CHAPTER 2: ALL THE KING'S MEN
The world has found many of its cities becoming frequently visited by its people; coming to visit these various cities for their advancements in culture and technology, to observe a living piece of history for themselves. The United States has had many to offer, including bustling metropolitan areas and tourist traps like New York City, Los Angeles, Las Vegas, Chicago, and Orlando, just to name a few...
...but the one that has found the most attention in the past decade is Amity Park, Illinois.
A bumbling transmetropolitan of all manners of cultures, peoples, and creeds, Amity Park is the new modern-day Babylon of the world; a place of wonders and glory unlike any city on Earth has achieved. Coming together for the purposes of science and the future, people looking for their tommorowland have found their home.
The air is clean, the water is clean, and even the dirt is clean. Societal concepts such as gender, family, fashion, love, are subjective and as diverse as the human genome itself. Difference and change are not ostracized, but instead celebrated and encouraged; no two human beings looking the same.
Knowledge of the afterlife does not drive them to madness or mania, but to joy and jubilation. Coming to the knowledge that their time as mortal beings are limited, they live out their lives not in servitude of anyone except themselves and each other, at last living for a better tomorrow today.
Their collective sharing of life leads the people of Amity Park to work together rather than against each other, building up their future to a brighter world for all generations that will follow, and for themselves. The world is theirs, the day is theirs, and they have seized it for themselves.
But the world as they know it would not have come to pass if not for the discovery of the Ghost Zone by the Fenton family. Their work has led them to become world-renowned celebrities; their very names synonymous with genius greatness in the ears of many across the globe.
The birthplace of many of their great inventions was a humble company called Fenton Works, existing as a large command center built on the top of their building/home, but has since found itself expanded significantly in the last decade to keep up with their work demands.
First, it was rebuilt from the ground up as a skyscraper named Fenton Tower, the highest skyscraper on the planet, laying in the heart of Amity Park. But to merely touch the sky was not enough for Fentons to achieve their goals, requiring instead higher ground again to tread new scientific ground.
The building no longer scrapes at the sky, but now floats in it thousands above the ground. Attached to the ground by supply lines running goods and waste back and forth, it is only accessible by air; said supply lines reserved only for official use and any means to get up impossible.
After its humble roots as the business named Fenton Works, it has now found a new home and identity as Fenton City.
Returning back from their mission in the Middle East, events progress fairly normally, in whatever way 'normal' applies to a place where the seemingly impossible is made possible. After completing a military operation on behalf of the government, the first order of business for the Fentons is for report back to the commander-in-chief of all foreign affairs:
The President.
Stepping into a communications room, Danny Phantom stood towards a holographic projection unit, making a call to the White House. Patiently awaiting for a response, he does not have to wait long, for the president was already in wait at his own console for news to be shared.
Changing from his ghost form of Danny Phantom back to Danny Fenton, he does not bother with any proper posturing or formality, already having enough familiarity with the sitting president. The country has gone through its share of 46 presidents since its existence, with the current title now belonging to his longtime friend of Tucker Foley.
Watching his projection display before him, President Foley accepted Danny's call, putting the two in a conference.
"Danny boy, good as usual to see you. Heard that business in Saudi Arabia ended in a bunch of dead people." President Foley said.
"And another attempt to try to recreate Danny Phantom. How many countries is that now?" Danny asked.
"Ungh... Something like 17. Seems like you've become the next arms race for the whole world. China, Russia, India, even our allies like the U.K. are trying to make their own versions of you. You know I like to keep you out of foreign affairs whenever I have to; all the trouble you and your family stir up, all it does is make everyone else nervous enough to throw more money at their own Danny Phantom projects."
"It was you who asked me to take care of this."
"Hence the key word: 'Whenever I have to.' Problem is that it's been becoming more often that I have to than I don't."
"You know we're still the best qualified people to handle something like this."
"I don't doubt that. I know that better than anybody, I was your personal tech guy for the first few years. But I've got enough problems on my hands, and my term's almost up. That reminds me, we're still on for that big endorsement you're giving me tomorrow, right?"
"It's all set up and ready. I'll give you my seal of approval. I always take care of my friends."
