Chapter 158

Arc 15 - Dead Men Rising - Part 11

Lucifer’s dimension, a short while ago:

“He is back,” Lucifer spoke with a startled look on his face. “And he has grown more powerful than ever.”

Nazar narrowed his eyes with great interest as he noticed the hint of fear in his voice.

“Who?” Nazar asked with a nonchalant look on his face.

“Sephrah,” Lucifer said loudly with a lot of emotions in his voice.

Aarin shuddered as a chill ran down her spine.

“...”

Nazar looked at Aarin with a complex look on his face.

Does she have a history with him? Nazar thought. If she is feeling this fearful from just hearing his name, then...

“This is… troublesome,” Lucifer muttered in a dry voice as he bit his thumb.

“Y-yeah, we- Something needs to be done about him. Even a second could c-c-c-cause...”

“It’s okay.”

With a stern look on his face, Nazar turned around and looked at Aarin.

“I am here.”

Nazar pulled her in and rested her head on his chest.

“You… You don’t understand, Nazar, th-th-that thing...”

He strolled his hand on the back of her head to console her.

“As I said, it’s okay, Aarin. Afterall, I am here, am I not?”

“...”

Lucifer looked at Nazar with his mouth open. He was not sure what kind of emotion he should do, but he knew, it was not relief.

“Point me to him, where is he?”

"This is not a joke."

"Yeah, never said it was, now did I, Lucifer?" Nazar rolled his eyes in annoyance.

"Tch, what are you going to do against him? Wait for your precious robot to come save you again? If you can't do anything against the Demon King, then for sure, this man will prove too much for you without preparation."

At the mention of her name, Nazar clicked his tongue.

For some odd reasons, he keeps forgetting her existence.

So, remembering her again because of Lucifer brought up sour feelings within him.

"I think we need to focus on the problem at hand. Losing a few universes to that man should compensate for--"

"If my universe falls, it can only mean one thing."

Nazar turned his head slightly and shot an icy gaze at Lucifer.

"The multiverse will die."

Nazar's words had two meanings and Lucifer understood both of them, but he decided to ignore the obvious threat from Nazar and focus on the second meaning.

No matter how much he wanted to repay Nazar for his terrible threats, he did not want to cause a friction between them at this point as it will cause troublesome to their plan.

"I know that, but he isn't heading for your universe, so we need to--"

"But that's not why I want to defeat him."

With great annoyance and anger, Lucifer sucked in a breath and calmed himself.

"Please, know this, this is not the time--"

"I don't care about that, Lucifer."

Nazar let go of Aarin and walked towards Lucifer.

"I don't want her to feel fear like this again," he said slowly to Lucifer as he walked past him. "Someone like you will never understand."

Lucifer's left eye twitched in anger; he could no longer keep it down.

For so long, he let this insolent brat act in any way he wanted, but Lucifer's patience was running low now.

The dimension they were standing in shook to its core.

"Next time show your anger through your fist or your words, Lucy."

Nazar smirked thinly as he created a portal and walked through it, leaving the angry Lucifer alone in his world.

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

Now - Nazareth, Israel, Earth:

"When the stars fell from the sky, the poor and the rich, the living and the unliving sucked in a breath as they looked at the beautiful show of natural lights."

Nazar looked at the orange sky and widened his eyes slightly.

"The small stars in the universe came closer to one another, creating a cluster - galaxy."

His eyes were fixated on a single being floating far above him.

With the radiant sun leaving this world, it left a large dark shadow in the sky; large wings on a human-like person.

The people were busy, trying to not get killed by the zombies but if they were free, they would have looked up and saw a silhouette belonging to a higher being.

"That was not nature. But a person."

Nazar sucked in his lips.

He thought.

He questioned.

But at last, he understood.

"I see," he said slowly. His voice carried both sorrow and worry, but a mix of happiness was also thrown into it. "So, that's how it is."

Under the orange sky, two large golden wings flapped as someone descended.

"Nazar…"

The 「Golden Angel」 descended in front of her brother and spread her arm forward.

