The Twilight of Death Verse

“Welcome to the second Crimson Squad Meeting,” Lightzelle greets everyone in the room with a great smile. “I will be your host for today’s meeting! Today, we will be having a discussion about the reason for this squad’s creation.”

“How are you holding up?” Savos approaches Vol-jan.

“Don’t talk to me,” Vol-jan glares at him.

“Alright, I’ll back off,” Savos sighs. “Usually I say that God loves you, but we were actually created by different Gods…”

“Would you stop?” Vol-jan groans. “I read the Bible of your world, I don’t care about your God!”

“Hey, keep it down over there,” Lt. Strika leers at the two of them. “The meeting has already begun!”

“As I was saying,” Lightzelle clears her throat. “Lord Xeel will now tell us everything we need to know about why we were brought here together. Lord Xeel, if you will…”

“Thank you, Lightzelle.” G snaps his fingers to magically present their mission objectives. “The enemies, surprisingly, are the Supreme Beings of Life, Creation, and Destiny. Also, the Supreme Being of Balance is neutral to all of these things that are happening right now. I don’t have any idea if the Supreme Being of Destruction is on any side of the team, but I am guaranteed that he might be with the enemies. This report came from the Chaos Seed, Bezal, himself.”

“Wait,” Vol-jan raises his hand. “What if Bezal is a double agent?”

“Really, Voodoo Doll?” Bezal stands up and glares at Vol-jan. “I am here because I want to kill my creator as well!”

“What did you call me, Bone Head?” Vol-jan mocks Bezal’s skull mask.

“WILL YOU TWO SHUT IT?!” Crystl yells at them. “I can’t listen with the two of you girlies going at each other!”

*BANG!*

After hearing the gunshot, they realize that G is the one who pulled the trigger. Shocked, all of them look behind to see that the wall is destroyed.

“It seemed like I forgot who I should be shooting because of the noise.” G sighs, “I was hoping that you’d listen…”

Chapter 7: The Strongest Gods of Sleep World

“So, I recently defeated the Supreme Being of Death, Voix, and he is currently sealed in eternal sleep in a secret place.” G points at Crystl, “that noble over there is the new king of Death Verse.”

“I never agreed to that,” Crystl raises his hand. “What else do you know about my past?”

“Your father was a good friend of mine,” G answers him honestly. “It was, however, a long time ago. My question now is… why did you reject the kingship?”

“I don’t have to answer that,” Crystl looks away. “All I can tell you is that I have other priorities.”

“Okay, I understand,” G then proceeds to continue with the discussion. “As some of you may have already known, I am fully human and fully god at the same time. It is very different from being part human and part god or simply put it… demigod. This is the reason that I can bypass the rules of the Supreme Beings. I bet all of you knows about this, aye?”

Rule #1: Supreme Beings cannot bring harm to their fellow Supreme Beings.

Rule#2: Supreme Beings can never harm their creations. If they do so, they will suffer a severe injury that would heal very slowly.

Rule#3: Supreme Beings can influence and bring harm to the creations of their fellow Supreme Beings. Bringing harm, however, is a form of declaration.

Rule#4: The creations of Supreme Beings can harm their creator and other Supreme Beings, IF… they are able to do so…

Rule#5: If a Supreme Being is incapacitated by another Supreme Being’s creation, the winning Supreme Being can do whatever he wants to the losing Supreme Being’s creations.

“Then that would mean that you own the Death beings,” Lt. Strika makes an intelligent conclusion. “You’ve defeated Lord Voix of the Death beings anyway.”

“Yes, that is true,” G looks at Crystl. “However, I’ve granted them their own independence. Their new king, unfortunately, declined the position so I decided to call my tenth strongest member to act as ambassador and advisor to her majesty, the queen of Death.”

“Like I said,” Crystl sticks to his previous answer, “I have other more important priorities.”

“As a human being, my name is Gabriel Crimson Fallasleep. Lady Xemp, Supreme Being of Time, as a human is a nurse just like Noiricca and her name is Suzana Miura Timeless. Of course, the Supreme Being of Space, Lord Axil, is Anthony Zeal Deepspace. He is a noble in a country within Sleep World. All of us have undergone the process of reincarnation.”

