The Reality Vortex: Shadow Games

Lucifer caught Asher’s Ruyi Bang with his right hand and forced the young man to a halt. “He referred Zenta as his grandfather. I recalled him stating that he was the last of his kind.” The demon quickly observed Asher and concluded that they obviously belonged to different races, no literal blood relation between them. Upon seeing his eyes, there was a sense of familiarity on two-fronts. One was that Asher is an Alter-Being; rainbow eyes was a dead giveaway as that is a trait among them. This explains why Zenta did not recognize Asher throughout the tournament as his energy signature is not his own, but a mixture of entire universe’s worth. Two was that Asher shared the same eyes as Cuki. Lucifer was no fool to recognize one’s kin. He was clearly too young to be her significant other and deduced that he was her son, judging by the specific honorifics he gave to Zenta.

“Indeed…” Lucifer tightened his gripe on the Ruyi Bang and shattered it into two. He turns towards the Breakers and sees that Bernkastel was quick to act. He noticed his surroundings hadn’t turned dark, concluding that this power was still fresh for her. Wasting no opportunity, the Demon opened his mouth to say one word:

“Stop.”

A word so astoundingly powerful that it reduced Bernkastel’s fragments to mere particles. It laid waste to Victor’s field of flowers, causing them to wither away to create an arena of rotten plant life.

“This is truly disappointing. You managed to topple the Red King who achieved Limit-Breaker, but the strength mustered here isn’t just enough. Was it purely luck that you defeated it?” Lucifer pondered on the thought. “Lay down your fists, Breakers. This will simply not do.”

“Strength is a fickle concept. It is ever changing and never constant. Perhaps you Breakers have become too concerned about your reputation. Perhaps you’re too concerned that your power may simply be too outlandish when compared to others. No matter the transformation, technique nor ability, your feasible “growth” means little; you are stunted in your progression. That I called… the arrogance of the strong. Even the mightiest of gods will lose their ways in the dizzying ravages of battle.”

Lucifer grabbed Asher’s right arm and tightened his gripe to the point that it hurt the young man. “You were considered the strongest in the beginning of this world, but that title had expired long ago. If this is truly the best performance you can muster, then the road ahead of you is a dangerous one.”

“Yes, this mock battle demonstrated that all of you are nowhere near ready.” Lucifer turned to most of the participants in the bleachers. “All too common for one to withhold power for sportsmanship or simply because they’re not worthy, but its nothing more than comical disguise for arrogance. And of course, it has a price to pay when they’re unable to back up such frivolous play.”

Lifting Asher from the ground, Lucifer turned to the Breakers once more with a harsh tone. “I followed a simple ideology, where both strong and the weak thrive and reach greater heights, pushing thyselves to the next level. A level that cannot be reached by mere training; a level that cannot be reached by the symphonies between mind, spirit and body. But reached by a breakthrough so vast and filled with vigor that it triggers a tremendous response!”

The angel placed one finger on Asher’s chest. “The shackles that continues to plague this group… no, to all, remains the same. To see your power slipping further away leaves a bitter taste. Just as I saw in Cuki. She was but a pitiful fool who sought strength, but in return, she’s still so weak despite the gains. She, and I’ll extend to all of you as well, was unable to see the chains that weigh her and all of you down.”

Lucifer smiles despite the harshness. “But rest assured, I’ll give you one last chance. A simple answer is sufficient to see if I am wrong. No need to attack—just an answer.” He turns to Asher as his killing intent was released all the sudden. Its heaviness causes the air around them, making it hard for them to breath. “If you were to go all out right now. Are any of you capable of stopping me from killing this child, an Alter Being? Or shall I say, Cuki’s son?”
 
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Victor asks Lucifer oddly Victor seems unaffected by Lucifer "...So all this was just a massive excuse to spar? So does that mean were not actually fighting for our freedom?" As some seeds start to grow into flowers despite Lucifer aura.

Victor thinks "Did I really just get in the middle some drama? I just some old man that just wanted to join restively normal torment." As a number of flowers start to aim tours Lucifer.
 
Cayde struggled underneath Clark, wiggling his way up from the shriveled Kryptonian.

"You did good Clark...they pulled out all the stops to get you there."

