Chapter 2468: Archon

Cassandra rolled her eyes. She may not know who the new figure was, but she recognized the Primordial Queen. Sure, she was going to believe that someone who could stand up to the Primordial Queen had really broken into Lex’s house.

Lex, meanwhile, watched whatever was happening with a relaxed demeanor. In this situation, he was either safe or screwed and there was no in between. If Eclipse won, he’d be safe. If she lost, then whoever was capable of facing her would surely kill everyone who saw their confrontation, and there was basically nothing Lex could do to stop him.

But he wasn’t too worried. Lex had a lot of faith in Eclipse.

On the Arena, Eclipse didn’t stop whatever she was doing to Destiny, but her gaze was fixed on Death.

"Obviously, I’m using Destiny’s body to bear the strain of the universe, Death. Anyone with two eyes and a functioning brain can see that. I think the real question here is what are you doing here?"

Death stood about as physically far as he could from Eclipse without entering the fog, which made his caution abundantly clear. It was not just Eclipse who made him cautious, but the Arena itself. Nothing like this had existed in the universe before, and he couldn’t quite risk underestimating it.

Death looked from Eclipse towards Destiny. So far, they all maintained a non-interference policy with each other. All eight of them were unable to display their full strength, which is why they could not fully gauge the strength and condition of the others.

Thus, under ordinary circumstances, Death would never confront Eclipse face to face - especially within her own Seat of Power. The circumstances weren’t ordinary, however. Death was not entirely inclined to let Eclipse complete whatever task she was working on. What if she gained a significant advantage against them?

It had to be emphasised that Destiny wasn’t the only one who had bad blood with Eclipse - so did he, and a few of the others. For that reason, letting her grow considerably stronger was not in his best interests.

"I am here to see if we can settle things calmly," Death said, his eyes finally falling back on Eclipse. Despite his subtle probes and investigation, he found no weak points in the chains. He wasn’t sure how resilient they would be, but his gut told him that no simple attack could break them.

"I can arbitrate between you two. You let her go, and I’ll ensure you’re properly compensated, and we put this matter behind us. The universe cannot afford a fight between us all right now."

Eclipse, to Death’s surprise, looked at him with pity in her eyes.

"You know such a thing will not work. You’re not here to arbitrate - you’re here to see if you can fight me and possibly affect my plans during the fight. But Death, think about your actions carefully. If you cease your actions now, then we can put this matter behind us.

"The moment you take action, however, there’s no turning back. Ask any of my ex-husbands, I know how to hold a grudge. You will regret your actions right up until you’re unable to do anything."

Eclipse was not mincing words today, it seemed. Death looked one more time at Destiny and weighed his options. As much as he hated to admit it, compared to the other seven who were all restricted in how much power they could reveal, Eclipse was a much greater threat. He could not let her do whatever she wanted to do.

A scythe appeared in Death’s hand and placed its long pole over his shoulder casually.

"I don’t think such words suit you, Eclipse. Do not mistake my courtesy for weakness. Stop now, lest I remind you that at the end of the day, you are a mere Dao Lord in the presence of an Archon. You cannot fight me and hope to win."

Lex felt a chill crawl up his spine, not because he heard something he shouldn’t have. No, the chill came from the grin on Eclipse’s face. He had a feeling that the emotion that the grin hid... wasn’t exactly joy.

Eclipse raised her right hand and a sword appeared in it, and then she raised her left hand and a double sided axe appeared within that. Then, she raised six more hands, each one wielding a different weapon.

"This is not the Primordial Age anymore, Avernus," Eclipse said as she held Death’s gaze, her entire body beginning to radiate with power she had held in for too long. "Let alone a single Archon, I can take on all eight!"

The fight began before Lex realized it, and it occurred in a place of existence he could not comprehend. He saw neither Eclipse move nor Death, but he felt reality fold in on itself. He sensed that, somehow, somewhere, time rippled.

The entire universe itself stalled as the strain on it increased sharply, causing Destiny to unleash another, heartwrenching scream as her body was pressed into the ground.

The fight, it seemed, had not stopped Eclipse’s plan. Or maybe it was a part of her plan to begin with.

Somewhere Lex could not sense, Eclipse and Death clashed and Death was pushed back. Not only was he pushed back, he sensed that somewhere in the universe, one of the Major realms he controlled had been destroyed.

His pupils trembled as he tried to fathom what had happened. Had Eclipse destroyed a Mature realm with a single attack that wasn’t even focused on the realm?

Before he could get another answer, she attacked again and Death realized that he could not hold back at all. The backlash from the universe be damned, if he didn’t unleash his power then he would have no chance at all.

While the two of them were fighting, another person Lex was familiar with appeared on the Arena. Nulli appeared, garbed in armor that made her appear far more regal than Lex had ever seen her.

The moment she appeared, hundreds of thousands of other portals appeared behind her. One by one, more and more Nulliths began to emerge. For the first time since the Primordial Age, the entire Nullith race had congregated all within the same period of time.

They did not talk. Instead, they began to arrange themselves around Destiny, holding hands and channeling their power into the ritual that Eclipse herself had set into motion.

Lex sensed the familiar feeling of time gathering around the Nullith - he knew it well, because so much of it was coming out of his own body.