“How were you able to do it?” Gazbleir Celxion raises his question. “We had internal warfare because of reincarnation.”

“We also had those,” G assures him. “However, Sleep World is complex that the gods that I created had to bear if they would like to screw with me… which some of them did…”

“What is it that made you who you are?” Gazbleir curiously asks. “I need to know…”

“It’s a punishment.” G shows the mark in his eyes, “Before I went missing for a long time, I created an embodiment of the Sleep Verse itself so that even if I wasn’t there, my work as a provider of imaginations, ideas, and discoveries, will continue to do its job. I also made sure that if ever some of my creations went to Sleep World in order to mess me up while I’m clueless and ignorant as a mortal, they would undergo great punishment called the Night Fines. I also punished myself, you know, for leaving the entire verse just to pursue my goal in experiencing humanity. The punishment kept me human. However, the creation of Noiricca gave way to me getting back my powers from the embodiment of Sleep Verse and now… here I am. That was a Segway to the real discussion…”

“I’m sorry,” Gazbleir lowers his head, “and thank you.”

“So, cannibals. Life Lady Naxo is responsible for their creation.” G moves on with the discussion. “These abominable beings are the result of her experimenting with the souls of the mortals, particularly with the mortals who were basically evil in their previous lives of the left side of the verse. Now the question is… what about on the right side of the verse?”

“Let me correct you about something,” Cyrrus stands up. “We also have an Other Side in the left side of the verse.”

“Of course,” G scratches his head. “Why didn’t I think about it? The souls of the dead are immediately moved to that place.”

“Wait, what is this Other Side again?” Lightzelle asks. “We don’t have such a thing here in Sleep Verse…”

“Let me think,” G ponders for a moment. “Yeah, we don’t actually have an Other Side.”

“Why would that be the case?” Gazbleir asks. “We also use the Other Side when collecting and giving essences. So I was wondering why you don’t have any here…”

“I think I also know the answer,” Lightzelle draws into the blackboard. “Mortals undergo reincarnation. They can reincarnate into any type of being. The concept involves moral values that dictate the kind of being that you will be in the next life. Of course, memories of the previous life is not remembered… in most cases. The souls that do not undergo reincarnation may become lost souls that roam around the Sleep world to haunt or become guardian spirits to become spirit partners.”

“What about the Sleep verse reapers?” Crystl remembers Fathor and his reapers. “What are their roles if the souls get reincarnated?”

“Fathor’s job is to collect the souls of those who died in their sleep,” G explains to them the basic facts of Sleep verse. “We use those souls to increase the population of Sleep verse. Of course, just because I am the god of sleep, it would be a common misconception that this is the only thing that I can do. I can also create life and create worlds, destruction, and death, even essences… I can do those. The thing that separates us from each other is our forte… in my case… Sleep. Moving on with the discussion, Lightzelle, I want you to read this part of this book I am giving you.”

Lightzelle checks the title of the book, and the page he wants her to read, “The Other Side is a stacked world with Mortal plane stacked on top of the Spiritual plane stacked on top of the Ethereal Plane. However, even with the mortal plane being a part of the Other Side, scholars only considered the Spiritual Plane and the Ethereal plane as the Other Side. The Mortal plane is occupied by the mortals, the souls, the elementals, and the gods. However, because countless worlds had a mortal population growth, elemental and soul activity in the plane of existence decreased dramatically. The Spiritual plane is occupied by souls, elementals, and gods. In rare occasions, however, mortals are able to see and pass through this realm without dying. Finally, the Ethereal plane is the place for some of the elementals and more on the gods.”

“Now, how are the souls of the right side of the verse different from Crystl and Gazbleir’s side?” G looks at Savos and Bezal.

“The souls… who wouldn’t pass on had this aura that affects their surroundings,” Bezal recalls his past experiences, “There was this mansion where the ancestor souls never passed on and stayed there. When I set foot in its gates, I felt vulnerable and intimidated.”

“In computer games, I think they call that entering a dungeon.” G explains to everybody in the room, “So these souls can set rules into their own surroundings unconsciously, of course. It may affect themselves or invaders which makes them stronger than a regular soul. Are there cases in the Other Sides of the left verse where such events occurred?”

