God of Nothing

"Ugh!"

Aleph pulled himself up with difficulty. I have to get outta here, He thought. The ground around him gave way from the demon lord's massive blow. His exosuit wasn't moving like he wanted it to. It had exhausted its mana stores protecting him from that last attack. He left it there on the ground, continuing to fight with his bare body. He saw flashing lights in the distance, massive clashes of power that shook the entire world.

It's only him left. We can do this. He psyched himself up. He floated up to where the fight was going on, eager to finish this once and for all.

He got up close, seeing two figures clashing. Two heaven defying figures, trading blows that would level cities. Aleph summoned his strength and charged towards one of them. His after image was reminiscent of a dragon's, soaring to the air straight through his adversary. 

His attack struck true, the maws of the dragon tearing a massive chunk off of the demon lord. Aleph didn't stop, turning around for another strike. The demon was already reforming by the time he hit him again. This time, however, two massive hands stopped his momentum.

"Human! Enough of this!" The demon lord bellowed. They hung in mid air for a second, each struggling for control.

"Look around you! This world is already ruined beyond repair. It's already accepted the gift of oblivion, so why can't you?!"

He almost spat out the words, tone full of accusation.

Aleph stayed silent, struggling to keep the demon lord in place. A growing heat from the ground served as his signal.

"Now, Emily!" He shouted, emitting a red lightning that stunned his opponent. He left the area immediately, knowing the attack that would soon follow.

A blue comet flew from the ground, crossing the distance at the speed of light. It crashed head first into the back of the demon lord, burning him into a crisp.

The light faded, revealing a spear that had buried itself into the demon lord's heart. His body was all but ashes. Aleph went to Emily's side, both panting as they watched the demon lord disintegrate into nothing. His screams of agony blanketed the evening. Eventually, however, agony turned into ecstasy, raising the hairs on the back of Aleph's neck.

"Hahahahahahaha! You think this is the end? Fools!" The demon lord shaking with glee. With the last of his strength, he offered up a prayer to his deity.

"Oh, God! Use my body and consume this pitiful world!"

The demon lord was all but a torso at this point, his body all but gone. Aleph and Emily stared in horror as, instead of bottoming out, the demon lord's mana began to heighten. Aleph was dumbfounded, clutching Emily for support.

"No…" She whispered beside him.

The world shattered into blackness, where even the moonlight was nowhere to be seen. Aleph was frozen in fear, as the black nothingness converged on the demon lord's smoldering corpse. It dampened the flames and enveloped it, enclosing it in obsidian. The condensed blackness formed around it, coalescing into a creature as big as the sky itself. A massive eye looked down on them all, a grim reminder of the enemy's divine nature.

Here he was at last: Erebos, god of the abyss.

"Looks like this is it," He heard Emily say beside him. She focused all her mana to a single point, that being the spear that was still stuck inside the demon lord's chest. The being in the sky's lone eye swirled, slowly becoming a black hole set to devour everything.

"I need your help, my love." She said quietly, one hand still clutched firmly around Aleph, the other held out towards the spear she could not see. Aleph brought his hands together, bringing forth the dragon once again. It covered them both, keeping them in place as everything in the world was sucked in. Aleph blinked back tears, seeing his comrades bodies be sucked into the void. 

He let his rage fuel him, squeezing every bit of energy he could from the dragon heart. The illusory dragon roared in response, letting out a fierce breath that blotted the entire sky. Bright orange light collided with the blackness, and for a moment, Aleph dared to hope.

But alas, the call of the abyss was too much to bear. Erebos' eye devoured the light and began pulling in the very platform they were standing on. The dragon began to fade, no longer able to protect the pair from the nothingness headed their way.

"Good work." A victorious whisper beside him uttered. A flick of her wrist, and all came to a standstill. Blue light emanated from within Erebos.

A supernova exploded from within the god, finally shattering the blackness. Aleph shielded his eyes from the light as it burned away the final evil. It stayed overhead for a while, as if a new sun had been born.

Aleph looked to his wife with joy and relief, only for fate to hand him one final tragedy. Emily was deathly pale. Only now did he notice the warmth slipping away from her body, The trail of blood that emerged from her abdomen. Tears filled his eyes once again as he held her tight.

"No, no… Please, Emily…" He begged. She only smiled, using the last of her strength to brush a tear from his eye.

"Why the sad face? Smile, Aleph. We've won."

Victory was the furthest thing from his mind. Aleph held Emily in his arms, weeping as the light overhead died down. Through his tears he could see her still smiling face, seeing the pride, joy and love that was in her gaze. It struck him more fiercely than Erebos ever did.

"Emilly… Emily…" He called out to her softly, squeezing out the last bit of hope that she was alive. The darkness took him then, a broken man carrying the corpse of her beloved, calling out her name as the universe began its slow march into death.

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Aleph opened his eyes, escaping the memory. He continued to weep for a little while, remembering his depressing ascent into godhood. 

