Mad God

Alfina had barely any time to comprehend what was going on. Her mind had no chance to comprehend the destruction of their cycle or the death of Skoorn. All she could focus on was not getting hit by the spear of Ren. When was the last time they fought like this? When every move felt it could be the last? She could not remember… not even when they surrounded Kai. It was a hard battle, yes, but none of his attacks carried the smell of death back then. Right now, she was feeling it… assaulting her senses right down to her bones. The way Ren moved was just as fast as lightning, and none of her attacks needed her to teleport. Now, at her level, every move she performed was a strike-through of space itself.

Alfina could only dodge for so long before one of the stabs she moved away from seemed like changing its direction right after Ren finished her attack. The violet, electric spear shifted its place, distorting while she watched it, and now it was running through her chest, blowing a sizable hole into her body. As Ren pulled back her spear, Kaizer appeared, wielding two curved sabers, cutting Alfina apart diagonally from both directions. Yet both of them knew it was not the end for her.

"LeiLei!" Ren shouted, rushing towards Oynega, who was preoccupied with fighting against him.

The moment he came out from the cycle, attacking the male part of the twins, he gave no quarters for him. Whatever he tried, he could just not escape from Leinor, forced to dodge or block his attacks. Preferably the former. To Oynega's horror, the soul before him had a weird, unprecedented power as every punch or kick he landed shook his soul, hurting him physically and in spirit. Oynega felt like the more the man before him landed an attack, the more of his own soul was nibbled at by him. He even saw small pieces of his soul being obliterated when he kicked him.

"WHAT THE HELL ARE YOU?!" Oynega screamed, his voice filled with fear as he was supposed to be an expert on souls, yet… This… THING before him was weird and alien to his mind.

"I told you, your doom!" Leinor smiled, and it was at that moment he heard Ren's voice.

Just by her tone, he knew what he had to do, turning fully incorporal as a suddenly emerging figure passed through him, jumping out from Oynega's body. When Leinor turned back into a perceivable state to the naked eye, he was at the assault of the twins simultaneously.

"Oh… they are sharing… everything? That was what I felt?" He said under his nose, continuing to attack Oynega, ignoring Alfina for a good reason.

"Gotcha!" Alfina smirked, swinging her scythe, capable of tearing apart souls, aiming at the weird entity's back.

"Keep your filthy hands off of my husband!" Ren's voice thundered, appearing before her, blocking her scythe, standing back to back with Leinor.

Her words shocked the twins, especially knowing she was the Mad God reincarnated. That shock of hers resulted in the fact that Kaizer could come up behind her, decapitating and killing her. Again. Yet a moment later, she grew out from Oynega's back as the twins were fighting as one again.

"Their souls are conjoined!" Leinor transmitted his thoughts directly into Ren and Kaizer's mind. "They were siamese twins once, yes?"

"Yeah!" Ren answered as their battle still raged on against the twins but no matter if they 'killed' one of them, it just reformed from the other's being.

"Even if their bodies were separated, I could feel it; their souls have not been!" Leinor explained hurriedly, "They are still one! We have to kill them at the same time!"

"Do you know where their cores are?" Kaizer asked, and Ren just smirked.

"Castrate the boy, leave the girl to me~," She said, separating the duo again, going after Alfina with renewed zeal.

By now, the Immortals ultimately dictated the battle's rhythm, and when Skoorn died pitifully, Ophila and Invictus joined up with the rest. Even if the twins did not want to separate, they had no choice in the matter. No matter what they tried, they could no longer influence the souls around them. All they collected through the passing of eons were set free. Those who could immediately rejoined the natural reincarnation cycle while those tied entirely to Alfina's and Oynega's powers were dissolved when they drifted out from their breaking down fake cycle.

"How did this happen?!" Alfina groaned while Ren ran her spear through her abdomen.

"It happened because you betrayed your own Master… you eluded retribution long enough!" She whispered into her ear as her spear changed form, running through her body, paralyzing her every movement. To make sure she did not move or had a chance to escape, Ophila came rushing over, placing shackles of pure energy onto her.

