The First emerged from broiling earth; the molten land did sing.
Her screaming cries ignited the skies, calling for her King.
By churning blade the Second bade a life into the world.
He emerged soon with the coming moon as the Royal King's flags unfurled.
The Air, the Third, remains unheard, the cries for help ignored.
With a cry of strife she bids her life a gift for the Royal Lord.
The Fourth of earthly tethers feels the aching of the heart.
The world cannot conjoin what the Kings have set apart. Yaldrenth could faintly hear the sounds of combat beginning to emanate from atop Krom, but his attention currently needed to be devoted solely to his appointed task. He had landed on top of Mak'Ruth with a resounding crash. He could feel the building vibrate underneath his silver boots. His view turned to Nulmik, who was waiting with a smile as chains rose up behind him like angry cobras, poised to strike the living suit of armor. The Elemental Resonance was currently in the center of the building, and a giant column of heat and energy rose up, obscuring the Resonated from view. Whoever fell into the beam of light would most certainly be incinerated without a trace.
"So, Honorable Suit, how's the weather up here? Enjoy your fall?" Nulmik rubbed his hands together in anticipation as the chains rattled and Mak'ruth groaned with the effort of harnessing the Resonance.
"Dunno, Spectre. I could ask ye the same thing about YOUR fall. How IS the weather?" Yaldrenth held his hand out in midair and summoned his lance from some pocket dimension, holding it out in front of him and twirling it around.
Nulmik turns to face the edge of the stone platform and spits. "
It's raining," he responded.
"Raining mighty justice, it is!" Yaldrenth gave a mighty yell and charged Nulmik, who quickly ducked around the snaking chains. Yaldrenth was forced to bash away the chains like an explorer using his machete to chop down vines. Mak'Ruth, consumed by the task of holding the Resonance in check, could not spin or tilt himself rapidly in order to give Nulmik an advantage, but Nulmik had had plenty of experience of avoiding foes. Dodging around the central pillar of energy, he evaded Yaldrenth in a sort of dance around the roof of the building. When the Chains of Eternity caught Yaldrenth by his boots, the living suit of armor gave a hearty laugh and left them behind, continuing to float without his boots. Nulmik hopped down off of the edge of the building, grabbing one of the much larger chains and swinging himself and jumping to the other side. Yaldrenth was unable to keep vision of Nulmik, and as such the Tendril managed to strike him in the back when he leapt back onto the platform. Yaldrenth's helmet had twisted 180 degrees from the impulse.
Nulmik's grin immediately faded as Yaldrenth heached for his head, and with a creaking sound, righted it again. Tilting his head and cracking his intangible neck, Yaldrenth exhaled slowly. "Dost thou even hoist?"
Nulmik screamed and leapt into the air with an outstretched foot, kicking him towards the central energy column.
=========================
The Fifth One's crown came bearing down upon the cursed head.
The Ground was sundered by crystal thunder, an apocalypse of dread.
On the Sixth's day the Sun gave way; the lakes would turn to ash.
The earth shook from the mighty work underneath the cruel heat's lash.
The Seventh strides to break the tides; the Moon no more will shine.
Day by day he seeks a way to wrought the fringes of Nine. Exotis rose into the air to initiate his channeling. His goal was to find Uxol within the unconscious Ascended Muran and either pull in out, or at least disrupt his efforts to siphon the power of Ascension towards Echo's technological cube and prevent the Obsidian Sky of Chaos from reaching out across the entire horizon. The upside down pit in the air was ever-growing, both in size and in volume; the sounds and screams emanating from the Pit were highly distressing and hinted of despair. But as long as Exotis succeeded, there would be no issue, right?
The issue was, in fact, that Echo herself, as well as Morbus, were currently guarding Muran's unconscious body. As such, neither Riasond or Muran could assist in the battle, and Uxol was free to do as it wished, and above all, it was protected.
"Allow us, Expelliarmus," Zunes made a scary face that involved pulling one of his eyelids down really far. While Echo was slightly disgusted and winced when she saw it, it did not inspire much terror. Morbus did not have the eyes to comprehend the action, nor the brain to process a response.
"That is not my name."
"Not with
that attitude," Zunes piped up.
"
w-w-w-we have the advantage, fool-i-i-i," Morbus buzzed with countless voices at once. The voices were not in sync; some started later than others.
"Y-y-y-you are merely three thirds of a single God: we are two. You are not prepared. You are outnumbered-d-d.""It seems that your chances of success and survival are....." Echo paused as numbers brightly flashed across a display screen, culminating into a thumbs-down symbol. "Zero. Less than zero when I take into acount Krom's added assistance." She gave a short, mirthless robotic laugh consisting of two "ha"s.
"Well, we may be outnumbered...." Dunes scratches his chin as though he is considering what they said. Suddenly he turns to Funes, whom catches his eye.
"Should we do the thing?"
"I wanna do the thing!"
"Zunes, let's do the thing!" They both shout happily.
Zunes stops doing his kung-fu poses. "That thing we can do?"
"The thing we've always been waiting to use for a moment
exactly like this!"
"
EXACTLY?""Exactly."
"Positively?"
"Positively."
"Precisely-?"
