15 advance chapters in my Patreon.
Patreon.com/Saintbarbido.
::-------------------------------------------::
(Davian's P.O.V)
Every single attack hit it's mark. All except for one.
The arrows headed for Darkseid were bathed in the bloody light of his Omega beams, inches away from him.
Regardless, the arrow's flight speed and course were not the least bit altered or compromised.
They still continued on their path to every vulnerable spot across his gigantic form.
His eyes, his thick neck and every other place that when pierced through, would ultimately spell death for just about anyone.
One thing I had immediately noticed about the fusion of Tairyoku and Reiryoku, was that the result was resilient enough to withstand anything.
So when the arrows suddenly disappeared before they could land, I was surprised. Not even by using Reikaku could I feel my energy anymore.
Those hundred arrows had each contained twice the power of the regular ones.
And none of the latter had missed or been blocked, they had speared through metal and flesh alike.
So you could guess just how crazy powerful the attack had been.
One might even call it overkill but Darkseid was just a different kind of beast.
You needed something like a planet killer to put him down.
"The Grey bastard must have redirected that attack elsewhere, probably because he knew he couldn't block them."
I mused to myself, manic hunger for battle coursing through me.
"Fine then, let's see if he can dodge me if I was closer."
I added, ready to clear the distance between us.
"Davian, wait."
Chase called out.
What stopped me wasn't his words but the slight tremble in his tone.
Brows furrowed, I stared at my Zanpakuto Spirit, seeing fear apparent on his face.
That was a first.
My lips thinned as I vigilantly scanned the area for what had him terrified.
"Chase, you're worrying me a bit. What is it?"
He said nothing, his blue orbs narrowed as he looked towards a certain direction. Earth.
"Dodge."
He stated out of nowhere.
Without thinking, I immediately complied, pushing off my heel. Reiryoku gushed out of my feet while Tairyoku enhanced my body strength, allowing me to strafe to the right in a sudden jet.
And just in time too, as a dark orange blur passed between us in the tenth of a nanosecond.
Space itself screamed as the vacuum was pressured to accommodate a raw type of energy that felt... primordial yet familiar to me.
The blur continued, speeding through space, leaving the Earth's orbit around the sun. Streaks of orange lightning trailed behind it.
Unfortunately for the fourth planet in our solar system, it was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Hundreds of millions of miles behind us, there was an impact that produced shockwaves strong enough to be felt at this distance.
A massive change occured on Mars, the red planet exploding into chunks of rock and debris that sped outwards into the Solar system.
The molten liquid iron core solidified into pieces of hard metal, some flying towards Earth while moving at supersonic speeds.
Chase and I were dumfounded.
"Mars...is gone."
The words leaving my mouth didn't make it any easier to believe what had just happened.
It had happened so fast.
"Darkseid was ready for you."
Chase said through our bond, floating closer to my side.
"So it seems."
I agreed, pulsing my aura to throw away the debris and rocks headed towards us on their path to the innermost planets.
Chesha Neko also extended into hundreds of thousands of strings that broke off into millions and then billions of threads. The strings rose up and speared through the pieces of the shattered planet flying past us, storing them within me.
Another power discovered:- Bottomless stomach. Of course this could only be gluttony. Pretty standard as things went.
It was a simple matter to consciously fuse my Bottomless Stomach into the rest of my Inner world.
The action caused pieces of mars to appear in the sky of the green cemetery in my Inner World.
The pieces spread out across the entire dimension, becoming an endless volcanic-red ring around my world.
I cut off that train of thought, turning my focus to the more immediate matter.
By all indications, the God of Apokalips came anticipating a tough battle.
It would make sense that during his second invasion of Earth after he'd been beaten back by the League, he would come prepared.
Chase sighed.
"This is probably going to fall on deaf ears, but you need to be careful."
He advised, noticing the intense look in my eyes.
I didn't answer, instead opting to expand the range of my Reikaku even further, reaching my current limit.
There. At the exact location Mars had occupied. A dark orange light, pulsing with intensity... spreading out waves of familiar energy.
It's aura...
It felt eerily similar to my own.
It felt like death.
"You feel it now, don't you?"
Chase enquired.
My chest inflated as I took a deep breath. Even though nothing entered my lungs, it still calmed me.
My heartbeat evened out.
My senses stopped being overwhelmed.
Push and pull.
Reiryoku and Tairyoku roared within me.
The latter enhanced my soul's ability to read more information from my Reikaku and the latter provided a general increase in my physical parameters.
"Yeah...I can." I answered Chase.
"Its like chaotic lightning. An unholy blend between the Flash and Doomsday. It's a speedster...one that can't be slowed down, stopped, or outran."
I tightened my hands into a fist, moulding the strings to form around me as armor. They covered around my skeleton and flesh, taking my Shikai form and more than tripling it's effects.
To finish the armor, a pair of purple wings sprouted behind me. This thing favoured speed. I couldn't be too slow or else I would lose.
In a fight, speed is almost always the determining factor.
The increase in my power was exponential, taking me to a level of strength I had only felt once. Bankai.
My skin tingled with energy, the shroud of purple and gold aura around me flaring up in readiness. I felt like I could take on a hundred Doomsdays and win.
But even with that I wasn't confident in my chances at winning this. Which made it all the more exciting.
"It's coming back."
Chase informed me.
And true enough, something cut through my Reikaku like a hot knife through butter. I flared up my wings.
It pushed away the Quarks and Gluons making up the smallest unit of reality, leaving a tunnel in space that existed for less than a pico-second, twisting the vacuum and causing mini black holes that consumed each other before dying out.
A headache threatened to consume me if I kept on reading more into what was happening.
So I decreased the range of Reikaku to a few thousand meters around my body. Sufficient enough to tell me when my opponent closed in.
Barely any time later, I sensed It.
