Through the darkened, thundering clouds as its merciless bolts of lightning strike the earth below, within its misty confines lie the two powerful godlike entities battling each other with nothing but their fists alone, for despite relying on their weapons, the battle became a test of strength and resilience between the two.
Both entities, their arms colliding against each other with equal and vicious force, their knuckles striking deep within the depths of their bodies, created powerful shock waves that echoed across the region. Above the raging storm, they continue to clash; their unbridled need to win over the other filling the air was palpable tension.
Flying all around the skies like shards of speeding stars, Janus punches were so fast and fierce they deflected his adversaries counterattacks effortlessly, while his enemy's blows, swift and relentless, rained down upon him with a vengeance.
But with all of this madness, the thrill of battle began to fill him with this endless barrage of attacks, so he did not complain. Instead, he welcomed it and embraced it. I even enjoyed it. These moments of glory made him feel alive. Made him feel truly free.
As Cthulhu was about to throw a powerful punch, Janus gleefully tore it off in half, followed by a spinning kick across the face. Then he grabbed onto the Great Old One by the other arm, hoisted him in the air, and hurled him towards the violent ocean below.
Calming himself down, he watched his sworn enemy fall once more before Janus teleported himself in front of him as he used his hand to catch the monster's head while they crashed down. The impact left a giant crater formed on the ground, resulting in hundreds of kilometers of pushing away all the waters around them.
Forcing the entire ocean to be moved to another side of this infinite realm, causing untold consequences, much to Janus realization and regret once more after witnessing what he had done, "not again." How many times will he lose himself in becoming this indomitable barbaric person over and over in every conflict he has with someone else?
Sighing disappointingly at himself, he had no one to blame other than themselves; something Janus felt remorseful to the point he was almost close to crying, "Ah...?" Blue-colored tears streamed down from his eyes, finding this rather odd to see.
Glancing around, he gazed upon the massive crater, which was a testament to the power of the battle that had just occurred. It was a devastating reminder of what could happen when two beings of immense strength and power went head-to-head. The resulting earth had been ripped open, exposing layers of rock and dirt beneath the surface.
The crater was a hollow, gaping pit filled with rubble and debris that had once been a beautiful landscape. The surrounding area had also been ravaged, with marine life beached, and the smell of the ocean was gone, replaced by the acrid scent of burnt earth.
In the center of it all stood Janus, who was responsible for this incident and nothing more. Looking up toward the sky, he stared at it blankly for some time until his attention was drawn to movement nearby, a slow clap coming from no one other than his enemy.
"Well done, child," Cthulhu said, smiling at this destruction. "Have you finally come to understand your true potential?" A brief silence came afterward before he replied again, "And what's this? You are crying for what? These mortal beings of yours, are they worth it?"
Closing his eyes, he didn't say a word other than continuing to have his head raised towards the stormy skies above, not wanting to believe the reality of it all. "You're right." Opening them back up, he glanced over at him, who stood motionless in front.
Janus replied calmly, "We are not so different," admitting defeat in his take, "I thought we were better than that. That we would learn from our mistakes. Then, we are both trapped in this endless cycle of pain and suffering," having accepted his failure.
"However," clenching his fists tightly, "I am beginning to not regret learning about man," wiping away the tears from his face, "throughout my years as a primordial deity, I know that humanity is not what they appear to be on the surface," walking slowly over to the Great Old One, "that they are simply a speck among all of existence, yet that does not mean they should be considered meaningless."
Surprised by this notion, "Child, are my eyes and ears deceiving me?" Cthulhu can't believe a deity of all places is actually showing genuine care or love for these lowly creatures. "You're speaking nonsense. All creatures that have lived will eventually die either through time or by my hand over and over until it all starts over again." His cold stare is focused solely on him.
Stopping in front of Cthulhu's face, "In my years, I have believed everything from the smallest change to the universe has no meaning in everything," answering directly with a stern, unblinking gaze, "now I realized in first hand the feeling that every other individual possess has a unique life as full and real as one’s own," staring intensely, "no matter if they are animal, plant, mortal, or mentally deficient human. I will do whatever it takes to ensure the drive in their hearts to find the meaning of their lives is safeguarded, just as I have."
Taking a step backwards, "hahaha..." Amusement can be heard in Cthulhu's deep, booming laugh as it echoes throughout the entire area: "What a bold declaration indeed, child. And you've come this far to prove that. Don't you remember why we started this whole endeavor?" He asked mockingly, "No matter your honeyed words, I lived to breath in upholding my thirst for destruction!"
Conjuring his weapon, he swung at Janus on his side, only for him to block it with his own spear before forcing the great old one to retreat a few steps as sparks flew off between them both. Creating a gap of distance, the two again fight in close quarters instead of using their fists.
Janus twirled his spear around in a graceful arc while launching himself high into the air before aiming the pointy end of the blade down at Cthulhu, who immediately used his own weapon to deflect the attack as Janus landed back on solid ground.
The impact sends shock waves outwards, creating cracks and fissures in the earth and causing several pieces of debris to fall off the cliff face behind them. "Give in," Cthulhu begged politely, "give into the meaninglessness of striving with the will to see what your life has." Raising his staff, he called upon the lightning to strike down in tens of kilometers around the battlefield.