"Don't go. He is a terrible being. A power so terrible… I know how strong you are, I know you can win anything, but just for my sake, don't go against him. He is evil beyond salvation."

He looked at Aarin and smiled softly.

"Thanks, but if you know me, you will know your words will have opposite effects. Till this day, I seek thrill. Something that can put me down--"

Aarin moved swiftly through the air and placed her index finger on his mouth.

"Stop. Please."

On her face, it was a simple and sad smile, but he understood what she was feeling and thinking.

She did not want him to fight this person for one reason: he has a desire to battle strong people who can defeat him, but he cannot find any. This person could potentially prove troublesome to Nazar, so he wants to go there for that reason. However, Aarin wants him to leave behind his thirst for battle. It will bring nothing good but disappointment.

"I…"

Nazar removed Aarin's hand away and looked left and right with many emotions dancing on his face.

Anger, sadness, confusion and more. Aarin could feel every emotion radiating from him.

"Aarin, can I say something?"

"Sure," she smiled softly, encouraging him to speak his mind.

လလလ

"I haven't changed at all, have I?

To begin with, in what way should I change? By whose standards and values should I change?

Emma wants me to be better, but my idea of better is different. Death is better for me, while for Emma, it's the complete opposite. Same with mom, she has her own ideals. So!

Which path is someone meant to continue? Mine, which is considered bad by their standards, or theirs, which doesn't resonate with mine?

Speaking of, what is even good and bad? How do we quantify this? On whose standards? Do these standards resonate well with the standards of aliens or Gods?

Not at all!

So, which one am I meant to follow? Whose values should I live up to? Whose expectations should I live up to?

Then what about my own?

Good and evil. Yan and Ying. It's a concept introduced at the beginning of creation and a system used by afterlife. If you were to do something good for others, that falls under good. But if you were to do something good for yourself, but at the inconvenience of someone else, that's bad. This logic is flawed!

When a homeless man steals bread, that's "evil" and is punished but when a businessman does worse, albeit sometimes indirectly, he isn't punished.

I avoided humans for far too long, so I was surprised when I found out too many of them falls in a place that is neither Yin nor Yang. Good nor evil.

So, that brings me here. What about me?

I am neither a human, nor a god. I am not good, nor evil. So, naturally, I should belong in a place that is between there, right?

Well, yes.

But that logic doesn't work here.

I want to die; I have nothing to live for. I have experienced everything I wanted to. I have no goals of my own, even if I did, I would achieve them instantly.

When at a ballot, life gives you two choices, yet you don't belong to either, so which choice do you tick, and which choice do you cross?

So, which am I supposed to choose?

One: live by my own ideals and become better by my own standards, meaning die, but at the expense of everyone I know and love.

Two: live by their standards, then what?

There is no in between here as it is for good and evil.

Good and evil can find balance, life and death, however, it's impossible.

I cannot find a balance for this.

Life is empty without goal, and I have none. Life is boring without a challenge, and I have none.

I want to die. Yet I cannot, but if I did, what would I choose? What should I choose?

Does the happiness of the loved ones triumphant my own? But if that's the case, why do people even live? Is life meaningless and worthless?

Religion says people are given life to experience this world and devote yourself to God. And if you don't, you suffer greatly for it.

So, is life ultimately useless?

What about freedom? How free are we?

No, to begin with, what is even freedom? Who has created these standards for freedom? Does everyone share the same idea of freedom?

Earth, for example, most first world countries say their people are 100% free. But how? They still must abide by the laws and standards of someone else. They must keep certain thoughts and actions hidden or else there will be consequences.

In the past, people had to hide who they had feelings for. But why? They had no control over it. So, why? Who decided they should be deemed criminals?

Freedom doesn't exist. Every path one takes is limited.

I am free from the shackles of everything, yet I don't have freedom. Lucifer, too. Michael too. Everyone. They are always restricted by one thing or another, living by someone else's ideals and standards.

Look at these zombies. They are following orders from something. They are forced to move forward but they don't want that, do they?

What a joke… Not even death could give them freedom.

So, if I were to change, in what way should I change?

By my own standards, which I don't have, or by someone else's?"