"Thanks. I appreciate all the help you can give."
"I'll give all the help that I can. But me propping you up won't be enough, Tucker. You did a good job as mayor for Amity Park, but you're running a whole country now, in a world that's just barely getting used to the fact that it finally knows what happens after you die. That's no easy task."
"I know that better than anyone. But I've been president for 3 years, and you've been president for zero years. I like to think that I know few things that you don't about this job. After all, I don't tell you how to fight ghosts."
"I never said that I knew more than you. All I'm saying is that we've got to be careful. Saudi Arabia's not going to take what we did lightly, and other countries are gonna be watching what happened. There'll be consequences to what happened. We might do the heavy lifting, but what happens is your call."
"Relax, I know what I'm doing. Besides, we went to green energy just last year. What are the Saudis gonna do, cut off oil that we don't use anymore anyway?"
The conversation between the two came to a brief interruption with the giggling of a young woman, prompting President Foley to turn his attention to her.
"Hey, whoa, not right now, not right now. In the middle of an important call. Be right with you." President Foley said.
Danny gave President Foley a dismissive shake of his head, letting out an embarrassed sigh from his interruption.
"Tucker, you're the president. At least try to act a little professional when we're talking about your job." Danny said.
"Says the guy who still calls me 'Tucker' and not 'Mr. President'. Besides, this is a really stressful job. I gotta take the edge off sometimes. You probably have your moments, half you guys live like Caligula, all the money and power you can ask for." President Foley said.
"Fair enough. Look, all I'm saying is, this is a new world we're dealing with; a whole new ball game. Ghost hunting isn't what it used to be anymore. Just watch your step."
"That's why I leave those problems in your hands. Ghosts are your business, and you do your business well. But there's only so much that government can handle by way of constant ghost threats. So I could say the same about you."
"Don't worry, Tucker. I always do."
The call came to an end, putting the two back to their own tasks and duties to be fulfilled.
Sam Manson, Tucker Foley, and the entire Fenton family is dead.
Killed in an explosion at a Nasty Burger fast food restaurant, the accidental patricide has left an orphaned Danny Fenton behind without anywhere else to go except the arms of a man he once called enemy. Taken under the wing of Vlad Masters, he is unexpectedly given all the compassion he never thought possible from the same person he fought many times over the years.
Without the rock of a family or even any friends to stand upon, the boy named Danny Fenton was left to fall further further down his crumbling sense of life; suffering deeper into despair and living without a sense of love. Kept financially stable and fed well enough by Vlad Masters, even if he refused the latter necessity more often than not, there was no hope left within the budding young man that was once full of hope.
Unable to bring himself to continue to fight against the legions of undead that haunt the Earth on his own, being pushed to do so out of pure need by Vlad Masters, there is little left in the way of motivation within his soul. Still, under his depression, there is a need for stimuli; a need to feel something.
To fulfill this empty need, the course that Danny Fenton takes in the path of gaining a new outlet is self-abuse. Gaining a collection of razor blades, many of them end up dug into his wrists and arms; drawing forth droplets of blood in trade for scars that exist only to remind him of the pain.
As careful as he is to conceal his newfound taste for self-abuse, he soon will find out that such an activity is cannot be concealed forever, as he will see now. Following a long day of school that only seemed to linger so much that his own mind felt in a state of limbo, Danny sits down with Vlad for dinner; his guardian trying to accomplish at least one attempt at parental bonding.
"So, Danny, have a good day at school today?" Vlad asked.
Danny lightly nodded his head, not wishing to speak out his answer.
"Good, good. I hope that private school's not giving you too many troubles. I just want you to take it easy for now, and I've seen to it that no one gives you any harsh treatments." Vlad said.
"Thanks." Danny mumbled.
"You know that I just want the best for you, Danny. Your parents loved you very much, and I owe it that much to them to see that you're taken care of. You're all that's left of them."
"All that's left of my mother, you mean."
Discomforted by his adopted son's remark, Vlad gave a sad exhale, unable to defend his own comments.
"I did love your mother, and I was jealous of your father. I won't lie about that. But I never wanted them dead. If anything, all I see now is how wrong I was this time. I can't make things up to them now, but the very least that I could do for them is try to take care of you. I don't care how you judge me for it, but, at the very least, I would appreciate if you would acknowledge that I'm at least trying to do something right." Vlad said.
