Pin drop silence reigned. Broken occasionally only by crackles of dying fire or cackles of lightning flashing through the sky.
As though nature itself paid golden reverence to the only living being over a distance of a thousand kilometers.
His head remained bowed. His black cloak dripped with blood and grime.
By his side, a scythe stood tall, stabbed like a banner into an overlarge slain serpent nearby.
One of his many casualties.
A quiet wind whistled around. Flapping still standing but defeated banners. Sending a hollow through the crumbled remains of armor and broken dreams of all those corpses.
Smoke curled lazily toward a blood-red sky. Painting morbid strokes across the dying sun.
Reeking debris, acrid smoke and blood filled the air.
Fires still burn around, consuming all in sight; a proof that it wasn't just normal.
Vultures circled overhead, whining in anticipation of a feast.
All in testament to the gruelling battle that had ended a few hours ago.
A quick glance at the horizon displayed millions of corpses, all burnt beyond recognition.
Number more than hundreds of millions.
Just like an apocalypse. The whole realm, obliterated in one stroke.
And yet, the dark haired teen, slightly panting, didn't care.
Not even in the slightest.
His red eyes still blazed with insatiable killing intent.
Even the vultures, mere birds incapable of intelligence, could sense. Thus, they dared not to go near the ground.
'You see how tired you are? You'd have just considered my–'
'Shut up, Archstar.'
The Scythe fell silent instantly. The black haired kid raised his head up. Fixing his eyes on the horizon.
He nodded in satisfaction at the evidence of his bridled power.
'It's still not enough…You know already, don't you?'
The teen closed his eyes tight and opened them again.
The red glow in them slowly faded away. Reverting them to their original purple.
'I know. Quit trying to make me talk.'
The wind blew again, ruffling through his long lushy black hair. It reached all the way down to his waist, giving him a feminine look.
Except for the eyes. They held no warmth at all. Reminding only of fathomless depths.
Which, considering who he was, or rather "what" he was, shouldn't be a mystery.
'Don't the winds remind you of something, Umbra?'
A soft hiss told the Scythe to draw his boundaries. Not to keep pressing his luck.
'I don't go by that identity any longer.'
'...'
'Not to me. You've not changed that much since I knew you.'
Now, the guy called Umbra actually laughed. The sound was unbelievably melodic. So unfitting of someone who'd caused all this chaos.
'Your idea of a joke's pretty lame, Archstar.'
He glanced around, then his gaze rested on two separate pieces of scales that once existed as a dragon's hide.
He stretched his hand, as they both floated to him. In a wave of purple energy, they blended seamlessly to form a simple mask.
'They do remind me of the Whispers, in a way.'
Umbra's eyes remained sentimental as he turned back to the Scythe, now silent.
'They saved my life after all.'
'Yeah, you could say that,' Archstar's voice echoed in his head nonchalantly. 'Hey, listen up, you're about to have company.
Umbra's eyes narrowed, as he cast his senses around.
'They might be friendly. There's someone familiar among them.'
'Might,' Umbra reminded, finally rising to his feet. 'She's betrayed me before, even though she was forced to.'
'She did let you in on the plan!' Archstar protested indignantly.
'But still…' Umbra cut it off coldly, 'It was betrayal, wasn't it? Look where it got me in the end.'
Archstar didn't speak again, and Umbra sighed deeply in some trepidation.
'I'd have to avoid a fight by all means. And that's a remote possibility, as she's now a daemon.'
'A daemon whom one of your rivals is madly in love with,' Archstar added, with a touch of flourish and inevitability.
'Thanks, but what's that supposed to mean?', Umbra snapped, still gazing around.
'He's surely going to tag along.'
' Yeah, I love your optimism, thanks a lot. Then, I guess I'm left with no option.'
'Umbra, this guy's killed you before,' Archstar reminded with something remarkable like mockery evident in his tone.
'He wasn't alone then.'
' What's the guarantee that he'll be this time around? The Rival Princes now go along in groups.'
…!
Archstar laughed on seeing the tiny vein throbbing in Umbra's temple.
'Using that technique was a colossal mistake then.'
Umbra sighed, facepalming himself.
'I tried to warn you, but you wouldn't listen. And if they kill you this time, you'll die for good,' it added, and Umbra knew it wasn't joking any longer.
'If I'm going to die, I'm taking them along with me,' he swore with a determined face.
Rage and revenge fuelled his resolution as he waited patiently.
'But the technique was pretty effective, wasn't it?' Archstar continued conversationally.
As though his wielder wasn't under a possible siege currently.
Umbra opened his mouth to reply when he sensed soul energy behind him.
And two familiar ones at that.
He'd expected a party of ten or so…but he met an army.
'Well…long time no see, it's been.'
His voice dripped with contempt, cold enough to freeze molten steel.
Startling the two girls behind him, vanquishing all their bravery in an instant.
Umbra turned to look at the twins, one he'd once loved, and the other, once treated as family…
Before they backstabbed him.
Anger pumped through his body like magma preparing to erupt, but he calmed himself down, and offered a gracious smile.
'An army huh? Not quite the kind of 'welcome back to life' party I was expecting.'
Elsa and Bella Diatsca, stared in horror at the teen they'd once called a friend tighter than family.
And then at wreckage and mass carnage he'd just caused so casually.
The Umbra they knew was dead.
Elsa opened her mouth, her thoughts spiraling behind her eyes.
She needed to be sure about this.