I brought up Chesha Neko, planning to hold it across my chest and block the attack headed for my neck with it's flat side, only for the enemy to reach me before I could do half of that.
And right then, clear as day, I felt my own mortality.
Even with my enhancements, I was too slow.
It was like I'd blinked and literal death appeared infront of me.
The blur was now visible. My eyes captured it's form and my mind recognized that what I was seeing was not meant to be here.
On this plane.
It's dark red eyes made contact with mine. The creepiest part was the slow smile I saw on it's face. I was rendered speechless and somehow immobile.
Luckily, my vision changed as Chase used his instant teleportation, an ability he had never used on me before, to send us both to the other side of the moon..
"Whew, that was close. That guy is dangerous."
Chase told me from my side.
Meanwhile I was staring at my arms...
' Even with the wings...he is still way too fast. Faster than me at least. '
I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes in frustration. In all my fights I'd been the fastest. This one however, I was soundly defeated. Found lacking.
It was annoying.
I'd...almost died. Could I even die? Thanks to Chase I hadn't needed to find that out. There was no question about it, he had saved me.
"You can't beat his speed."
Chase told me.
"Yeah, I figured that out myself."
I responded sarcastically.
But I couldn't accept that. One way or the other, I was going to win and then move on to the final boss himself.
Reikaku warned me of another devastating attack. This time the moon gained a hole through its center as the blur burst through.
It was mere instinct that I did what I did. My spirit pressure (Reiatsu) erupted out of me filling a space of tens of thousands of miles all around.
Reiatsu not only restricted movement but it could be used to pressure an opponent's very soul.
It worked marginally slowing it down and giving me enough time to see the coming attack.
Another blink and Death was upon me once more.
It wasn't like looking at the mirror either, it was like staring at a reflection in a muddy pool of water.
There was the whistle of a fast moving blade, the sound managing to vibrate my very soul.
Shunpo had me evading to the left as the attack landed on my blade.
I pivoted with the force, feeling my hands ring at the power behind it's strike.
Then it lunged at me again, moving somehow even faster while under the restrictions of Reiatsu.
Lady Shiva's lessons kept me alive in the next few milliseconds. It was a relentless wave of an incredibly fast moving sword clashing against two incredibly and impossibly super fast moving scythes.
I was almost instantly pushed back. Immediately, I backed away by pulling in my aura and releasing it, using the flare to thrust off.
The blur followed after me, we circled around the moon, which had a massive hole through its center.
I didn't bother looking back, zooming around in an erratic fashion and using the glare of the sun to hide my movements.
Now that I had a brief respite and could think, my mind supplied me with a plan.
'Bakudo no. 21: Seinketon.'
I said within my mind, red smoke wafting off me to cover my position, then it spread out, obscuring my position even further.
Chase popped up on my shoulder.
"We need to-"
He begun only for me to grab him by the neck, throwing both of us back and saving him from a slash that would have split him apart. That made us even.
The dodged attack flew past us, streaks of lightning striking out in the shape of the scythe, shaving away a small part of the moon.
Strings jumped out of the red smoke that had filled the zone, enveloping the shadow before it could disappear.
I pulled my fingers, tugging on the threads connected to the tips.
The shadow's body jerked and the ultra thin threads around it tore through it's entire body, weaving around it's veins, capillaries and arteries.
The strings extended to the scythes but any of them that touched upon the shafts of both weapons immediately disintegrated. It was like...Respira was running through his weapons.
Fine then, all I had to do was stop it from using them.
I multiplied the strings around it's hands, fully encasing them in Chesha Neko's shikai.
Like that...my opponent was under my control. It's form stopped blurring, giving us the chance to finally get a good look at the thing.
It had the unmistakable form of man, yet it could be anything but a man. In his hands he held two scythes made out of that same power, long glowing orange weapons that filled me with more dread than I had felt from anything.
And on his feet were a pair of ski boards.
They looked sharp and thin and with his whole body leaning forward, he gave the impression that he was snowboarding in space.
Completely covered in a black costume that seemed seared into his flesh, he had orange lightning pouring off him in erratic streaks of energy.
A metal face mask covered the upper part of his face, leaving only the mouth and chin exposed.
The first true look at this new enemy also stirred something in the back of my mind. Nick's memories jumped to the fore-front and I instantly knew who I was facing.
The Black Racer. The weapons and physical similarities were uncanny.
So, this is Darkseid's trump card. Fuck. It's a good one.
Oh well.
The malicious smile that had disappeared on my face reappeared.
"Hey Chase, I need you to do something for me."
I told my Zanpakuto, eyes never leaving the Black Racer who also seemed to be waiting for something to happen.
"As long as its not another bet then I'm all ears. This foe demands nothing less than the two of us working together."
Chase responded, showing his willingness to fight by my side.
But that wasn't what I meant.
"Raven is still within the main Apokaliptian Vessel. I need you to go get her."
"You can't be serious. You want me to leave you here with this thing?"
Chase stared at me as if I was crazy. And I admit, maybe I was.
That said, I knew what this could be. My first true challenge after my recent power up. I needed to know how much I'd grown and I could only be pushed by someone of Black Racer's caliber.
"Trust me."
I assured him, the strings on my fingertips detached from the ones holding the Black Racer captive.
Then they twined together, shifting from several threads to two sabers glowing with Reiryoku.
"I won't lose."
I promised.
Chase said nothing for a second. Then he turned to face the front where the Black Racer stood, held within a prison of strings.
"Okay, I'll go get her. They won't harm a single strand of hair on her head."
He agreed, determination pouring off his tone.
"Good."
I responded in readiness.
"Access the Mother-box in the Pocket dimension and use it to bring in some extra help from the Phantom Zone."
"Got it."
Chase nodded.
