[PROLOGUE]
¹
A world called the Throne of God, where the strongest become gods and rewrite the universe with their own ideals. As a result, the laws of God have changed with each successive generation, and in some eras, they have reached the height of desolation. Meanwhile, the world under the rule of the Seventh God has achieved unprecedented stability, but the elements of destruction have not been eliminated.
A mysterious entity called the "Watcher" appears in every era. It is said that its appearance is a sign of the fall of the current god.
Why are these people born?
What is the origin of the world known as the Throne of God?
#
DIVINE THRONE [Takamagahara]
The Seventh Throne itself, where the Seventh God, AMATERASU, sits. A city where the six seeking gods (GUDOU) of the Mandala of Dawn live, and in its center is the great cherry tree, the core of the seventh divine throne. About 10 thousand years ago, they fought against the evil God, HAJUN, for the right to maintain or destroy the world. With much sacrifice and blood, they achieved victory and founded what would come to be known as TAKAMAGAHARA, the kingdom of the gods.
But before the current world, there were 7th generations of Gods:
[The Truth, the Relentless, the Morning Star, Mercury, Gold, the Moment, Twilight, Hajun…]
Gods who are immutable in themselves. But, would there be anyone who would be above them? After all, one must be aware that there is always a bigger fish. After all, no matter how insurmountable the DIVINE THRONE is, it is still just a tool for the Gods who achieve their Hegemony. In this case, the question arises; "
What would be the summit? The top that surpasses all generations and controls them and their falls from the Shadows?
◇◇◇
"...hum..."
"..."
"tsc..."
Silence hung over the circular hall, after all, this was an unprecedented occasion in history.
Sitting around an oval table, 9 figures were seen staring at each other. A group that stood out for their different ideologies, cultures, worlds and even races. These people, who were once the top of their world, had fallen at the hands of each other, but now, they lay in the same place. ALIVE.
Faced with such a doubt, the first to speak was one of the youngest;
"A round table? Mandala? Sephirot? What is this place?!" The voice that spoke came from a handsome young man, with blue eyes and short hair, he seemed at the same time irritated and confused in the face of such a situation.
This was Ren Fuji, also called "fleeting moment" (Setsuna). One of the main guardians of the goddess and the one who is her most beloved lover and protector. The "protagonist" could be said to be from the ancient 4th era. The young man who once wished his beautiful moment would last forever.
[Rees Novae, Also Sprach Zarathustra]
The throne of the eternal moment. The world of law and stagnation personified.
Mugen was the personification of stagnation, but almost ironically, he was the most restless of the gods. A deity who sought to maintain his normal life, his "Moment" forever, so that he could enjoy those good times.
He was the one who loved the goddess the most, her lover and the one who shared her life in the fourth generation where Mercury ruled, before Marie (Tasogare) took over.
Despite having killed each other before, the 3 gods put aside their differences in order to protect and watch over the lovely goddess. But that didn't mean that Mugen enjoyed their presence. He, who fought so hard for his goddess, would not sit back and let the madmen rule.
"Ah...Ren-kun, I believe we have been brought back to life." The one who responded to Setsuna was his guardian companion, Mercury, Mercurius. The god of the 4th generation of the divine throne, under the name of "Suigin".
The one who announced his presence to his former ally was the shadow of a man who is like a dead tree, sick and decaying, but who carries within himself an irresistible desire. He was a being (universe) from a play who experienced love for the only time in his life and turned everything into a stage because of a woman. Mercury, or Mercurius, was a being of androgynous appearance. With a slender and slim body, long dark hair and flowing robes. His appearance seemed to fluctuate at every moment. As if his existence was an anomaly to the world.
The shadow of a man who is like a dead tree, sick and decaying, but who carries within himself an irresistible desire. He was a being (universe) from a play who experienced love for the only time in his life and turned everything into a stage because of a woman.
All his love was for his goddess. An adoration that bordered on madness, but at the same time was pure and perfect. This was the contradiction that inhabited Mercury, the fourth throne (generation).
He was a fallen god, the one who gave up his throne to Marie (Tasogare) in exchange for serving her forever as her guardian.
A crazy and immeasurable Love. Born from the desire to die, falling in love with the goddess he could never touch without fearing death. But yearning for her and her sweet embrace (death) in his hands.
This was the definition (Law) of Mercurius, The Fourth Generation who sought The unknown until death. And for his love of the goddess, he was determined to suffer as many Returns to the beginning as he could.
"Oh, Karl, I believe that something has indeed occurred so that we, who fell to that child, find ourselves here." Another voice, haughty and proud, filled the room with fierce pride. This was The Gold, Reinhard Heydrich. Another of the goddess's guardians and the Apoptosis of Mercury. His golden mane flowed around him as a sharp smile filled his face.
Reinhard was a perfect figure, exuding a perfect beauty that bordered on horror. Something unnatural. A long, flowing golden mane flowed and floated around him, bending the laws of gravity. His attire was that of a noble general, prepared for war. He was the epitome of a supreme war commander.
He was feared as a diabolical tyrant, and he was a very dangerous figure. However, he was a celestial being who had gained a loyalty that transcended time and space. His dominance was unparalleled.
The Shura Beast's love was for everyone.
"I love everything, therefore, I will destroy everything."
Love for the Beast was nothing more than the other side of the coin of destruction, so there was no greater way to love everyone than to destroy them. If such a kingdom were to take hold, a world of eternal wars would be the only precept of this world.
"Umu...Ren, Cagliostro, Reinhard"
The goddess's voice interrupted and drew attention. This was the goddess of twilight, the once-worshipped goddess of the 5th generation, who was overthrown by the "demonic child," HAJUN, the 6th generation. Marie, or Tasogare, was a beautiful goddess, wearing a pure and noble white dress; no one could deny that her clothes were elegant, but she exuded a radiance that a woman of high society could not achieve, not even with the most extravagant clothes. Her long golden hair was dyed with immaculate light. The goddess was pure and beautiful. A love that engulfed the entire universe and embraced everyone in it. A desire to embrace everyone, generated by the goddess's lack of contact and loneliness.
The goddess was pure and beautiful. A love that engulfed the entire universe and embraced everyone in it. A desire to embrace everyone, generated by the goddess's lack of contact and loneliness. She is originally a Gudou deity, but was discovered by her predecessor, Trono, and lured to play the lead role in a comedy and become his successor. In a way, she was the target of her predecessor's jokes the most, but she does not resent or regret it. Because in her entire life, she has never had contact with other people. She is the goddess of compassion.
Her reign, unprecedented in its gentleness, embodied the principle of reincarnation, that all life is reborn.
A world of compassion and happiness, Therefore, the Goddess embraced everyone. Good, evil, and everything in between, tragedy itself cannot be eliminated, but salvation will surely come at the end of rebirth, benevolent to all, she dreamed. This love is the embodiment of a mother's desire to care for her child and watch it grow. There is no one who does not like a gentle mother, and as proof of this, she possessed her own extraordinary characteristics. Her Hadou allowed other gods to coexist when it was originally impossible. As she yearned for embraces, those in her arms, even the furious god of war, smiled peacefully and surrendered.
This was Tasogare's love, after all.
The goddess was as unconscious as her peers, fallen into a veil of confusion. Like them, her memories dated back to her death at the hands of the 6th generation, having her and her guardians revived was anomalous even for an immutable existence like her.
For within this void, there was a mandala of Thrones of Apotheosis arranged in a disorganized manner. Thus, this was the place where these Eight Deities sat.
Each one had a crush on one of them, but they all seemed to ignore or be indifferent to it.
