The twilight darkness of space melted and corrupted as an ocean of black substance swallowed everything in its path, roiling and twisting like black tar.

  There were few spots where the black ocean couldn't seem to invade; the massive illusory green forest of the Herald of Life, the golden sun corona of the Guardian of The System, and then shattered crimson landscape of the Desolate Duchess.

  Kairen stood behind it all, in her sectioned off part of space.

  Her golden metallic halo burned with power as a bright landscape of vast golden grasslands and distant bronze mountain range rose all around her, encompassing both planets in their embrace.

  Still, her eyes weren't on her current work. They were focused on the mass of shadows that frothed as it was consumed, ravaged into cracking pieces that drifted slowly into the devouring darkness, until the woman herself, her physical representation, was consumed.

  Kairen's face turned grim at the shrill scream of agony that echoed out as the triple suns that made up her existence were revealed, bursting out into reality with an intense aura filled with power and terror.

  The inky darkness rose as countless dark hands emerged to grab hold of the glowing planetary orbs when out of nowhere, the system lit up a deep bleeding red as thick bolts of crimson lightning materialized over the dying suns, and then a finger snap echoed out.

  CRIMSON SEVER.

  Everything paused for a second; time slowed to a stop, the inky mass of oily blackness slowed down in real time. For just a brief instant of a second, everything for light-years away, the entire system, was brought to a pause, and Kairen could have sworn she heard a distant clock ticking in the background.

  And then everything returned to normal just as the fabric of space fractured, shattering under the power of destruction as a long jagged line of crimson parted space between the hollow and the mistress of madness.

  Then lightning struck.

  The Ascendant of Order grunted as the backwash of power slammed onto her shield, and she staggered back, eyes widening as space was reduced into fragments, shards drifting lazily as the lesser darkness of the barrier poured in.

  She knew the shadow ascendant was not out of trouble yet. She might have been doubly powerful in this form, but her defenses were almost non-existent. A tiny glance from one of those shards and all the powers of her mother wouldn't be enough to save her from a violent death.

  Thankfully, Attrevia recognized the same as her Territory stretched forth, its landmass extending and swallowing the three orbs in their embrace, destroying any foreign matter away from the weakened Ascendant.

  Kairen had lived for millennials, and in those millennials, she had seen things that most mortals couldn't even dream of in the entirety of their feeble existence. She'd born witnesses to the unnatural deaths of Worlds, Suns, and the collapse of pocket spaces large enough to host entire star systems.

  She'd seen the rise and fall of entire civilizations and had participated in the purge of those who had succumbed to corruption.

  All these she had seen, and while some might have terrified her and made her shiver, none had ever shaken her to the core as what the Hollow did next.

  Its round, lipless maw pulled taut into a hollow parody of a smile, something too human to dismiss, yet too alien to endure. And its pale fingers drew across the surface of its mouth, like a mortal savoring its meal.

  She watched as the creature locked eyes with them, and the void deep holes on its face seemed to burn deeper.

  "This has gone on too long, Attrevia," Kairen said. "You need to finish this now."

  Light years away, the Desolate Duchess tilted her head, and then she raised her twisted walking stick just as her defensive technique snapped up.

  "Buy me a few seconds."

  Kairen nodded and then released her protection over the twin planets. One way or another, this battle was coming to an end. Both planets could survive long enough for them to deal with the hollow.

  Roars echoed out as the Planets Sentinels moved alongside her, slithering and pouncing through space like the surface of a solid ground.

  Her halo lit like the sun as more extenders appeared, and on her hands appeared a bronze staff topped with a glowing golden gem and runic symbols that ran down its length.

  With a single spoken word, light bloomed and a golden mass of energy poured forth like a wave, swirling around the mass of blackness until it was half surrounded and pushed to one side of the system.

  She felt vitality flow into her body like a raging river as Hanere, the Herald of Life, reinforced her. And with that huge amount of boost, she moved.

  She left the containment of the creature to the life ascendant as she moved in, wielding her staff alongside words that sent the creature reeling back at every turn.

  Space shook, cracked, and shattered as Kairen, The Sun Spirit, and the planetary sentinels, attacked, moving alongside the hollow as they struck at it from multiple angles.

  Her words, laced with her technique, struck at the creature like a hammer, sending it staggering back wide open for the attack of the System guardian to land.

  Kairen took a ranged position after her initial attack, leaving the front line for the sun spirit and the sentinels.

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  A dense beam of energy flashed from across the system in a path of utter obliteration that carved out a straight line into the expanse of darkness before it eventually stuttered to a stop

  Unfortunate, but they weren't deterred. She felt the energy of destruction build up behind her as she flickered around the horror, contracting her Territory as she layered commands over commands that bore down at it.

  Time slowed down when its ruinous fingers moved against her allies, and space twisted to carry them far away a split second before it arrived.

  Of course, they weren't completely unscathed. She, despite her distance, suffered the most against the creature.

  Her concept battled against the null Concept that hungered for the potential of all things. And for every ground she gave, she paid for it as her armor blackened, rotting in real time as patches of it dissolved.

  Thankfully, she had a life wielder behind her who continued to pour in essence after essence into her body, repairing the damages as they came.

  Their clash of wills destroyed the dormant essence and laws in the area: time fluctuated, hastening in some locations and slowing down to a crawl in others.

