(Aden's P.O.V)

I instantly slowed the flow of power trying to maintain the balance between the two opposing fundamental laws. Chaos and order. One was untameable just by virtue of it's nature while controlling the other was conditional. Reliant on structure being maintained. I was the only being in the whole cosmos with the ability to even exert that kind of control. But potential needs time to be realized. As I was, the tide of power would pull me down and I would be lost. Consumed and left nothing more than a puppet with base instincts.

The drastic reduction in speed alerted Nabu.

"I see. I felt your mind momentarily get pulled somewhere. I take it you have come up with a different strategy?"

His voice rang out in my mind.

"Yes." I responded, my own tone muffled by the helmet. I spared a glance at a certain mountain peak and watched as the two teacher figures in my life, both concentrated on beating each other in chess rather than help me. I still regret introducing them to each other.

I smiled. I wouldn't have had it any other way though. This was my mess to fix. And I would need my entire concentration for this. My body puppet turned into wisps of light and disappeared in Linda's office, thoroughly freaking out the therapist.

She was not amused by the 'I'll be back.' I managed to throw at her before dematerializing. Instantly, I felt my mind grow sharper and more focused. My body also regained some of it's lost energy and I was back to a 100 percent.

"You ready to save my world Nabu?"

I wondered out loud, pulling Equity out of the hammer space. The first time in a while. By now it had already completed it's evolution.

"As per our agreeme..." Nabu's voice trailed off as we both looked on in shock at the blade in my hand. Equity seemed to have changed yet not. The katana was still black, the edge still sharp but now a yin yang symbol was etched into the cross guard and the broad sides seemed to pull you in deeper and deeper into it's black color.

"Such...potent demonic energy! What is this weapon?!"

Nabu's voice rang out, pulling me out of my stupor. I ran a finger along it's length. It was warm to the touch and I could feel just how capable Equity had gotten. I pulled my hand back just as Equity broke apart into dozens of knives that floated around me, each knife twirling in the air in a lazy drill and slashed out.

The knives cut through the air in unmatched speeds, all aimed at Lucifer and Iroh. Serves them right for letting me do all the work. But really, they were the strongest beings apart from me in this realm. I wasn't going to pass on this opportunity the see just how powerful Equity had become.

Black trails not unlike the color of the chaos chasm I was meditating infront of, trailed behind the dozen knives. But my targets were not just anyone . A blue shield appeared on Iroh sides, blocking the knives with impeccable ease, 4 of the daggers bounced off the shield and crazily enough adjusted their trajectory to come in from the other direction.

The 8 daggers targeting Lucifer merely went through him without touching him. I frowned and reached out to understand why that had happened. Lucifer had exempted himself from my reality, hence my weapon could not touch him. And then something crazy happened. Black flames begun burning across the daggers edge.

I immediately cancelled the skill and called the weapon back to me. I wasn't sure if I was ready for anyone to know that ability. Hell flames. Equity could now control fucking hell flames! That doubled with the effect it had to cut off a being from its power source, something I had selfishly guarded with only the angels and Lucifer knowing, meant I was almost unbeatable in a fight with beings in the same range of power.

And if what I was planning succeeded, finding anyone strong enough to match me would be difficult. The daggers all flew back to me and clashed in mid air, shifting back into it's Katana form. I turned the blade over in my hands, studying it while also slightly amused at how the two beings, one a spirit and the other the devil went back to playing chess as if nothing had happened. There's a joke there somewhere.

"Fascinating. The blade exudes pure demonic energy yet is fully under your control."

Nabu observed. I remembered what Red had said, apart from my Avatar State, now states, no one had my back like Equity. The blade hummed in my hands at the praise. It was very close to being sentient, what it lacked was a spark. I was hoping to change that by combining Red with Equity.

Yes. That was the plan I had settled upon. I could not achieve balance now. My spirit was too weak but if I had someone else to share the burden with, a nascent spirit made from me...then I could theoretically put a pause on the whole 'achieving balance' thing up until I was actually strong enough to do it.

It was the only plan I had that could work. Unfortunately, it came with its own complications. For starters, Red seemed to think that either of three things were likely to occur. One, his ego might merge with Equity and create one unique entity capable of controlling all the elements instinctively with no limits to its power yet incredibly difficult to control.

Two, Red's ego would lay dormant as well as his power due to the chaos attribute not being compatible with the weapon form of Equity, or three chaos would prove too much for Equity and destroy the sword, thereby unleashing a torrential wave of chaos energy that would lead to the destruction of my dimension. Knowing my luck, I wouldn't be surprised if that last possibility occured.

I placed Equity on my lap and took a deep breath.

"Nabu, lend me your power. I will need your order energy again to ensure the process goes as smooth as possible without losing control and destroying ourselves."

"I see." The Lord of Order said. "You seek to bind your chaos affinity to the sword and make it an object of power, just like my helmet."

I smiled.