"Where are we?" the goddess asked. Earning a look from the others on their thrones.
"I think we're trapped, Margueritte. And by someone from outside, I would say." Mercury said, a self-mocking smile, despite his words of comfort.
"What do you mean, is that we're here, gathered together because of someone from above?" Gold complemented his beloved comrade, smiling softly at the notion of such a being existing. "Interesting, so the THRONE of God wasn't really the summit..."
"I don't like the idea of being in the hands of another lunatic again." Moment exclaimed, frowning. After all, he was the one who suffered at the hands of a clumsy author in the past, like a character in a bad story. "And on top of that, being trapped with the wretch who killed me." The Moment stared with irritation and resignation at one of the mandalas, but quickly looked away. Looking so much at THAT place was dangerous, there was a risk that its owner would notice them.
"Ah, I think so. But I fear we have no choice, after all, even my predecessor is trapped in such a place."
After the serpent spoke, everyone turned their eyes to the more distant thrones, which until that moment had been silent, stagnant in their places. Each THRONE was different from itself, reflecting how different each God is from itself, and how their ideologies are applied.
The "Predecessor" of the aforementioned serpent was the God of the 3rd generation, the One known as THE MORNING STAR. The god who created the 3rd era, named ZOAR.
"..." on a throne similar to an ancient sculpture of an Abrahamic deity, rested the one who once sought purity above all else. The god who wanted perfection.
"Nerose Satanael"
A God who embodied immaculate purity, from his long hair and pure white eyes to his alabaster robes, the figure rested on his throne without showing any outward emotion.
The morning star, was how his divine name was known. This man was pure in every way. He could not forgive not only the sins of others, but also the sin that dwelled within himself.
The world that the third generation created is rational and logical. He does not understand or accept human folly. Everything is like an electronic machine. It is like a machine. As it turns out, there is no humanity in this Throne. He is a man who is the embodiment of mathematics, so everything is logical. He does not accept answers such as;
"one plus one equals four or five"
He does not accept nonsense, irrationality or anything of the sort. It is like a controlled society where everything is predetermined from one to ten.
That is why in every era of the Throne, he alone has completely eradicated human evil. His purity, his holiness. He is the embodiment of the most universal impression of the concept of God.
"Ah, you don't intend to speak, Morningstar?"
The Gold teased with a smile, he longed for a taste of the god who caused the creation of his beloved friend. A burning desire to taste that cold logic that brought an anomaly (bug) like the mercurial serpent into the world.
"...um...irrelevant..."
After a long time in silence, Myoujo's (Morningstar) first words carried disdain, his eyes slowly opened to stare at the 3 colors that shone in his direction. A look filled with pure indifference, but veiled disgust, after all, such beings dominated by their sinful emotions, were the kind that Myoujo tried to prevent from being born.
"Such questions are not worth my time. Whoever or whatever brought us here will soon reveal themselves. But to answer: My successor, just like you, I am in the dark about 'why' I am trapped and living in this place. But I am curious about…"
The Morningstar responded as dryly and apathetically as before, but with a hint of curiosity, after all, such an event had never been in his plans or calculations.
A new voice was heard among the group, this time, a feminine and provocative voice;
"I would not try to understand this, for now, we must just wait, my dears~"
The woman who spoke this was the one in the seat designated as 1st Generation. The oldest goddess and responsible for generating the divine throne that commanded future generations.
"I am Shinga."
The demonic eyes reflected both love and coldness. They were filled with burning contradiction. There stood a woman in full youth. Her attire was strange, not resembling battle armor, religious robes or formal clothing of any known culture with opposing colors and mixed blue and red. She smiled in a calm and irresistibly seductive way.
"Tsk. Don't think you can command anything here, bitch, I hoped I'd never meet you again."
A new voice filled the room with a deep murderous intent, like a tsunami of opium that intoxicated the mind with "killing", this was the violent spirit of the "Relentless", Muzan, the 2nd Generation who growled from his throne at his predecessor.
A man taken by the color purple, from his long hair tied to his noble robes in a suit, the huge blade in his hands seemed to shine with the intention of cutting his target.
But the goddess didn't seem the least bit threatened by the one who killed her.
"Don't look at me with those burning eyes, or I'll end up being embarrassed, my dear Muzan."
"Do you want me to kill you again?"
The mass of hatred and repulsion from the ruthless rivaled that of the demonic child who killed the 4 gods of the 5th era in the past, which made them fearful in case a fight broke out between Shinga and Muzan.
But soon their worries were calmed by Myoujo's voice.
"Enough, I believe that a fight now would only cause unnecessary chaos. I would like to ask you to calm down, father."
Myoujo spoke with respect and a certain admiration in his voice to his predecessor, who, however unusual, heard him and lowered his intention, an admiring smile adorning his face. This only happened because it was Myoujo who spoke, because just like Mercury, Myoujo was to Muzan what Marie was to him and was the reason for his giving up the throne.
"Tsk, kuku..." Upon hearing Myoujo's words, Muzan gave a smug smile, despite his rude frown and violent intentions, even the Morningstar had a place in the void that was Muzan's heart. For this was for him, what Marie was for Mercurius. Someone special to whom they both gave up their place. "Well, if my son wants this, so be it."
"Oh, how beautiful, seeing such attractive men with so many burning desires, it makes me blush." True Self (Shinga) giggled as she shamelessly looked at the men in the room with a vulpine smile, it wasn't a question of sarcasm, she simply had no shame at all.
"Well, since we are all in agreement now, the time to find out what happened to us is now."
Even though he didn't know the others, Myoujo took over the meeting as a representative, something that none of the gods disagreed with, as this man simply exuded an air of respect and pure and impartial authority, as if they were facing a judge.
"Everyone agree?"
"Ah, how incredible, the opportunity to see such formidable warriors in this Pantheon. I accept." The gold spoke as he leaned on his throne, with a fist on his face to rest and sharp and curious eyes.
"Pan…theon?" The twilight murmured to himself, not understanding the words of his wild guardian.
"It means 'All the gods', Margueritte, something appropriate for us, I agree, my predecessor." The Serpent replied with an amused smile next to the Gold.
"Kuh… whatever, anyone is better than these two leading us." The moment grumbled as he received a grateful nod from his beloved.
"Fufufufu, you have my blessing, Myoujo-kun."
And finally, the provocateur was the last to confirm, seeing no reason to prevent such an event and the unfolding of the plot.
"Already decided, these conflicts end here. Regardless of whether we were killed by others of us, we must return our focus to the "Now", because we are prevented and trapped by third parties - I believe - in this place. Do you have any word on the situation, First Generation?"
It made sense to question her, after all, she was the oldest of them and the one responsible for the entire system that followed.
But contrary to expectations - except for Muzan, who already knew her - she smiled ironically and, closing her eyes, answered softly.
"I can't."
"Ham?" Mugen was the one who expressed the emotions that everyone felt regarding his answer. Soon he himself was the next; "So do you at least know who brought us here?"
"Yes. But I can't give any information about those unpleasant beings, I'm sorry."
And again the goddess answered almost happily, vaguely. A truly troublesome goddess.
"But... I can tell you their names..."
Given the curiosity, all the gods showed a spark of interest in the next answer.
"They are called NARAKA, old enemies of mine, they are truly troublesome... in short, we can't get along."
NARAKA, a name that only the 2 oldest gods recognized.
[You could certainly say that, Mitra.]
An ethereal voice echoed through the place, attracting everyone's attention. And a vaguely familiar feeling for Ren and Muzan
[One, two, three, four, five, six, seven and eight..]
The being counted out loud, as if analyzing something.
