The world howled and quaked.
Flames burst into the sky, burning away the clouds and evaporating the rain that fell.
Blood sprayed into the air as a chilling battle tore through the land.
Above the battlefield, five figures stood, their overwhelming power enough to bring destruction to the surrounding void.
They were none other than the leaders of the attacking sects, and all four of them were facing one man—the Patriarch.
He stood opposite them, his long beard flowing gently in the wind, his hands folded calmly into his robes.
"If it isn't the so-called Supreme Magus. Hahaha!" A boisterous laugh erupted from a man in red robes, fangs bared as he pointed his claws at the Patriarch in mockery.
"Look below you…"
"Your people are being destroyed. They're no match for our power. Your sect is being burned down to nothing, and there's absolutely nothing you can do."
"Perhaps you could have saved them if you had simply agreed to surrender the Void Stone, but you remained stubborn."
"Now look at what it has cost you," another figure, a flaming man with two long horns, taunted, glancing at the scene below.
The God's Fall Sect had been absolutely razed to the ground.
Though a few members continued to fight valiantly, they were being swiftly overwhelmed by an army of nearly ten thousand.
The sect, once proud and formidable, was now reduced to ashes.
The Supreme Magus, however, ignored the taunts of the three sect leaders.
His gaze instead shifted to the last man standing with a large sword on his back.
The same man who bore a diagonal scar across his face.
Slowly, one of his eyes—the one unmarked by the scar—opened, revealing a chilling, bloodshot gaze.
"It has been a long time, old friend..." the scarred man called out, his voice laced with bitter hatred.
The Supreme Magus smiled, much to the irritation of the remaining sect leaders, who exchanged confused glances.
The scarred man wasn't a sect leader, yet his presence commanded attention.
The Supreme Magus had been ignoring the others as though they were of no consequence.
"A long time, indeed, Ragnar," the Patriarch responded with a serene smile.
"I hope you haven't forgotten that day, Luther!" Ragnar shouted, his voice cold and filled with malice. "The day you drove your cursed dagger through my face and pushed me into the Abyss of the Everlasting Undead!"
Ragnar ran his finger along the scar, his hand moving to unsheathe his large sword.
"Is that why you're here? For revenge?" Luther asked in his ancient voice, watching as Ragnar cracked his neck and back bones, then glanced at the other three leaders.
"Don't get in my way, ants!" Ragnar commanded, his voice sending shockwaves through the other Supreme Sect leaders.
They were the sect leaders and one of the most powerful figures in this realm, yet they they being referred to as ants!
When they tried to speak up, they were silenced by the sudden outpouring of power from Ragnar's body.
"You! You're a Great Arcane Master!" one of the leaders gasped, eyes wide with terror.
"A thousand years ago, I, Ragnar Rock, lost to you, Luther Void."
"And now I am here not only for a rematch, but to claim what is rightfully mine!" Ragnar declared, raising his sword high into the sky.
RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIP!
The sound of space tearing apart rang out as an astronomical wave of dark energy exploded into the sky, tearing through the clouds and clearing the surrounding clouds for thousands of miles.
The sheer force was enough to send the three sect leaders to crashing to the ground, as if their bodies weighed nothing.
Only Luther remained standing, his eyes calmly opening to reveal the same chilling darkness as Ragnar's.
Luther slowly removed his hands from his robes, energy pulsing out from him, causing his robes and beard to billow in the intense power radiating from his form.
"You have fused with the Abyssal Power of the Undead, huh?" He calmly asked, not at all ruffled.
"How else do you expect your death to be in my hands today?" Ragnar replied with a malevolent smile.
"For two thousand years, I've dedicated my entire life to searching for the six Infinity Stones."
"And after a thousand years, I managed to obtain one of them."
"Then, you betrayed me twisted by your intense want for the cosmic power, and I was forced to throw you—my own best friend—into the Abyss," Luther said, his voice ancient and steady.
"And now you're here, seeking revenge. Below us lies the destroyed remnants of those I hold dear."
"You know, Ragnar, ever since I touched that map, my life has taken a downturn."
"And today, I finally realize the truth."
Luther's voice softened melancholy as he looked below him.
Now he had been enlightened of the truth but it had costed him almost everything, and Ragnar's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What have you realized?" He growled out loud.
"The Stones… they were never meant to be possessed," Luther whispered.
"You speak nothing but lies!" Ragnar snapped. "If they were useless, you wouldn't have sacrificed your own people—your own sect—just to possess one of them."
"Today, you will die. I will take both the stone and the map, wherever you may have hidden it. And I, Ragnar, will be the one to begin the Magi Awakening!" Ragnar declared boldly as he brought his sword down with a world-ending force.
The battle that followed lasted mere seconds, but when everything settled, the battlefield was no more!
All that remained was an empty desolation.
The few sect leaders who had managed to protect their warriors from the devastating clash between Ragnar and Luther stood shaken.
Their forces had been reduced to less than half of what they had brought, and their gaze was fixed on the scene before them.
Ragnar knelt, supporting himself with his sword. A second deep cut has been strewn across his face like a 'X' symbol, and his robes had been torn apart various wounds marring his body, while before him, Luther's body slowly disintegrated into ash, drifting along with the wind.
"Luther, you tricked me!" Ragnar whispered, watching the ashes disappear.
He could sense Luther was weak! Weaker than he remembered.
And looking at his body, he found no traces of the stone.
He had been decieved.
Luther has passed the stone to someone else before their battle.
And surely, that person couldn't have been destroyed along with the sect.
He knew well his old friend was anything but stupid and if anything, frighteningly cunning.
A dark thirst flashed in Ragnar's eyes.
"I'll find whoever holds your secret, and I will take everything away from them."
"Just like you have to me!"