As the feeling of guilt settled deeper within him, it was as though Billy's mind gradually drifted away from reality. The voices around him became distant and indistinct, while every sound in the room dulled into a muffled haze, as if he had suddenly been submerged beneath water.
'Well... that happened.'
Billy closed his eyes and drew in a slow, steady breath before exhaling just as deliberately, almost as though he could breathe out the guilt that had taken root within him after discovering the identity of the possible victim he had killed without a second thought. The simple act of steadying his breathing gradually eased the turmoil inside him, allowing the storm of emotions threatening to consume him to settle back under control.
When he finally opened his eyes, calm had largely returned to his expression. The guilt still lingered beneath the surface, but he had managed to rein it in before it could carry him away. Yet the moment he looked up, he realized something was terribly wrong.
The Avengers, who had only moments ago been talking amongst themselves, began to blur before his eyes. Their figures distorted as though viewed through rippling water, growing less distinct with each passing second.
'What the fuck is happening?' Billy wondered, alarm rapidly replacing the calm he had worked so hard to regain.
'Am I... guilt-tripping?'
He tried to make sense of what he was experiencing, but before he could gather his thoughts, his senses began fading at an alarming pace. The muffled voices disappeared entirely, swallowed by an unnatural silence.
"Guys... I don't feel so good."
He could make out the blurry figures turning toward him, their mouths moving as though they were saying something, but not a single sound reached him. Then everything vanished as darkness swallowed the world whole.
A suffocating silence wrapped around him so completely that it felt as though he had lost both his hearing and his sight. Yet somehow, he remained aware of himself. He could still see his own body suspended within the endless void, even if nothing else existed around him.
His eyes widened as panic began creeping into his chest. His breathing turned shallow and erratic while his hand instinctively clutched at his chest. The pounding of his heart grew impossibly loud, each beat echoing through the emptiness until it sounded as though he could hear the blood surging through every vein and artery in his body.
"Am I... dying?" he asked aloud, staring at his trembling hands.
Unwilling to leave anything to chance, Billy threw his head back and shouted the one word that had never failed him.
"SHAZAM!!"
But nothing happened.
There was no brilliant flash of lightning. No deafening crack of thunder. Not even the faintest spark answered his call.
"Oh... shit."
The words had barely left his mouth when a warm glow blossomed from the center of his chest. Billy's eyes immediately dropped toward it, only to watch in horror as a slender golden thread almost ethereal in appearance slowly emerged from within him. It drifted outward like a living strand of light, stretching farther and farther into the endless darkness.
His heart sank.
A cold shiver raced down his spine as he stared at the impossible sight, a growing sense of dread settling over him with the terrifying realization that whatever was happening to him had nothing to do with the powers he knew.
"Is that... a soul cord?"
Billy reached out to grab hold of the glowing thread, intending to examine it more closely, but his fingers passed straight through it as though it didn't exist. He tried again with the same result, unable to touch or even disturb the ethereal strand in the slightest.
"Damn... dying without even knowing what killed me would really suck."
He let out the dry remark while watching the golden thread continue extending endlessly into the abyssal darkness. Before he could dwell on it any further, a voice suddenly echoed throughout the void.
"You aren't dead."
Billy blinked in shock of the realization that he had company, his eyes darting around the endless darkness in search of the speaker.
"And, um... who might you be? Hades?"
"Hades? Ha ha."
"Try again."
The male voice reverberated through the endless expanse, calm yet amused, its echoes carrying from every direction at once.
'Well... at least he sounds conversational,' Billy noted to himself. 'Relax, Bill.' He took a steadying breath, forcing himself to keep his nerves in check despite having absolutely no idea where he was or who he was talking to.
"Well, given the context, which is little to nothing, since I have absolutely nothing to work with here, my best guess is you're either a demon or some angel of death looking to make a deal for my soul."
"Ha ha ha!!"
A deep, hearty laugh rolled across the void, reverberating from every direction until it seemed the very emptiness itself was laughing with him. As the laughter faded, a brilliant golden radiance burst forth from the darkness, flooding the endless void with blinding light so intense that Billy instinctively squeezed his eyes shut and raised an arm to shield them.
When the brilliance finally subsided, Billy cautiously lowered his arm and opened his eyes.
The endless darkness had vanished.