"Fine." Danny mumbled.
Nodding contently, Vlad returned to his food to take another bite, with Danny merely nibbling at his.
"You know, it's kind of funny. It wasn't just them I was wasting so much time with. I was spending so much time fighting you, too. Someone like you, I should've spent a lot more time trying to get to know you better. Getting your powers so young, at a younger age than I had mine, there was a lot we could've learned from each other in the day. I suppose we've got more time now, I suppose; make the best of the day as-" Vlad began to say.
In the midst of completing his sentence, Vlad caught eye of a drop of blood coming from Danny's wrist, taking his attention away from his food and prior speech.
"Danny? You're... Are you bleeding?" Vlad asked.
Vlad reached out for Danny's arm to inspect it, but the teenager defiantly snatched it away, not wishing to show his wounds.
"Get away from me!" Danny said.
Not willing to comply with the request, Vlad more aggressively reached out and grabbed Danny's arms, much to his protests and acts of defiance.
"LET GO OF ME! DON'T TOUCH ME! I DON'T NEED THIS FROM YOU!" Danny shouted.
Pulling the sleeve of his shirt back, Vlad revealed a series of fresh cuts on his arm, all accompanied by scars and healing cuts left behind from previous attempts at his self-destructive habits. Brought to a stop upon seeing the wounds left in the boy's arms, Vlad's grip on Danny's arms finally let loose when the teenager yanked himself away.
Not wishing to be viewed by his former greatest enemy in a vulnerable way, Danny ran to the corner of the room, covering his arms away from Vlad once again. Persistent to try to show some empathy to his new ward, Vlad reapproached the crying Danny in sympathy.
"Danny... Why didn't you tell me you were doing this?" Vlad asked.
"Why? Oh, no reason, why do you think I hid it? I didn't want you to see me like this." Danny said.
"But why are you cutting yourself? I know you better than you think, and this... this isn't like you at all."
"What's it to you?! You're not my goddamn father!"
"As far as the law is concerned, I am your father, and I'm also not only the only person both willing to hear you out and help you, but the only other half-ghost being in the entire universe. That means I'm someone you can relate to, talk to. I've been in this game far longer than you, learned plenty of tricks, and found a lot of new ground on my own. A lot of it was hard to do. You don't have to do that. So, tell me. Why are you hurting yourself?"
Following a deep breath, Danny's exhale took with it the explanation of his extreme excisions to the external shell of his existential being.
"Ever since I lost my family in that blast, ever since I felt that amount of pain from their deaths, I haven't felt anything else at all but anger. I just wanted to feel something different, to let out that anger somewhere. I know that if I hurt anyone at school, you'd just have me tossed somewhere else to be somebody else's problem. That's what my aunt Alicia did. I won't criticize you if you want to do whatever crimes you want with your powers. How about you at least grant me some outlet of my own?" Danny asked.
Understanding the boy's reasoning, Vlad thought carefully over the situation, contemplating on how to bring and end to the self-destructive habits of the young Danny Fenton. Following a moment of thought moving about in his head, the thought eventually led him to a solution, and the solution subsequently made its way to his mouth and into the air as speech in its final destination.
Just before speaking out his thought, however, Vlad changed from his human form to ghost form, standing tall before Danny once again.
"I'm not going to let you continue hurting yourself. I owe it to your parents to at least ensure that what's left of them doesn't hurt himself. I can offer you a better outlet than that nasty cutting habit." Vlad said.
"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" Danny asked.
"You said you hurt yourself only because you want to hurt someone else, because you can't. What if you can?"
After a short flight across the night sky, reaching an entirely different state in mere seconds, Vlad and Danny landed outside a facility belonging to Membrane Laboratories. The aforementioned facility rested comfortably in an isolated area of desert, with multiple soldiers surrounding the building to prevent any unwanted entry, making breaking in impossible.
"What's this place?" Danny asked.
"Membrane Laboratories, one of the top suppliers to the United States military. I tried to buy them off a few months ago, but they refused my generous offer, costing VladCo the chance to be the top supplier to the military, and therefore cutting into money that should be mine." Vlad said.
