The Primordial Record

Rowan was being broken, but the damage was not enough, he was a mortal, yet his foundations were ridiculously vast. If he was a mortal then the attacks were like needles poking holes through his body. It was devastating for sure but it would take too long for him to bleed out.

The Third Prince shook his head with pity, "You think you can survive this?"

Rowan's deranged cry echoed from the devastation, "What are you waiting for my nemesis! Is this the best you have got?"

The Third Prince sneered, he did not reply but the power behind his attacks increased until once more it reached a limit and exploded. This time it took a while for the reverberation to settle as the Will Holders tried to marshall their energy and brace for what was coming next, although most of them would like to believe that Rowan was dead.

The smoke and lingering powers cleared out revealing the devastation, a massive crater was revealed, and within that crater was Rowan who was standing on his feet. He looked more dead than alive.

His left hand was gone as well as most of his skin, and his two eyes had exploded leaving a gaping darkness in his skull, through the holes in his chest, you could see his heart beating and blood pooling around his feet. Red lightning shot out from his body and struck the earth around him, leaving small craters in the bridge.

Somehow his present state did not make the Will Holders feel any sort of reassurance. Of course, it looked as if he was about to die, but why was he on his feet and muttering to himself?

Golgoth nudged one of the God Emperors forward and the armored figure nodded before stepping towards Rowan with his sword raised.

"What is he muttering?" Aeris who was beside Silas and had been silent all this while said.

Silas cursed in anger and irritation, "What does it matter the mad nonsense that comes from a mind on the edge of death?"

Minerva was the one that answered, the frown lines on her face deepening, "He is saying; Pain is a fine instructor. I needed it, you see, to learn. To grow."

They all started at Minerva, even the Third Prince, surprised that out of them here, it was this Demon King who had been able to hear what Rowan was saying.

The sudden sound of tearing metal resounded and they all turned towards Rowan, at first it seemed they could not understand what they were seeing but the grim gaze of the Third Prince was evidence enough.

The God Emperor had fulfilled his duty, he had reached Rowan and had swung his blade to decapitate him, but Rowan had moved and had caught the blade with his teeth, and using his only hand, he ripped off the head of the God Emperor.

Pushing the body to the side, he tossed the head to Will Holders and before the body of the God Emperor could fall, his hand pushed through the armor around his chest and dug out the heart.

Crooning to the shrieking Ouroboros Serpents in his crown whose scales had been burnt off and were in pain. Rowan fed them the heart and they settled.

Rowan gestured and they crawled towards his missing left hand and they extended their tails inside his wound before they began to weave themselves together, until they formed a new limb, each of his now six fingers ending in hissing snake heads.

The right hand opened and Envy which resembled a half-melted piece of metal rested gingerly on his palm, his eyeless face peered at the Will Holders and he clenched his jaws, shattering the blade in his mouth to pieces, and he gestured with his shattered weapon, a challenge.

"How is he moving?" Minerva muttered.

"He shouldn't," the Third Prince growled, "Look at his body, the only thing holding him together is just stubbornness and stupidity," Rubbing his eyes he sighed, "he does not know when to die. This fool thinks he can master Aetherium by opening himself to it, and even though he failed, he can still perform. I should have known. A child who knows not his limit would exceed them with ease!"

"What should we do?" Silas hissed in shock.

"We finish him, he is on the brink of death and although he may have other hidden cards, I have mine too. Are you listening, Rowan? Don't think you can exceed your limits and I will not tip the scale once more?"

Opening his hands he revealed four glowing seeds. They looked similar to the Eld Seed that was in Rowan's possession, but these were different, they were smaller and the energy they contained was chaotic, but they still stank of Aetherium.

"Take it!" The Third Prince tossed the Seeds to Minerva, Golgoth, Silas, and Aeris.

Minerva went still in shock, "Are you sure about this, a Seed of Aetherium is…"

"Priceless, I know." the Third Prince smiled, "But I know my foe well, and if I ever hope back, I will lose so resoundingly, until death I would be left wondering how it all happened. He has exceeded my expectations time and time again, and I assure you, I will not be played as a fool for the third time!"

Golgoth did not hesitate, he swallowed the Seed of Aetherium and gasped in shock before standing straighter and allowing his essence and Aether flood out of him like a tide of darkness, and as the rest of the Will Holders watched in fascination, his essence and Aether began to fuse.

Once like smoke, the power that now flooded out of his body was now a liquid, black and rotten and stinking of old chaotic power.

The false God King roared and he did not wait for the rest, he attacked Rowan. Charging Gaping Undoer with his Aetherium, his abominable blade shrieked in pleasure and pain as the power it controlled exploded in all parameters.

Rowan brought up Envy to block the blow and he was pushed back, the reverberation from their weapon clashing was so devastating, Envy which was supposed to be near indestructible had pieces of it chipped off.

Golgoth laughed, the two massive tentacles that were in the place of his legs pushing him at greater speeds as his blade blurred, slamming against Rowan who resolutely defended against the crazed attacks as pieces of Envy flew off in ever-

increasing chunks.

The Third Prince chuckled, "Rowan you have chosen the wrong method to learn how to access power and you will understand that Reality is nothing but emptiness and pain for the weak."

The rest of the Will Holders, glimpsing the new strengths of Golgoth, did not wait and swallowed their Seeds. Such an opportunity to access Aetherium was priceless, only a few Primordial powers in all of existence had access to Aetherium and even the Great Abyss did not have this resource.

"I don't want him to live past the next moments," The Third Prince growled, "Kill him, make it hurt, but make it fast."

As the rest of the Will Holders attacked, he began to gather power, he would not let Rowan have a moment to catch himself.

He saw Rowan's mouth moving as he whispered something, he wanted to call Minerva back and ask her what he said, but he squashed that desire. He had the winning hand here and he would not give Rowan the chance to change that with any unknown tricks.