"A journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step."
Chinese proverb.
Lupus flew back to the compound at mach 15 speed: "Damnit who does this Light Crusader think he is?! I'll show him, I'll grow even stronger, I'll become an unstoppable killing machine!!!!" Back at the compound, Ashley was spreading the good news to Qayyim. "Guess who's pregnant?!" Qayyim replied: "No shut up!! You and Lupus had a romantic night a week ago then." Ashley nodded: "We're having our second child after our daughter Kazan. And this time it's going to be a boy. I wanna name him after his father." They continued to talk and eventually Lupus landed and went straight up to Nova who was cooking on the kitchen island while Qayyim and Ashley were talking on the chairs. Ashley screamed: "Speak of the devil. Lupus, we're going to have a little baby boy. And just like last time it should only take one month to give birth because of your race's genes. Aren't you excited?!" Lupus who could barely pretend to care replied: "Yeah if you'd like. NOVA! Is Talus still in that other realm he isn't training in the Spirit Realm is he?!" Nova turned around as he was cooking eggs: "No he's in that Umi oceanic realm, he's not training." Lupus was over the moon: "Excellent I had to be sure. I'm off to train with the old man," said Lupus but Ashley grabbed him by the ear and began to yell at the cocky wolf alien.
"LUPUS YOU'RE HAVING ANOTHER CHILD! You can't give your wife any attention can you? It's all about your damn training." Lupus began to try to defend himself nervously: "You don't understand there's this self-described SuperHero named the Light Crusader and he's stronger than I am. I need to get stronger or I'll be left in the dust," said Lupus. Ashley wasn't having it at all. Qayyim shot back: "Let him go." Lupus and Ashley were both surprised as they both said in sync: "WHAT?!" Qayyim with her eyes closed and a smiled replied: "Let the man train he needs to get stronger. He needs to be able to fight the Archons." Using this as a green light Lupus took off: "Thanks I'll be back soon, bye." Ashley was stunned: "You had to give him an out." Hera replied: "Let him go." Which again stunned Ashley.
"The quickest way to scare off a man is a nagging wife after all." Ashley had tear rivers moving cartoonishly under her eyes: "Seriously, why can't my girlfriends take my side instead of my husband."
Lupus flew through the sky now at Mach 20. "I will get stronger. That old man that old Buddha must have access to another realm. I will surpass this so-called Prophet, my daughter's boyfriend, Wukong, Gilgamesh, Ungar, Talus, those Archon clowns and this new hero 'Light Crusader.' I will grow so powerful that nothing under the stars will stand in my way. Hehehehehehehe… It's already certain this world will be laid low at my feet." He descended up to the Spirit Realm passing Mount Huaguo and then the Big Dipper, flying directly up the Mountain of the Devas through the vast fields in the upper realm straight to the Buddha like it was nothing his body had adjusted to the higher air density. He landed right before the Buddha. "Ok old man I don't have time for any of your shit." Saykumi replied: "You've come to grow stronger." Lupus shouted back: "Of Course I'm here to grow stronger. What other reason would I come here?!" The Buddha replied: "Well here's the problem I have nothing to teach you, you've mastered the master." Lupus began to howl with laughter: "I could have told you that, I'm far more powerful than you old man. What I want is access to another realm to train in. Do you have anything?!" The old Buddha replied: "Clearly you haven't conquered your ego. Let me see. Oh there's one place you can train here." Lupus screamed with excitement: "Where is it?! I need to train there?!" The Buddha said: "Its called Tapana its one of the Nakaras (Hells) its for those who committed mental crimes: thought dirty things, thought ugly things, thought about murder, etc. you're impaled over and over, thrown into boiling oil, and beaten by Demons known as wardens." Lupus began to salivate: "THAT'S PERFECT! Where is it?!" The Buddha pointed at a door: "It's just through that door." Without thinking for another second Lupus ran towards the door, opened it and entered the room. He instantly regretted it. He felt a pain he had never felt before. Skewered over and over what felt like infinite times, he was thrown into molten oil, beaten by demons just like the Buddha described. This happened over and over again without end. But it didn't hurt more than his shattered pride. He saw his father in his visions. "My son, what are you doing, push past your limits and become the God of this world." Then he saw the others laughing at him: Talus, Hermes, Mark, Sun Wukong, Erlang Shen, King Gilgamesh, Ungar, Tatu, the Archons Daniel and Ebisu and finally this new super hero 'the Light Crusader,' with his ridiculous white cape. All laughing at him, all mocking him. The pain was unbearable: "I must become stronger, I will destroy all of them, you hear me. YOU'RE ALL DEAD!!"
