Chapter 302 - Box of Soul

Two tornadoes of unmeasured strength stretched onto the heavens. Goddess Intherna hovered in one of red flames, whilst Staxius knelt on the floor with a black aura. 

"Daemonum Gladio," stumbling up, "-will you lend me thy strength?" he asked with a hand shielding Intherna's flame. "Prove to me that you're worthy," semi-transparent, she reached out and grabbed his arms. "With pleasure," two joined as one, the white eyes changed to crimson red, *Blood-Arts: Blood Blade of the Queen, Orenmir.*

*Unbound by the laws of Heaven to Hell; unshackle mine power, from Nevermore, I call upon the power of the Annihilation-Gate.* On his feet, *Thump,* the echo of the Death Element. Inside out; the dense mana flowed uncontrollably – veins burst; skin tore open. The spiral of power bulged, it forced Intherna back away; readied to fight, her eyes glimmered. Anticipation, a fight without holding back, she bolted downwards with ethereal weapons of Fire-aspect. *CLANG,* a shockwave sent ripples that cracked the ground, the tornadoes subsided the moment they clashed. Red hair levitating, Intherna changed from dagger to short and long sword, her speed increase. Mere shadows, illusions of her past stood as still image, she dashed around from place to place and attacked. Focused on her presence, the eyes closed; Daemonum Gladio in one hand whilst the other held Orenmir – both of which were long swords, he stood still. 

"Are you going to give up?" targeting tendons and vital spots, a well-placed slash at the Achilles' heel, *bam,* fallen backward, the goddess jumped on his chest then conjured an imprisonment spell. A hexagon from which rose her true might, pure divine flames. Maniacal laughter ensued; the flames brought her nothing but joy. She delighted in letting loose. 

'Did unleashing the A-gate bring more bad than good?' conscious, the pain intensified. Paralyzed from the inside out, the eyes shed tears of blood. Muted screaming, an overwhelming feeling of powerlessness – combining with the alter-ego did naught. Orenmir laid impervious to what transpired. Doubts, pain, confusion; the Death Element revolted against its host. The Symbols of power – all activated; interfered with one another. Precognition from Kronos, Immortality from Death Reaper, and Amplification from Nike; they waged war against one another. Blood-Arts, the power as nightwalker was reduced to nothing; Intherna hit his artery. Unable to activate Crimson Thread; the blood loss could not be stopped.

'Did you trick me?' asked Staxius.

"Are you blaming a weapon for thine failure to control thy power?" a voice echoed deep within.

Narrowly opened, the sight of Intherna constantly stabbing his chest in a tunnel of flame. Slowly yet surely, she continued to pound, from the chest, she moved to his face, a hot knife into the cheek, another in the neck, then horizontal inside the ears. She took pleasure and forced the dimly-lit eyes opened, magma droplets born off her index were dropped. It melted the eye and made way to the brain. Cracked under the pressure, the Death Element imploded, an explosion tore a hole where the heart would have been protected. 

"Done," panting, the flame lowered in intensity, "-that was fun," shuffling up, she fell as her knee gave to fatigue. "My flames didn't do much damage," laid to his side, "-you were strong, Haggard. I applaud that someone like you was able to endure my full power."

"Don't get so c.o.c.ky," awake, "-ready for round two?" smirking, the body regenerated. "I must thank you," stood, "-you killed me before I killed myself," lighter than before, "-it's my time to have fun." 

"Hold on a mo-" grabbed by the neck, he slammed her into the ground; blood splattered upon impact. Reborn anew, the Death Element calmed – the entrance into his power as a Demi-god. 

"Don't UNDERESTIMATE A GODDESS," she yelled with a shockwave that forced him back.

"I didn't," he smiled, "-that's why I went through all the trouble of letting you beat me to a pulp," Orenmir in hand, "-a god is truly powerful." 

"How can you stand after all that?" arms on her hip, the stamina and mana expenditure took its toll, "-aren't you a normal human?" 