Without a moment's hesitation, Shunpo pushed me forward, leaving a dozen afterimages behind as I zig zagged around, hoping to confuse the Racer enough that he wouldn't know where I would attack from.
Only, the ploy didn't work. His form phased out of the net of strings that held him captive and without wasting time, he streaked forward to face me.
Our weapons clashed against each other, producing sparks that ignited into a storm of power that rippled out, pushing the remains of Mars floating around us away.
The chance allowed Chase to teleport away, my Reikaku tagging him within the main Apokaliptian Ship millions of miles away.
Nice.
Now I can go all out.
"Aaahhh!"
I pulled on as much spirit and physical energy as I could, sending it to my twin sabers before slashing out.
'Getsuga Tensho!'
The two getsugas roared forth, one gold the other purple before they combined into one giant sword slash.
Knowing he could simply escape the attack with his superior speed, I made the energy contained within the attack go erratic early, causing another storm of power that shone like a second sun upon it's explosion.
The, 'fuck-everything-on-that-side', which was my other name for getsuga, lived up to the hype, the shockwaves produced being strong enough to reach the moon.
I knew that wasn't enough to take out the fastest thing in the DC universe.
So when a black dot burst through the storm of energy, not even the least bit harmed, I was ready.
Tracking him with my Reikaku kept me informed of his location at all times.
Nick's memories and my new control over Reiryoku allowed me to try some really cool Kido that I hadn't had time to practice.
Now with the reserves I had, nothing was out of reach.
'Bakudo no.72: Tonzashu!'
I chanted in my mind.
The spell ignited at a single point, blue energy extending outwards and upwards to four points.
Then the points formed an inverted pyramid, which solidified into a barrier. A air of speed at any instant of time also known as instantaneous speed later, the Black Racer collided onto walls of the bakudo spell.
It looked around, the scythe in its arms moving with precision and effective movements without waste of time,
Dark red scars crisscrossed across the weakest angles of the energy construct. A shape that could be considered a perfect creation due to the mystic-ness involved yet it couldn't handle the Black Racer.
The Kido burst apart into shards of blue that disappeared into nothing.
(General P.O.V)
After teleporting away, Chase hadn't wasted time.
Once within the Apokaliptian vessel, it had grown quickly apparent that the prisoners had taken over the ship.
Raven vouched for him and with his assistance, the teen titans escaped the craft.
They'd had to leave Grail behind, who had insisted in putting an end to her father's machinations out of spite.
She ended up destroying the main ship which controlled the Boom-tube network across the planet.
On the rooftop of a skyscraper, Chase appeared with a flash of light. Behind him were a determined group of Titans.
They wanted nothing more than to make Darkseid pay for capturing them.
Very quickly, it became clear what they needed to do first.
"Okay listen up Gang, this is the plan. We need to rescue the Justice League."
Dick, Nightwing told his team.
"Perhaps I could help with that."
Chase suggested, then immediately popped away, leaving the whole team confused.
That confusion ended when Chase reappeared once more with Constantine and Power Girl in tow. The latter was dressed in a variant purple costume created by a small spool of Chesha Neko's shikai.
Being Davian's Zanpakuto spirit ensured that Chase had access to the same abilities, hence providing clothes to the nude Powergirl hadn't been a challenge.
The very first thing Powergirl did was take flight.
"Where. Is. He?"
She bit out, her body sucking in energy from the sun above.
"Darkseid!!! Show yourself you coward!"
She roared, taking to the skies towards the more devastated section of the city.
"I wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of that."
Beastboy muttered.
"No, this is good. She can be a distraction while we extract the League."
Nightwing told them. Above them the main ship lost power and begun to fall towards the Earth, it's trajectory aimed towards the ocean.
The network of Boom-tubes in midair begun to close up.
******
"Father... what should we do? Desaad has lost."
Kalibak who had been silent in the presence of Darkseid enquired. Things had been going so well for them but as always, the heroes found a way to make it back into the fight.
"No matter. I have already won."
Darkseid responded, palm extending towards Superman.
"Once I convert their symbol of hope to my side, then I shall have beaten then completely. Then they shall understand."
"Darkseid!!"
An angry voice yelled from the sky.
"Get your filthy hands away from my cousin!"
"How arrogant!"
Kalibak barked out in anger, jumping towards the enraged Kryptonian female.
"You dare speak that way to my father? Learn your place!"
Powergirl's flight speed did not reduce in the slightest.
In a split second she had plowed through Kalibak, tearing apart his body into a bloody mist, while pulling back her hand. Kalibak's death was instantaneous.
Then she thrust a fist out, managing to collide with Darkseid's cheek. The impact produced was nothing to scoff at. Darkseid's entire head disappeared.
Kara's eyes glowed red and with a wild scream that could be heard across the city she released a massive beam of heat from her vision, drowning Darkseid's body under the intense heat.
The result was a burnt corpse of the previous god of Apokalips.
Everyone watching the scene froze in shock.
Had...had she really done it?
Had she actually killed Darkseid?
Out in space, a different scene was taking place. One that would answer the question in everyone's mind.
(Davian's P.O.V)
My sword slashed out, blocking a scythe blade coming from my side. It's strength was nothing to scoff at, causing my hands to tremble around Chesha Neko.
We entered a brief struggle, the two of us pushing against each other's weapons. My wings beat behind me, pushing me forth with enough momentum to make my strikes impossible to block, only evade.
I was learning to anticipate their moves. I was getting good.
The Racer then did something strange. They stopped.
Then an evil smile worked it's way across his mouth.
"So, you're the one prophesied to bring an end to me?"
His voice, as deep as a bottomless well spoke into my mind.
"And you're the trump card. A proxy. A stand in. An instrument to do his bidding. A slave."
I shot back, suspecting that there might have been more to this whole thing.
Nick's memories had never showed the Black Racer talking.