In its place stood a vast, dimly lit hall draped in soft grey mist. Towering pillars disappeared into the fog below as though they stretched down into infinity, while equally massive columns rose upward to support an enormous domed ceiling hidden among drifting clouds. The architecture was magnificent, adorned with intricate red and gold embellishments that gave the ancient structure both an air of majesty and timeless grandeur.
At the far end of the hall, resting atop a broad elevated platform, stood a magnificent golden throne. Seated upon it was a man wearing an ornate crown of gold, masterfully crafted and inlaid with gemstones that shimmered brilliantly beneath the hall's warm, golden light.
"You're one disturbed kid, but I like how you think."
The man let out a small, amused laugh as he reached for an ornate golden chalice resting beside his throne and took a leisurely sip from it.
"Solomon," Billy said flatly.
That earned him a curious glance from the man seated upon the throne.
"You're King Solomon."
"Well... not exactly," the man replied.
"Hmm." Billy stroked his chin thoughtfully. "Could've sworn I got that one right."
'With this whole prophecy situation, I figured it had to be him,' he thought to himself. 'If he wasn't wearing a crown like that, I'd have guessed this was Olympus and he was probably Zeus.'
"Well, you're clearly some great king," Billy continued, his gaze wandering past the throne. Beyond the grand hall lay a breathtaking garden where crystal-clear streams wound peacefully through lush greenery, adding an almost surreal tranquility to the magnificent surroundings. After taking in the sight, he returned his attention to the regal figure seated before him.
The man regarded him in complete silence, looking down from his throne as though Billy were a common peasant awaiting judgment from his king.
It was... unsettling.
An invisible pressure bore down on Billy's shoulders, making him feel as though a single wrong answer would earn him an immediate trip to the guillotine.
'That's... a lot of pressure.'
Billy swallowed hard as a bead of cold sweat rolled down the side of his face.
'He's definitely powerful enough to completely shut off my connection to the powers of Shazam.'
"I'm going to go with... either Gilgamesh..." Billy muttered, narrowing his eyes in thought. "Or that sailor mage... the Bad Sinner? You know, the guy who sailed the seven seas or something."
He frowned, looking like the answer was sitting right on the tip of his tongue but refusing to come out.
"Gilgamesh, maybe. But you compare me to that self-absorbed dimwit... Sinbad?" the man asked, one brow arching as unmistakable displeasure crossed his face.
"Yeah... that guy."
Billy rubbed the back of his head with an awkward grin, letting out a nervous chuckle in a futile attempt to ease the tension.
'Tough crowd,' he thought dryly.
"You certainly know how to ruin the mood," the man remarked with a sigh, though there was a hint of amusement beneath his exasperation. "You were right with your first guess. I am indeed King Solomon... but not entirely."
He gently set the golden chalice aside before continuing.
"I'm more akin to a recorded imprint of Solomon's consciousness, one that was sealed within the Crystal Orb you unsealed."
'Whether he's a clone, a memory, or whatever he is... I still hope I get one good swing in and wipe that smug look of royalty off his face. Call it payback for that lightning stunt the other night.' Billy narrowed his eyes ever so slightly, quietly savoring the thought before pushing it aside.
"That Crystal Orb served as the foundation of this limbo space," Solomon explained. "Within it, I magically sealed a fragment of my consciousness. When you unsealed the orb, the spell embedded itself within your soul as a marker. The lightning you experienced was merely the catalyst required to awaken it."
"I see..." Billy murmured, slowly nodding as he tried to piece everything together while appreciating the explanation.
"But why me?" he asked after a moment. "And what's all this about a champion that's to fight some calamity? More importantly, what does this prophecy about humanity's greatest peril have to do with me?"
"You certainly ask a great many questions, kid." Solomon gave a faint smile as he gently swirled the crimson liquid inside the ornate golden chalice resting in his hand. "Though I suppose they're interesting enough to accompany a drink of this fine wine from this grail."
'Grail?'
Billy let out a nervous chuckle inwardly.
'Heh... he doesn't mean the Holy Grail... right?'
A brief silence followed before realization dawned on him.
'...Of course he does.'
"This spell won't last much longer," Solomon continued, setting the matter aside. "So let us get straight to business."
With a simple snap of his fingers, a large globe of Earth materialized before Billy, suspended in midair with remarkable detail.
"What's this?"