Back in the realm of Umi, Talus stood where he had just slain Ebisu (X). Talus breathed a sigh of relief until he was stabbed from behind a repeat of what had happened just a moment earlier. It was Mira she giggled: "Remember me my dear adopted uncle." Talus broke free in an instant and leaped backwards. As he did the wound on his body quickly began to heal. Talus shook with anger: "You have some nerve showing up. I nearly forgot you existed. I honestly liked it better that way." Mira giggled. Hermes was shaking with anger: "I thought you were my friend Mira, you tried to kill me." Mira clamped back: "And what of it you god-damned monster! You don't belong in this world, and you know that more than anyone." This shook up Hermes who gasped, it was hard to hear even though Mira tried to kill her and this seemed all along to be her motivation. Mira clapped back: "If you knew how destructive you are you would do yourself in, you'd commit suicide." Ungar floated closer to Mira: "What do you know, Mira? Honestly, can you tell us? Or are you just going to hurl insults," said Ungar.
Mira's expression shifted—just slightly—but enough. For the briefest second, something behind the bravado cracked. She looked around: at Talus, Hermes, and Ungar. Then back at Hermes. Her smirk returned, but her voice carried a new edge, not playful, not mocking—wounded. "What do I know?" Mira echoed. "I know Hermes isn't what she pretends to be. I know she's not the divine savior she lets everyone believe she is. I know she was made—not born—made in the ashes of an extinction no one wants to remember." Hermes stiffened. The Guardian Avatar behind her flickered—almost recoiled. Talus narrowed his eyes. "What are you talking about?" Mira's gaze burned with venom now. "Ask her. Ask her where she was when the Ninth Veil fell. Ask her why the entire Elaran System vanished without a trace. She remembers it. But she won't speak about it because she did it. Or at least… she started it." Ungar stuttered: "the Ninth Veil? What on earth is she talking about?!" Ungar then thought for a moment. "Wait?! Ebisu told me something a millennia ago. The Ninth Veil…" a flashback appeared in his mind. Ebisu was standing in his garden in the look-out, "So you see the Ninth Veil is the world that separates the mortal realms from the abode of the Godhead. I did a foolish thing a long time ago. I used divine essence in the embryo for the child, Hermes, who is yet to be born." Ungar said: "And only you know this." Ebisu shook his head: "The memory has been implanted in Hermes. Though it's my fault not hers so she will come to know it naturally. It's in her memories. I was told it was an anomaly, civilizations were leveled, I believe there's no evidence left. I hope I'm right. If I'm wrong then Hermes was always meant to be a weapon. Being; that's her very nature." Ungar turned to Hermes, confused. "I know you have the memories Ebisu planted in you, Hermes! That system's collapse predates even the Archons. He said it was a cosmic anomaly. No survivors, no evidence left. That wasn't true?"
Hermes didn't answer. Mira stepped forward. "She's not some chosen protector. She's a catastrophe wrapped in divine light. A time bomb pretending to be a shield." Talus clenched his fists. "Why didn't you tell us?" Hermes finally raised her head. Her voice, when it came, was quieter than before. No echo, no layered resonance. Just her. "I wasn't supposed to exist. I didn't remember any of this until just one week ago, and then it all flooded back to me like a bolt of lightning in a dream. I was designed in desperation, by the Watchers. I think that's why they're here. To see if I'm worthy of letting live or destroyed, and they might level half this universe to get rid of me." Mira smiled, but it was hollow. "And I'm sure you all thought me to be a villain. But look right at her, the real monster has been with you all along." Talus stepped between them. "Then why come back? Why protect us now?" Hermes looked at him, and this time her answer came with no hesitation. "Because Daniel and Ebisu at least at one time believed I could change. Just like he believed in you. And maybe I'm delusional but I still hold onto hope. Selfish hope. I just want to live." That landed hard. Mira's defiance faltered. She opened her mouth, then closed it again. Hermes took a step forward. "I've walked with shame for millennia, Mira. I don't run from it. Now that I remember it, I own it. You want me to say it aloud? Fine. I destroyed an entire star system. I carry the echoes of a billion lost souls in every cell of my being. But I chose to protect now. I chose not to run. That's what makes me more than what I was made for."
