The sound of the air being parted by the devastating slash of a mighty sword.
Gunfire ringing out as bullets rained down.
The crack of a a whip as the bladed, magical wire lashed out.
And finally, the terrified screams as a giant scythe cleaved through the air as well as its target.
These were the last sounds and images the Charred Council saw as the reunited Four Horsemen banded together and faced their former lords. The council betrayed them and the Nephilim ensured they paid for it with their lives. With these final attacks, the Council was decimated and the Horseman stood victorious. "It's over. The balance is restored." Death told his siblings.
"And humanity is finally safe and free." Fury added.
"We all are." War continued.
However, the fourth amongst them had to point out the obvious question. "Yeah, that's great an all, but uh... What the hell are we gonna do now? With the council gone, I can't imagine the angels and demons are gonna just allow the hybrid abominations between them to just go about our business." Strife pointed out.
"He's not wrong. Even after all we've done, neither angel nor demon has any love lost for us. There will no doubt be those among them who wish to see us destroyed." Fury admitted.
"Whatever we will face, we face it together." Death assured them.
"But what will we do with ourselves? We are warriors. Dealers of Death. It's what we were created for. It's all we've ever known. But now we have no council to send us to punish the wicked. We have no purpose." War pointed out.
"I believe I can help with that." A voice rang out, before a massive figure appeared before them. It was a towering yet somewhat skeletal figure, wearing black and gold armor, wielding a large iron staff and upon his back appeared to be the Ark of the Covenant chained upon his body. His eyes are also fiery orange.
Fury was shocked at the appearance of her ally she believed to have been departed. "Lord of Hollows. You have returned." She said in surprise.
"Yes. You have done well, Fury. All of you have. You have truly restored the balance you were meant to protect, restored the humans all other races condemned and unseated your corrupt former masters the spat upon all you upheld. You will recall I offered you an amulet of myself and the souls I had hollowed. This included human souls. So when humanity was restored, I was as well. But now you find yourselves without a purpose, so now it is my turn to help you, by offering you a new purpose." He told them.
"Well, isn't that convenient. An old member of the Council who got kicked off it wants us to work for him now. I'm not buying it." Strife said suspiciously.
"He aided Fury in her time of need. That is all I require to trust him." Death said. "We will hear you out, Old One. But don't try to deceive us. I can assure you it won't end well for you." He told the former demon.
The Lord of Hollows then held out his hand, producing an orb the produced an image for the Horsemen to view. "There is a world across the cosmos beyond the notice of angel or demon. Even the Charred Council never extended their gaze to it. It was ruled by a pair of foolish and petty brother gods. A grieving woman came to them after the death of her lover. And while she did deceive them, them punished her far too harshly, granting her immortality and preventing her from reuniting with her love in the next life." He told them as the saw a lovely blonde woman pleading to a regal glowing gold man with deer antlers, as well as a twisted goat-horned man radiating with darkness, before she was drenched in a glowing pool.
"Such cruelty. She made a mistake in a moment of grief and they gave her a punishment that would never end." War growled at what the gods put this woman through.
"As you could imagine, she grew resentful and angry. So she rallied humanity against the gods. And for the actions of a mere few, they wiped out the entirety of humanity, before abandoning the planet, leaving only the woman behind, more alone than ever." The Lord of Hollows continued as he showed the two gods take the form of dragons, the dark one unleashing a surge of dark energy that wiped out the planet's population.
"So, you want us to use these gods for target practice? Please say yes." Strife said, hoping to get a chance to make these callous deities into Swiss Cheese.
"One of these gods had also created monstrous beasts known as the creatures of Grimm, beings born of pure darkness more vile than any demon, existing only to destroy humanity and its creations. Born from pools of pure darkness that meant death to any who touched it. Any... except her." The former council member explained as the woman dove into the pool, suffering an assault from within the pool, but it was not enough to kill her and she reemerged from the pool, now deathly pale with white hair and red eyes with black sclera.
"It didn't kill her, but it clearly changed her. She is no longer the woman she was. There is nothing but darkness behind those eyes." Death noted, almost seeing a reflection of their forsaken brethren in her.
"Some time later, humanity miraculously returned, along with a new species known as Faunus. Then, one of these gods revived the woman's lover in order to put an end to his wife under the context of uniting humanity and restoring it to their former glory, constantly resurrecting until he completes this task." The Lord of Hollows told them as the golden being spoke to a man in a white void.
"Pitting lovers against each other. Does their depravity know no bounds?" War asked angrily.
"Now, the two of them are locked in an eternal war over the fate of their very world. The woman has grown even more cold and cruel, but also desperate to end her suffering. The god made four relics that would call himself and his brother back to the planet if they were assembled. And if humanity does not pass their judgment, they will end the world, once and for all." The Lord of Hollows finished as the being of light created relics that appeared to be a sword, a lamp, a staff and a crown.
"So, you believe we can end this eternal conflict and put an end to this woman?" Fury asked.
"I believe you are the only ones who can." The ancient being confirmed.
"Then what must be done?" Death asked.
"I will send you to their world and you will join in the man's fight. He heads an academy that trains young warriors to fight these creatures of Grimm. I will change your appearance so you appear to be of age to join this academy. From there, you may work at your own discretion to complete this task." The Lord of Hollows explained. "I shall grant you a moment to decide if you will accept." He told them.
"No need. I'm in." Strife said quickly.
"What?" The other Nephilim asked.
"Hey, our job's always been to protect the balance. And this world is sure as hell out of balance. Not much change from what we've been doing. Besides, people don't deserve to have the fate of their world in the hands of an old broken up couple fighting after a bad break up. And that woman deserves to be put out of her misery." Strife explained.
"I agree." War said, stepping up. "People are suffering because of the machinations of cruel, uncaring overlords. We know this pain too well. And I wouldn't wish it upon my greatest enemy. If we can help, we have no right to refuse." He explained.
"Then I shall join as well. Too long, I followed the word of a council that spat upon the values they told us to uphold. Now, similar beings have left a planet to face an endless, pointless struggle they created. Then if they refuse to end it, we shall." Fury added.
They all looked at Death, who had his head lowered. After a moment, the eldest of the Nephilim chuckled before looking up. "I did say whatever we did, we would do so together, didn't I? Then we shall face this new threat together." He declared.
"Then go forth. You are this world's last hope." The Lord of Hollows declared as he made a portal in front of the Nephilim, the siblings whistling and summoning their steeds, mounting their horses and taking up their namesakes as the Four Horsemen of the Apocalypse and riding through the portal.
A/N: Thank you for reading. This was an idea brought to me by Devil Dragon Stand Knight and I agreed it was a good one. This is a Collab story, so I cannot guarantee a regular updating schedule, but we will try to ensure quality over quantity. I hope you all enjoyed and will look forward to more.