"LET'S DO THE THING!"All three jesters strike a pose together as weird theme music plays. Suddenly they shout in an incomprehensible language.
"スーパージェスターファイターズ。栄光の溢れる特別なパワーディルドをアクティブに！" "Behold our true Godly form!"
With a blinding flash of light, Funes and Dunes disappear and meld into a single being standing in front of Zunes. The being slowly morphs into an object. Zunes reaches out and grabs the handle as the light settles.The Joker's brothers had combined into a large butterfly net on a wooden stick. But that wasn't what Zunes was so excited about.On the other, bottom end of the stick, was a giant, floppy red dildo, spanning at least a meter."EVIL BEWARE OUR RUBBERY POWERS COMBINED! FACE OUR TRUE, LONG AND PLEASURABLE FORM! WE MAY BE OUTNUMBERED, LIKE YOU SAID... BUT YOU ARE CLEARLY OUTMATCHED!"Exotis could only stare. "What the fuck."
Neither Echo nor Morbus had an answer for him.
====================The Eighth never tells his friends what peace he truly seeks.
Instead he hides himself away and quietly, he weeps.
The princess in the meadow brings Life from far away.
But nothing under heaven can keep the War at bay.
"I've had it up to
here with the interruptions." Legath's silhouette was flickering with shadowy bits of energy, as was his blade. "You will have to get by two Traxian Elites to help Life and Death."
The deities in question, were, in fact, undergoing transformations as they fought. Nid'Hi'Kul's form was rapidly falling away; the bark and moss was sloughing off in huge chunks as the Reaper struck again and again. As bits of Nid's head came lose, Nyko caught glimpses of long, flowing hair hidden from view. There was some sort of smaller being trapped inside Nid, being released thru the energy of the Continuum.
Death was faring about the same. The more he swung, the more his heavy black cloak was disintegrating into dust. His long, skeletal arms were beginning to don flesh, which rapidly improved in tone before fading to shadow. The cloak became replaced by a suit and tie made of some sort of fabric. Eventually the scythe faded away, leaving him with his bare lands.
The last of the bark fell off of Nid, revealing a small Goddess.
By this time, Zukra, his demons, Legath, Nyko, Felix AND Borealis had all paused to stare with wonder at what was occuring.
Mollis took Alacrita's hands in his own. They both had tears in their eyes. "Let's bring him back," Mollis spoke sadly.
"And set things right," Alacritas stifled her sobs.
"
So, should we still be fighting the Aldians, or-" Zukra was interrupted as Borealis was sent flying by the resulting shockwave.
The aura of power had increased dramatically, rendering Life and Death unapproachable. The blinding white light grew and grew in a giant globe, the energy repelling Borealis like an insect.
"
Whatever. CHARGE!" Zukra motioned with his axe, ordering the demons to leap at Felix and Nyko. Legath jumped to the fron of the train and engaged in combat with the living locomotive instruments and devices of Borealis, who was no longer so excited or letting out phrases like "Choo choo motherfuckers".
Life and Deah embraced each other as they cried. The Tears of the Gods called out to the Obsidian Sky, beckoning for the vortex to increase in size.
===============
Traxis laughed as the golden light surrounded him, pouring out of the monstrous vortex of Chaos above. Aldis was shrouded in a similar light.
"Doesn't it feel spectacular, Aldis?" The Dark Royal sliced through the air. When Aldis ducked to the right to dodge it, his brother kicked him in the chest, sending him back a few feet, into the waiting tentacles of Krom. Unfortunately, the Fleshwrought was no longer a capable fighter against a Royal empowered by the Origin. By merely flexing, Aldis tore the appendages apart with golden power.
Krom screamed and shook, deciding to refocus his efforts on the other battle currently taking place, atop Mak'Ruth hundreds of meters away. Out of the corner of Aldis's eye, he watched as the eldritch being aimed an alien eye at Yaldrenth and Nulmik, and fired; the gigantic beam of pink energy hummed and soared towards the Chains of Eternity and grazed Yaldrenth, sending him stumbling into the column of power.
"
NO!" Aldis did not have time to check if his general was still alive. Traxis was once again upon him, moving faster and faster as his strength and agility was augmented by the pure ambience of the Elders.
"This is stupidity, brother," Traxis sneers in between strikes. "You're afraid of letting them see our true forms. You honestly care about upholding the illusion of friendliness between you and your subjects? Chaos is above us; our control over our power is lessening, it is slipping, even as our energies blossom once more. The blood of the Royals is spilling, Aldis! Show them! SHOW THEM WHAT WE ARE!" With the handle of his blade he strikes Aldis in the forehead.
Aldis catches the handle before the second blow. He closes his eyes. Traxis, recognizing what the purpose of this is, smiles and does the same.
"
They gather 'round with leering smiles;" Aldis recites.
"One is soulless, one is dead." Traxis follows suit.
"
Though Myth's soul unwinds..." both Royals speak in unison.
Embracing the screaming power of the Obsidian Sky above, coursing with red mist and blackened power, the Dravite Twins rose into their great and terrible otherrealm bodies to finish the battle in the same forms they had begun eons ago.
========
Nine have woken from the Binds, Nine begin to sing.
Chaos births Ten, consumes again, and the golden bells will ring. 
