Damien watched as Hades took a step closer to them, the portal he'd walked through closing behind him.
"How the hell did you get here?" He demanded, "the Circles are supposed to be inaccessible without-"
"Without a relic?" Hades asked, an eyebrow raised, "what do you think I've got in my hand?" Damien's eyes fell on the staff in the man's hand.
"What the hell is that thing?" He asked, turning to Xisplate. The Demon Lord looked uncomfortable.
"Something that left the record of history thousands of years ago," he replied.
"Can you stop being cryptic for two seconds?" Damien demanded angrily, "just tell me what it is!"
"And break the Law of revealing forbidden information?" Xisplate asked, "is the information so important that you want me to stir Zomrus more?"
"Yes," Hades replied, making them both look at him. "Go, Xisplate, wake the Lord even more. I came here for that very purpose." Damien growled and took a step forward.
"Are you insane?!" He demanded, "surely you know what will happen if Zomrus wakes up! Why are you doing this?!"
"Why?" Hades asked. "What a foolish question. Because it's my destiny to do so. It was written by Chronos thousands of years ago, and so it will be. I will awaken the God of Death, and I'll be rewarded for my service."
"Don't be moronic," Xisplate said, "Zomrus will not reward you, he hates humans. He's using you, just like he has thousands of times before now."
"No," Hades replied simply, "he will not. He knows now is his time, and I will be rewarded for my service. I know this to be true."
"And what exactly does Zomrus want?" Damien asked. This was his chance to obtain actual information, He needed to take it.
"What he wants is the destruction of Anhkseram's world," Hades said. "To tear down this world and rebuild how it should have always been."
"By making us obey him?" He asked, "That's what the Archbishop told me. Zomrus wants us to obey him. To strip us of our free will."
"Why do you speak as if it's a bad thing?" Hades asked. "The free will humans have enjoyed has led to countless wars, countless deaths. There have been rapes, murders, genocides, destruction of entire cultures. If you ask me, we do not deserve the free will the Gods gave us. We need to ruled. But not by one another, no. By a higher figure who will punish us for our insubordination."
"And you want to live in a world like that?" Xisplate demanded, "no, I'm sure Zomrus promised you a position of power. There is no other explanation. Humans do not desire their own subjugation. He's promised you power."
"But of course he has," Hades said with a laugh. "I understand his will. One needn't look further than The Olympians to see what I'm talking about."
"What do you mean?" Damien asked.
"Are you an idiot?" Hades asked with an eyebrow raised. "Look at what The Olympians have done to you will their free will. They have hurt you, tortured you, killed your friend. Their free will has hurt you. Surely removing that is a desire of yours."
"Maybe, but not from everyone!" Damien shouted, "that's madness!"
"Everyone has done the same," Hades said with a wave of his hand. "With varying degrees of evil, of course. You've seen it yourself, Damien. You've done it too. After all, aren't you currently debating whether or not Nashi Dragneel's life is worth more than the whole world's?"
Damien froze.
"What kind of ass-backwards thought process is that, huh? If you are under the impression that Zomrus will kill millions, you are saying her life is worth more than theirs. Hers over millions. That is horrific, and Anhkseram above would be ashamed of you."
"Do not speak of him!" Xisplate said, "Anhkseram has given all living beings the ability to choose!"
"Then I ask Damien to choose," Hades replied. Damien watched as the man extended a hand. "Join me, Damien. we will save millions by awakening Zomrus. Together, we can save Nashi and millions."
"What?"
"Were you under the impression it was one or the other? No, Damien, it does not need to be so. If you join me, we can ensure Nashi Dragneel lives to survive Zomrus' awakening. I will not allow the Demon Lords to take her away from you."
"He's poisoning you!" Xisplate said, jumping to stand in between them. He stared wildly into Damien's eyes, pleading with him. "Please, Damien! I know you, you are a pure soul! Do not allow the God of Death to reawaken!"
"Do you think you and your family will be allowed to live when he returns if you fight him?" Zomrus asked. "Oppose him now, and he will ensure you never live peacefully again. Join us, and I can promise a peaceful life."
"He cannot!" Xisplate said, "if I die, so do you! There is not future were you live and Zomrus rises!"
"Xisplate is selfish," Hades said, "he wishes to continue his own survival instead of what is best. He wishes Nashi to die."
"He lies!" Xisplate roared. "Nashi and her father are the only mortals that can oppose him! Don't you see, Damien?! Nashi and Natsu were created by Zeref to kill an immortal being, himself! That means they can kill Gods too! I may want her dead, but he would never allow them to live!"
Silence fell over the empty plain as the three exchanged looks. Damien's mind ran a million miles a second, trying to piece it all together.
And them, seemingly in an instant, a thousand puzzle pieces that had floated in his mind before created a perfect portrait. Everything came into view seamlessly.