His eyes still turned down to the developing situation down on the field; his concern clear as day in his expression. The android was devoid of cracking jokes or being sarcastic, watching on as Lucifer threatened the remaining fighters in the arena.

"Oh boy...I don't like the feel of this."


Vegetto had braced immediately for the counter attack, dodging backwards and blocking the impact from the heart with his forearms. The sheer force made the Potara fusion flip backwards, sliding across the ground to a halt. The silver fire whipped and flowed around Vegetto while he watched on, the intensity of the aura mounting all around him. His eyes followed Bernkastel's counterattack being reduced to ash, Victor's flowers atomized, and Zenta's surging desire to see the true depths of Lucifer's power.

The killing intent pressured the air, thickening it deeply. The silver fire struggled like a flame fighting against being snuffed out, yet still shined brilliantly in the air. Despite the intensity, however, Vegetto still stood tall and unwavering even through the bickering of Mooli and Berserk's call to action. The silver pupils illuminated the same brilliance as before; devoid of any emotional weight and toxic pride. The influence of all the others was seemingly cleansed in this moment; Cayde's influence in prompting Vegetto to run away and find a better opportunity to strike, Clark's influence to see the best of the situation and try anyway through unwavering duty to protect others, Gogeta's surging defiance to simply fight and see the full extent of Lucifer's challenge as part of protecting those he cared for, and Vegetto's own proud denial to admit the blatant truth and fight out of sheer desperation to save his ego.

All four spheres of influence burned away once again, and for the first time, Vegetto spoke out only a single word. The complete and untainted view down within his core that was no longer suppressed. The dual voice spoke with power, however, in acceptance of it all to answer Lucifer completely:

"No."

Yet despite the firm admission of defeat, Vegetto still stepped forward. The instinct that had confirmed certain failure in the face of Lucifer's challenge, still urged him forth. Within the confines of his subconscious thought, Vegetto wondered why he still moved. Another step forward, and the hollow void he thought he felt before was filled with surging strength.

His thoughts first found Cayde, the first steps surging with confidence and vigor that the android had only shown once before. A core memory that despite all of the clever banter and playing of multiple sides, Cayde had firmly shown Vegetto in one of their past disagreements that confirmed the android's true mantra:

"Nobody makes my fate but me."

The Potara fusion shot forward, the fire rising as Clark's voice full of hope and optimism came through next.

"Maybe in the end, the Breakers don't need a Super Saiyan. Just a brave one."

Vegetto had already arrived in front of Lucifer, his hands deftly batting away the threatening finger on Avalon's chest. His own white gloved hands both shot forward to the arm holding Avalon in the air, latching on Lucifer's forearm and bicep while Gogeta's influence surged once more within his mind.

"I don't care about all that anymore. I just wanna see it all and fight for our new friends!"

Vegetto's silver eyes illuminated even brighter, and despite the influences having been thought to have faded away, they in truth were still present. All four fueled the fire to greater and stronger heights. They were not gone and forgotten as Vegetto had believed was true Ultra Instinct; they were fused. Melding together in harmony, coming together to drive power to the heights he needed. And as the Potara fusion's narrowed eyes intensely burned and his dual voice roared out in a deafening scream, his own dual voice filled his head.

"I want to be proud to be me; to be someone she'd be proud of. I'm not just a Potara fusion...I'm THE Potara fusion!"

Vegetto screamed violently, the fire surging as he simply worked to rip off Lucifer's arm in a pure effort to save Asher from the certain death that Lucifer's killing intent forebode.
 
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Asher squirmed in Lucifer’s grasp, shocked to see that he broke his Ruyi Bang so easily. He tried to yank his arm away from the angel, but his grip was too strong. His free hand began to glow in a similar fashion to Cuki and Zenta’s tiger palm as he struck Lucifer multiple times in the arm and chest, but nothing happened! The youngster continued to strike and yank his arm away, to no avail.

“Hey! Let me go!” Asher barked. “No one talks about mom like that! She’s not weak or pitiful!”

Asher began to kick at Lucifer, trying to do something to have him slip away, but Lucifer’s grip was too tight, nearly to the point of snapping his wrist. Still, Asher did his best, trying to fight off the monster the held him. When Asher felt the killing intent of Lucifer, it made him shiver, his skin turning pale. He couldn’t fully grasp the concept or ideas of Lucifer, but an innate instinct inside him told him to get away from Lucifer.

