Divinity: Fates and the Afterlife
Chapter Seventy-One
The indistinctive sound of steps and different noise-leveled chatter slowly pulled the moon princess from her haze and slowly opened her eyes; she stayed in the same position for a couple of minutes in complete silence and exhaled as much air her lungs could release. With weak force, she slowly pushed herself up and leaned her back on the headboard. It didn't matter how luxurious it was or how many covers and comforters she added, the bed felt stiff and cold without her husband. After a long minute, she looked down at her hand and saw her sparkly rose gold engagement and wedding rings on her finger making this a solid confirmation that what happened to her had been just a dream. Serenity's hand lazily slid down her neck down to her neckline to look for the golden pendant and wrapped her fingers around it tight, almost as if she was trying to make sure she was really back to her time and turned to look out the window; her eyes widened and quickly went to pull the thick curtains aside to look at the somber view outside.
The sky was the deepest shade of gray she had ever seen in her life and was all covered in dark clouds that looked like a dense fog and smoke blocking all attempts of sunlight to filter through. There was not a single trace of light and everything looked still, like if time had stopped. Usagi placed a hand on the window and frowned when frost started to form around it and that is when she noticed the thick blanket of ice over the city. The moon princess didn't need to ask anything to know what was happening and slid down to the floor, feeling the remains of hope crushing inside her chest along with her heart. She didn't believe she could feel more pain that she already felt over this past month, she didn't believe her mind could be put through more torture but then, this moment manifested like the cruelest of jokes and she saw Mamoru in the most beautiful and at the same time the most painful dream. The princess couldn't take it anymore and covered her face with her hands as she slowly leaned her head on the freezing cold window and wept with wrenching pain, "Pray... to who, Endymion? Nobody listens..." she opened her teary and puffy eyes and let out another heavy sob, "Nobody cares..." She pounded the window weakly, "Mamo-chan..."
O—o—O
Back in the living room, the girls were sitting on the sofa in silence all worried for the princess' health and how she had been dealing with stress lately. There was tension in the air but it wasn't because they were uncomfortable being all together, but because they were all aware something was happening, something else; Megumi turned on the news again to monitor the status of the city, at this point, Luna and Artemis had arrived with news on how the weather outside was becoming unforgiving and how panic was starting to rise on the streets. Also, how with Casanova Akira's constant appearances in the news had been stirring and lifting the negative cloud of speculation around her father's lifework as well about those blessed with divinity and explain how the frost phenomena and other strange occurrences were similar to what she experienced underground when he first found the ruins that were now more than confirmed that once belonged to the royal family of earth—the true guardians of this planet. The word cosmic attached to monarchy was not so foreign anymore, it didn't sound as crazy as it did months ago and she was making sure to give them the credit and respect the royals and sailor senshi truly deserved.
After meeting with who she later discovered was the moon princess and knew of the situation unfolding, she went on a quest to try and set the record straight and put the pieces of her life back together with the little courage she had left and that daredevil audacity she was known for. Days later, the unimaginable happened and found Mikael wandering the streets of Tokyo very much disoriented but without that negative aura that had taken control of him. It was like he was released from a malignant force; as if his soul was finally set free. Malnourished, hurt, and weak but alive—he was taken to a hospital and with much proper care, he was finally looking more like himself boosting Akira with confidence to make a public appearance once again. With her conversation with Endymion and his intervention to save her life from Asteria's grasp more than present in her mind, she was more than certain that he had to do something with Mikael's release from such dark spell. Both, prince and princess had kept their word and she couldn't be more grateful but also worried because it's been long since she knew or heard anything about the prince and by the look in the princess' face that last time they met and how the world was strangely behaving, she had the hunch, as a girl in love, that something was not right.
Akira felt she needed to support the moon princess in any way she could, it didn't matter how big or small her efforts were, she knew she had to do something to help and her best bet was to try and reach out to people to believe and look out for her husband. With a refreshed determination and much more knowledge on what she had in her hands, she went back to the apartment where she had left most of her research and started working on new leads. Whenever there was an opportunity for her to speak, she did, and wherever there was a place she could go to make an appearance and talk about what happened to her, she did, and surprisingly, her voice was being heard for better or worse, her voice and her words had a new value.
Her efforts were not in vain as it soon caught Luna and Artemis' attention and had been following her every move so she wouldn't reveal more than she was allowed for their safety, including hers, but they were all grateful for her efforts, especially Serenity.
People were starting to grow curious, anxious, and worried but also, they had started asking questions that months ago would have sounded too surreal: Where are the sailor senshi? And if there is a cosmic monarch protecting the planet from events that went beyond their control, where was it? They wanted to see them manifest. They were desperate to believe. Strange events started to happen not only in Japan but all around the globe, droughts, volcanic activity, earthquakes, extreme floods and very intense drops of temperature that now made them believe there was a stronger force, something that went beyond just a natural cause of nature that kept everything from collapsing. All satellite receptions started to fail, airports had stopped all functioning because their radars were not working and the increase of ice on the road and strong hail. Cellphones had problems with reception as well as other electric appliances. It was almost as if earth was failing, like if it had stopped spinning and everything had started to move out of place.
While all this happened, the shitennou had been over the edge about the princess' health and mental well-being and stayed by her side, or at least, for as long as she allowed them to be. Thankfully, Megumi had worked a very special bond with her, one very different from the one she had with the girls but equally important that allowed her to keep a closer eye on her. Serenity fully trusted her and Megumi fully trusted Serenity and she knew that no matter how broken or tired the princess might be, she was well aware that she had a bigger responsibility in her hands that kept her glued to reality as ugly and disastrous as it currently was.
As the four generals stood by the window, they stayed in the same place in complete silence. Ever since the princess was taken to her room, each and everyone silently prayed and deeply hoped their biggest fear wouldn't come true. Zoisite pressed his lips as he looked out the window. Jadeite noticed the tension in his always calm face and took a deep breath, but it as always, it was the brave one to break the uncomfortable silence like the sharpest of knives, "Should we be worried?" He asked softly while still looking out the window. He really didn't want to keep looking at the horrific scene outside but his eyes felt glued to the scenery, making it impossible to look away. Nephrite pressed his lips together, him too, feeling forced to keep his moss-colored eyes fixed on the cold image from outside and also trying his best to keep his usual calm-self intact "When did we stop feeling like this?" He sighed, "Ever since Endymion crossed to that parallel in time, our minds have been fixed in the horrors that lie behind his absence."
"At first I was certain of this plan of his but now..." Jadeite put his sarcasm aside and let his serious character come through, printing worry into his warm and boyish voice, "I do not know what to think anymore. I can no longer tell what the hell is he doing." He frowned, "He should have come back by now—why has he not yet returned?"
"Jadeite," Zoisite interrupted, trying his best to calm his brother's rising nerves, "Please, not here, not now..."
"It has been over a month since he disappeared," Jadeite frowned with increasing anger, "The Princess... she is suffering, her spirit is breaking," he turned to Kunzite who was the most silent of them all and frowned with a pleading undertone in his voice, wishing to be thought out of his ideas, "Kunzite..."
