(Gidorah POV)
Explosions went off around Gidorah not long after he blasted one of Murdoch's heads off. The primordial of the Sky looked to see that 2 more dragon heads had been destroyed, leaving only 5 heads left on the dragon. He spotted Hell and Vuton casually talking to each other in the middle of the battle, and the sky chariot. He smiled to himself, his family were ok! And, they were about to win this war!
He flew over to the hovering chariot, "Hey guys!" he called enthusiastically over to them.
"Hey, Dad!" Rattus grinned and flashed him a thumbs up, "We're winning!"
Jaya gave him a weary smile, "Hello Giddy." she seemed to be caring for Kronus, who looked exhausted.
"Dad?" Kronus breathed.
Gidorah frowned in concern, "What happened to him?" he asked, pointing to the Titan of Time.
Rattus sighed, "He used too much of his time abilities, he'll be back up soon I think." he explained to Gidorah.
The sky primordial nodded in understanding, "Yeah, I sure hope so," he proclaimed, "After all, we do have a war to-"
He was interrupted by the tremendous voice of Murdoch's largest purple-eyed head, "Enough!" the dragon boomed, "No more games are to be played today!"
Suddenly, the purple-eyed head unleashed a humongous quantity of purple energy. Straight towards Vuton! It happened so quickly, Hell couldn't react fast enough and Gidorah was too far away…
The primordial of Darkness took the blow head on. And, was utterly obliterated as a result. Think nuke against human obliterated. To make things a lot worse, Gidorah could see Hell's expression was not good. The primordial of Hell had the ability to sense death, and judging by his melancholic look, Vuton wasn't coming back.
"He can destroy immortals," Gidorah heard Jaya whisper worriedly, "We're so screwed!"
As if Murdoch had heard them, Gidorah watched in horror as another immortal murdering purple death ray shot in the direction of the sky chariot. The same chariot that currently accommodated his wife and 2 of his sons!
"NOOO!" Gidorah cried in terror and with impossible speed, launched himself in front of the chariot to intercept the attack. He quickly raised his sacred lightning sword in a desperate attempt to deflect the blow.
Fortunately, this succeeded, as the purple energy blast was sent careening away from his family by the sword. Unfortunately, this came at a price, as Murdoch's attack was so powerful, that it shattered the sword blade!
"Im-Impossible." Gidorah stuttered in disbelief, holding what was left of the broken sword between his fingertips.
Murdoch's purple-eyed head laughed in amusement, shaking the sky with the noise, "I promised your death, didn't I?" he taunted, before launching another purple beam at the Sky chariot.
The sky primordial, now inherently defenceless, stood stubbornly in the way, determined to take the killing blow in place of his family. He closed his eyes, prepared himself for the pain as the power beam screeched towards him, the terrifying sound filling his ears…
When it suddenly stopped! Gidorah opened his eyes, to find himself stuck in place but conscious! He saw the death beam just a few feet away from him, about to end his life, but seemingly frozen in the air.
"I can't allow anyone else to move!" the voice of Kronus caught Gidorah's attention, "My energy runs low, father!" the Titan called, his glowing golden eyes signalling his manipulation over time.
Somehow, Gidorah found a way to talk, "Save me, my boy!" he pleaded the Titan.
Kronus made no movement except to summon his scythe, "My weapon is the only thing that can safely stop that beam, it is after all, created by two powerful primordials!" the Titan explained absentmindedly.
Gidorah was confused, "What are you saying, Kronus?" he inquired nervously.
Kronus grinned, slightly maliciously, "I can save you father," he mused, "But I ask of one thing in return!"
Gidorah was shocked, but nevertheless played along, "W-What is it?" the primordial stuttered in complete surprise.
Kronus looked serious, "Give me the throne. That's it." he demanded, "Doesn't have to be today, just swear on Dimensius's name you will in the next 5 years."
Gidorah thought this over. Kronus had the potential to be a good king someday, there was no doubt about that. The young Titan was intelligent, powerful and a natural born leader. But, he was also a little corrupt and power hungry, it would take longer than 5 years to mend that. He needed to prove himself, since he had already failed some key tests so far. For example, Gidorah had never intended Umbra as his heir, instead it had supposed to serve as an experiment upon how Kronus would react to bad news. The Titan had not passed said test, instead turning to the totally malicious Obsidius for help in securing the throne. He was immature and trying to force his way to the throne, Gidorah decided, the primordial couldn't allow Kronus access to the power just yet.
