"Oh, now this is interesting! A city in the sky, all shiny and perfect. How quaint!"
A crazy laughter echoing across the heavens.
Everybody except the emperor was shocked. First because the madness contained in that laughter, second, because they felt something perfectly similar to their emperor in that madness!
The people tending the Heavenly Court froze in terror as they felt a dominating, overwhelming presence.
Their instincts screaming at them to flee.
Horror!
In that very instant, their horror peaked!
They felt nothing but TERROR!
Run!
But it was a bit too late—the sky slashed!
A chaotic black hole shattered the atmosphere like meteor dragging the darkness of the void, pierced the clouds, and landed with an earth-shattering boom in the central plaza of the Heavenly Court.
It struck the whole Court like the god's hammer.
The impact sent cracks spiderwebbing across the whole structure, and the air warped as if reality itself struggled to maintain its form.
The central plaza, once immaculate and gleaming, were instantly cracked and buckled. The shockwave sent peoples tumbling, their cries of terror echoing through the citadel. Even the seasoned Eltsopa faltered, their instincts screaming of a predator far beyond their comprehension.
In normal situation, whole bunch of Eltsopa would have swarmed the whatever the cause.
But the situation was not normal.
They feel it.
They can feel it as if touched it.
This breath—
An overwhelming aura rolled outward like a tsunami and the air instantly become suffocating.
Someone gulped and said through clattering teeth, "...Emperor.." he collapsed, dead.
It was then, from the crater, the source of that suffocating air slowly rose up. And as the dust cleared up, they saw it; black, featureless, jagged grin gleaming in the golden light.
Who could it be but Devil Prime?
He surveyed his surroundings with an air of curiosity, his tongue flicking lazily.
"Well, this is new," he mused, his voice dripping with amusement. "A floating palace of gold and light. Let me guess—someone's trying to get cozy?"
He walked, a step, and in the next moment he was already in front of a sexy big breasted woman. She was already scared enough, but when he suddenly vanish and instantly appeared right in front of her, with his featureless face close to her's?
Devil Prime greeted brightly, "Heya, pretty lady, I'm new here so…"
But before he could go further, the woman collapsed, dead.
"….oh, shoot." he shrugged, "I forgot about my troublesome ability, sorry, my bad my bad, I'll turn it off."
In the next moment, the air returned to normal.
There's no suffocating presence of whatsoever. It was as if that whatever happened before, was not real.
However everyone there know.
It was real.
It was as real as truest possible.
Devil Prime waved lightly, pushing almost invisible figure out of himself toward the dead woman. Then, under everyone's shocked gaze, she trembled before her heart started beating again.
"Ah, welcome back, beauty! So it's like this, I want to—"
"AAAAAARHHHHHHHHHHH!!!!"
Her breakdown was contagious.
The central plaza instantly erupted into chaos as peoples poured in from every direction. They moved like headless chicken, some even fall to from the court to the clouds and below.
"…"
Devil Prime watched blankly.
"Haish, I just wants to ask. C'mon guys, don't ignore me!" With a flick of his hand, the gravitational field in the plaza was owned.
"Alright, I'm gonna ask, you answer. OK?" he made a ok sign with his sharp finger to a crying man suspended in air, causing the man to cry even harder in silence. He can't even voiced his fear in this condition.
"…"
Devil Prime sighed, "Haaa, the old way that is."
Without warning, he grabbed the man's head and as the man screamed wildly in silence, Devil Prime murmured to himself….
"Hmm, three million years?! God damn, I'm so old call me grandpa now! …oh, the sixth build this? Heavenly Court, the name's not bad. ….. Ah, I see …. so Zhile also extinct now? Too bad …. What?! Even my beloved harpy?! …well, at least siren are still there …hmm, hmm, I see, so it's like that… what a grand ambition.."
At first, he's just marveling at the history he learned. After all he was someone from the past, so it's pretty exciting to see how the world unfold without him. But then…
"Hah, they really thought I was vanish because my karma, huh? Hahaha—"
He stopped abruptly, his smile froze.
"...what's this?"
Drowning, he let go of the man who's dead like dried twig by now and grab another head.
Another.
And another.
But the information he got are the same.
"What the heck.."
For the first time in his life since he reached his horizon of overwhelming, dominating power, Demon God feel uncertain.
….
In the Council room, the atmosphere was tense.
JaSaad, face dirty with food, stood rigid, his eyes fixed on the glowing scrying orb that displayed the events outside. "Who... what is that?" he whispered.
"…the emperor?" Marika shook her head, "Whoever he is, the question is, why is he here?"
While everyone watched in turmoil, the Void Emperor remained silent. But the air around him seemed to hum with power, as if the very fabric of space awaited his command.
The Top 3 Mutants knelt before him, their heads bowed in deference. One of them, a woman with silver hair and eyes that glowed faintly, spoke urgently. "My Lord, the intruder… he bears the aura of an Emperor. We can't do anything against him!"
The Emperor did not reply immediately.
He gazed into the scrying orb, his sky eyes narrowing.
'No doubt, the third...' he thought, his mind turning to the fragmented history known only to Emperors. And before long, his chain of thoughts connected with a phrase—the Ominous Future's prophecy.
"So that's it." his eyes glinted with understanding.
"My lord..?" Marika, noticing his lord's change in expression, immediately inquired.
"He is the third Emperor, the Demon God." Void Emperor said calmly.