Kunzite took a deep breath and closed his eyes, pushing Jadeite more over the edge, "You have been more quiet than usual lately... why are we not doing anything!? You are our leader! Second in command to Endymion, you are his right hand, why are you not doing anything?! I cannot plan any strategies if I am not given any damn resources!"
"Jadeite..."
"Say something, Kunzite!"
Zoisite tried to intervene again but the older blonde shook his head, "No, Zoisite, don't."
Kunzite understood Jadeite's frustration and panic, he had it too, the unnerving feeling that things were not right. That in fact, they were worse than he expected them to get with the prince's absence. Princess Serenity's health was failing, no matter how much she tried to stay calm and strong; while it was different from the time Endymion feel unconscious, she never really got over the traumatic experience of being locked away from their special bond. Back then, despite him being completely under the influence of the crystal's protective power, she could see him, she could stay by his side, but this time he was gone, and what was worse, he had obliged her to leave his side against her wishes. To Kunzite, it was still a mystery what happened when they met and parted ways in Inferno, but one thing was for sure, he didn't guarantee his return to her and she was not taking it well, no matter how much she tried to prove otherwise.
All those nights he's been visiting her without the others, he had seen different sides of Serenity that has kept him wondering just how much more is there to know about the moon princess. All he knew back then was that she was very sweet and polite, the perfect model of a princess, educated, refined and not to mention beautiful. Now that he allowed himself to think about it, her beauty was not even one he had seen before; he admitted there was a quality in her that sure took everyone's breath away, and while at first, he gave credit to her nature as a true Olympian goddess, he later realized it was something much more than that, something that bloomed from within. Her beauty amplifies within the mystery that surrounds her, unlike Venus' sensual and alluring beauty he was so addicted to, Princess Serenity had too many other qualities on her favor, physically and intellectually.
To most people, she was bubbly and carefree, sweet and friendly. Sometimes a little too naïve. A girl everyone wants to be friends with or be around with, but the more time he spent with her, the more he came to learn they had only seen whenever she allowed others to see and it made perfect sense why Endymion fell in love with her since day one. Whatever way anyone chose to call her, Usagi or Serenity, was a woman shrouded in complexity and the always practical prince had never stopped discovering things about her. She has kept him completely in awe up to this current era. From brave to intimidating, to sweet and adorable, to strong and determinant, the moon princess was like looking into the many beautiful shades of an opal stone. She challenged Endymion in ways no others did and not only in terms of strength or character, but in everything that happened in their everyday life. She was playful yet she had an avid thirst to get to the bottom of everything, she was curious by nature but also idealistic. She was distracted but also always made incredibly profound questions that were completely appealing to the heavily analytical prince—she could go on for hours in a debate with him about almost anything and get lost in a world of their own. She always kept him wondering what she would do next, she always put him out of his comfort zone without making him feel vulnerable. She was a pillar to him, Serenity was Endymion's rock; his anchor—his life. She was very noble, even much more than he was, loyal, and kind, but she also knew how to make herself heard and respected. Whenever she looked at you with that strong gleam in her crystal blue eyes, one could feel completely helpless and obliged to listen and obey. She had a smile that could melt the hardest of shells but also seeing her cry could totally break your heart. Princess Serenity had created a special sister-brother bond with Kunzite that was based in sole trust, she has proven she was as strong as his royal brother but also, that she was one of a kind—her own kind of goddess.
Serenity was indeed a jewel, one Endymion was very lucky to find as he always said, and now, he was one of those lucky ones to see why she was so precious to him. But sadly, as of now, this precious jewel was on the verge of losing all its gleam because her protector—her best friend and soulmate was not there with her. Kunzite was having a hard time because he was running out of advice to give to her that would soothe her spirit and also because he knew what it meant to lose her too.
He let out a heavy sigh as he looked out the window with a stricken face but before he could answer his younger brother, a loud thump inside the bedroom caught their attention. He quickly turned to Venus who responded with a quick, silent nod and walked back to the bedroom with Mercury following behind. Before the girls could open the door, the generals could hear the princess' heart-wrenching sobs calling her husband's name and clenched their jaws in deep mortification.
"She felt it..." Nephrite muttered.
"She knows," Zoisite nodded and looked down with defeat. Jadeite hung his head low and closed his eyes, "What is going to happen now?"
"I do not know, Jadeite," Zoisite sighed heavily, really hoping to give a valid answer but nothing certain came to mind, "I honestly do not know."
O—o—O
Inside the bedroom, Venus with Mercury walked with a terrified look on their faces as they came close to Serenity, "Princess..." the blonde was the first to reach for her friend and Mercury closed the door behind her to give them enough privacy. After talking to the girls who were still in the living room with the shitennou, the bluenette thought it had been a while since she last checked on her and Venus tagged along since she was the only one besides Mercury that knew the truth behind her weak health. When they heard the noise and Venus was alerted by Kunzite, their fears were confirmed and as soon as they opened the door. Their hearts froze when they didn't see her on the bed but instead by the cold window with her long pearlescent hair covering her like a sleek sheet of silk as she poured her heart out into tears.
"Endymion!" Serenity cried louder and pounded the cold glass with her fists, "Endymion! Mamo-chan!"
It was more than obvious that the princess was having another nervous breakdown that it was taking another hit to her already unsteady health, "Usa-chan," Venus tried to talk to her more like her sister than a worried guardian and gently combed her hair away from her face and looked at her weeping friend completely lost in her pain, taking short breaths. Mercury kneeled in front of her and turned to Venus, "Help me take her back to the b—"
"No,"
Mercury and Venus blinked and looked at the princess shaking her head effusively, almost angry, "Don't do it. I can't do it... I can't do this anymore..."
"Usagi-chan?"
"I can't do it..." Serenity tried to push herself away from her blonde friend but Venus' arms were keeping her close to her, reminding her of her friend's strength, "I don't want to—not anymore."
"What?"
Serenity dried her tears brusquely with her forearm and gave a determinant glare to her friend, "I can't wait anymore!" She sniffed and turned to Mercury with that same look in her crystal blue eyes, "I can't keep doing this... I cannot keep allowing myself being put to sleep, I have to do something!"
"Usagi-chan, you need to rest—"
"I've rested enough, Ami-chan," Serenity looked at Mercury and tried to stand up, "I need to get out of here,"
"You're too weak, you can't go out like this! Usagi, please, try to understand!" Venus tried to pull her down but the princess was starting to fight back with renewed strength. "No!" Serenity frowned, "That is all I have been trying to do all this time! I can't stop thinking about it and I can't accept it! I am done trying to understand! I am done waiting! I don't want to wait anymore, I have to do something!" She shook her head, "I am angry, I am fed up!"
Mercury tried to calm her down and turned to Venus, knowing she had better persuasive powers than her but the princess wasn't giving in and continued fighting the girls until she stood up and walked out of the bedroom with Mercury and Venus following behind in a hurry. Haruka was the first to see Serenity coming close and quickly stood up, startling everybody in the living room. Kunzite watched her walking toward him without glancing at anyone else in the room and immediately took his role as overprotective brother and looked at her with the same worry in his cool gray eyes, "Princess..."
