The silence in the Cosmic Laboratory no longer felt as soothing as it had millions of years ago.
The air at the center of nothingness now felt heavy, thick with static electricity that triggered streaks of wild, bluish-white energy lashing out between the dimensional pillars.
Zhenos awakened from his meditation as he felt a sharp frequency anomaly—a vibration that should not exist within the tapestry of harmony he had so lovingly woven.
The sound resembled the screech of metal being forced to snap, echoing throughout the void, triggering a stinging discomfort that pierced the very core of his soul.
As he drifted out of his inner chamber, the sight before him shattered the Architect's heart.
Thousands of crystal spheres that once floated beautifully—like jewels in the middle of a black ocean—were now cracking and falling.
Ting! Pyarr! The sound of the crystal marbles shattering into worthless cosmic dust filled Zhenos's ears.
In the midst of the ruins, the five mythical beings he had created alongside Luxios had transformed into bloodthirsty monsters. Ignis, Typhon, the Nebula Hydra, Fenrir, and the Kraken stood enveloped in a suffocating, deep red aura.
They growled lowly, like wild beasts recently unchained.
At the front of this line of traitors stood Luxios.
His once-warm white light now flashed sharply, radiating a wave of hatred so pure it could evaporate the dark matter surrounding him.
"Luxios... what have you done?" Zhenos asked, his voice low and trembling through the void.
Luxios laughed—a dry, hoarse laugh filled with contempt.
"I am doing what a true ruler must do, Zhenos! I am sick of being your shadow!"
Luxios stepped forward, letting his light incinerate a crystal sphere near him.
"I am sick of this 'balance' you worship! My light should rule everything, not be forced to coexist with your boring darkness!"
"Stop this, Luxios! You will destroy everything!" Zhenos shouted, trying to reach his friend's conscience.
"No, Zhenos. I am merely cleansing the universe of dark stains like you."
Luxios raised his hand high.
"My army... SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!"
Symphony of Destruction: Blood and Cosmic Dust
At Luxios's brutal command, a battle broke out on an unimaginable scale.
Ignis the Fire Phoenix lunged at light speed toward Aetheria.
Wusss! Tongues of golden flame licked the atmosphere. The two eternal birds collided in mid-air, creating plasma explosions that tore through the spatial barriers.
Crazzz! Ignis tore into Aetheria's silver wings until they fell away, letting the silver feathers burn to ash.
With one searing golden peck—Jleb!—Ignis's beak pierced Aetheria's heart-core.
The silver bird let out one last agonizing shriek, a high-pitched sound that ripped through the hollow sky before her body disintegrated into cold silver dust.
"One by one they will die, Zhenos! Look at how weak your creations are!" Luxios mocked, laughing hysterically.
In another corner, Typhon the Behemoth began to surround Vajra with his thousand arms.
Brak! Bum! Dhuaarr! Typhon's planet-heavy fists struck Vajra's body repeatedly. The diamond golem stood gallantly, blocking punches capable of shattering galaxies.
However, the bloodthirsty Typhon hammered Vajra's chest continuously at a single point.
KRAK! The sound of cracking diamond crystal echoed painfully. Typhon ripped Vajra's arm away with his fangs—Sret!—then smashed the golem's head into pieces.
Prang! Vajra, the eternal protector, was left as nothing but lifeless debris beneath Typhon's feet.
"NO!" roared Chronos, the Guardian of Time.
He tried to turn the hourglass on his back, attempting to reverse the seconds of his comrades' deaths.
But Cosmic Fenrir leapt from a dimensional rift—Grrr-Aum!—and bit into Chronos's neck.
At the same time, the Nebula Hydra spat corrosive venom.
Cshhhhh! The hissing sound of the venom melted Chronos's eternal shell.
KRAK... PYARR! The shell of the eternal hourglass shattered into pieces, and the sands of time spilled out erratically.
Chronos finally closed his eyes forever as time around him ground to a permanent halt.
Horrific Laughter and Luxios's Betrayal
Zhenos stood still amidst the rain of crystal dust and the corpses of his guardians.
He did not cry. He allowed his body to tremble, but not from fear.
He deliberately weakened his aura, letting Luxios feel as though he had the upper hand. He wanted to witness how far this betrayal could ruin everything.
