"Just you wait, Cosmos. I will have your head, and I will mount it upon the spire of this world that you have previously ruined!"

The voice was loud and full of anger. It originated from a coordinate that was blank on the map of Thea, a blind spot in the multiverse.

This was a part of multiverse so heavy with demonic energies that even the particles of Thea, disintegrated before they could penetrate deeper.

It was a scar on the face of reality, a place where the Demon Lords had walked, leaving behind a footprint of corrosion.

This was Solara, the once proud domain of the Kairos, the self proclaimed God of time.

Now, it was a festering wound. The golden sun that once illuminated this realm had died down.

And the place where orcs, humans and spirits used to roam, was now a home to billions of demons.

Inside the God space of Kairos, which was now in the form of a meeting room, Kairos sat at the head of a obsidian table.

His aura, once bright, was now stained with the black residue of demons.

He was not alone.

Three other figures sat in the chairs around him. They were the Broken Gods, who, like Kairos, had been enslaved by the Demon Lord Ichor.

Their eyes were hollow, their spirits crushed, living only to serve the darkness that owned their souls.

But there were two guests who did not belong to the this group of humans from Endor.

"You are blessed with the gift of Time, Kairos. And now, you carry the mark of Lord Ichor. I believe you can kill that Cosmos easily"

The speaker was a being of striking, unsettling beauty. He sat with a casual grace, one leg crossed over the other, inspecting his fingernails as if bored.

His skin was fair, almost porcelain, and soft to the touch. He wore elegant robes that seemed to be woven from the finest silk.

He looked human. He sounded human. But protruding from his forehead were two curved, crimson horns. The undeniable crown of a Demon God.

His name was Lom. Unlike the other demon Gods who wanted to fight the Gods just to appease their hunger, he had come to the multiverse to play.

Behind him stood his shadow. A massive, towering figure encased in jagged red armor that seemed to be coated in blood.

This was the Guard, a silent caretaker who radiated a pressure so heavy it cracked the space sorrounding him.

Kairos leaned forward, his face twisted due to hate. "You are right, but I still need certainty. That bastard stripped me of my dignity. He made me a laughingstock. For that, I need the artifact you spoke of. Without it... perhaps killing him will be a difficult thing to do"

Lom smiled. It was a gentle smile that felt out of place to come from a demon god.

"Of course," Lom purred. "We can't let the chosen one of the lord to be empty handed during a war."

He reached into his robe and pulled out a small object. He placed it gently on the table.

It was a pearl, a sphere of light-devouring darkness. It sat on the table like a hole in reality, whispering threats to anyone who looked at it for too long.

Even in the dim light of the demonic miasma, the pearl seemed to pulse with a heartbeat of its own.

"This is the Pearl that I told you about," Lom explained softly. "I do not know what your specific plan is, Kairos. But i know you will surely succeed. And with this pearl as a gift... I wish you luck."

Lom stood up, smoothing out his robes. The meeting was over.

Kairos stood up as well, a rare show of courtesy for the Demon God. He reached out and snatched the pearl, his fingers trembling as the cold energy bit into his skin.

"Luck?" Kairos sneered, his eyes manic. "Cosmos will be the one in need of luck."

Lom merely gave Kairos a glance, as he turned to leave. He walked out of the Godspace, his massive Guard trailing silently behind him like a chained beast.

Outside the God's space, in the space around Solara.

The air was thick with demonic miasma, as if something dangerous is lurking in the shadows, ready to devour you at any moment.

Lom walked through the demonic miasma like it was nothing, breathing it in like fresh air.

He looked at the creatures in Solara, these were not the lifeforms that were used to live there, like humans, orcs or spirits.

These were demons born from the essence of Ichor, and followers of Kairos.

"Master," a deep voice rumbled from behind him.

The blood-armored Guard finally spoke. "Why did you waste such a treasure on that fool? He is Weak. From what I can sense, he wouldn't be able to pluck a single hair from the head of Cosmos."

Lom stopped walking. The smile vanished from his face, replaced by a blank expression.

"You are a new servant," Lom said softly, "Forgive me. Perhaps you have not yet memorized the rulebook."