Serenity felt a lump in the back of her throat making it hard for her to speak, her body started shivering so much that if she wasn't holding on to the general, she would be on the floor again because there was little to no strength on her knees to support her, "Please tell me the truth,"
"Princess..."
"You promised me, Kunzite." Serenity frowned, "Tell me the truth."
Kunzite closed his eyes and gave the princess a slow nod; Serenity tightened her grip on Kunzite's arms and leaned her head on his chest. She stayed in silence for a couple of minutes, trying to deal with the turmoil happening inside her. She wanted to cry and she wanted to scream but beyond just feeling hurt, she opened her heart to a much stronger feeling—anger. Serenity closed her eyes and took a deep breath "We can't rely on Nephrite's powers right now, they won't answer. They won't listen. It's up to us now."
"Princess, the stone—"
"I am stepping in and taking his place, exactly like he wanted me to," Serenity looked up at Kunzite with authority despite the tears streaming down her eyes, "I can't keep waiting... I can't keep wondering what to do," she dried her tears and took another breath, "I don't have his skill or power, but I don't need to hear people's prayers echoing in my mind or to monitor the status of Earth to know it's slowly shutting down."
"What?!" The girls widened their eyes in shock, Uranus being the most surprised "But... this planet... the guardian..." Mercury shook her head, "Usagi-chan, what you're saying is—"
All nine senshi and four shitennou were taken by surprise by a strong roar and a brutal earthquake; Venus turned to a very shocked princess trying to keep her balance and pulled her into her arms and widened her eyes when she felt another set of arms around her and turned to look over her shoulder at Kunzite using his body as a shield, "Kunzite,"
"We need to go to a much stable ground,"
"It's going strong!" Mars turned to Jadeite who had his arms around her protectively, "We need to leave the building,"
"We can't leave while the ground is shaking this much!" Mars said with worry and saw Luna hiding with Artemis under the coffee table, "As soon as it ends, we have to get out of here,"
"Maybe if we create an energy force," Zoisite wondered as he held Mercury tight, Mercury blinked, "Like a hyperspatial pocket that could help us walk out,"
"Prepare to leave!" Pluto said out loud, startling the girls "What are you going to do, Pluto?!" Venus turned to the time guardian with worry; Neptune looked at her with panic "Don't you dare stop time!"
"Pluto!" Uranus tried to stop her but Saturn intervened and shook her head, "I won't let her—go, take the Princess with you and get to a safer place. I will stay with Pluto to keep the flux steady—" she raised her hand to call for her silver glaive that appeared out of thin air without the need of her transforming into her senshi uniform "Silence Wall!"
Pluto summoned the power on her garnet orb and the rest of her key rod appeared "Father Chronos! Grant me time!" She squeezed her eyes shut, "Please... grant me time..." The senshi of time held her rod up high and shouted with glorious authority, "Time flux—interlock!"
An intense light started to gleam from the garnet orb in her talisman and quickly engulfed the entire building, creating a small pocket in time that made it go at a very slow pace; she turned to the shitennou and pointed the door, "This will give us the opportunity to flee before something happens! We must take her out to safety!"
"But what about the people in the building?!" Serenity turned to Venus as she helped her stand up, "We will take care of it, Princess," Uranus said as she ran toward the front door to check they had a free path, "Go!"
Venus turned and grabbed the princess' hand, "Let's go," Serenity nodded and looked for Megumi who thankfully had taken Luna and Artemis with her and was being protected by Jupiter and Neptune as they ran out of the apartment all the way to the emergency stairs. Uranus turned to Pluto with worry, she knew the soldier of time had majestic powers, more than what she was allowed to witness in many battles but with great strength always came great consequences and slowing time, while it technically did violate taboos, it was not as punished as if she stopped it completely. These sorts of manipulations it still took a toll on her body because it required a massive amount of energy and self-control to focus and be performed with success, "Are you alright?"
Pluto nodded, "I'll be alright,"
"What is it?" Uranus turned wide-eyed to the shitennou who were the ones that stayed behind and frowned when another loud growl echoed in the air, "What is going on?"
"We have entered a stage where Earth is trying to survive with its last resources, the energy that is left from going extinct relies on the Princess," Nephrite answered dryly and saw the people from the building started to come out of their apartments and guided them to the emergency stairs. Uranus stopped and shook her head with worry, "What does that mean?"
"Hurry!" Pluto looked at her garnet stone and widened her eyes when she felt her energy started to drain for the strong power, "The time pocket is weakening! I cannot force it to slow down for too long!"
Earthquakes were not a new thing in Japan, and thankfully, people were taught and trained on what to do when one broke out, no matter the intensity but not even engineering in its most advanced state could compete with the brutal power of Earth; all buildings were fully equipped for these situations but the last series of quakes did not feel regular. They all came with stronger aftershocks and they had many alerts of tsunamis coming their way, driving people to a panic state. By the time the girls and shitennou took the last set of stairs to the main lobby, the police and firefighters were already on the streets making sure everyone was safe and taken to the safest zone around the districts as a preventive measure.
After a couple of more strong shakes and rumbles, the ground stopped and so was Pluto's small time-bending and joined the others and quickly walked away from the commotion before they were taken to another place. The shitennou went to check on the princess who was staring at the building with tears in her eyes and anxiety kicking in, "That was the last thing that tied me to him..."
Megumi turned to look at her with wide eyes, knowing exactly what the princess meant with those words. Over the past few weeks, she has been working on a silent resolution to finally merge both of her lives, the one she led solely as a royal and the other she led solely as a simple girl and make a new one out of it. In between those layers, a soldier was born, and she fought for love and for justice to bring peace to this new era. It finally made sense to Serenity why her mother was so overprotective of her but also why she made the sacrifice and sent her to be reborn in this planet; what it didn't make sense, however, was how she could fight for love if her love wasn't there anymore.
"Princess," Kunzite walked over to her, "We need to leave before earth resonates again."
"Let's go back to the shrine," Venus suggested and turned to Mars, "We will have enough privacy there and it's safer," the raven-haired priestess nodded but felt a sharp pinch in her chest that made her take a hasty breath and looked up at the sky, "Something is strange—I feel it in the air,"
Jupiter turned with worry, "An enemy?"
Mars' amethyst eyes narrowed, "The energy in the ambiance... is..." she turned to Serenity who was looking up at the thick-clouded sky and hesitated for a minute before continuing, "...Becoming poisonous—hostile."
Jadeite narrowed his eyes and turned to into the same direction as the princess and frowned confused, "W-What is..." his gray-blue eyes widened in horror and turned to the mass of people still coming out of the tall building, "Get out of the way! Get away! Run!"
Mars widened her eyes and gaped with shock at the dark hole opening in the sky, like a bottomless pit. The priestess took a large gasp of air, "Father..."