"So why are we here?"
"I've calculated that most of their honeypot is here in this facility, and I've been meaning to trash it. Taking this out will put them in a financial downturn so heavy, they'll come begging for someone to buy them off, but nobody'll touch them with a 10-foot cattle prod with most of their product gone."
"Then comes VladCo to save the day."
"Exactly."
"Won't it be a waste, everything here going up in smoke?"
"I've taken the time to lift the most important blueprints and prototypes, thanks to my walking through their walls. Besides, most of it was useless anyway."
"So now what?"
"I told you, this place gets destroyed. That's all that's left."
"So, you drag me out here because you want me to rough up your business rivals, and you say it's to help me. Heh, fine. What am I supposed to do?"
"Whatever you want, Danny."
"Huh?"
"You need somewhere to let that anger out, to destroy something. You want to make something hurt, like you hurt. I present to you a place just for that; a playground for your own personal destructive tendencies. Raze this place to the ground, throw it up in smoke, do whatever you want with it whatsoever. It's all yours."
"What if I killed someone?"
The question had come unexpectedly from the boy, leaving Vlad stumped on how to answer it. Despite having no moral lines of his own, the topic of killing never aroused in such situations, making him think quickly on how to reply to the inquiry. Most of these thoughts were slowed by the pure shock of the question, still unable to see Danny Phantom casually flaunting the idea of murder.
Nonetheless, he had no true answer, and merely shrugged the question off.
"Well... Just try to focus on the buildings. For now." Vlad said.
Flying off towards the research facility, Danny scanned over the general area, carefully analyzing the destructive zone and contemplating how and where to strike first. Letting the sadistic ideas fly in his head, a smile began to crawl its way across his face; the first time such a show of positive emotion had shown from him.
Finally making his first move, Danny fired an ectoplasmic bolt towards a watchtower, sending it toppling to the ground and clashing with power lines, causing sparks to fly about and send all nearby into a panic. Within seconds of the attack, an alarm began to go off, sending the rest of the facility into panic and fear.
Moving on to his next target with haste, Danny began firing at various buildings and construction sites, demolishing several facilities in his way during his attack. What soldiers were not scattered or scared off from the surprise attack began firing back at the attacking Danny Phantom.
Their efforts did not pay off; their bullets passing straight through his body and leaving him unaffected by their counterattacks. Firing more ectoplasmic energy back at his enemies, Danny knocked the troops of soldiers back with his blasts, severely injuring several in the act.
Seeing the soldiers come to injury under his hand, a larger smile came to Danny's face, one that bore a show of teeth.
Watching the attack from afar, Vlad witnessed the attack in a sense of fear; barely able to process his own full emotions on the matter. The sheer excitement and giddiness that Danny exhibited seemed to prove his treatment for his pain an effective one, but it gave him a sense of terror in pondering what more of this activity could lead to if unchecked.
For one brief moment, Vlad began to regret his decision, but not well enough to change his stance.
After Danny had concluded his work upon the base, he returned to Vlad, showing off his efforts like a son displaying his work to his father in search for approval.
"Well, how'd I do?" Danny asked.
"You did... fine. Just fine. Did this little exercise help you?" Vlad asked.
"Definitely."
"And how do you feel now?"
Glad to hear the question asked, Danny's smile continued to grow wide, with a taste of sinister growing underneath it.
"I feel... godlike." Danny said.
The short reminiscence of memory ends for the being naming itself Demon Phantom, continuing its flight through the infinite realm known as the Ghost Zone.
Limitless as the dimension known as the Ghost Zone was, anarchic as it seemed to rule as now, it was not a lawless land of lifelessness for the home of all undead things. There once was a ruler over all the domain and all its undead occupants named Pariah Dark, better known to many as the Ghost King.
He was a being existing now with only one goal: To rule all that no longer lived, and do so with an iron fist.
There were many sympathetic to his regime that attempted to awaken him and begin his rule anew; fanatics of his previous rule and soldiers that kept their loyalty to him, but no one has ever successfully brought him out from his eternal slumber, all thanks to the efforts of one lone ghoul.
