Suddenly, everything froze. It was as if someone had pressed pause on existence itself. Shadows clung to the ground, and sound seemed trapped in amber as everything was dead and silent, as the world seemed to lose all its color.
Suddenly, a pitch-black cocoon covered Julius' whole body, but as it did, time seemed to snap back into place, and reality tumbled forward, spilling every frozen fragment at once. As if a dam broke, Noel's attack that had been suspended mid-air poured down like furious rain, its harsh intensity resuming bombarding Julius as if nothing had happened at all.
But reality told a different story; the black cocoon covering his entire body made all the difference, and Noel clearly noticed it, even though the fury of attacks covered his entire body, and the cocoon took them on like it was nothing.
Suddenly, she froze, and realization dawned upon her face. Anger was clearly reflected in her clear and beautiful amethyst eyes, but if one were to look straight in them, they would clearly feel a chill run up their spine. She clenched her fist, and the huge formation above her started disappearing in motes of light.
Right now, Noel's expression promised destruction with no salvation or a chance of reincarnation. Words were not needed; her expression said it all. Even though Julius was still cooped up in that cocoon, he still felt her stare, and it was making even him uncomfortable.
"I see, so you decided to collaborate with them. I was wondering where you got all that power, but now I know, now I regret my decision to marry you, I now purely despise the person you are and the person you're becoming. If only I hadn't met you, maybe my life would not be filled with such misery right now."
Suddenly, the black cocoon cracked to reveal a battered and bruised Julius, looking pitiful as ever. The look in his eyes clearly indicated that he heard everything that she said to him, but even now, he still looked indifferent.
"I did this for our own safety," he spoke in a hoarse and cracked voice that was barely a whisper, but she clearly heard him.
"Don't give me that crap, Julius. You were once better than this, and the Julius I know would have never stooped this low."She said, her voice cracked, and on the verge of tears.
"You disgust me, Julius, and the least you owe me is an explanation. So, tell me what changed. You were once a better man than what you are now, so tell me what changed DAMIT!"
All she got in return was dead silence from the man she once loved, the man she once would willingly sacrifice her own life for, but clearly that man was no more, and the person in front of her was clearly not him.
Suddenly, a dark aura started to cover Julius's form, and his face crunched up in pain as the aura got more and more potent.
"You're a fool, do you know that?" Noel said as she stared down at him."Everything has a price here, and the actions you have just taken".
Noel gave a sad sigh before she went silent for a few seconds
"I just hope you understand the consequences of your actions and are ready to face them, oh, and one more thing, I'm curious to know how you got involved with those pathetic dark gods anyways, but knowing you, you wouldn't tell me even if I begged, so that's useless".
Meanwhile, the aura surrounding Julius just got stronger and stronger until his whole frame got covered in pure darkness that not even light could pierce through; it seemed as if light was consciously avoiding where he was, leaving only darkness to remain.
Julius felt pain, extreme pain to the point that he felt as if his whole body was being destroyed and remolded at the same time.
being not able to resist it, he screamed at the top of his lungs while his head jerked upward, sending a massive shockwave that spread in all directions.
Two massive black wings sprout from his back, while two horns grew on his head, and a tail sprout from his back as his eyes turned pitch black. The pitch-black aura receded, revealing his new form to the world.
Meanwhile, Noel stood there and watched the whole process happen like it was none of her business.
"You leave me no choice," she said as Julius looked her way as she said.
"I cast aside my mortal veil… and awaken as the divine and call upon the power of the heavens. Heavenly seraphims descent!"