The dual divine power of the Emperor and Axis acted like an invisible brush, forcibly sketching clear boundaries upon the chaotic canvas of the Immaterium.
The Power of Destruction played the most critical role as it thoroughly carved the Warp apart. A beam of purple destructive energy erupted from Axis's palm, stretching across the entirety of the Warp.
Axis began the blueprint for the Netherworld by condensing divine power in the relatively calm core regions of the Warp.
Drawing upon his understanding of the essence of souls and the laws of the Dragon Ball universe's afterlife, he established a foundation and began building the fundamental laws.
He gathered soul energy stripped of all extreme emotional pollution into a quiet, peaceful ocean known as the Pure Sea of Souls.
A massive circular structure forged from pure creation energy began to manifest. This was the Cycle of Reincarnation, which would be responsible for guiding purified souls into new life cycles.
Next came the embryonic form of the Land of Judgment and Guidance. A phantom of a massive platform emerged where future King Yamas would perform their duties.
Alongside them would be beings known as Underworld Wardens, who were responsible for managing the territories, escorting sinful spirits, and conducting trials for the wicked.
This was a vast and arduous construction process, and Axis intended to establish every rank beneath the Yama Kings.
For this operation, Axis had even restored his authority to use the Dragon Balls. If necessary, he intended to use the power of wishes to aid in the creation of the Netherworld.
However, the process exceeded his expectations and proved surprisingly easy. First, he had the assistance of the Emperor in his role as a Grand Supreme Kai. Second, the afterlife of the Warhammer universe was not being created out of nothing.
The Sea of Souls within the Warp already existed, which saved Axis considerable trouble. In the past, this place had simply been contaminated by a certain power, turning it into a foul breeding ground for daemons.
Axis then imprinted the laws. His divine will acted as a cosmic decree, carving itself deeply into the core of the newborn realm: "This is the final resting place of souls. Malice is forbidden, reality's intrusion is barred, order is paramount, and reincarnation shall be eternal."
The power of these laws began to repel any residual Chaos energy and demonic essences that did not fit the definition of the Netherworld.
A blueprint for the Demon Realm then began to surface in the more violent fringes of the Warp, a place filled with endless bloodlust and twisted mutations.
Axis's divine power constructed a vastly different framework here. He created the Endless Plains, a vast land of dark red energy featuring twisted peaks and forests.
Although it was technically part of the lower realms, Axis fashioned it as a gargantuan continent divided into several spatial layers. In the future, all daemons would live here, and the dark thoughts generated by mortals would give birth to new daemons within these borders.
This realm was similar to the Abyss found in various fantasy planes. Unlike the demon races of the Dragon Ball universe, who were more like aliens, the daemons of the Warhammer universe functioned more like Abyssal entities.
To ensure the Demon Realm was suitable, Axis even brought Khorne to the site. The Blood God contributed his own power toward the realm's creation.
"A truly terrifying concept, Axis. I did not think you could go this far, dividing the Warp into two distinct regions where Daemons can exist as physical entities," Khorne said, watching the realm take shape with a look of admiration.
This place was fundamentally different from the old Warp. The Immaterium had been an ocean of souls with no concept of up or down, or left and right.
It had been nothing more than territories managed by the Chaos Gods that shifted based on their whims, such as Khorne's Brass Throne, Slaanesh's Palace of Pleasure, or Nurgle's Garden.
However, the Demon Realm manifested by Axis was more advanced. It was a physical world of infinite territory, though it lacked the celestial winds of planetary systems.
It was divided into countless layers where all Abyssal Daemons would be born in a relatively safe zone before fighting and devouring one another to evolve into stronger beings.
"You are the Lord of Hell here and the Supreme Kai of the Demon Realm. In the future, you will define the ranks of these daemons and set their boundaries. The more powerful a daemon becomes, the less they can appear in the mortal world at will," Axis stated.
He did not completely restrict the rules to forbid daemons from appearing in the material universe, as he sought a cosmic balance.
Once life in the physical universe flourished, it would grow like a swarm of locusts. At that point, the Dragon Ball universe would require a God of Destruction to exercise his rights.