"Trying to buy time, huh?" 

"Saw right through me," the same conniving smirk portraited itself, "-I'm ready for round two," the moment she spoke, her body turned to ash. "Intherna is what was given to me upon my ascension to god rank. I previously held the name Phoenix. Similar to you, I've got the boon of immortality. Rising from the ashes, we're copies of one another," wings of fire sprouted from her back, it radiated with the power of the sun. 

"We're similar?" he laughed, "-that could be farther from the truth. I agree that immortal beings are the worst opponent to go against. Finding the truly strong has been a quest of mine ever since I awoke my latent powers. Either snap a finger to kill a person or pull a trigger, I grew bored of always killing weaklings." 

"-and that is why you fight and murder, to find those who are strong," interjected, "-I know the feeling. I saw you grin when I had you pinned down earlier – that sight made my heart race." 

"Goddess," bearing a smirk similar to hers, "-you understand," the face lit with glee. 

"Yes," she laughed, "-I know," weapons materialized, "-we've found opponents against whom holding back isn't an issue." Ended, both pounced at one another, each blow, each spell, the area around them was rendered to chaos. Clash after clash, they fought. Death followed by rebirth, each awoke to continue, a never-ending cycle of senseless murder. 

*Clang,* pushed back, "-I do apologize for interrupting the fun. It's close to being fourteen hours; finish your assignment," whispered Creation. 

"Intherna," stopped, he yelled.

"What?" 

"You should know something," watching with a blank expression, "-I'm the God of Death. I've been sent to end thine life, Phoenix." Holes from explosions, a town rendered to dust – the scenery changed into one far worse than war. Every so often, lightning would strike and cause a fire. Heavy usage of Divine Mana gave birth to a sandstorm. 

"Quit with the bluffs," she laughed, "-even if you're the god of death, why have you not killed me yet?" 

"I've been holding back."

"H-holding back?" her voice cracked.

"Yes," vanished, "-I've been holding back," *Cough,* she spewed blood. "-It has been fun," hand inside her chest, "-god or not," grabbing her heart, "-all who await death will perish, sweet dreams, Intherna," closed in a fist, her body dropped. 

'What you didn't know was that each time I die, I grow twice as powerful. Phoenix, each time you died, you were reborn the same without increasing thy strength.'  *I command thee whomst I've defeated, I curse thee, soul, to be bound to mine; Box of Soul – Soulfeld.* Rather than heading to the realm of defeated godly entities, Staxius reached out and forced Intherna to his box. Picked up in speed, the storm raged forth, '-this land is the definition of hell.' 

"How did you like Draebala?" asked Creation. 

"Fun," the eyes wandered from left to right, for they stood in a white room as opposed to being surrounded by stars and planets, "-is there something the matter?" 

"You've passed the test. I thought Intherna would have sufficed to take thine life and show how much better low-tier gods are," writing in the ancient tongue, Creation drew up a portrait. "Haggard, you destroyed a being who I had created long ago to rival the current Lord Death. One of my many inventions – I see that you've taken a liking to her soul. Consider it a bonus, do with it as you wish, I shan't interfere with what my partner does."

"Do forgive my saying, can't help but notice that you've started to refer me as a partner. Did something happen to Lord Death?" flickers of light blinded the room.

"No, it was requested. He asked that I make you my partner. He wants to take some time off, the fight against the Titans has drawn out considerable power." 

"How goes the war?" ask Staxius now sat on the floor.

"No idea," it turned with an identical copy of Staxius's body, "-using Nevermore earlier broke your vampiric vessel. This body is an upgrade on what you have – using divine magic shan't cause that much trouble. Through this, I'll be able to siphon away the excess power, I've come for my payment." Teleported inside the new vessel, the old body crumbled into dust, "-congratulation on becoming a father, partner. I shall seek thy assistance soon."