Is this guy really trying to kill me…?

However, as Asher lingered on those thoughts, he saw Vegetto approach Lucifer with breakneck speeds. Faster than he could blink, Vegetto was trying to yank the arm off Lucifer to help him. His eyes glittered in awe, watching Vegetto try to rip Lucifer’s arm off with all his might. Asher planted his feet on the floor and pulled his body back, doing everything he could to help Vegetto.

“Right on time!” Asher cheered Vegetto on. “We can take him on together! We got this, man!”


As Lucifer confirmed that the boy he held was, indeed, Cuki’s son, Zenta felt his skin run cold. He thought Asher was gone, along with the rest of his universe, but there he is… alive and teaming with Vegetto. For some reason, Zenta’s heart began to race, the thought of Lucifer harming his grandson made him fearful and furious. The wild and feral persona Zenta had was gone in the wake of Asher. That boy clearly meant a lot to Zenta.

Zenta dashed to Lucifer, his mind only racing on how to save his grandson from the Angel. Suddenly, his hunger for fighting Lucifer was gone, as if it never existed. All he cared about was freeing Asher from his grasp.

“Lucifer, let him go! This is between you and me! Leave him out of this!”
 
Coella had been silent for the entire spectacle that Lucifer had put on, forcing all cards on the field and effortlessly tossing all players but the Breakers off the field. She chuckled seeing Seto Kaiba's full range of emotions, from being a frantic mess to complete and utter shock at Lucifer's god-like powers and abilities.

"You were always good at counting your chicks before they've hatched. It's still adorable seeing the disbelief on your face every time." the witch rested her chin on the palm of her right hand, eyes trained on Morningstar as he hoisted Asher into the air. The boy seemed to be of some importance the way the others panick to save the child. "Have you not learned by now. Until the final bell is rung, its anyone's game. You rely too much on what you see and not the infinite possibilities. The odds seem to be shining in Lily's favor, but we'll just have to see if our cards get lucky."

Coella gave her usual giggle before her eyes turned from the demon to the battleground, particularly to Spina laying face first in the rotting flower field. She couldn't put her finger on it, but something about the older saiyan had the rabbit's complete attention on him. Coella wasn't the least bit surprised that the little blue girl's attack was less than effective against Lucifer. She didn't even bother paying attention to any other attack against the demon, her eyes remained trained on the fallen saiyan.

"What will you do about this, Spinny. I'm dying to know... the cards are stacked against you and your friends..." She muttered to herself, hiding a much more sinister smirk behind her hand. "Will you be able to win this for me? Or fail and prove Mr. Morningstar right..? The possibilities are endless."
 
Bernkastel broke into a cold sweat the second Lucifer exerted pressure over them, having stood still with a furrowed brow as she listened to what he had to say after forcing everything to a complete stop. To her, this was hardly the time to bring that up-- it wasn't going to provoke much constructive thought at all if that was his intention. Her mildly frustrated expression smoothed out but darkened considerably as he explained this was a mock battle. She gave no answer to Victor's question.

"Eh? Does that mean the rest of us lose?" Berserk ribbons wilted with discouragement. "Aw.."

With Lucifer's question posed to the entire group, Bern took in a deep breath to sift through all her options. If all she had to do was prevent him from landing a killing blow on Asher, that wouldn't be as difficult-- maybe she could slice him to bits with a blade, but that would take too much time to get close and execute it even while using Clear Mind. Crush his limbs all at once? Maybe, but he could still use magic. Help Vegetto rip off the other arm would produce similar outcome. Attack from behind and shatter the bones in his neck would instantly kill most but he survived being bisected... no matter what manner of brutal fashion she cooked up patiently in her head, every scenario ended with probable failure given that Lucifer was clearly still able to attack them using whatever body part remained and killing Asher anyway. There were a few up her sleeve she could try that might land better results but the outcome still wasn't favorable. More specifically, she wasn't going to get to fight Spina like she wanted. Lucifer wasn't wrong, but this was the worst time to force it out of them.

Berserk started to cheer on the three deciding to take Lucifer on anyway, while the Witch of Miracles stared into space with a shadow of an expression to match her eyes. This was the most displeased Bernkastel has visibly looked in a long time.