Billy stepped closer, watching in confusion as the vibrant blue planet rapidly began to decay before his eyes. Oceans receded, forests withered, and life seemed to drain away in mere moments. The lush blues and greens faded into a barren, dirt-brown husk as enormous cracks split across the surface. Rivers of molten magma burst through them, fiery veins spreading across the globe until it resembled a dying world whose core was tearing itself apart.
"The fate of this planet," Solomon answered solemnly, "should you fail to stop what is coming."
The ancient king allowed the image to linger between them for a moment before speaking again, as though carefully weighing whether the knowledge he was about to share was itself a burden.
"Care to share exactly what that is?" Billy asked.
"Long before the first stars illuminated the heavens... before the Celestials spread life throughout the cosmos... there was only darkness stretching beyond the boundaries of all known existence." His voice echoed softly through the vast hall.
"At the dawn of creation, it is said there existed the Supreme Creator, the sovereign above all creation, seated so far beyond even the gods that the triumphs, rebellions, corruption, and struggles of divine beings alike unfolded beneath His gaze. To Him, they were but a spectacle... a grand design playing out to his entertainment."
'So... basically He's binge-watching the world's longest D&D campaign from backstage,' Billy thought to himself.
The absurd comparison almost earned a grin, but Solomon's next words immediately pulled his full attention back.
"In that endless void... there dwelled a solitary god." Solomon's expression darkened as the name lingered unspoken for a moment.
"He called himself... Knull."
"Among the very first beings to emerge from the darkness at the dawn of creation was an ancient cosmic catastrophe—an entity so dreadful that even the greatest mages feared to speak its name.
"He was never a ruler chosen by destiny, nor a guardian entrusted with the work of creation. When the Supreme Creator, the One from whom all things came into being, gave form to His imagination and called existence into reality, the darkness that had existed before creation was stirred by that immeasurable power. It awakened, gained consciousness, and took form."
As Solomon spoke, the empty space around them shimmered with visions of the universe's birth. Countless stars ignited across an endless sea of darkness, galaxies blossoming into existence like brilliant flowers against an infinite canvas.
"As the literal personification of the void that preceded all creation, something beyond every definition or description of abyssal darkness, Knull saw light itself as an abomination. When the Creator filled the universe with it, he believed something that rightfully belonged to him had been stolen." The celestial vision shifted.
A figure cloaked in living darkness stood alone amidst the newborn cosmos.
"Consumed by hatred, he forged the All-Black... the Necrosword, a weapon capable of slaying gods themselves."
The vision changed once more as colossal Celestial beings, towering beyond comprehension, fell one after another beneath the blade of living darkness.
"He butchered gods. He extinguished worlds. Wherever life flourished, he sought to return it to the silence that had existed before creation."
Billy swallowed, unable to tear his eyes away from the horrifying spectacle unfolding before him.
"If he was that powerful..." he asked cautiously, "...how was he stopped?"
"He wasn't defeated," Solomon replied, his voice carrying a grim certainty.
"He was betrayed."
The vision shifted again, revealing an endless tide of living black organisms surging across space.
"The living darkness he had created was in the form of a planet made of creatures born in that darkness." As Solomon spoke, Billy had his attention split between listening to the king and watching the realistic revelation of the creatures burn of this darkness. Creatures that mortals would come to know as Symbiotes.
"These creatures turned against their creator. United, they imprisoned him within a living world at the heart of their empire, believing that eternity itself would be enough to contain him."
Solomon's expression grew noticeably more severe, his gaze settling firmly on Billy.
"But do not mistake imprisonment for death." His words lingered heavily in the air before he continued.
"Knull has no interest in conquering the world, William. He corrupts them. Every act of fear... every war... every soul consumed by despair feeds the darkness that reaches back toward him, weakening the prison that binds him."
Billy's brow furrowed from the thought of what he was told, but then caught notice of the name the great mage had just used in addressing.
'William?'
"So... he's another demon?"
"No." The answer came without even a moment's hesitation.
"Demons possess souls, bargain, deceive, and exist as creatures born of Hell and magic, aberrations within creation, as I am certain you already know."
Solomon slowly rose from his throne, descending the steps with measured grace as the visions around them shifted once more.
"There was a time when the Sons of God, the first Celestial beings born during creation, succumbed to their desires. They looked upon the daughters of mankind, took them as wives, and descended from the heavens."
Images of mighty figures walking among humanity unfolded before Billy's eyes.
"Their unions produced children who inherited fragments of divine power. The world would remember them as the Mighty Men of Old. Some cultures called them the Nephilim. Others remembered them as Titans, for they grew into giants whose strength surpassed all mortal understanding."
