The Twilight of Death Verse

“No,” Caine looks at Crystl. “I was easily fooled by my own father and turned me into… this… monstrosity…”

“I’m just a commoner,” Crystl sighs. “How can I become a leader?”

“You made the Cannibal Hunters Initiative so that criminal souls could get involved,” G tells Crystl the recent achievements he made. “You snuffed out nobles who supported Voix’s plans. Tell me… what are you planning to do with the initiative and the criminal system?”

“If possible, I can turn them into reapers just like us,” Crystl answers him. “The reason why the reapers are outnumbered is because they also get tired of working forever collecting souls.”

“The Final Resting Place,” Caine whispers and then explains to G. “Some of the oldest reapers who longed to retire, live peacefully, or just rest eternally are given the choice to age themselves into elderlies, or take their own lives by means of returning back to the soil of death verse. Most of the ones we used to know who, if still alive right now, could be capable of carrying the mantle of slayers or knights.”

“I pity that ugliness of yours,” G cures Caine of his cannibal form. “As of this moment, you are no longer a cannibal.”

“Not even… father could… cure me,” Caine is at a loss of words. “Thank you…”

“If your father truly loved you, he would’ve cured you already…” G sighs. “The cannibalism you are doing was actually poisoning you or rather cursing you to become that kind of shit. However, your soul addiction won’t go away that easily so I suggest that you stay isolated…”

“Voix is gone!” Crystl looks around for the Supreme Being of Death. “He’s escaped…”

“It would be dangerous if he’s gone to the surface!” Caine warns them.

“Then we have to go and find him!” Crystl morphs into a jet-like being.

“No need,” G gazes up in the sky.

Falling from the sky, Voix violently crashes down on the ground. The one who caused his fall, Noiricca…

“How strong is that woman?” Crystl feels the hair at the back of his neck stand. “Could she be at a Supreme Being’s level?”

“A few more push perhaps and she will be,” G sighs. “Well, I guess it is time to seal Voix. Caine, is this okay with you?”

Caine nods, trying to formulate his words but nothing comes out.

As Voix glances, he sees it, the core of this universe. Taking the opportunity for the delay, he aims for the universe’s core.

Noticing what is about to take place, Crystl tries to alert everyone.

However, the shot was made…

Chapter 5: DEATH REVERSE

“Hah,” G breathes off a huge sigh.

“Death Verse will crumble into dust!” Voix laughs hysterically, “THERE IS NOTHING YOU CAN DO ABOUT IT!”

“G, G!” Crystl panics. “THE CORE OF THIS WORLD IS HIT!”

“FATHER, WHAT HAVE YOU DONE?!” Caine roars.

“Yeah, but nothing will happen or is happening…” Noiricca’s calmness is reassuring.

“What?” Voix is dumbfounded, “but I hit the CORE!”

“You hit Terror, not the core,” G points over to an angry beast charging towards them. “Noiricca’s pet is probably pissed off.”

“Impossible,” Voix finally loses hope. “All our plans failed.”

G tries to digest the meaning of Voix’s proclamation, “It seems like Caine was probably part of your plan. The others could be the nobles who supported you but… you seemed to know more about the cannibal souls than the rest of us.”

“What do you mean?” Crystl seems confused. “Do you mean to say that somebody is conspiring with Voix?”

“Crystl, Caine,” G disrupts their attention. “Both of you will head back to stop the war from progressing. You may prevent the death of your loved ones if you have somebody to love. I’ll deal with Voix and his co-conspirator…”

“Crystl,” Caine taps him in the shoulder. “We should go, I’m afraid of what might happen to my sister and the ex-masters…”

Crystl clenches his fists tight, “G, tell me everything after all of this is over!”

Out of nowhere, Terror body slams Voix who is currently pinned on the ground.

“Woah fuck,” G backs off because of the force of the slam. “Noiricca, control your pet, would you?”

“Night Terror-san,” Noiricca pats the head of the red panda who is still sitting on top of Voix, “behave…”

G bends over to look at the pinned god, “You don’t look so good…”

“We’ll get going. Seriously, your creations are over the top… just like you…” Crystl flies off with Caine into the distance.

