The void of the Metaphysical Plane shimmered with tension as Vorynthax, the Oblivion Herald, loomed at the edge of reality, a colossal shadow that flickered between forms. Lucien hovered above Nax, wings spread, aura blazing with the authority of a being who had touched the roots of creation. His gaze was steady, unwavering, even as the creature flexed its presence like a tide of raw destruction.
Vorynthax had no solid form, at least not one that obeyed laws of space or matter. It was a force incarnate, transcending every law the plane held. As it surged toward Lucien, reality itself trembled; stars along the horizon flickered as if acknowledging the predator's hunger.
"So… you defy existence itself," Lucien's voice was calm, almost playful. "Bold. Admirable. Slightly annoying."
Vorynthax responded not with words but with a pulse of pure annihilation, a wave that could shred entire galaxies. The ground beneath Nax cracked and trembled as the pulse passed, sending fractures spiraling across the planet's surface, the metaphysical soil quivering under its weight.
Lucien didn't move aggressively at first. Instead, he allowed the creature to test him, dodging and weaving with fluid precision. His strikes weren't about destruction yet—they were measurements, probing its strength, its speed, and the way it bent even the laws of the Metaphysical Plane around itself.
"So… you're above my laws, but not beyond my patience," Lucien murmured, wings flicking, aura flaring. Each movement was precise, like a dancer performing on a stage of collapsing stars.
Vorynthax lashed out with a tendril of pure void energy, slicing through space itself. Lucien's Omni-strike reflexively projected from all directions, striking the creature simultaneously, disrupting its flow, but only barely.
"Hmph… interesting," he muttered with a smirk. "You've grown even stronger since the last eon. Still… you're predictable."
Vorynthax hissed, a sound that resonated across dimensions, a wave of pressure that threatened to compress Lucien into nonexistence. But Lucien's aura adapted instantly, bending the metaphysical currents, absorbing the force without losing balance.
Then he paused mid-air, eyes narrowing. A thought flickered through him—an idea as effortless as breathing.
"Why not… call a friend?"
With a motion almost casual, Lucien extended his consciousness toward the far reaches of the Metaphysical Plane, brushing against the currents where Azrell lurked. The mythical devourer stirred, sensing its master. Its enormous, serpentine form shimmered in the metaphysical void, scales reflecting the energies of ten thousand suns, eyes glowing like collapsing stars.
"You called?" Azrell's voice rumbled across the plane, deep enough to shake Nax's core.
Lucien grinned, a playful glint in his Abyssal Eyes.
"I thought you might want to help me with a particularly… persistent problem."
Azrell's massive head turned, focusing on Vorynthax. A ripple of raw existential power surged outward; even the Oblivion Herald paused, sensing a force of devouring magnitude unlike anything in its experience.
"Ah…" Lucien's wings flared. "Meet Azrell, Vorynthax. If you want annihilation, I'll introduce you to the devourer of ten thousand suns. Consider it… peer review."
Vorynthax lunged again, but Azrell responded instantly. A massive wave of cosmic energy erupted from its jaws, tearing through the metaphysical currents, forcing Vorynthax back. Lucien floated calmly above the battlefield, watching the interaction like an amused strategist observing two pieces moving across a galactic chessboard.
"Do you see the difference between control and hunger?" Lucien whispered, voice calm, carrying the weight of inevitability.
Azrell's massive form coiled around the shadow of Vorynthax, not with aggression but with dominance—its presence alone bending the metaphysical laws, creating an unassailable field of authority. Vorynthax struggled, but it could not attack directly. Any strike would risk total devouring, and even its transcendent might hesitated.
"You were clever," Lucien said softly, watching, "but sometimes the bigger problem needs a bigger solution."
Vorynthax hissed, the edge of its tendrils striking, but Azrell absorbed them with ease, scales hardening like living void. The two beings collided, a ripple that sent Nax itself shaking, the metaphysical currents screaming in response.
Lucien tilted his head, observing, analyzing, and laughing softly at the sheer scale of the interaction.
"This… is far more entertaining than I imagined," he said, a playful smirk curling on his lips. "And yes, Azrell… eat your fill."
The devourer let out a roar so deep that the Metaphysical Plane itself seemed to quiver and rearrange, consuming energy, pulling in fragments of potential and possibility around Vorynthax. The Oblivion Herald screamed, its form flickering, struggling against the devouring might, realizing that even transcendent entities had predators.
Lucien's aura flared, calm but imposing, his wings a shimmering corona of inevitability. He floated above the chaos, observing the devourer and the Herald clash.
"I could intervene," he mused, "but… let them play. Even a being beyond the plane's laws must learn there's always someone bigger."
And so, for the first time in eons, Vorynthax met its equal. Its raw power clashed against Azrell's devouring might, the collision of forces warping the metaphysical currents, bending light, time, and probability itself.
Lucien watched, smiling faintly, enjoying the spectacle as the two ancient forces tested each other. He didn't need to fight—they were demonstrating exactly what he already knew: in the grand scale of creation, even beings beyond the plane have limits, and he had mastered those limits effortlessly.
"Funny… you were going to challenge me," he whispered, voice low, almost teasing. "And yet here you are… learning humility the hard way."
Vorynthax struggled, shrieking in frustration, but Azrell coiled tighter, devouring, absorbing, controlling. Lucien floated above, wings spread, observing with Abyssal Eyes that pierced both thought and potential, knowing the universe and all its threads.
"I suppose," he said softly, "some lessons must be learned the hard way… let's see how long you last."
As Vorynthax faltered, caught between its raw, chaotic hunger and Azrell's dominion, the Metaphysical Plane quivered in awe. Lucien hovered above, calm, omnipotent, watching. His aura flared, yet another layer of control radiating, and he let the two titanic forces battle, knowing full well he could end it with a single thought.
"Ah… this is fun," Lucien murmured. "And you, my new friend, will teach even the devourer a little respect."
The stage was set. Nax trembled below, the metaphysical currents pulsed violently, and two ancient, transcendent beings clashed in cataclysmic spectacle—all under the gaze of Lucien, the God of Void, the Sole Exception, smiling faintly, letting chaos unfold under his control.