Civilizations that affected the balance or offered no benefit to cosmic development would need to be destroyed. While Axis was the only one who currently wielded the Power of Destruction, and Kratos would eventually master it, the two of them could not handle everything alone. Sometimes, these Abyssal Daemons could provide assistance.
Furthermore, where there was good, there had to be evil. Having only benevolent gods without any demons would disrupt the equilibrium. Axis had learned this from the Angel Whis. The universe had not been born only once.
The Grand Minister and the others had once created a perfect world, only to discover that universes composed entirely of kindness actually met their destruction much faster.
"I understand. I will manage Hell, though I prefer to be called the Lord of Hell rather than some Supreme Kai of the Demon Realm," Khorne replied.
From this day forward, Axis, his former partner, had ascended to become his direct superior. While Khorne felt a slight discomfort at the shift in hierarchy, the current result was undeniably better than the past.
"As you wish. If you perform well, I might consider teaching you the power of a God of Destruction in the future," Axis said with a smile.
Hearing this, Khorne's eyes lit up. He knew exactly how potent that power was. Axis had demonstrated it before, and even now, the tearing of the Warp into two halves was primarily the work of destructive energy.
The divine powers of the Emperor and Axis provided balance, but it was the Power of Destruction that truly rent the world asunder.
"I believe the Lord of Hell is the most suitable candidate to master such power. If the universe needs balance, I will lead the entire Demon Realm to do its part," Khorne added.
Axis smiled but did not respond. He wondered if he should add another dark god to the Demon Realm in the future to prevent one person from becoming too powerful, but he currently lacked a better choice for a Lord of Hell.
For now, the priority was completing the construction.
Axis ignored Khorne and focused on the creation, aided by the Emperor, Khorne, and the two Goddesses of Life.
He established the Forge of Malice, a boiling whirlpool of pure spite, jealousy, and greed that would serve as the source for new daemons.
He then etched the Iron Law of the Strong into every corner of the realm: "This is the home of evil thoughts. To kill is to exist, and might is the only truth. Wage eternal war and do not lightly cross the barrier of reality."
This law encouraged endless internal strife but created a powerful isolation wall against the physical universe. Any daemon attempting to breach this wall would suffer the backlash of the realm's own laws.
They would only be released when there was a need to destroy a corrupted planet. Only then would the barrier between reality and the Demon Realm shatter.
Naturally, Axis did not forbid genius psykers from opening small dimensional tunnels if they possessed the ability.
If the universe became stagnant and unchanging, it would lose its interest.
In the second stage of the process, Axis took the lead in tearing through the Chaos to reshape the foundations.
As the Emperor used creative divinity to define the frameworks of the two new realms, the chaotic essence of the old Warp launched a frenzied counterattack.
Residual daemons howled, and the imprisoned wills of the Chaos Gods, though sealed by the Grand Minister, radiated waves of resentment. The chaotic energy tides attempted to tear the newborn frameworks apart.
"A death struggle," Axis grunted.
His eyes flashed with purple light as he stepped forward, his silhouette expanding until it rivaled the scale of the Warp itself. He shouted a single command that echoed through the Immaterium and reality: "Destruction!"
He thrust his hands forward, and the concentrated destruction energy erupted as two purple torrents. They slammed into the boundaries the Emperor had just sketched.
There was a sound like tearing fabric, though it was not a physical tear but the annihilation of concepts and laws. Wherever the destruction energy passed, the "adhesion" between the old Warp and the new realms was utterly erased.
The chaotic tentacles and marks of corruption that clung like rotting meat to the new structures dissolved like snow under the purple light, emitting shrill, conceptual shrieks.
Axis's power was precise. He did not aim to destroy the Warp indiscriminately but performed surgical cuts along the defined borders.
He forcibly opened the body of Chaos, separating the segments representing the "home of souls" and the "home of evil thoughts" from the core chaotic essence that polluted reality.
Countless daemons trying to storm the borders were vaporized instantly, turning into basic energy particles that were absorbed and transformed by the new frameworks.