“None,” Crystl shakes his head. “Those who cannot pass on, we actually give them an ultimatum. After 1-5 years, finished or unfinished, they must follow us to either death verse or life verse.”

“So it is exclusive to the right side,” G takes notes of these findings. “The central verse or the main verse as they say… how is it different from the other, Vol-jan?”

“I don’t know,” Vol-jan looks away. “The universe I destroyed was a left-side verse. But… the one and only main verse, where I was sealed countless of times before my recent escape and immediate capture, had eleven religions mirroring the eleven Supreme Beings…”

“The souls, what have you noticed with them?”

“It’s not the souls, Gabriel,” Vol-jan remembers the events that led to his immediate capture, “the living ones… are capable of extending their souls into full-body weapons.”

“I see,” G finishes taking notes. “Alright, I want all of you to resume your training for now while I study these three different kinds of souls.”

“What about the souls of those people from your Sleep World?” Crystl curiously asks.

“I created the souls here and the souls of those who died in their sleep are purified and converted by Sleep Verse, itself.” G stands up from his seat, “As I said, reincarnation is the central belief of my religion…”

While doing their own separate training, Crystl sees G leaving the mansion. He thinks it is a good chance to ask him about some important matters related to Sleep beings.

“Lord G, may I have a word with you?”

G nods at him, “What is it Mr. Void?”

“If Noiricca is that strong already,” Crystl looks at Lightzelle, “and she is as strong as your third strongest creation, how strong is your tenth strongest?”

G grins, “you’ve seen him… the tenth strongest.”

“Who is it?”

“Sleep being of Reapers,” G calmly whispers his name, “Fathor.”

“You mean… that… guy?”

“The blue-skinned fellow with the shades, red fedora, black mustache and some coat like some badass gang boss that you always knew as the owner of that noodle shop you used to dine at for dinner?” G nods at him. “Yep, that’s him. Which gives me an idea…”

“What kind of idea is that?” Crystl senses something sinister again.

“How about you get to have a mock battle against my ranks 2 to 10?” G grins. “I reckon that would be great training experience for the lot.”

The others overhear their conversation and start to gain interest. Vol-jan, especially, drops his barbells and cracks his fists. Bezal, on the other hand, just glances at Noiricca. It looks like he is having doubts. Savos pays no attention since he acts only as support and healer for the squad.

“Anyway, who and what should we expect when we face your ranks 2 to 10?” Lt. Strika approaches them eagerly. “I want to have a background check on my enemies first before I jump into battle.”

“So, I get to face and fight her again,” Lightzelle remembers her past encounters with G’s ranked 3rd.

“Well, since all of you seemed pumped to get to face my other creations,” G paces with his hands behind his back, “I think I’ll give you an overview of what to expect…”

Rank 10 – “The Dream Reaper”

·Name: Fathor [FAD-DOR]

·Signature Skill: Summon Reapers

Rank 9 – “The Demonic Titan”

·Name: Cursio [KUR-SEE-YOH]

·Signature Skill: Summon Demons

Rank 8 – “The Wicked Darkness”

·Name: Kiri [KAY-REE]

·Signature Skill: Black Hole

Rank 7 – “The Principal Figure”

·SamonDetan / Sade [SA-DE]

·Signature Skill: Disorient

Rank 6 – “The Bloodbath Chaos”

·Afel [A-FEL]

·Signature Skill: Overwhelm

Rank 5 – “The Fallen One”

·Dark Guardia [GAR-DEE-YAH]

·Signature Skill: Reverse Strike

Rank 4 – “The New Beginning”

·Orchid Wednesday Leya

·Signature Skill: One Shot

Rank 3 – “The Ultimate Slayer”

·Inverna Ultiam

·Signature Skill: Cremation

Rank 2 – “The Lunar Empress”

·Curii Lunatique [KYU-REE]

·Signature Skill: Lunar Flare

Rank 1 – “The Nightmare Nurse”

·Noiricca [NU-WAR-IK-KA] or [NO-RIK-KAH]

·Signature Skill: Nightmare

“Remember those things,” G opens up and goes through the portal with Noiricca. “I’ll go and fetch them so… you guys just wait for a few minutes… even though this place is timeless…”

As the portal closes, Lt. Strika approaches Crystl, “I haven’t met them but… judging from Noiricca’s performance… they could be monsters as well. What do you think?”