"That's why you're here," he said in shock. "You were stealing Nashi's power in Tartarus, weren't you? You stole it and kept it for yourself, END said so. And now, you're going to use it's God-killing power to kill the Demon Lords and unlock the seals on Zomrus."
But that wasn't all.
"The Archbishop said Anhkseram and Zomrus are equal in strength. But with Nashi's power...good God, you're going to kill Anhkseram."
Hades said nothing for an eternity. the void surrounding them was horrifically quiet. Then, he smiled the most evil smile Damien had ever seen.
"Aren't you a bright one?" He asked in a sing-song tone, one that made his blood run cold. "Yes, that's exactly what we'll do. Anhkseram could have done it, but he was a fool. He could not kill his brother, instead sealing him away. He could have done it with help from the humans and dragons, but he didn't. Zomrus will make no such mistake. He won't give his brother the chance to rise again as he did. Once the Twelve Demon Lords have fallen, Anhkseram will have no choice but to descend and fight his brother. Then, with the unholy creations of Zeref Dragneel, I will help my master kill the God of Life."
That could only mean one thing.
"The Children of Nyx," he breathed, "they're here, aren't they?"
"Here is hard to pin down," Hades replied as he gestured around them. "The Twelve Circles of Judgement are different planes. Astrologically speaking, they are nearby, yes. Existentially, no." Damien turned to Xisplate quickly.
"Warn the other Demon Lords! Warn them that my friends are not the enemy right now! The Children of Nyx are!"
"Are they?" Hades asked, "because I get the distinct feeling that some of your friends will appreciate a comrade in these trying times."
Ultear had no idea where she was, but she had a decent idea. She and the others had been pulled into the Circles of Judgement, so she had to assume she was in one now. But where was everyone else? Had they been separated? Must have been.
As for where she was, she could only describe it as a place frozen in time. Not in the sense that things were frozen around her, but she got the distinct sense time itself did not flow right here. The hazy fog around her was still, and any air she should have been breathing was stagnant. Which Demon Lord had taken her?
"Ultear Fullbuster," a voice said. Turning on a dime, Ultear readied her hands as a form appeared in the fog, walking towards her. Once the person reached her, she noticed it was a woman. She had A simple white robe on covering her curvy figure, a hood over her silver hair. The most striking part of her appearance, however, was her eyes. They were blue, but it was as though her eyes were cracked glass. Black lines traced over her eyes like cracks in ice, tracing tiny crevices in the iris of her eyes. It was disturbingly beautiful.
"Should I bother asking which one you are, or are we going straight to the fight?" She asked wearily. The woman gave her a soft smile as she walked closer.
"The fight has not started yet," she said. "I pulled you here for my own reasons."
"And what are those?"
"I sense you are a user of Chronos' magic," she said, making Ultear raise an eyebrow. "You harbour some control over time, do you not?"
"Are you talking about Arc of Time?" She asked.
"If that's what the humans of your Age call it," she replied, "then yes. I sensed it in you, and I wished to talk."
"About what?" She demanded, lowering her hands slightly but staying on her guard. "I came here to stop you from taking my friend, there's nothing to talk about."
"There is much to talk about," the woman replied. "But introductions are first. In case you have forgotten my name, I am Mezevera, the Mistress of Time." The Demon bowed to her, but Ultear didn't feel like giving much more than a nod.
"This your Circle?" She asked, gesturing at their surroundings.
"It is," Mezevera said, "I like to keep it simple. I see enough as it is."
"What does that mean?"
"My eyes see more than what's in front of me," the demon replied. "Like my Godly superior, my power allows me to foresee futures and pasts. The flow of time is a fickle thing, there is much I see."
"You're already confusing me," Ultear said warily.
"I apologise. It is hard for someone like me to explain my sight to a mortal. None of Pythia's foremothers ever truly understood it either."
"That's right," Ultear muttered, "you were the one who gave the prophecy to The Olympians."
"I give prophecy's with every breath I take," Mezevera replied. "I am not to blame for what mortals do with what I see. Especially considering how limited my power is."
"How so?"
"I am forbidden from seeing absolutes. You see, one of the Laws Anhkseram gave us was forbidding us from revealing information to mortals that could cause Zomrus to rise. I, however, am more restricted. My power to see the future is too powerful, and Anhkseram was forced to shackle me further. I see many futures, many possibilities, but no absolutes. No certainties."
"The prophecy you gave sounded pretty certain."
"Of course it did," Mezevera said. "The future Pythia's Grandmother saw was one of many possible futures. Perhaps it's pull was stronger than others, and it was pulled to the surface. I cannot say for certain."
"But that's a contradiction," Ultear replied as she jabbed a finger at the demon. "You just said Anhkseram prevented you from revealing information that would make Zomrus wake up, but you did just that."