“Now that the kids are out,” G steps on the head of Voix because he has an antagonistic personality. “Tell me the true mastermind for these activities.”

“I want to negotiate,” Voix grins. “Just banish me and I will tell you who.”

“Let me give you a better offer,” G grins back. “I know that you hate Reax for some reason. Do you want to bypass the rules as I do?”

“Of course I do!” Voix roars in anger, “Reax created a cult of mortal believers that he is the only one true God above all! He continues to feed them lies! He basically owns the entire right side of the universe!”

“Strong belief and worship fuel our powers, as they say,” G sighs. “I don’t believe that much… but true enough, a selfish story about himself and only himself, I also would like to spit on his face. So, do we have an accord?”

Terror moves away from Voix so that he could stand. Noiricca prepares to intercept the Supreme Being just in case he tries to do something fishy. But Voix has his mind set on G’s proposition, something that Xeel had gone through in order to become G.

“Naxo,” Voix spits it out, “the Supreme Being of Life, Birth, and Reincarnation… … and the creator of most of the souls in the universe.”

“Okay, I believe you,” G opens up a portal and grins at Voix. “As for the deal… see you in the future~”

“Master G did it,” Tydon senses the decrease in pressure within the surroundings. “It looks like Voix has been defeated.”

“However, the war isn’t over for these cannibals,” Prince Etherio continues to battle it out with the cannibals while telepathically conversing with the others. “Why aren’t they stopping? Don’t they know that Voix’s power disappeared?”

“It seems like they don’t care,” Index analyzes the situation. “It could be that Caine and Voix were only the catalysts for the cannibals to work together against the Reapers. They want to break free…”

“What is your conclusion Index?” Afel asks while the overwhelming number of cannibals push him back. “These things tire me out. There are just too many of them! Some of them are just running for it… straight ahead, like we are the ones in the way…”

“These cannibals feel imprisoned. I’m sure that G has already known for a while…” Index makes his conclusion. “These souls are prisoners… criminals… and the reapers are the law. They’re all trying to break out…”

“To each his own,” Afel looks around and true enough, the cannibals ignore their fellow cannibals. “We need to alert every other reaper to secure the gates outside of this universe!”

“I’ll do it,” Tydon zooms away to alert the gate guardians at the kingdom.

“I cannot disturb the slayers as of the moment,” Index connects with the knights who are currently protecting the first layer from the cannibals who are able to get pass through. “Everyone, the cannibals are not here for war! They are trying to get out of the universe! I repeat, they are planning to break out of this universe! Please make sure nobody can make it out!”

“Did you hear that?” Claad Moir informs the CHI and the reaper soldiers. “Everyone, the cannibals are not after winning this war! They are trying to escape this universe!”

“Now that Index mentioned it,” Smowk Aargon turns around to catch up to the others who broke past him. “I realized that something wasn’t right when they let their comrades die!”

Looking up above, Myst Conveya sees Tydon zooming back to the kingdom. Seeing the slope, she realizes that the gates are in grave danger. “All reapers, please protect the gate at all costs! Don’t let anyone escape!”

“I’m here for a while now!” Fumi Belille defends the gates with the CHI and reapers. “At first I thought that they are planning on pushing through the kingdom, but when we were alerted… it alarmed us more!”

“Follow the dragon!” Myst Conveya orders the reapers, “We will prevent the criminals from escaping the Void!”

“Claad,” Smowk Aargon signals him. “Let’s do it, the golems!”

“Let’s do this!” Claad Moir joins hands with him, “Combination X!”

“Caine,” Crystl notices something off with the fallen prince. “Are you alright?”

“I’m starting to lose myself, Crystl.” Caine lands down on the ground. “You go on ahead… I’ll have to stay behind. Cannibalism had taken its toll over my reaper body. I am no longer a reaper… I am a monster…”

“I can’t leave you behind,” Crystl lends him a hand. “You need to redeem yourself and this is the only chance you can…”

“You’re right,” Caine coughs up some black substance. “This is my last chance.”

“Tell me what’s wrong, Caine.”

