The atmosphere was tense, the magic of the gods felt threatening. Forty-two gods against a single god and his champion.
A god came forward, walking over the already dead wasteland.
—Adam... What did I turn you into...
The man had a lost look, everyone was wearing some kind of armor or medieval combat clothing, he however was only wearing a trench coat with gold and red rivets, that man was called Kain, god of time.
—You are not to blame for my mistakes… But unfortunately my mistakes will bring about the death of all life itself if this continues like this… I would like to fix it… But it's too late, I've ruined them… All of them… —A tear fell to the ground, he gripped the handle tightly and bit his tongue, Adam god of all, was suffering for what he was going to do.
—You've treated us all our lives like fucking trash, like we're just tools!... To you. We were all part of your macabre game... And now you come here as if you know everyone's fate... Don't fuck with me... You don't even want to give us a chance to win... We can fix your mistakes.
"But the only one who is unforgivable is you!" shouted one of the gods.
—I know... I'm not asking for it either, I've seen it, time travel myself. They can't, said Adam.
—Die... Father. —That god who spoke was the first to rush at Adam.
The champion reacted extremely quickly, their swords collided and the magnitude of the collision produced a shock wave, which even lifted small stones from the ground.
All the gods showed off their speed and attacked Adam. He raised his hands, gestured with them, and golden chains as thick as a building emerged from the ground. They all sought to connect with an enormous, round, inscribed rune that appeared in the sky.
The gods rushed toward Adam, but the champion protected his master from all direct attacks. His skin was pale, and he had golden markings on his body that signified whom he served. The skillful champion had parried all the attacks with his mastery of the sword.
—WHERE IS SABIMARU?! WHAT DID YOU DO TO HIM, YOU DAMN MONSTER?! —the same god from before shouted with all his might.
Several bursts of smoke obscured the view; the gods had summoned their dragons, enormous winged beasts that had allied themselves with the deities to gain the power that, in fact, made them called gods.
The dragons opened their jaws, and runes appeared in their jaws. Energy beams shot out. The impact alone could cause the disintegration of entire cities in the shockwave alone. All the beams were aimed at Adam, and he didn't even hesitate.
—Ariamis System... Ariandel System... —He extended his hands forward and created transparent magical gears that seemed to be part of an even larger mechanism.
Adam began cloning himself to fight the gods, one for each god. Adam was able to maintain his level of combat thanks to Ariamis's system, which allowed him to be omnipresent on the battlefield.
The plain moved and the ground attacked as if it were alive, this is thanks to the Ariandel system.
Adam was flying around handling everything while his champion was fighting that furious god.
The enormous dragons moved quickly, but Adam's attacks were very precise, damaging his opponents' vital points with each attack he landed.
But that wouldn't be enough to defeat them... Adam knew this of course, the golden chains that had never stopped coming out came out even faster from the ground, they all connected with the great rune in the sky, when it was completed it showed its true intention, the golden chains were a cage, the gods didn't have time to react, they had seen their father's chain technique a thousand times and that made them trust but this one was different, as soon as they tried to do anything else, other chains came out of the ground much smaller than those that were directly chained to the rune. These chains pierced all the limbs of the gods causing them unimaginable pain.
Adam's power was extremely superior to that of those gods who were once his children whom he was to protect.
Except for one god... Kain stood outside the cage, his gaze radiating pure rage, yet lacking any hatred. He lunged forward, his katana drawn, but the champion stopped him.
The champion was no god, but thanks to his body reinforced with Adam's magic, he was able to maintain combat with the gods. Kain maneuvered himself onto the greatsword, touching it with his fingertips before leaping; his weapon grew enormously heavier due to Kain's magic, forcing the champion to drop it to cover the slash of the katana, but he was unable to prevent himself from being sliced in two, dying instantly.
That champion, without feelings, only felt sadness for not having been able to gain more time.
Without the champion in the middle, only Adam and Kain remained in a scene of horror. The gods begged for Kain's aid; the Forty-Two Gods had made the greatest fools of themselves in history in that fight.