"Did I?" Mezevera asked, "or did I reveal what happens after he rose? I didn't tell The Olympians how to do it, only what might happen if he did. Do you understand?"
"No."
"I expected as much. But, you see, that's the fickle reality of time. Although myself and Chronos can see more than humans or dragons, we are forbidden from altering the flow too much. Your kind, mortals, your control over the flow of time is a wondrous thing."
"We have no control," Ultear spat, "we're just dragged along by things like you and Zomrus."
"Are you?" Mezevera asked curiously. "I wonder. Tell me, Ultear, what happened when you and your friends were pulled through a Time Wound by Kronos?" Ultear made a face at this, thinking.
"We were pulled into the future," she said.
"Correction," she said, "a future where you and your friends had disappeared for twenty years. This future existed only because Kronos, a mortal, attacked you and your friends, more mortals. No Gods or Demon Lords had a hand in that. And because of this, a splinter timeline was created. One that, even now, still flows."
"What do you mean, it still flows?" Ultear asked.
"Time is an ever-flowing river, Ultear," Mezevera said. "Just as a river has a beginning and an end, so too does time. It began, and it will end. But water continuously runs through it. It runs through ever splinter in that river as well. So when the water runs down a different path, it does not just stop flowing. It continues on and on, even if the river reaches an end point. That splinter timeline still exists. It's just that it's 'end point' is when you and your friends returned to your own timeline, the branch of the river'."
"What the hell is the point of all of this?!" Ultear demanded, icy spears forming over her head. "Why are you assaulting me with dumb philosophical explanations of time?! I didn't come here for a lecture!" Mezevera didn't seem phased by her irritation. She raised her hands, and Ultear watched cautiously as the fog around them reached for her hands. It formed small orbs in her hands, both black as midnight, floating there silently.
"I've seen two timelines in your immediate future," Mezevera replied. One in which you and I come to blows, and one where we do not. In my left is the conflict, in my right is peace. But you see, Ultear, both of these futures are flowing right now. The Ultear's before you chose one or the other. I do not know what fate befell them. Mortals control which path they flow down. And you are at one such crossroads."
Ultear stared at the mosaic-eyed demon for a few seconds, trying to figure out what the hell was going on. Why was she being given this choice? This was supposed to be a blitzkrieg to seal the Demon Lords, now she was given an option?
"I don't understand," she said finally, "why give me this option?"
"Options is what the future really is," Mezevera replied. "The water of the river must flow down one path. But which one will you go down?" Ultear furrowed her brow as she thought hard.
"Do you not want to fight me?" She asked in a low tone.
"Many of my brethren do not want this fight," she answered, "myself included."
"Does the path for peace involve giving Nashi to you?"
"I do not need to see absolutes to confirm this. Peace can only coincide with Nashi's soul being judged."
"Then I cannot imagine how any of my past selves chose that path," she said as she readied her fists. "I would never."
"And yet you have before, and will again," Mezevera replied. "Perhaps not this you, but one just did. Perhaps one will." The two stared at each other for a moment, neither making a move. Mezevera sighed and crossed her arms. "I offer one last chance, do not face me. My time powers are not limited to objects. I can affect flesh and blood, and the battle between us would last but an instant."
Ultear figured as much. She knew that the Demon Lord's magic would be strong. That was why she came prepared for such an event.
"Ice Devil Armour!" At Ultear's command, and in an instant, icy purple armour encased her body from head to toe. An icy visor flew down over her face, covering her face from attacks. Mezevera looked unimpressed.
"Time Warp," the woman said.
Nothing happened.
As a matter of fact, both women watched as a spell ricocheted off the armour, flying back into the fog.
'My armour is made of Ice Devil Slayer ice," Ultear said, "your demonic magic cannot penetrate it! Ice Devil Field!" Ice raced from her feet and through the fog, encompassing the domain of Mezevera in sheet if purple ice. "Ice Devil Weapon Garden!" Her wish gave birth to countless weapons, springing from the ground beneath them and flying at Mezevera, who grew angelic wings from her back and dodged them. The wings themselves were fractured like her eyes, but they were also fragmented completely. Empty space was between the parts of the wings, yet they still flapped and carried the demon away.
"I see you prepared yourself," Mezevera replied. "And have chosen your path. Then let us fight!"
Katsuchi hated that he knew immediately where they were. The domain he and Tetsu currently found themselves in was icy and barren. Where it not for his Fire God Slayer Magic, he'd bee freezing to death.
Like poor Tetsu.
His friend had nearly frozen when thy first arrived, forcing him to use magic and keep him warm. Katsuchi had practice as a furnace, but he wasn't sure how well he could do it up against an enemy like a Demon Lord.
Like the one currently in front of them.
Standing before them was a man Katsuchi had never wanted to see again. The one that had caused all of this mess.
"Hello boys," Vantros said, "so nice to see you again."