“This is the price I am paying for doing taboo,” Caine refuses his help. “You need to kill me… I’m starting to lose myself. I might end up devouring you. You have to do it…”

“I made a promise to your mother, Caine. I won’t kill you.”

“You’ll have to break that promise,” Caine starts to turn into a monster. “You must kill me Crystl, this is the only way! AGH!!!”

Crystl is confused. He doesn’t know what to do as he watched in horror as the prince turned into a monster.

“Goddamnit!” Crystl morphs his arms and legs into blades. “How did it end up like this?”

Without any warning, Caine hurls a huge boulder at Crystl hitting him in the head hard as he stumbles down on the ground. Crystl immediately gets up and dodges another rock throw from the monster, missing only inches. Surprisingly, Crystl can’t find an opening from the rampaging beast. It looks nothing like the Caine he used to fight. He needs a new strategy against the monster.

“KHILL MIEE!!!” It yells at him as it violently hits him like a speeding truck doing roadkill to a stray animal.

Once again, Crystl stumbles on the ground. As the monster crashes through a cliff, Crystl tries to predict its next move. However, the monster dives out of the ground drilling his gut as he is plunged into the sky. While on mid-air, Crystl morphs his arms into missile launchers shooting the ground below and hoping to get a clean hit. However, the monster is relentless and tries to grab Crystl’s blade leg.

“Not this time,” Crystl manages to escape from the monster’s grasp at the same time hitting him with a missile at point-blank range. “Got you!”

After the huge explosion, Crystl morphs back to normal. He surveys the surroundings, searching for Caine, just in case it attacks him again. From behind him, the monster pierces him through until its monstrous arms reach out to the front. Crystl endures the pain as he is hurled to the ground by the monster. Upon crashing down on the cold sandy floor, Caine follows his attack with a blast of energy from its gaping mouth causing a devastating explosion to where Crystl crashed. As the smoke clears, Caine is surprised that Crystl still stands.

“In order to slay a god,” Crystl extends his hand and begins to summon, “Trinity-X-Calibur.”

The majestic sword clad in pure darkness, handle like a crucifix with a ring encircling the intersection, and an irregularly unstable blade made out of unknown kind of indestructible metal, possibly Demisium constantly changes its shape according to Crystl’s will, makes its way into his grip. The blade straightens and stabilizes, signaling Crystl to make his move.

“KHILL MEEEEH!!!” Caine charges at him at full speed, “PHLEEEASSE!!!”

“Forgive me, Prince Caine,” Crystl poses a mysterious sword stance, “Requiem!”

Meanwhile…

Feeling the hole and the blood gushing out from her chest with her right hand, the inevitability that her regenerative powers stopped working, Evva glances over at Princess Strotus Darling. “How did it end up like this?”

“I’m sorry… I’m so sorry…” Strotus Darling tries to get on her feet as her opponent drops dead. She weeps uncontrollably kneeling down again as her knees weakened at the sight of another precious guru getting erased into oblivion. “Index, I did the right thing, right?”

Index hesitates to answer but is compelled to give one, “… Yes, your highness, you did the right thing…”

“Darling! ”ComulusJet approaches her, “Finally, I caught up with you…”

“Jet, your right arm…”

“It will grow back as beautiful as the previous one,” he brushes off his own hair with his remaining arm. “Good news, sis. The cannibals are retreating!”

“Wait, where is Livanne?”

“Here,” Nymbus Livanne waves her hand at them. She looks rather injured and limping, “Jet’s loss of arm looks worse though…”

“Have you heard from Crystl yet?” she asks nervously. “We haven’t heard from him yet…”

“Actually,” Livanne sighs looking down on the ground, “I think he is fine… but your brother… it disappeared.”

“You’re right,” Jet tries to feel for Caine’s presence. “Caine’s gone… and so is Voix and even G and his companion…”

“G and Noiricca left this universe to face another threat, I guess…” Index butts in. “Crystl has exhausted his energy and is currently recuperating at Layer 6. He needs rescuing before the cannibals retreating would find him.”

“We’ll go,” Claad Moir lands down. “You three will have to need some… fixing…”

He is accompanied by Smowk Aargon and Smag Jazz who are readily available at that moment. They all nod at the slayers as they launch themselves and blast off to rescue Crystl.

