The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2023: Seconds away from supreme victory

Azazel, together with every ArchDeity and Prima Deity under the Imperium of Time, marched without hesitation into the ocean skies. Their legions positioned themselves above the Starfall Heaven, the waves below turning black with their shadow.

All around them, runic lines glowed like crimson veins, stretching across the sea and air, fusing into the fabric of time, spreading faster with each passing moment. The runes commanded the world’s energy, bending the natural order itself. Frowns darkened the faces of the Imperium’s champions. Even Azazel could not hide his unease.

How had Cain learned of this place? Starfall Heaven’s location was one of the Imperium’s deepest secrets, a final card hidden away. Even if Juda had carelessly mentioned the name in passing, that should never have been enough to uncover its coordinates, let alone its true significance. Yet here they were, facing the Scarlet King’s formation creeping across the waves like a tightening snare.

Azazel’s mind was sharp, yet for a moment it reeled. ”No matter how he learned, I cannot let them touch this place,” he thought. His gaze burned, his will sharpening like a blade. Then, in the far horizon, the ocean split.

Before the True Depravita of Sloth could ideate a strategy, the full might of the Scarlet Kingdom arrived!

The Scarlet King, the ArchDeities, along with the Prima Deities, descended like a blood tide. More shocking than their number was their condition. Only days earlier, the Scarlet ArchDeities had burned their life force and soul essence in the desperate struggle for the Atlantid Continent. Even for those with pseudo-immortal bodies, such wounds should have crippled them for months, much less ordinary ArchDeities without Samsara Seals.

Yet here they were, burning with vitality, their life force and soul energy restored and even greater than before. Their auras towered like flaming suns, stronger than in their last clash. Confusion and dread rippled through the Imperium’s army. But the wise among them understood the truth. They felt the lingering aura of tribulation on Cain’s followers and realized with dawning horror.

The Scarlet King had reforged them with his Revolution Flames.

What others sacrificed for temporary power, Cain had burned away only to rebuild them stronger. That was his plan from the beginning.

Cain stood above the waters, his eyes glowing with scarlet fire and golden brilliance. His gaze pierced the ocean’s surface and sank deep into the spatial node that connected the Empyrean World to the hidden realm of Starfall Heaven. Dark Trees were threats, yes, but given enough time and resources, they could be uprooted. One by one, the Imperium’s continents could be conquered, its roots severed. But Starfall Heaven was different.

This was no ordinary bastion. It was a relic of the First Era, a sanctuary forged when the Overgods still rommed the world. It was here that the Imperium’s higher echelon had gathered before the war began. It was here that Juda and Tibet had undergone their terrifying transformations. Starfall Heaven was the Imperium’s core stronghold, the wellspring of their schemes.

And taking care of it was Cain’s core priority.

”Leviathan!” Cain roared, his voice shaking the ocean floor. His body expanded, scales erupting across his flesh as he transformed into a massive draconic serpent—the Embodiment of Conquest. His roar split the sky.

All around him, his ArchDeities and Prima Deities followed suit. Their eyes burned with scarlet light as they shed mortal form, transforming into colossal embodiments of flesh and psyche—beasts of flame, shadow, thunder, and starfire. Titans of war whose every breath carried enough might to crack mountains.

Azazel answered in kind. His aura exploded, shaking the sea into towering walls of water. His body expanded into a vast snake-dragon, wings unfurling like endless shadows, claws tearing the very fabric of the void. His roar thundered across the battlefield.

”Jörmungandr!”

Behind him, the ArchDeities and Prima Deities of the Imperium hardened their gazes. There was no retreat left for them. They had already crossed the line, and the Scarlet King would never forgive them for siding with the alien. Whatever doubts they had must now burn into fury. Their auras burst into the sky as one by one they transformed into massive creatures capable of shattering moons with their hands.

”ROOOOOOAAAAARRRRR!”

”AAARGHHHHHHHHHH!”

Leviathan and Jörmungandr lunged at each other, and the armies followed.

The tranquil ocean was obliterated in an instant, transformed into a battlefield of apocalyptic proportions. Fire and void, lightning and storm, time and entropy collided. The destruction twisted space-time into knots, ripping open rifts that threatened to collapse under their own weight. The World Will trembled, and interference loomed, but none of the warriors cared. Their souls were aflame with singular purpose.

The clash between Cain and Azazel was the storm’s eye. Leviathan’s titanic form, wrapped in the powers of Nihility and Entropy, collided with Jörmungandr’s coils, each strike warping the flow of time itself. Their eyes blazed with murder, their every blow carrying enough force to erase continents.

Around them, war raged. Though the Imperium’s warriors fought with brutal resolve, the Scarlet Kingdom’s formation amplified every strike. Scarlet light poured into their veins, replenishing stamina, fueling ferocity. Minute by minute, the tide turned in favor of the warriors that followed the Scarlet Path.

By the fourth hour, as the skies cracked and tremors shook the entire world, the Scarlet King finally forced Azazel back. With one devastating strike, Leviathan hurled the white serpent aside and surged downward, wings thrashing as he drove into the depths.

Cain’s eyes glowed with madness and clarity, killing intent boiling with destructive joy. His massive claws burned with the full force of Nihility and Entropy, brighter than ever before, as he dove upon the spatial node that anchored Starfall Heaven.

He never intended to seize it. Wealth, relics, or power—it mattered little. The place was surely brimming with traps and protections that could take weeks, perhaps months, to unravel. No, his goal was simple. Destroy the node. Sever the connection.

If the gateway fell, then reaching Starfall Heaven would become nearly impossible. To attempt it would be like a mortal digging one thousand meters to reach an underground cave. Doable, perhaps—but only after decades of endless toil. For all practical purposes, Starfall Heaven would vanish from the war.

”NOOOOO!” Azazel roared. His voice tore at the skies as he realized Cain’s intent. He pushed his body beyond its limits, forcing time to stretch and fold in a desperate bid to intercept. But even at full power, he could not catch the Primarch of Conquest.

Cain’s claws closed around the node. With a ferocious grin, he unleashed all his might, black starlight and white flames bursting forth in a torrent that could unmake worlds.

”BOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!”

The explosion rocked the ocean. The Primarch of Conquest’s massive form was hurled back into the sky, battered and bleeding. Yet as he roared, a triumphant smile split his face. Below, the spatial node cracked. Fractures spread like spiderwebs, space unraveling.

He saw it clearly. The connection between the Everstrife Empyrean World and Starfall Heaven was collapsing. Once broken, it would take generations to reopen.

The battlefield froze as every warrior felt the tremors of the collapsing node. Scarlet soldiers exulted, while dread gripped the hearts of the Imperium.

Azazel’s eyes widened. For the first time since the war began, panic stabbed through his soul. Starfall Heaven was more than a secret—it was the cornerstone of his plans, a keystone without which victory might be impossible. If the gateway fell, he would lose the card he had counted on above all others.

Cain, on the other hand, only smiled wider. Thrill and ecstasy burned in his gaze as he watched the cracks spread further, eating the node alive. The end was seconds away.

But then—

Just as the final strand of spatial thread was about to snap, just as he was seconds away from attaining a supreme victory, sealing Starfall Heaven away for decades, the destruction froze.