21 Sun and Moon

There was a blue star amid the vast starry space created by Sefirot, with many planets orbiting around it. 

The very space on one of the planets that was covered in snow and ice tore apart like paper. A white-haired man with a blood stained dress walked out of it, holding a woman in both hands, and a brown-haired man floated alongside him.

Aucuses knelt in the snow, crystal snow falling on his face, icy touch on his hands, chilly wind blowing on his figure.

Everything fells so real...  

Then, Aucuses looked up at the blue star, while taking a few deep breaths to calm himself down, since his mental and physical state was worsening. But, the situation, however, did not allow him to relax and adjust.

He put Lilith and Artisan on the snowy ground around him.

He placed his hands on both of their foreheads without hesitation after seeing their anguished expressions.

When he touched the crimson blood that was on their foreheads, though, he flinched slightly.

The crimson blood felt like a magma that had burst out of the earth's core, burning his hands, as if wanting to prevent him from healing them.

For a brief moment, Aucuses felt a little silly; as a god of the sun, he had been scorched, and if word got out, his built reputation would crumble.

'In this situation, what the fuck am I thinking?' Aucuses cursed himself while also realizing his own bad mental state.

'It has to be because of that bitch.'

Despite his fluctuating emotions and conflicting thoughts, he pressed on their foreheads, ignoring the scorching blood.

The contact produced a flash of golden light that beamed on both Artisan and Lilith's figures. Under the radiance of golden light, the blood on Lilith's body evaporated, and the flesh on Artisan's mechanical inner part dissolved as well.

They healed visible to the naked eye, as his countenance became paler.

Lilith opened her eyes after what seemed like an eternity of excruciating anguish. 

The pain before began, as she rested her eyes on the inexplicable figure that had dawned on them and the distorted murmurs echoed in her mind, affecting her soul. 

She was terrified because the murmurs were familiar to her. It was the one who tormented her during her time as an ancient god, nearly driving her insane; it was the one who compelled her to devise a scheme to save herself by faking her death.

She later learned the source of the murmurs from ancient sun god; a pillar of cosmos, the origin of evil, Mother goddess of depravity!

At the moment, every fibre of her being screamed in terror and her eyes shrank in fear as the indescribable being stared at her, she instinctively knew who it was and that it had come specifically for her. She also knew they had fallen into a well-planned trap.

She tried to do anything, to flee, even to shout for help, but it was futile as she collapsed to the ground, her vision and throat filled with scarlet blood, as blood and cries were the only things that could came out of her mouth.

Her entire life flashed before her eyes in that moment, as she felt hopeless. She knew what would happen to her next, and it was far worse than the death that so many feared.

She was desperate to use her power. It was pointless, though, because her powers were entirely useless, as if something was preventing her from using it. 

Finally, she saw a blaze of light approaching her in her hazy vision, leaving nothing but ruin in its wake.

She even believed it was far better for the light to consume and evaporate her than to suffer and lose herself under 'it'.

However, she was lifted and held, and she remembered the warm hands around her, which helped to alleviate her anguish. She had a glimmer of hope in her heart at that time.

Then, after what seemed like a lifetime, the golden light covered her vision, liberating her from the anguish and whispers.

Lilith finally looked around, her attention finally falling on a figure who appeared to be trembling.

"Aucuses." Lilith exclaimed as she observed the state of Aucuses, which was rapidly deteriorating.

She desperately stood up without caring for her state and ran to him, placing her hands on his back. 

Her authority of 'life' acted on Aucuses as her hands began to glow green, pouring near-endless life force into him from her hands.

Aucuses didn't refuse her help, as his state began to heal far more quickly than theirs under Lilith's influence; his pale face regained its vitality, and his dimmed golden iris began to glow again.

"It's wonderful..." Aucuses spoke softly as he felt the immense life force soaking into him, mending him physically and mentally, and restoring him to his peak state. He felt so comfortable, so much so, that he didn't want it to end.

"Did we escape?" Lilith asked, dread evident in her eyes as she observed his condition improving. "And, what happened?" 

"It's a pity, because I wanted to stay like this all day..." 

"But, she will discover us soon..." Aucuses murmured to himself. He said this while laying his finger on Lilith's forehead and a light flashed into her forehead from his tip of his finger.

Lilith didn't resist, and she soon saw all that had transpired in her thoughts, from the supernova to him saving her. 

But, before she could say anything to thank him, Aucuses rose up and walked away from her, leaving her in loss.

"We're running out of time, Ombella...." Aucuses spoke gravely to her as he walked over to the artisan, who was dazed and had dull eyes. "My supernova won't be able to keep 'Her' for very long..." 

The snowy ground began to shake as he spoke, as if to confirm his words.

But, while standing before artisan, who literally had a look of doubting life, Aucuses ignored it.

It's hard to blame artisan, because even he was caught off guard by the turn of events, let alone him.

"Artisan." Aucuses called out, jolting the artisan out of his daze and his eyes regained clarity.

"What just happened?" Artisan asked, his voice quivering.

"Listen! Stop asking questions and do exactly what I say without a second thought. If you want to us to make it." Aucuses stated, while artisan continued to nod without hesitation, as if he, too, was aware of the gravity of the situation.

"Take out your historical scroll and write down everything you can about the ruins we saw right away." Aucuses gave the order despite knowing full well that he would later regret it. But, he didn't show much hesitation, though, given what was on the line.

"It'll only take a few moments." As he removed a bronze scroll and pen from his coat, Artisan began to enter everything as per instruction of the sun god.

"I can get that for you." Aucuses finally turned to face Lilith, who stood behind him.

Her face had eased, and there was no longer any fear in her eyes, despite knowing what they are going to face.

"Can we make it?" Lilith inquired, her voice surprisingly calm.

"If we go all out together." Aucuses said lightly, as he and Lilith turned to face the sky, as they noticed something approaching this snowy planet.

The planet's blue sky turned crimson almost instantly, as a terrifying beam of crimson light descended from the sky toward them. The crimson light beam, which seemed to be filled with infinite spiritual power and capable of tearing anything apart in existence, nearly covered the entire sky.

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Artisan trembled as he noticed this, his pen-holding fingers quivering, but he didn't dare to stop.

Aucuses' expression finally became serene, as he realized that if he wanted to survive the next fight, he would have to put everything on the line and even go beyond his limits.

"She' is not as strong as we believe 'She' is."

He finally said to Lilith, smiling, as a blazing light erupted from his hand, forming a spear of light.

Aucuses aimed his light spear at the crimson beam that blanketed the entire sky and threw it.

As it blazed across the sky, the spear of light grew larger and larger, almost reaching the size of a crimson beam, leaving a trail of light in its wake.

As the light spear and the crimson beam collided.

Boom!!!

On impact, a terrifying explosion occurred, ripping the very fabric of reality.

Like a dazzling sun, the spear of light exploded into a mass of brilliant light.

A crimson moon formed when the red beam of light collapsed into itself.

The appearance of the sun and moon caused the entire snowy world to crumble and collapse, unable to withstand the celestial bodies' power.

The first battle between gods and great old ones erupted...

_____________________________

Simultaneously, in the Solomon Empire.

A handsome man with deep starry blue eyes and black hair stood near the window of a gothic castle nestled alongside a mountain range, gazing at the blood moon that shone through the sky despite the darkness attempting to block it.

"Bethel..." In the room where that black-haired man stood, a voice came from nowhere.

Bethel Abraham instantly turned to face the priest who had entered his home without permission.

"I apologise, Adam..." As if he knew what the priest was going to ask, Bethal spoke up. "I am unable to help in this situation..."

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