  Space was torn apart and eroded, which normally would have been a deadly failing for them, but with a considerable amount of willpower and intent, they were able to stabilize the law long enough to move.

  A scream shook space as an avian creature was annihilated, but before the hollow could consume it, her Territory rose against it, blocking it from consuming the essence.

  Unfortunately, that brief attention span she'd devoted to keeping the creature from feasting left her wide open for the essence of Ruination that swept her aside like a rag doll.

  Kairen groaned, coughing out essence as she picked herself up. She breathed in a second later when the essence of life poured into her, but at this point, it didn't matter. No matter how much life was poured into her and how much she grew, she couldn't help but admit the reality. The hollow was too strong.

  They'd so far succeeded in keeping it from devouring another soul, but that was a stopgap measure that was breaking quickly as the battle went on. Soon, it would devour one of them, and then all would be lost. No amount of power brought to bear would be enough to defeat a nigh Transcendent Hollow.

  Behind her, she felt the power radiating from Attrevia grow, reaching such levels that it sent heat and lightning crackles cascading all over space.

  In front of her, the sea of inky darkness rippled, an action that sent shivers rolling over every creature in the system.

  Its power pulled back, and Kairen instantly knew that this attack from Attrevia wouldn't be enough.

  The darkness pulled into a massive screen just as Attrevia's master technique reached a crescendo, and then reality flickered. Time and space glitched on such scale that made anything done before seem childish in comparison.

  "Enough!"

  The star system trembled as an aura swept across its entire expanse. Her breath hitched as power of such magnitude that she'd never before felt descended, shredding apart the darkness in a vast surge of bright azure that stretched forth into the distance, encompassing the entire system and past it.

  Space blazed as the expanse above them caught fire, swallowed up by a dense mass of blue flames. Thunder roared and the system cracked beneath the strain as a being emerged, descending from the inferno above.

  He was a man of unassuming stature, with a look no older than the early twenties, clothed in simple attire that spoke of a disinterest in vanity.

  His hair was black, streaked with tiny lines of silvery light. And his blazing azure orbs bore down on them with the weight of an entire planet.

  "This Farce Of A Battle Has Gone On Too Long," they said, and their voice echoed out calmly into the void, shattering space as the ripples passed.

  Kairen staggered as a scream never heard before was released. She felt her spirit groan as the sound passed through her, echoing out from the sea of darkness before them which rose into a mass of crimson darkness that surged against the entity above.

  With no other action than a simple glance, the surge of darkness disappeared, disintegrating into non-existence like it had never been there at all.

  The hollow barely had time to react when the entity suddenly appeared before it, his movement sending out a ripple that erased space around them and snuffed out all other territories and techniques like an ocean to a candle flame.

  "A Hollow, Not The Real Thing." The entity's mouth twisted and they laid a hand on the frozen creature. "Begone."

  And just like that, it ceased to exist.

  A creature that had taken a total of six ascendants and many creatures of equal tier just to keep contained was snuffed out in a single moment.

  Deep within her, Kairen felt something shake. In just a few short seconds, her entire understanding of the powers that be and the level of power they wielded was turned upside down and discarded.

  How did one reach such levels of power?

  Leisurely, the entity turned their face towards the remaining ascendants, and the moment she saw their eyes, she immediately went down on one knee. Beside her, the ascendant of life mirrored.

  "Kairen Kord, Adjudicator and Herald of Order, greets the Supreme Primarch of Oblivion," she said just as the ascendant of life did the same.

  She felt a chill feeling run down her back as the entity regarded them with an expression as cool and calm as a lake.

  "I Am Merak."

  And that was all.

  Like the name itself carried weight, Kairen felt her other knee go down as a subtle but undeniable pressure pressed down on them.

  Even the duchess and the Sun spirit—both proud ascendants—bowed at the mention of his name.

  Merak Veilar, as ascendant with very few equals. In the millennia since she'd ascended to Adjudicator, the name Merak was only mentioned in few places, and most of them usually with dread.

  He was among the entities with with very little titles. Not because he wasn't powerful but that very few knew about him. Entities that made their appearances once every hundred or so millennia, after which they disappeared, leaving either unimaginable destruction or never before seen miracles in their wake.

  She felt the atmosphere as she saw it close around her, suffocating her and locking down her joints as she lifted up her head.

  "I... I apologize, Primarch," she began. "But may I ask what business the Silent annihilator has in this Galaxy?"

  Deep within her, she felt terror creep into her, but it had to be asked. She was an Adjudicator, with a responsibility to those on the planets behind.

  The Annihilator stared at her, a look so calm it sent tremors down her body.

  "No, You May Not."

  And that was it. The supreme Primarch turned his attention down on the planets. And with barely a warning he moved, appearing instantly over both planets.

  Kairen felt Attrevia freeze as Merak appeared over both planets, but the duchess did nothing.

  What could she do? What could any of them do, when a single gesture from the man could erase the entire system— occupants and all—within the blink of an eye?

  Merak raised a hand, a single finger pointed at the heavens, and that gesture alone sent an invisible ripple through the entire system, shredding the barrier that had locked down the system and eliciting a look of shock from Kairen as she read their intent.

  "As it Was, So it Shall Be."

  The Supreme Primarch of Oblivion spoke, and his command swallowed them all.