A fight between gods

Destruction energy gathered around Seth’s body, his dark red eyes fixed on Krum.

“Are you ready?” asked Krum, appearing quite eager to battle himself.

Seth nodded, the energy fed by the Tower getting absorbed inside his divinity as his eyes returned to their normal hazel color. He appeared completely normal, a simple and average human, but a torrent of destruction raged deep inside his soul.

“Come at me.”

That was all it took for Krum to charge forward, four of his simple-looking swords aiming straight for Seth’s divinity.

The speed which Seth could barely track before now looked completely normal, and he allowed his energy to carry him backward, easily avoiding the slashing attack.

Krum wasn’t dismayed by Seth dodging his first attack, his two remaining hands moving to continue the attack on Seth’s new location.

Seth smirked, and two swords of destruction appeared mid-air, meeting Krum’s attack as he retreated again.

“I must say: the warriors of the asura race are something else for sure.” said Seth, watching as his destruction energy barely managed to block Krum’s attack for a split second before Krum’s swords pierced right through.

“Even without energy to fuel you, the strength of the asura arts would bring every god I know to their knees.”

Krum ignored Seth’s commentary, recovering his stance before charging to attack again. Seth continued using his destruction energy to block his attacks, moving around Krum while maintaining a safe distance.

The more Seth avoided his attacks without fighting back, the more irritated Krum got.

“Are you going to keep running? Fight me.”

Seth shrugged as he avoided another one of his attacks, drifting further backward than before. “I’m afraid you won’t even get to show me your skills if I were to attack. Keep at it; I’m sure you’ll eventually manage to land a hit or two.”

Krum kept chasing Seth around the arena for over an hour, slowly losing his patience with each swing of his arms, but Seth had a smile plastered on his face the entire time.

Thinking Seth was toying with him, Krum crouched down and launched himself with a sudden burst of speed, looking to catch Seth by surprise.

Seth’s smile disappeared, and his eyes flashed a dark red color. Feeling something was wrong, Krum immediately fought against his momentum, forcing himself to a stop mid-attack.

“For someone calling me a chicken, you were quite fast to back away.” taunted Seth with a slight chuckle, watching Krum’s frustration increase even more.

“Fine. Have it your way.” muttered Krum through gritted teeth, the space around his body releasing a slight shattering noise.

Seth’s pupils dilated, his divinity swirling at an incredible speed as he pushed himself to the side as fast as he could.

Following a loud explosion, Krum appeared on the other side of the arena. All his swords were embedded into the wall behind Seth, creating a large hole straight through the Tower.

Seth appeared opposite from Krum, a large slice splitting his body from the right side of his neck to the left side of his waist.

Seth chuckled, using his energy to mend his body, and watched Krum remove his swords from the wall. “Careful with those things. It would suck if you brought the Tower down like that.”

Krum didn’t speak, removing his swords and dashing back at Seth.

In the meantime, Krum was so annoyed by Seth’s cowardly behavior that he didn’t even notice the hole he put in the Tower’s wall was not closing up at all.

When Krum was approaching his wit’s end, Seth suddenly stopped running. Krum was charging right at him, but Seth moved forward instead of drifting back like usual.

Excited to finally get the chance to cross blades with his target, Krum even forgot to consider the reason behind the strange behavior, putting more strength into his attack.

As expected, Krum’s swords sliced through Seth’s destruction energy, shredding his body into thousands of pieces in less than a fraction of a second. Still, a feeling of danger engulfed his soul before he could rejoice in his victory.

Moving slightly to the side, Krum watched in horror as a destruction blade pierced his body from the back, missing his heart by just a few inches. His entire body tensed up, the space around him disappearing, as did the destruction sword in his chest.

Turning around with a swing, his attack didn’t manage to hit anything since Seth had already jumped back away from him.

“How? How can you have two bodies?” asked Krum, silver blood leaking through the fingers covering the hole in his chest.

“All divinities gain the ability to use an avatar; even if you’re not a resident of this world, you should still have known that from the Tower’s knowledge.” said Seth with a shrug.

“But I should have been able to feel….” Krum’s words paused as he turned to look back at the hole in the Tower’s wall.

“Seems like you figured it out. Your senses might be able to feel my presence inside the tower’s walls, but just as the Tower blocks any senses from getting inside, it also prevents the ones inside from extending outwards. You were so eager to land a hit on me that you paved the way to your own demise.”

“Quite disappointing…”

Krum’s face turned white, and the blood leaking through his fingers stopped, gathering back inside his body as the wound slowly healed.

“A rat. Using only tricks and games. If you think this fight is over, you’ve dead wrong.”

Seth frowned as he watched the white blood wriggling its way back inside Krum’s body, but he said nothing. Appearing completely at ease, Seth brandished a new destruction sword and charged straight at Krum instead.

