Arthur clasped his hands together right before Zero launched the attack, casting a Spell.

"Creation Magic: Myriad Portal."

A shimmering blue portal appeared in the air, between Arthur and Zero. It opened up into a world of white, ethereal fog.

Not a moment later, the glowing Annihilation Beam ripped through space right towards the Wizard King…

And then shot into the portal and vanished completely, leaving behind a crackling trail of golden and white energy.

"Foolish. If you want to stand a chance, you'll actually need to hit me first. Your Law of Annihilation isn't half bad, though, not when it's paired with this beam attack." Arthur waved his hand casually.

The portal vanished and then instantly reappeared.

Right as it reappeared, however… a golden beam of energy shot out of it, identical to the one Zero had just fired off.

WHOOOSH

This beam shot downward and slammed into the stunned figure of Zero, setting off another huge explosion that littered the air with dust once more.

Zero's proud figure was thrown down, forming a second, smaller crater in the earth. Huge cracks spread out as jagged chunks of rock ripped free, stone shrapnel shooting off into the air.

Zero's Annihilation Beam was an attack that was aligned with his essence and soul, and couldn't seriously injure him. The Law he studied, the Law of Annihilation, was a natural boost to that attack, and as a result, it immediately neutralized the beam when it hit him. The raw force of the attack, however, could not be neutralized.

BOOM

Blue flames melted into the air as Zero instantly jumped out of the new crater, shooting off six separate geysers of Dragonfire. Each one of these quaked with power, covering a huge area.

Arthur didn't sit and wait for the dangerous flames to hit him. His eyes glowed, as did the Halo around his head, as he cast another Spell.

"Water Magic: Pantheon Ocean Spear."

WHOOSH

Six, 100 meter wide spears of pure, deep blue water merged into existence, hovering near Arthur. He waved his hand forward, commanding the spears.

The six spears of water shot out rapidly, slamming into the burning Dragonfire at six specific points.

The moment they made contact, the water sizzled and vaporized. The blue flames, however, vanished, neutralized by the magical water.

These six spears knocked into and covered all of the blue flames, completely wiping them out. The water spears were formed from a special type of Dampening Water native to the deepest depths of certain water or ocean-based Worlds.

"Grr…" Zero didn't give up when he saw this, instead raising his head once more as he yelled out loud,

"ROAR!"

An extremely loud, supersonic blast of noise shook the air. This blast was concentrated, particles of energy appearing around Zero's face as he yelled. The Hyperion Voice Ability, a rare power native to the rare Grand Hoop Tiger.

When the vocal attack reached the Wizard King, however, it fizzled out as a white barrier appeared around Arthur's skin, blocking it off.

Zero's chest heaved as he shook, his injuries slowly starting to take their toll. Even if he had an infinite supply of energy, it still took him time to recover from each attack.

Still, his body was already regenerating from the horrifying burns and blows he'd taken, visibly healing. His defensive prowess had increased far beyond the level it used to be, compared to a few months ago when he had first arrived.

"You are far too inexperienced." Arthur's voice sounded almost disappointed as he dropped down, flying towards Zero.

"And here I thought the Secondborn would prove more of a challenge. I have only used Magic thus far." He shook his head as he cast another Spell.

"Creation Magic: Heavenly Chains."

WHOOSH

8 portals emerged into the air, not far from Zero. Each portal rippled in the air, their edges black and splotchy. They led to a world that seemed to be made of pure, white fog, similar to the other portals.

When the Anomaly saw this, he growled. Immediately, black energy appeared and surrounded him, a protective layer.

From the portals, 8 pure, alabaster chains shot forward. Each chain gave off a majestic, golden glow, full of imperial might. Each chain's end contained a sharp and jagged golden spear, several meters long in length.

When Zero saw the chains, his eyes widened with horror. However, before the Anomaly could do anything, they had already arrived, moving extremely fast.

BOOM

crackle

The spears at the end of the chains slammed into the protective black energy that covered Zero.

For a good couple of seconds, that barrier of energy held. The chains seemed to quake as they came into contact with them, imbued with energy but still unable to break through. It was a huge clash of energy that took up all of Zero's focus, leaving the Divine Golden Lion frozen.

When Arthur saw this, he frowned and tapped on the small, purple ring he wore. It immediately glowed with light.

A moment later, the spears glowed with purple light.

BOOM

They broke through Zero's barrier.