Warmth and greenery, awoke under the shade of a flowering tree. 'I'm back,' stood, '-I feel weird,' the grass was damp, '-I'm n.a.k.e.d,' a sigh followed. 'A godly body,' pushed against the tree to stand upright, the latter uprooted effortlessly. "Excuse you?" stopped, sensing how the tree would topple over, a small push and the tree fell as if knocking over a pillar made of paper. 'I forgot,' facepalmed, the resulting shockwave knocked three birds out of the sky. "A walking hazard," *Shackle mine strength: Nevermore – Full Restraint.* 'Why,' the instant the A-gate closed, he dropped to the floor. "Creation sure doesn't care about how smooth the things he makes are," stumbling up, "-I wonder what time it is?" Butt-n.a.k.e.d, Staxius wandered around the garden – grabbed a leaf to cover up. A sense of dignity and respect for any misguided eyes. 

"Greetings overseer," 

"Majesty," screamed the lady, "-why are you in such an ungodly state?" she asked with her face turned away.

"Let's just say I had a rough time finding an outfit."

"If you say so," she programmed a portal to lead into the royal chambers.

*Click,* "-it's good to be back…" a spoon fell to the floor. "Did I come at the wrong time?" asked Staxius. 

"GOD DAMN IT," yelled Xula, Eira facepalmed. Ladies in wait surrounded the bed for they had come to wish congratulations to the Queen. Time displayed 15:30; the feast would be hosted at 18:00. Embarrassed, many of the girls screamed, some blushed fully. 

"Listen," nonchalant, "-I'm apologetic of being in such a state," he picked out clothes from the closet, "-it grew rather chilly," dressed all the while maintaining a cheerful conversation. "Thanks for the patience, I'll see you all for the feast later," with a bow, he teleported out. 

Bright red, some of the ladies laughed, "-come on mother," called Eira, "-at least he covered up with a leaf," an attempt at being serious failed as she breathed a chuckle. 

"Dear Eira," turned with a menacing look, "-it would have been fine, IF ONLY HE HAD CHOSEN A LEAF THAT COULD FULLY COVER THAT MEMBER," exchanging glances, the room gave into hysteria. 

'The guests should be arriving at the airfield soon,' reflecting on the fight, the face could but hold a smile. Letting loose after so long, "-where have you been?" a soft voice asked. 

"…"

"Don't ignore me," Adete latched onto a lock of hair, "-you disappeared from the face of the Earth." 

"Let's say that I was caught up in some business unrelating to Hidros," teleported into the mansion. Each breath he took once outside felt as if the cold air at dawn. Fresh, pure, and refreshing. Grateful to not having been brought up on Draebala. The suffering those people dealt on a daily put all into perspective. Compared to them, this place was paradise. 

'Intherna,' sat inside Void, '-the idea of making human puppets isn't that discouraging. Adding the knowledge I found about mana. Giving life into something shouldn't be that difficult. I won't use other lives as the catalyst, unlike Achilles, what I have in mind may be better than her. No need for a philosopher stone, an army of immortal puppets. Sounds like a great idea – Creation brought me to Draebala for a reason. Calling me Partner all of a sudden is perplexing. As far as he was concerned, I had no business relating to him – what caused the change?"

"Yes, what causes the change?" sat on the empty seat, a soft and gentle voice of a lady. Before leaving the mansion, the car came to a hard stop.

"Wow," added Adete, "-it���s you, vampire. Look, it's you as a girl," she laughed, "-I like her scent much better," she hovered over to the strange lady. 

"Daemonum Gladio, what are you doing here?" asked with suspicion, she laughed. 

"I'm you're alter-ego, have you forgotten about the clichéd promise we made?" she leaned closer, "-aren't you the charmer," she winked.

"Repulsive," he turned, "-are you here permanently or will you disappear?" 

"I'm here permanently," she grabbed his chin, "-you and I are the same, I can read your mind and you can read mine. We're twins, just make up some story; I've had enough of holding back and waiting for you to get strong. Like it or not, you now have a twin."