Luxios drifted closer, his face twisted in disgusting madness.
"Look at you, Zhenos! The great Architect is now just a useless loser!"
Luxios spat toward Chronos's dust. "You let them die like dogs!"
Jleb!
Without a hint of hesitation, Luxios condensed his energy into a spear of pure, scorching light.
He plunged it through Zhenos's back, piercing his chest.
Crot! Thick essence of darkness sprayed into the air, evaporating upon contact with Luxios's burning light.
Zhenos went silent for a moment. His head hung low.
Luxios brought his face close to Zhenos's ear, whispering in a tone of sickening triumph.
"Finally, I am the only god here. Die, my friend."
Suddenly, Zhenos's shoulders began to shake. A very foreign sound began to emerge from his throat.
It wasn't a sob. It was something much darker.
"He... Hehe..."
"Why are you laughing, you wretched creature?!" Luxios barked, feeling insulted.
"Hahahaha! HAHAHAHAHA!"
Zhenos's laughter exploded, so loud that the echoes brought down the remains of the cosmic laboratory.
Zhenos raised his face, and for the first time, Luxios saw what true fear looked like.
There were no tears in Zhenos's eyes. There was only pitch-blackness glowing with a madness and rage that transcended all dimensions.
"Hahaha! So this is your choice, Luxios?"
Zhenos laughed as he gripped the light spear still lodged in his chest.
Srek... Srek... The sound of light energy grinding against Zhenos's dark flesh was horrifying as he slowly pulled the spear out with his bare hands.
He snapped the spear in two with a single squeeze—Krak!—then tossed it away like trash.
"I created you so that I would no longer feel the coldness of silence. But as it turns out, silence is far more honest than your betrayal."
10% Existence: Void Consumption
Zhenos stood tall; the wound in his chest did not close, but instead pulsed, releasing a black steam that began to suck the light out of the surroundings.
"You thought you knew me, Luxios?"
Zhenos's voice now sounded like a thousand claps of thunder.
"You only knew the mask I wore so that you wouldn't shatter every time you looked at me. But today... I will show you 10% of my existence."
DHUAAARRRR!
An explosion of black aura erupted from Zhenos's body. Gravitational pressure increased a millionfold instantly.
Krek! Krek! Luxios's five rebellious creatures immediately fell prostrate, their energy bones crushed instantly by the mere pressure of Zhenos's aura.
They roared in pain, unable to move an inch.
Zhenos raised his right hand toward the hollow sky. From the purest vortex of darkness, a weapon that had never before existed emerged.
A black sword with a blade that seemed to consume all the light in the universe.
Void-Reaper: Umbra Calamity.
"Void Consumption: Abyssal Devourer!" Zhenos muttered softly, yet the vibration shattered space.
Instantly, tentacles of darkness emerged from his sword, darting like black lightning.
Wusss! Slurrrp! Ignis, the fire phoenix, shrieked as all of its fire was sucked into Zhenos's sword until it was extinguished into lifeless charcoal.
Typhon, Hydra, Fenrir, and Kraken tried to revolt, but they were nothing more than food for the blade.
They screamed as their bodies were pulled in, stripped down to the atomic level, and vanished into absolute darkness.
Zapp! In an instant, there were no more monsters before Zhenos.
Zhenos lunged, leaving a trail of void behind him.
Before Luxios could even blink, Zhenos was in front of him, clutching Luxios's face with his cold left hand.
Krak! The sound of Luxios's light-jaw cracking in Zhenos's hand.
"You wanted light to rule everything?"
Zhenos looked Luxios right in his trembling eyes.
"Then be a light that is extinguished in the eternity of nothingness!"
With one horizontal slash from Umbra Calamity—Sring!—Zhenos split Luxios in two.
An explosion of nothingness occurred, erasing every trace, memory, and existence of Luxios from the fabric of destiny.
Luxios shattered, becoming atomic dust that would never be able to unite again.
The chapter closes with Zhenos standing alone in the center of the void, which was now completely destroyed.
In front of him floated the five marbles that had survived the chaos.
There was no sadness on his face, only a faint, cold laugh remaining on his lips.
He looked at the marbles, then at his own hand still stained with black smoke.
"Nine hundred and ninety-five more..." he whispered.
"And this time, there will be no betrayal ."