In the split second after, they slammed into his tough body and pierced through it. 4 of the chains stabbed into each of his legs, while two stabbed into his chest, one stabbed into his neck, and one stabbed into his lower back.

Blood and light spasmed out as Zero slammed into the ground, his entire body pierced through and frozen. The chains wrapped around Zero once, covering his joints and preventing him from making even the slightest motion.

Zero's muscles bulged, blood streaming from his huge body as he quaked against the chains, doing everything he could to shatter them.

Arthur landed on the ground not far from Zero, shaking his head,

"These chains were designed to trap and restrain a creature with a Divine Class Bloodline. I worked on this spell for so many years I lost track, all in preparation." His eyes glinted as he snapped his fingers.

Zero's huge body spun around and floated into the air, twisting till Zero's face was looked right at Arthur.

The two faced off, Zero's chest heaving as blood dripped from his body, while Arthur looked on, completely dispassionate.

"I suppose this makes capture number 47 a success." He nodded. He began to fiddle with his Spatial Ring, bringing out several odd looking materials.

"You… are mighty… Wizard. But… I… will never… surrender…" Zero's voice had lost none of its majesty as the Anomaly spoke, wheezing between words. Both of his lungs had been punctured, making it agonizingly painful to speak. His eyes bored into Arthur, glimmering with golden light.

"I don't need your surrender. Your Abilities are Sealed and you can't draw upon the Laws of- ah." Arthur cut himself off.

"You have… detonated your soul?" As the dust settled all around them, dispersed to several miles away by their clashes, the Wizard King frowned. He studied the lion in front of him seriously.

"That's right… even… you won't be… able to escape… space is… destabilized… my death… glorious…" Zero's mouth leaked blood as he grinned. His entire body began to shake, small blips of light starting to float off of it.

A sensation of impending doom filled the air as energy began to concentrate on Zero's form, reaching horrifying levels. Reality around them seemed to distort, making it impossible for any portals to be opened.

"Huh." The Wizard King rubbed his chin when he saw this.

"Well, you got me there. I didn't know you could do that. Your determination is many times stronger than other Anomalies. But…" He shrugged,

"I wasn't going to kill you, but you have forced my hand. I can't just let you destroy the planet." Arthur clasped his hands together, staring at the quaking Divine Golden Lion one last time.

"Goodbye, Zero." Arthur's voice was cold,

"Creation Magic: Atomic Deconstruction."

Zero looked the Wizard King in the eye one last time, seeing a figure that was emblazoned, imprinted, onto his very soul.

A proud, resilient human that gave off an almost divine feeling. The strongest being he had ever faced.

The strongest human in existence.

Zero's huge, lion body, the mighty Secondborn that boasted incredible strength, the strongest known Anomaly to walk the 30,000 Worlds…

His body froze for a split second…

And then fell apart, turning into particles of grey ash. His legs dissipated into dust, his proud mane falling to nothingness, his mighty chest billowing into tiny clumps of grey. The impending feeling of doom vanished, the terrifying energy dissipating as space returned to normal.

Zero died.

"…"

A period of silence reigned.

The falling chunks of rock in the far background finished falling, many of them tumbling into the giant crater. Deep rumblings occasionally shook the air, the damage the planet had suffered causing a worldwide earthquake.

Arthur took a deep breath as he waved his hand, retracting and dismissing his Heavenly Chains. He took a few steps forward, looking at the pile of ash that had once been the Secondborn.

A quiet, unfair death for a being with aspirations of greatness.

He bowed his head slightly, his Halo vanishing.

He then turned around, his eyes steeled as he prepared to leave. A faint hint of exhaustion lurked at just the edges of his eyes, indicating that the battle hadn't been quite as easy and nonchalant as he made it seem.

The Wizard King clasped his hands, summoning up the energy to cast a Spell.

"Creation Mag-" Abruptly, Arthur froze, cutting himself off and prematurely ending his spell.

Slowly, he turned around, light starting to gather around him once more.

For, in the midst of Zero's ashes… a figure began to emerge. Particles of light flowed into this figure, drawing on the natural environment to appear.

In just a few moments, that figure fully formed, revealing itself.

It was a man, wearing a simple set of black pants and nothing else. He was muscular, with a handsome face and piercing blue eyes. He had short brown hair and a strong chin.

This man gave off no Aura.

He gave off almost no energy at all.

