In the fractured skies of the Multiversal Boundary Plane, the battlefield became a breathing, groaning thing. Universes blinked in and out of existence around the fighters, unable to contain the sheer force of their wills.
Anu hovered like a black star, the Crown of Chaos Supremacy blooming above his head.
He looked untouchable.
But below him, Cal, fire in his veins and law etched into every strand of his being, refused to kneel.
"You… are not beyond us. You are a pretender cloaked in chaos."
Anu laughed, arms spread wide.
"And yet, you fear me."
Cal's answer was silence.
Instead, he raised his arms, invoking the Supreme Doctrines of the Order of All Things.
From his mouth came the chant, divine and unending:
"In beginning, form was void; then will gave order. Order bore law, and law bore creation. In creation, life, death, and balance emerged. And I—Cal—was forged to carry its enforcement."
With the final word, the Nine-Colored Divine Tribulations reformed—but this time fused, becoming a colossal blade of law incarnate.
Cal held it aloft.
"This is judgment."
Anu smirked. "Let's see whose law endures."
But before either could strike—
Sul and Moac moved in tandem.
Sul's body dissolved into pure soul-essence, spreading across the battlefield. Threads of astral light laced through every ripple in existence, targeting Anu's spiritual essence.
"Your power is vast, Anu," Sul whispered from all directions, "but everything that exists has a soul-path. And I command them all."
Anu's chest cracked. For the first time, his essence recoiled.
He summoned Karma Law to erase the interference.
But Moac descended like a collapsing star, her fists glowing with celestial core impact—the wrath of sentient suns behind her strikes.
"You claim to be a king…"
She struck.
"...but we were crowned by the One who gave kings their crowns."
The explosion of her impact bent the plane itself, tearing a scar across the boundary fabric of infinite realities.
Anu was hurled back. Blood—golden and black—spilled from his mouth.
---
In the Hall of Eternal Eyes, the watchers leaned forward.
Eon clenched his fists. "They've wounded him."
Seu raised her head. "Is it possible?"
But Vatae only grinned, arms folded.
"It's never about the first exchange. True wars are won in conviction."