After killing hundreds of Azi clones, Kefla attempted to recuperate her spirit and natural energies by meditating high in the sky. However, as if she had been marked by the initial encounter, ever more Azi clones came charging at her, denying her the chance to rest.
"Fuck! Fuck! Fuck you all....!" shouted Kefla, firing off eerie green spheres that tore through Azi clones as if they were paper mache.
Adding to Kefla's frustration, a two-headed Azi abruptly appeared behind her, emerging from an eerie black fracture in Space-Time before trying to bite her. She responded by spinning around and kicking one of its heads with enough force to make it turn like a twisted rag, but the second head managed to bite down on her shoulder.
Though Azi's teeth failed to pierce her skin, the pressure of the bite dislocated Kefla's shoulder, causing her to exclaim, "You bitch...!" before landing a heavy punch that caused a gaping hole to appear in the clone's stomach.
Undaunted by the severity of its injuries, the Azi clone snickered evilly as the blood from its wounds congealed into thousands of additional clones. Its laughter was cut short when Kefla flared her energy, expelling it as an explosive wave, but it had served its purpose. Kefla's power had waned considerably, so the clone was certain it was only a matter of time before she was overwhelmed.
As if to give credence to the clone's final thoughts, the rosy hue faded from Kefla's hair, tail, and the fur covering her body. Soon after, her fur coat began to recede, leaving her in her Super Saiyan Sage 2 mode with golden hair, green irises, and red markings around her eyes.
Popping her shoulder back into place, Kefla glared hatefully at the Azi's encircling her, asking, "Do you eerie fuckers really believe you can defeat me? You have no fucking clue who you're messing with..."
Providing Kefla a moment to catch her breath, one of the Azi's said, "You must be a descendant of that monster, Sun Wu Kong. But that durability won't save you. Once you've exhausted the remnants of your stamina, we will capture and consume you down to the last hair on your tail."
Snorting through her nose, Kelfa, or, more specifically, the Caulifla part of her personality, responded, "There's only one dragon who's allowed to eat me, and you sure as shit ain't him."
Punctuating her words, Kefla smacked her lower abdomen, manifesting an intricate, tribal-like pattern that rapidly spread across her stomach, back, shoulders, arms, and legs. As it did so, the energy emanating from Kefla's body surged violently, first exploding as a wave of pressure with enough force to disintegrate several clones before congealing into an eerie black and purple aura that caused her spiky hair to gain a violet hue.
Though the Authority of 'Hakai' didn't exist outside the Internalized Realm she originated from, Kefla possessed a remarkable affinity with the Law of Destruction. She had yet to master it, but the pattern that had developed across her body allowed her to fuse the destructive energy with her Sage Made, permitting the use of the 'Sage God of Destruction' transformation.
Spreading her hands and arms wide, Kefla opened her eyes to reveal black sclera and violet irises as she said, "Fuck off..." in an eerie tone that sounded like a call from the void.
Before any of the Azi's could respond, purple 'flames' emerged from the centers of their chests. They resembled tiny embers at first but quickly spread to encompass the entirety of the draconic entities' bodies. Since the flames spread from the very core of their being, it wasn't long before the encirclement became a mass of eerie purple flames that disappeared moments later, leaving no traces.
Wiping away a trickle of blackened blood leaking from her nose, Kefla watched as it dissolved into a fine mist before allowing her transformation to dissipate. Then, even though she really wanted to continue, she turned her gaze skyward and said, "I forfeit..." in a somber tone.
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Though he didn't like following other people's orders, Izayoi decided to seek out World Dragon Kurma after clearing most of the Azi clones in his area. To that end, he darted across the sky like a meteor, headed for the elevated ruins of the Inner Gates.
Contrasting the chaos of the Outer Gates, the Inner Gates were quiet to the point of being eerie. Even with his enhanced, borderline supernatural senses, Izayoi couldn't detect a single sign of life. There weren't even any Azi clones, almost as if they were willfully avoiding the area.
Touching down near a series of destroyed statues, the remnants of which were more than 60m tall, Izayoi scanned the area with creased brows. He might not be able to sense anyone, but he trusted his instincts. They were telling him there was a presence nearby, so he took a moment to consider the best course of action before pretending to drop his guard.