She didn't speak up until Zenta closed the distance and made his way to where Asher was. "What a pointless effort," came her curt response, her tone low and cold. Placing her hands behind her, she turned on her heel and walked in the opposite direction, away from the trio piling onto the angel with her tail almost touching the floor behind her as she walked. "How boring." She didn't seem worried about the three at all now that she arrived at a conclusion.

Bern made her way over to Kaiba's sode of the platform and stared up at him. "You there, with the bowl cut. Go ahead and forfeit now, please, to end this pointless farce," she asked politely.
 
Kaiba narrowed his eyes when Bernkastel confronted him about ending the game, since Lucifer revealed to purposely manipulated this entire scenario. At first, the thought appeared to be a reasonable one. If he ended the game right there, there would be of no consequences. However, Lucifer was practically unpredictable. Who knows what would happen if he were to do this. Naturally, Kaiba turned to Coella, who’s seemingly not fazed by revelations; rather, she’s actively encouraged to see the end.

“…Don’t bother!” Kaiba told Bernkastel. “Things may be bleak, but I’ll see to it as my victory, witch!” Kaiba said with confidence. “If it so pointless, then just eliminated yourself!”

“Indeed, but that would be just as foolish than pleading.” Lucifer spoke despite Vegetto and Asher actively trying to tear his arm off. Victor’s attacks merely bounced away from him. “It is expected to have mixed reactions, but you of all people to react in this way. How disappointing.” The demon spoke in a harsh tone, while showing off a displeased expression. Despite the firm grasp Vegetto had on him, the demon moved his arm with ease and tapped the Potara fusion on the chest with his knuckle. “Butcher.”

Vegetto violently exploded into multiple huge chunks, although he was not killed; Lucifer turned to Zenta, staring him down with a look of pure disappointment. His killing intent exploded as he targets both Zenta and Bernkastel for failing this question. “You confirmed my suspicions. Nothing more than a mere farce. Egos and arrogance; foolhardy and ignorance. All too common. It means that I have—”

“No.” Spina answered.

Lucifer turned, seeing Spina answer his question as well. But as opposed to Vegetto, who still attempts to change the outcome, the older Saiyan refused to do anything. The demon’s eyes wide opened at the inaction.

“There’s no reason to throw away my life for something I can’t win.” Spina was firm in his stance of not doing a single thing.

Out of all the people, Lucifer was sure that this old Saiyan would be the first to barge him, considering his personality. Yet, Spina had shown absolute indifference, even if the person in danger is Cuki’s child. He held no reaction to Vegetto exploded into pieces, nor his threat to both Bernkastel and Zenta.

“…. Well, there is one person that chose to assess the situation.” Lucifer chuckled. “And its you of all people… you’d surprised me Spina.” The demon’s mood changed, and his killing intent disappeared in a flash. “You are closer to that of Limit-Breaker than the rest. Spina, what path awaits you?”

Lucifer’s gripe on Asher’s arm tightened even more and tossed the child straight into Zenta’s arms. “One highlight… I expected more but I’m satisfied. Thank you for being at least somewhat honest, so I know what needs to be done. Please, let’s resume the rest of the tournament.” Lucifer approached the end of the arena. “Seems that your luck pulled through, Ms. Coella. I’ll be cheering you on.” Lucifer jumped out of the arena and appeared before the bleachers, standing at the end seat away from the rest.

“Lucifer is eliminated!”

Kaiba narrowed his eyes after seeing Lucifer eliminated himself, then blink once. Taken aback, the most dangerous thing in this entire game is no longer at play. “Heh…” He started to laugh. “Well, well, well! That was unexpected, but that means that I am nearly closing in on my victory. Zenta… I demand you to get rid of the others so we can end this game!”

Spina turned to Zenta. “Dog, you’re the only one on Kaiba’s team. Eliminate yourself so I can get my fight.” Even though Asher and the rest were literally moments away from being killed, Spina was more focus on getting his battle with Bernkastel.
 
Vegetto's silver, dilated eyes followed Lucifer's movements, staring at the knuckle moving to his chest. However, within an instant, Vegetto blasted backwards, erupting into large chunks of meat. The survival chance of such an attack would've killed the Potara fusion in any other state of mind and power; the large pieces suspended in the air momentarily as his life signature had faded dramatically.