The spirit which keeps him in his eternal sleep is known only as the Fright Knight, a powerful ghost that has lived a very long afterlife. Not much is known about him, though some speculate that he may have been the legendary Black Knight of many medieval tales.
Once a loyal servant to the tyrant, his loyalty to the Ghost King has come to an end with his eternal entombment and indefinite incarceration in the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep. No longer bound by his allegiance to the Ghost King, having no sympathy to the previous rule over which he made, the Fright Knight instead made a new mission for himself:
To ensure his old master never returns.
His mission has stayed the same for years now, with many attempts to resurrect the Ghost King coming throughout that time, but all have gone and befell the Fright Knight's blade, all sent to the death after death known as oblivion. A knight to the end and beyond, the Fright Knight has bound himself to his mission and fought off all means of threats, but none so far have beaten him.
These days, there remains no more opposition to fight. There are no more who would see the return of the Ghost King, and the Fright Knight is now without purpose, simply wasting away in his castle of death, surrounded by the spectral remains of his enemies.
All the king's men could not save him, and now there is nothing left here for his sole imprisoner.
On this day, however, one such ghost comes to the castle after many years of neglect. He seeks not the king, but instead his best knight. Flying in from the void of the Ghost Zone, Demon Phantom entered the castle of the Ghost King, landing softly on the aged ground below his feet.
Noticing his unwanted visitor, the Fright Knight rose from his seat to address his guest. He has not left his seat for several years, remaining uninterrupted for his all his time, but it has not made him slow or weak in his skills. Readying his sword to his uninvited guest, he rose his blade to the ghost.
In his show of strength, he only makes one fatal mistake: Mistaking the being in front of him as...
"Danny Phantom. You are not welcome here. None have come to this place for any reason but to bring back the Ghost King, and I know that is not your intention. What do you want?" Fright Knight asked.
"You confuse yourself, knight. I am not Danny Phantom." Demon Phantom replied.
Upon further inspecting his intruder, hearing his deeper and sinister voice, he understood quickly that this individual was indeed not the person he presumed to be. The Fright Knight changed his attitude to the being and kept entertaining the conversation further, but did not lower his blade.
"How strange. You bear some resemblances to the Phantom, but you clearly have more differences than similarities. I have not encountered a ghost like you before. Speak your intentions." Fright Knight said.
"I am from beyond this time, from a time of my own. In my time, the one which you knew as Danny Phantom became someone, or, rather, something else. He became me." Demon Phantom said.
"And this means what to me, stranger?"
"I am seeking to bring the living to an end and allow the dead domain over the Earth once again; to bring forth the end of days. I will need four followers to accomplish this mission. I select you as one of the four."
The Fright Knight seemed unamused by the offer, scoffing it off without care.
"And if I refuse? I do not care for the offers of power-hungry fools. All I wish now is to be left in peace in my own domain." Fright Knight said.
"Fright Knight... You disappoint me." Demon Phantom said.
"And how so? That I do not see a point to follow the ravings of some man I have never met?"
"No, knight. Where you were once a being of fear, one that made yourself immortal in the eyes of both the living and the dead, you have now become old and forgotten, wishing yourself away in this castle when there is no one left to battle. What kind of fate is that for a knight?"
As the Fright Knight listened to Demon Phantom's speech, he began to crave the old days of wreaking fear and terror onto living souls, finding more interest in his words and the offer they carried. Allowing his guard to come down, he slowly lowered his sword, listening further to his guest.
"You are fear incarnate, knight. You were once a spirit of terror. You can be again. Why waste yourself in this place needlessly? Join me, and you will have as many souls as you can terrorize. The living and the dead alike will tremble in fear of your name once again. As they should do." Demon Phantom said.
Demon Phantom grabbed Fright Knight's sword, leading its wielder to grip it tighter for fear of danger. What he expected from the intruder to the castle was an attempt to attack or make some other try for harming him, but what he sees is further far from the assumption.
Displaying new abilities gained from his time in limbo, Demon Phantom began channeling energy into the sword, causing it to grow and expand from a simple broadsword into a two-handed claymore, one more than worthy enough of the Fright Knight to wield.
