The world of heat and warmth slowly blended with the encroachment of a deep shivering, wintry night. The blazing desert made way for white sand that gently reflected the light of the celestial bodies above. Up above, instead of the Nine Suns, there now lay Nine full moons, each with its own distinctive characteristics.
The suns had gone past the horizon, nowhere to be seen, and with their departure, the realm had been robbed of all its heat. What remained afterward… was an all-consuming chill that dug into a beings' very souls.
Inverse World. Inverted fate. Blaze made way for frigidness. Warmth made way for Cold. Suns made way for Moons. The world had been turned upside down at its very foundation. Such was the power of Sol's dimension.
He had inverted Lucifer's realm itself and took control of it and made it his own. He was now the dictator of this world that held the two of them. He was now the undisputed lord. And said lord was now sitting on his throne while his cheeks lifted to form a cheeky grin, directed toward a somber-looking Lucifer.
The once greatest divine beast now looked deeply at Sol. That look made one have the illusion that perhaps he was looking at him for the first time. And indeed, Lucifer had finally looked at him for the being he was. Not as the young boy he wanted to teach, but as someone worthy of talking to as his equal.
“I must say. I am very impressed, Sol. Could I ask what you did right there?”
“I scanned your dimension and eroded it with a concept that could be termed as its antithesis.”
“You know that what you did is basically what Chaos does to Order, right? I need not remind you about the consequences of those actions.”
“I know and this is one of the reasons I was inspired to do such a thing. It seems that it worked out well, in the end.”
Ever since his fight against Nihil, he had been thinking hard. The last meeting would decide it all for the both of them. The Rule of Three was already in place, so the last encounter between them would be their final one. But then, how would he make sure to kill her for good? After all, Nihil was no easy target and even though he had played around with her. In the end, he had not been able to give a decisive blow to her at the end of their battle.
So, after rummaging through his mind for numerous thoughts, he focused on two things in particular. The first one was a power that he should be careful in using. Something was telling him to be very careful of that. At the very least, he should not be using it in the open until he was sure that the goddesses couldn’t end him with just a single thought. But once he mastered that power, he was sure that he could give decisive wounds on Nihil.
Of course, his thoughts didn’t stop there. Nihil was a dimensional mage and they were very hard to kill. He knew this very well. After all, he was such a mage himself. And he called himself the very incarnation of a cockroach.
Then an idea suddenly struck him. It was a moment of Eureka for him that provided answers to all of his problems.
“Do you know? Everything has a reflection in this world.”
In the past, Sol considered his dimension to be a mirror. He could now see much further. But this did not change the fundamental points of his power.
Dimensional encroachment was the fact of bringing a part of an outside dimension in the current one. This resulted in a fight for dominance.
Meanwhile, his dimension allowed him to bring the Invert Part of the space he was currently residing in.
As such Sol couldn’t help but think I'm his mind.
If my Inverse Dimension really covers the entirety of this universe in theory.
Shouldn’t I also cover the different dimensions that are individually made up in it?
It was a crazy thought that wormed in his mind. After all, not even the goddesses could take control of the dimensions of a Dimensional mage. At least this was the common consensus that was reached by the majority.
What could he do then?
“I am like a trojan horse. A virus that infiltrated deep in your control center and changed everything to meet my wishes.”
Thanks to his Eye of Akasha, he could now study the structure of any dimension in depth.
By knowing the name of the dimension, he could better infer the main theme and concept governing it and then decide on his next actions.
Finally, by using his own dimension, he could push them in the inverse version of it.
This was how the <<Blazing Suns>> became the <<Frigid Moons>>... That was how he was able to invert Lucifer's whole realm.
“What a frightening power.”
“Well, it isn’t that impressive. I could do it because you simply watched me and did not interfere. I doubt an enemy would extend me the same courtesy.”
Lucifer chuckled, “You do know that if the demigods learn of this power, even if you are Tiamat's grandson, they will hunt you down at any cost simply because of the fear you'd instill in them, right?”
Sol chuckled.
The territory was the supreme place where demigods could be akin to goddesses. One place where they had absolute control over every aspect.
But what if Sol used this technique in their territory?
“Well, I believe you did not make this whole show to simply praise me. Firstly, I would like to apologize for my disrespectful words.”
Sol had mocked Lucifer earlier to gauge his response and determine whether he was an enemy or an ally.
Still, this was no excuse since Lucifer had still stayed polite despite all the insults he threw at him without holding anything back. Sol decided that it was necessary to apologize to him for his transgressions.
