And monsters indeed they were.

Above their heads, the sky was a canvas of divine madness.

To the East, the Shadow Dragon Kingdom roiled with currents of black smoke and golden lightning, a storm that blocked out the sun and stretched for miles.

To the West, the Void Shrine sat like a cancerous tumor on reality.

The Corrupted Buddha, made of rotting flesh and Void matter, loomed over the desert, its thousand arms tearing at the Dragon's scales.

BOOM.

The Buddha unleashed a barrage. Five hundred arms moved at once, wielding weapons made of pure Void, spears of rot, bells of madness, wheels of silence.

Inside the Dragon Avatar, Damien's eyes narrowed behind the mask.

"Too slow."

He twisted his mental command.

[Phantom Speed: Macro Scale].

The colossal Shadow Dragon moved at a speed unimaginable for it size.

It was as if it glitched, phasing in and out of reality.

It weaved through the barrage of Void weapons, leaving massive afterimages in the sky that the Buddha struck uselessly.

ROAR.

The Dragon lunged. Its jaws, wreath in blinding Golden Dragon Aura, snapped shut on the Buddha's right flank.

CRUNCH.

Fifty stone arms were ripped off in a single bite. The Golden Aura burned the Void mud like acid, turning the severed limbs into steam.

In a matter of seconds, the battle had transcended into what regular people could not even process as all kinds of incredible spells and abillities were being displayed

Across the continent of Elias, the war was no longer just a rumor.

Thanks to the Black Thread's network and Hephaestus's hacked Magitech crystals, every screen in the world was broadcasting the apocalypse.

And as such even the most barren of places had their eyes glued to what was going on

For example, the Dragon Lands!

…....

[Location: The Dragon Lands – Mount Ignis]

Deep within the volcanic caldera, the air shimmered with heat intense enough to melt steel.

Ignis, the Fire Dragon King, lay atop a mountain of gold and gemstones.

Like usual, he wasn't sleeping. His massive, reptilian eyes were fixed on a giant crystal screen embedded in the cavern wall.

He watched the masked figure in the sky. He saw the golden lightning crackling around the Shadow Dragon's jaws.

Ignis narrowed his eyes. He remebered the kid he had given his blood all those years ago, and he recognized his aura from the dwarf.

A low rumble started in Ignis's chest, a laugh that shook the volcano.

"That brat has finally grown some teeth," Ignis rumbled, smoke curling from his nostrils.

He remembered the audacious human who had barged into his lair years ago, demanding a cure for a dwarf. He had given the boy a drop of his essence as a test.

"Show them, Kid," Ignis grinned, revealing fangs the size of swords. "If you endup loosing to that Void rat then ill kill you myself"

…....….

[Location: The Kingdom of Light – The Grand Cathedral]

The atmosphere in the Holy Capital was suffocating.

The Pope stood in the center of the Grand Cathedral, surrounded by trembling Cardinals. They stared up at the magical projection hovering above the altar.

They watched "Zero", the man branded a terrorist, a heretic, a villain, fighting the entity that could only be described as heresy.

"The stars will return," a young priest whispered, clutching his rosary. "Godess of light, may your will guide us for the dark days ahead."

The Pope's hands shook. These days it felt like everything was crumbling.

The Dragon Empire was the source of the Void. And the "Heretic" was the only thing standing between humanity and extinction.

CRACK.

A sharp sound echoed through the silent church.

The Pope spun around.

Behind the altar, the massive marble statue of the Goddess of Light, the symbol of their faith for a thousand years had developed a fracture.

The crack ran from the Goddess's heart to her eyes.

The Cardinals gasped.

"The balance is shifting," the Pope whispered, horror dawning on his face. "The Heavens will no longer remain still, we must prepare."

…....

[Location: The Slums of the Dragon Empire]

In the muddy, rain-slicked streets of the Outer Districts, there were no cathedrals. There were no mountains of gold.

There were only huddled masses, beggars, thieves, laborers, and the sick.

They gathered around stolen crystals and flickering screens in the mud. They watched the battle in the sky with wide, teary eyes.

They didn't see a terrorist. They didn't see a noble.

They saw the mask. The jagged "0". The coat that rippled like shadow.

"It's him," a crippled old man whispered, pointing a shaking finger at the screen.

"It's the Zero!."

"He came back," a woman sobbed, clutching her child.

"The nobles ran. The knights turned into monsters. But he came back for us."

A chant began to rise from the slums. It spread to the Refugee Camps of the Elves. It echoed in the icy tents of the Beast Tribes in the North.

"Zero... Zero... Zero..."

At this moment he wasn't a villain anymore. He was the only prayer they had left.

…....….

Back in the shattered sky, the cheers of the world couldn't reach Damien.

He was panting heavily inside the Avatar. Sweat soaked Lyra's clothes beneath the trench coat.

SPLAT.

The Void Buddha, which had just lost fifty arms, shuddered.

Black mud erupted from the wounds. In less than a second, the arms regrew. The weapons reformed. The damage was undone as if it never happened.

"Is that all?" the Prince's voice mocked, booming from the Buddha's weeping mouth.

"Are you getting tired, Zero?"

Damien watched the regeneration with a sinking heart.

He had incinerated the Prince's body twice. He had crushed the Shrine's foundation. But the Void simply... refilled.

'He's right,' Damien realized, wiping blood from his nose.

'It's like I'm hitting water with a sword. No matter how hard I strike, it just flows back into place.'

The Prince laughed, the sound grating on Damien's soul like sandpaper.

"You possess great power, Voss. But power is finite. The Void is infinite."

The Buddha's thousand arms raised again, preparing another volley of annihilation.

"You cannot kill Nothingness with Power."

Damien gritted his teeth, forcing Lyra's trembling body to stand straight.

'Then I won't use power,' Damien thought, his eyes hardening.

'I need something else.'

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