Dozens of thunderbolts came crashing down violently on top of the area, causing a series of explosions and tremors. Janus held onto his position with a look of determination as he maneuvered around the dangerous place while dodging the magic-infused strikes.
Eventually, he landed himself in the dust of clouds, blinding him momentarily. Giving an opening for Cthulhu to catch him off guard by catching Genitalis near the tip of his spear as he forcibly raised it to avoid being stabbed while using his own electric-charged staff to land a critical blow on Janus' stomach.
Controlling his own perception of time, he slowed it down to the point of allowing himself to think through the situation: "I can't let that impale me." He thought grimly, with his eyes staring at his opponent's weapon,"its radiating with extreme energies that would surely knock me out permanently."
He and his opponent know for a fact that neither of them can die until the time comes. However, this isn't his concern at this moment. If he becomes unconscious during this fight, then this monster will target those he has grown to care about.
"Especially..."
Janus won't allow that to happen, no matter the cost! "I have beaten you before, and now I'm going to do it again," he said, swearing on his promise. He resumed time as he evaded the impalement through his stomach, catching Cthulhu by surprise.
"Changing your perception?" Cthulhu said nonchalantly, "clever boy," smiling warmly as he took a deep inhale, "I haven't shown you this new trick of mine yet." He watched Janus yank his weapon from his grasp as he then rotated with just his fingers before adjusting his hand to vertically pierce through Cthulhu's forehead.
Feeling his own skin getting pierced, green blood sputtered out of his mouth. Gazing on his opponent's expression intently while showing no fear on his face, "as long as I stand and draw breath," slowly speaking with a harsh tone of voice, "nothing will stop me from reaching my goal, regardless of what fate may tell of the path I take," distorting reality between them, Janus and him began to be thrown inside a wormhole.
Seeing the cosmos around them to be torn apart, Cthulhu couldn't help but chuckle weakly while ignoring the pain from his wound. "You and I will be here for a while," finding everything to be amusing. "Don't you think, Janus?"
As the two were forcibly sucked into the structure connecting disparate points in spacetime, Janus threw up an icy glare and said, "Bring me back!" Holding his spear up threateningly while grabbing the neck, he narrowed his eyes coldly and said, "Or, I swear to you, I'm going to give you much more pain than you can bear!"
Cthulhu snorted out in pure delight, "And I wouldn't have it any other way," his shoulders trembled in great laughter. "You're such a promising youth in a new age," he whistled. "I wish the others could see how much you've grown since we last spoke," the edges of his lips curled up into a smirk. "What is to say that we are ever going to break free from this imprisonment?"
Widening his eyes, he realized what they had gotten themselves into: "You...this is one of your creations, isn't it?" At first, he had the idea of teleporting away from this place. "I thought..." If this is not just an ordinary wormhole and it was caused by someone who he considered to be equal, then he wouldn't be able to exist because of their matched power not overcoming the other.
Laughter continued to pour out from the dark being: "Oh child, you haven't changed much since the beginning," a green tear from his right eye cascading down. "Never assume, dear boy, that you will never leave until one of us die."
Hearing this, he wasted no time in doing the deed; "that won't be a problem." Cold as ice, he used his spear in a slicing motion at his neck, resulting in Cthulhu's head separating from its body and rapidly falling down before the entire body suddenly vanished.
Confusion spawned upon his face before he heard the same laughter again: "This was an illusion." Turning over to his left shoulder, he watched the casual, dark messiah grinning from ear to ear, looking at him in amusement at what he had done.
"Come and get me; if you don't, then Saomi will meet her end." Daring him to catch up, he took out his staff and taunted him further. "She's going to die, child. She is going to be gone when I reach the other side." Terror brought a whole new meaning to his words.
"And this time," he let out a twisted, joyful cackle that would send chills down anyone's spine. "You will finally understand why existence is one big joke." Turning around, he quickly sped through while leaving echoing words behind: "Catch you soon, because her life is running out."
His eyes widened so much that they could've popped out of his skull. Before he could even react, Cthulhu had disappeared from his sight. Immediately, Janus turned and flew in the direction at speeds immeasurable to human standards.
He doesn't understand how it's possible that he's feeling this way, how he's growing soft for the lives of mortals who will just inevitably grow old and die, leaving him once again alone in this endless existence. All of them are expendable and will be replaced in a matter of years.
And yet here he is, desperate to protect her because he is in love? He's not so sure how this works or how it came to be. Perhaps this is the property of the Dreamlands, or it is due to being surrounded by people for so long.
There was no answer to this, the humanity he has inside of him is beginning to show itself, and its purpose could be to create and protect instead of abandoning or destroying it. He will understand them and hope that his reason for being here will be worth it.
Bypassing the concept of time, his speed was close to becoming instantaneous, traversing across the vast space in front of him before he reached the other side, where a gateway would be revealed, but as he did so, a blind light temporarily obscured his vision.
Everything went completely blank for a few moments, and when it returned, he snapped his eyes open to see where he was. "I'm...back?" Looking around at the destruction they have caused together, Janus felt another tinge of guilt surge through him: "Please, be safe," and he quickly followed the trail as he jumped from the ground, making a powerful sonic boom.
"Please be safe."