Looking at the new sword in his hand, the Fright Knight looked to it with intrigue and mesmerization; all his attention entranced by the new weapon.
"And so many more ways to terrorize. All you have to do is follow me until the end of my plans to wreak Armageddon. The living you will slay will be the last you will ever have to strike down, and there will never by another living for you to worry about. Do you accept?" Demon Phantom asked.
Tempted by the appeal of bringing terror into the living once again and being tempted his new sword, the offer seemed to be all but a complete sell...
...but the Fright Knight could not allow himself to take the offer. Lowering his head in shame, he turned away from Demon Phantom and the offer he espoused, stepping back to the Sarcophagus of Forever Sleep and laying his eyes to look upon it once again.
"It is not my place to take any position over the living or dead again. I have served many despots for thousands of years, living and dead. Many have shed innocent blood, and others have sent plenty of souls to oblivion. I refuse to continue following death any further. I have sought to keep it contained here to prevent anymore needless bloodshed. That is my purpose now." Fright Knight said.
Turning to the sarcophagus as the Fright Knight did, Demon Phantom looked on it to find an answer for his dilemma, searching for a way to convince him again.
"Then what shall you do when you no longer have a purpose?" Demon Phantom asked.
"What?" Fright Knight asked.
"You're so afraid that this threat will somehow come out of his sleeping place and cause more problems for the Ghost Zone yet again. What if this little problem on your hands is dead and gone forever?"
"Send Pariah Dark to oblivion? You are mad. Besides, the only way you may open the Sarcophagus of Eternal Sleep is by the Skeleton Key. I doubt you have it."
"I don't... but I've got the next best thing. The kind of thing that makes a man go mad."
Demon Phantom powered up a charge of energy in his fingertip, aiming it to the sarcophagus' keyhole.
"Power." Demon Phantom said.
Firing the small blast of energy to the keyhole, Demon Phantom's blast destroyed it in an instant, eliminating the one and only barricade holding the Ghost King inside the sarcophagus. The display of power destroying the keyhole with ease is a shocking one for the Fright Knight to see, but the implications of his action are what take precedent in his mind.
"Do you have any idea what you are doing?! Do you know what the Ghost King did to this world last time?! Have you no sanity?! The Ghost Zone should remain free to all!" Fright Knight shouted.
"I remember very well. But this little pest is the last thing in the way I need to remove to convince you to join. Don't worry, he won't be making any more reclaiming over the Ghost Zone. That's my territory now." Demon Phantom replied.
"I have told you before, I have no desire to join you! I do not wish to destroy the world and the order of nature!"
"This world has had its time and it should be allowed to come to an end. That is an end as merciful as it deserves."
"You fool! This world is the end! There is no end beyond this world, only the lack of existence known as oblivion! Whoever you are, you all had your chance in the land of the living to find fulfillment, and, now, you would waste your eternal life as well?!"
"A waste of eternity is tormenting yourself by watching over a king you don't even care to serve. I'm trying to bring a new paradise to Earth that has finally evolved past the concepts of pain and misery. I'd say I'm living my own afterlife to its absolute fullest."
"YOU FOOL! NO!"
The Fright Knight's screams pay little rewards for their efforts, for they make no difference to the outcome he sought to prevent. Soon, the Sarcophagus of Eternal Sleep had opened for the first time in over a decade, causing a loud thunderous noise to echo throughout the castle with fog emitting out of the open casket.
Reemerging from his long sleep once again, the Ghost King emerged, stepping to be witnessed by his audience of Demon Phantom and the Fright Knight. Even after awakening, he does not waste any time to establish his rule once again, speaking out an order to both.
"You, servants, bow before your king!" Ghost King shouted.
Instantly, the Fright Knight bowed to the Ghost King, not wishing to invoke his wrath and limitless strength. Demon Phantom, however, made no such attempts to appease his ego; letting his own knees stay straight. The display brought offense to the Ghost King, but the false recognition of him as Danny Phantom gave him pause
"Danny Phantom? Is that truly you?" Ghost King asked.
"Not anymore." Demon Phantom said.
"You dare enter the castle of the Ghost King? Under my place of rule? I am the Ghost King! I am ruler over all the Ghost Zone!"
