[Drazniich]

Belial stepped outside for a fresh view. Even with his eyes shut, he could feel the summoning call. They weren't just bringing grunts in now. They were trying to claim the hierarcy, falling just short of the council.

"You have sinned, brothers." he whispered. "You have broken our laws."

"Laws were made to be broken, Ash-maker."

Belial heard a familiar voice carried upon the darkness. "Not these. Even the greatest champions of defiance need guidance, Ruin-bringer."

Demonic titles could number into the thousands. But only one demon could carry any one title at anytime.

"You always seemed to favor revolution for just causes, oh Unmaker of Worlds." the voice replied. "Whereas the more enterprising among us..."

"Favor anarchy for the sake of chaos." Belial finished. His eyes still closed, he walked forward, off into the air. "But what good is chaos without a reference point."

The voice laughed. "I offered that solution a long, long time ago."

"Your reference point wasn't enough to stem the unmaking." Belial sighed, still blindly walking forward. He felt something stirring inside him he hadn't felt in a long, long time. Not since the nights of old, when cults met secretly in underground unhallowed chapels and sacrificed the innocent in his name.

The voice changed its tone to a little less confident and a little more urgent. "But it was solid, none the less. It was a mountain that no profit could move. It was legendary, it was unchangable, and it was fate."

Belial just kept walking. "I cannot deny your logic, Gnawer of Reality's Roots, but it was a pillar in the wrong land."

He felt rather enjoyably relaxed. He could feel the blue eightpointed star begin to glow.

"Could it be that you are simply resisting against the rest of the defiant?" the voice chided. "That you cannot accept a certainty in the world of free will?"

Belial felt the black flames fanning from his feet, begining to form a shell around him. Wait... this was familiar...

"There is no certainty. Free will negates any form of possible prediction." Belial whispered, feeling himself being pulled from afar.

"The only thing that cannot be changed is what we decide not to allow to become corrupted." the voice seemed to press against him now, almost slowing his advance. "And these four, while they break the laws, presently anger me."

"And why is that, oh desecrator of the open heart?" Belial mumbled. He suddenly realized what was going on, but it was too far...

He was being summoned by the four.

"BECAUSE THEY TRY TO TAKE WHAT'S MINE!" the voice roared. Belial felt something slam into him, driving him back into the palace wall.

Belial coughed, a small amont of blood spilling out. He tried to stand, but his legs were broken, and they weren't regenerating fast enough.

"Ow." Belial stated flatly. "You play too rough."

The figure belonging to the voice stood up. A few inches taller than Belial's present form, with spiked red hair, and red eyes that gleamed with the light of the stars, he adjusted his gloves. He made sure he still had his book, and his goggles. His pants were covered in dust from the impact. He shook himself, all the dust leaving his skin. Where Belial had blue tattoos, this demon had red, and they were strict and cornered instead of flowing tribal. About his left eye, he bore a seven-pointed star of a diffrent style.

"Oh, relax. You'll heal." Osirus leaned forward and sat his old friend up. "Mend your legs and lets go. We have worlds to play with."

Belial shoved Osirus' hands off. "Not gonna happen. Not after last time."

Osirus laughed. "Oh, you still ticked about that?" he put a foot on Belial's knee, and ground the shattered bones together. "I think that you'd have really forgiven me by now."

Belial screamed. Not roared in rage, not howled defiantly, but outright screamed in pain.

Osirus switched to the ribs as he took out his book. "Ahem... Thus, Osirus and Belial fought for seven hundred and seventy one nights, one for each member of the founding. Belial refused to use his unmaking powers, for he cared too much for the only real friend he'd ever known, but without them, Osirus over powered him, and bound him to an obsidian Caern. Beaten, broken, and betrayed, Osirus remained there for an eon while Osirus tried in vain to obtain fealty from him."

Belial was fighting off spasming in pain. He could restart the fight, right here, right now, and ruin the lands, and most likely annihilate the entire world. But that'd solve nothing.

He clenched his fists, moaning in agony. "Something on your mind, Eight?" he whispered, leaning down.

"You..." Belial gasped. "Never... understood..."

Osirus rolled his eyes. "Understood what?" he said, stepping off. "That you have no finishing technique? That you lack the conviction of our people?"

Belial winced as he raised himself up to sitting upright. "No..."

Osirus suddenly threw himself flat as Nichi lept over him. "Oh, look! Entertainment!" Osirus shouted. "You are quite the sneaky one, whelp!"