No sooner had Izayoi dropped his guard than a beam of radiant golden light rained down on him from above, its force powerful enough to drill into the nearly indestructible ground beneath him as if it were a pressure cutter slicing through sheet metal.
As the light cleared away, leaving a seemingly bottomless pit that glowed with a faint golden light, a remarkably tall figure with nearly obsidian skin appeared. His body was garbed in white robes, adorned with gold, and a massive gauntlet covered the entirety of his left arm. However, his most prominent features, besides his fiery white beard, were his golden eyes, the glowing rune on his chest, the four-pronged halo atop his head, and the twelve wings flowing from his back, each formed of golden light.
Appearing behind the angelic figure, Izayoi flexed the fingers of his right hand, the sleeve that previously covered his arm now missing as he remarked, "You know, I always thought Angels would be more monstrous in appearance. You actually look pretty badass."
Instead of turning around, the angelic figure teleported behind Izayoi, a cross-shaped sword of light appearing in his right hand as he said, "Burn in the light of Truth."
Swinging his sword in an arc that extended nearly a kilometer, the angelic figure cut through the statues Izayoi had been looking at, along with tens of buildings. Izayoi managed to evade it without issue, but he could feel his body gradually weakening due to the aura exuding from the presumed Archangel's body.
Before the angelic figure could issue a follow-up attack, Izayoi closed the distance between them instantly, burying his fist into the man's abdomen. To his surprise, his blow drilled into the man as if he had punched a block of stone, several cracks radiating from the point of impact.
Looking at Izayoi for the first time, the angelic figure frowned, his voice deep and resonant as he said, "Heresy..." in a condemning tone.
As Izayoi leaped back at a velocity rivaling teleportation, the cracks on the angelic figure's body exuded golden light before a massive eruption spread through the area, leveling an area nearly a hundred kilometers in diameter. Izayoi was almost swept up by the explosion, but he managed to teleport away at the last moment, grinning as he gazed at the epicenter to find a far more 'biblically accurate' representation of an Angel.
In place of the obsidian-skinned man with nearly flawless features, there was now an eldritch abomination with ivory-white, almost marble-like skin covered in innumerable holes. A total of thirteen golden eyes adorned the upper half of its face, while the lower half was a horrendous maw of gold-tipped fingers in place of teeth. Instead of resembling a man, it now had breasts tipped with moving eyeballs. It still possessed twelve wings, but they jutted out at awkward angles and varied in size.
Before Izayoi could issue a quippy one-liner, Seiun appeared before him, creating a barrier as an invisible wave swept through the area. In its wake, the rubble around him began to dissolve away, reduced to ashen piles of salt.
Speaking into Izayoi's mind, Seiun warned, "You must not look directly at it. I detect the presence of an Authority that exists outside the scope and influence of the Central Network. There is a 63.29883% probability it's the result of a Tier 6 entity's influence..."
Having learned of the existence of Soul Tiers from Vahn, Izayoi's usually casual demeanor faded away, replaced by a severe countenance. He had the potential of a pinnacle Tier 5 being, but the difference between Tiers 5 and 6 was so vast that reaching the pinnacle of the former was scarcely any different from being the absolute weakest Tier 1.
In stark defiance of this 'truth,' Izayoi punched his right fist into the palm of his left hand, regaining a battle-hungry grin as he exclaimed, "Now I'm fired up...!"
Kicking off the ground, producing a distinct 'dinging' sound as he did so, Izayoi charged at the biblically accurate angel with his eyes closed. In response, the angel's chest opened up like an abyssal maw, resembling the mouth of a lamprey that exuded golden light, but Izayoi was 'much' faster. Before it could try to swallow him up, Izayoi slammed his fist into the air less than a meter away from the angel, shattering it like the sugar glass used in movies.
Though a fracture in Space-Time ordinarily wouldn't be a threat to the angel, it didn't anticipate Izayoi immediately appearing behind it, landing a heavy kick to the center of its back. It had specifically adopted a form that was immune to physical blows, but, as if to defy the 'Truth,' Izayoi's punch sent it crashing into the vacuous tear in reality, nearly ripping it to pieces before the Central Network intervened, expelling it from the Game.