Despite that, he carried himself with a sense of absolute confidence. As if there was nothing in existence that could cause him to falter.

When the Wizard King saw him, a look of sheer horror and disbelief flashed on his face.

"No. It cannot be." Arthur stuttered, his eyes wide in shock.

"Hello, old friend." Yukeli Shorn smiled, his ancient eyes studying the world around him as he took a deep breath,

"It's been a while."

"…"

"…"

"…"

The two beings looked at each other silently.

The Wizard King face returned to its placid calm state, every hint of shock vanishing as he looked at Yukeli. Arthur's golden Halo reappeared, flush on his head as he stared at the man he had once killed, long ago.

Gradually, his Halo vanished, as did any signs of energy or threat. He calmed down completely, gaining the appearance of a regular human.

"How?" Arthur spoke a single word, waving his hand casually. A large, comfortable looking chair appeared, one he slowly sat down on as he looked at his former comrade.

Yukeli laughed out loud as he saw this, stretching his arms,

"It took a while, but one of my clones finally stumbled upon someone that was aware of a Law I've been hunting for." Yukeli seemed to taste the words as he spoke, as if he hadn't talked under his own will in a very long time. Every action the man made, every word he spoke, seemed perfectly calculated.

Despite the lack of energy or threat he gave off, Arthur gave his full and complete attention to Yukeli, never wavering.

"It's called the Law of Holy Light. A certain Shade Prince named Isaac was quite adept with it."

Yukeli continued to speak. It had been a very long time since he was able to talk using his own body, especially to an old comrade like Arthur Telmon, and the master warrior seemed to have no qualms explaining himself,

"The memories I gained were incomplete. It seems that soul fragment did not fully transfer over, and is straggling somewhere, in a mortal's body. Still, it was enough to help me gather my own understanding of it." He shrugged,

"The Law of Holy Light. You have practiced a new Law?" Arthur blinked, not giving off a hint of emotion.

Yukeli smiled again at the question.

"Anomalies can study multiple Laws, I built their Soul Spell Matrix specifically to help adapt their souls for that. For every one of my clones that dies, I gain a deep understanding of various Laws, Abilities, and any information they held." Yukeli waved his hand casually.

WHOOSH

A golden beam of energy shot off into the air, one that ripped through space itself.

A beam very similar, but much lesser in scale, to the beam Zero had shot off, just moments prior.

A lesser version of the Annihilation Beam, accessible only through the Law of Annihilation.

"The Law of Holy Light is an interesting Law." Yukeli looked at his hand for a moment, studying it,

"It allows you to resurrect from death. When you annihilated Zero, his soul itself was shredded, preventing him from returning to life. My soul, however… I have touched the Divine. I have Ascended." Yukeli nodded,

"Even though my soul is split into 88 pieces, each piece is near invulnerable. Only a being that has touched the Divine Realm would be able to permanently injure it.

"Zero's death gave me a chance, the huge remnant energy stores he built up supplying me with what I needed. He has achieved his purpose, and now I can begin mine" Yukeli finished speaking for a moment, stamping the ground with his legs. He was rapidly adapting back to his new body, testing out the movement of his arms and legs.

Another moment of silence passed as Arthur tried to comprehend everything he was being told. Despite his relaxed demeanor, his heart was pounding at a rapid pace.

"You planned… all of this?" Arthur waved his hand.

"Well, yes and no. I did plan this, but it happened in a way I didn't quite expect. It worked out in the end, but I think I got a bit lucky, eh? Fate and what not." Yukeli grinned cheekily with a smile that did not reach his eyes. After a moment, he added one more line,

"It might not have come to this if you hadn't attacked me back then, while I was in the midst of Ascension."

Arthur's eyes blazed with light as he stood up,

"You were drawing upon the World Tree's life force to help you! I had no choice, a single misstep could kill trillions! Your preparations caused Ausra's death and nearly killed Sun Wukong!" His voice was full of anger.

"You endangered the lives of trillions just so you could seek your version of perfe-" He stopped talking as Yukeli held up a hand, nodding along with him.

"Arthur… you were right. You did the right thing."

The Wizard King's jaw dropped.

Yukeli smiled again when he saw this, his eyes tinged with sorrow as he spoke aloud, taking the conversation on a different track.

"Reality is imperfect, even in the Divine Realm. Do you know what I found up there, in the Heavens?"