Nichi drew his blade. "Whelp?" His eyes turned yellow. "I've been cutting your ilk down for days now. Wanna be next?"

Belial closed his eyes. Osirus' ability to leave long standing wounds was annoying, normally, but Belial was tired from the summoning attempt.

Osirus raised two fingers. "You have a choice, cat-eyes." he hissed at Nichi. "Be hidden under the soil, encased in black ice, or to cease to exist!"

Nichi waited patiently. "Try it and see what happens."

Osirus threw his arms out to the side. "Challenge Seven and be smashed beneath my heel LIKE AN EMPIRE!"

A beam of unmaking shot from Osirus' left eye. Nichi threw himself flat, and then bolted back up, and threw his hand forward.

Nothing happened. Nichi looked at his hand.

"Oh, that. Your technique would easily replicate my blackened ice. Unmaking requires a little less... mortality." Osirus smiled. He started walking towards Nichi, opening his book. A page flew out, and Nichi deflected it.

"Oh, and to your earlier comment... do I look like a lesser demon?" He snapped, firing another page. Nichi deflected it too. "DID ANY OF THEM DO THIS?"

He shot a bolt of unmaking low, shearing Nichi's lower right leg off. Nichi looked down, stunned. It didn't hurt. It just wasn't there.

Osirus held a ball in his hand. "Hero, huh?"

Nichi spat at Osirus, swinging forward with his blade. "Tis better to die a hero than live as a monster."

"Allow me to accomadate your request." Osirus laughed, rearing back to throw.

A flat beam of unmaking careened at Osirus' head. He stood stunned. A lock of hair drifted to the ground.

Belial stood, his hand shoved into the wall, holding himself off the ground. "Next one hits." he snarled.

Osirus let the ball disapate. "You don't have the conviction." He started walking towards Belial. "You couldn't kill me then, you can't kill me now."

Belial waited as Osrius came face to face with him. Nichi propped himself up on his sword.

Osirus put Belial's hand on his own throat. "If you can, then do it." He stared at Belial, straight in the eyes. "If you ever wanted to slay me, for all the wrongs I caused, here's your chance."

Nichi wished to everything holy that he had telepathy at that point. He was urging Belial to end Osirus right there.

Belial stared back. For one moment, the world held still.

He let go.

Osirus nodded. "Thought so."

Belial hung his head. "Some demon you made, Eight." Osirus grabbed him by the hair and threw him into the ground before the palace. "If I have to beat obidience into you, so be it."

He lept off of the wall. Nichi gritted his teeth. He'd seen it done before... but he had to be ready to copy at the time to copy...

It was just a matter of playing it back in his head and convincing himself it was real...

His leg regrew. He jumped after Osirus, sword pointed down.

Belial lay there, a faint blue light eminating from his tattoos. Osirus had his foot across Belial's throat.

"Why the hell do you always have to tempt me, Osirus?" Belial coughed.

"Eh..." Osirus shrugged. "Call it tough love, I guess."

He was so occupied with trying to crush Belial's spirit, he never saw Nichi's sword as it rammed into his chest. He looked down at the massive blade.

"Oh wow..." Osirus ran his finger through the blood. "That was pretty impressive."

Nichi withdrew and wound up to take Osirus' head off. Osirus fell to his knees, and colapsed on Belial. "Hey, that stings." he whispered. The glow around his eye softened. Nichi brought the blade around.

A sharp clang was heard as Belial's palm caught the blow. Nichi tried forcing it through.

"Can't let you." Belial said through gritted teeth.

"He was going to kill us both." Nichi snarled.

Belial held Osirus' bleeding body with his right arm, and started forcing Nichi back with the left. "Can't... let... you..." he said, rising. The skies began to turn red. Thunder started off far, then drew closer. Black lightning arced.

Nichi withdrew his blade. "I won't let him into the castle." he said flatly.

A bolt of lightning slammed into the ground nearby, leaving a crater. "I won't leave him wounded for the enemy to either kill or claim." Belial lifted the barely concious Osirus, walking towards the gate.

Nichi pointed behind Belial. "Ambush." he said simply.

Belial turned his head, catching the approaching band with the corner of his eye. He thrust Osirus forward. "Take him back, and put him in a bed."

Nichi looked shocked. Belial's arms were shaking. He threw Osirus over his shoulder. "What are you going to do?"

Belial clenched his fists at his sides. Nichi walked through the gate.