My Reiatsu clashed with this aura in mid space, causing a number of effects to occur. Fortunately we were both far away from any type of civilization.
"Join me Davian Mabuz... Join me and I can bring back your Raven."
He offered.
My hands grew slacker. How did he know?
"Imagine that. She would look the same and wouldn't remember much about her death. I can-"
"Shut up." I interrupted. The offer...did it matter? Not really. I had worked through my loss and accepted it.
"You're not actually the Black Racer are you?"
I guessed.
We detached from one another. The Racer staring at me straight on, his eyes glowing with a scarlet light.
Similar to Grail's Omega effect.
"How perceptive."
He commented, hands spreading out.
"But you're absolutely right. I am not one simple thing anymore. Finally I'm in control of a body fast and resilient enough to keep up with me. Darkseid was as Darkseid Is. And he will forever be. Me."
He concluded.
Darkseid? My mind buzzed at the revelation. It couldn't be true. Darkseid was in control of the Black Racer?
Heedless to the disbelief coursing within me, he continued,
"You came into this battle believing you could win. Allow me to prove you wrong."
The space around us was instantly filled with the appearance of different colored portals. Indigo, blue, red, yellow, green and violet.
The only missing color was Orange.
And from within, the Emotional Electromagnetic spectrum flew out. 6 of the 7 Lantern corps. Thousands of aliens from across the universe, each wielding a power ring. Or in the case of the Indigo tribe, Staffs.
But they were wrong. Each lantern seemed corrupted. Their skins were grey and their eyes shone with a red light. Murky and dim.
"You're not facing the Black Racer alone. Neither are you facing Darkseid by himself."
He declared.
"Meet my Anti-Lanterns. With the Anti-life equation, my influence has spread out through the Speed force, just as it has infected the Emotional Electromagnetic spectrum, a field of energy powered by the emotions of all sentient beings. All are under my control. No longer am I bound to one physical form. I exist everywhere at everytime and in everyone."
(Elsewhere)
A majestic white Raven soared through the azure and pink skies.
It's beak speared through huge and plump clouds, Shifting their lazy trajectory and separating them into puffy moulds.
The White Raven cawed, the call like a beacon to all who could hear, no matter the distance, no matter the time. No matter the infiniteness of the Dreaming.
Then it unfurled it's wings, golden dust falling onto the puffy clouds, past that and it would dissolve into the wind.
A rainbow worth of birds burst out of the clouds.
The ground quaked and shattered as it gave way to a super environment. An extension of the green. A beautiful blend of exotic natures and species...
The Raven was sprinkling life giving golden dust into everything. It's wings flapping as it circled the entire landscape of the dreaming.
Morbius looked up at the spectacle from the tallest tower of the Library. He had on his long dark cape, billowing into the shadows.
And to contrast that gloomy image, a soft smile on his face as he watched a Life Entity soar.
"She's excited."
Lucienne commented from behind him.
His trusty head librarian.
The one who resides within Dream's Castle where his vast library is. She was originally the first Raven companion to Dream of the Endless.
"Yes she is. She can feel what's coming."
Morbius answered softly. Then he blinked as if perturbed before turning to look behind him.
"Oh Lucienne, I didn't notice how fast time had flown by..."
Morbius muttered in confusion.
The dark skinned woman bowed with a similar smile on her serious face.
"Alas not all of us have that freedom my Lord."
Dream snorted.
"Your wit is always appreciated Lucienne, but don't be so free with one of the Endless."
After millions of years together, this had become a sort of inside joke to them. Another caw from the Raven prompted Lucienne to transition back to her assigned role,
"Forgive the intrusion Lord Morpheus, You have a guest. Your sister has arrived, sir."
Lucienne's voice was formal and free, accommodating but distant.
"Mmh."
Dream hummed.
"She knows then."
He mused.
"Pardon my Lord?"
Lucienne muttered in confusion.
"The Answer Lucienne. You see, a war has been going on in the high heavens as it has on the lowest reality, the mortal world."
He turned to face her fully, head bowed down with the hair obscuring his face.
"And just as it has been going on in the high heavens...it has reached here. The highest heaven. To Us. The Endless, The Devil and God."
Morpheus said.
Lucienne's lips parted in shock.
"What..."
"What do I mean?"
Dream asked, snorting with a self deprecating sound.
"A plot that stretches across billions of Years. Longer than you have been alive Lucienne... longer than gods and Apokaliptians, longer than immortal races. It was the age of true mortals. The first iteration to the universe."
Lucienne sucked in a deep breath.
"Lord Morbius, I'm not authorized-"
"Hush now Lucienne, what are they going to do to me, destroy me?"
He scoffed.
"You cannot kill the core of imagination. I would be back. Only she has the ability to even-"
He stopped, blinking in confusion.
"Funny how time flies? Oh Lucienne...I didn't see you there. Did you need anything?"
Lucienne straightened up from her bow.
"Forgive me Lord Morbius, I was coming to tell you...dinner is served."
Neither seemed to recall the conversation that had happened a few seconds ago. It was like the interaction had been erased from time itself.
Dream smiled.
"I am a function that only looks human, Lucienne. I do not need sustenance. I've told you this before."
As master and servant warred with words, a certain book in the vast library of the Dreaming was secretly extracted by a dainty pale hand.
"Keep on suspecting brother, but there are worse things than death for you. For example, a budding crush on your own Librarian."
Desire laughed.
"Oh, I'm so dreadful. I wonder how long I can keep this up for..."
The shadow's congealed into a dark furred cat. The feline flashed through the volumes within the shelves, tapping into all the lives contained within each volume.
Into their desire.
Then he disappeared into obscurity from the dreaming.
Later on, Lucienne would discover a missing book from the shelf. A book whose title read,
Davian Mabuz.
15 advance chapters in my Patreon.