He turned slowly and placed his hand on the Guard's armoured shoulder.

"There is a rule in my service. In fact, I should say it is the only rule."

The Guard froze.

The hand on his shoulder felt light, almost weightless. But the spiritual pressure that accompanied it hit him like anything but light.

CRACK.

The armor on his shoulder fractured. The Guard's knees buckled. His vision blurred. It was Killing Intent. It felt as though an invisible sword was resting against his neck, waiting for a single twitch to cut his head off.

"And that rule," Lom whispered, leaning in close to the Guard's helmet, "is to never ask me questions. All of my previous servants died because they loved the sound of their own voices. They thought they were advisors and they were wrong."

Lom squeezed slightly. "You will not be an exception if you question my judgment again. Do you understand?"

"Y-Yes... Master..." the Guard wheezed, his soul shaking inside his shell.

"Good."

Lom removed his hand. The crushing pressure vanished instantly, leaving the Guard gasping for air, sweat pooling inside his helmet.

He wasn't dead. That was a mercy. But in that brief moment, he had seen the true face of his master.

Lom wasn't a noble demon like he portraits to the outside world. He was a monster who viewed everything as toys to be broken.

Lom resumed walking, his cheerful demeanor returning as if nothing had happened.

"As for your question," Lom said casually, floating away from solara, "I have my own plans for that fool. We are the Children of Discord. And that's what we must do."

He grinned wildly, his eyes flashing with madness.

With a swirl of shadows, Lom and his Guard dissolved into thin air, leaving Kairos to his own fate.

Back in the Meeting Room.

As soon as the Demon God left, the atmosphere in the room changed. The suffocating pressure was now gone.

The three Gods slumped in their chairs, exhaling breaths they had been holding for ten minutes.

"By the Void..." one of them gasped, wiping cold sweat from his brow. "That pressure... that was the second scariest thing I have ever felt. The first, of course, being Lord Ichor himself."

"That Guard was terrifying," the second God agreed, shivering. "Did you see his armor? It smelled of dried blood. I don't know what that little fellow Lom does, or what his family background is, but to have a bodyguard like that? He must have incredible backing in the Demon Realm."

"Yeah," the third God nodded, his voice trembling. "That Lom guy looked weak, just a pampered noble, but that Guard was creeping me out. I felt like he was going to kill me just for looking at him."

They had completely misunderstood the dynamic. Blinded by the Guard's size and armor, they had failed to realize that the pampered noble was the predator, and the massive Guard was merely a servant.

"Quit your yapping!" Kairos slammed his fist onto the table, cracking the surface.

The three Gods flinched, snapping to attention.

"Who cares if the Guard is strong? Who cares if Lom is weak?" Kairos stood up, holding the Pearl in his hands. The darkness swirled around his fingers, eager to consume.

"They gave us the one thing we lacked. Power."

Kairos looked at the pearl, his reflection distorted in its black surface. He saw his own madness staring back.

"And to possess more of this power, we must destroy Cosmos," Kairos declared, his voice booming with confidence.

"We must return the suffering he inflicted upon us a thousandfold. We will strip him of his territory. We will burn his worlds We will make him kneel before us!"

He began to channel his Faith into the artifact.

"What... what does it do, exactly?" one of the Gods asked, unable to hide his curiosity despite the fear. 'Was it a weapon? An explosive capable of destroying universes? Or does it capture souls?'

Kairos didn't answer immediately. The pearl began to vibrate. It emitted a low hum and then ribbons of dark light erupted from the sphere, wrapping around Kairos, then lashing out to entrap the other three Gods.

"This is just one of its features" Kairos whispered, his eyes glowing darkly, as if mixed with demonic malice.

The dark light expanded, forming a sphere of darkness around the four Gods. The walls of the meeting room seemed to dissolve.

"Let's go," Kairos commanded. "I will explain the rest as we travel. The hunt begins now."

ZOOM.

With a sound like tearing fabric, the dark sphere shot upward. It tore through the God's space and streaked into the multiverse.

It was a bullet aimed directly at the heart of the Cosmos.

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