That calm tone, however, caused massive shock among his attendant. And the next instant, their chain of thoughts straightened to a single phrase—
"The Rainbow Will Guide The Lost Demon God Return... Chaos, Eternal Flower Bloom..."
"The prophecy…"
"....prophecy.."
"It was true?!!"
Ignoring his attendant's reaction, Void Emperor rise up; stood at ten meters in height, he is really dwarfing everyone in the room. The air around him shimmered as space itself seemed to bend in meekly.
"You won't be anything but nuisance." he scoffed, "I will greet him myself."
He took a single step, and disappeared.
Outside, just as Devil Prime prepared to prove something, the air suddenly grew still. He paused, and then he felt his power are being rejected. The floating, strained Heavenly Court's people immediately fall sprawling to the ground, crying and scared.
"You do not belong here, Demon Emperor." a cold voice reached his ear.
Feeling the change in atmosphere, Devil Prime's monstrous mouth slowly turned into a deep, horror grin, showing his jagged teeth as he looked at the direction of the Council tower.
The space rippled before Void Emperor walked out through the crack in space.
His towering dwarfing even Devil Prime, casting a shadow over the shattered tiles. His red robes flowed like liquid light, and his hair fluttered wildly. With his hands behind the back, every firm step he took reverberated through the plaza.
Devil Prime straightened, his jagged grin widening further. "Well, well, you got that right, Ninth. Anyway, is true? There's the as well?"
He spoke casually, as if talking with old friend.
The Void Emperor stopped a short distance away, his cold gaze fixed on the intruder. "You are far from your place, Demon Emperor," he said, his voice deep and commanding. "Why have you come here?"
"Hey hey hey, I'm done with being Emperor and shit!" Devil Prime nagged, "Call me God! Demon God!"
"Why have you come here?"
The Demon God chuckled at his coldness.
"Why?" he repeated, "Oh, no reason. Just thought I'd stretch my legs, maybe ruffle some feathers… and who would thought, that I will end up finding something so.. interesting."
Void Emperor frowned at his deepen grin,"You've disrupted the balance. Go back to your time."
"Nah," Devil Prime's grin sharp as a blade. "Go back? Why would I? Things are already fun here, it won't be a crime for me to make it more.. exciting, right?"
There was silence before storm.
It was as if a tsunami crashed against tsunami, the whole Heavenly Court trembled as the auras of two Emperor collided wildly. Cold faced Void Emperor, grinning Demon God, the air between them distorting with raw, unbridled power.
"So, Ninth... shall we begin?"
Devil chuckling softly spun, arms outstretched. Soon, debris began floating around him like moon orbiting a planet, gradually forming something like tornado.
"Oh, this is delightful!" he exclaimed, his voice genuine happy, "A whole Court of possibilities. Tell me, do you think the sky is heavy, old man? Or should I make it heavier?"
Void Emperor said nothing, but his brow furrowed.
Devil Prime tilted his head, disappointed. "Nothing to say? Not even a 'surrender now' or a 'kneel before me'? Come on, loosen up a little!"
He lazily flicked his fingers, and the battle begin.
Gravity bent in chaotic waves, pulling stone, metal, and air into unpredictable patterns. A tower that had barely remained standing groaned and collapsed, its fragments spiraling into the air like leaves caught in a storm.
On the other side, Void Emperor merely scoffed.
But that single action destroyed the gravitational chaos like blade, restoring order. A ripple of spatial energy radiated outward, shattering the floating debris into harmless dust.
"Oh, so that's your power! I see I see!" Devil Prime clapped enthusiastically, his grin widening, "You're good! But let's make it fun, shall we?"
He stomped his foot, and the ground buckled.
The plaza groaned as a massive gravitational field enveloped Void Emperor, the pressure intensifying with every second. Entire chunks of the plaza cracked and sank, their edges crumbling as Devil Prime's laughter echoed across the battlefield.
Void Emperor stood his ground, unaffected.
Even though the ground may quaked, the whole Court was as still as him, unaffected.
With a measured motion, he raised his hand and casually slashed forward. The air shimmered, a thin, glowing arc of distorted space slicing through the gravitational field. It shattered like glass, and the force of his counter attack rippled outward, leveling what little remained of the plaza.
The slicing spatial attack rushed toward him, but Devil Prime merely flicked his finger and destroyed it.
"You're no fun!" he teased, shaking his head. "You're supposed to struggle a little, maybe groan or grit your teeth. Instead, you're just... boring. But that's fine!."
"What do you want?" Void asked coldly.
"What do I want…?" Devil Prime tilting his head, "Hm, haven't think that far actually…"
Murmured to himself, he stretched out his hand and the next instant, a black dot appeared above his palm. It was small, even smaller than a pearl.
However, Void Emperor instantly frowned when saw it.
"Don't Force my hands."
"Yes, you're right, your right." Devil Prime shrugged as he waved, destroying the black dot.
Then, silence.
"Hmmmmmm… well, I don't want to go back to my time.. yet, maybe. Haish, why did I do this in the first place? …oh right, it's those old geezers!" he chuckled to himself, "Alright, Void Emperor.. I accept you as my friend, yay! C'mon, smile!"
"…."
"Huh, guess you don't get that smooth face from birth, huh. Well whatever," he shrugged.
He was already floating and about to go when he stopped, glanced back and said deeply, "The Tenth, don't try anything funny, young Void."
Who was he? Void Emperor.
How old was he? Over a million years.
Yet, this all black bastard actually called him young?
"…."