'This can't be…You're to supposed to be dead…'
'Tales often embellish the truth, my dear Elsa,' Umbra's voice remained steady even though Elsa tried desperately to find any emotions attached.
'And I find it oddly comforting that you have the nerve to say that, even after partaking in my death…it means that you don't consider me a monster, do you?'
His words cut like daggers.
Elsa's eyes blurred, and a single tear leaked out. The army behind her exchanged confused glances.
A light smile escaped Umbra's lips on seeing her reaction.
Elsa reached out with a hand, unconsciously taking a step forward.
But a hand caught her by the scruff of her angelic garb, stopping her.
'Don't, sister. He's not the Umbra we once knew.'
Elsa shrugged off her twin's hand, trying to anchor herself to reality.
The guilt she felt now threatened to crush her very soul. Unshed tears burned in her eyes, but she couldn't let them flow.
Umbra halted in his thinking, glancing at her again.
He could feel her sincerity…truly he bore no grudge against her nor her sister.
But then…
He had an unfinished mission, and sentiments would only slow him down.
Umbra took a step forward.
Toward Elsa.
Crippling silence hung over like a storm cloud over them.
He approached her confidently.
Only then did her army realize that they couldn't move. Not even a strand of muscle shifted despite all their attempts.
'Remain still,' Umbra warned, 'If you don't want to –'
Suddenly, a random soldier managed to break the jinx and move. He celebrated with a yell, but his body instantaneously imploded.
The sound of bone crunching and blood spurting filled the air. Elsa and Bella would have screamed if they could move.
But Umbra...he only shrugged.
Like it was nothing. Something he did every other day.
'– That's what I wanted to warn you about,' he finished calmly.
He reached the terrified sisters and smiled at them.
'I'm about to give you a privilege, as my old friends.'
Emotions weighed deeply on his words, and even the still soldiers could sense it too.
'Look into these eyes, and you shall know the truth…I was Umbra Ashmedai, but now…'
He turned away, leaving them breathless. He could almost hear Bella's heart threatening to beat out of her ribcage.
Dread settled over her like a smothering bedspread, but she remained impressively impassive.
Umbra noticed.
Purple rays of light shimmered across their vision settling over every soldier. As the rays of light receded towards the ground, so did the soldiers.
Absolutely painless.
Not even a single person screamed.
Because they didn't notice.
He obliterated them quietly from existence, all in a heartbeat.
'Sorry, but I can't have them blabbering about.'
Umbra stretched out his two hands, and both the structured mask and scythe came floating to his hand.
'Relish this moment for the last time, Elsa,' he warned, as his fingers closed around his Scythe.
Elsa looked around, only just noticing that her army was gone.
'What are you going to do?'
'Leave a message. I'm declaring War on all the Realms. And you'd be the one to pass along the message for me.'
'Are you mental?' Bella broke out of her terror reverie. 'You'd need an army for starters.'
Umbra ignored her completely.
'I'm going to erase the memory of this meeting from your mind, but not my message. It's a risk I can't take.'
Umbra walked more closely to Elsa and stopped a few meters away from her.
Bella glanced from Umbra to Elsa, wondering what this was all about.
'She's betrothed to the Prince of the Heavenly Realm,' Bella remarked, earning herself a glare from her sister.
'So, Barak's now Adonai's heir?', Umbra noted with a small smirk.
But his gaze fell. Elsa detected an infinitesimal tone of disappointment in his voice.
That brightened her mood exponentially.
Umbra stopped suddenly, gripping his chest with a sudden decline in aura.
'You've reached your limit,' Archstar said worriedly. 'I warned you that this would happen, but–'
'I know…' Umbra voiced out, regaining his composure.
Elsa still watched him worriedly, her gaze searching.
'One technique did all these?' she asked quietly, causing Bella to smirk.
'The Archbomb, isn't it?'
Umbra staggered back, trying to regain his previous regal stance.
But to no avail.
His energy source had been depleted almost completely.
That's what you get for using an insane energy consuming technique just a while after a torturous experience in the Dark Realm.
'Let me–'
Elsa reached out, only trying to help. But her action seemed to have reignited Umbra's backup strength.
He caught her hand, inches above his chest.
'Don't bother.'
That voice.
Still Umbra, but a different side of him. The part she never wanted to see again.
Elsa recoiled involuntarily. It dripped with so much contempt that it didn't sound human.
Umbra plucked the mask from where it floated in the air, and turned to Elsa one last time.
'Remember…tell Adonai to prepare for War.'
'Wait,' Elsa cried as he made to turn away. 'Why are you doing this?!'
He could sense the pain and frustration in her voice.
In a flash, he was behind her.
He put his hand on her shoulder, and squeezed it sympathetically.
'It's not something I can explain. But it's all for the greater good.'
As he pulled his hand from her shoulder, a blue strand of energy came off with it.
Elsa fell motionlessly to the floor, invoking a wave of panic from her sister.
'What did you do–'
Umbra was behind her in an instant too, and he repeated what he had earlier done with her too.
She fell too, without another word.
Of course, they won't understand, but…
He did.
War was the only way to bring all this Pain, all this suffering to an abrupt end.
He had a plan. But it was a very long one.
Fraught with death, destruction and bloodshed all through.
Let them call him a villain. Let the survivors whisper his name like a curse.
He'd abolish Pain, and create a new world.
A world of only Peace.
He put on the mask, and sealed it to his face in a shimmer of bright purple.
And the final part of that plan was killing God.