This was enough to break the thin layer of patience and order among people as they started running without direction all trying to save their lives. The low rumble sound, like a horn piercing through the air, sent chills down to everyone, the senshi and shitennou included. Upon the first thunderous sound, what looked like a shower of hail started to come out of the pit formed in the sky with massive force contaminating everything in its way without mercy; the trees and all green grass became food for malice igniting a wave of madness and desperation among people as shadow creatures like the ones that once were under Asteria's control poured out like tar from every corner while other dark entities floated in the sky as they came out of the dark hole.
Panic rose as the effect of the scorching pieces of dark matter made contact with earth's atmosphere; it looked like if the sky was breaking and the thick black clouds covered the sun completely. Along with the thickness in the air and the brusque winds now rushing through every corner of every building came more disaster. Serenity froze in place as he watched how the once starlit sky, the same one that often soothed her troubled mind and was a witness of her cosmic love with the terran prince was becoming a living nightmare as it cracked with every rumbling thunder crashing across. Her crystal blue eyes burned with tears and let them fall without shame or control.
"Pray..." she mumbled with a quivering voice. She took a deep breath and replayed her previous dream with Endymion and the many moments they had shared together, good and bad times. Difficult times, happy times; those times when she felt she could not go on anymore, times when he was helpless watching her sacrifice herself for the sake of others. The time when they chose to follow the path as warriors in this life without looking back and those times when they were a simple couple in love. Every second spent between them became as vivid as she was reliving it in a fraction of seconds; their time apart while he was studying abroad, the nights she stayed up until late because she knew it would be morning on the other side of the world and she wanted to wish him good luck in his mid-terms. Their emotional meetings and departures at the airport. Their casual and romantic dates at their favorite ramen house, their leisure time at his apartment and the more formal visits at her parent's house. Their long trips to the supermarket or the mall; the many times she lied to her parents just so she could spend nights with him, those times when he stayed up late reading her essays to check for any misspells before her deadlines, or when he helped her with her art projects even when he didn't have a single clue of what he was doing. Those silent nights when she could stare at him and draw many portraits without him noticing and how it was then when they made love for the first time in this era. When they got engaged. Their wedding and the ways they always reminded themselves how much they loved each other all the way from the moon and back to the world they belonged. Time was playing a cruel joke on the moon princess, time—no, that no longer existed for her. She bitterly thought. Time had stopped for her the moment she parted ways from Endymion, time had stopped the moment her hand stopped holding his. Without Endymion—her Mamo-chan—nothing made sense to Usagi.
"Pray..."
Serenity took a shaky breath as she wept over the many promises that were slowly crumbling beneath her feet, this was not it—the world they belonged. A world where she was alone and he was trapped somewhere else, a world that was slowly freezing to its demise; where people were afraid and others were dying. This was not the world they wanted to be part of two thousand years ago and that they vowed to protect together this time.
"Pray..."
She heard the pained screams of the people running in different directions, some getting trapped, others attacked and others possessed. Like a horror movie played in slow motion right before her eyes, she saw everything she so much fought to protect as sailor moon was being taken away from her by an alien force—a divine force, her own kind. Her crystal blue eyes burned with tears of anger and let them roll down her flushed cheeks as she saw dark creatures come out of the ground like tar quickly looking for innocent lives to take as hosts. Her shaky hand reached for the pendant hanging on her neck and grabbed it tight before taking a deep breath and closed her eyes. This was the time for her to follow her husband's wishes; she was not going to give them the joy of seeing her break, instead, she was going to step in and take his place with courage and determination and fight with everything she has.
"Pray..."
Without saying anything, Serenity started to walk away, startling the others; Venus was the first to panic and go after her but the princess raised her hand to stop her mid-way.
"Usagi..." Venus muttered with worry as she watched her walk further away. Serenity stopped in the middle of the empty street and tilted her head up to look at the corrupt sky with authority, "The people of Earth are not alone—they have me. This planet is not alone, it has me. He is not alone—he has me!" She took a deep breath, "Whoever you are, I won't let you steal it away, this our world! This is where we belong!" She frowned with anger and let the power of the silver crystal within her slowly manifest in ribbons of light bursting from the white and gold brooch and quickly morphed her clothes into her ethereal white gown.
The dark entities pouring out of the pit in the sky and the ones crawling on the ground soon took notice of the light shining bright, luring them to go in that direction and like rabid beasts went after her. She turned at them with an unreadable expression in her face and aimed her palm at them allowing the energy whiting her come through, disintegrating them in a fraction of a second by an intense beam of light coming from the crystal.
The girls watched in awe at the princess' unexpected take, this was something they had never seen before, coming from her, who always said she did it in favor of love and justice. This was different, she was obviously going through an emotional crisis that if not being careful it could spawn out of control and cause great damage including her. The blonde senshi watched her with tears pooling in her eyes, she could see it, the pain, the anger, and the desperation. Unlike her previous life, indeed she was a different person now—she was older and more mature, her precious Usagi. She was no longer a helpless princess but a soldier, a sailor senshi, once that fought against evil but right now, her actions didn't match her principles as Sailor Moon; the princess showed no mercy, no sympathy, and no remorse for whoever was caught in her way and Venus was worried because right now, she wasn't just fighting against the demons and shadows, but she was had become her own worst enemy.
"Usagi!" The blonde raised her hand holding her transformation rod up in the air, "Venus Crystal Power... Make—Up!" Mars nodded at Jupiter and Mercury and quickly followed suit, "Mercury Crystal Power..."
"Jupiter Crystal Power..."
"Mars Crystal Power..."
"Make—Up!"
The generals changed into their battle uniform with just a flick of their hands and quickly went to take his position to protect the princess who was still gathering enough energy from her crystal to fight the darkness back. Kunzite turned to Nephrite and Jadeite and saw there were still people being targeted, frantically running for their lives and sent a signal to Zoisite to use his healing powers and raise a barrier to protect them. Venus along with the other inner senshi created a protective barrier around the princess to block the dark shadows from getting to her. Kunzite, while overprotective he knew what the princess was trying to do and as he promised, he would follow her commands both as his leader in battle in Endymion's absence and sent another signal to Nephrite and Jadeite to go over and shield the people in the same protective stance.
"Dammit! Those things again?!" Venus turned to Mars as she ran towards the princess "We need to support her until we can escape—the minute there is an opening, we will meet at the shrine."
Mars nodded and brought her hands together to call for her inner fire, "Akuryo—Taisan!" Jupiter extended her arms and broke the seal on the crystal spheres on her belt, "Flower hurricane!"
"Shine Aqua—Illusion!" Mercury blasted a strong stream of icy water at the shadows and turned to see the outer senshi had already transformed and went to take the lead in fighting the demons approaching to give time to the inner senshi to counter-attack and take the Serenity with them. Sailor Uranus watched the princess standing with an unfaltering determination and frowned with worry. This wasn't new to her, to see the princess putting her own life aside for the sake of others, to put herself on the line regardless of the consequences; it has always been like this but this time there was more that went beyond her undying wish to help the innocent—it was a silent cry for help. She couldn't fight the need to go to her aid, it made her blood rush inside her like a desperate call, now more than ever the lunar princess needed much support and not only one a hug or a reassuring couple of words of understanding could give, she demanded her voice to be heard, she demanded attention to let whoever was threatening them. Despite the guardian not being present, she was still standing tall and she was not going anywhere until she succeeded.