Expecting more of a fight, Izayoi watched the spatial rend gradually repair itself, remarking, "Is that it...? in a disbelieving tone.
Appearing next to him, Seiun replied, "It may have been borrowing power from a greater Authority, but it was ultimately a fairly ordinary Archangel. If the Central Network hadn't intervened at the last moment, I would have assumed it was the creation of another competitor."
Clicking his tongue, Izayoi groaned, "What a drag..." before slipping his hands into his pockets and resuming his search for World Dragon Kurma. Before he could get even three steps, however, every muscle in his body tensed, preventing him from walking into the scythe that had appeared at his neck...
Emanating from Izayoi's back, the voice of a young boy could be heard remarking, "You should have kept walking. Every route invariably leads to death, but you could have experienced a painless end if your senses were less attuned..."
Instead of stepping away from the scythe and trying to counterattack, a dauntless smile developed across Izayoi's face as he mused, "You know, I was hoping to lure out a big shot, but I never anticipated that Death itself would come for me..."
Narrowing his red and violet eyes, Death, appearing as a young boy with white hair and androgynous features, replied, "You are an ally to the Sage Dragon Emperor and an enemy of Truth. No matter the path you took, you were bound to meet me sooner or later..."
Turning his head, resulting in a thin cut on his neck, Izayoi stared back at Death and asked, "Then what's the holdup? With your power, I'm sure you could have killed me by now if you wanted to."
Furrowing his brows, Death remained silent for several seconds before stating, "I may have a use for you. If you're willing to cooperate with me, I will permit you to-"
Interrupting Death's proposal, Izayoi kicked the prepubescent Aspect in the gut, sending his tiny body flying backward like a bullet. Seiun was able to analyze Death's abilities the moment his scythe cut Izayoi's neck. As a result, Izayoi now knew that Death couldn't activate his powers due to the restrictions of the Pandemonium Gift Game. Thus, while the vast majority of creatures would feel helpless in the face of Death, Izayoi had a massive grin as he approached the extremely pale and heterochromatic youth, musing, "I've always wanted to kick Death's ass..."
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Kefla is surprisingly sensible...','Trypophobians beware...!','Don't Fear The Reaper...')
After retiring from the Pandemonium Gift Game, Kefla was prepared to enter her personalized Hyperbolic Time Chamber for training when a hand grasped her shoulder.
Even without looking behind her, Kefla knew who the hand belonged to, muttering, "I messed up..." in an uncharacteristically dispirited tone. A lot of this mentality came from Kale, but their frequent and prolonged fusions had left both Saiyanesses with characteristics of the other.
Wrapping his arms around Kefla's body, Vahn whispered, "Be happy. Life is more interesting when you still have limits to break and opponents to overcome..."
Leaning her head back, Kefla looked up at Vahn through her spiky bangs, regaining a bit of her edge as she asked, "Does that mean you've grown tired of living? Ever since you defeated that machine-like monster, I can't even fathom the depths of your power..."
Instead of answering Kefla's question, Vahn traced his middle finger around her navel and asked, "Does it frighten you?" in a soft, resonating tone.
Snorting through her nose, Kefla turned around and gave Vahn a push. At his current level, not even someone like Indra would be able to move him, but Kefla's casual nudge knocked him onto his bottom, permitting her to sit atop him, grasping his collar as she replied, "No matter how powerful you become, you're still a push-over..."
Though she could hear Kale sighing in the back of her mind, Kefla, piloted by Caulifla, began to tear away Vahn's clothes. She originally planned to ease her frustrations by destroying a few planet-sized training dummies, but what was the point of that when she had the most durable dummy in the world right in front of her?
Catching Vahn a little off guard, Kefla waited for him to begin slipping off her baggy pants before saying, "I think it's about time I settle down and have a kid. I'm becoming increasingly reliant on outside help to increase my strength, so I think it's about time I pass the buck to someone else..."
Understanding that Caulifla was the one speaking, Vahn asked, "Do both of you feel the same way...?"
Nodding her head, Kefla said, "That's another thing we wanted to discuss. By now, Kale and I have spent more time fused than separated. After a lot of consideration, we've decided to make the fusion permanent..."