[Eight?... still two to go…]
"Hum? Who's there? Show yourself!" Moment was the first to react, something in that voice disturbed him, like a strange feeling of nostalgia, but that irritated him.
"Hm. So our jailer decided to show his face?" Gold exclaimed with a smile, even though he was far from the truth of the unknown, he still couldn't lose his humor.
"What inelegant men." For the first time, an expression of irritation crossed Truth's face, giving way to her frowning face.
"Ah, how curious, so there really is a 'Mentor' behind the curtains. How interesting." Mercury, next to his trusted friend, was interested in the voice that admitted to having trapped them there.
"..."
Morningstar didn't even show any surprise or reaction, he had already been able to deduce a "mentor" behind it some time ago, even more so with Truth's answers.
"Ah! Are you Naraka?" Twilight's voice echoed amidst the silence of irritation of the others, she seemed anxious for the answer that would soon come.
[We? You could say so.]
The being, called Naraka, spoke with indifference in his voice. [But it doesn't matter to you. Until everything is ready, shut up and wait seated. Do whatever you want. With a certain disdain, the voice seemed to retreat from the place, as if it considered them inconvenient.
"I see. Naraka-san, by any chance, are you the one who commanded all this? After all, such a feat of reviving us and bringing us here doesn't seem easy." But the serpent wouldn't let him, Mercurius was fascinated by the unknown, and in front of him—metaphorically—was the greatest of mysteries.
"Would you be the Summit beyond the mountains?"
[Tsk, you don't understand, shut up. Don't apply your concepts and ideologies to Naraka. Strong? Weak? Small? Big? What's the use of such comparisons? Naraka is not something simple like that, we are not limited to that, we are 'built' differently, a Hardware that all of you software are subject to. So, shut up and wait. Theorize whatever you want, but don't cause damage.]
After what could be called a sermon from a father, Naraka retreated somewhere, leaving the gods alone in their thoughts and curiosities.
"Naraka… Hmm. What an interesting being." Gold couldn't help but stare in awe at such an existence, a being that differed from them in its core, truly a magnificent discovery.
"Tsk. He's still as unknown as ever."
After the complete silence, the Relentless muttered with his lips twisted in irritation. Just like Truth, when he was mortal, he had already witnessed the unknown that the beings called "Naraka" were, but he felt frustrated that his "mortal self" hadn't discovered it back then.
"You heard that. Let's not cause trouble, we have a long time ahead of us until everything is ready, so let's get to know each other better, my dears~" Truth's voice was deceptively sweet, as if mocking them and their lack of understanding. Which caused friction among the other gods.
"Shut up, I don't like the idea of sharing this place with you any longer." The Relentless growled again, it seemed that out of all of them, he was the closest to killing "The True Me."
To the Relentless, everything the goddess preached was nothing but garbage.
In a world where he swore not to interfere in people's destinies, eliminating morality, The True Me went against everything he stood for, and past grievances from an era of humanity still burned deep in his chest.
"Regardless of the reason, I believe that, from what I understand based on your answers, there is SOMETHING you cannot say, right? Shinga?"
The one who interrupted and called everyone to his direction was once again Morningstar, with a hard stone face, who ordered everything to be "rational" and "logical." There was no point in an irrational fight from millennia ago. That was what he was outlining.
"Yes. Unfortunately, my commandments do not allow it. If you wish to know more, ask my dear Muzan~"
Explaining himself, The Truth glanced sideways at the Relentless man on his throne. But before he could give a scathing reply, a methodical voice spoke:
"Continue, father."
"Hum…" frowning at Shinga, Muzan once again gave a calm smile and spoke to everyone. "Commandments, an ancient power from the old world. Its operation is based on restricting oneself from something, in exchange, gaining an ability to fulfill that. And the more restrictive, the more powerful."
"I see… what a fascinating power." The Gold Spoke, his eyes burning with flames of combat, a mad love for war already tracing its path through such antiquity. A true warlike God of War.
"It seems that our Ancestor is full of surprises, right, Mitra? I believe that because of this 'commandment' of yours, you cannot reveal the full scope of the current situation or about our jailer." Mercury analyzed, while looking at the goddess of the 1st Generation who smiled softly with her eyes closed.
"Correct. Unfortunately, there is nothing I can do without taking away an advantage of what was planned."
She explained. Soon being taken up with another question by another of the gods, this time, The Moment.
"Say, you mentioned 'planned', are you telling me that this was always supposed to happen?" With furrowed eyebrows and dark eyes, The Moment judged the Truth like a guillotine executioner.
"Hmm…who knows…maybe it was always planned to be this way…including your presence." The goddess replied with a knowing smile.
"Umu…do you mean, our lives were determined from the first generation?"
With anguished and angry eyes, the twilight questioned, if the answer was "Yes", it would be devastating. After all, they were beings who believed they had reached the top through their merits and spilled blood. Knowing that everything was predestined made all effort and pain lose its meaning, which is why when Shinga answered her question, chaos ensued.
"Hmm…who knows? Maybe it was always your destiny to appear here–"
Before she could finish her sentence, several cosmological forces joined together, a kaleidoscope of 7 devastating colors, capable of erasing even the absolute throne into nothingness, hit the goddess with everything. Aiming to annihilate any trace of her existence.
After all, knowing that they were destined to reach the top only to die was an insult of the highest degree to such selfish Divine entities.
Although not everyone expressed it physically or roaring like The Moment did, everyone was equally furious about this and took it out on the person responsible for such an insult.
But even so.
[I said, it's useless, don't cause damage.]
As quickly as it was atomized, the existence called "Mitra, Shinga" was restored, its body and soul in perfect condition, as if there had never been a scratch on it. Such an occurrence was obvious to its conductor.
"Naraka?!"
Marie's eyes widened upon seeing such a feat, she was certain that not even she would survive such devastation, thus being purged from the world, but here was the impossible, Mitra, who should have been dead, was instantly revived by the beings of NARAKA.
"Hmm, how curious." The serpent murmured, observing everything with interest.
"That's right Karl, apparently we can't afford to die in this place." The equally enchanted Gold voiced what Mercury was thinking.
"What kind of being are you? What is a NARAKA?" the moment asked incredulously
[He-he-he… Ha-ha-ha! You wouldn't understand. We are made in different ways, theorize all you want, but you haven't scratched a small layer of what "Naraka" represents.]
Twilight's eyes widened at his words:
"What do you mean?"
But soon Gold responded with his ecstatic face;
"In other words, from our point of view, you are simply too huge, or something like that?"
"There is always a bigger fish. So, our scant cognition leaves us in the valley, without ever being able to get past the hill..." Mercury murmured in contemplation
[I told you, shut up and wait. Until two more of your friends arrive.]
"I see... I believe you already have your plans. And since our old veteran avoids telling us, an old relationship between you, I presume?"
[Hahaha, yes, we assume that can be said, after all, The Truth is.... my Woman....]
²
After such an enigmatic answer from Naraka, all the gods remained silent, their minds putting together pieces and puzzles through Naraka's words and what they could mean.
Meanwhile, The Truth remained serene, as if such words did not affect her.
"So, would any of the lovely men here like to continue?"
As if unaware of how repudiated she was, The Truth spoke again, sliding her eyes with a provocative smile over everyone, until stopping at the only goddess who did not attack her.
"- and what about you, Miss 5th Era?"
"..." An unusual expression filled the face of the sweet goddess. Pure and foreign "Irritation". Such an almost unusual feeling to appear on the face of the goddess, as gentle as she was, but in the face of such an offense said by The Truth, it was to be expected...
