~90~ A Choice

"Yes." The old man answered Darius, "you are a demon. Now tell me, what were you before?"

"I… I was a deity.." Darius responded.

"Wrong. That power was taken from you, wasn't it? You were left powerless and weak. Am I mistaken?"

"..I… I.. was a mortal.. Akuro.. he.." Darius came to remember everything in that moment. His mind became clear, confused, but clear.

"Can you see now why Sedori did this to you? Do you understand?" The old man asked.

"He.. gave us our powers back.." Darius said weakly.

"Yes. He kept his word to you and gave you your powers. You are a demon now, but it was the only way to give you your immortality back. To get your strength back."

Darius bowed his head. He looked down at his own hand. Even though he flexed his fingers, he didn't feel like it was really his hand. He felt alien to his own body. It was a strange sensation. It just felt wrong.

"You get used to it." The old man spoke, taking note of Darius's emotions.

The sound of grinding stone shook through the chamber as the gates began to close. Darius looked back as Cerberus turned away with a snort, the doors closing shut with a resounding bang.

"Who are you?" Darius asked, turning back to the old man.

The man chuckled and said simply, "Just call me Gatekeeper. My name is of no concern to anyone, least of all you."

"Gatekeeper huh..? I guess that makes sense." Darius's eyes widened. "Inari.. she is a demon too! Where is she?!"

"She is on her way." Gatekeeper answered. "Patience. She'll be here soon. You have be things more important to concern yourself with. Your friend, Akuro, has gone on a rampage and is completely decimating the continent of America. He's out of control."

Darius glared at the floor with a frown. "Damnit.."

"Not just that, but as soon as Sedori turned you into demons, the gods launched an all out assault on Fort Arashi. The battle isn't going well, from what I can tell, they will all die. The gods they are fighting are extremely powerful."

"How powerful..?" Darius asked.

"I'd say they are on par with Moorza."

Darius shuddered. He could imagine a literal moon crashing down on Fort Arashi, obliterating it and all of his allies. He shook himself.

"I want you to make a choice." Gatekeeper spoke, his tone serious now.

Darius focused on the old man, aware of the importance of the man's tone.

"I can transport you to the battle at Fort Arashi. But.. I can also transport you directly to where Akuro is."

Darius's eyes widened and his heart skipped a beat.

"You need to decide, Darius, whether you will choose to fight and help your allies.. or to fight Akuro in an attempt to bring him back. But I warn you, one choice is a much, much more difficult path than the other." Gatekeeper's tone was grim, "Akuro is extremely far gone. I doubt even you could bring him back. Not to mention his newfound power. While it's true you have gained new power as well, so you think it will be enough to take him on?"

Darius sank into his mind at that moment.. he relived the battle he'd had with Akuro before he was turned into a mortal.. he could do absolutely nothing.. Akuro's strength was so overwhelming that Darius was practically little more than an insect beneath him. He did have a new power boost due to becoming a demon.. but would that be enough to defeat Akuro? He didn't even know how to use his powers yet..

He came to the conclusion that he would not be able to defeat Akuro any time soon. That goal was simply out of reach.. even if his fingers could skim the idea now.. he could not grasp it.

Then he thought about Inari. If she found out that they could go to Akuro, a chance to try to bring him back, she would leap at the opportunity, even if it was hopeless suicide. He couldn't tell her. He had to keep that fact hidden. If she found out.. she'd die.

"Gatekeeper." Darius said. "I've made my choice."

"Oh? That was fast." The Gatekeeper responded. "What is it then?"

"It's just not possible for us to beat Akuro.. not yet. He's out of our reach. We are no match for him.. it's a better choice to go to help at Fort Arashi, if we go to fight Akuro.. we will just be killing ourselves." Darius explained, his tone strained as if it hurt him to say it.

"I see. That was a wise choice, because, I assure you, had you chosen to fight Akuro, you would certainly have perished." The Gatekeeper spoke. Darius clenched his teeth and balled up his fists in frustration. "Calm yourself. You made the right move."

