The Epic Tale of Chaos vs Order

Chapter 2000: A subtler horror that went unnoticed

Each claw of Jörmungandr pierced deep into Leviathan’s flesh and muscle, talons like sickles tearing through his draconic frame. Yet the physical wounds were not the most dangerous part. The claws carried a strange, grey energy—an aura that seemed to freeze the very particles of Cain’s Alter-Ego. Wherever it spread, the flow of time fractured. If that energy reached his heart or brain, it could stop the circulation of his essence entirely, shutting down his will and mind.

It became immediately clear to Cain. Azazel’s Liberación Total did not merely amplify his physical might—it had elevated his mastery of time itself. The stasis energy of Jörmungandr was more lethal now than ever before.

But Cain was not one to lie down and accept defeat.

Even as Jörmungandr’s claws raked across his chest, Leviathan’s massive left hand clamped down on the serpent’s skull. With a roar that shook the firmament, his right hand hammered downward.

"BOOOOM!"

Each blow unleashed a cataclysm of red flames and devouring entropy, the twin powers of conquest and consumption entwined. The essence of the True Depravita was being burned, eaten, and eroded away with every strike. And while the grey stasis still spread through Leviathan’s flesh, the devouring flames slowed it.

The fists of the Primarch of Conquest rose and fell again and again. Each impact echoed like thunder across countless kilometers, as if the sky itself were cracking open. The serpent’s skull dented, splintered, threatening to cave in beneath the endless barrage.

But Jörmungandr was no prey.

The serpent’s monstrous eyes narrowed, glinting with cold inevitability. Then its cavernous jaws opened, unleashing a massive torrent of grey temporal energy. The freezing beam struck Leviathan’s right arm mid-swing, encasing it in solid stasis, locking his strike before it could fall.

Cain snarled—but he did not stop. He pulled his frozen fist forward, forcing it through the grey, and slammed it into Jörmungandr’s skull with sheer willpower. The colossal serpent was blasted downward, its titanic body crashing into the ocean below.

Not a second later, Leviathan’s wings spread wide. His jaws parted, and a storm of energy surged from his heart—where the Scarlet Throne burned.

"SCARLET OBLITERATION!"

A cannon of crimson power erupted from his throat, a beam so wide it swallowed the horizon. It speared into the sea where Jörmungandr had fallen.

"BOOOOOOOOOOOOOOMMMMMM!"

The ocean detonated. A pillar of water rose into the air, while tsunamis swept outward in every direction, racing across the world’s surface.

Cain paid the chaos no attention. His focus was inward, upon his own body. The grey patches of stasis still scarred his flesh, spreading despite the devouring flames. He ignited his essence, flooding those frozen patches with red fire, trying to consume them and recycle the energy. But it quickly became clear—it would not work.

The stasis refused to fade. It was immune to his devouring. It was time itself refusing to burn.

There was no choice.

Cain unleashed the power of Entropy directly. He destroyed the grey flesh—burning away his own right hand entirely—and then forced his regeneration to rebuild it. The pain was blinding, every nerve alight with fire. His roar shook the skies, but he endured. Within seconds, a new hand burst forth from his frame, veins glowing with power.

There was no time to savor it.

From the shattered ocean below, Jörmungandr rose once more, fury burning in his abyssal eyes. His body rippled with endless coils. His aura froze the sea itself, halting waves mid-motion and locking the water into pillars of crystal. His gaze fixed on Leviathan. He would freeze him in time and end his existence.

"ROOOOOOOAAAAARRRR!"

The Primarch of Conquest surged forward, his newly-formed hand glowing with crimson fire as he charged straight into the clash once more.

The Scarlet King and Azazel continued their duel, every strike growing more violent. The sky itself was split in half—one side scorched red beneath the flames of conquest, the other side frozen grey beneath the power of the End Time. Their battle became the axis of the world, shattering the heavens and setting the oceans ablaze.

And around them, another war raged.

Leonidas, Amon, and Bael’s eyes glowed with determination, red light burning as they fought with all their might. They clashed against Gilgamesh, Calypso, and Juda, six ArchDeities unleashing the full terror of their Liberación Total. Their strength could not rival Leviathan or Jörmungandr, but each wielded mastery over cosmic laws that placed them far above the rest of the Everstrife Empyrean World. Their blows cracked continents, their techniques rewrote reality itself.

It was obvious to every consciousness watching: the six had grown exponentially since joining Cain’s Scarlet Path and receiving the inheritances bestowed by the alien from beyond the Empyrean World. They were no longer merely strong—they were monsters.

The battles in the sky drew every gaze. For many, the outcome of these clashes would decide the fate of the world.

And that focus allowed a far subtler horror to go unnoticed.

On the island below, where Dionisio had been driven deep into the earth by Cain’s devastating kick, strange things stirred. The landmass was caving in, yet no one knew what had become of the leader of RainbowSky Heaven. Many assumed he was still trapped in the earth, unconscious or comatose.

But the truth lay hidden.

The surviving cultivators—the Prima Deities and countless others who had been within the heart of the island—remained there. They should have fled long ago, terrified of being caught in the aftershocks of the cataclysm raging above. Yet they did not move. They stood still, silent, their eyes empty.

A careful observer would have noticed: their minds were not their own.

One by one, their life force dimmed. Their souls flickered like dying flames. Subtly, carefully, without revealing its hand, something was consuming them.

And then—

"BOOOOOOM!"

The hidden devouring power erupted, no longer veiled. Every Prima Deity and cultivator of RainbowSky Heaven trembled, then collapsed as their bodies and souls were drained to the last iota. Their essence was ripped out, consumed utterly.

Even the ArchDeities above—locked in their deadly duels—felt it. Their divine senses caught the wave of soul-devouring energy.

Cain’s allies frowned grimly. Azazel’s followers, by contrast, smiled with dark delight. They knew exactly what this phenomenon meant.

There was only one being who could consume like this.

The island cracked apart completely, shattering into rubble. And from the ruins, a massive figure began to rise.