Patreon.com/Saintbarbido.
::-------------------------------------------::
(Davian's P.O.V)
Every single attack hit it's mark. All except for one.
The arrows headed for Darkseid were bathed in the bloody light of his Omega beams, inches away from him.
Regardless, the arrow's flight speed and course were not the least bit altered or compromised.
They still continued on their path to every vulnerable spot across his gigantic form.
His eyes, his thick neck and every other place that when pierced through, would ultimately spell death for just about anyone.
One thing I had immediately noticed about the fusion of Tairyoku and Reiryoku, was that the result was resilient enough to withstand anything.
So when the arrows suddenly disappeared before they could land, I was surprised. Not even by using Reikaku could I feel my energy anymore.
Those hundred arrows had each contained twice the power of the regular ones.
And none of the latter had missed or been blocked, they had speared through metal and flesh alike.
So you could guess just how crazy powerful the attack had been.
One might even call it overkill but Darkseid was just a different kind of beast.
You needed something like a planet killer to put him down.
"The Grey bastard must have redirected that attack elsewhere, probably because he knew he couldn't block them."
I mused to myself, manic hunger for battle coursing through me.
"Fine then, let's see if he can dodge me if I was closer."
I added, ready to clear the distance between us.
"Davian, wait."
Chase called out.
What stopped me wasn't his words but the slight tremble in his tone.
Brows furrowed, I stared at my Zanpakuto Spirit, seeing fear apparent on his face.
That was a first.
My lips thinned as I vigilantly scanned the area for what had him terrified.
"Chase, you're worrying me a bit. What is it?"
He said nothing, his blue orbs narrowed as he looked towards a certain direction. Earth.
"Dodge."
He stated out of nowhere.
Without thinking, I immediately complied, pushing off my heel. Reiryoku gushed out of my feet while Tairyoku enhanced my body strength, allowing me to strafe to the right in a sudden jet.
And just in time too, as a dark orange blur passed between us in the tenth of a nanosecond.
Space itself screamed as the vacuum was pressured to accommodate a raw type of energy that felt... primordial yet familiar to me.
The blur continued, speeding through space, leaving the Earth's orbit around the sun. Streaks of orange lightning trailed behind it.
Unfortunately for the fourth planet in our solar system, it was at the wrong place at the wrong time.
Hundreds of millions of miles behind us, there was an impact that produced shockwaves strong enough to be felt at this distance.
A massive change occured on Mars, the red planet exploding into chunks of rock and debris that sped outwards into the Solar system.
The molten liquid iron core solidified into pieces of hard metal, some flying towards Earth while moving at supersonic speeds.
Chase and I were dumfounded.
"Mars...is gone."
The words leaving my mouth didn't make it any easier to believe what had just happened.
It had happened so fast.
"Darkseid was ready for you."
Chase said through our bond, floating closer to my side.
"So it seems."
I agreed, pulsing my aura to throw away the debris and rocks headed towards us on their path to the innermost planets.
Chesha Neko also extended into hundreds of thousands of strings that broke off into millions and then billions of threads. The strings rose up and speared through the pieces of the shattered planet flying past us, storing them within me.
Another power discovered:- Bottomless stomach. Of course this could only be gluttony. Pretty standard as things went.
It was a simple matter to consciously fuse my Bottomless Stomach into the rest of my Inner world.
The action caused pieces of mars to appear in the sky of the green cemetery in my Inner World.
The pieces spread out across the entire dimension, becoming an endless volcanic-red ring around my world.
I cut off that train of thought, turning my focus to the more immediate matter.
By all indications, the God of Apokalips came anticipating a tough battle.
It would make sense that during his second invasion of Earth after he'd been beaten back by the League, he would come prepared.
Chase sighed.
"This is probably going to fall on deaf ears, but you need to be careful."
He advised, noticing the intense look in my eyes.
I didn't answer, instead opting to expand the range of my Reikaku even further, reaching my current limit.
There. At the exact location Mars had occupied. A dark orange light, pulsing with intensity... spreading out waves of familiar energy.
It's aura...
It felt eerily similar to my own.
It felt like death.
"You feel it now, don't you?"
Chase enquired.
My chest inflated as I took a deep breath. Even though nothing entered my lungs, it still calmed me.
My heartbeat evened out.
My senses stopped being overwhelmed.
Push and pull.
Reiryoku and Tairyoku roared within me.
The latter enhanced my soul's ability to read more information from my Reikaku and the latter provided a general increase in my physical parameters.
"Yeah...I can." I answered Chase.
"Its like chaotic lightning. An unholy blend between the Flash and Doomsday. It's a speedster...one that can't be slowed down, stopped, or outran."
I tightened my hands into a fist, moulding the strings to form around me as armor. They covered around my skeleton and flesh, taking my Shikai form and more than tripling it's effects.
To finish the armor, a pair of purple wings sprouted behind me. This thing favoured speed. I couldn't be too slow or else I would lose.
In a fight, speed is almost always the determining factor.
The increase in my power was exponential, taking me to a level of strength I had only felt once. Bankai.
My skin tingled with energy, the shroud of purple and gold aura around me flaring up in readiness. I felt like I could take on a hundred Doomsdays and win.
But even with that I wasn't confident in my chances at winning this. Which made it all the more exciting.
"It's coming back."
Chase informed me.
And true enough, something cut through my Reikaku like a hot knife through butter. I flared up my wings.
It pushed away the Quarks and Gluons making up the smallest unit of reality, leaving a tunnel in space that existed for less than a pico-second, twisting the vacuum and causing mini black holes that consumed each other before dying out.
A headache threatened to consume me if I kept on reading more into what was happening.
So I decreased the range of Reikaku to a few thousand meters around my body. Sufficient enough to tell me when my opponent closed in.
Barely any time later, I sensed It.
