?
Asmodeus blinked his red and black eyes several times as he tried to convince himself that he hadn't heard the question his son asked.
At first he thought he may have been imagining things, but Abaddon's unflinching and waiting gaze told him that was not a possibility.
"...You're crazy."
"I am desperate." Abaddon corrected.
"Right now there doesn't seem to be much of a difference."
"I need every possible weapon I can gather to ensure that the unification of the demon race goes smoothly.
I still cannot match the strength of the other six kings, who never have to leave their primordial demon forms and are always in a heightened state of power."
Asmodeus nodded at his son's reasoning and tried not to get too upset while holding Yara.
"Even if Lucifer cannot stop you from taking it since Beelzebub is already dead, that doesn't mean that your body can actually HANDLE holding two sins.
Each one contains an unbelievable amount of power and they were not meant to be held by one person at the same time." He reminded.
"My body is more durable than most." Defended Abaddon.
Asmodeus smiled dangerously and held up a fist that was covered by darkness. "Shall I smack you one good time to see if that is true?"
Abaddon merely rolled his eyes and stood up.
He peered down at the body of Beelzebub with a calculating expression as he planned his next steps. "It isn't just the demons. It is the phoenixes, the dwarves, the humans and even the current ruler of the abyss."
Abaddon turned around to face his father while wearing an unflinching expression. "I have been thrust into a storm of turmoil the likes of which have consumed a great many people.
The enemies I must subdue are still my betters, and I do not have the luxury of waiting around for my power to grow naturally before I can conquer them. To accomplish that which has never been done, I must take risks that others would consider to be suicidal."
Asmodeus naturally knew of the threat looming over his son's head, and he also knew just how troubled he was by it.
Sometimes, when Abaddon was surrounded by his loved ones, it was possible to catch him making a melancholic expression as he thought of the possibility of not seeing their faces again after his two year deadline expired.
Asmodeus had caught him making that expression a great many times.
Maybe that was why his next words seemed to fall out of his mouth before he realized it. "If you do this... you have to survive. You cannot perish here just as our family has finally become whole after so long."
Abaddon smirked and thanked his father silently for his acceptance.
"You have no need to worry. I am in no hurry to leave this life I have been blessed with."
"I would hope not... just do it before your mother wakes up and kills us both for entertaining this madness."
Realizing that was a very plausible scenario, Abaddon decided to heed his father's words as quickly as possible to avoid having his head crushed as well.
Using his bladed tail, he cut open the chest of his fallen uncle and exposed his egregiously large heart that had already stopped beating.
Lifting it out of his chest with mana manipulation, he took one last look at the large blue skinned demon who'd been killed by those damned archangels.
'We weren't close enough for me to say something like 'I'll avenge you' but I will carry your power with me and use it against those who took your life. That should suffice as thanks.'
Abaddon took one last glance over his shoulder before he crossed the point of no return and took a large bite out of the floating heart.
As Asmodeus listened to the sounds of chewing, he silently wondered if he'd have less of a headache now if he'd had a daughter instead of a son.
'This boy is bad for my health.' He thought exhaustedly as he silently prayed to any being who would listen that Abaddon would face no backlash from this ordeal.
Unfortunately, no amount of prayer could prevent the chaos that was about to unfold before him.
After the sounds of chewing stopped, there was nothing but silence in the midst of the night air.
There was no explosion of power, no uncontrollable screams of pain, there was just... nothing.
"Son...? What is the matter?" Asmodeus asked.
Slowly, Abaddon turned around and his father could see him making a blank expression.
His eyes had rolled into the back of his head, and a single stream of tears had fallen from his left eye.
The dragon opened his mouth to speak, but his voice was ancient and tired and seemed to come from the very depths of his soul.
"This... is not true gluttony..."
"...What?"
Abaddon looked up into the sky and his tears seemed to fall even harder than before.
"True gluttony is vital to our being, it is integral to life and the balance... Gluttony lurks within each and every one of us, as it drives our body to sustain itself in an endless cycle of life, death, and rebirth...
It is more than just consumption, it is akin to a constant cycle of feeding and being fed upon, it is... so much more than these lips can explain..."
Under the horrified gaze of Asmodeus, his son ripped off his own arm and began eating it without any reservations.
"Abaddon!"
The Nephilim quickly flew to the side of his son and took his face in his hands as he tried to stop him from harming himself.
"Wake up boy, you have to wake up now!" He roared.