“Are you okay there, kid?” Fathor, Sleep Verse’s God of Reapers and Souls, slaps Crystl to wake him up.

“W-where am I?” Crystl wearily looks around as he wakes up. “Where is Caine?”

“There is no Caine around, kid,” Fathor responds. “Listen, you are still completely tired… but I think you can tell me where Xeel, my creator, went.”

“By creator, you mean… G?”

“Yes, kid.” Fathor nods, “where is he?”

“I think he went to,” Crystl remembers what Voix revealed to them earlier, “I think they went to Life Verse.”

“I see,” Fathor stands up. “I’m going to leave my own Sleep World Reapers to guard you until you recover or rescue arrives. I’m going to assist Lord G, they are on to something… I bet.”

“By the way, who are you?”

“I’m Fathor, although you might know me for Big Daddy.”

“You’re the owner of that Noodle House?!”

“Long story, Crystl,” he grins as he opens up a portal. “We’ll catch up with each other later!”

“Fathor-san,” Noiricca looks at him as he exits the portal. “I see you decided to follow us.”

“Am I late?” he asks as he lowers his head in front of G, his maker. “Lord Xeel, it’s an honor.”

“Time is different within Verses,” G acknowledges his respectfulness. “We arrived a few seconds earlier.”

“Master,” Noiricca tugs G’s shirt. “We have company…”

Fathor glares at the army in front of them, “Isn’t this a warm welcome?”

“They were expecting us,” G grins, “but they will not be foolish enough to attack us with me around…”

“So this is the entourage, I guess.” Fathor, showing apathy towards the life beings, summons his own reapers to guard G. “They’re not yielding, Lord Xeel.”

“Terror-san,” Noiricca drops her stuffed red panda, “Playtime…”

“Ah yes,” Fathor nods at the presence of Night Terror, “I, as the 10th strongest of Lord Xeel’s creation, am in great awe in the presence of the rank 1st, Ms. Noiricca with her very monster!”

“Master told me that if ever somebody gives me a compliment, I should acknowledge and thank them,” Noiricca, still expressionless, lowers her head to Fathor. “Thank you very much.”

“It looks like the Life beings are backing off,” G grins. “You gave them quite the scare. These Life beings aren’t the major gods of Life Verse though…”

*CLAP* *CLAP* *CLAP*

Suddenly, they hear clapping sounds as the mastermind, herself, appears among the army of Life beings.

“Suddenly entering my domain without telling me, typical of the Supreme Being of Sleep. However, you don’t look like him and yet strangely… you feel like him.” The mastermind voices out, “which is which?”

“You look more human than a Supreme Being,” G scratches his head. “Perhaps, you can tell me where Lady Naxo is…”

“You are talking to her,” she grins. “However, in this form, you will have to call me… Dr. Nasci Bios.”

“I take it that we are the same… full-human and full-god at the same time,” G then makes his introductions. “I am G Fallasleep and this one on my right, which is your left, is Noiricca and the one on my left, which is your right, is Fathor, pronounced as FADOR.”

“What are you intruders doing in my domain?”

“Domain… more like a madman’s laboratory,” G clears his throat. “I came here to ask about the cannibals at Voix’s maximum security prison,” G clears his throat once more, “I mean… DOMAIN. He told me that you were the mastermind, I’m not gonna ask if it is true or not.”

“Yes, I do notice that you didn’t trespass to ask questions,” Nasci seems unthreatened. “So, what are you gonna do about it?”

“Nothing much,” G grins. “I’m just gonna give you a warning… or something like a threat. Death Verse is under my protection so… FUCK OFF, BITCH!”

Three months after the entire incident in Death Verse…

“You’re uh… not a commoner, Cyrrus Crystl,” Queen Morts Cycloe, having mourned for the death of his son, reveals to him his past. “You are a noble.”

“Seriously?” Crystl is unable to process the revelation. “I don’t think I want to believe…”

“Your parents were killed by the same nobles you imprisoned.” The queen stands up and walks towards the window of her room. “It dawned to me that those nobles were working with my husband, Voix. You got your revenge… unknowingly.”