"That's not the issue. The problem is that I have to hide this from Inari. She would go to Akuro without hesitation, even if it killed her. So I have to hide this from her." Darius explained. "It's also frustrating to know that no matter how hard I try I can't match him.. he's always ahead of me.. he's always out of my reach.. I just don't understand it.. why is he so special.?"

"Because." Gatekeeper said grimly, "He was chosen by a being beyond us all. He was chosen because of his soul. He was chosen.. because he was shattered the day he was born."

"What..?" Darius asked in surprise.

"There are beings called Genesis Gods. They are the original beings, the first, they created the gods as well as the Titans, who, in turn, created the planets and stars. The Genesis Gods created life itself, they forged reality out of nothing." Gatekeeper spoke.

"What does that have to do with Akuro..?" Darius asked. He found this information interesting, but he didn't see how it was relevant.

"Well, first off, a Genesis God named Kasziel is the one who chose Akuro for this path. His intentions.. to destroy all realities."

"What?! Why?!" Darius asked, alarmed.

"Because of a deranged belief that if the realities are not destroyed then everything will end. He believes that he must destroy realities to create a single, perfect reality. But he's wrong. The realities exist with or without him, like phantoms. When they are destroyed, they continue to exist against his will. For example, the origin reality, Purgatory. Though it fell into chaos, it cannot be destroyed. Kasziel believes that, due to the constant creation of new realities, it will drain all of his power, killing him. He believes that if he dies, everything will simply cease to exist, never to be created again. He believes he is doing the right thing, but in truth the realities will continue to exist with or without him."

"Why does he believe everything will end without him..?" Darius asked, confused, "and I still don't get how Akuro fits into the picture other than him being 'chosen'."

"Kasziel is the strongest of the Genesis Gods. He is the one who created reality itself. That is why he believes it would break without him, so his goal is to basically reset all realities. Instead of having infinite realities, he'd make only one, one true reality. But it would only run the same course, resulting in the repeat of the past and making new realities.. to avoid that, Kasziel intends to watch over and rule the reality with an iron fist, shutting down anyone or thing that would prove a threat to his singular utopia."

"So.. he's just deranged.. that would be like enslaving an entire reality." Darius said.

"Exactly. He is deranged. That's the best way to put it. He is mistaken in believing everything will simply vanish without him, and I think that his belief originated from his fear of death. Imagine being an almighty being that has never experienced or feared death, and then finding out it is possible that you could die. It is true, if the realities continue to expand, Kasziel will perish. But all that means is that realities would stop being created, but the existing ones would continue since they are able to generate their own energy through the beings that inhabit them. So reality would not cease to exist. He's just a deranged god who is scared to die and is jumping to conclusions. He intends to destroy everything to create a singular reality that follows his rule, all life enslaved to an ultimate creator. That isn't living. That's being little more than a corpse reality."

"I agree. And I think I've figured out how Akuro fits into this.. if Kasziel's powers are weakened due to the number of realities that draw energy from him.. then.."

Gatekeeper nodded. "He can't do the job himself. So he is using Akuro, who has the same powers, to erase reality. Kasziel is the wielder, while Akuro is the blade that will bring an end to everything."

"How are supposed to stop him if he has the power to literally erase realities? This is rediculous.." Darius asked, feeling defeated.

"You have a way to win. Believe me, you have the power. It just needs to awaken within you. It'll al be clear soon." Gatekeeper spoke.

"Why must you speak in riddles, old man?" Darius asked.

"Because. Being cryptic is fun." Gatekeeper chuckled.

Darius sighed. Then he sank into his own mind. The weight of this war is much much more heavy than Darius first thought. The result of it.. decides the very existence if reality itself. This was beyond the level of imagination now.. he was well outside of his comfort zone. But there was no going back, he was already up to his neck in this. He just couldn't afford to drown.

"Darius?" Came a voice.

He looked up and his heart leapt from his chest when he saw who it was. But she was almost unrecognizable.

"…Inari..?"