"I had wondered why Aphmau would fear you."
Zane narrowed his eye into a glaring expression, keeping silent. Gene approached his cage slowly, chuckling darkly. He was holding a scythe in one hand, and Zane's sword in the other. He crushed part of the sword in his hand, encasing the rest of the weapon in Dark Magicks and making it disintegrate. The cage was made of large dark crystals, trapping him inside of it in all directions.
"It seems she's right to do so." Gene said, stopping in front of Zane.
"She does not fear me!" Zane argued, baring his teeth. "Now, release me!"
"In due time." He grinned, chuckling darkly. "You are far more deserving of respect, far more capable of ruling than Aphmau. You are the one fit to rule the Heavens, not her. Join me, and you can rule over whatever you desire."
"We would first take our own lives before submitting to you." He sneered, punching one of the walls of his cage.
"Even if you do defeat me, you'd just fall to her in time." He insisted, narrowing his eyes. "Why be forced to choose? Do you really think that she or anyone else can understand the darkness and all of it's glory?"
"Like you could in turn." He growled, folding his wings against his back.
"Oh, I understand entirely." He nodded, smirking at him. "The Realms will face armies of foes in the upcoming battles. Why not stand against them together? Then, once we rule all, we can show the Realms what it truly means to fear the darkness."
Zane closed his eye, slightly looking down at the floor. One of the things he had wanted was for someone to understand him and his powers, his domain. Standing right before him was someone who did, or at least claimed to understand. However, this was no ordinary man. This man had enslaved an entire Realm, consumed by Dark Magicks. He had no mercy, and there was a lot more to his plans than to just be Zane's spouse.
"You are a fool." Zane stated, opening his eye and glaring at him.
Zane pressed his hands to the walls on either side of him, his eyes going pure white. He flared his wings outwards, a white symbol appearing at his feet. The crystals shattered, cast aside by the sheer force.
"So be it." Gene frowned, lifting up his scythe.
Zane created a sword out of Magicks, swinging it at Gene's neck. The older male blocked his blade with his scythe, and they stayed like that as they confronted each other.
"You are nothing more than a coward!" Zane shouted, drawing his sword back at Gene.
"You speak of cowardice." Gene hummed, blocking his attack again. "Have you forgotten who's domain you are in?"
"I care not what dark past you may have!" He growled, piercing his sword into Gene's heart. "You will fail!"
"It seems even the Gods lack purity in their hearts." He laughed darkly, his eyes turning red. "So much hatred."
Zane pulled his sword back, leaping back a few feet as Gene swung his scythe. Gene approached him, his metal boots echoing off the polished floor. He gave Zane a smirk, trails of dark purple essence coming from his eyes.
"I can feel your wrath..." He started, bringing his scythe up. "And it is delicious."
"SILENCE YOU DEMON!" Zane roared, sending out a blast of Dark Magicks. (Zane used Dark Pulse!)
"Even the Gods die at some point." He groaned, getting knocked back into the wall.
"The powers that you possess are merely a fraction of our might." He hissed, readying his sword. "You are nothing compared to us... YOU ARE NOTHING COMPARED TO ME!"
Finishing his sentence, he flared out his Angel wings. Feathers that were once white were now black, but Zane didn't notice the dark change in his appearance. He pressed the blade of his sword to Gene's neck, making a small slit in the Demon's throat from the quickness and pressure.
"You claim to know fear!?" Zane demanded, baring his new fangs at him. "I shall show you TRUE terror!"
"What in all the Realms are you....!?" Gene gasped, taking in Zane's new appearance and attitude.
"I am your demise." He answered, raising his sword above him.
Zane brought his sword down onto Gene's neck once more, slicing a large gash onto his Adam's Apple. A white ring of symbols appeared below Gene, as Dark Magicks reached up to pull him into his new prison. Zane loomed over him mercilessly, smiling oddly as he watched Gene crumble.
"You will be within true darkness, true fear and terror." Zane announced, stepping on Gene's scythe and kicking it far behind him. "You will never see the light or freedom again."
"If I'm going to be banished to the Realm of Darkness, you'll be coming with me!" Gene snarled, reaching for Zane.
"How unfortunate for you." He sighed, cutting Gene's hand with his sword. "You'll be alone forever."
Zane watched as Gene sank into the ring, disappearing into his Realm of Darkness. Letting out a loud gasp, Zane collapsed to the ground. The ring disappeared, closing the gateway. He looked at his wings, seeing them purify back to white. He looked up as some pebbles fell before him, realizing that the empire was about to crumble to dust.
Forcing himself to stand up, he flew over to Aphmau's unconscious form and picked her up.
~~~~
"Zane!"
"What is it?"
Zane placed himself on the ground a few inches away from Aphmau, the boots of his armor crunching the snow and small pieces of ice. Aphmau had woken up from her unconscious state, her eyes widened in fear as she looked around desperately.
"Oh, thank our Divine Ancestors that you're alright..." She let out a sigh of relief, hugging him tightly. "What happened?"
"Gene is... no more, but he.... I...." He started, struggling to find what he wanted to say. Every time he tried, he remembered the hatred he had felt, and how he had banished Gene.
"To banish an entire empire like that..." She trailed ofd, looking into the distance. "How much hatred and power are we truly facing?"
Zane looked down at the snow covered ground, feeling fear start to stir up in the pit of his stomach. He knew Aphmau wasn't talking about him, and had thought that Gene had done it, most likely.
"We'll have to bear news of this defeat to our subjects." She announced, clearing her throat. "Not every fight will be a victory."
With that, she spread her wings and took flight. Zane kept his gaze on the ground, squeezing his eye shut as the image of Gene flashed in his mind. He spread his wings and took off after Aphmau, fighting the urge to glance back at the snow covered remains of Gene's empire.
I told you that you were coming with me.