Not because he feared him or that he even cared for him. But simply out of a respect for a powerhouse that once dominated the world.
‘Would you look at that?’
Lucifer was feeling more and more impressed by Sol's behavior.
He casually dismissed the words of apologies with a wave of his hand, “Your words were simply the truth. Past glory bears no weight. No matter who I was or how powerful I was. Since I died then it’s the end.”
Sol shook his head, “I do not believe so. There are no useless actions or intentions. You may have died, but your powerful will lives on in each and every Dragon to ever exist. From what I understand from history, divine beasts in the past were basically nothing but glorified slaves of the goddesses. But after your rebellion, the goddess eased their reigns and treated the Divine Beasts with a lot more flexibility and humility.
“Death only truly comes when you are forgotten. Is it not?”
There were two types of people in this world.
Those who died without ever changing anything.
Then you had those whose death would shake the very essence of the world. People who, when they were alive left a trace so great that even after thousands of years, they would still be remembered by history and everyone concerned.
This was, even more, the case in this world where people could live for so much longer.
All men should strive to create a legacy that would survive even after their deaths and be passed on for their prosperity and for the generations that would come after.
‘Of course, it’s even better to stay alive. No, it's simply the best thing there ever could be.’
“They once called me the devil. One who would mutter sweet words in order to corrupt and make people join my cause. But you, my dear boy, are even better than this at me, it seems.”
Lucifer sat on the throne with a smile tugging at the corner of his lips,
“Initially, I wished to bestow you with my wisdom regarding your path. But I realized you are treading on a path no one ever took. Nor do I think anyone would ever be willing or even be capable of such a path. My advice would be useless or even harmful to you at this moment. Blocking you from fully tapping into the potential you have.”
Back then when he first met Tiamat, the young girl was just restarting her journey from the Duke level. She was in search of so much power that she made the mistake of ignoring what truly mattered in this world.
While the time they spent together was short, Lucifer was indeed Tiamat’s teacher. Albeit partially.
But Sol here was creating a completely new path. How could Lucifer bear to influence him? He hoped to see the boy once he reached his full potential.
Sol meanwhile was satisfied.
‘My meeting with him was an important pivot in the past. Now, not so much.’
Had Sol met Lucifer before he became a Duke, many things could have changed. For the better or for the worse perhaps, but they would've surely changed. But now, as Lucifer said, Sol already had his own path to tread on.
He was the first and unique being to walk such a path as such he was kind of fumbling around. But it was his own path and he would reach the end with it on his own terms. Death and Failure were never an option. He would succeed no matter what he had to do.
“Still, I believe that sending you away like this would be a mistake. So let me give you some advice. Something that may be completely helpful or completely useless depending on the current situation.”
“How, what might this be if I may ask? I am all ears.”
“The End of the world is coming. A new Era is approaching. Doomsday will soon be upon us and at the end of all of this, ‘They’ will finally arrive.”
Sol massaged his forehead to fight the headache that was approaching at breakneck speed…
"Did I say I hated cryptic messages?"
"Trust me. I also hate them…"
Lucifer could only smile bitterly at his accusing words.
———
Later on, after a hearty and less complicated discussion, Sol left the place. Of course after giving back full control to Lucifer.
He liked the man. He somehow reminded him of Anubis but less… Dissolute?
Either way, now all he wanted to do was simply rest.
He would also share the doomsday prophecy with Tiamat later on.
He really hoped that this was just a false alarm.
Sadly he knew it wasn't.
As such, it was with a heavy heart that he entered the 9th Heaven.
But all the sadness and uneasiness were shattered by Tiamat's next words.
"Let's have a swimsuit party."
———
While So was preparing to enjoy himself for one last time before his departure, Lucifer, now alone in his dimension that went back to being full of heat, couldn't help but sigh.
'I wonder how much time I have left.'
He didn't know why this shard of his soul was still clinging up to life.
But he was at least grateful that he could see such marvelous inheritors.
At the very least, his Rebellion had not been a mistake.
Of that, he could be proud.
[AN]: Wanted to do more with Lucifer but all the ideas I had ended in spoilers too heavy. Had to cut it short.
By the way, Initially, Lucifer was supposed to be Sol King's name. For obvious reasons. This was way before though in the past. Funny how things change.
(AN: Currently participating in a contest for my new story. Name is Midnight Prince: Sinful Life. Don't forget to vote. Furthermore, the story will have some tie with SHK. Though I won't say which yet. All my stories will be linked one way or another. Really wish to create a huge universe. The Hikaruverse or the Genjiverse lol.)