Arthur froze, his eyes wide as he looked at Yukeli. The Wizard King didn't say anything, but Yukeli took it as a cue to continue,

"The legends are wrong. The Heavens are desolate. The Divine Realm is worthless. There is no God, there is no Light, there is no paradise. There is nothing. It was a wasteland, not a holy land, where the weak live a tortured existence and even the mighty live in squalor." Yukeli's words were cutting,

"The Heavens were destroyed in the wars waged by Ascenders from other realities, long ago. I became powerful, yes, but a ruler of a wasteland is still a ruler of a wasteland. A Godking of nothing… What value is there in that, lacking perfection?" He shook his head.

"Life is a cycle, of both order and chaos, ever repeating. After reaching a state of great power… even then, I found that I could not achieve perfection. A shattered Divine Realm was incapable of forming what I desired." He sighed sadly,

"And I realized something. For all my strength, for all my determination, for all my might, I…" His eyes gleamed,

"I was selfish. I was flawed. I lacked compassion, I lacked tolerance, I lacked pity. I was so caught up in my own desires that I abandoned what was right, what was just, what was fair. What was equal." He spat out the criticisms of himself mercilessly,

"I was a fool."

Arthur Telmon looked at Yukeli in pure, unadulterated shock as Yukeli continued, his voice echoing in the air,

"Think of the child starving because her mother cannot bring home enough money to buy them bread.

"Think of the beggar that is scorned, riddled with illness, living a life of solitude and fear.

"Think of the cripple who does everything right, yet is forced to live as an outcast.

"How can reality allow any being of perfection to form, when reality itself is so flawed?

"As I realized that, I reached a simple conclusion.

"If I want to achieve perfection, reality itself must change."

The more Yukeli talked, the more surprised Arthur was. He looked at the ancient warrior in a new light, as if this was the first time he had ever seen him before. Arthur's heart was turning, completely unable to tell what was going on.

Never in a thousand years would he have imagined their meeting going like this.

"The me of then… the me that risked life in the 30,000 Worlds to Ascend was indeed foolish. You were right to kill me, even if I did get lucky and have my soul Ascend as I died." Yukeli nodded.

"I was wrong."

Another moment of silence passed as Arthur looked at Yukeli, and Yukeli looked back.

Yukeli sighed,

"And after I realized that, everything changed." His eyes began to glow with dim, grey light, his voice taking on a passionate tone,

"Arthur, people must be made to see the value of life. Every starving child should be seen as a glorious seed of the future, every ill beggar as a wise elder, every cripple as a brave hero.

"Only when people truly understand that life has value, only when this reality itself has changed, can perfection truly flourish. It is not I that has failed to achieve perfection! It is reality itself that is holding me back!" His words shook the air, booming with confidence as he smiled, raising a clenched fist into the air,

"That is why I have returned, Arthur. This part of my soul here… it has all of the important memories I need, stored within it. I apologize if my other versions have caused trouble, even I cannot control them. Their memories are incomplete." He shook his head apologetically.

Arthur held up his hand, his eyes piercing as he looked at the supreme martial artist,

"How do you plan on making people see the value of life?" Arthur's intelligence was not low. He instantly saw the key issue with Yukeli's argument, going straight to the point,

"That is not something you can do with a wave of your hand."

Yukeli sighed,

"I knew you would ask about that, Arthur. It is the key part of my goal… it is a task of such enormity, few could bear such a burden. After living for so long in the Divine Realm, a plan gradually came clear to me.

"How do you make people see the value of life?" He smiled, half sardonically, half sorrowfully.

"It's simple. You take it away.

"There are 30,000 Worlds in this reality. When I regain all 88 pieces of my soul, I will regain the powers I held back in the Divine Realm. I will have become a God." His voice began to grow in strength, a righteous Aura breaking into the air around him.

"When I have that… I will sever the 30,000 Worlds from the Source World."

"Have you lost your mind?!" Arthur trembled, unable to hold himself back when he heard that. As he spoke, his hand casually fell to touch the purple ring he wore on his hand.

"That would kill hundreds of trillions! Every World that is severed would be swarmed with Spatial Storms! All of reality would perish!" Arthur's rebuke was filled with vehemence.

"No." Yukeli shook his head, holding up a hand,

"Under my Divine guidance, when I am complete, I can shape those storms with compassion.