Though he had been anticipating such a revelation for quite some time, Vahn was still marginally surprised by Kefla's words. The two spent years at a time fused together, but this was a pretty major step forward for both of them.
Instead of questioning the duo's resolve, Vahn adopted a faint smile and raised Kefla's hips. Her tail curled up as he did so, followed by a powerful shudder as he lowered her onto his waiting erection.
"I said it before, but I don't mind saying it again. No matter what the two of you decide, I will always support you..."
Adopting a somewhat predatory smile, Kelfa began to rock her hips of her own accord as she replied, "Of course, you will. We wouldn't have chosen you if you were weak or inept. Now, you better prepare yourself. I have a lot of pent-up frustrations to alleviate..."
Punctuating her words, Kelfa leaned forward, placing her hands on Vahn's shoulders before raising and lowering her hips like a seismic jackhammer. The ground cracked beneath them, and shockwaves rippled outward, but Vahn just exhaled a light chuckle before grasping Kefla's tail and using his Godhand to feed her excitement...
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In response to Izayoi's arrogant remark, Death, also known as Thanatos, the Pale Rider, rose from a salt pile to reveal a completely different form than the one sent flying. He now resembled a young girl with long white hair, red and purple eyes, and a tattered sundress seemingly formed from pure darkness.
Manifesting a scythe whose handle and blade were several times larger than their body was tall, Thanatos glared back at Izayoi and said, "Death is the final, inescapable truth. You may believe yourself unafraid, but even the most courageous entities can be made to fear..."
Punctuating her words, Death raised her right hand and sent out a wave of black energy that radiated outward at an incomprehensible speed. A sound similar to a banshee's cry pierced Izayoi's ears, causing him to feel as though a blade was piercing the center of his brain, but he managed to shake it off fairly quickly, asking, "What the hell was that?"
Instead of answering Izayoi's question, Death made a gesture over her face, causing a skull-like mask to appear. She then planned to go on the offensive, but the moment the mask formed, Izayoi's kick landed squarely in its center, sending her reeling a second time.
Feeling frustration for the first time in eons, Death's eyes blazed as she swung her scythe, creating a spatial tear more than 300m in length to deter Izayoi from pursuing her. At the same time, an illusory clock face materialized behind her, accompanied by the tolling of a bell.
As her scythe increased in size, becoming larger than even the tallest of skyscrapers, Death's voice echoed from every direction as she said, "Ask not for whom the bell tolls.."
In the midst of her words, Death's eyes ignited, producing red and purple flames as she exclaimed, "It tolls for thee...!"
Slashing her scythe, Death produced a crescent-shaped spatial tear so massive it appeared to divide the former Little Garden in two. The attack lacked the Instant Death property typically afforded by her Authority, but its power was enough to inspire a sense of impending dread in everyone witnessing it. Well, almost everyone...
Catching Death off guard, Izayoi appeared behind her, shouting, "You're not the only one who knows how to teleport...!" before slamming his fist into the back of her head. He liked to joke that his hands were rated E-For Everyone, so he had no qualms about sending a little loli crashing into the ground like a meteor, creating a fountain of debris more than a hundred meters in height.
Erupting from her personalized crater before the dust had a chance to clear, Death, now appearing as none other than Asuka, screamed, "You arrogant mutt! I was going to team up with you so we could defeat that evil lizard, but now you can die...!"
Seeing Death manifest as his girlfriend, a wry smile developed across Izayoi's face. He wasn't the type of person that would generally hesitate in the face of such tricks, but he knew the actual Asuka would be upset if he punched her doppelganger in the face and embarrassed her in front of the entire Little Garden...
Demonstrating she didn't simply look like Asuka, Death manifested the former's Zanpakuto and even summoned a version of Abyssinian. One of Death's principal powers was embodying 'potential ends.' So long as there was even a small possibility of someone's ally betraying and attempting to kill them, Death could assume their form and emulate the abilities they would have used to accomplish the deed.
Swinging her sword long before she reached Izayoi, Death shouted, "Entangle and Dominate, Queen of Roses...!"
In response to Death's cry, her rapier-like Zanpakuto transformed into a rose-themed whip, its thong resembling a flexible stem covered in faintly purple thorns. At the same time, Abyssinian fused with the whip, covering it in ghostly-blue flames as it cracked toward Izayoi at extreme speeds.