Once he pulled himself together, Aleph sat up and looked around. He was on top of a wagon, rolling silently along a well maintained road. He saw a couple more carriages similar to his, all in a line behind him. James waved from the driver's seat of one such carriage, bringing him right back into the present.

I must have dozed off. He swung off the top of the wagon to sit right next to Tom, who had been driving it.

"Master, you're awake." He greeted politely.

"How long until we reach Hios?" Aleph responded, shielding his eyes as he stared at the sun, trying to gauge how long they had been traveling. The sun was positioned well past noon, meaning he had slept away most of the day.

"We should come upon Hios before sundown. You should rest a bit more." Tom said, casting a furtive gaze upon him. Aleph caught the look, recognizing it as one the children used to give him at the start.

"There's no need, Tom." Aleph brushed him off.

"You've had a troubled rest, my lord. I could hear you from here. Are you sure you don't want a little more?"

"No." The firm refusal shut him up. The rest of the trip was done in uncomfortable silence. Aleph internally scolded himself. Tom was only trying to look out for him, after all. These people cared for him, and he should start responding to their affection.

"I… I dreamt of my wife. She died in the war." He said at last.

"Truly? God, I'm sorry, Aleph. Us burying the dead must have caused some feelings to resurface." Tom said, giving his shoulder a rub. It was clumsy, but strangely comforting. It made Aleph open up even more.

"It has been long enough, but I still get visions sometimes. Of how it ended."

"No amount of time is long enough for these things, I'm afraid. I've lost too many of my own, and some days are as heavy as the day I lost them." 

Aleph looked at Tom once again, trying to see him in a new light. He looked to be entering his middle years, his hair transitioning from black to gray. He spoke with such certainty that Aleph thought these 'losses' he spoke of weren't recent ones.

"Who was it for you?" He couldn't help but ask. Tom sighed, ruffling his hair before responding.

"My wife and unborn child. Taken by illness before the war even started. Like you, I still dream about it. My helplessness as I held her hand, lying that she would be alright even though the town doctor had told me otherwise..."

Aleph was far older, but he felt a sort of comraderie with Tom. That feeling of helplessness he described felt familiar to his own. Without thinking too much about it, Aleph gave him a shoulder pat of his own. He smiled in return, looking like he appreciated it.

"I'm alright, Aleph… You know, I was touched when you promised to mourn with us, but know that each of us here will mourn with you too. I hope you know that." 

Aleph looked into the earnest man's eyes and found that he did indeed know it. He looked around at the other wagons behind him, reminding himself once again that he was somehow responsible for these people. His fear of leading them melted away, replaced with an eagerness he was surprised that he had. Tom's words resonated with him then, along with his promise. A promise that, for the first time since his disciples, he would strive to uphold.

Aleph leaned back and closed his eyes contentedly. He let the contours of the road rock him back into slumber. He hoped that the next time he opened his eyes, his disciples would be there to welcome him.

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Rayse broke out in cold sweat. He stared at the open portal, a fleeting fear that his master's world had been broken into. The mana crystals were undisturbed; whoever it was, they knew where to go. His anger took over upon realizing this, urging him to carry his spear and jump into the portal.

He was used to the change in scenery at this point, focusing his thoughts only on what he would do to those that would defile this place. A shadow came into view, and without a word, Rayse thrust his spear at it. A hand caught the spearhead, stopping it in place. Rayse roared, pushing with all his weight to drive the spearhead directly at this man's heart.

The stranger redirected the blow, deflecting it into a nearby wall. Rayse braced for a counterattack that never came, panting in the darkness.

"Enough, child. I am not your enemy." The shadow spoke thus. Rayse focused his eyes upon him, not letting his guard down for even a moment. It wasn't a voice he recognized. He continued to stare at the stranger, eyes making out his features. Sure enough, it wasn't someone that he knew.

"What are you doing here!?" He demanded. He retreated back a few steps, threatening the intruder with the tip of his spear. The man paid him no mind, staring through him, to the portal beyond.

"That man… Aleph, he is beyond the portal?"

"Who- What business do you have with my master?" Rayse retorted forcefully. It appeared that whoever this was, he had entered this world through a different means. Regardless, his casual address of his master ticked him off for some reason.

Rayse continued to look at this stranger, trying to gain a clue about his identity. He looked human, and his features were even similar to Rayse's own. He wore nondescript clothing, simple and utilitarian, and bore no insignias of any kind. He tried probing with his other senses. His mana felt strange to Rayse, not wholly unlike the overgod's. It felt wrong to him though, like a song played off key. Still, it was clear that whoever this was, he was in a similar realm.

"He invites me into the realm beyond. Am I not within my rights to consider it?" 

The man's response made Rayse stumble as if the words physically hit him. The words on the epigraph above raced into his mind. 

'If somehow you're the devil I've slain, then look behind the shed and you will see a well. That is the doorway to my home in another universe. Come see me, if you dare.'

"Y-You… You're…" He stuttered.

He had just attacked Erebos, god of the Abyss.