"Hurry, father," Kronus cut him out of his thoughts, "I can't hold this much longer! So tell me, will you do what I request?" the Titan asked, his breathing becoming heavier with each passing moment.
"I'm sorry, Kronus," Gidorah stated sadly after a small pause, "But I cannot allow-"
Gidorah never got to finish, as a sudden white hot searing pain tore into him. The pain only lasted a few seconds, before his entire world faded into whiteness.
(Kronus POV)
Hearing his father's refusal to meet his demands, Kronus immediately released his hold on time which allowed the primordial of the Sky to be struck with the full force of Murdoch's purple beam. The Titan knew he wouldn't be caught, he had ensured only him and Gidorah had retained consciousness during the time pause as to leave no witnesses if things were to go south. And, his father would just assume that he had gotten too tired to hold time any longer in the unlikely event of the primordial surviving the attack. Truth be told, Kronus could probably keep his control for a few more minutes, but no one else needed to know that…
"Gidorah!" the shrill voice of his mother, Jaya rang out in despair as she watched her husband's body get engulfed by Murdoch's beam. The Earth Primordial began sobbing uncontrollable, head in hands, as she started to come to terms with the possibility that Gidorah would never return. Seeing his mother in this state, it actually made Kronus guilty about what he did.
"D-dad?" his brother, Rattus was quite possibly even more affected by the scene than even Jaya was. Rattus had always been extremely close to his father, something Kronus often envied, due to their sharing of a domain. And, what just happened to the dearest person in his life, looked to have completely shattered the young Titan' heart. Rattus stood, mouth slightly open in shock, silent tears dripping from his face.
Kronus couldn't watch any longer. "I-I will avenge him." the Titan of Time announced quietly, before climbing his way onto the roof of the hovering Sky Chariot.
"You have come to meet your doom!" Murdoch's purple-eyed head sneered when he saw Kronus, "Just like your father!"
Kronus shook his head, "No," he replied, "I'm going to be the one to slay you beast!" He summoned his powerful scythe, and pointed it challengingly in the direction of the mountain-sized dragon.
The dragon laughed at the action, before attempting to blast the young Titan into dust with a purple death beam. Kronus was prepared, and tried to imitate his father by swinging at the incoming beam with the scythe's blade like a baseball bat. He tried to redirect the beam towards one of Murdoch's heads, to try and destroy it.
Unfortunately, while Kronus was powerful, he was far less experienced than his father. And, while his weapon was more powerful than that of Gidorah's, his skills severely lacked compared to the sky primordial. Actually, Kronus succeeded in taking out a head by redirecting the death beam, causing the dragon to screech at the pain of losing another head. But. the force had knocked the scythe out of his hand and it fell off the side of the Sky Chariot. In Kronus's daze, he didn't realize until it had fallen way out of sight, too far to be summoned.
"You are defenceless, Titan!" the purple-eyed head boomed in amusement, "Your time runs out!" he hissed, before unleashing another purple beam towards Kronus.
Kronus grit his teeth as he slowed time, the brief exchange had taken a surprising amount out of him and he was running extremely low on energy. Currently, the Titan was not strong enough to stop time, much less allow himself to move within the time bubble. No. Kronus could only stay frozen, and watch as the death beam moved in slow motion towards him.
Suddenly, just as Kronus's energy was pretty much depleted, a bright orange flash appeared in front of him to intercept the dragon's attack. The winged figure of Hell, surrounded by some sort of orange shield had somehow completely absorbed Murdoch's purple beam, rendering it completely useless!
Hell flashed the Sky Chariot a grin, "Do me a favour," he called to the 3 immortals, "After I'm gone, make sure Kronus gets the throne!"
"Im-Impossible!" Murdoch spluttered in utter disbelief at Hell's display of power.
Hell looked completely badass with his orange energy, death staff pointed at his enemy, "Go to Hell!" the primordial growled in response, the staff's eyes beginning to glow a vibrant orange.
Murdoch started to glow the same orange colour as Hell, "What is hap-" the dragon began in confusion. But, he was cut off as both him and Hell exploded into orange light.