“I already met the tenth strongest though,” Crystl glances at her. “He is literally a monster.”

“Well, I’m excited to see them for real,” Lt. Strika grins but then notices Lightzelle. “Hey, are you okay? You seemed to be shaking…”

“I’m actually excited and at the same time afraid,” Lightzelle breathes deep. “I once had a death battle against the third strongest, Inverna.”

“What happened?” Crystl asks with great curiosity. “Why did the two of you fight?”

“It was pretty complicated though,” she explains. “G already knew that he was a god back then, but he wasn’t strong enough yet. At that time, he had twelve Sleep gods trying to kill him. Inverna and the fifth strongest, Dark Guardia, was a part of the twelve. Of course, G was being protected by some other Sleep gods as well but it wasn’t enough though. Our creator, Lord Axil, though as a human he is Anthony Zeal Deepspace, ordered us to protect him and I wound up fighting her to death.”

“Gods are not immortal in Sleep world, right?” Crystl reaffirms.

“Of course we die, but we have our ways to return,” Lightzelle shows her a vial. “This contains water from the fountain of life. Drinking from this makes our death last for a week and then we are brought back to life like nothing happened. During our death, our bodies actually mysteriously disappear. About the match, it was a draw although G insisted that I won.”

“Why don’t you think so?”

“I was able to fatally wound her, but she remained standing,” Lightzelle clenched her fists, “while I was down on my knees, struggling to make it to my feet. I was already exhausted and she was about to slay me when she suddenly collapsed down to her death.”

“So that’s why you thought you lost,” Crystl smiles at her, “but I also think you won.”

Lt. Strika grins, “I believe you won too. There was no ten-count and it was a death match.”

“Well, you have a point,” Lightzelle lightens up. “I guess I’ll consider that a win then…”

A huge portal suddenly appears a few feet away from them. The portal emitted light that they could only see eleven silhouettes coming out from it. One by one, they come out starting with G, followed closely by Noiricca.

“Finally, they’re here.” Vol-jan prepares himself. “I’m not gonna lose to any one of them this time…”

As the portal closes…

Inverna’s eyes narrow at the sight of Lightzelle, “YOU!!!”

“Inverna, STOP!!!” G yells at her.

But, without listening to the warning, Inverna flies towards Lightzelle, and like an automatic impulse, Lightzelle does the same. However, with only a few inches away from each other, Noiricca uses her shadows to grab both of them before a collision occurs. This, however, does not easily stop Inverna as she breaks free from the left shadow hand and prepares to strike Lightzelle who also breaks free from the right shadow hand. A few inches again before clashing, Noiricca uses the index and middle fingers of her right shadow hand to pin the two on the riverbed with great force that both of them are unable to get any closer.

“You bitch!” Inverna yells at Noiricca, “Don’t interfere with us or I’ll make sure you’ll regret it!”

“Keep her down!” Lightzelle struggles to break free, “and keep me down as well!”

Noiricca, with her left hand free, summons the Injection blade, much to the shock of both Inverna, Lightzelle and the others who are bearing witness to the commotion. She injects her blade into the river with the contents moving and glowing rapidly in a crooked line until it reaches past the pinned goddesses. Seeing the attack before, the rest of the gods and goddesses caught in the crossfire flees for their safety.

“Lava Eruption…”

Inverna tries to move away, “SHI-”

*KABOOM!*

G covers his face as he moves away from the explosion caused by his strongest creation. The extreme heat coming from the eruption and thick steam filled the Timeless River.

“Dad, are they dead?” Orchid asks G.

“I don’t think so,” G looks at her awkwardly, “and your father is Xeel, I am just a reincarnation.”

“Old habits never die,” she grins. “Shall we check on them?”

“CHECK ON US?!” emerging from the steam is Inverna. She is rather unscathed by the explosion, “NURSE, YOU ARE LUCKY THAT I AM THE GODDESS OF SUMMER!”

“I know that Inverna-san,” Noiricca replies with the usual apathetic way, “that is why I used fire.”

“THEN WHAT ABOUT MY TARGET?!” she looks behind to look for Lightzelle. “THAT WAS SUPPOSED TO BE MINE!”