The two of them facing each other, as if treading on air, Adam released Ariamis's and Ariandel's systems; the gears disappeared. Kain's katana began to glow golden. His eyes changed to those of a dragon, and he closed them for a moment.
—Time... Time is everything... I wasted time and that made it so I couldn't make you into a good person... Although that would only be an excuse for my irresponsibility... The moment I met you I should have raised you... But in reality I didn't take the attitude of someone worth following... I took the attitude of some kind of friend... My mentality wasn't ready to raise you, that's why I don't blame the world, I blame myself, because I didn't straighten you out in time.
Kain opened his eyes filled with tears.
"You always set a good example for me. I was the idiot for obsessing. I could have made more rational decisions, but I didn't, and I became something worse than scum," Adam said.
—I don't want to hurt you, but I have no choice. I've let you commit too many atrocities. Even if it hurts, you have to end it here…
Throughout the fight, a sound echoed, growing louder and louder. The ticking of a clock could be heard. Kain closed his eyes for a moment. Adam tried to attack at that very moment, but Kain opened his eyes. The hands of a clock appeared in one of his eyes, and giant hands appeared behind Kain.
In a swift movement, he opened the palm of his left hand, made a gesture as if grabbing a cylinder by its circular part, and went back in time to Adam. In doing so, he had time to slash with his katana in his right hand, attacking him, and their swords clashed.
"I am the god of time!" Kain shouted.
After this, clocks appeared all over the battlefield and opened like a door. The one passing through that "door" was Kain, dozens of himself.
—Your signature attack... It's just you, playing with the paradox. Although that's not so simple at all, —Adam mocked.
The multiple versions of Kain across time launched themselves at Adam, who attempted to defend himself by creating more runes that allowed him to summon attacks from them. Although he defended himself with all his might, he couldn't stand against so many enemies. He knew his children, and that's why he was able to deceive them; he even knew Kain himself. But in simple terms, Kain had seen him grow up; he knew Adam's entire set of tricks, and then some.
"I screwed up... A lot, I just have to figure it out," lamented Adán, dodging the attacks with a display of skill.
"You've never solved anything in your damn life!" Kain spat as a golden aura formed around him.
The force of their swords clashing could be heard across the battlefield and sparks flew uncontrollably.
"Adam, this isn't over!" shouted the warrior who had previously left his throat asking for his sister, the warrior who had started the war.
The ground beneath him began to crack, the golden chains that crossed his body caused him and his dragon a lot of pain, but trembling he raised his forehead, with his eyes full of tears, he screamed as loud as his lungs allowed, on his body the scales of a dragon made an appearance, he screamed again, but this time it was a roar, the chains cracked.
"There's no turning back now," Adam said, a ball of energy beginning to form in his hand. "Destroyer of worlds." After muttering those words, he slammed the ball of energy into the ground, and the wasteland cracked as it tore apart completely, but the Kain leaped in to nip the problem in the bud.
Adam smiled and raised his brow; his eyes shone for a few seconds. He moved with speed superior to the Kain, slashing several of them in the back as he attempted direct combat; his speed had increased dramatically.
Adam smiled and prepared to slash at the oldest Kain; if he hit him, the other Kains would take damage.
"I'd like to know why you're smiling..." muttered the man who had screamed earlier, tearing at his own bones and flesh, his entire body filled with holes from which jets of blood gushed... It was only a matter of time before he stopped moving, but even with the pain, rage prevented him from stopping; his dragon was still chained, suffering.
He kicked Adam with all his might, sending him sprawling to the ground; the impact left a crater.
Kain attempted to take advantage of the moment of weakness and attack from above, but Adam rose and fought back; their katanas clashed in a stunning display of strength. The other versions of Kain wasted no time and attempted to slash Adam's body.
"Ritual... Of blood." He gestured with his fingers; everyone in the cage screamed in pain. Only the ashes of those gods and dragons remained...
The chains disappeared and in their place appeared black cherry blossom petals, the life energy of his children... It was directed at him, a golden aura enveloped his body.