Neptune stood by Uranus' side and saw a melancholy look in her lover's always passionate eyes and immediately knew what she was thinking; she turned and saw Pluto and Saturn running to them also fully transformed, "Pluto, are you alright?"
"Yes," Pluto took a couple of hasty breaths and nodded, "I'm okay." Saturn's violet eyes narrowed in thought, Neptune noticed right away, "Saturn?"
"Something is not right," Saturn muttered, she shook her head and turned to Pluto, then to Neptune and Uranus who was now desperate for an answer, "What do you mean?"
"I feel something else..." Saturn frowns with panic, "It's coming..."
"What's coming?" Neptune looks at the youngest of the senshi with worry, "What do you mean? Saturn, what is coming?!"
Saturn looked up without a single expression crossing her porcelain face and fixed her violet eyes on the princess and then at the shadows crawling close and tightened her grip on her glaive, "Dementia."
O—o—O
Serenity slowly opened her eyes and allowed the crisp and soothing light spread around and dissolve the shadows coming close to the crowd, freeing those that got possessed as well, granting the shitennou enough time to act and lead them to safety. Kunzite watched agape, feeling forced to stop and admire the woman in white; Nephrite stood by his older brother's side and frowned, "Kunzite,"
"The Princess..." Kunzite muttered with worry, "Strengthen the barrier—now," his hand rested on the hilt of his quartz sword and pulled it out of its sheath, "I am taking the front but I need you to cover and prevent any collateral damages,"
"Understood," Nephrite nodded, later frowned with restrained worry, "I might have to do something that falls far from my ethics and rank as Shitennou, Kunzite,"
Kunzite smirked with confidence, knowing exactly what he meant, "Drastic situations force us to take drastic measures, Nephrite. Do what you have to do, as long as we get rid of them and keep the shadows away from Princess Serenity—we are not to take any chances here,"
Nephrite nodded and brought his hands together in the shape of a triangle and closed his eyes, "Stellae omnia scire, quando sol eclipsatur illi terebrare circa ea nervi in tenebris—" he frowned and opened his hazel colored eyes, "Caelestium orbium, dona mihi mysticum numerum potentiarum—"a dark mass started to spark in between his hands, showcasing a miniature of a system of orbiting heavenly bodies, "In hac orbita sit ad angulum planum est ex 88.2 ° ad visus linea in Terra, Alpha Coronae Borealis—saevam vim fractam quaero Asterothe stellae vires me deficiant benedicere quod obsidendi vias!" With the blazing power gathered in between his hands, the northern general broke the energy sphere and allowed the energy take over him as he extended his arms and blasted the possessed bodies and creatures around them in a merciless chain of reaction that electrified every single shadow taking over.
Jupiter stood in pure shock to see the power coming from Nephrite, a way she has never seen before, not even when he was brainwashed by Metallia's dark power. The priestess squinted her eyes to protect them from the blinding light, "What is going on?!" Venus turned to Mars with urgency and pulled her closer to her, "This is our chance, we need to stop Usagi before the crystal maxes out her energy!" She shook her head, "She is not thinking about the consequences of her actions—she's in an emotional trance, we need to stop her!"
Mars widened her eyes when she sensed more shadows coming their way and turned to look behind her with panic and brought her two fingers close to her forehead and summoned a mystic charm,
"Rin,"
"Pyou,"
"Tou,"
"Sha,"
"Kai,"
"Jin,"
"Retsu,"
"Zai,"
"Zen..."
"Akuryo Taisan!"
The moon princess looked up at the sky but she felt her body was failing to resist the power the stone demanded from her to stay active and dissolve the dark clouds; Pluto saw the princess' struggle and quickly intervened, the senshi of space and time swung her titanium time rod at the shadows and lifted to call for its power, allowing the heavy and strong whirlpools of the gates of time swirl around the ball of energy forming at the top of her garnet stone and turned "Death Scream,"
Sailor Neptune ran with Sailor Uranus to join Sailor Pluto in battle, with the senshi of the skies calling for the aggressive power forming in her fisted hand, "World—Shacking!"
Neptune raised her arms to welcome the heavenly powers of her planet and ancestors and allowed a strong seaquake crash around her and threw the blast of energy at the shadow-like creatures, "Deep—Submerge!"
Saturn frowned as she looked at the sky with anger and frustration for feeling limited when performing an attack, being her, the one that could cause the most damage. With all the senshi and shitennou so close, using her full strength would put them in great danger since her power, unlike the rest, was meant to break the fibers of life and fate and bring everything to its demise. Despite being a sailor senshi, she did not have many options of attack, with her, every single move had to be carefully planned because of its unmeasured and unforgiving force, but seeing the princess trying her best to remain calm and the others stepping in is when the clear memory of the prince hugging her in gratitude and putting his trust in her hands ignited her rage, making her think how could this happen? How Hades could be so ambitious and disinterested of innocent lives? Saturn felt embarrassed and angry for being linked to a god like him, not even her mother, who was known to be mediatic and peaceful stood to defend what was fair, to defend her, and it cut her to the very core.
If things continued like this, the senshi or death and rebirth knew the princess was going to be the most affected; battling a heavy depression and a weak health was going to break her sooner or later and she could not allow it, "I was given a mission and I do not intend to fail. No matter how many times I betray you. No matter how many times I go against your law, Father—Hades, I will not change my view. I will not turn my back on the idea of living a peaceful life—the idea of a future where we can live at peace. I will not stop believing in the Prince and Princess, regardless of what happens to me, I will not let them disappear." She walked toward the shadows as she swung her sharp glaive cutting several shadow bodies moving close and turned elegantly with her weapon held up with pride, ready to call upon her apocalyptic power.
Serenity broke concentration to look at the young senshi standing several meters away from all of them and holding her weapon straight across her body with both hands, proving she just had made a decision and that she was going through with it, regardless of the consequences. The princess widened her eyes in shock and held her breath in panic, "No, stop it, stop it, Saturn!"
"Your trespassing is a fault to the laws of the Underworld and I will not allow it!" Saturn raised her glaive up and frowned; "I am the emissary of silence and death, and this is when you come back to where you came from!"
"Saturn, no!" Serenity shook her head and pushed Venus aside to let her pass through the protective energy barrier the girls kept around her and ran toward the senshi of silence.
"Princess!"
"Silence Glaive—"
"Saturn!"
Serenity ran as fast as she could and stood in front of Saturn to protect her from her own attack and the shadows coming toward her and opened her arms to let the bright light from the crystal surround them in a protective cocoon while it reacted to the soldier of death's command.
"—Surprise!" Saturn widened her dark violet eyes and looked up at the princess taking the blow for her. Serenity turned angrily over her shoulder at the shadows and stretched her hand out and narrowed her eyes, "I banish you from this land—this planet is not yours to have." She frowned and raised her hand up; out of thin air her white and silver royal tiare appeared in ribbons of silver light and stomped it on the ground, "Moon Healing—Escalation!"