“I won’t let you do that, Sleep being,” Crystl emerges from the steam, a few meters from the line of the explosion, carrying Lightzelle who is also fine. “Have you ever taught you Sleep beings good manners and right conduct?”

“Oh, some bug saved her for me to slaughter later,” Inverna inspects him from head to toe. She notices that his legs are turned into some kind of booster made from futuristic technology. “What is your name, Death being?”

“Title: God Slayer Cyrrus, First name: Crystl,” he glares at her, “Last name: Void.”

“Hey, that’s not what you told us when you introduced yourself,” Lt. Strika raises her eyebrow. “Anyway…”

“So a real grim reaper, huh,” Inverna glances over at Fathor, “What do you say, dream reaper?”

Fathor remains silent while ignoring her.

“You almost gravely injured one of your squad members, Noiricca,” G pats her head. “At least, the Weaponair is around to save the day.”

“I sincerely apologize for my lack of understanding,” Noiricca lowers her head. “Will you be able to forgive me?”

“Of course not!” Inverna yells at her.

“I’m not talking to you,” Noiricca looks at Lightzelle. “I am talking to her.”

“That’s gotta burn,” Dark Guardia smirks. “You should keep your mouth shut from time to time, Inverna.”

Inverna clenches her fists hard, but in the end, she decides to let it go, “One way or another, I’m going to have my rematch, Lightzelle.”

Lightzelle nods at Inverna and then walks towards Noiricca after Crystl assists her back. She holds Noiricca’s hands and with a sincere smile she says, “I forgive you, comrade.”

“And that settles it, right?” Crystl takes a deep breath, “For now… I guess.”

Sade claps for Crystl’s performance as he approaches to congratulate him, “You passed my expectations, young lad.”

However, the more he gets closer to Crystl, the more it is for Bezal to recognize a familiar face of someone he once knew.

“You,” Bezal grabs Sade’s arm before Crystl gets to shake hands. “You’re supposed to be dead.”

“I beg your pardon?” Sade glares at Bezal, “Mind your manners, kiddo.”

Bezal gets irritated, “Why you?!”

“Hold it down,” G aims his magnum pistol at Bezal. “He may look similar to Meltan Luminoir, but trust me… Sade is my own creation.”

“I could even say that the King of Hell Verse stole my face,” Sade confidently raises his chin and then looks down on Bezal. “Get your filthy hand off my vest.”

Bezal licks his own lip as his eyes narrowed while looking at the rest of the Sleep beings. He then smirks at Sade as he takes off his grip on him, “This should be fun, ain’t it right old man?”

“Pathetic,” Sade turns his gaze back to Crystl. “Where were we?”

“I don’t know,” Crystl gets cocky as he turns his back on Sade and walks off with Bezal. “I’m getting all fired up, to be honest.”

“That’s another burn,” Dark Guardia laughs. “I seriously love to deal with these so-called strongest squad!”

“Sadly, I am part of that so-called squad,” Noiricca walks forward. “Of course, I won’t interfere with the mock battles…”

“Who am I going to fight anyway, Lord Xeel?” Bored, Kiri impatiently asks G. “I can do whatever I want with my target right?”

“Yeah, about that,” G already formulates his plans for the mock battles. “This is impromptu but, I want you guys to follow me to the mansion first. I will announce your opponents for later.”

In the halls of the mansion…

“This is going to be a good match for all of you.” G looks at Noiricca, “I want you to tone down the level of your powers as necessary. You will be facing off against Fathor and Cursio in a tag match. Noiricca, I want you to have the best evasion ever. Work your reflexes and don’t let their reapers and demons catch you. You may use your two stuffed animals to help you block them from tagging you, got it?”

“Yes Master G,” Noiricca lowers her head.

“Good,” G then looks at Cursio and Fathor. “24 hours… no breaks…”

“This should be great,” Fathor grins. “Are we allowed to play tag too?”

Cursio looks at G waiting for his answer.

“Of course,” he gestures them to the portal. “Since this is a timeless world, I will just use a stopwatch…”

As they left and the first portal closes, Crystl asks G a question. “Her battle seems easy enough… but at the same time… difficult, why aren’t you focusing on her power?”

