The God of Underworld-Chapter 317 - 16
Tezcatlipoca followed the silent, commanding figure of Nyx through the echoing vastness of the Empyrean.
The air here was heavy with a power so fundamental it felt less like energy and more like absolute, inescapable law.
He was acutely aware of every step, his nervousness a tight knot in his chest, making it hard for him to breath.
He keeps telling himself to relax, but how could he? He was about to petition the strongest being in all of known reality—the Anchor of the Hyperverse.
The being who was the first to defeat an Outer One, the first being in all of existence to ascend passed godhood and reach the legendary realm of Transcendence.
If he messed up and failed to have Hades agree for them to merge with the Hyperverse, that would meant not just his death, but the conceptual extinction of his entire surviving pantheon.
Without a universe, they will be nomad drifting into the void, becoming a food for the Outer Ones.
’Come on, Tezcatlipoca! For the sake of the Heart,’ he reminded himself, forcing his tense muscles to relax, ’for the sacrifice of Kukulkhan and Quetzalcoatl.’
Calm down! Do not mess up this chance!
After awhile, they finally arrived before the colossal throne.
Nyx did not wait, as she immediately floated with the ease of pure shadow directly to the back of the figure seated there, immediately resuming her comforting vigil, her cool hands placed upon the silver-haired god’s shoulders.
Tezcatlipoca’s eyes immediately fixed on Hades.
The god was truly majestic—with his silver hair and a black robe accented by complex gold sigils that seemed to shift and shimmer.
His purple eyes, however, were the true focus of power; they seemed to hold the cold, swirling majesty of entire universes.
And though Hades leaked no visible aura, his mere presence was a gravity well of authority, instantly demanding complete submission.
Tezcatlipoca knew with absolute certainty that this was the Supreme Deity, he doesn’t even need any introduction!
He immediately knelt on one knee, executing the deepest bow of respect.
"Supreme Deity, Hades," he greeted, his voice steady despite his trembling interior. "This humble one is Tezcatlipoca of the Aztec-Mayan Pantheon. I present myself as the last living delegate."
Hades gave a slow, deliberate nod. "Rise, Tezcatlipoca. I accept your greeting."
Tezcatlipoca stood, keeping his gaze respectful.
"From the memories of my past interaction with your allied pantheon, I recall that Quetzalcoatl and Kukulkhan were the established leaders of your universe," Hades continued, his voice resonating with deep, questioning authority. "You hold the Heart, yet they are not here. What happened? An Outer One?"
Tezcatlipoca’s faint smile was saturated with deep, bitter sorrow. "Yes. They performed the ultimate duty of a sovereign, my Lord. The two brave gods stayed behind to make sure we—the remaining gods, spirits, and the Heart—could escape through the conceptual portal before the Outer One’s final, full-scale breach. They held the line so we could survive."
Hades nodded, a flicker of genuine respect appearing in his purple eyes. "They are great heroes. Not many leaders, divine or mortal, would willingly be left behind to secure the survival of their subjects."
Tezcatlipoca bowed deeply again. "Thank you for your high praise, Lord Hades. Kukulkhan and Quetzalcoatl would be deeply honored to hear your words."
Hades stood up from the throne, his movement smooth and powerful, drawing Nyx’s attention instantly.
The five conceptual orbs of the Hyperverse model which she had placed on the side glowed brighter, hungry for the new addition.
"Your courage and your Heart’s conceptual power will be welcome additions to the Hyperverse’s stability," Hades stated. "If you wish, we can begin the merging process immediately."
Tezcatlipoca, his mission finally realized, nodded firmly, relief flooding his being.
"There is no problem, Lord. I place the Heart and the fate of our remaining pantheon into your hands."
*
*
*
Simultaneously, in a reality distant from the Hyperverse, the mighty Hindu Pantheon was undergoing its final, catastrophic moments.
The world was a ruin of shattered temples and vaporized cosmology. Shiva The Destroyer, Brahma The Creator, and Vishnu The Preserver—the supreme Hindu Trinity—lay bleeding and battered upon the cracked pavement of what was once their central sanctuary.
Their divine ichor mixed on the ruins.
The entire universe was crumbling yet they couldn’t see it due to having lost their consciousness from overexerting their power.
If they were awake, they will surely be unable to bear seeing this destruction, with dimensions collapsing as the voracious fragments of the Outer Ones devoured its fundamental principles.