The air around them was still. Mira blinked fast, her fists tightening. "You're so good with words," she whispered. "But you'll slip again. And when you do, I'll be there." Talus stepped in front of Hermes again. "No. If she slips, I'll stop her. Not you. I made a promise to a friend, and no one will ever interfere with that." Hermes smiled faintly. Ungar crossed his arms, eyes narrowed. "We need to decide what we're doing with her." He then thought to himself, "It's really all my fault if I hadn't just ignored all the pieces I could have easily put them together. Hermes nodded toward Mira. "We let her go. She's not ready to choose sides, but she's not the real threat." Mira's eyes narrowed. "You think you know who the real threat is?" Talus and Hermes locked eyes. Hermes nodded slowly. "Yes. And it's coming. Like a nightmare. I don't know its name. But I damn well know your wise King Apollo knows all about it. And he's trying to exploit it." Mira's breath caught. "You're lying!!" Hermes: "Believe what you want… I have real friends now, not liars who give me false hope."
Talus turned to Mira one last time. "If you really care about stopping destruction—help us. Or get out of the way." Mira didn't answer. She vanished into a swirl of light. Hermes turned to the others. "It begins again." Talus looked out toward the horizon of the Umi realm, where the clouds had begun to darken in unnatural shapes. "Then let's finish it this time." Mira exploded with an incredible amount of power turning into a giant Leviathan like beast with energy pulsating off of it like a supernova. Yadara and Mamara got in position, "Are you ready?!" Ebisu (young past Ebisu) smirked: "I'm ready to rewrite history." A deafening roar split the sky as Mira's transformation rippled across the realm of Umi. The seas boiled beneath her. The clouds split open. Her body twisted, expanded, mutated into something divine and monstrous. The Leviathan—her Leviathan form—towered over islands, its iridescent scales pulsing with hatred, sorrow, and god-killing power. Wings made of collapsing starlight unfurled behind her. Each beat of them shattered the air itself. Talus stood still at first, jaw clenched. "This… this isn't the Mira we knew." Hermes floated beside him, her Guardian Avatar shimmering with uncertainty. "No," she said, voice steeled. "This is her truth. This is the Guardian Avatar inside her. Broken. Raw. And powerful enough to crack this realm in two." Ungar unslung his sword, tightening the chain around his arm. "So what do we do?" Hermes's eyes glowed brighter. "We stop her. Together." Suddenly, Mamara burst from the clouds, cutting through the air like a storm arrow. "Yadara's got the barrier spell ready!" she yelled. "We've got ten minutes max before the realm starts folding under this energy."
Below, Ebisu (the younger version brought from the past by a paradox loop) stood with a mad grin. "Good. Let's rewrite some destinies." Mira roared, and waves of cosmic pressure slammed into the group. Mountains in the distance cracked. Sea spires exploded into mist. She unleashed a barrage—dozens of energy tendrils arcing outward, moving like serpents made of dark matter. Hermes led the charge. Her essence shot wide as she clashed mid-air with Mira's face, her Avatar's massive Spirit blade slashing across Leviathan-Mira's eye. Blood like liquid moonlight splattered the sea. Mira screamed, swinging her colossal tail, catching Hermes mid-flight and sending her spiraling into a mountainside. "GO!" Talus yelled. He launched himself off the water's surface—no time to fly. Just speed, instinct, and fury. He reached Mira's flank, delivering a punch that echoed like thunder. Cracks spread across her scaled body, but they sealed just as fast. He kept moving. Strike, dodge, strike again.
