessel had a change of heart. Well, more like a fracture. A crack. Right down the middle. You filled his head with visions of power, yes, but you forgot one thing…" She held up a single finger. "The lion has teeth." Malik stepped forward. "Are you saying he betrayed the pact?" "No, no, sweetie. He expanded it." Kakia's eyes glowed briefly. "You see, your Belthasar let someone else in. Someone who wasn't invited." Anton's flesh rippled. "WHO?" Kakia didn't answer right away. Instead, she backed away and turned to the darkness behind her. From the gloom, footsteps echoed—slow, heavy, confident. A figure emerged: broad-shouldered, cloaked in bloodstained robes, eyes burning amber. His hair was a tangled mane of red, his face part man, part beast. But it was the thing inside his eyes that made the demons recoil. Belthasar. And something more. "I heard you were expecting me," he said. Anton's mouths all grinned at once, but only for a moment. The smile faltered as he looked closer. "What… is that inside you?" Anton said, voice suddenly low. Belthasar stepped forward. "Insurance." Something stirred behind his gaze. Something ancient. Something that didn't answer gods or demons. Kakia winked. "You see, Anton, I don't ruin parties—I just bring better guests. And this guest is someone you know too well, a little firebrand from the Parsis realm." After she said this Volker began to smile and laugh: "I was worried for a second, excellent, I don't know why I thought this was bad news. This is a marvelous surprise. It's time. We attack the surface within the day."
Long ago, many centuries ago Ebisu stood on a cliff next to Ungar with his cape rippling in the breeze looking off into the beautiful turquoise water of the Umi realm where a huge skeleton lay in the distance. Ebisu looked up and closed his eyes, "Ungar it was many centuries ago when I broke through the barrier and put an end to the reign of the Demon King. And to this day I still wonder. Was it the right choice?" Ungar looked down at Ebisu with his arms crossed. "How was it a bad choice, master?" Ebisu sighed, taking a deep breath of the ocean air, "I made a child, not in the conventional sense, but in a different sense, I actually made two." Ungar was deeply confused, "What are you talking about?!" Ebisu explained: "Long ago I extracted golden light from the realm of the Arcane Angels. I used it to create beings. One was an infant girl named Hermes and the other was an infant boy named Daniel. The boy was made of simple Arcane Light but the girl was made out of something different. When I was in this realm I stumbled into a portal accidentally that took me to a place it was like water that felt like jello but there was a calming light, I can't explain it but the water seemed to be speaking to me from a source that was far off in the distance as if this liquid was simply part of its essence or one of its many attributes. I collected the water and used that to put in the second child. The energy that pulsatted from it drew a large amount of aura, in fact all of the liquid from that dimension came out of thin air and began to enter the body of the child when it was done Hermes opened her eyes." Ungar looked distressed: "Where are these children now?" Ebisu turned around and said, "I put them in two vases, I will release each on its own one shortly after the other, one will reincarnate first that will be Daniel who is made up of only angelic light and the other Hermes will emerge later she is made up of angelic light and this other mysterious energy." Ungar opened his eyes after recounting this memory he had never told Daniel back when he walked the earth in his former form but maybe it was time to tell Hermes to tell her what she really was.