Countless Hindu gods and spirits fought with desperate, agonizing bravery, their colorful divine forms stark against the encroaching shadow.
Above the heavens, a singular, immense Eye—too alien to be described—peeked into their universe.
From its edges, droplets of the dark tide—the chaotic slurry of infant-like, multi-eyed, multi-mouthed creatures—fell like dark, devouring rain, consuming everything they touched.
Gods who have been swallowed by this tide found their conceptual origin being erased from existence, meaning the authority they represents began to crumble as well, which just accelerates the destruction of the universe.
Among the fighting forces, various larger fragments of the Outer One had seized control of powerful, fallen deities, twisting their divine energy into weapons of annihilation.
These corrupted gods possessed the same authority they originally have, but twisted and amplified by the darkness.
Ordinary gods and spirits were no match for them at all, they can only temporary gain an advantage by ganging up on the corrupted gods.
But even then, the Hindu would lose two gods to take down one corrupted god! They are completely in a severe disadvantage!
And at this moment, standing directly before the defeated Hindu Trinity was the greatest abomination of all, a massive, terrifying dragon.
Its serpentine body was dyed an unnatural, viscous black, covered in countless weeping eyes and impossible, opening and closing mouths that chanted sounds of pure entropy.
This was Vritra, the ancient, monstrous embodiment of drought and chaos—or rather, its conceptual corpse, which had been seized and puppeted by a powerful Outer One fragment.
The possessed Vritra reared back its colossal head and let out a soundless, terrifying roar.
A massive black hole formed and compressed in its gaping maw, an orb of pure, devastating darkness.
The orb then shrank into a small, deceptively glowing dark sphere—an ultimate weapon that possessed enough pure, contained energy to re-ignite the Big Bang.
Vritra’s intent was not merely to kill the fallen Trinity, but to utterly delete the Hindu Pantheon and the entire universe in a single, self-consuming cataclysm.
And with this one attack, Vritra truly possessed the power to do so.
Just then, space and time seems to warp, twisting the universe as if a crumpled piece of paper as Vritra fired the attack.
But then, a blur of motion appeared, and with it a golden, lightning-wreathed spear streaked across the battlefield.
It struck the dark orb with impossible precision, deflecting the universe-destroying blast, sending it upwards.
The attack screamed past the Hindu Pantheon, soaring straight toward the heavens, aiming directly at the singular, immense eye that was watching their destruction.
Space shrieked, dimensions cracked, and the entire universe shook violently from the near-impact.
But as the devastating attack, capable of annihilating all creation, struck the massive eye, the thing didn’t even blink, as if that attack wasn’t even a bother to it.
The eye seemed to simply absorbed the energy, utterly unaffected.
Vritra roared, angered at being interrupted as it turned its face to the spear, which was already flying back to whoever threw it.
Then, a figure, bleeding, scorched, and barely alive, grabbed the returning spear. A god with a broken armor, having a long white hair, with lightning dancing around his body.
That god stood defiantly before the unconscious, bleeding Trinity, his left arm was missing entirely, a stump that bled golden divine ichor, but he grinned fiercely at the colossal, monstrous dragon.
He showed no fear, as if saying that despite his injuries, despite his state, he can still shoulder the protection of this universe and kill the enemy.
This god was Indra, the Lord of Heaven, the God of War and Storms.
The legendary slayer of Vritra.
"It has been a long time, old friend," Indra rasped, the lightning around his spear flickering weakly. "You looked worse than when I roasted you and blew apart your mouth."
He waved the golden spear with his only remaining hand, still acting arrogant. And rightfully so, as not counting the Trinity, he is the strongest god in all of Hindu Pantheon.
For him, opponents he have defeated can only stay and be oppressed by him.
Vritra, upon seeing him, the god who had defined his eternal death, the monstrous, possessed dragon let out a massive, soul-shattering roar of primal anger that transcended the Outer One fragment’s control.
Indra’s grin widened, showing no fear, only the mad courage of a warrior ready for his final, greatest fight.
"Come! Let this spear remind you of what happens when you challenge the order of the Heavens! Let it remind you of death!"
Vritra roared, and the Outer One fragment controlling it was stunned.
The dragon’s hatred for its killer surpasses even the frgament’s control!