After a few thoughtful moments, with a contained sigh, The Twilight expressed;
"I do not like how you mock having manipulated our lives, even more so My beloved guardians..." The goddess responded with the ferocity of a mother.
It was expected, only they knew how much they had sacrificed to reach the top they were at. Knowing that everything was written and even "manipulated" by third parties was hurting their ego and throwing away everything they had sacrificed.
"But..." Twilight continued, closing her eyes in resignation.
"Still, in the situation we are in, I believe that fighting would not help us at all."
Twilight's words were coherent, since out of everyone there, The Truth was her best option to understand Naraka, even if through vague answers.
At this, Shinga closed his eyes, smiling in contemplation.
"I see... I am happy to be by your side as a fellow goddess, Miss 5th Era. What do you think, Mugen? Do you agree with your wife?"
After this exchange, The Moment sighed in resignation, before turning his angry eyes to the goddess in question;
"Answer Shinga, Honestly-" Mugen's eyes shone in a warning of danger and caution for his Genesis' next answer.
"Are you against us, on NARAKA's side, or, are you on our side?"
Faced with these doubts, Mitra closed her eyes, such an answer was what resulted in the entire Shinza story, the goddess thought.
"I am against them... me and these people don't get along." Mitra replied. "That's why I ask for your help to deal with this problem."
"I understand," The Moment replied immediately, not needing any more answers than that.
"Ara~, will you agree without hesitation?" Gold provoked his former rival, at his side, even Mercury seemed amused.
"You were already planning to accept, you for a good fight and Mercurius for Marie, it would be useless to argue with idiots like you."
"Hm~, Cagliostro, will you come?" Twilight questioned.
"Yes, since you are the one who decided, I see no reason why we should disagree."
Morningstar and the Relentless remained silent, but they did not disagree, which made their answer obvious.
"Fufufu~Mugen-Kun, by any chance... did your decision come from having seen 'Something' that challenged everything you believed in? Or... perhaps a fear of something arising in the future... something worse than Hajun?"
After her question, Ren replied in an irritated voice before her;
"Unfortunately, yes."
At this moment, all eyes focused on a single point in that meeting, where the most distant and threatening Throne hovered.
In this single and isolated point, lay a powerful cursed throne, an evil Cosmo floating in a disgusting and disgusting vortex of malice.
HAJUN.
The god who ruled the 6th generation, supported by a disgusting THRONE mandala resembling a fetus, immersed in malice and exclaiming whispers of unspeakable curses that trembled the space around like an announcement of "THE END", there was no doubt that any life nearby would be purged from the mandala of life by the pure whisper of the demonic baby.
Such a being who personified absolute narcissism, not allowing any life in his universe other than himself, he was the one who ruled the path of the Tengu-Dou.
That child, with black skin, golden hair like a bonfire, 3 crazy eyes ignorant of everything other than himself, for him the premise of "Others" did not exist, after all, it was such a problematic child who overthrew The Gold, The Mercury, The Twilight and the Moment.
"Fufufu~ if that child had been allowed, he would have destroyed everything." The Truth spoke from her Throne, her gaze a mixture of amusement and fear for the demonic child who had nearly destroyed the entire Throne system.
"Yes." The Moment murmured. "I can't believe someone defeated him." He spoke with a certain incredulity in His voice.
"I owe you my thanks, Mugen. You knew how to deal with that child."
"I don't remember asking for your thanks, Shinga, I just did what I wanted for my convenience." Mugen interrupted the goddess's thanks. "So, Goddess of Dualism, where and what is that thing looking at?"
Yes, Hajun, the supreme Anomaly who personifies narcissism and solitude, even surrounded on all sides by powerful entities, was ignoring them. It was a miracle that his law had not been activated and the end had been brought. In any case, his law must never come to fruition. It would be the end of everything.
And then Mugen continued.
"If I'm honest, it's a relief, but still terrifying. He doesn't seem to have noticed us, we don't even seem to exist in his distorted Tengan view of the world. I think that's why he's so docile right now. That... means something that irritates him even more has caught his attention."
Something that Shinga agreed with.
"He doesn't even notice where he is, just that something irritates him and he's looking for it." Smiling sweetly, she concluded. "I see you're right."
"That explains such a feeling." The Morningstar nodded, still in his monotonous tone, his mind had already concluded conclusions when sensing such a creature and knew that it was of an absurd scale. "And to think that such a child has already noticed and noticed Naraka, before any of us. It would be fair to say that his scale is above the 7 of us. Or even of a different and superior nature... is that why you obeyed Shinga's request?" Myoujo finished looking in Mugen's direction, who closed his eyes and frowned in response;
"Yes... I, who have seen firsthand how devastating Hajun can be, seeing him here, trapped, has made me take seriously how credible the words of Truth are." Mugen paused for a moment, as if remembering such moments of anger and frustration. "It is undeniable that there is something out there that not even Hajun can find and that has trapped him here. Something so anomalous that it has made him ignore all of us, whom he despises so much. Mitra's words corroborate this idea.
"So, do you plan to use Hajun's curiosity to turn him against your enemies?" Morningstar asked indifferently to Mugen, who just smiled back.
"Of course, after all, turning my enemies against each other would be more advantageous."
Despite the smile he shared with Myoujo, the latter merely closed his eyes apathetically. But it was felt that he somewhat agreed with such plans. He was someone who despised ignorance; throwing a being like Hajun into the unknown, predicting that both of them would destroy each other had its advantages. "What do you think, Father? It seems like a great opportunity to raise the curtains on the stage. Sitting around doing nothing seems lazy to me, such an act would be sinful, it does not suit me to accept it." Myoujo questioned his creator, who had remained silent, staring at the Tengu-Dou since his announcement.
Even though everyone was watching him, his eyes were fixed on Hajun, a face of contempt similar to the one Mitra had on his face, for the second God, his eyes were focused on the 6th. Faced with such a situation, in the silence that spread in the void, something even more bizarre happened next ──────
*DOKUN-DOKUN*
"Who the hell are you?"
Immediately, an evil miasma covered in death spread throughout the place, an Opium Den poisoned with evil curses.
"KUH?"
Somehow, Hajun, who had been unaware of their presence all this time, now turned his three demonic eyes towards them. Who caused this? Wait! MUZAN?
At that moment, the sixth and second generations stared at each other, their eyes revealing the pure killing intent of eliminating the other.
This was a catastrophe. If their law were to be activated here, no god would escape its devastation.
Perhaps by instinct, or because it had seen this before, the Moment immediately expanded its territory of stagnation. The transformation of the world, which was being filled with impenetrable darkness, was temporarily covered in a state of dark gray.
The swastika of the extinction of the Tengu-Dou expanded, a world of complete and absolute extinction, a roar of narcissism that tore through the heavens and the earth.
"!!!"
But in a feat comparable to a fairy tale, he was slightly slowed down by less than a single millionth of a second. But at the same time at that moment─────
Another roar of divinity boomed out, this time one of pure and unchanging killing intent.
None of the divinities present could say exactly what had happened, but when everything returned and the divine waves receded, everyone could see the results and residual marks. Muzan, who had challenged the Tengu-Dou, had been crushed and lost his arm in that brief conflict. However, he was not the only one.
"How?"
Before the shocked eyes of the other presences, Hajun, who they thought was invincible and untouchable, had lost one of his fingers in that conflict.
"How did you manage to hurt Hajun?" Mugen asked, incredulous that one of the past generations had achieved such an absurd feat.
Muzan, however, only smiled slightly, his limb having already regenerated. And he calmly answered;
"I ask the same, my young man... how did you manage to interrupt our conflict?"