"The Ghost Zone's got a new ruler now. Me. I'm here to inform you that you've just been voted out of office."
Further offended by Demon Phantom's mockery, the Ghost King reached for the mace on his belt, gripping it tightly.
"You DARE?! YOU OPPOSE MY RULE?!" Ghost King shouted.
The Ghost King responded to the insults by driving his mace down on Demon Phantom, aiming it directly for his head. Expecting his enemy to be stricken down in the instant his mace hit, the expectation does not become reality, as discovered in shock by both the Ghost King and the Fright Knight.
The mace did not reach Demon Phantom's head, but instead landed in his hand effortlessly, inflicting no damage on him. Keeping his grip on the mace, he spun it in his hands and threw the Ghost King to the other end of the castle, taking his weapon from his hand.
With little effort, Demon Phantom crushed the mace in his hands, reducing the weapon to antimatter dust. Never before seeing any such opposition to his power before, the Ghost King stood mortified before Demon Phantom, beginning to step back and stammer for some form of response.
"You... You can't... This isn't..." Ghost King stammered.
Demon Phantom approached closer to the Ghost King, showing no signs of mercy to his opponent.
"You call yourself a king. You try to announce yourself ruler of all, master of this realm, and your word is law." Demon Phantom said.
With his back to the wall, the Ghost King's crown was taken off of his head, held in the palm of Demon Phantom's hand.
"You believe that you are above everyone else. That all these fancy little accessories make you better than the best. That you deserve praise and worship." Demon Phantom said.
Demon Phantom then crushed the crown, reducing it to ashes as the mace was. Resulting from the destruction of the royal headwear, the Ghost King's power now limited from its normal high position, leaving his already outmatched power against him even less effective against his opponent.
Raising up one finger, Demon Phantom focused an energy blast into it, aiming it directly at the Ghost King.
"N-No, wait, please! Have mercy!" Ghost King pleaded.
"But, tell me, what's a king to a god?" Demon Phantom asked.
Demon Phantom fired the blast from his finger, completely disintegrating the Ghost King and sending his soul to oblivion, where he may no longer prove a threat to the cosmos. The Ghost King's screams seemed to echo through all the Ghost Zone with his second death, piercing the eardrums of all the ghosts around to hear it.
"God save the king." Demon Phantom said.
Smiling from the destruction of the spirit once known as Pariah Dark, Demon Phantom approached the Fright Knight once again. Not daring to move from his kneeling position, the Fright Knight kept at his obedient stance, hoping that it would appeal to him.
Not only had it done so, but it also further progressed his attempts to win the Fright Knight over to his cause.
"Do you remember how good this feels? To be subservient to a higher being, given purpose by a greater being with far bigger plans than someone like you ever could? Alone, you were nothing but a dog, waiting for its owner to give you something to do. Well, here I am. Your new owner. And I've got plenty for you to do." Demon Phantom said.
The Fright Knight raised his head to look back at Demon Phantom; both now staring at each other. The Fright Knight's look to the other was glare full of fear and terror, where Demon Phantom's was one full of power, smiling on the new servant he had gained for himself.
"The time has come for the apocalypse and its horsemen to cleanse the Earth. You, my knight, shall be Conquest. Come with me, and I shall bring an end to the pathetic failed experiment of the universe known as life. From the ashes of the living world, I will create a better one." Demon Phantom said.
All options for the Fright Knight ran short for him to take, with his only one holding plenty of appeal of its own. Watching his former master destroyed from the afterlife completely, the most powerful ghost in the Ghost Zone gone forever, a new king had presented itself for him to follow, and a clear goal ahead of him to complete.
Keeping his knees bent in a bow, the Fright Knight took his offer and swore his allegiance, pledging himself to Demon Phantom.
"Speak, lord. Your servant hears." Fright Knight said.
"Very good. Now, I need three more horsemen to aide me in my quest. I've got some specific ones in mind, but I'll need your help finding them."
"I will help you find them, master. Your will be done."
Demon Phantom reacted to his response with a smile, beginning to enjoy the new loyalty and servitude of his first horseman.
"Yes. My will be done." Demon Phantom said.