Ungar teleported next, a blur of golden light. His black magic turned into a comet as it slammed into Mira's shoulder, knocking her back—just enough for Yadara to complete her spell. A dome of reality-bending sigils sealed around them, holding Mira's presence inside the realm for now. But it wouldn't hold. Mamara raced through the air, weaving between attacks and summoning storm dragons made of pure wind and lightning. They bit and coiled around Mira, slowing her movements for a split second. "NOW!" Hermes yelled, rejoining the fray, lightning cracking off her arms. "Hit her heart—center of the chest, it's her core!" They all converged. Talus, Ungar, Mamara, Hermes, even Ebisu throwing divine javelins into the storm. Mira fought back like a dying god, flinging entire islands, reshaping gravity, distorting time in flashes—Talus got stuck in a loop for a second, repeating a dodge three times before snapping out.
Talus broke through the sky like a comet, his aura now pitch-black with red veins running through it. He landed with enough force to split the sea open, parting the waters like a mythical Red Sea parting of old. "This has gone on long enough!" he growled, cracking his neck. Hermes looked at him, surprised. "Talus." Together, Ungar and Talus struck Mira at once. Talus's aura cloaked his fists like collapsing stars. Talus, focused and centered, hit with pure precision. They connected. The impact ripped Mira from the sky. She crashed into the ocean, sending waves the size of mountains in every direction. The Leviathan form writhed, roaring in pain, as a crack formed down her chest—exactly where Hermes had said. Ebisu tossed a divine seal toward the crack. "Seal the core—before it ruptures and takes the realm with it!" And shot a beam of divine wind from his Masamune. Hermes darted in, cutting through Mira's weakening defense. She reached the core—glowing bright, beating like a furious heart. And she whispered: "I forgive you." Then she plunged her blade into it. Silence. The storm stopped. Mira's body froze mid-roar, energy stuttering, flickering. Her form unraveled into light, then smoke, then silence. Slowly, she collapsed—not with destruction, but with release. She was caught by one of the Archons who carried her limp body off into a portal. The rest of the Archons retreated and it was over." Yadara dropped to her knees, the spell fading. "It's over…" But Talus was still tense. Hermes looked around, then upward. "No," she said. "This wasn't the real fight. She'll be back. And If I know her, she'll come back crazy strong." Talus nodded. Ungar looked into the distance, where the stars began to dim. "We'll be ready."
One and half months later, back on Helios, Nova was having a very important meeting as he was holding a baby with dog ears and white hair with Uvia. Uvia smiled and tapped her fingers on her shoulders as they met in the compound. Uvia proclaimed: "We have a new up and comer, his name is Jellal Archemedia he's already one of the 10 Greatest of the Demon Rankers, hes now at #3. His goal is to succeed Demi as the new Supreme Demon King, and his ambitions are much bolder than this. He wants to conquer the universe." Nova laughed: "He sounds like he'd be a perfect rival for our Lupus. Lupus just returned from training two days ago by the way. He's something else. I think he might be even stronger than Hermes. Maybe even more than my friend Lior." Uvia smirked: "Is that so? He's still no match for our Jellal." A voice was heard from the other room, "What was that?" Lupus walked out of the room. Nova announced: "Lupus can you please let me stop taking care of your three week old new-born son. Take Lupus Jr. now! I'm tired of being a babysitter. I'm a world renowned genius, not a nanny!" Lupus shrugged: "My wife will be here within 20 minutes, she'll take care of our son. I have no time for such ridiculous nonsense." The boy looked like a human just like Kazan but had white hair, white dog ears and a white dog tail. Lupus turned back toward Uvia, "But enough about my son. About this Jellal, he's no match for me. I've ascended to a station beyond a god, surely I can destroy him." Another voice could be heard, it was Lior, "I don't know about that. You're a little stronger than me but we'd both work together to take on a Demon Ranker. That's way out of our wheelhouse." Lupus smiled: "Well at least you admit that I'm stronger." Lior chuckled: "For now, I'll surpass you through. It's only a matter of time." Scott Greer landed at the compound he was trying to tell Nova something but Nova shushed him. "Scott, we're about to witness an important bout. Whatever you're about to tell me can wait."