Unfortunately, it proved to be of no avail as Abaddon continued to stare blankly at his father while his own blood dribbled down his chin.
"Where has it gone father...? Please tell me where it is..."
"Where what is boy?! You aren't making any sense!" Asmodeus was very nearly on the verge of tears himself.
He was already desperately regretting the fact that he had allowed this madness to occur in the first place, and he would give anything to be able to go back and right this wrong.
Unfortunately, Abaddon seemed to be unaware of his father's feelings and could only focus on his own overwhelming sorrow from losing something important to him.
"Where is it father...? What has become of my true infinity...?"
-
Nexus of creation, The Domain of Cosmic Infinity.
Outside of time, space, and reality, there exists a domain where a certain pre-existential being dwells.
If any mortal or lesser god peered into this place, they would surely go mad from trying to perceive their surroundings that predate most of creation.
In the center of this unidentifiable mass, there is a constantly swirling mass of purely white energy, that seems to flow endlessly in a circle without reason.
But after an incalculable number of eons, there was finally a change within that swirling white mass as it congealed together to take on it's most famous appearance.
A beautiful white serpent that held it's own tail within it's enormous mouth appeared and trained it's bright red eyes in a certain direction.
A rip suddenly appeared in space and time and the serpent immediately flew through it without worry.
Once outside, Ouroboros could see every conceivable reality in existence, and she focused her mind on this feeling of overwhelming sadness that seemed to be calling out to her.
The serpent did not know how to describe this feeling of grief, but she likened it to receiving a desperate calling from a loving parent after eons spent apart.
She had never even had parents before, when she opened her eyes, she was already breaking out of her egg of creation, and simply continued to exist as she already was.
But for the first time in her existence, she began to feel like she had been gone from her home for far too long.
Her eyes focused on a small universe on the outskirts of creation, and she did not waste another second in flying towards the source of this haunting sadness.
-
Nexus of creation, The Tree of Life.
Asherah and Yahweh were currently entertaining a visit from one of their most powerful sons and soldiers, Azrael.
After visiting Abaddon and seeing firsthand the supposed 'Great Evil Beast' with his very own eyes, he had too many questions piled up from within and broke the sacred laws of the white city.
He traveled outside of space and time towards the most sacred resting place of his mother and father.
The journey had taken a rather considerable time to complete due to his own lacking power but eventually, he was able to cross the perilous distance and reached his destination.
Upon arrival, he immediately threw himself at their feet while professing his most sincere apologies and begging for enlightenment.
As always, his mother and father were understanding of his plight and forgave him for his transgressions.
Yesh took it upon himself to explain to his son the entire history of himself and what was formerly the first heavenly dragon, and Azrael was nothing short of astounded.
As a being of death, he was only familiar with the story of how the dragon initially died so the revelation of it's origins was a shock to even he.
But even after hearing the entire timeline of events between them, Azrael still remained unsure of one thing.
"Father... why would you go so far for such a being? Even after everything you have told me, I still don't understand why you would take such a risk when you were the one who killed him in the first place?"
Yesh's normally warm face suddenly showed traces of guilt and it seemed like his son had inadvertently struck a rather sensitive spot.
Almost immediately, Azrael lowered his head once again and professed his apologies. "I am sorry for any disrespect, father. I do not mean to question you but I..."
Asherah suddenly took the hand of her beloved and gave him a comforting smile.
She knew full well that the choices that her husband made weren't always easy ones, and there was no one who felt more guilty for one of his creation's unfortunate fates than he.
The reassuring smile of his wife served to return some warmth back to the face of the creator, and he intertwined their fingers together as a show of thanks.
He opened his mouth to speak once more, when suddenly his wife's grip changed from a gentle and loving one to a stiff one of pure terror.
"..?"
Yesh immediately became concerned and looked at his wife's face only to find that she had turned white as a ghost and looked to be wrestling with the shock of her life.
"Mother?" Azrael asked in concern. "What is the matter?"
It took Asherah a moment to answer, for even she could not surpress her surprise from this turn of events.
"Ouroboros...it's... it's found the world where it's origin dwells."
While Azrael did not immediately understand what that meant, Yesh was not nearly as slow and his ancient mouth nearly fell open at such absurdity.
Just as the angel of death parted his lips to ask what that meant for the world of Dola, several loud bangs began to echo throughout all of creation.
BOOM!
BOOM!
BOOM!
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