Yet the silver fire wisped and burned through the intense deconstruction. The power surged within the pieces like it had so long ago against the Librarian, who's signature attack was meant to deconstruct Vegetto beyond even the physical existence. Through the sheer force of will and adaptation to the situation, Vegetto commanded his body down to the molecule once again as the large chunks seemingly unfroze from the suspended state and ignited with a silver firey aura surrounding them.

Piece by piece, Vegetto became whole once more, each chunk connecting together until the man stood on the ground near the others once again. He panted heavily; an extensive and labored effort having drained his reserves. Vegetto took a few moments to collect himself, the stern stare lifting. He did not lament failing Lucifer's test, nor even spoke out to argue or defy the angel's judgement of his actions. Instead, Vegetto momentarily glanced around; the heightened state of his transformation requiring a target or an opponent to focus on in battle.

However, the immense pressure of Lucifer's challenge was now lifted and the angel no longer threatened their existence in the immediate scope of the battle. Vegetto's fire waned and retreated slightly, the silver gleam dulling more to a tainted and dirty iron in his aura, eyes and hair. Unlike during the battles against Doom's forces or in the battle against Lucifer moments ago, the Ultra Instinct form Vegetto took on previously throughout his return to the Breakers was clearly the tainted and dull iron shading as it was now; the stark difference from the magnificent silver gleam from moments ago indicating how far he fell from the true realization of the power he wielded against Doom.

Vegetto's immediate personality returned just as Spina issued the demand for Zenta to ring himself out so the old Saiyan could battle Bernkastel uninterrupted. His concerned stare momentarily rested on Spina; a new potential problem in Vegetto's eyes as the older Saiyan earned some recognition from Lucifer.

The Potara fusion dismissed it shortly though, expectantly waiting on Zenta's response and looking towards him. With Lucifer gone, the next goal in Vegetto's mind was making sure Kaiba lost at any cost to satisfy Vegetto's petty pride, Vegetto standing still and silent in awaiting Zenta's response.
 
"That requires you to still have a player, which won't be for long now," Bern retorted, though she paused and looked over her shoulder when Lucifer turned the intent towards her. Her expression remained unfazed, but she made no move to defend herself or attack preemptively, gazes locked in a staredown. "It's just common sense to not fight an unwinnable opponent, is it not? He's as good as done now." She seemed to be waiting for the angel to follow suit what he did to Vegetto with Zenta, turning with the others when Spina spoke up with his answer.

After Lucifer retired from the game, she was pleasantly surprised to see he spared Zenta and Asher. "I should have suspected something was up that Lucifer had so much power over the game compared to Kaiba... it's like that alone made me lose interest... Was it because it wasn't truly a game of chance anymore with him involved? I thought for sure you'd be blown away too, and he'd render this whole tournament utterly useless to my motivation if he cut things off right here. Instead, he eliminated himself to shame me for calling it too early. In a way I ought to be furious he defied my expectations but I'm grateful he's generous enough to let it be. In fact... the lack of death as a truly dangerous consequence might be the reason why I can't get serious even if I try. Perhaps I'm just a compulsive gambler in the end after all." Then her expression became stern and serious as she spoke with Zenta.

"And that's the problem. He's made his point-- but I also have no right to fight Spina as it stands. So far, I've eliminated nobody on my own and you defeated Clark and countless others in the time I spent merely skirting the field with him. We got in the way of your fun, too; you have full right to take mine away by eliminating me." Bernkastel assumed a stance to indicate she was willing to continue fighting. "Besides... I think you and I are more alike than I thought, Zenta. What drives a person to strive for power? To live forever? To kill? To persist? To win? To stave off boredom? Why? What are the limits of willpower without a drive? Maybe I can't get serious because I don't have a true answer. Will you indulge my curiosity?"
 
Before Lucifer leaves one the flowers dos score a strong hit on Lucifer. Victor says to Lucifer "I don't know whether to be amused or angered that what this all bolled down to." Victor assumes that he was right.

Victor says to Bern "this may be form some that at one point was contend as a human, but there are times that one needs to fight regardless on no matter how hopeless a situation appears. O and sometimes the process matters more than the result."

Victor stands there waiting for someone to try to remove him. Victor thinks "it may be best for me to watch this spar in the front row for the rest of this."
 
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