"On every planet, on every World, every being will see the might of these Spatial Storms, but only half of them will suffer its fury. The other half will remain completely unharmed, spared of even the slightest injury. The deaths of the first half will be painless, a merciful and fast ending.

(Author's Note - This bit was inspired (in part) by Europe's infamous Black Plague wiping out half its population and the huge change in outlook that came about as a result, back in 2016 when I originally started planning, well before I posted it to Webnovel. Not by Marvel/Thanos)

"Doing so will require me to burn the essence of my soul, expanding my senses to encompass all of reality. I may very well perish as a result. But this reality will live on and evolve into one that sees the value of life." He smiled sadly,

"For only when you know loss can you appreciate what you have lost. Only when you realize the great gift you have been given can you truly understand it. Only when you experience death all around you…" He took a deep breath,

"…Only then can you truly appreciate life."

"And at that time… reality will have changed. Under my Divine guidance, it will have shifted and be born anew. One in which perfection may truly arise, where it will be possible to break past the limits of reality through one's own strength."

"I may never experience that." He paused and then sighed,

"But if that is the price I must pay, then so be it."

Arthur trembled, his body shaking from rage. He was able to control his emotions to minute levels in front of anyone else, yet when he was in front of Yukeli, he always found it difficult,

"You will bring about a genocide the likes of which have never been seen before… and you call that… compassion?" He spat his words out, full of scorn.

"To save the child that has nothing to eat from starvation, to save the beggar that owns nothing from disease, to save the cripple that is treated as nothing from torturous scorn… Yes." Yukeli answered without hesitation,

"I call that compassion.

"Those that live will survive, and they will flourish. Life will be treated with the value it deserves. Peace and harmony will reign, forgiveness and mercy will fly freely." He quietly added one more line, a calm whisper that sounded off in the air,

"Perfection… will no longer be unachievable. The descendants of this new reality will bear this lesson in their hearts, passing it forward forevermore. This shall be a scar reality shall never forget."

A shocked silence filled the air as Arthur looked at Yukeli.

"You are insane."

Yukeli turned away, an expression of pain filling his face.

"Arthur, you were my greatest friend. I know that I have wronged you, but surely, you can see the logic of my words. Only when this reality has understood great loss will it understand the true value of life."

The Wizard King took several steps backward, shaking his head all the way.

"You are wrong, old friend, far more so than you were in the past." Arthur's ring began to glow the purple light, one that surrounded his body.

Yukeli sighed again, abruptly changing the conversation,

"I know you have many of my clones, sealed away. I can sense their location, even from this distance, locked into a space that is connected to the capital of your Autarchy.

"Arthur… do not force me.

"If I charged in to rescue them alone, I'm sure all the contingencies you've laid would be enough to potentially stop me, and perhaps even capture me." Yukeli shook his head,

"But if I borrow the strength of the Draconic Tribes, it will only be a matter of time." His eyes began to glow with energy as he turned around,

"One of my clones has united all of the Tribes to fight against my former self. Taking his place is something that would take a matter of hours.

"Turning them into an army to take down your Autarchy would take a couple of weeks at most."

Arthur remained silent as the purple energy glowed around him. His ring was a special Artifact he had made himself, over a period of 100 years. It contained a multitude of powers, one of which allowed him to separate himself from reality and teleport to a preset location, once every 5 years.

By doing so, he was effectively invincible, but also unable to respond to any attack or do anything until he finished teleporting to his new location.

It was his ultimate safeguard, an extremely powerful tool that he kept on him just in case. It was a one-of-a-kind Artifact.

"You have built up such a fount of knowledge, a beautiful paradise where trillions live. Why bring unnecessary warfare and violence into their lives? This reality has suffered enough, Arthur." Yukeli looked Arthur in the eyes.

"You are the one making that choice, Yukeli." The Wizard King's voice was quiet as he replied, his voice echoing as it penetrated the layer of purple energy, barely able to make it through.

"I am doing what must be done, Arthur. What I have to do. For if I don't… then who will?" Yukeli turned away again,

"This is my destiny, old friend. I have found my purpose."

Behind him, Arthur's body shimmered and then vanished completely, teleported away.

Leaving Yukeli alone inside a crater filled with death, standing tall as the world around him starting to shiver and shake, the reverberations from Arthur and Zero's fight causing unforeseen side effects.

"I will break reality itself if I must." Yukeli spoke quietly to himself,

"One day… you will understand." His voice was somber,

"You all will."

.

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