Kronus could hear the shocked voice of his mother down below. "No." Jaya breathed in distress, "He sacrificed himself to trap Murdoch in Hell. He used all of his remaining energy to do it. He's-He's not coming back…" She became more and more hysterical, sobbing louder and banging against the floor. And who could blame her, Kronus thought sadly, she had just lost her 2 best friends in the span of 10 minutes. The Titan of Time felt an immense wave of guilt wash over him, as he realized that it was mostly because of his insatiable desire to be King that the 2 primordials were dead…
Time Skip: After the survivors gather together after the victory (Shey POV) Location: Antathelus Cathedral
When Shey had first received news that Midgard had won the war, she was overjoyed. But, she had quickly noticed the gloomy atmosphere around her and quickly figured out that things had gone horribly wrong. She was almost dizzy from worry when she pondered the possibility of Kronus's death. She walked around the Cathedral, frantically looking around for the fair-skinned, golden-eyed Titan when she yelped in surprise at the feeling of a strong hand placed upon her shoulder.
She turned quickly, and breathed a massive sigh of relief when she looked into the loving golden eyes of her boyfriend, "Hey." he said softly.
Shey gave a soft smile in response, "Hey." she replied happily.
Suddenly, the voice of her mother, Jaya, erupted from the speakers: "As Queen of Midgard, I would like to officially welcome all of you to this War memorial." Jaya sounded weary and disinterested, Shey could see tear streaks on her face as well as puffy red eyes. It was clear she had been crying.
"Krow?" Shey got the Titan of Time's attention, "What happened to mum?"
Kronus immediately cringed, "She's grieving the loss of dad and Hell." as he answered, Shey noticed an unexplained look of guilt pass quickly across his face.
"Dad…didn't make it?" Shey asked in a small voice. Gidorah was an amazing father, always the best he could for her. He didn't deserve to die…
"No." Kronus replied shakily, "H-He didn't…" Shey saw the same look of guilt across his face but decided not to mention it as not to cause a scene through her mother's speech.
"I would like to honour all the soldiers who bravely fought for Midgard." Jaya announced, "To those families currently hurting from the losses of war, I sympathise wholly with."
Everyone in the cathedral hung their heads, adding to the already depressing atmosphere present. Shey swore she heard some sniffles and sibs as well, throughout the almost entirely silent crowd. She thought of her father, and had to hold back tears at the thought of never being able to see him again. It was so unfair! What was the point of being immortal, if those you love were going to die anyway?
Jaya continued, "I would especially like to honour the primordials who gave up their immortal lives for the goodness of Midgard. Hydros, primordial of the Seas. Vuton, primordial of Darkness. Rene, primordial of Love. Galleem primordial of Light. My best friend, Hell, primordial of Hell" she hesitated, holding back a sob, "And my husband, Gidorah, primordial of the Sky. We will remember you."
Jaya pressed on, despite shakiness beginning to seep into her voice, "And-And because the King of Midgard has fallen. A new one must be crowned. Because my husband did not actually name anyone as his heir, I will be the one that decides." she made brief eye contact with Shey, "I wish to honour the dying wish of my best friend, Hell. Therefore, I nominate my youngest son, Kronus, to be crowned King. Are there any objections?"
Shey was shocked. Kronus was to be King? Surprisingly, none of her brothers had rejected the idea, leading Shey to believe that whatever he had done in the war had earned their total respect. But more importantly, what would this mean for her?
"If there are none," Jaya called, "Then may Kronus, Titan of Time, enter the stage to be crowned King of Midgard."
Time Skip: After the Crowning
Kronus's crowning was very simple. The Titan simply walked on stage and bowed politely to Jaya. Then, the primordial placed Gidorah's crown on his head and signalled that it was over. Finally, the crowd cheered in response, with Shey probably cheering the loudest out of anyone.
Now, most of the people had left the Cathedral to pay respects at the cemetery. It was pretty much just Shey and Kronus that remained. Shey intended to leave quickly in order to grieve for her father, and the other immortals that made a big impact upon her life, but the look on Kronus's face told her he wanted to speak with her quietly.
"Shey." Kronus said seriously to her, "With my crowning as the King of Midgard, and the end of the huge war, it seems my vision for the Golden Age will soon become a reality."
Shey nodded affirmatively in response.
Kronus continued, "That leaves just one thing left. I know we have discussed the possibility of marriage before, and have decided to deal with it after the war." The Titan suddenly pulled out a small velvet box, "Shey, we always wanted something permanent. So, I'm asking you to marry me and let your destiny intertwine with mine! Marry me, and become the new Queen of Midgard!"