လလလ

Aarin listened to his long monologue with a stiff look on her face.

She was not sure how else she should react in this situation.

Of course, she did not find it laughable by any means, just wasn't sure how she should react to it. Especially since she never expected Nazar to speak about something like this.

"That was quite philosophical of you," she joked.

However, her laughter soon vanished as she realised the situation they were in, so she cursed herself.

“I am not sure what to say about that,” she spoke in a stiff tone.

Aarin bit her thumb as she started to think about what he said.

While she wanted him to change but hearing what he had to say how it is not something he wants, she decided it is not a clever idea to push forward with that idea.

She thought about it hard, but she could not produce a suitable answer.

“But I must say, you seem a little on the edge… Is everything fine?”

Aarin placed her hand on his face and turned it left and right to examine it.

“You seem so lifeless right now, your eyes are smaller than usual, and your eyes are turning dark red. That’s not to mention your muscle mass has gone down. What’s wrong?”

“...”

Nazar was surprised at her examination. He was unaware of the changes in his body.

“No, everything’s fine, same as usual, you know?”

“That’s not true-- Oh my god, what has happened to your skin…? It’s as if there is no blood in it.”

Seeing the worried look on her face, he clicked his tongue and cursed himself for causing her worry.

“Aarin,” he gently removed her hand with a soft smile on his face. “I am fine, don’t worry.”

Aarin frowned.

“You really think lying would work on me?”

“... But-- But I am not lying. I feel fine, just maybe a little tired.”

Aarin sighed and gave up trying to get answers from him.

“When was the last you rested?”

“A--”

Before he could answer, she held her index finger to him angrily and added, “And I don’t mean shutting off your brain, because that doesn’t help. In fact, it just makes it worse.”

“...”

Nazar smiled stiffly as he tried to avert his gaze.

“Well...”

『Master! He has been found.』

Yes, perfect! As usual, when I want to get out of conversations, something pops up and saves me. Nazar thought happily for a moment.

Nazar and Aarin’s expressions changed instantly afterwards.

With a stern look on his face, he asked, “Where?”

『Entering this universe. Someone is moving closer, trying to battle him… !! It’s... 』

“Who?”

“It could be him,「Lagos, the First Hero」,” Aarin added.

To Nazar, he was a new person whom he did not need to care about, so he ignored him.

“I see… Well, I should get going then.”

Aarin’s expression turned to worry once again.

“But Nazar…” she held him by the sleeve with two weak fingers. “You don’t have to.”

“Come on, Aarin, when did that ever work?”

“You will get hurt,” she added in a weak voice. “He is different from anything you have faced before.”

Since she doesn’t know too much about X or the Queen, I suppose it makes sense.

“It’s fine, Aarin, a lot happened since we last met. Sad to say, I have grown stronger… Far stronger than I was a few days ago.”

Before waiting for her to say anything, space distorted in front of them as a black hole popped in front of him and swallowed him, sending him to the farthest reaches of the universe.

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

Far edges of the material universe:

The observable universe is over ninety-three billion light years. The material universe - a state of universe where life could potentially flourish within it - is over two hundred billion light years.

But there is more.

The immaterial state of universe - a state of nothingness where nothing can exist - stretches to the ends of heavens.

The immaterial state of the universe can be compared to the Void by some, but those who can see the dimensional structure of the multiverse can see how wrong their thoughts are.

The Void is a dimension that exists at the bottom of the dimensional hierarchy and at its top. It holds everything.

This state of the universe, however, holds nothing. But there is a potential for it to be materialised one day.

"Stop!"

At the edge of the material universe, a being shaped like the letter 'C'-shaped - with a small circle floating in the middle of it, almost connecting the 'C' - spread its arm (?) and created a galaxy. This creature, whose skin was like glass, lit up for a split second.

The energies were leaking out of it and causing the void-like place to become material.

"I said… STOP!"

Amid the dark space, an oddly shaped creature - which somewhat might resemble an octopus - shouted on top of its lungs.

However, the 'C'-shaped creature ignored the other creature.

"Blast you!"