Uvia nudged her head for them to follow her outside. They followed her and in the front yard a dark portal opened. After several moments out of it came a man with black bangs, pointed ears, pale skin, red eyes and fangs, a black uniform with a black count's cape. "Well, well, so this is my competition. Don't make me laugh. This is hardly worth my god-damn time. Why the hell did you drag me here Uvia?!" Uvia replied smugly: "Because you'll be indispensable in fighting the Watchers." Jellal scoffed: "Fine I'll drop these clowns in moments. Watch this." Lupus and Lior got into battle positions. Lupus was confused: "That's strange there's no aura coming from him. It's like I'm standing in front of a piece of dust, there's nothing. And then in a fraction of a second something spiked an increase in power 1,000,000,000 fold. And with that they dodged the first massive attack. Lior was confused as well: "Wait what the hell is happening…" Lupus figured it out: "Lior, he uses his energy conservatively even though has no need to. That's what increases this goon's power. He throws it all at his opponent each individual strike," Jellal laughed, "Very good, aren't we sharp today, you don't miss a thing do you puppy dog." Lupus scowled. And Jelall cried: "But that's only a taste, behold my Qadar."
The sky above the compound distorted like heat waves on metal. Trees trembled. The air itself recoiled. Jellal's power flexed—not like a surge, but like a devouring vacuum. The silence after his words felt heavier than a mountain. Jellal declared: "Qadar: Third Revelation – Devourer's Paradox." The ground beneath Jellal cratered inward, as if the world itself was trying to flee from his presence. In a blink, he was gone. Lupus narrowed his eyes and said,
"He's moving in dimensions. That wasn't teleportation. He's skipping frames of reality. Damn him!" Lior, unfazed by this, declared: "So? We just punch where he should be." Lupus grinned, flicking a pebble into the air and vanishing with a low boom of air pressure. Nonetheless, Jellal appeared behind Lupus mid-smirk—but the wolf prince's instincts snapped like thunder. Lupus cried: "Too slow." He spun with a roundhouse, clashing with Jellal's forearm. The impact released a white shockwave that split the clouds above. Jellal's smirk twitched. Jellal, thinking to himself said: "He reads attacks by scent and sound. Annoying mutt." Suddenly, Lior dropped between them like a meteor, fist-first. Jellal crossed his arms, blocking it—barely. A crater swallowed the field. Jellal was forced back a few meters after this attack, his boots carved molten lines in the soil. Lior cried: "You're fast. But I'm bored already." Jellal (grinning now) declared: "Good. Boredom is the beginning of transcendence." He pulled a dagger from his hip—it wasn't metal, it was bone. Glowing with sigils that twisted the air around them. Jellal yelled: "Qadar: Fourth Revelation – Eternal Guilt."
A thousand phantom blades erupted from his shadow, targeting every direction—airborne, underground, and even time-delayed attacks aimed at their future positions. Lupus was furious: "Tch. He's learned how to fight two-on-one. Clever bastard." Lupus's aura then ignited. It wasn't light. It was hunger. His eyes glowed like stars in a void. Lupus cried:
"You're not the only one with revelations. I trained in the harshest of the Nakaras (Buddhist Hells). What you're throwing at the wall is nothing to me, YOU DAMN INGRATE!" Lupus cried: "Heaven Fang: Phase Nine – World Eater." A feral energy coated him like armor—white lightning laced with crimson heat appeared all around him. His canine features sharpened. His tail crackled like a whip of plasma. Jellal lunged backward—only to find Lior in his blindspot, cracking a casual punch into his side. Then Lupus crashed down from above, elbowing Jellal through the air like a comet. Jellal spun mid-air, kicking off a chunk of falling debris, and vanished again. Jellal (telepathically, told Uvia): "Fine. I get it now. These two... together... could break gods." Uvia smiled: "Told you." Jellal reappeared in the air, eyes glowing like red suns. His cape flared out, forming wings of dark energy. Jellal cried: "Fifth Revelation: Arch-King's Memory!" A colossal specter formed behind him—an ancient demon king with six eyes and a crown of broken swords. The sheer pressure knocked Lior back several feet, and even Lupus's knees dipped for a moment.