That was like the 100th time Shey had been shocked today. It was true, Kronus had definitely discussed marriage with her, and she had always shown a liking towards the idea. But, she definitely hadn't expected Kronus to be already prepared to pop the question so soon. Nevertheless, she knew her answer anyway…
"I always wanted something permanent," Shey replied, emotion lacing her voice, "I will be honoured to be your Queen, and be part of the Golden Age with you, Kronus."
Kronus smiled at her, and for that moment, Shey felt as if everything had reached absolute harmony in the universe.
Location: The Cosmos (Gidorah POV)
As Gidorah regained consciousness, he looked at his surroundings, completely confused by what he saw. It was, like nothing? Yeah. That's the best way to describe it, nothing. Complete and utter emptiness, as far as the eye could see. As the primordial marvelled at the sight before him, he suddenly sensed a presence behind him.
He turned to see the huge figure of Dimensius, who seemed to have given up on his blue skinned form and reverted back to his original, cosmic form. The powerful being almost seemed to be camouflaged with the rest of the nothingness, but Gidorah could still make out his figure. Dimensius's arms were crossed, pure white eyes watching the sky primordial intently.
"H-Hello, milord?" Gidorah asked uncertainly.
Dimensius smirked, "Welcome to the Cosmos, King of Midgard." when the cosmic being spoke, it seemed to shift reality itself.
Gidorah was perplexed, he had heard of the Cosmos before. It was rumoured to be a place that existed outside of the known universe, outside what Gidorah considered to be reality itself. "What am I doing here?" he asked.
Instead of answering, Dimensius snapped his fingers, and Gidorah's entire landscape rapidly changed. He could still see the eternal nothingness, but, he could also see something else. A golden gate, something that reminded him of his own Kingdom, Heaven's, gates. It was blocking something incredibly bright, almost to the point of being unbearable.
"You are here to make a decision." Dimensius answered cryptically to Gidorah's question.
"Decision?" Now, Gidorah was more baffled than before.
Dimensius pointed at the golden gate, "This is the only entrance to Eternal Peace. The universe I created as the afterlife for immortals who completed good deeds in their lifetime." he explained.
Gidorah's jaw dropped in shock. He finally understood what had happened! The pain he had felt was from Murdoch's immortality stripping purple beam incinerating him. That meant that… That his son Kronus had released the time hold, and allowed the sky primordial to die. It could have been from exhaustion, but for some unexplainable reason, Gidorah knew that it wasn't…
"Correct, sky primordial," It seemed Dimensius had read his mind, "You are dead. But, your purpose had not been fulfilled yet. So, I am willing to bend the rules, and allow you to return to the living world. Of course, you do get a choice."
Dimensius paused to allow Gidorah to process some of the information.
"You can remain here, in Eternal Peace. To remain forever with your brother, Hydros, and the other primordials who passed away in the war." Dimensius continued, "Or, you can return. To the living world, where your wife Jaya and your children are destined to fight in another terrible war that could affect the outcome of Midgard. A war, where only you can decide the outcome. If you choose to return, you cannot enter Eternal Peace yet."
Gidorah thought for a moment, but came to a decision rather quickly, "I want to return. I want to save Midgard." he replied confidently. Sure, he would love to live with his friends for eternity, free of any stress of worries. But, he knew that was selfish, and it was his duty to protect Midgard. He understood Dimensius was too powerful to enter the universe and make any significant effect to help his home planet, so Gidorah felt the responsibility fell to him. Plus, there was something… Something about Dimensius's words that made him feel there was more to it, but he just couldn't figure it out yet.
Dimensius smiled, "Very well." his tone indicated that Gidorah had made the correct choice, "I cannot return you immediately as with the collapse of the great star in the solar system, the universe remains too unstable to enter into. Plus, the Beasts of Destruction entering has weakened the bonds even more. We must wait, for the cycle to be fulfilled and for the star to be restored somehow. But not to worry, time works much differently in the Cosmos, so you may only wait a few minutes in this place, or it could be a couple millennia. I can't confirm because my influence doesn't extend into the universes anymore."
Gidorah nodded in understanding, "Then I will wait, out in the nothingness of the cosmos, for however long it takes!" he proclaimed assuredly.
A/N - Thanks for reading, and remember to leave a review. Remember, this is just the end of the first war, there will be much more to this story!