The crimson octopus-like creature clenched its small body as it's one red eye flared brightly.

From the body of this small creature, a torrent of red blasts flew out and hit the 'C'-shaped creature.

However, it ignored the creature once again.

"HAS YOUR MEDDLING NOT BEEN ENOUGH?!" the meaty creature shouted at the top of its lungs with great emotions.

The anger in its voice caused the 'C'-shaped creature to stop unleashing streams of energies to the immaterial state of the universe.

"Ah, Lagos," the 'C'-shaped creature spoke in a voice that was almost mechanical, not like a robot, but more divine. "The pebble that stopped me eons ago."

Lagos, the First Hero who ever used his power for the good of others and stood in front of a villain.

He is a legend long forgotten by the most but those who witnessed his heroism never forgot him.

"I don't now know how I returned from Lucifer's onslaught, but here I am," the sphere within the C lit up with white energy for an instant. "When you killed me, I crawled through the fiery grounds of Hell like a lowly weak creature, but over time, one day I regained my power. I flit through the demons and the angels as if they were nothing but then… Lucifer."

While it had no expressions, Lagos could tell it was angry.

"I plowed my way through thousands of them, but he… he just stood there, uninterested. As he gaped open his eyes, those red flaring eyes…" The sphere trembled slightly. "It ended me."

Lagos felt fear in its voice.

"But fate smiled upon me and I have returned once more into the fray. I will exact my revenge."

"But no matter what you do, Lucifer will not lower himself to this realm."

"Oh, but he will. My actions will cause a chain reaction that will destroy the first plane, then the second, causing the end of all there is. And then at last…" like a cartoon villain, he laughed and laughed. "My image will be all there is."

"You…" the small creature gulped. "You madman!"

"Does not matter what small creatures refer to me as, titles are unnecessary once I destroy it all."

In anger, Lagos created billions of energy balls that resembled suns.

"Then so be it. If it is the last thing I do, I will stand up to you. If it is the last thing I do, I will stop you."

The billions of suns flew towards the madman.

But in return, he crackled with laughter.

"No, you will try, but…"

The suns vanished as if they never existed.

"!!"

"Failure is the only thing that awaits when battling God."

A galaxy from far away flew right at Lagos.

"But try as you might. You will meet failure and not anything else."

Without looking back at it, he quickly raised his psychic shields and blocked the galaxy.

"Try as I might, but I fight for everyone unlike you. They might not know, I might lose, but their thoughts are with me."

"Curios, what do you mean?"

"When people are in distress, they look up to a saviour, and today, that is me."

"Hmmm," the 'C'-shaped creature sent its sphere towards Lagos. "Are you saying you are a being of the highest order who can hear prayers?"

"No, I am not God, but like you, my power too has grown. I have become something of a… entity. I can feel heroes across the worlds raging against the undead and I can feel the thoughts of those who want to be saved and those who are saved."

"I see…" the sphere flew away. "Disappointing."

The space in front of Lagos distorted.

Lagos could not explain it, but the dark universe in front of him had changed drastically. What was horizontal was now vertical.

"I don't want to entertain you anymore, so I suggest you go elsewhere. This playground is too vast for someone so small."

"I will not until you stop this madness."

"The deed here is done. The chain reaction has already begun."

"!!"

Lagos turned pale as his body froze.

"Within a short frame of time, this artefact, the 「Livil Tos」, will rip through the dimensions and reach the first. Nothing or no one can reach that, except for this, of course."

The artefact known as Livil Tos, which looked like a sharp metallic radish, spun around in the air in front of them.

"No!"

Throwing away his fears, Lagos clenched his body.

He was not going to let this madman succeed.

"So be it," the 'C'-shaped creature said after a clicking sound.

The artefact floated between the two of them.

"Stop it me you can."

Radiating with white energies, the object rotated vigorously and flew downwards.

Lagos closed his eye as he concentrated with a sense that was out of the realm of possibilities.

This creature could pinpoint the object with ease.

But stopping it was another question all together.

"Hngh!" he grunted as he created large psychic barrier around the object.