Summoning one of the first attacks known from her as senshi brought so much nostalgia not only to her but to the other girls as well. It was shocking to witness she was not limited to the stage of her transformation but to be able to actually go back and make use of the crystal in any way she thought was best to tackle an enemy. This was a solid proof of how the princess had grown in both experience and strength, proving she could master every known attack and heighten its level of power to match her current state. At the first burst of light emanating from the silver moon crystal standing on top of her long rod, it immediately cleared all the first line of shadows but Serenity didn't want to risk it and leveled her power to the next stage and let the rod stand for itself as she opened her arms wide, "Moon Princess—Halation!"
All senshi and shitennou watched the magnificent power pouring out of the princess like never before. Mars watched the princess' stance in awe, "It's different..." she covered her eyes from the intense light, "This isn't like when she first became Sailor Moon—it's something else, it's stronger and divine." Venus turned to Mars with wide eyes, "This means..."
"The true strength of a Goddess," Mars nodded with awe, "The power of a Queen."
"Queen..." Mercury mumbled with awe as she watched Serenity stabilizing her energy to purify great lengths of corrupted land. The unmeasured force coming from her friend and the intensity of the light flowing through her was more than enough evidence that Sailor Moon had finally reached her peak and have taken the next step as heir to the crown of the moon kingdom. The woman in front of her was not taking a stand as a soldier anymore, it was the woman that lent her power to the soldier from years past; her posture, her stance, her power, and demands were ones of a woman with fearless authority and control, a deity that was fighting not just for a common good but for the life and well-being of this planet she considered her beloved treasure—this planet was hers. The blue-haired senshi pressed her right earring to activate her intelligent visor and noticed a decrease in the princess' heart rate and felt a chill down her spine, "We need to make her stop—she is yet not strong enough and her body is resenting it!"
Saturn watched the moon princess standing right in front of her with her arms open wide and felt her eyes burning with tears. It was clear that she was struggling despite her strong presence and the magnitude of the power she was handling and how she didn't make it look like it was taking the effort it actually was and yet, there she was, giving her life for her—the bringer of death. The young senshi could see the princess started to shiver while she continued sending a strong blow at the darkness ahead but she also noticed she was on the very edge of losing herself in the power she was controlling and in a quick move, she let go of her glaive and wrapped her arms around her to give her support.
A last hurrah of beaming light exploded into a blinding mass of energy that lasted for a couple of seconds before going completely out, leaving a very exhausted princess fighting to stay on her feet. Thankfully, by this time, Uranus and Neptune had stepped in with the power of their talismans along with the inner senshi that went quickly to aid both the princess and Saturn.
"No... no, don't leave me!" Serenity cried when she felt like if her energy had been taken away and started feeling weak and heavy, her body couldn't even stand on its own anymore. Without much effort to stay on her feet, her knees gave in when she felt a pair of strong arms catching her before she could hit the ground. "Princess!" Sailor Uranus shouted, slightly shaking the princess' shoulders to try and keep her awake, "Princess!"
"En—dymion..." Serenity started to feel a heaviness all over her body and with the remains of strength left in her, she turned her head to meet the sky senshi's deep blue eyes, "H-How do I pray for you?"
"What?" Uranus frowned, confused. Serenity tried to shake her head but she was still too into her own emotional turmoil, "Pray..." she let her tears roll down her cheeks, "I have to pray..."
"Princess, we are taking you back to a safe place, please hold on." Neptune cupped the princess' cheek and saw her trying not to give in to the heaviness claiming her body. Saturn looked up and saw the city had gone silent and the shadows that were threatening their lives were no longer there. Pluto stood by her side and placed a hand on her shoulder, "She did it," Saturn nodded slowly and tightened her grip on her glaive, "Yes... but at what cost?"
Venus was next to join them and sighed with concern, "We need to leave now so Mercury can check up on her," she turned to look at her when suddenly something else—something unexpected caught her attention. Jupiter noticed the change and the shock in the blonde's cornflower-blue eyes "Venus, you alright?" She turned to look over her shoulder and widened her eyes the same way as Venus, in deep shock.
Walking behind the shitennou who had successfully carried the survivors to a safer area to get proper care from the paramedics on the scene, came Megumi side by side with two other people; a man with long white hair wearing an all-white assemble of tunic and pants and a golden crescent moon pendant hanging from his neck and a woman with long black wavy hair wearing a black and yellow gown with the same crescent moon pendant hanging from her neck.
"Artemis..." Venus muttered under her breath with emotion as she felt her eyes blur with a fresh batch of tears; it had been so long since she saw him in his human form. Mercury blinked completely shook by the change in both advisors, "L-Luna!"
Kunzite soon went to stand next to Uranus and Venus and checked on the princess, but before he could ask, the sandy-blonde senshi gave him the information he hoped for, "She's alright—exhausted, but alright." With a sigh, Kunzite turned and finally noticed the change in the advisors as soon as Megumi finally came close; the maiden along with both Luna and Artemis went to check on the princess "Usagi-chan..." Luna whispered, trying her best to hold her tears.
"The area is clear," Jadeite was the last to join the group, "We must leave before we get trapped in the commotion and before another unexpected outbreak occurs,"
"The shrine is our best option," Mars quickly suggested, "Going back to the apartment right now would be risky, we don't know if another quake might take us by surprise and the shadows... that is a whole other story."
"All is connected," Nephrite's brows knitted, showing concern "And it will not stop, not until we are all under their control."
O—o—o—o—O
The dripping sound of blood splattering the once impeccable floor of the palace that housed the Imperial family of the Omega Galaxy created the most morbid of symphonies when paired with the steady echo of footsteps and the screeching sound of metal scratching the floor.
Chaos tilted his head up, his golden eyes peeked through the long pieces of hair covering one side of his face as he walked into the large dome throne and threw their army commander right in front of both rulers, close to death. The empress in a black and gold gown gasped as she stared at the man with long forest green hair stuck to his bloodied face. "Alpha!"
The soldier flinched in pain and looked up at the woman looking down at him with a stricken face, "Em—press..."
"Salve, Romanorum et Omega," Chaos dig his sword on the impeccable black granite floor and looked around at the glass throne room, "Quod fuit tempore quo me tandem huc,"
(It has been long since I was last here,)
The emperor of Omega, Hadar, always wearing the most elegant and expensive robes made of stardust and silk, with his short dark hair and groomed beard made him look impeccable, always listed as one of the most handsome and polished monarchs in the universe, but also known for his short temper and common impulsive actions. He put a protective arm in front of his wife and frowned, "It is true... the rumors... the demon is out of its cage."
"Demon?" Chaos tilted his head to the side and squinted his pale golden eyes in thought. The man was a master of concealing any emotion, if given any. Before being categorized as a serial killer, Chaos was never the kind that showed any understanding or sympathy for others and not because he didn't care before, but because it was his nature to be neutral. To Geb and Nut, this was an important issue, to the gods, an opportunity to have the perfect weapon at their disposal. Chaos was poised and elegant, hauntingly beautiful; he never raised his alluring deep voice and the most he would do to express any sort of reaction to anything was whenever he lifted a brow—a very known family trait. Chaos didn't really understand what pain, anger, or joy was like, to him, they were all distractions for the mind and he grew true to that philosophy. Even before he stood against the gods; the man was always reserved, quiet, and observant. The titan god of void was always one step ahead of everything and everyone, and it was this character what put everyone on the edge because no one could really know what was really going through his mind.