I brought up Chesha Neko, planning to hold it across my chest and block the attack headed for my neck with it's flat side, only for the enemy to reach me before I could do half of that.
And right then, clear as day, I felt my own mortality.
Even with my enhancements, I was too slow.
It was like I'd blinked and literal death appeared infront of me.
The blur was now visible. My eyes captured it's form and my mind recognized that what I was seeing was not meant to be here.
On this plane.
It's dark red eyes made contact with mine. The creepiest part was the slow smile I saw on it's face. I was rendered speechless and somehow immobile.
Luckily, my vision changed as Chase used his instant teleportation, an ability he had never used on me before, to send us both to the other side of the moon..
"Whew, that was close. That guy is dangerous."
Chase told me from my side.
Meanwhile I was staring at my arms...
' Even with the wings...he is still way too fast. Faster than me at least. '
I pressed the heels of my palms into my eyes in frustration. In all my fights I'd been the fastest. This one however, I was soundly defeated. Found lacking.
It was annoying.
I'd...almost died. Could I even die? Thanks to Chase I hadn't needed to find that out. There was no question about it, he had saved me.
"You can't beat his speed."
Chase told me.
"Yeah, I figured that out myself."
I responded sarcastically.
But I couldn't accept that. One way or the other, I was going to win and then move on to the final boss himself.
Reikaku warned me of another devastating attack. This time the moon gained a hole through its center as the blur burst through.
It was mere instinct that I did what I did. My spirit pressure (Reiatsu) erupted out of me filling a space of tens of thousands of miles all around.
Reiatsu not only restricted movement but it could be used to pressure an opponent's very soul.
It worked marginally slowing it down and giving me enough time to see the coming attack.
Another blink and Death was upon me once more.
It wasn't like looking at the mirror either, it was like staring at a reflection in a muddy pool of water.
There was the whistle of a fast moving blade, the sound managing to vibrate my very soul.
Shunpo had me evading to the left as the attack landed on my blade.
I pivoted with the force, feeling my hands ring at the power behind it's strike.
Then it lunged at me again, moving somehow even faster while under the restrictions of Reiatsu.
Lady Shiva's lessons kept me alive in the next few milliseconds. It was a relentless wave of an incredibly fast moving sword clashing against two incredibly and impossibly super fast moving scythes.
I was almost instantly pushed back. Immediately, I backed away by pulling in my aura and releasing it, using the flare to thrust off.
The blur followed after me, we circled around the moon, which had a massive hole through its center.
I didn't bother looking back, zooming around in an erratic fashion and using the glare of the sun to hide my movements.
Now that I had a brief respite and could think, my mind supplied me with a plan.
'Bakudo no. 21: Seinketon.'
I said within my mind, red smoke wafting off me to cover my position, then it spread out, obscuring my position even further.
Chase popped up on my shoulder.
"We need to-"
He begun only for me to grab him by the neck, throwing both of us back and saving him from a slash that would have split him apart. That made us even.
The dodged attack flew past us, streaks of lightning striking out in the shape of the scythe, shaving away a small part of the moon.
Strings jumped out of the red smoke that had filled the zone, enveloping the shadow before it could disappear.
I pulled my fingers, tugging on the threads connected to the tips.
The shadow's body jerked and the ultra thin threads around it tore through it's entire body, weaving around it's veins, capillaries and arteries.
The strings extended to the scythes but any of them that touched upon the shafts of both weapons immediately disintegrated. It was like...Respira was running through his weapons.
Fine then, all I had to do was stop it from using them.
I multiplied the strings around it's hands, fully encasing them in Chesha Neko's shikai.
Like that...my opponent was under my control. It's form stopped blurring, giving us the chance to finally get a good look at the thing.
It had the unmistakable form of man, yet it could be anything but a man. In his hands he held two scythes made out of that same power, long glowing orange weapons that filled me with more dread than I had felt from anything.
And on his feet were a pair of ski boards.
They looked sharp and thin and with his whole body leaning forward, he gave the impression that he was snowboarding in space.
Completely covered in a black costume that seemed seared into his flesh, he had orange lightning pouring off him in erratic streaks of energy.
A metal face mask covered the upper part of his face, leaving only the mouth and chin exposed.
The first true look at this new enemy also stirred something in the back of my mind. Nick's memories jumped to the fore-front and I instantly knew who I was facing.
The Black Racer. The weapons and physical similarities were uncanny.
So, this is Darkseid's trump card. Fuck. It's a good one.
Oh well.
The malicious smile that had disappeared on my face reappeared.
"Hey Chase, I need you to do something for me."
I told my Zanpakuto, eyes never leaving the Black Racer who also seemed to be waiting for something to happen.
"As long as its not another bet then I'm all ears. This foe demands nothing less than the two of us working together."
Chase responded, showing his willingness to fight by my side.
But that wasn't what I meant.
"Raven is still within the main Apokaliptian Vessel. I need you to go get her."
"You can't be serious. You want me to leave you here with this thing?"
Chase stared at me as if I was crazy. And I admit, maybe I was.
That said, I knew what this could be. My first true challenge after my recent power up. I needed to know how much I'd grown and I could only be pushed by someone of Black Racer's caliber.
"Trust me."
I assured him, the strings on my fingertips detached from the ones holding the Black Racer captive.
Then they twined together, shifting from several threads to two sabers glowing with Reiryoku.
"I won't lose."
I promised.
Chase said nothing for a second. Then he turned to face the front where the Black Racer stood, held within a prison of strings.
"Okay, I'll go get her. They won't harm a single strand of hair on her head."
He agreed, determination pouring off his tone.
"Good."
I responded in readiness.
"Access the Mother-box in the Pocket dimension and use it to bring in some extra help from the Phantom Zone."
"Got it."
Chase nodded.