"Yeah...you actually inspired that idea. And I'm confident in it working because while your helmet is made of some tough material. And also inlaid with magical inscriptions to stop degradation of the base metal used to make it, my sword is different." I held up Equity.

"This is not just your run of the mill sword, Nabu. This is a piece of my soul. Equity was created, from me, of me and for me. It's an extension of who I am."

The sword undulated in my arms.

"This could be dangerous buddy, you're sure you want to do this?"

It couldn't understand the words, but I could feel it understood my intent. And Equity was not one to back down either. I couldn't help the smile that came onto my face.

"Thanks." My eyes grew sharp underneath the helmet of Fate. This would work.

"Let us begin."

(General P.O.V)

"Youngsters these days, so impulsive." Iroh stated, referring to Aden's unexpected attack.

"And yet I hear no real heat towards him. Dare I say," Lucifer smiled.

"You're proud of him."

Iroh burst out in laughter.

"Well, he learned the lesson all by himself without needing either of us to intervene. That shows neither of us were wrong about him."

Lucifer shrugged, moving his queen to take out Iroh's rook.

"I just like tormenting him. Sadism is my character."

"I can tell it from the aggressive way you play chess. But aggression is not always the answer."

Iroh had sacrificed his rook to position his Knight close to Lucifer's king. His pawn was similarly inching closer to getting promoted. Lucifer could only make one move. And both moves would still be disadvantageous to him.

"I see."

Lucifer smiled at the strategy. The old spirit was a worthy opponent.

"Tell me more about your world."

(Aden's P.O.V)

This time, there wasn't any fanfare or huge manifestation of light or too many visible effects. It was a simple matter actually. Made easy by the fact that Red was fully cooperative. But say what you will, shoving this much power through Equity was not something without concequences.

A symbol of Vaatu appeared on my chest. Then purple light started flowing across my skin, turning me into a smaller version of Unalaq's Avatar State from canon. Power unlike any I had ever felt before came over me. In the Order Avatar State, my emotional responses were usurped and suppressed as the logic took over. The opposite was true for my chaos state. I felt powerful, giddy, impulsive and my emotions were so heightened, I could feel my face start scrunching up in different expressions.

My control slipped momentarily as it became too hard for me to maintain that same concentration.

I felt the realm shake as waves of power poured out of me chaotically. The wave of unbidden energy flowed out across my reality.

"FOCUS!"

The shout cane from within me, enabling me to regain a sense of control once more.

"It's too late."

Nabu grimly told me.

Looking out I saw what he meant and split my focus into two, doubling down on the separation process while also trying to ease the concequences of my slight slip up.

The integrity of the realm was compromised and space fluctuated. I dives back infi the process and tried to hold on with sheer will as the chaos pockets scattered around the main dimension grew bigger, exploded outwards or imploded within themselves. And then something shocking happened.

With my realm about to destabilize and break apart, devoured by a storm of chaos energy, I felt a rush of power from within me surge. Immediately, knowing I couldn't afford to cancel the process now that I had already begun, I came upon an unlikely idea. My homunculi puppet materialized before me in a sudden vortex of energy. I touched upon the connection and sustained it, pointing what was the mental equivalent of signs towards the puppet.

It complied. Everything stilled. I could feel through my senses, Lucifer and Iroh pausing their game in shock. I looked into the eyes of the puppet and made an obvious observation, I wasn't in control of it. In place of the blue lady killers I had chosen, just to set both identities apart, I saw white glowing orbs.

The Avatar State.

Or rather the Order Avatar State. White. I felt him judging the sword in my hands. The red symbol on my chest and the purple energy I was covered from head to toe with, getting funneled into the sword. We stared at each other tensely. I wondered if this would raise issues later but now was not the time to care for that.

"Do what you need to do."

I commanded him. His gaze looked up from the sword to stare at me.

"Do what you need to do but save the realm."

After a beat he nodded in compliance and disappeared in a streak of white lightning. A flashing blue text box appeared in my eyes that I absentmindedly swiped away.

"Now where were we?"

Knowing that my dimension was in safe hands, I went back to making sure I completed this as fast as I could. Grabbing onto the mystic energy from Nabu and aided by his prodigious control, I weaved the chaos energy into a sphere of power that melded into Equity's form. I felt a beat. Almost like a heartbeat as the process instantly jumped from mid way there to 90 % done. All without losing control of any more of the Chaos energy.

"Almost there!"

Nabu shouted. The last bit of energy flowed down my forearms and I felt something get cut off from me. Yet, a connection with Equity, greater than I had ever felt before slotted itself into my soul. I now knew without a shadow of doubt, I had gained something more valuable than anything I had in my arsenal apart from the realm.

Blackness instantly took over but when I opened my eyes next, it was to a scene I never expected.

"Star? Kori what...?"

She looked into my eyes and placed a finger above my lips.

"Shh rest up, we'll talk later when you wake up."

I could feel Equity's warm pommel in my hands as I was lulled back to sleep.