"Low creatures always tend to categorize the unknown with the most cliché of terms." He looked down at the soldier breathing heavily on the floor and choking on his blood and arched a well-concealed brow, "If this is the man taking the front of your forces, you are beyond any salvation. What kind of soldier is this?" He kicked Alpha aside and looked up at both Imperials.
"You disgusting creature! What are you doing here?!" The emperor clenched his jaw angrily, "How dare you to show your face—after all you have done, after causing so much dama—"
"—While it has been a long time since I last saw your face, Emperor of Orion, I am not here to remembrance." Chaos snapped his fingers and like a deck of cards, every soldier around him fell unconscious at his feet and looked at the couple standing several feet above him. The emperor frowned "Star seeds, that is what you are truly after, is it not?"
"Star seeds?" Chaos waved his hand, " Ah... that. I only fed the fixation on that senshi's mind, that was her idea of supremacy. My existence goes deeper than just a handful of useless shards of cosmic energy." His hand slowly rested on the hilt of his sword, "As of now, Ares is trying to scrape every corner in the universe collecting every remaining polemarchos to fight as if there was some sort of evil, but even if there is, evil cannot be fought when is harbored inside every living soul, that is the true law of nature. While mortals may be the most flawed kind there is, you are not that far from that reality, you are all defective creatures. There is darkness in all of you." His beautiful golden eyes narrowed, "Why am I here, you ask? Because you have something I want. As simple as that."
Both the emperor and empress widened their eyes, "Do you not dare..."
"Or what, Emperor?" Chaos tightened his grip on his sword and dragged it with him, cutting through the shiny floors like a knife on butter as he walked toward the imperials, "Are you going to send Centaurus to take my head? Your Polemarchos is not here—" he turned over his shoulder and watched the Omegan commander fighting for his life and trying to stand up, "To be the place that gave shelter to Geb and Nut, I expected you to have much stronger protection—one much worthy to house Titans." Chaos' pale gold eyes changed to a deeper amber color, "You still make poor decisions, Emperor of Omega, so poor, you even do such with your own life," he turned to fix his golden gaze on the empress with the same poker face, "Do you have any last words for whatever soldier this is, Empress Agena?"
The empress felt her blood running cold in her veins as she nervously looked at Chaos; Hadar turned to his wife perplexed, a hint Chaos caught right away "Well, I have not come here to discuss pointless matters of the heart," he looked down at Alpha spitting blood on the floor and pierced his sword through his chest and kicked him away with force, "I have things to do and places to be," the dark soldier extended his arm out and narrowed his eyes, *"Vos autem praevaricator habent navitas obice dividit, ut ab inferis ad superos reliquum. Ubique latet tenebras mundi scaena nomen esse, sed supra naturam cuiuslibet."
(You have the energy to break the barrier that divides the underworld from the rest of the realms. Darkness lurks in every corner of the universe, my name a stage of existence, but my nature superior to any kind.)
With a flick of his wrist, a strong wave of energy sent both monarchs to the opposite side of the throne room allowing Chaos to walk up the stairs and break the glass window wall behind to take over the power of the core of energy coming from their sacred treasure—the stone encasing the full power of the dark hole at the center of the Omega Centaurus cluster. His golden eyes sparkled with interest as he got a hold of the dark matter stone and looked at it gleam like oil sleek, **"Quaecumque mandavero tibi portas infringere corrugo obtinuit. Veteribus copiis non intelligatur cum Olympio Ligari oppressionibus sanguine. Chronos, ut ad episcopum loci et temporis, et Zeus Iovem Dominus Deorum sed nihil custodiet et non vultis custodire. Et non habere iubes. Inanis praecox, sicut ipsa, procul faciam vivere et esse creaturae quam ille qui recte genus suum Titanas proficisceretur, et conteram: et ab obice oriri ex inferis," He narrowed his amber eyes, "Et non abscondam a me nulla materia quanta temptes."
In the middle of the commotion, more guards entered the scene with Sailor Beta, the sailor senshi of Omega, and immediately ran to take Alpha's weapon and took his place in leading an attack at Chaos, "I will take on to claim your head for threatening the lives of our rulers and people!"The sailor senshi, fully dressed in a dark brown leather-like tunic with a golden belt around her waist that matched her fiery red hair and red eyes charged the weapon with energy and threw it at the polemarchos in black "Flare Star!"
Chaos raised his hand without needing to turn and face the woman running toward him with sword in hand to take on his life and swept her away with ease with just the flick of his hand and caught the ignited weapon, "Impetus tuum obsoletis mihi," (Your weapons are obsolete to me.) he fixed his gaze on the senshi trying to stand and arched a brow, "Sic autem pugnatum est via tua," (So are your ways of fighting.)
He threw the sword at Sailor Beta with enough force to pierce her leg and pin her to the ground, making her scream in pain. He turned over his shoulder and one by one, every single soldier fell onto the floor in a catatonic state.
The brutal wave of energy in reaction to Chaos' presence merging with the black stone shook the ground and structure in the throne room cracking the pillars and floors as the strong gusts of wind blew without route and control, making it impossible for the emperors to move. Alpha looked up and widened his eyes when he saw the warrior in black swallowed the energy of their source of power like if it was nothing; never in his divine life he has ever seen someone able to come that close to it, let alone manage to be one with it, not even the emperors who were the ones strong enough to protect it and channel the energy to supply their realm with life could, proving the lengths of the polemarchos' power, one that by the look of it was not going to be possible to match or even surpass.
The soldier slowly turned to see the empress staring back at him with tears in her eyes, silently confirming the feelings harbored between them. He tried to move but his body was failing to respond, he was limited to watch the horror scene in slow motion, with Sailor Beta pinned to the ground and dealing with her own pain and the soldiers all falling under Chaos' influence this was sure to be the demise of the Omega Galaxy. His deep green eyes started to feel heavy but his blood felt like it was boiling in his veins. Against his will, his body reacted to the presence of Chaos and then he saw it—it's true form. With dread, he looked at the man in black and widened his eyes feeling completely helpless as he was slowly taken hostage by the voices in his head and the inexplicable wrenching feeling harboring inside of him. He wanted to die, he wanted to rip his skin off his body—it was unbearable, the pain, the anguish, the paranoia, and fright. Alpha screamed at the top of his lungs, like a madman that was thrown into a pit of hungry beasts. He felt his skin itch and burn and with each and every breath he took it felt as if his soul was slowly leaving his body. It was an internal battle between his own demons and his good will—a genuine fight between good and evil. Trust and betrayal.
The same started to happen to those that fell under Chaos' power. Each soldier slowly turned into a shadow, some completely gave in to their most and darkest secrets and sins, others simply could not take it anymore and tried to kill themselves with their own weapons but the pain and the madness didn't stop. It couldn't stop—their souls belonged to Chaos.
