Chapter 10: The Void
Upon my return to the gleaming marble halls of the Omni-King's Palace, I found Vados and Macarita lounging in the grand receiving room. The air was thick with the sweet scent of exotic fruits from the Trees of godly fruit, their vibrant colors a stark contrast to the stoic angelic duo.
"Ah, the dynamic duo," I greeted, a hint of amusement in my voice as I approached. "I trust the cosmos hasn't fallen apart in my absence?"
Vados looked up from her scroll, her expression unreadable. "It remains intact," she said, her eyes flicking towards the fruit bowl. "For now."
Macarita grinned at me, her tail swishing playfully. "But we've been waiting for you," she said, pouting slightly. "We've had no one to spar with or bounce our existential quandaries off of."
"I'm surprised you can bounce anything off that thick skull of yours," I teased, earning a playful swipe from her hand.
Ignoring the jab, I turned to Vados, my expression growing more serious. "Tell me about the beings sealed in the void," I said, my eyes narrowing. "Who were they?"
Vados set down her scroll, her gaze meeting mine. "The Grand Priest had the unfortunate task of sealing away those who could not be destroyed," she explained, her tone solemn. "They were the most dangerous creatures to ever roam the cosmos, beings of such malevolence and power that their existence threatened the very fabric of reality."
Macarita leaned forward, curiosity sparkling in her eyes. "What kind of beings could be that powerful?"
"The kind that would make you rethink the meaning of fear," I said, the memory of the prophecy that had foretold my rise to power sending a shiver down my spine. "Vados, who were they? What did they do to earn such a fate?"
Vados paused, her gaze drifting to the floor. "They were called the Primal Hado," she said softly. "Entities born from the darkest emotions and chaos itself. They could corrupt entire galaxies with a thought, manipulate reality to their twisted whims."
The room grew quiet, the gravity of her words weighing on us like a black hole's gravity. The Primal Hado... I had never encountered them in my previous battles, nor had they been mentioned in any of the records I had perused as Omni-King. Yet the mere mention of their name sent a cold chill down my spine, a warning from the depths of the cosmos that not all threats could be vanquished with brute force.
"They were defeated by the collective might of the first generation of gods and angels," she continued. "But their destruction was impossible. Instead, they were sealed away in the void, where their power could not touch the multiverse."
I nodded thoughtfully, the wheels of my mind turning. "And how many are there?"
"Nineteen," Vados said, her voice a whisper. "One for each of the original universes and a certain angel."
My eyes widened. "The Grand Priest had an evil wife?"
"Indeed," Vados confirmed, her eyes darkening at the mention of the long-forgotten past. "Her name was Erebus, the mother of all angels, and she was once a being of unrivaled beauty and grace. But power... it has a way of corrupting even the purest of hearts. She grew jealous of the Grand Priest's favoritism towards the gods and sought to claim her own dominion."
"And so she turned to the dark arts," I murmured, the pieces of the puzzle fitting into place. "Corrupted six universes and was defeated by Zeno, who erased them from existence."
"But not before she had children," Macarita added, her voice a mix of excitement and horror.
I nodded grimly. "And now, she's sealed away, a cautionary tale for the ages."
Vados nodded solemnly. "Her lineage remains, though," she said. "We are her only two remaining children."
The thought of the Primal Hado intrigued me, and I couldn't help the smirk that tugged at my lips. "I'd love to meet this bitch and see if she can resist my evil Saiyan charm," I said, the challenge in my voice unmistakable.
Vados's eyes snapped up to meet mine, surprise and concern flickering across her stoic features. "Kyle," she warned, her voice low and urgent. "The Primal Hado are not beings to trifle with. Their power is unparalleled."
But my grin only widened. "Isn't that the fun part?" I said, spreading my arms wide. "I am the Omni-King now! I've slain gods, crushed galaxies with my bare hands, and bent time to my will. What could a mere 'entity' of chaos possibly do to me?"
Vados's expression grew stern, her eyes flashing with something akin to fear. "Kyle, you must understand the gravity of what you say," she cautioned, her tone unwavering. "You may be strong, but there are forces in this multiverse that even an Omni-King cannot control. The Primal Hado are not mere adversaries. They are the embodiment of the darkest aspects of creation itself."
I chuckled, the sound echoing off the gleaming marble walls of the palace. "Don't worry, Vados," I said, patting her on the shoulder. "I'm not about to go gallivanting into the void for a joyride. But I am the Omni-King, and if there's something out there that could threaten what I've built, I want to know about it."
With a flicker of my eyes, I focused my immense energy, and a swirling vortex of power opened before me. The air grew cold, and the scent of ozone filled my nostrils as I stepped through the portal, leaving the safety of my domain and plunging into the abyssal unknown.
The chamber of Erebus, the mother of angels, was a place of shadow and whispers, where the very fabric of reality seemed to writhe in response to her presence. The walls, a deep, velvet purple, stretched into infinity, pulsing with a rhythm that was both mesmerizing and unsettling. In the center of the room, a throne of shadow and starlight loomed, upon which she reclined with a grace that belied the chaotic maelstrom she had become.
As I approached, the silence was so absolute it was as if sound itself had been banished from the room. Her eyes, those windows to the cosmic abyss, remained closed, yet I felt her gaze upon me, a silent challenge that echoed through the emptiness. Her once-celestial form was bound by chains forged from the very essence of the void, shackles that held her in a pose of eternal contemplation.