Without a moment's hesitation, Shunpo pushed me forward, leaving a dozen afterimages behind as I zig zagged around, hoping to confuse the Racer enough that he wouldn't know where I would attack from.
Only, the ploy didn't work. His form phased out of the net of strings that held him captive and without wasting time, he streaked forward to face me.
Our weapons clashed against each other, producing sparks that ignited into a storm of power that rippled out, pushing the remains of Mars floating around us away.
The chance allowed Chase to teleport away, my Reikaku tagging him within the main Apokaliptian Ship millions of miles away.
Nice.
Now I can go all out.
"Aaahhh!"
I pulled on as much spirit and physical energy as I could, sending it to my twin sabers before slashing out.
'Getsuga Tensho!'
The two getsugas roared forth, one gold the other purple before they combined into one giant sword slash.
Knowing he could simply escape the attack with his superior speed, I made the energy contained within the attack go erratic early, causing another storm of power that shone like a second sun upon it's explosion.
The, 'fuck-everything-on-that-side', which was my other name for getsuga, lived up to the hype, the shockwaves produced being strong enough to reach the moon.
I knew that wasn't enough to take out the fastest thing in the DC universe.
So when a black dot burst through the storm of energy, not even the least bit harmed, I was ready.
Tracking him with my Reikaku kept me informed of his location at all times.
Nick's memories and my new control over Reiryoku allowed me to try some really cool Kido that I hadn't had time to practice.
Now with the reserves I had, nothing was out of reach.
'Bakudo no.72: Tonzashu!'
I chanted in my mind.
The spell ignited at a single point, blue energy extending outwards and upwards to four points.
Then the points formed an inverted pyramid, which solidified into a barrier. A air of speed at any instant of time also known as instantaneous speed later, the Black Racer collided onto walls of the bakudo spell.
It looked around, the scythe in its arms moving with precision and effective movements without waste of time,
Dark red scars crisscrossed across the weakest angles of the energy construct. A shape that could be considered a perfect creation due to the mystic-ness involved yet it couldn't handle the Black Racer.
The Kido burst apart into shards of blue that disappeared into nothing.
(General P.O.V)
After teleporting away, Chase hadn't wasted time.
Once within the Apokaliptian vessel, it had grown quickly apparent that the prisoners had taken over the ship.
Raven vouched for him and with his assistance, the teen titans escaped the craft.
They'd had to leave Grail behind, who had insisted in putting an end to her father's machinations out of spite.
She ended up destroying the main ship which controlled the Boom-tube network across the planet.
On the rooftop of a skyscraper, Chase appeared with a flash of light. Behind him were a determined group of Titans.
They wanted nothing more than to make Darkseid pay for capturing them.
Very quickly, it became clear what they needed to do first.
"Okay listen up Gang, this is the plan. We need to rescue the Justice League."
Dick, Nightwing told his team.
"Perhaps I could help with that."
Chase suggested, then immediately popped away, leaving the whole team confused.
That confusion ended when Chase reappeared once more with Constantine and Power Girl in tow. The latter was dressed in a variant purple costume created by a small spool of Chesha Neko's shikai.
Being Davian's Zanpakuto spirit ensured that Chase had access to the same abilities, hence providing clothes to the nude Powergirl hadn't been a challenge.
The very first thing Powergirl did was take flight.
"Where. Is. He?"
She bit out, her body sucking in energy from the sun above.
"Darkseid!!! Show yourself you coward!"
She roared, taking to the skies towards the more devastated section of the city.
"I wouldn't wanna be on the receiving end of that."
Beastboy muttered.
"No, this is good. She can be a distraction while we extract the League."
Nightwing told them. Above them the main ship lost power and begun to fall towards the Earth, it's trajectory aimed towards the ocean.
The network of Boom-tubes in midair begun to close up.
******
"Father... what should we do? Desaad has lost."
Kalibak who had been silent in the presence of Darkseid enquired. Things had been going so well for them but as always, the heroes found a way to make it back into the fight.
"No matter. I have already won."
Darkseid responded, palm extending towards Superman.
"Once I convert their symbol of hope to my side, then I shall have beaten then completely. Then they shall understand."
"Darkseid!!"
An angry voice yelled from the sky.
"Get your filthy hands away from my cousin!"
"How arrogant!"
Kalibak barked out in anger, jumping towards the enraged Kryptonian female.
"You dare speak that way to my father? Learn your place!"
Powergirl's flight speed did not reduce in the slightest.
In a split second she had plowed through Kalibak, tearing apart his body into a bloody mist, while pulling back her hand. Kalibak's death was instantaneous.
Then she thrust a fist out, managing to collide with Darkseid's cheek. The impact produced was nothing to scoff at. Darkseid's entire head disappeared.
Kara's eyes glowed red and with a wild scream that could be heard across the city she released a massive beam of heat from her vision, drowning Darkseid's body under the intense heat.
The result was a burnt corpse of the previous god of Apokalips.
Everyone watching the scene froze in shock.
Had...had she really done it?
Had she actually killed Darkseid?
Out in space, a different scene was taking place. One that would answer the question in everyone's mind.
(Davian's P.O.V)
My sword slashed out, blocking a scythe blade coming from my side. It's strength was nothing to scoff at, causing my hands to tremble around Chesha Neko.
We entered a brief struggle, the two of us pushing against each other's weapons. My wings beat behind me, pushing me forth with enough momentum to make my strikes impossible to block, only evade.
I was learning to anticipate their moves. I was getting good.
The Racer then did something strange. They stopped.
Then an evil smile worked it's way across his mouth.
"So, you're the one prophesied to bring an end to me?"
His voice, as deep as a bottomless well spoke into my mind.
"And you're the trump card. A proxy. A stand in. An instrument to do his bidding. A slave."
I shot back, suspecting that there might have been more to this whole thing.
