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As the light began to fade, the Phantoms were torn apart from one another and scattered, each forced towards what remained of the upper realm. The once-stable expanse lay fractured and dim, its structure barely holding under the aftermath.
Jagarette staggered, her footing unsteady as she fought to remain upright, her vision blurred and her senses failing her. Before she could recover, a spear of dull silver light tore through her skull, erasing her head in an instant. There was no cry, or resistance, only a sudden, brutal end as her body collapsed lifelessly to the ground.
Behind her stood Entares a dull sliver light spear in hand. He stepped out from the fading chaos with cold, effortless grace, his presence calm and absolute, like a being who had already claimed the World of Darkness as his own.
"Go."
Erebus dismissed Spectre, turning to face Entares.
The prey lunged at its predator, yet there was no ckas. Entares did not even raise his weapon; he simply moved, each step a quiet evasion, every motion precise so the attack had never reached him.
Elsewhere, Spectre sprinted towards a similar gate in the lowest realm, slipping through the chaos unnoticed, not because it was hidden, but because Entares chose not to act, not yet.
Erebus's body twisted and darken, violet-black markings crawling across his flesh as his form warped. Horns tore through his skull, and scales spread across his skin, a grotesque metamorphosis driven by the awakening of the Voidborn.
'He is nearing the Proto Kernel. They are strong, no doubt about that.'
Void-laced tentacles burst forth and coiled around Entares, binding him in place with crushing force.
"I will simply absorb you and end this."
Erebus said, his voice thick with certainty, as the void tightened its grip.
Noticing Spectre reaching for the door, Entares drew upon the fading remnants of Supernova. Though still partially restrained, he invoked the nigh-omniprsent move, and in the next instant he was already behind Spectre, a scythe wreathed in a dull silver aura resting in his grip.
With a single, decisive swing, he brought it down, the impact carving a blazing mark across the door as space itself parted beneath the force of the strike.
"If it were that easy, you could have done it without the transformation."
Entares said, his voice calm and unshaken, even as Erebus's hold still coiled tightly around him.
"You know..."
He paused deliberately, and the mist-born tentacles hardened mid-motion, fracturing with sharp, echoing cracks before collapsing into dust.
Entares descended in silence, landing with unnerving grace. Erebus's eyes widened in dawning fear as the weight of realisation struck him.
"Hmm."
He exhale gently.
"So, even a Godkiller can feel fear."
He looked up, a cold smirk curving across his face, the words dripping with quiet mockery.
Erebus steadied himself, drawing in the surrounding void energy into a breath, gathering it with intent to erase Entares completely. The darkness thickened, pressing in with a suffocating weight as it closed around its target.
"As I was saying…"
Entares began, his voice cutting through the tension. He paused, and in that brief moment, the void that should have obliterated him simply vanished, as though it had never existed.
"What… what did you do?"
Erebus asked, his voice stripped of certainty, disbelief settling in as he stared at what should have been impossible.
"Honestly, must you keep interrupting my villainous speech?"
Entares said, shaking his head with mild irritation.
"Zero Point, the art of turning void into existence… and existence into void."
Erebus closed his eyes, the weight of it settling in. Victory had begun to slip the moment Phase One failed to secure victory. It had crumbled further when Phase Null proved utterly useless. That single shift revealed the truth he had refused to see, Entares had never been fighting in earnest.
"What, have you given up already?"
Entares asked, his tone calm, almost curious, as he watched him.
"Nothing's left to use. So you really weren't taking this seriously?"
"Of course, I held back and gained new insight in battle. Desperation fuels transformation and transformation is growth. It's a simple way of manipulating oneself towards transcendence."
With a thought, a multicoloured energy aura scythe materialised in his open hand, replacing the dull silver spear.
"I told you didn't I. You will die. Only after you've seen the gap between us... only after you've tasted the real depth of that difference... will you know true despair."
He repeated those same words before he died and now, it's going to the thing they'll hear.
"You fought well."
He said, his voice cold, measured, carrying no trace of mercy.
"…but I am simply stronger."
With that, he brought the blade down in a single, decisive arc, the movement fluid and unstoppable. Erebus stood his ground even at the final moment as energy claimed him.
Without hesitation, Entares bent to retrieve what he had come for before turning his attention toward the door ahead.
Midway, his foot pressed against Spectre's corpse, halting him.
"God's Eye of Detection, huh. I almost forgot about it."
He murmured.
"He needs to know the truth."
From the shadows, Void Eater leaked forth, merging with the remains of Spectre's body, absorbing it completely.
Entares moved slowly toward the door, the multicoloured scythe resting casually across his shoulder, its edges shimmering faintly in the dim light.
Nihilius and Void Eater took a break at his words, leaving his thrumming with chaotic energy. He reached the threshold, the handle of the door cool under his touch, and stepped through.
On the other side lay a realm beyond the World of Darkness, vast and alien. Entares walked forward, each step deliberate, as if claiming the new domain before him.
To be continued...