The Relentless One asked with a curious glint in his eyes. He looked away from the healed limb, returning to his position, he spoke again.
"Oh... I understand... kukukuku, you stopped time, right?" Despite the calm words, the eyes and aura of the Relentless One as he smiled were of immense happiness, but at the same time great ferocity.
"You misunderstood, I am the one who is into mysteries, after all, I never believed that anyone could hurt Hajun." The moment responded, its incredulous eyes looking at Muzan.
"So, what happened?" asked a confused Twilight.
But the one who answered her was the Gold at her side, brandishing a heated and unnerving smile.
"First, the Relentless Lord forced Hajun's eyes to leave Naraka and look at himself. In simple terms, Muzan rose to a realm that exceeded the difference Hajun felt in Naraka, and forced his senses to 'This Side'. Such an achievement exceeded common sense. And before the 'Metsujin Messo' could spread, it was briefly restrained by Zarathustra."
In light of his explanation, Mugen resumed speaking;
"Say what you will, but the fact of his injury proves my inability to stop them."
The Moment was correct in his analysis, because even in the face of the stagnation of reality, in the gray world, those two─ Muzan and Hajun─ who possessed the best killing skills, had clashed.
"Yes, it seems that in that brief moment, both of them attacked each other, tens of thousands of times, no, I think it may have been much more than this finite amount. But, as soon as the Moment (Mugen) returned, Muzan retreated, ceasing his murderous intent which made Hajun lose his senses." Gold explained what he had deduced from this incalculable confrontation.
Mercury, who had been watching in silence, turned to his friend.
"And thanks to this, we are still alive, and Hajun turned his eyes to Naraka. Wow~ I feel like we are walking on glass."
Frowning, Twilight and Myoujo also questioned;
"Why would you do this?"
"Answer us, Muzan?!"
Faced with such doubts, Muzan did not waver, always maintaining his formal and confident pose, like a warrior always ready. But... faced with such a testimony of feat, he could be considered risky for everyone.
"Oh!" Even with looks from all directions, The Relentless was not shaken by anything. "I was just testing something. After all, we should know the limits of our current life and death."
"Testing?"
"Yes, an experiment where mere common sense is not enough. But now, I know where the lines converge. Because just like Shinga, this arm of mine regenerated on its own, which confirms that any of us are in the hands of our mentor, as his pawns."
The Relentless explained while his frivolous smile remained, there was not a single shred of remorse for having almost annihilated everyone by challenging the Sixth Heaven.
Despite his words revealing his ruthless pragmatism, Muzan was still the most dangerous man in that room. Something that the others noticed with caution. The cold mask of a courteous smile, which hid beneath it a volatile and merciless nature from previous eras. Yes, Muzan remained immutable in his path.
"Besides, I have no personal desire against that brat, but his presence irritates me and makes me want to scatter him to the winds" soon his eyes full of euphoric ferocity turned to Mugen. "Do not be surprised, my young man. Because through such a confrontation, I was able to discover information that I needed"
Mugen, who was narrowing his worried eyes at Hajun, turned to the other problematic god.
"And what would that be?"!
Muzan, smiling slightly, raised his blade and pointed it in Hajun's direction.
"Hajun, who was fixated on NARAKA, but thanks to me, I made his eyes turn to 'this side' and through this brief confrontation, he also had his interruption, which managed to interrupt our dispute, and based on these events, I was able to conclude the difference between us."
At the end of his explanation, astonished eyes were directed at him.
Mugen, who was squinting worriedly at Hajun, turned to the other troubled god.
"And what would that be?"!
Muzan, smiling slightly, raised his blade and pointed it in Hajun's direction.
"Hajun, who was fixated on NARAKA, but thanks to me, I made his eyes turn to 'this side' and through this brief confrontation, he also had his interruption, which managed to interrupt our dispute, and based on these events, I was able to conclude the difference between us."
At the end of his explanation, astonished eyes were directed at him. Everyone was wondering, 'what is the difference between them?', to think of the possibility of someone like Muzan being affected by something like this was——
"What does that mean? It's——"
"I accept your proposal, I will lend you my strength for this Pantheon." The Relentless concluded. "But not as a companion, after all, I have never had and do not aspire to have friends or beings with such labels. In the end, I will just do this as I have always done, killing enemies and enemies of my enemies."
Finally, The Truth was the one who responded in agreement with his successor.
"Well, as long as you don't interfere in the end, and keep your priorities."
Mitra seemed calm about this, even though having Hajun and Muzan on the same team was risking complete death. But at the moment, both of their focus is on our enemies, so it is a stable union currently.
"I am not here to follow your orders, Shinga. The moment you bother me, I will rip your head off again."
The dictator of the crown threatened, his voice contained absolute certainty in the face of his predecessor's joy, after all, there was no way he would follow such a woman. But soon his threats were interrupted by the Moment.
"That's enough, rambling threats to each other is irrelevant and a waste of time, after all, we'll all apparently be here for a long time."
Honestly, out of everyone there, he was the one who could best handle the leadership role, even though as Kings of Heegmonia, anyone there could be categorized as such. Even with different qualities.
"Well said, young Setsuna."
The progenitor of all the gods acclaimed her descendant, smiling tenderly at him, soon beginning to speak skillfully.
"Come on, if there's something to fight for, someone you love, your own laws and Philosophies, or just selfish desires, show them to me on the battlefield, In this Fight that we came prepared for."
With a cry from the depths of her heart, everyone could feel Genesis' honesty, for the first time deposed of her perversion and mockery, she looked at her components with passion.
"As you can see, we are prisoners in this place, Mere pawns For our enemy to collect. I say we show him the strength of our hearts, that which led us to reach the throne of [The One]." With passionate eyes she cheered. "Let us prepare ourselves before Naraka is ready, without giving any gaps."
Before her War Hymn, all the gods were prepared, ready to fight back, their lives were not a toy, they were not wooden dolls to be played by a mentor. That is why their hearts cried out to fight back.
"Before that, I would like To introduce an acquaintance to you. You could say she is my firstborn." Looking in a direction where everyone did not even notice, Mitra announced "Her name is [Kouha]."
"Don't you dare define me like that in your strange language." A voice inaudible to the gods exclaimed.
(I am nothing to you.) She thought as she took a step forward. (There is only ONE truth about me—)
Throughout the history of the divine throne, she was a spectator, an audience for the stage that told tragic stories, glorious stories, and melancholic stories, so—
"—For the first time, I want to be the truth that I chose." Through her announcement, the once empty space took shape. Soon, a beautiful red-haired woman with charming features was seen, her predominant color being red, but with a strange double feline tail at her waist.
"I am your older sister…and this is my only unchanging truth." Declared the new visitor, as she floated between the great entities of the throne, as if announcing herself as a messenger.
She, who had lived as a spectator, now found herself at the top of the stage.
"It is a pleasure to finally be able to be on the same stage as you. I am Kouha. I will be the one who will now take Shinga's place, and I will tell you everything that will happen and our plan." Sighing, she looked in the direction she knew [he] would be. "But... know that nothing I tell you contains a lie. Because none of us were toys, we all had our own lives. And I am proud to be a part of it."
◇◇◇
³
In my entire life, I have never been able to truly embrace or love anyone. Cursed to never feel human warmth, I was Like a blank slate… But in the end, I had those who welcomed me, those who loved me and those who protected me. Perhaps… because I was too docile, it may have caused my downfall, but I do not regret having loved my successor, even if he caused my downfall, it would be going against my hegemony to deny happiness to such a wounded soul.