The visions darkened as cities burned beneath enormous shadows.
"They were gods among men... and yet another aberration against the natural order of creation. Their presence spread corruption and devastation across the world, bringing humanity to the brink of annihilation. The forbidden knowledge their sires carried from the heavens only magnified the wickedness that already resided within the hearts of men, accelerating mankind's descent toward ruin."
"God intervened for humanity's sake and wiped out the vast majority of those aberrations," Solomon continued. "Their bodies perished, but their essence, what we call the spirit, had nowhere to go. They belonged neither to Heaven nor to any other realm. Condemned to wander the earth, they seek hosts to possess, harboring an eternal hatred for mankind, who remain God's highest creation. Those restless spirits are but one variation of what you know as demons."
Before Solomon could continue, Billy raised a hand, unable to let one particular statement slide.
"Wait... humanity is God's highest creation?"
Solomon's gaze settled on him.
"You have no idea what mankind is truly capable of. During creation, the Creator bestowed upon man a fragment of His own essence. Had humanity remained as they were intended to be, they would have stood second only to the Creator Himself in the hierarchy of creation."
He paused, allowing the weight of his words to sink in.
"The dominion granted to mankind over the earth became a source of jealousy among gods and celestial beings who had already succumbed to corruption. Their envy gave rise to a scheme that led man to eat from the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. In doing so, mankind fell... and became mortal."
Billy listened in silence as Solomon continued his lesson.
"That was the Fall of Man. It is also why certain individuals who awaken even the faintest remnants of the divinity still residing within them often become obsessed with immortality. The abilities they possess are nothing more than grains of sand compared to what humanity was originally meant to inherit. Death was never intended to be part of man's existence until dominion was lost."
Solomon took another sip from his chalice before continuing, sounding every bit the ancient scholar recounting forgotten history.
"And then there is the endless struggle among the descendants of the Sons of God, a conflict history has remembered as the Clash of Titans. It is a curse placed upon those celestial beings and their bloodlines by God Himself. It ensures they are forever driven toward conflict, often meeting their end at the hands of their own offspring or one another. That, incidentally, is why so many mythologies tell stories of gods being overthrown by their children or consumed by endless infighting."
He paused, finally realizing how far he had drifted from the original subject.
"It seems I've wandered off course."
'You're only just realizing it?,' Billy remarked inwardly, suppressing the urge to smile.
Solomon cleared his throat before returning to the matter at hand.
"Now then... where was I? Ah, yes. Knull."
His expression hardened once more.
"Knull predates many of the concepts that mortals now understand as magic. He is a primordial force, a god born of the abyss itself. He cannot be reasoned with, redeemed, bargained with, or tempted, because he desires only one thing."
As the words left his mouth, every vision surrounding Billy dissolved. The stars disappeared. The throne room faded. Even the distant garden vanished until nothing remained except absolute darkness stretching endlessly in every direction.
"He seeks the return of the silence that existed before creation. The end of light... the end of life... the end of creation itself... until all existence is swallowed by the endless void from which he came."
Billy lowered his gaze to the golden thread still flowing from his chest, watching it disappear into the infinite darkness.
"So..." he asked quietly, "...can my power stop him?"
The question hung in the void as several long seconds passed.
Solomon remained silent, his expression unreadable as he looked upon the boy before him.
The silence lingered for what felt like an eternity before Solomon finally broke it.
"The Lightning of the Gods was forged to stand against the darkness in every age. It has brought down titans, subdued demons, and humbled gods themselves."
His gaze remained fixed on Billy.
"But whether it possesses the power to destroy Knull..." He paused, the uncertainty in his voice more unsettling than any confident answer could have been. "...even I do not know."
Billy's expression stiffened. If even Solomon, the man before him, whose knowledge seemed to stretch back to the dawn of creation, couldn't answer that question with certainty, then the threat Knull posed was far greater than he had imagined.
"But this much I do know, Champion."
Solomon's voice echoed through the vast expanse as one possessing authority, each word carrying a gravity that seemed to shake the very air around them.
"Should Knull ever walk free, every pantheon... every Celestial... every hero in existence... will not be fighting to save the universe."
His words hung heavily in the silence before he delivered the final sentence with a sense of chilling certainty.
"They will be fighting only to delay its funeral."
- - -
Patrn/Da_suprememaverick