The Primordial Record

Lightning flashed overhead in the void, the last remnants of his song rippling across creation.

Rowan began walking towards his enemies, his footstep eating the miles, the Twilight Bridge underneath pulsing, as if it was a beating heart. Although he was aware of the position of all of them, his focus was on Third, the demented Reflection that had posed as his father for so long, and twisted Rowan into the direction he found himself in today.

Although his present state was a result of his decisions, it did not take away from the fact that the road towards this moment was paved by the hands of Third. His only consolation was the understanding that no matter the plans Third had made, there was no way he would have anticipated the ending would be like this. Rowan was eager to reveal more surprises to this creature.

The eleven Will Holders stayed at the edge of the bridge, none of them stepping onto it, the emotions on their faces were difficult to read, but there was confusion on their faces, and no matter how they tried to hide it… awe. Rowan might not understand the significance of the song that he had created, but he had an inkling.

After all the time that has gone by since the beginning of creation, it was rare for something of such monumental power and beauty to be created, and by a mortal for that matter. However, anyone who treated Rowan as a mere mortal was a fool.

There were two new additions to the ranks of the Will Holders, and Rowan grinned inside his heart as he recognized Silas and Aeris, the Tower Masters of the Magus Supreme World, and the last two pieces of the puzzle, the Final Reflection, Second.

He stopped a thousand feet away from them, a distance so close, that every single detail of their bodies could be seen.

Golgoth encased in his dead armor, the confused eyes of Minerva who seemed to be searching for something inside her body, the furious look of the Winter King, whose mantle of frost was rotating around him like a buzz saw, and finally the Third Prince, who out of everyone here bore a startling resemblance to Rowan, except his hair was black and he wore a red robe.

It was as if he was assisting his body in tiny parts to resemble Rowan. This was most likely the case, for Third was covetous of power, and the power that Rowan had displayed made his greedy hearts filled with unrest, he had begun devouring Rowan inside his head, so his body could not help but mimic the form of his desire.

Rowan's prismatic eyes analyzed each of them in detail, noting their bodily structures and weapons, this battle would require careful planning and focus, he could not just depend on his attributes to allow him to win any challenges, especially with the presence of the Third Prince who controlled multiple Wills.

The sound of the Third Prince clapping his hands resounded in the void between the dead and the living universe, "Here he stands. The Emperor of mortals. Such a Title, I believe you deserve, for have there ever been a mortal like you since the dawn of creation? Curse me all you like in your hearts Rowan, but your existence is very much a work of my hands. I have to congratulate you, child, truly in all my years, I have never seen anything quite like that… your music would put those of the Celestial Court to shame."

"Then you will enjoy this even more," Rowan smiled and he stretched forth his right hand, he seized something behind the Will holders and pulled.

A deep groaning sound reverberated through the cosmos as the heavy chains binding the dead universe suddenly contracted, destroying that portion of reality in its entirety.

The Will Holders looked behind them with shock and Silas muttered to himself in fascination, "How many parts of that spell did he split to make this single massive spell? How can anyone control such massive energy so intricately? Could he be a reincarnation of our maker?"

His inward deliberation was cut short as the vanishing universe left a space where nothingness took its place.

The wave of nothingness spread to the Will Holders and Rowan smiled when he saw the intense look of rage on the face of the Third Prince as they were all forced to step on the bridge or fall into nothingness.

This was the same sort of nothingness that Rowan summoned the Chains of Time from, and anyone who fell into it would spend countless eternities plunging into that darkness as their essence was slowly stripped away and they became a part of the nothingness. It was a fate that was worse than death. The last fragment of Erohim had fallen into this nothingness, his last fading cries of despair did not last.

The living universe, the red bridge, and the nothingness behind the Will Holders were all that remained in this space, and for a moment silence prevailed, as Rowan upped the stakes once again.

"You have us on your bridge Rowan," the Third Prince smirked, "but do not think this fight would go as…"

"You talk too much," Rowan interrupted as he seemed to vanish and reappear within their midst.

He appeared in a crouch, and when he rose, his upper body rotated, Envy trailing behind his motion as the Axe head slammed against them, flinging their bodies for hundreds of miles, and drawing cries of pain from Minerva as Envy had sheared through one of her spider legs at the joint, and a howl from Silas as Envy went through his stomach and burst out from his back, flinging him away for nearly a thousand miles.

In this bridge where any injury was nearly permanent, it was a devastating first blow. Rowan had learned from the battle in his dimension and knew that he should never give the Third Prince a chance to be settled or he would find a way to twist victory into his grasp.

At the peak of his rotation, the Axe head was caught by a pair of glowing blue fists and forced to the ground. In less than a moment, it was frozen to the bridge as the Winter King drew his face closer to Rowan and roared, "You killed my son!"

Rowan's reply was a punch to the side of the Demon King's head that sounded as if a planet exploded as a massive shock wave rippled along the length of the entire bridge, "I gave him the honor of making me bleed. Do not look down on his achievement foolish king."

The Winter King took a heavy step back, nearly dazed from the blow. Rowan pushed essence into Envy which made the Axe scream in pain and pleasure as power like it had never known filled it to the brim, her vibration shattered the ice holding her to the bridge and Rowan brought the Axe up and slammed it against the chest of the dazed Winter King.

A frozen fist slammed against the side of the Axe Head diverting its momentum and instead of caving in the chest of the Demon King, it sliced off his left arm. The Axe head of Envy was frozen in space as the blood of the Demon King which was so cold it defied meaning held it bound to space.