However, it was proving too much for it.

The object was going to dig its way through the barriers and fly towards the end of creation.

It would mean the end all there was for this man.

"I…"

With strong conviction, Lagos increased the density of the shield.

"Will…"

But even that proved useless.

"Not…"

Lagos kept strengthening the barrier, but it did not work.

The other creature laughed victoriously as if it had won, there was nothing that would stop it.

"FAIL!"

There was nothing Lagos could do to the artefact.

"Oh?"

Or so it should have been.

However, to the surprise of this odd creature, Lagos had destroyed the artefact.

"I told you…" breathless, he forced out those words. "This world has many heroes, and their spirits are with me."

"Silly," the odd creature said in a faint voice. "Questionably bad."

"That might be so, but…"

The meaty octopus like creature's red eye flared brightly as it looked straight at his opponent.

The strength in his eyes was apparent. His spirit and will was unbreakable.

"When you have spirit and duty, everything else is easy."

"..."

The 'C'-shaped creature did not say anything for a short while before bursting into laughter.

"Oh, that is interesting."

While laughing, an explosion comparable to big bang blew up in the face of the hero.

"Gah?!"

The explosion which caused the expansion of a time and space caused his senses to become dull. He lost his vision and his body wobbled.

"What...ngh… what did you do--"

"I find it quite hilarious how weak people think they stand a chance with such weak convictions. Spirit does not equate to power."

Lagos screamed in pain, pain like he has never felt before.

He felt like his very being was shredded to pieces by that explosion.

"You killed me long ago, you stood supremely over me and ended my "reign of evil", as you called it. You said the age of righteous ones will begin... But the age of heroes has long died. I can see through the stream that is time, and it seems the universe was not very kind to heroes."

"But even then…" Lagos spoke with a trembling body of anger. He was fighting through the pain. "But even then… THAT IS WHAT WE DO!"

He never considered himself a hero when he was alive, but after he died, people referred to him as such. And so, the word hero - which was once used for men with riches - took a new meaning.

Hero, someone who stands up for the weak, for injustice and inequality.

Hero, someone who is the best of the best, the ideal man in society.

"Against the odds of the universe and the people, against the villains and the Gods… We WILL NEVER YIELD!"

"..." The sphere shook. "I no longer have time for your jokes."

"Maybe so but let me tell you something… Heroes were never meant to win; they were not meant to stand victorious. No, they were meant to bring about a chance, inspire people and shape the future."

His words did not set well with the other creature as it trembled in anger.

"You, 「Sephrah, the Shaper of Cosmos」, created the material worlds but the heroes changed it. They shaped its people who turned wastelands into utopias. You did nothing, Sephrah, you were just a bully playing with small people."

"..."

"Heroes might be small in size, but they stand taller and mightier than you in spirit. So, what if the universe did them injustice? It did not stop them from putting an end to the reign of villains such as you.”

The ‘C’-shaped creature created millions of swords that flew from every direction right at Lagos.

“I tire of your silly games.”

“So, do… I!”

Lagos created a psychic shield and blocked his attack once more.

Multi-layered shields were created around the swords and he got complete control over it.

However, the ‘C’-shaped creature did not stop.

The time-space continuum was ripped apart as a black hole ate everything around him.

“!!”

Lagos barely managed to create a barrier around him to get rid of this inconvenience.

The ‘C’-shaped creature screamed in pain next instant as his very existence was being split apart through the phases. His body was more than fine, but what was inside was different.

Within Lagos, an antimatter planet-shaped thing appeared, causing him to feel physical pain too.

“You live in the world of fairy tales, Lagos.”

The spirit and courage he once had was crushed.

“And I rewrite fairy tales.”

The thoughts of heroes he felt were no longer there.

“Heroes are fairy tales, and they will go down as such.”

Manipulating the mathematics and formulas of the world, he confined Lagos in a cube of nothingness and everything. In a cube, which had everything and nothing, Lagos gasped for air, but he could not breath.*

Everything within him was broken and he was one the verge of death.

“Hrk,” the breathless Lagos gasped but he could not be saved.