“She’s very powerful already,” G pats his shoulder. “I just need her to be able to understand her surroundings and be more aware. It’s a step towards giving her the emotions she needed when facing defeat in a silly game. How would she feel if they end up catching her is something I am looking forward to.”

“You are thinking that she will lose, why?” Curii seems interested enough to ask G.

“That’s because I never told the two how many reapers and demons they can summon,” he gives her his gentle (malicious in the eyes of Crystl) smile. “That dimension is the limit…”

“True,” Curii sighs. “I hope she wins though…”

“Crystl and Lightzelle,” G groups them both. “I like your tandem so let me make your double battle against… Inverna and Dark Guardia.”

“This should be fun,” Dark Guardia grins. “I’m a demigod so go easy on me. Just kidding, I might go easy on you instead.”

“Let’s just fight them separately because I still have a beef to finish with that chick,” Inverna glares at Lightzelle.

“Deathmatch,” G sighs. “I have your totems with me… now move on to the portal. The time limit is one day and the game immediately ends when we have a winner.”

“Crimson squad first,” Dark Guardia grins as the portals open. “Let’s have a serious match.”

Crystl grins, “Can I use my Eternal weapon, G?”

“Of course,” G gestures them to get inside. “Alright next on the list will be Bezal versus Sade. There’s not much to be said, now get inside your own portals and let the blood flow…”

“Ready to experience another loss, kid?” Sade taunts Bezal.

“Let my sword do the talking,” Bezal puts on his draconic exoskeleton. “I will make you regret having that face.”

“Darkzelle versus Afel,” G opens up their portal. “This may seem random to you, Afel, but you’d come to realize that she is worth the fight.”

“Hopefully, you are right.” Afel nods at Darkzelle as she enters the portal first.

“Savos versus Kiri,” G looks at the Redeemer. “I want you to fight, not just act as support. Make him tap out or give up if you don’t want to commit murder, but fight him nonetheless.”

“Alright,” Savos nods. “I’m ready…”

“Don’t make this battle boring,” the Wicked Darkness sighs. “If I find out that he is boring, Lord Xeel, I will walk out on him.”

“Be my guest,” G checks on the remaining beings. “Lt. Strika, are you a swords master?”

“Yes I am,” Lt. Strika summons her Eternal weapon. “Diamanticus is my signature sword after all.”

“Curii Lunatique will be your opponent,” G glances at her. “Are you prepared for a sword fight?”

“Yes, Lord Xeel.” Curii nods as she unsheathes her katana. “I’m always ready.”

“Your majesty,” Lt. Strika pays her respects to the queen goddess, “after you…”

“Which leaves… Gazbleir Celxion and Orchid Wednesday.” G sits down, “Gazbleir, Orchid Wednesday will be the one to train you to be stronger. You will fight… but you must remember to keep on fighting your way out of it.”

“What are you going on about?” Gazbleir feels confused.

“I had modified your totem,” G opens up a portal, “and I already told her the details of your training…”

“You’ll understand when we get there,” Orchid gently smiles at him. “Shall we start your training?”

“Uh sure,” Gazbleir suddenly feels anxious. “Please, train me well…”

“I will train you the way I trained G when he was still like a cockroach.” Orchid then maliciously grins.

“You have forgotten about me,” Vol-jan feels left out and frustrated. “I mean, what the hell?”

“Oh… fudge…” G slaps his forehead. “You know what, I want you to do some errands for me.”

“What about my training?” he angrily stomps the floor.

“I give you your world-destroying powers back, then your training goes to waste.” G grins, “you get my logic? Your destructive abilities and powers go back to you. If your powers are returned, you will be second to none except for Noiricca…” G smirks.

“Oh… is that it?” he sighs. “You really are the sinister one here, even when my powers are returned, that nurse is still... Tell me that ERRAND…”

“We have the advantage of winning,” Crystl whispers to Lightzelle.

“What makes you say that?” Lightzelle summons her sword and shield.

“Teamwork,” Crystl morphs his hands and legs into blades. “They don’t seem to like each other…”

“And you think that I like you?” Lightzelle chuckles.

“Not the like… LIKE,” Crystl’s face reddens. “You know what I mean…”

“I’m just teasing you,” she grins. “Let’s show them our teamwork…”