"But for that I must now fight." I murmured in the midst of my thoughts, my throne, a small beach, a corner of my [world] of twilight that I experienced so much. After learning from Kouha, I cannot consider allowing my knights to bathe in mud and blood again for this. My Ren…
The one who was my beloved, fell into disgrace, allowing himself to be reborn From Hatred and Fury, I would not allow this again.
I was the Twilight of my beloved knights, the one whose life had been wasted, but even so, this time I will not let it be in vain.
Gods of Hegemony[Hadou], we are kings who devour, conquer, and rule over all. No matter how kind our desires may be on the surface, in the end, we are equally selfish and narcissistic, forcing ourselves on others. That is why I did not judge my successor.
Kouha's stories opened my heart to what I already realized…
"I am weak…"
Even with so much power, I was weak, a figurehead to be protected by her knights, a tyrant king Would have been better than my rule.
"But I swore that I would be by your side, Ren. Therefore, even without the same level of violence, I will walk by your side, as your wife, to share our burdens as husband and wife. I will walk the Violent path of our Pantheon, seeking to bring all to my embrace…"
This was my oath.
*clap, Clap, Clap*
As I rambled alone, I heard footsteps resounding, turning towards him, I could see my 3 guardians standing ready in front of me.
My Beloved Ren.
My Dear Cagliostro.
And my affable Heydrich.
All my faithful knights until the end.
"Marie, are you still thinking about this?"
My beloved questioned, his hands encircling his collar as he walked until he stood near my throne. His own Clock(Moment) throne floated nearby, resonating with his Hegemonic god.
Smiling sweetly at her beloved, the one she would never let out of her hands again, she replied—
"Hmmm, Lady Kouha has shown me that I need to improve. I realized that I have not been a good queen to my subjects." I said melancholically.
My dear Cagliostro was the first to respond, despite Ren's irritated face showing that he wanted to say something.
"Don't blame yourself, my dear Margueritte, after all, as Lady Kouha told us, NARAKA was the one who pulled the strings, in the end, we were not really aware of such plans, unlike now."
He consoled me, while I smiled tenderly at my millennial advisor.
"By the way, who called you here? I remember saying I would come alone." My Ren grumbled as his eyes became irritated with his companions.
"Now, don't get angry, young Zarathistra, after all, you are the beloved of our goddess, it is more than fair that we do justice to our little guardian's crown."
Lord Heydrich commented, aware of how much he was provoking my Ren.
At this, I couldn't help but laugh softly, as I watched my knights clash, a common scene in our 10 thousand years together. Those I missed.
(I hope I can enjoy such a moment forever.)
"—Tell me, Marie, do you really believe this story?"
After finishing his conflict with the other two, Ren prostrates himself beside her, his face furrowed with doubts that surrounded her mind, not just him, she herself was questioning Kouha's great narrative.
"It's still a lot to take in, but Ren-kun, I prefer to trust Lady Kouha." I stated, smiling softly at him. "She seems like someone trustworthy."
Yes, Kouha seemed resigned, melancholic, excited, sad, and honorable as she narrated her story and ours; it would be incongruent with her exposed emotions to pretend like that. It didn't seem like her. That's why—
"I choose to trust Her. That's why we have to take down our enemy."
And with that said, I couldn't help but go back to admiring the swirling skies in a kaleidoscope, after all, this was the prison our jailers, Naraka, had kept us in.
"I agree with my sweet Margueritte, Lady Kouha had no nebulous lies in her heart." On my other side, Cagliostro's shadow flickered in agreement, always being my heavenly advisor.
"As you have done before, I will trust you, my friend, so I believe that if we have such an opportunity to bring our hands, we should seize it."
Lord Heydrich proclaimed from the front, with his amusing way that I always loved to observe.
"I believe that at this moment, the right thing to do would be to bring the battlefield to our enemy, after all, we are in his home."
With a smile full of warmth, Lord Heydrich looked at me as expected of a general, and normally I would not be in favor, but as I said before, I will not let my knights get dirty alone.
"Yes." I agreed. "We will take the fight to Naraka, I am sure that with a good blow, we could destabilize him and free ourselves."
I could soon feel the smiles of my knights beside me.
"As you wish, Marie."
"Your will is Mine, Margueritte."
"Let us face Naraka!"
And with determination in our hearts, our oaths were sealed, but in this place, we were not the only ones to decide this. For all those who heard Kouha's story, were equally deep in their dilemmas.
◇◇◇
Tsk, [Ruthless], title given to me for What I did [back then], I do not deny that my path of slaughter (madou) was the most radical, but I also deny being reduced to a simple rabid dog.
I am not exactly a fan of murder. Nor am I hungry for fights, I just could not get along with everyone who lived in that world, and because of that, I was forced to Do what was best.
Kill.
I grabbed the divine blade and tore them apart. I was cut, sliced, dismembered and stepped on, but I gave it all back. No matter how lowly I was, [killing those above] was my specialty.
In the end, I could not do things my way forever. Therefore, I modified myself to suit this accursed throne, and waited for the awaited moment.
There was no doubt, remorse, or pity in me. I had done what I had to do, if you care so much about me, just leave me alone. After all, throwing alms will only disperse the useless. I do not intend to bow down and remedy my actions, I swore to never look back, and I follow that to this day.
I still remember the words of my accursed predecessor, in the end, I and that brat Hajun, are no different. We both walk the path of slaughter until we are left individually, we do not seek redemption or companionship. As annoying as it may be, we are similar in our ways.
By killing my enemies and those who tried to stop me, I ended up becoming the embodiment of malice, The Relentless One (muzan), like Muzan, I possess no redeeming emotions, I stand atop dead corpses and bathed in living blood, I do not plan to measure that.
"In the end, as the personification of all evil, to end it, I would have to eliminate myself." The implacable one murmured.
Was this point pathetic, the implacable one reduced to monologues in the face of a simple story? No, it was more than that. He and [Truth] knew the story and its course better than anyone else there. They both understood the importance of this.
"But in the end, I still wanted to eliminate the last trace of the hell of dualism. But in the end, because I am incapable of regret or self-destructive impulses, I could never create a factor of self-destruction (apoptosis)."
Ah, but that was not the end, he knew, that just like Him, one of his children would be born with the potential to replace him, after all, he too had been a heretic to his mother. Therefore, he awaited his successor, but I would never accept the same result. Having someone with my ideologies would not be enough, the result would be the same sin, therefore, I would never give up my place to a doppelganger like that.
"But in the end, my desire to overthrow this system bore no fruit."
A growl came from deep within me, I was frustrated, After all, it seemed that my mistake Was not even close to the presumptuous [truth]. Through this, there would be only one solution—
"I will tear them all apart. After all, if my botched work resulted in other divine thrones, I cannot allow their spread."
After this Pantheon, as had been sworn eons ago, he would continue on his Madou path, until only he was left in this desert of slaughter.
"...Suigin, Ougon, Tasogare, Setsuna, Hajun—all of these thrones were mistakes. Therefore, I have no choice. Do you understand what I mean, Myoujo?" My eyes fixed on the pure God ahead, he who was my son, the one I had chosen as my heir. "I do not expect you to agree with me. Just as I do, seek to understand. I have no loved ones, no family, no friends, no lovers, there are only enemies and enemies of my enemies."
"..." He looked contemplative, static, immaculate as he always was. I admit that out of all of them, I have never regretted having hopes in Myoujo.
#
"...I see...I already expected this from you, such an oath is not unexpected."
Muzan's thoughts were always clear. Bathed in bloodlust, a desire to eradicate the mistake he allowed to happen. A contradictory desire, after all, he who proposes to have no remorse, wants to redeem his mistakes. An impulsive personality that characterized what they already knew about his way of being.