Evading the whip's tip with considerable ease, Izayoi decided to play to the audience and, more importantly, Asuka, ridiculing, "Oh, come on. Not only is your appearance a far cry from the real deal, but your attacks are nothing compared to the actual Asuka. If you're going to cosplay, at least put in a bit of effort..."
Hoping his remark was enough to absolve him of a lecture, Izayoi covered his hand in Seiun's energy, grasping the tip of Death's whip before jerking her toward him. He intended to give Death a firm kick in the stomach but quickly changed his mind when the troublesome Aspect transformed mid-flight.
"Now, that's just cheat-"
Before Izayoi could finish his complaint, Death, now resembling Vahn in his partial Dragon Transformation, grasped his head with a scale-covered arm, declaring, "Death comes for everyone, in one form or another..."
As Izayoi couldn't imagine defeating Vahn, especially after the latter's defeat of the Ethereal Queen, Death's attack was able to crush his head with a fairly casual squeeze.
Expecting Izayoi to disperse into motes of light, Death was somewhat confused when the former's body fell from the sky, steam rising from his neck as he crashed, seemingly lifelessly, into the ground.
Blinking several times, Death inspected his current form, muttering, "I see...so this man truly is exempt from the Central Network's restrictions. What a terrifying individual..."
Taking advantage of the situation, Death attempted to peer into what he believed to be Vahn's thoughts. The moment he did so, however, he just froze in place. Even the clothes he was wearing, which were previously being blown by the wind, ceased moving in their entirety. Almost like time had stopped for him and him alone...
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While a version of himself was getting it on with Kefla, another version of Vahn was still observing the Gift Game alongside Sis, Mikoto, and several others. When Death transformed into him, he actually felt a connection of sorts with the opportunistic Aspect, causing his brows to rise as he softly mused, "How curious..."
Giving voice to Vahn's introspection, Sis postulated, "Perhaps when you recreated this Record, your existence became an essential component of its foundation. It's barely a fraction of your power without Source, but it's fairly impressive that he was able to tap into it..."
As he 'knew' Sis's words to be true, Vahn gave a slight nod, a faint smile adorning his face as he remarked, "It appears this little stunt has given a few troublesome individuals the wrong idea. I was originally just going to ignore it, but it seems I must take action to prevent others from following Death's example..."
Linking with Death's mind, Vahn afforded him a fraction of his knowledge and memories, instantaneously overloading his cognitive faculties. Death may have emulated his form and a fraction of his power, but there was no way he could copy his Innates and the functions of The Path. Without the support of Sis, even Vahn would struggle to navigate the labyrinth of his mind and distinguish his memories from reality. As a result, the over-eager Aspect abruptly found himself trapped in the memory of Vahn's encounter with the Demon Lord of Stagnation, the color of his body gradually fading until he had turned completely grey...
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While Death remained motionless in the sky, the steam rising from Izayoi's neck gradually shifted from white to red before the capillaries, veins, muscles, and vertebrae within began to writhe and elongate. A few seconds later, his head had completely regenerated, complete with shiny golden locks.
Rising to a seated position, Izayoi cradled his aching head, smiling wryly as he groaned, "Well, that answers the question of what would happen if I had my head blown off..."
Shifting his gaze skyward, Izayoi's eyes focused on the monochromatic version of Vahn standing motionless in the sky. Even the Central Network could not affect him at the present moment, so unless Vahn afforded him clemency, Death would remain in his current location and pose even after the final stars in the night sky had burned out.
Understanding that various cameras were focused on him, Izayoi's smile became even wrier as he remarked, "Yeah, that's why you don't fuck with the Sage Dragon Emperor. A picture of the Sun can never hope to emulate its brilliance..."
Raising his hand, Izayoi rematerialized his destroyed headphones and put them on. Then, after taking a quick look around, he once again set out in search of World Dragon Kurma...
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(A/N: Alternate Titles: 'Things that can't even be fathomed by the current generation will be easily achievable by future generations...','Death be like, up-up-down-down-left-right-left-right-b-a-start...','You know what they say, fuck around and you're going to find out...')
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