Once the surgical cuts were complete, the Emperor's creative divinity surged once more. In the Netherworld, pure creative power fell like a refreshing rain upon the Sea of Souls, causing it to stabilize and expand with an aura of tranquility.
The Cycle of Reincarnation began to rotate with steady determination, pulling in the cleansed soul fragments of the universe.
The Land of Judgment became physical, radiating an aura of impartial majesty. The entire Netherworld took on an orderly silver-grey hue as the chaos was driven out.
In the Demon Realm, the Emperor's divine input was more hands-off. He did not purify the malice but guided those energies to merge into the plains and the Forge of Malice.
The ground became firmer, the fires of the forge grew hotter, and the breath of the Abyss thickened.
The space within the Demon Realm became exceptionally sturdy to withstand the eternal wars to come, while the external walls were reinforced by the Emperor and Axis together with powerful seals.
As the realms stabilized, the remaining daemons of the Warp discovered with horror that their connection to reality had vanished. The tunnels of corruption they once moved through naturally were gone.
In the past, they could reach reality by latching onto a powerful psyker or manifest near ships traveling through the Warp, but that had changed. A powerful attraction from the Demon Realm's laws now pulled on them.
They could smell the familiar, tempting scent of slaughter on the Endless Plains and feel the Forge of Malice calling to their origins. The Demon Realm had become the only place where they could survive and feel power.
Simultaneously, the Netherworld exerted a powerful force of repulsion and purification.
Any daemon approaching its borders felt its power wane and its consciousness "washed" with agonizing clarity, as if its evil essence were being forcibly stripped away.
Daemons of all kinds, whether Khorne's Bloodletters, Nurgle's Plaguebearers, Slaanesh's Fiends, or Tzeentch's Horrors, were swept away like a massive tide.
They roared and struggled but were dragged toward the newborn land of fire and blood. They would find a new home there, a daemon paradise strictly limited to internal strife, unable to easily touch reality.
The core laws of the Demon Realm quietly branded these migrants with a Mark, ending any possibility of them returning to the old Chaos.
They were now subjects of the Abyssal laws created by Axis. The Chaos Daemon was a thing of the past, replaced by the Abyssal Daemon.
When the last sliver of chaotic energy was partitioned and the last daemon disappeared into the vortex leading to the Demon Realm, the foul Warp that had threatened the universe was gone.
In its place stood two distinct realms. The Netherworld was a silent silver kingdom floating "below" reality, a pure destination for all life after death. The Demon Realm was a dark red battlefield "outside" reality, acting as a self-contained gladiatorial prison.
Axis and the Emperor withdrew their divine power and stood in the void, overlooking the cosmic structure they had reshaped.
The era of the Warhammer Pantheon had taken its most solid step.
A new era of order, creation, destruction, and reincarnation had arrived under Axis's might.
"Well done, Axis. The Warp has been completely divided," the Emperor said, his voice carrying a trace of fatigue but a great deal of satisfaction.
Axis nodded.
The cooperation had been successful, and most importantly, he hadn't needed to use his Dragon Balls.
"Next, we must fill it with administrators and perfect the reincarnation system," Axis said, looking toward the Star of Life.
"You plan to have the Eldar God of Death serve as the Supreme Kai of the Netherworld?" the Emperor asked.
"That is my plan. However, it won't be the God of Death from this world who hasn't been born yet, but the one from ten thousand years in the future of another timeline," Axis explained.
He noted that the God of Death's body in that other world was created by him, giving them a connection much like his ties to Khorne and the Goddesses of Life.
"An interesting idea, though unlike the Demon Realm, the birth of the Netherworld takes time. The laws of reincarnation you've set are not yet perfect," Neoth warned.
"You cannot simply evaluate good and evil, nor can you easily determine the value of a reincarnation. It is a massive legal system that must apply to all life in the universe."
Neoth reminded Axis that even on Ancient Terra, laws varied wildly from nation to nation. In the interstellar era, as long as taxes were paid, many governors set their own laws.
What was a crime on one planet might be legal on another, making "good" and "evil" difficult to judge objectively.
"I know. I won't judge through ordinary means, but through an alignment of spirit and aura. That shall be the standard for judgment," Axis replied.
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