Of course, anyone could say that he was being radical in his decision, but in the end, this man, has always been like this, and would never change his unchanging way of being. After all, he is a wicked blade that bathes in the blood of the battlefield, expecting anything more or changing that would be counterproductive. He was a contrast to the others, like Suigin or Setsuna. He was the personification of an evil sword.
"In the end, do what you think is best, it is not up to me to change your ways. I have no power to unravel your mind, nor to stop you."
I do not intend to go against him, after all, just like the successors, I took the divine throne for myself, I do not care about victories or defeats, in the end, my ideals have always remained stable and absolute. Being lazy or ignorant at this moment would be sinful, and I would never allow it. Therefore—
"The creation of something like You is truly fascinating." I replied, looking at my father. Because, just like You, I was once possessed by hatred, but unlike him, I sought to reformulate it, not eradicate it. In the end, just like him, I seek to correct these flaws in future thrones, so I think that I join him in this place, both idealized on their path to change the future, even if in the end we end up facing each other again.
"The thrones that succeeded the one I left, Suigin, my successor, the one I decided to give up, because I saw no victory in fighting against an error created by my own sin, had given birth to Tasogare and Hajun, laws completely opposite to each other. But, now Thanks to that Girl (Kouha), we know that there was always something planned, be it this Watcher (Naraka) or a Truth (Mitra), the fact that there was still beauty in this artificial result Was clear."
Sim, dito isto, a Transferência De Tronos sempre foi observada de fora, um jeito incomum e repugnante(Impuro) de fazer isto. Alguem que não fosse o protagonista, nem antagonista, nem mesmo o mentor do palco. Ele deveria ser aquele atras da cortina, um personagem secundário que manteve-se envolvido em cada era, E se ouve um no meu tempo, alguem que se encaixasse Nisto Seria—
"...pf…kukuku.hahahahah" Não consegui conter o riso que fluia em meu peito, afinal, era realmente um modo maravilhoso e sofisticado De trabalhar, você fez um bom trabalho…Senhor Observador… não posso admitir que sou alguem expressivo, raivoso como meu antecessor ou melancólico Como meu sucessor, mas diante de tais tramas arquitetadas.
"Não posso deixar de sentir raiva pela divindade corrupta que mantive." Fechando meus olhos, eu cheguei a conclusão esperada. "Uma purificação deveria ocorrer novamente."
◇◇◇
In the corrupt mandala, his God was deep in malicious and disgusting thoughts. After all, his existence was the most evil in the history of the divine System.
In the view of this being, One day, he simply regained consciousness, and his sense of ego, within his filthy soul, constantly repeated that absurd desire.
"Stop clinging to me, you disgusting worms, disgusting insects That cling to my body."
What he longs for is a paradisiacal world in which he is truly alone. For a Desire that is incredibly basic, but that is why it has become an aspiration of unimaginable magnitude. Since birth, he has been forced to share his body with a teratoma twin. From the perspective of the common man, the extent of his Desire to be alone with himself would be impossible to quantify. Thoughts like:
"Strangers are nothing but annoyances, so it's best not to contact them"
Can come to anyone's mind, but it was he who elevated this curse to a qualitatively higher scale and gave it a perfect form from his sanity. You see, he possesses the necessary qualities to ascend to the Divine Throne, but due to the special circumstances of his birth, he became even more ferocious.
And so it was Hajun, as the Sixth God, who was and still is arguably the most powerful and the greatest monstrosity created in all of history.
Without any ideology, without any conviction, and purely reflexively, Complete Annihilation will prevail time and time again. Just as the mandala surrounding him takes the form of a fetus, he himself, in his most fundamental form, is not much different from a child. Could there be anything more threatening than a child with divine power and an unlimited Evil Eye?
But unlike before, he could not return to his purification here. He, who had failed in his goals, now lay trapped in this place.
But still, the Lone Tengu remained unchanged. Continuing to flood his surroundings with condemnation. Although he had been saved from death by the hands of his abominable brother, in whose pursuit he was willing to literally destroy the universe, he had not changed at all.
Would a God be able to change if his life had ended once or twice?
Would one who changes so easily be able to assume the Divine Throne?
No, not at all, at least that is not what Hajun is. His three frantic eyes began to spread in various directions, searching for the insects that were irritating him.
To destroy them, to trample them and leave no trace of them. Although he still doesn't know their exact location, he is still able to make out their approximate shape.
「One. Two. Three. Four. Five…kukuku, I found you..」
He felt, there were five in total, there was something strange that caught his attention like an annoying mosquito biting his skin. They were certainly deep in the distance, yet close, deep in the surface. Their anomalous nature intrigued and irritated the Tengu-dou.
They were stranger Than his Brother, Teratoma, stranger than the one who stopped him, Setsuna, and worse than the insects that worshipped him, Humans.
These 5 strangers Were completely alien, what are these things? Who allowed them to live in his body?
Of course, this was just Hajun's surface, he wasn't someone who thought deeply or planned, his mentality was like that of a baby, only reaching the surface, he didn't understand the notion of "others", for him, he felt something that irritated him and wanted to end it, nothing more, nothing less.
That's why—
「Kh…hahahaha!」
Hajun started laughing, in the deepest abyss, but soon his laughter ceased and a furious gnashing of teeth reverberated—
「GIVE ME BACK MY THRONE! IT BELONGS TO ME! I SAT ON IT!!!」
His eyes converged in a singular direction at his next words:
「Ah… Wait a little longer. It won't be long now. It won't be long before I get there. I'll make sure to completely eradicate all of you bastards. That's when the tranquility I long for will be waiting for me.」
The Tengu convulses with laughter as he continues to recite a rotten mantra of ruin. For the first time in his life, he feels pleasure in acknowledging the existence of a stranger. Without having the slightest idea of the meaning of the word "Oath", Hajun rejoices in the fact that for the first and last time, he has decided something.
….
◇◇◇
⁴
"Muzan. Myoujo. Suigin. Ougon. Tasogare. Setsuna. Hajun."
The voice came from somewhere, laughing and lamenting, celebrating and despising at the same time: the dualistic divine presence.
There was no need to explain who it was. After all, everyone had already been introduced up to this point, in a natural order, there was only one left to finish this.
"All so different, I'm really happy that my heirs have been so colorful and different, they certainly chase away my boredom."
Smiling affectionately and at the same time mockingly, Shinga thought aloud about his heirs, his children.
"With this, almost everything has been concluded, we only have one question left, but that would be going around in circles. In truth, almost everything I planned has been concluded up to this point, so I'm satisfied."
For [Truth], conflicts, passions, rivalries, misunderstandings and so on, were something worthy of her heart. She, who believed in the strength of the heart above all else, elevated these feelings. A world full of captivating colors and differences.
For normal people, these concepts are chaotic, but for those who cultivated [Taikyoku], it was nothing more than colors to color their paintings. In this world, these colors are always succeeded and new ones created.
"I wonder if my successors could face someone who has foundations so different from theirs?"
Soon, the truth turned its eyes towards an important figure for itself.
"Fight, run, or even unite, in the end it doesn't matter, as long as You keep your true word until the end. With that, you could find an answer different from the one you got with us (them)… find him and show me, with this possibility I believe, I will finally have what I have longed for." Somehow, the smile and eyes of the truth were melancholic and cloudy, as if remembering something. "In the end, if everything collapses As Naraka and his companions proclaimed it would… In the end, just cause change, I don't wish to have 'that' feeling from back then again."
After her monologue, the person she was staring at was finally revealed.
"Why are you smiling so wickedly, Shinga?"