Lior (who was serious now said): "Okay... now we're getting somewhere." Lupus said: "Right. No more warm-ups." Lupus and Lior split up. Lupus to the left, glowing and snarling like a white star gone rogue. Lior to the right, calm, fists clenched, his smile gone. Both faced the demon prince in the center—Jellal, was now backed up by the wrath of a wall of power. But Jellal had an ace up his sleeve. He began to slow down time: "Hehehehehehehe…. Did you really think you could get me so easily, fools! I HAVE YOU RIGHT WHERE I WANT YOU!" Lupus and Lior noticed they had fallen into an aura rope that had tied around their feet. "Do you know who I am? I am the future conqueror of this Universe. I will be the Supreme Demon King like Beelzebub once was." Lupus laughed: "The world belongs to an alien not a demon. It belongs to me, Lupus, the future god of this world. Who has already ascended beyond his mortal past. You are nothing. I am the king of this world." Jellal laughed: "You have to beat me first." As he said this giant rays of aura flew up from the ground straight towards Lupus and Lior.
The aura pillars surged up like judgment bolts, searing and blinding. Lupus growled and tore free of the aura ropes with brute force, while Lior broke his with a timed pulse of chi. But it was too late. Jellal was already above them—arms crossed, cape flaring like a dark sunstorm—gazing down like a god tired of watching ants try to fight fire and oppose His will. Jellal whispered: "Final Revelation—Throne of the Abyss." The air ruptured. The sky turned black. Not dark—black. Sound was vacuumed away, reality blinked out in patches. A monolithic throne formed behind Jellal, built from the bones of fallen kings, and a voice was heard booming: "And God placed himself above His Throne and the World below it," floating in a void that shouldn't exist. The moment his feet touched the first step, time cracked. Lior launched up, cocking his fist back, but he wasn't fast enough. The moment he entered Jellal's new field, his momentum died. The space around him warped—turning his punch into a sluggish crawl. Jellal backhanded him. It wasn't flashy. Just final. Lior was flung across the entire island like a meteor skipping across a lake. He smashed through three trees and didn't get up. Jellal then turned to Lupus, who stood his ground—panting, still snarling, his white energy flickering erratically. He roared and charged, disappearing mid-step—reappearing behind Jellal with a claw strike aiming for the neck.
Jellal didn't move. The throne moved for him. The air twisted and Lupus's claw froze an inch from Jellal's throat. "I told you," Jellal said, voice low, calm, "you're not in my league." With one open palm, he hit Lupus in the chest. The impact sounded like the world snapping in half. A crack echoed from inside Lupus's ribs, followed by a scream of air as he was thrown into the ground—so hard the crater inverted into a bowl hundreds of meters wide. He lay there, coughing blood, twitching. His white lightning flickered out. Jellal descended, standing over him. "Now listen," Jellal said, loud enough for Nova, Uvia, and even the unconscious Lior to hear. "I'm not here to kill you. I don't need to. I just wanted to show you." He leaned closer. "That your era? It's over. The age of godlings and prideful full-breeds and half-breeds is done. From now on—everything bends to me."
Lupus tried to rise—but Jellal placed his boot on his back and pushed him down again, calmly, effortlessly. "You're strong, sure. But I'm not just power. I'm inevitable." He walked away, cloak fluttering behind him like a guillotine's shadow. Nova stood stunned, holding Lupus Jr., whose dog ears twitched as if feeling the humiliation in the air. Uvia smirked, arms crossed: "Told you." Jellal passed her, voice cold: "Next time you summon me, make sure the entertainment is worth it." Jellal turned around: "Oh and one more thing I have over 200 children with my ex-wife. They're all weaker than me, but they're all far stronger than both of you." This stunned Lupus and Lior as well. Nova responded autistically: "Lupus himself is married, he has two kids, a young daughter named Kazan and this little boy of his is his newborn son, Lupus Jr." Jelall laughed, "Good for you, glad to see someone else has a family but I'll tell you this. You need to tell both of your children who the new God of this world is. It's not you anymore, you're obsolete. Hahahahahahahahahahaha." Lupus became angrier than he ever had been before, he tried to struggle to his feet but he was powerless as he whispered out the words, "How dare you, you will never defeat the God of this w…" after this Lupus passed out. And just like that, the dark portal reopened, and Jellal was gone—leaving behind silence, two broken warriors, and the undeniable truth: A new king had arrived. As the dust settled the only thing that was said after was by Scott Greer who said: "That went well."