Nick's memories had never showed the Black Racer talking.
My Reiatsu clashed with this aura in mid space, causing a number of effects to occur. Fortunately we were both far away from any type of civilization.
"Join me Davian Mabuz... Join me and I can bring back your Raven."
He offered.
My hands grew slacker. How did he know?
"Imagine that. She would look the same and wouldn't remember much about her death. I can-"
"Shut up." I interrupted. The offer...did it matter? Not really. I had worked through my loss and accepted it.
"You're not actually the Black Racer are you?"
I guessed.
We detached from one another. The Racer staring at me straight on, his eyes glowing with a scarlet light.
Similar to Grail's Omega effect.
"How perceptive."
He commented, hands spreading out.
"But you're absolutely right. I am not one simple thing anymore. Finally I'm in control of a body fast and resilient enough to keep up with me. Darkseid was as Darkseid Is. And he will forever be. Me."
He concluded.
Darkseid? My mind buzzed at the revelation. It couldn't be true. Darkseid was in control of the Black Racer?
Heedless to the disbelief coursing within me, he continued,
"You came into this battle believing you could win. Allow me to prove you wrong."
The space around us was instantly filled with the appearance of different colored portals. Indigo, blue, red, yellow, green and violet.
The only missing color was Orange.
And from within, the Emotional Electromagnetic spectrum flew out. 6 of the 7 Lantern corps. Thousands of aliens from across the universe, each wielding a power ring. Or in the case of the Indigo tribe, Staffs.
But they were wrong. Each lantern seemed corrupted. Their skins were grey and their eyes shone with a red light. Murky and dim.
"You're not facing the Black Racer alone. Neither are you facing Darkseid by himself."
He declared.
"Meet my Anti-Lanterns. With the Anti-life equation, my influence has spread out through the Speed force, just as it has infected the Emotional Electromagnetic spectrum, a field of energy powered by the emotions of all sentient beings. All are under my control. No longer am I bound to one physical form. I exist everywhere at everytime and in everyone."
(Elsewhere)
A majestic white Raven soared through the azure and pink skies.
It's beak speared through huge and plump clouds, Shifting their lazy trajectory and separating them into puffy moulds.
The White Raven cawed, the call like a beacon to all who could hear, no matter the distance, no matter the time. No matter the infiniteness of the Dreaming.
Then it unfurled it's wings, golden dust falling onto the puffy clouds, past that and it would dissolve into the wind.
A rainbow worth of birds burst out of the clouds.
The ground quaked and shattered as it gave way to a super environment. An extension of the green. A beautiful blend of exotic natures and species...
The Raven was sprinkling life giving golden dust into everything. It's wings flapping as it circled the entire landscape of the dreaming.
Morbius looked up at the spectacle from the tallest tower of the Library. He had on his long dark cape, billowing into the shadows.
And to contrast that gloomy image, a soft smile on his face as he watched a Life Entity soar.
"She's excited."
Lucienne commented from behind him.
His trusty head librarian.
The one who resides within Dream's Castle where his vast library is. She was originally the first Raven companion to Dream of the Endless.
"Yes she is. She can feel what's coming."
Morbius answered softly. Then he blinked as if perturbed before turning to look behind him.
"Oh Lucienne, I didn't notice how fast time had flown by..."
Morbius muttered in confusion.
The dark skinned woman bowed with a similar smile on her serious face.
"Alas not all of us have that freedom my Lord."
Dream snorted.
"Your wit is always appreciated Lucienne, but don't be so free with one of the Endless."
After millions of years together, this had become a sort of inside joke to them. Another caw from the Raven prompted Lucienne to transition back to her assigned role,
"Forgive the intrusion Lord Morpheus, You have a guest. Your sister has arrived, sir."
Lucienne's voice was formal and free, accommodating but distant.
"Mmh."
Dream hummed.
"She knows then."
He mused.
"Pardon my Lord?"
Lucienne muttered in confusion.
"The Answer Lucienne. You see, a war has been going on in the high heavens as it has on the lowest reality, the mortal world."
He turned to face her fully, head bowed down with the hair obscuring his face.
"And just as it has been going on in the high heavens...it has reached here. The highest heaven. To Us. The Endless, The Devil and God."
Morpheus said.
Lucienne's lips parted in shock.
"What..."
"What do I mean?"
Dream asked, snorting with a self deprecating sound.
"A plot that stretches across billions of Years. Longer than you have been alive Lucienne... longer than gods and Apokaliptians, longer than immortal races. It was the age of true mortals. The first iteration to the universe."
Lucienne sucked in a deep breath.
"Lord Morbius, I'm not authorized-"
"Hush now Lucienne, what are they going to do to me, destroy me?"
He scoffed.
"You cannot kill the core of imagination. I would be back. Only she has the ability to even-"
He stopped, blinking in confusion.
"Funny how time flies? Oh Lucienne...I didn't see you there. Did you need anything?"
Lucienne straightened up from her bow.
"Forgive me Lord Morbius, I was coming to tell you...dinner is served."
Neither seemed to recall the conversation that had happened a few seconds ago. It was like the interaction had been erased from time itself.
Dream smiled.
"I am a function that only looks human, Lucienne. I do not need sustenance. I've told you this before."
As master and servant warred with words, a certain book in the vast library of the Dreaming was secretly extracted by a dainty pale hand.
"Keep on suspecting brother, but there are worse things than death for you. For example, a budding crush on your own Librarian."
Desire laughed.
"Oh, I'm so dreadful. I wonder how long I can keep this up for..."
The shadow's congealed into a dark furred cat. The feline flashed through the volumes within the shelves, tapping into all the lives contained within each volume.
Into their desire.
Then he disappeared into obscurity from the dreaming.
Later on, Lucienne would discover a missing book from the shelf. A book whose title read,
Davian Mabuz.
