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Chapter 30 – Beneath Darkened Skies

The sky had darkened like a curse. The sun seemed to have drowned in the abyss; its light crushed before it could reach Midgard, suffocated by shadows. The ominous hum that echoed on the horizon was no longer the whisper of an ordinary wind—this was the herald of something coming. And what was coming carried a fragment of eternity itself: Nihreth.

Since he had left the Shadow Dimension, V’s voice echoed in his mind:

“We have waited long enough. We have awakened them. Now the hunt begins. Release the darkness.”

For Nihreth, this was not just a command—it was a summons of destiny. The moment he stepped into Midgard, the world fell silent, the air grew heavy, the sky fractured. When he spread his wings, shadows shifted, and light itself sought a place to hide.

But this arrival was only the prelude. The true collapse began when Otharys stepped through her dimensional gate.

⸻

The Throne of Shadows

V sat upon his shadow-forged throne. That twisted smile etched on his face was motionless, like a mask woven from darkness. Shadows coiled around the throne, whispering his name in reverence. When he sensed the rift in Midgard open at Nihreth’s call, he opened his eyes.

“She has come…” he murmured, voice slipping through his lips. “And we are ready…”

Not just the shadow realm, but existence itself had grown tense. Everything was being drawn toward that moment. The time had come for the first apocalypse.

⸻

North of Midgard – The Descent of Hunger

In the northern expanse of Midgard, surrounded by glaciers, lay a high plateau. It had been silent for millennia; neither god nor mortal had set foot there. But today, an ancient goddess descended—Otharys, the Primordial Face of Infinite Hunger. Within her skinless, nearly translucent form, infinity writhed; black-violet energies trailed down from her shoulders; and instead of eyes, spiraling vortices turned ceaselessly. Wherever she gazed, matter decayed, and even thoughts lost form.

“Child of Oblivion…” she whispered, her voice rippling the very air. “The time to hunt you down had long since come. Now you will drown in the darkness you crawled from.”

Nihreth’s eyes were expressionless. His presence radiated majesty. His wings split the heavens.

“A hunter? How dare you…”

In that instant, the world held its breath. Time twisted. And the first blow fell.

⸻

War of Wills

Otharys vomited a spiral void from her mouth—a vortex that consumed existence itself. Yet Nihreth glided through the attack with grace. As his wings beat, a symphony of darkness erupted. Thousands of shadow daggers rained down upon Otharys like lightning tearing through the sky.

But Otharys was not merely a goddess—she was hunger itself.

She spread her hands and devoured the darkness. Not only that, she bent it, turned it upon him. The sky cracked. Midgard trembled. A mountain fragment tore from the earth and was hurled at Nihreth.

Nihreth flicked his fingers. The mountain shattered in midair. Each fragment turned back into shadow, forming a spiraling storm that surged toward Otharys.

Then, three stars fell from the sky—Griffon, Shadow, and Nightmare had arrived.

And finally, V descended from his dimension.

The earth burned. Wherever his feet touched, the land crumbled.

⸻

The Lord Descends

“Otharys,” V said, a thin line of madness threading his voice. “I will feed your hunger. With myself…”

The second voice inside him spoke, low and dark:

“And then we will spit you out…”

Otharys turned. The spirals of her eyes stilled for a moment.

“Two voices within. Weakness.”

V laughed.

“No. We are no longer alone.”

And the war began.

⸻

The Battle Unfolds

V unleashed his Lord’s Domain. The surface of Midgard twisted and turned for kilometers. Shadow chains erupted from the depths of the sky and bound Otharys’s limbs. But Otharys, the decaying goddess, absorbed every chain, twisted every spell.

Shadow leapt from shadow to shadow, lunging at her throat. But Otharys’s flesh was not matter—it absorbed the attack and began drawing the panther into her own darkness.

Griffon roared like lightning. He dove through the sky, wings slashing across Otharys, temporarily blinding her spiraled eyes.

Nightmare landed with such force that the earth quaked. With a single punch, he shattered the crust of Midgard, sending a wave of destruction for miles. Otharys collided with him, and they entered into a brutal physical battle. Mountains collapsed, the sky split open.

Meanwhile, Nihreth formed a dome of dark magic. Inside, time slowed. Each spell was woven with space and time. Then came… the black hole.

V gathered all his power and summoned his first singularity. Time, space, darkness—all condensed into a single point. Even Otharys hesitated, for in that moment, annihilation had been called.

The black hole began consuming everything. The sky of Midgard tore open. The sun’s reflection twisted.

But Otharys had been summoned to her own hunger. From her eyes, a spiral shot forth and latched onto the black hole. She turned it into sustenance.

Even V faltered for a moment.

“She’s… feeding on the black hole…” he whispered.

The voice within him laughed.

“Then give her more…”

⸻

A War of Eternities

The battle raged for hours. Midgard became the heart of an apocalypse. The destruction could be seen from Asgard—Heimdall narrowed his eyes. The gods shuddered.

V, Nihreth, and their summons fought in coordinated formation. Otharys constantly shifted between existence and nonexistence. But finally, V laid a trap. At the center of the Lord’s Domain, he created a spatial distortion. Nihreth used a reflective spell to funnel all energies there. Griffon and Shadow directed the attack. Nightmare delivered the final blow.

Otharys screamed. The spirals of her eyes shattered. Infinity collapsed inward.

V approached her.

“I will satisfy your hunger,” he whispered.

He placed his hands upon her. Began to absorb her energy. Spiral forces coursed into him. His skin cracked. His eyes filled with the infinite.

“I’m reaching the peak of the Fifth Tier…” he muttered. “But it’s not enough. I need more…”

The voice inside roared:

“MORE!”

And the sky shattered.

⸻

Aftermath

When the battle ended, Midgard was unrecognizable. Most of its surface had been obliterated, the sky broken. But the victor was clear.

V stood. Still standing. Darker. Hungrier.

And behind him stood Nihreth—not a servant, but a warning.

And the gods…

could remain silent no longer.