It was Kouha.
Shinga was the genesis of everything, after all, it was because of his primordial world that everything was as it was.
"Ara~ don't look at me like that, I know how spoiled and contradictory I am." Shinga cooed at the woman who was staring at her irritably. "Oh~ you are so cute That I want to throw you into the depths of the hellish abyss."
Shinga was a woman who represented and personified Dualism, her actions and mentality diverged, even her emotions conflicted between love and disgust.
"Tsk, whatever, I already explained everything To them." Kouha replied, sighing to Shinga, while looking at the distant gods in isolated groups.
"Okay, I believe that will help the results." Shinga nodded in agreement, before looking at her with a smile. "Do you know how to lead them?"
Faced with the question, Kouha sighed resignedly before her dry answer.
"Of course, something like that, it's not like I spent eons watching them like a weirdo because of someone else." She said, looking sharply at Shinga.
"At least I believe that. Besides, the commander is you, right? I wouldn't nominate you for Leadership, but since you were the First and the one who knows the battlefield the most, you are the most rational."
Faced with Kouha's honest grumbling, Shinga smiled sweetly as he proclaimed.
"Pantheon. An army formed by the strongest of each era, a difficult group to form, why not let them fill the gaps in command?" she explained as she quickly raised one of her gloved hands and pointed at the girl.
"You, Kouha, will be the commander of the Vanguard, and for our generals, I recommend our beloved Divine Thrones, such as Setsuna and the like."
Given Shinga's response, Kouha quickly continued.
"Okay, then for Muzan, the 7 Great Demon Kings, the sacred Kingdom of Wahman Yasht. After all, he was the hero of that era, since everyone hated you."
Shinga smiled in amusement at his companion's accusation.
"Ouch—it hurts to admit this…fufufu, so I guess the Grigori and the Sins fall to Morningstar? Since they are your counterparts from the Second Throne."
Kouha sighed as he looked at Myoujo from a distance.
"I believe the Shamash would also be his, after all, they only listen to Myoujo, and no one else."
Yes, the Winged Ones of the 3rd Throne were problematic. Shinga smiled before continuing:
"That said. I believe the heretics of Gomorrah to Suigin and the army of Vallhala to O Ougon."
"Finally, I believe that the reincarnated and Vingolf belong to Tasogare. The Yatsukahagi and the expedition will be with O Setsuna."
After finishing, Kouha paused, his eyes shifting fearfully to a throne isolated from everyone, acting like a dangerous nuclear bomb.
"Now we leave Samsara Vartim… that problematic cult would not follow Anyone, and the only person they could influence is Rinne-Tensei. What are we going to do with them?" Kouha looked at Shinga, waiting for a verdict. O'Que did not please him to see her joy.
"Let's take them, they will be very useful and powerful, after all, they are the ones who will work the most to end the throne and its system, going beyond the limits." Shinga considered, while smiling at his former companion. "And if they are not used by Hajun, we will give command to Svaha, and with that, we will also have Sahasrara.
"..." Kouha sighed dejectedly at this, unwilling to accept such an outcome.
To Kouha, it was obvious that her good mood had been further broken by having to deal with Hajun's troublesome mothers. But it was undeniable that there was no one capable of leading the fanatics of Vartim other than them. After all, it was this cult that created Hajun, their worshiped God.
But they were still a dangerous power, and one that would undoubtedly plot the End of all the gods around them.
Svaha was the one who made Hajun his evil Buddha. And he harbored a deep hatred for the entire throne system.
And Sahasrara was a system bug that possessed a [Tengan] capable of seeing the scope of Naraka. A bearer of bad news. The former harbored a deep darkness, and the latter was more machine(Irrational) than human(EGO). A darkness that It affected all previous thrones, even desecrating the image of all gods from past eras, such as The Relentless and Truth.
"Come on? Don't tell me you wouldn't like to interact with her?" Shinga asked, amused. Which made Kouha roll her eyes in frustration.
"Tsk. It's nothing like that. She's not a child anymore, and besides, we'll have to use everything at our disposal anyway." She said Resignedly, already turning her back on Truth. "Finally, I've done what I had to do, I'm going now."
"Alright. May luck be with you in this fight, my commander."
After seeing her commander leave, Mitra turned to the other thrones, using her authority (Hadou) so that her voice could reach them.
"Well, I think we've had enough time, now I'd like to explain the general structure to you again, even if it irritates some of you."
At her words, the other gods—apart from Hajun—turned to her, awaiting her announcement.
…
In the face of all the plans and revolts being formed, the 5 entities in the depths of the origin converged, in words incommunicable to even the hadou gods, they spoke again.
[Within you, there is a weave of soul patterns.]
「Imperfect, fleeting, Precious, wonderful」
『If everything ■■■ returns to normal』
[It is unlikely that we will forgive such acts.]
〔This is what we count on〕
◇◇◇
In the deepest depths, Kouha's Voice floated, reaching the Divine Generals and their Commander-in-Chief.
「Attention! This is KOUHA! communicating from the innermost core of the Divine Throne. The Alpha connection with Zero Varuna has been established! The Aeonization (Formation of aeons) of:
Shinga
Muzan
Myoujo
Suigin
Ougon
Tasogare
Setsuna
Hajun
Has been completed! Initiating the execution of [PANTHEON], ending!」
After the announcement of war, Shinga's voice sent its response.
「No problem here, we are all ready!」
In the vanguard, Shinga wielded his trusty Agneyastra, with his confident smile and vibrating in a Splendor of Hegemony. Behind him, all his generals were ready, waiting for the war cry.
"Everything we have done until now has been for this moment, we will use all our blood and tears, burn our hearts and kill this alien." Shinga commanded, motivating his divine troops. A feeling of nostalgia infiltrated the commander. Memories of a time when she was in this same place, where she suffered her bitter defeat, but this time, it would be different, she would ensure That she would burn Her heart completely.
「OPEN THE FINAL GATE! LET'S DEFEAT NARAKA ONCE AND FOR ALL!!!」
◇◇◇
With the order given, I crossed all space from the depths to the heavens, transcending the limit line of the event horizon, flying faster than light.
In the face of this, I feel a tightness in my chest.
(Do you feel it? This is my anger. Mine, "his", that of all who suffer in this world. For it is she who dominates everything in it.)
From the beginning, it is Anger that allowed these beings to achieve supremacy, the entire system was built on this sincere feeling.
"Dies Irae (Days of Anger)."
Except for Twilight, and the Truth, Everyone Embodies Anger. A Primordial Wrath.
And I am the one who stands at the forefront of this entire furious pantheon. There is only one clear outcome to end this rage.
Release this feeling In one blast and destroy forever "that" which despises us and mocks our hearts.
"I will use my anger."
She wanted to believe that she had free will, after all, who would want to live in a world where everything is meticulously planned and plotted? I like To think that I got here by myself.
"I am not a mere toy."
That is why —
「LET'S MAKE IT HAPPEN!」
*BOOM*
From the singularity opened in the [empty] space beyond the Event horizon, a sparkling coral of infinite colors begins to emerge. And like fresh paint, they immediately expand, consuming everything in sight in their colors.
As I throw myself with all my strength [into this]. A thought echoes in my chest:
Please, live a life different from mine. An ordinary life. Separating myself from you, my boy (brother), was painful, but I had to do it. Even with guilt, I have to fulfill my obligations, so please be the common light that will guide me.
As long as you can be my light, I don't mind Facing this giant in front of me, so——
「THIS IS OUR REVENGE FOR THE PAST DEFEAT! NARAKAAAAA!」
End of PROLOGUE