“How am I able to survive then?”

“I saved your life,” she looks at him straight in the eyes. “Your mother was my best friend. Back then, they blamed the cannibals for the massacre of your entire family. In history books, that famous event was known as The First Raid.”

“Kuh, I remember at school,” Crystl scratches his head. “It was the day when the first prison break happened. A lot of nobles died that day…”

“Yes, It is also the reason why Voix had the Death Kingdom made.” The queen held his hands, “This verse didn’t have a Zero layer back then… if only I knew that it was all part of his plan from the start. I’m so sorry…”

“It’s alright,” Crystl moves away from the queen. “I want to know how you saved me. What happened?”

“You were too young back then and I was searching for survivors with the others. I was one of those who believed that it was all part of a conspiracy. We split into groups, and then individually. Since I was part of the Slayers back then, those cannibals weren’t too much of a threat when fighting them one on one… and then… I went to Gem, your mother. Several nobles are dead in their mansion, nobles that should be in their respective homes. My friend was also there… dead. I was so sure that this was an inside job. There were a few cannibal carcasses there also… but the one thing that shocked me most was you and your weaponair. You were crying… probably because you saw your parents being killed in front of you. I knew those nobles killed your parents… because you killed most of them. They probably thought you were a cannibal because of the weapons that covered your entire body. When I saw you transform back into your normal self, I knew that you were Gem’s. I kept you safe and now you’re here.”

“I was already awakened back then?” Crystl walks to the window to get some fresh air. “That doesn’t make sense at all.”

“I knew that your powers would get you into trouble and so I asked a friend to use magic on you to downgrade your basic powers.”

“Who was that special friend then? Magic does not exist in this universe.”

“Lady Waxe, Supreme Being of Reality, the twin sister of Lord Xeel aka G Fallasleep,” she sighs.

“You downgraded me to a weapon caller when my power is to become a weapon, what is my awakened powers then?”

“You tell me,” she pats his head. “What makes your weapon so special?”

“I uh…” Crystl tries to remember the times after becoming the weaponair. “I remember being able to move normally like Fugn when he uses his power to slow time to its slowest, I also remember being able to touch light and darkness, I also remember exploding just like Jet without damaging myself, and well I think I can break the natural laws of this world.”

“Rule Breaker,” the queen names his awakened power. “Aside from Voix, I guess you are the most powerful death god of all. It’s fitting for a king…”

“A king?” Crystl’s eyes narrowed, “what are you talking about?”

“Death Verse needs a new king,” Queen Cycloe approaches him, “and you are the one I am choosing.”

“No, I will not accept that,” Crystl backs off. “You still have your daughter, Princess Strotus Darling. She should be next in line, not me.”

“She is the next queen,” the queen then insists, “and you’ll be her king.”

“That is not up for you to decide,” Crystl climbs on top of the window and shows her a card. “Besides, I am currently working for the Supreme Being of Sleep.”

“I see,” the queen grins at him. “May I know your name in that card?”

“It’s uh,” Crystl reads it, “Cyrrus Crystl Void. What’s the reason?”

“Void was the name of your father,” the queen walks heads back to sit down. “The first family, Void, named by Voix, himself, in honor of being the first of the noble families he made. Your father’s name was Void and your mother’s name was Gem. It’s creepy how G Fallasleep knew about those secrets. The rule of this universe among the Death beings, once a name is taken, it cannot be used again and the same goes for anything related to the sky, the clouds, the air, and the weather. Voix was too picky on those. Anyway, when you return, my daughter will be the one to choose who becomes her king.”

“I might not return,” Crystl pours his powers into the card. Suddenly behind him, a portal opens up probably leading to G’s place. Before jumping through the portal he glances at the queen, “About my nobility… I don’t want anyone else to find out.”

“Of course,” Queen Morts Cycloe waves her hand, “a noble queen will not spread gossips…”

After Crystl jumps in, the portal closes up immediately. The queen smiles though, for she knew that somebody was eavesdropping on them during their conversation. It was none other than Princess Strotus Darling.