With unnatural motion and a confused sense of direction, the omega commander looked up at Chaos with a harrowed face and without him knowing or even feeling a thing, he went on one knee to pay his respects. The empress looked up from her hiding place behind a broken pillar and shook her head, "Alpha..." Her emerald eyes glistened with tears when she saw the man that had pledged loyalty to them, but mostly to her in secret, was now taken away from her. Under Chaos' command, Alpha turned to where Sailor Beta was still trying to pull herself up but the sword on her thigh was in too deep and she was feeling weak. She tried to drag herself closer to her empress, but she quickly went to her aid instead. The beautiful empress, now with her always impeccable robes stained with the senshi's blood tried to pull the large blade from her thigh; Sailor Beta widened her eyes with panic "E-Empress, you must get away—run!"
"Alpha, we have to save Alpha! Please! Save Alpha!" The empress pleaded as she tried to pull the long weapon but a creepy hum distracted her making her turn and see that the man she was trying to save was completely under another entity. Alpha turned to grab one of the fallen soldier's weapon as he came close to them being this Sailor Beta's only chance to aim and hit with her attack, she reached her hand out to him and shut her eyes to mask her pain for what she was about to do, to her, Alpha was more than a comrade, more than a soldier, he was her twin brother and now, for the first time in their lives and for the sake of Omega, they had to part ways, "I am sorry, Alpha... I cannot allow you to come any further." The empress's eyes went wide with shock as she saw the man she secretly held dear to her heart being abused by the demons nested inside of him and holding the sword up above his head, "N-No..."
"Die!"
"Flare—Star!"
The strong beam of light went straight into the handsome soldier's chest, knocking him down. While the attack didn't fully kill him, it was strong enough to put him out of consciousness. Between harsh and quick breaths of exhaustion, Sailor Beta turned and made sure both emperors were alright and used all of her strength to pull the blade off her leg not paying attention to the trail of blood she was leaving behind; with the help of the empress she finally stood up but the commotion coming close distracted them from their little grieving moment.
"Demon!" A thunderous voice echoed in the room, giving the cue to know who the new owner of that foghorn-like voice was. Chaos closed his fist, taking the last of the energy from the dark hole into his body and turned to look over his shoulder at the soldier walking into the room followed by a group of soldiers. The broad silver armored man, probably 6 ft. in height, with long deep blue hair flowing behind him like a long curtain of stardust and a large star-shaped scar on the left side of his face, glanced at Chaos with anger as he rested his hand over the hilt of his sword; Chaos leered at the polemachos of Omega with disinterest and tilted his head low "Ah... you."
Centaurus stared at him with a thirst for murder and dashed after Chaos without any warning for an opening and clashed his gladius sword with Chaos' long sword. The brusque polemarchos turned to use his star-studded shield to turn and hit the polemarchos in black but Chaos easily dodged his attack and extended his arm out to his silver-clad peer and hit his sword with force three times, setting a distance between the two, "The Polemarchos of Omega. The grand Gladiator," He narrowed his bewitching eyes of amber, "Your skill is undeniable—but your brute nature chains you down to be another pawn of Ares' army. Nothing really has changed; another lifetime could go on and you would still be the same primitive soldier."
"How did you get out of your hole, Chaos?"
Chaos turned his sword in an axial motion and dig it on the floor in a strenuous echo, "Surprised? I was hoping it to be, for old times' sake... friend."
"That word is meaningless to me now," Centaurus frowned and took his position again; Chaos arched his right brow, "Is this supposed to hurtful? Should I pretend to be offended?" He sighed with boredom, "What a waste of energy and time but you all seem still to be attached to such primitive force—this thing you call emotions."
"What did you do Chaos?!"
Chaos shrugged his shoulder, "Why does it matter? You were there, you should know how I got out. I thought that after so many years, you would realize the great mistake that is to be a pawn working for gods." The dark lord started walking toward Centaurus dragging his heavy sword along with him, "I waited for this moment to come, all this, it is not a stroke of luck—it is a plan. I planned this and all of you blindly fell into it with so much ease. I am appalled, Centaurus, you better than anyone should know that I do not believe in spontaneity."
Centaurus roared with rage and ran towards Chaos both engaging in a heated sword fight. Centaurus' large sword crashed against Chaos' causing heavy ripples of energy and crashing everything around them. The large warrior turned and grabbed his stellar shield that once again materialized out of thin air and used to push Chaos back and break his defense, a staple attack from the omega warrior but it did not surprise him that Chaos' skills were still ahead of his, no matter how much he promised himself to increase his experience and level of damage; no matter the sacrifices he made and the brutal nature of his force, being in a fight against Chaos required more than just strength and he knew it well. With bottled anger and deception, Centaurus turned and kicked Chaos' sword out of his way and threw a fist at him, Chaos reacted quickly again and used his sword to block Centaurus' blow. The gladiator frowned and leaned forward to channel his power and blast Chaos out of the way when he realized what he had done.
Chaos raised his hand and arched his brow, "Looking for this?" He opened his palm and allowed the energy from the dark hole manifest in waves of cosmic dust around him; Centaurus widened his eyes in horror "T-That is..."
Chaos tapped his forehead, "Intelligence before brute force, Omega Centauri." He opened his arms wide and narrowed his gleaming golden eyes, "Void before creation."
The energy flowing inside merged with his own and dig his sword into the ground; Centaurus turned to the soldiers taking everyone out and quickly raised a barrier to absorb the aftermath of the large explosion but there wasn't much time to take second chances to counter-attack; after that, everything went black.
The Divinity Series is rated M. Violence, blood, cursing and/or intimacy may occur.
I do not own Sailor Moon, just this plot and some of the characters.
Translations:
Nephrite's attack: The stars know everything, when the sun is eclipsed, they pierce the strings of darkness around it. Celestial orbs, grant me your mystical powers. With the plane of this orbit is inclined at an angle of 88.2° to the line of sight to the Earth, Alpha Coronae Borealis—I seek the raging power of Asteroth the broken star to bless me with its strength and use this mortal body to consume what is blocking thy path!
Chaos' statement: Whatever gate dividing my conquest I command you to break it. Our ancient force is not meant to be chained to the oppression of those with Olympian blood. Chronos may the Guardian of Space and Time and Zeus the Lord of the Gods but I guard nothing and I do not wish to protect. I own and I command. As void itself, I live far beyond creation and I will be the one that guides our kind, Titans, to break the barrier and rise from the underworld. You cannot hide from me, no matter how much you try.
Additional notes:
*Alpha: (Centauri): Commander of the Omega army. In astronomy, Alpha Centauri is one of the three brightest stars in the Centauri constellation. Beta being the second, and Proxima, the third, traditionally, called Rigil Kentaurus or Toliman, meaning "foot of the centaur", the system has an overall magnitude of -0.28 and is 4.4 light-years from Earth. Being the closest to the solar system, this makes the most obvious reason as to why Geb and Nut chose the Omega galaxy to build their sanctuary and live in secret exile after Gaia's departure from the divine realm. (reference: Divinity – Question of Honor)