The warrior god looked at the gruesome scene, which was being directed by his own father. He let out a cry of despair and attacked him with a magic sword in his hand. Adam unleashed a wave of magic, and the Kain attacking him were thrown from the battlefield. Adam responded to the god's attack.
—You've killed us all... Your own children... But you never loved us, right? —Their magic-wrapped swords collided with such force that the ground cracked. —Is this what you wanted, Father? —the warrior asked as his slashes with the katana became faster and stronger. —You wanted a strong son?... Here I am!... But I could never be what you wanted... Is that right?
The combat dance they performed was incredible to behold, both with a speed unseen by the human eye. They launched attacks at each other, moving across the battlefield, but the god's power wasn't enough; the magical katana he constructed broke, and Adam slashed across his abdomen.
"Technique isn't everything. You were lacking power," he muttered coldly, turning his back on his son as he walked toward his final fight.
—I just… wanted you… to feel… proud… of… me… —He breathed his last and died. Kain was soon attacking Adam relentlessly. Kain slowly adapted to Adam's increased speed. There were too many versions of Kain at once, and Adam couldn't find an opening to land a blow.
There Adam realized that Kain was not the same; the power he possessed still rivaled his power and the blood ritual.
In their final clash of swords, Adam's katana was imbued with magic, but he could no longer withstand the level of magical force being used, as there were too many Kain. To Adam, it was an endless horde. His ritual gave him energy, but it was ephemeral; his sword broke; Kain's power was superior in every way. He cut Adam's chest, forcing him to fall to his knees in pain. The cut had been fatal, too deep. The Kain returned to their own time, no longer performing the paradox.
"No father should murder his son... He shouldn't." Kain put the katana to Adam's neck.
But he couldn't finish the job, he started to tremble and his own tears spilled onto his katana.
"Your ideologies of the future don't allow you to see much further. I never really understood why you are like this... But Kain, I'm alive because you were always the best. Without you, I'd still be wandering the streets." Adam looked with an innocent smile at the one who had given him shelter when he needed it most, the one he could call father.
After those words, a spear with a massive point pierced Kain's chest from behind. The spear had been created by magic, and Kain was so distraught that he didn't notice. He dropped the katana and fell to his knees.
—Please... Please... Stop Adam... For whatever you want... Stop... Don't keep... Making... More mistakes... —Kain fell to the ground.
Adam woke up in pain and used almost all his magic to heal himself. He created a new katana with magical energy and slashed at the still-active time system, breaking it to prevent its use. This last act was what prevented Kain from warning himself and defeating Adam.
Kain was crying out of frustration at losing, he became unconscious after that.
He had left his 8 eldest children alive and with the power he had left he began to seal them one by one.
When Adam approached his last son to seal him, he had very little magic left.
—Sabimaru... Where are you...? You were the only one of us who could beat Father... —said the pained, chained god, trembling with pain and struggling with all his might to just keep breathing.
"Forgive me for being such a bad father..." Adam muttered through tears.
The god's eyes filled with fury and, seeing him with anger and blood, he responded with his last energies.
—How do you keep... Asking... for forgiveness...? You... Killed... Us... You... Killed... Everyone... Everyone! —After this, he was sealed.
Adam had 8 medals that were a physical representation of the seals, he hid them around the world, and returned to where Kain's body had fallen.
He was still alive... But Adam couldn't kill him either, Kain didn't deserve to see what Adam had become... But it's too late for that now.
She left him dying, knowing Kain would pull through.
He went to an altar he had built. In reality, this was another system; a magical system so powerful that it required a soul as a sacrifice: his own and that of his dragon.
To obtain such power, the gods have to merge, but they can stop doing so whenever they please.
Adam's dragon took human form and asked him, "Are you ready?"
"It's the only right decision I'll ever make," Adam replied.
—For a new world. —Both gave their souls to give life to the mechanism, creating Adam's rules.
He gave his life to create a more just future and created the rules with justice in mind. Adam died, bringing to an end the first age of the great gods.