On the verge of death, as the light in his eyes was going away, someone spoke nonchalantly, “Oh man, these things are big. And what’s with these weird designs? How do these even fight?”

“!!”

“!!”

The two large beings - one as big as the galaxy and the other larger than dozens of solar systems - looked at this ant-like creature.

“So, which one of you is Sephrah?”

“That would be I,” the ‘C’-shaped creature said.

“For some reason I was expecting Galactus and not his ship...” he spoke with a weary look on his face. “What a pain.”

“And whom might you be?”

The cube around Lagos broke into pieces as Sephrah asked a question from this ant.

Lagos breathed loudly in pain.

“I am Nazar,” his red eyes flared for an instant.

The octopus-like creature opened his eyes widely as he looked at the small figure in front of him.

“Are you a…”

Nazar clenched his fist tightly and looked at Sephrah with a strong smile. Lagos could not see his face, but he could see the smile on his face.

“Hero?” Lagos asked.

“No, anything but that,” Nazar said slowly as he flew right at Sephrah.

So he says, but that look and stance just now… Lagos thought to himself in relief.

But Nazar on the other hand was excited.

"Hey, you have been hyped up quite a lot, so it got me feeling all tingly… Please don't disappoint me."

❢◥ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◆ ▬▬▬▬▬▬ ◤❢

A very thin man in a hero-like skintight costume sat weakly on the ground as his cape burnt in fire.

The man sitting on the ground had his head hung low in defeat.

The world was on fire and people were dying all around him.

However, this hero could not do anything against this villain.

“I am… sorry, everyone.”

The hero gritted his teeth as he punched the ground.

“I will burn your world to ashes, Aizen.”

The villain stood victorious over this hero and laughed.

His world was just moments away from being consumed by the flames of this crimson humanoid horse person.

“And then I will eat the universe for dinner. This is the price you pay for humiliating me.”

“What if I humiliate you?”

From the stars, someone descended swiftly and punched the villain away.

“...”

Aizen raised his eyes and saw the back of a white-haired human, so he sucked in a breath.

He had lost all hope for his world, but seeing God descend from the heavens, he knew his world was now saved.

“You good, Aizen?”

“Y-yes...”

“That’s good.”

Aizen watched as the man clenched his fist and shot forward towards this ugly creature.

“The Supreme God...”

လလလ

GASP!

In an empty glass-like world, Aizen gasped loudly as he woke from his dream.

He sat up and covered his face with his right palm.

“Hero, villain, dead world and a saviour...”

“That dream again?” the world glitched and the Supreme One was now standing in front of Aizen.

“Yeah,” Aizen nodded.

“About that dream… Are you hiding something from me?”

“!!”

Aizen’s body tensed up as he swallowed his saliva in fear.

“O-of course, not.”

“Is that so…?”

Aizen could see the look of disbelief on the non-existent face of the Supreme One.

He could read him like an open book.

“In any case, I would recommend not keeping valuable information all to yourself. Something so trivial could prove so significant in the future.”

“Ye… Yes, sir, I understand.”

Aizen stood up and put on his cape.

“When are we leaving?”

“Change of plans. We might need to leave in a few days. I want to see… You are aware of what is happening out there?”

“Yes,” Aizen nodded.

“Good. I want to see how they will solve this problem. And if my intervention would be necessary.”

“But what about God? If he cannot solve it, how can-- Yipee!”

Aizen’s body froze and yelped as the Supreme One shot an icy glare at him.

“I am sorry,” he bowed down a few times very very rapidly. “I am very sorry.”

“Matter not, but it seems to me you do not know God very well.”

Aizen raised his head with a confused look on his face.

“What do you mean?”

“God will never do anything big if he can help it. He wants to be small, both in presence and power, but sad for him, it will never happen.”

“That is true...” he muttered slowly.

“Rest for now, Aizen, rest for as long as you can, because...” the Supreme One shook his head. “Matter not. Do what you wish to do. But be ready soon.”

Ainzen nodded and the Supreme One left this world through a glitch.

Being left alone, Aizen let out a heavy sigh.

“God’s are complicated.”