Krum parried his attack, slicing through Seth’s destruction sword with ease, but Seth didn’t seem to care, his own body flying right at Krum, the energy inside his divinity reaching a monstrous level.

“You’re crazy!!!” yelled Krum, dashing back and bringing all his hands before his body to shield himself.

The Tower’s hundredth floor trembled as Seth’s body exploded into a mass of destruction energy. Under the pressure of the divine attack, the Tower’s walls, floor, and ceiling crumbled, forming a giant hole spanning more than 30 floors.

After the explosion dimmed, Seth appeared again, standing right before Krum, watching his mutilated body with a smile.

“I guess this is my win.” said Seth, lifting his eyes from Krum and looking at the slowly regenerating Tower.

A gentle light came from the Tower, covering Krum’s body and fixing his wounds at a noticeable rate.

Once fully healed, Krum glared at Seth and asked: “How are you unharmed? An explosion of that level can only be possible if you detonate your divinity.”

Seth stopped watching the Tower’s regeneration and looked straight at Krum with disgust. Lifting his hand, Seth materialized his divine crown, now missing three spikes.

“How did you even dare to challenge me without knowing about a destruction divinity’s greatest ability - to detonate itself and regrow from the destruction it causes? That ability made all those puny gods fear me in the first place. Are you convinced of my win, or do I have to take down the whole tower for you to understand your place?”

Krum swallowed his unwillingness and said: “Fine, you win, but the next time we fight, you won’t have it so easy. Your power means nothing in the outside world.”

Seth shrugged again and looked at the Tower, ignoring Krum’s empty threats.

“This concludes our trial. Send me back.”

Krum’s body disappeared, and the Tower’s mechanical voice resounded: “For completing the trials of the Tower, your wish will be granted. By order of administrator Krum, no restrictions will be placed on your divinity.”

With the Tower finishing its words, Seth walked towards the small gate that had appeared on one of its side walls and found himself back in his world, sitting next to the ruins of what was once the capital of the Kingdom of Life.

After a quick look around, he disappeared, reappearing hundreds of miles southeast at the border between the Hope Kingdom and the Loss Kingdom. After checking to ensure he was alone, Seth allowed his body to dissipate, with no trace of his existence left.

———

Deep in the darkness of space, far away from Seth’s word, a petite blue-haired woman appeared before a floating dark-red crown.

“You pulled one over that Tower. A commendable feat indeed, Seat of Destruction.”

Seth reformed his body around his divine source, smiling toward Razim.

“I’m surprised you found me so quickly. I made sure to restrict the spectacle of my crowning as much as possible.”

“You did, but I was nearby and felt your presence. I could even observe the ending of the fight between your avatar and that strange being. I wonder, how did The Tower not realize your divinity was already outside from the start?” asked Razim with a raised eyebrow.

“Since the Tower can’t track souls and divinities, fooling it was not hard. What surprised me was how easy to manage that asura warrior was, but never mind that. Did you find Kronos? Can’t wait to have a chat with him.”

“Not yet. I have Water looking for him, but searching through time is not an easy task.”

“That’s fine as well. I know where he might be, but I’ll need you to verify it for me while I take care of some things back in my world. Remember, if you find him, make sure to keep him from escaping through time again. With his injuries after our fight, I doubt he can flee from you.”

“Fine, but once you’re done with him, I expect you to tell me everything you know about the Tower.”

Seth nodded, and his body slowly dissolved into destruction energy, disappearing into the darkness of space.

Razim watched the place where he had just disappeared from and frowned as she felt the space around her, still able to feel his presence.

‘Those attacks, creating more than one avatar, moving seamlessly through energy, playing around with the Will of the world. This crown is a monster. My choice was the right one.’

“Oh, Kronos, I’m afraid the side you’ve chosen to sit on is the wrong one. It won’t be long before he brings all the other gods to their knees.” muttered Razim, releasing a heavy sigh of her own as her body turned into water energy and she floated away.

Back inside The Tower’s main room.

Krum was looking at a replay of his fight with Seth using the Tower’s help.

“How did he do it? There’s no way he detonated the source of his power, and he was completely fine after that.” asked Krum in frustration, watching the giant explosion on repeat.

“Unknown. Due to the Allmother shielding the souls and wills of her children from observation, drawing an accurate conclusion is impossible.” replied the Tower’s mechanical voice.

“Don’t mention that name before me.” said Krum with apparent bitterness in his eyes before taking a deep breath and continuing: “Keep monitoring the ones close to him. This was a step back in my plan, but it is somewhat good. With his divinity restored, if he can truly break the void barrier, it would only happen sooner.”

“Before the World Sovereign’s power, you are still nothing more than an ant, Seth.” said Krum in bitterness, his body slowly getting covered by a silvery white cocoon.