King of Nothing

Hollow points of darkness hung suspended within a cloud of fog. Manic laughter echoed unceasingly. The little 'non' creatures who comprised this cloud, having broken their foe, sought to disperse in the darkness. The cloud stretched, but like a rubber band, it snapped back into the shape it held at the apparent demise of the Demon King.

"So... this is what it's like. To not exist." A voice echoed through the void, and the dark points in the cloud suddenly shifted position, like pupils, aiming towards a side of the fog. "You cant leave." The resonant voice barked coldly.

The cloud of fog violently struggled against itself, as portions of it gathered in a vague humanoid shape around the dark circles that were the Demon King's pupils. Waves of fog poured against the shape within, attempting to shatter its form.

Upon facing this attack, the eery shape went berserk, throwing itself headfirst into the waves. It stretched out its misshapen claw, grasping at an incoming torrent of gathered 'non' things in the way, and its cloudly talons dug into the mass of them like a knife in a pillow, before coming out the other side and hooking into the collective mass.

The little blots making up the cloud raised up ear-rending cries so horrible it was an attack unto itself, but the Demon King was undaunted. His second nebulous palm grabbed onto the mass, and he began shredding it apart barehanded, tossing the ripped pieces into the cavernous space that approximated a mouth on his now ethereal form.

As the Demon King devoured his prey ravenously, his form grew clearer. The fog eventually ceased to struggle as it became assimilated into the Demon King's form.

His swollen, lumpy arms split into six, and the fur on his legs gained definition, eventually leading to the horrid shape he obtained after gaining dominion of Vinetum.

The only difference between now and when he presented himself to Edo and Eva was that his crown of antlers occasionally flickered in and out of being, and the eyes once wreathed in black flame were now solid black voids. If one looked into them too deeply, they might find themselves fading away.

The void finally settled and the only thing left within was the reborn Demon King, panting vigorously. Clarity returned to his eyes as the berserk state he was in dissipated.

"I... I-I am...not." The demon King laughed " I am not. I have succeeded!" He unleashed an unintelligible scream of victory into the void. "King of nothing? No! King of Nothing!" He cackled madly before violently thrusting his arm forward into the emptiness before him.

Unlike what one would expect, an empty woosh of air as the hand strikes nothing, his claws pierced the darkness, leaving a rupture in the space itself. The Demon King pulled away violently, ripping a hole in the void. Myriad lights flashed onto his face from the portal in the void opened by him.

"At last, I'm free! Free to roam the world I now rule." A wicked gleam shined in his black eyes as a mischievous smile tweaked his lips, "No more avatars, no more puppets. I'm free to finally crush those loathsome things!" With a fanatical expression locked onto his face, The Demon King shot through the portal to a new space.

...

In the deepest folds of space, at the furthest edges of the Universes, cracks form and seal themselves in the space, alternately sucking in or releasing various forms of matter. In this chaotic scenery, where neither stars, nor planets, nor the faintest signs of life could begin to form, shapeless, hollow things flitted about, leaving emptiness in their wake. This was a domain of demons, where entropy ruled; the formless creatures were the demons in residence.

Demons were fundamentally the same sort of creature as the 'non' things that tormented the Demon King, but much greater in mass and in power. This was a result of those little beings devouring others like themselves over countless centuries, growing stronger and larger, eventually obtaining consciousness. This is a secret demons loathe to let be known, and would be sure to target any who dared to mention such a thing.

The demons in this particular corner of space were currently gathered around a massive rift that had appeared without warning, the spacial recoil exterminating some of their own in the process. Unlike every other spacial rift that formed here, this one remained opened. The curious demons crammed themselves around the strange rift, an eager, rapacious energy silently radiating from the crowd. A stable rift was an open doorway, and an open doorway was an invitation. To these beings who know only emptiness and hunger, such an invitation was clearly to a feast.

'Move!'

'Do you want to be eaten? Then back off!'

"Grrr!"

The horde of demons pushed against each other, each competing to be the first in the door, as they telepathically bickered with each other, before all communications broke down into a chorus of snarls.

A particularly violent demon sent out a wave of formless energy, smashing open a path for himself. At the demonstration of his overwhelming power, the other demons quieted down, allowing him to pass. The temperamental demon moved slowly towards the rift through the path he created, a cocky aura emanating from him.

Suddenly, at the exact moment he was about to step through the rift, something burst out from within, and grabbed a hold of him. The demon shook, and tried to free himself, to no avail. The demon at this moment was in a blind panic, all rationality escaped when he was grasped by material hands, something that shouldn't be remotely possible. As he struggled futilely, a cackle sounded from his captor.

Holding the demon aloft, the creature stretched wide its draconic jaws, and directly devoured him. The Demon King had arrived.

He scanned his surroundings eagerly, but his expression quickly faltered upon witnessing the crowd. The surrounding demons were frozen in terror. They stood like a silent wall of emptiness as they questioned everything they understood about the universe and about themselves. The scene they just witnessed defied every concept of nature they had ever experienced.

"Who are you? Guardians?" The Demon King questioned threateningly. The demons shrank back nervously at his tone, while some directly fled. Seeing this, the Demon King relaxed, "No, clearly not." He stretched out his fingers, and the fleeing demons halted like they ran into an iron wall.

"I see. Demons is it?" The Demon King smiled. He had theorized that by obtaining the power of the 'non' things he might discover the path to controlling demons, but these results were above and beyond his expectations. "Perhaps because of Death?" he mused, but that somehow didn't strike him as correct. It felt like some natural part of himself long forgotten had awakened within him, an insatiable hunger with the power to devour all.

"Who are you?" a relatively bold demon asked in a shaky, scratchy voice. It was clearly unused to speaking audibly.

"Oh, me?" The Demon King smiled, "I... am not." He wheezed out a chuckle, "but you can call me your king. For I... am the Demon King!" He threw his arms wide, and his eyes widened as if to capture the entire crowd in his gaze.

The demons remained still, hesitating, before one called out, "Asmodeus! Asmodeus at last!" These words caused a violent stir among the mass of demons, and awe and worship were directed at the Demon King unanimously, hitting him like a tidal wave.

"Asmodeus?" The Demon King confusedly ran his eyes over the now amorous demon horde. What was the meaning of this?