El's aura surged, exploding outward in a dazzling display of untamed power. The air around him shimmered, heavy with the weight of his ascension as cracks snaked across the ground, lightning-like fissures that radiated from his feet. His eyes, burning with a fierce, unyielding light, bore into Adams with a look that could pierce through mountains.
The very atmosphere bent under the force of his fury, the once stately Hall of Eternity now trembling as though it could barely contain the storm brewing within him. Check back at m-v le-mpyr for more
His breaths came in ragged bursts, but there was no mistaking the fire in his gaze—a fire that refused to be extinguished.
"I wasn't always like this," El began, his voice deep and guttural, filled with a strange mix of bitterness and pride. He took a step forward, each movement deliberate, his muscles rippling beneath his skin like tightly coiled springs on the verge of snapping. "I was nothing... a speck in the vastness of existence, just like everyone else. But I had something—ambition.
A burning desire to rise above, to claw my way to the top, no matter what it cost."
As he spoke, the shadows seemed to deepen around him, his aura growing heavier, more oppressive. The other Overlords, even those who had stood by his side, began to shrink back, unable to withstand the sheer intensity of his presence. Sweat beaded on Garin's forehead as he tightened his stance, his massive body trembling beneath the force of El's power.
Hela, normally calm and detached, had retreated fully into the shadows, her ethereal form flickering with uncertainty.
"But when I finally reached the top..." El continued, his voice lowering to a dangerous growl, "I realized it meant nothing. The summit I stood on wasn't the pinnacle. It was only a hill at the foot of a much larger mountain."
His lips curled into a snarl, teeth gritted as if the very memory of it sickened him. His fists tightened, veins bulging along his forearms as he recalled the moment that shattered his illusions.
His voice reverberated through the hall, the sheer force of his declaration causing the walls to tremble and crack. His aura exploded outward again, sending shockwaves through the room. The Overlords around him staggered, their expressions a mix of awe and terror, unable to fully comprehend the magnitude of his transformation.
El's eyes, now glowing with an almost unnatural light, bored into Adams. His chest heaved with every breath, his body trembling with the overwhelming force coursing through him. His face was a twisted mask of rage, determination, and desperation, all fighting for dominance. There was a fire in him that refused to be extinguished, a drive that went beyond survival—it was obsession.
Adams, however, remained impassive. His eyes narrowed slightly, a flicker of amusement playing at the edges of his lips. He took a single step forward, the movement subtle but enough to make the ground beneath him tremble, as though reality itself was acknowledging his presence.
"I see," Adams said, his voice cold and detached, like a god surveying a lesser creature. "You've come a long way... but your ambition blinds you. You're still reaching for something you cannot grasp."
El roared in defiance, his body radiating with unrestrained energy. His fists crackled with power as he prepared to launch himself forward once more, to throw everything he had at the one standing before him.
"I WILL be the One Above All!" El bellowed, his voice shaking the very foundations of the hall.
And with that, he surged forward, his aura erupting like a star gone supernova, his eyes burning with the sheer force of his will.
Adams watched, his gaze unchanging, as El closed the distance between them.
Then, in a movement too fast to track, Adams raised his hand.
And time itself seemed to stop.