On the other side, Oynega was swinging his scythe wildly as it was always deflected away by Invictus or Kaizer every time, switching up their attacks perfectly and pushing him into a corner. He could only try and hold onto it. Ultimately one synchronized swing from the brothers, arriving in rapid succession, disarmed him. The twins' weapons were crafted from a mix of their own souls and should be only able to be held by them, but Leinor easily caught it mid-air, his slightly transparent hands holding it firmly with a smile.

"You lost!" He said as he swung it, aiming at his crotch just as Ren told them.

While Leinor wielded the enemy's weapon, Ren's palm shone in purple light, turning into pure electricity. She was moving her palm downwards at the exact moment Leinor was. They were in complete sync, delivering the final blow just at the right moment. Oynega's core shattered at the same as Alfina's, the two's, connected souls shaking one more time, only able to look at each other before they died just like Skoorn did. There was no glory in their last fight; it was filled with panic and not understanding what was happening and why. Everything happened so fast… so outside of their plans… just like when a fifth God appeared from nowhere. He brought madness into their order; nothing was the same since his appearance. They tried to cling to the old days, those same days… but it was gone, just like them.

As they died, Ren stood back up, clapping, summoning her last strength as chains hooked into the twins' souls, ripping them to shreds. She was not going to give them a chance to reincarnate. When they died, their followers, one by one, dropped dead. Their souls could not enter the reincarnation cycle as it wholly rejected them. They were doomed to be powerless, existing between life and death, wandering the Realm for eternity. They could not interact with the living, and only after countless years, when the cultivation of souls reached a more comprehensive, proper state, did people start to notice their presence. At that moment, Ren could not help but take a long breath, remembering what she talked about with Kai after he had a chance to meet with Nilier.

"They couldn't kill me because I was the one who elevated them to Godhood." Kai smiled then, telling his story to Ren, "And I never fought them seriously. They were my children…!" he shook his head, sounding hurt, no matter how calmly he tried to look at her. "Their powers are great but not as great as someone who reached that state naturally. Your disciples… and the path you are on now are not something they could do, nor would they understand it. And because of that, they wouldn't understand the power difference between you and them! They will stand in your way; your only way forward is through them. I know that!" he looked into her eyes, looking and sounding really tired. "They only have a chance at living if they work together against you… and now that Nilier is going to stand behind you, it won't happen! Their fates are set in stone! I just ask you to give them a proper burial after they die! So I have graves to visit in my old days…" Kai patted Ren's shoulders before leaving, going through Ophila's teleportation formation back to the Immortal Wonders Sect.

"Ren!" An oh-so-familiar voice shook her out of the momentary stupor.

She said nothing, simply jumping forward, landing in Leinor's arms, climbing up on him, and kissing his lips passionately. He was completely expecting it and immediately returned the kiss while the rest of the Immortals were watching with excited and curious eyes.

"You feel… real~" Ren moaned, caressing his face, finding it funny that she could almost see through him while she was rubbing her nose against his.

"Hehe, I do feel real but also a bit weird! It is like I have a body, yet not!" Leinor chuckled, not letting her down.

"Nah, don't worry, we will work it out! Heh, I'll make you a body if nothing else!" She winked at him, almost climbing atop of him like a cat, not wanting to let go at all.

"Khm!" Ophila scratched her throat.

"Ah, yes, yes, these are our adopted kids, Invictus, Kaizer, and Ophila!" She nodded towards them, making not just Leinor's mouth twitch but the three Immortals' too… but it was true. If Leinor is her husband… then technically, he is their stepdad now.

"I'm fine with it!" Invictus laughed, coming close, slapping the shoulders of Leinor, shaking his hand vigorously. "You are the second kind of cultivator here who, as it seems, reached the same power level as us! Ahahahaha! We have to fight one day!"

"I think you are overestimating my powers!" Leinor smiled a bit weirdly, bowing towards him. "They were injured and weakened… I don't think I could stand up to you. Not yet, anyway!"

"Don't even try!" Kaizer shook his head, "If he gets it into his head, he won't let you off the hook easily!"

"Yep…" Ophila nodded, looking at Leinor constantly. "Your soul has a scent of…." She murmured.

"He has a part of my soul inside of him~," Ren said, gently stroking Leinor's chest.

"Maybe that is why I feel fine~" Leinor laughed, holding Ren, letting her sit in his arms like a spoiled kid. "What should we do with them?" He asked, nodding towards the dead bodies of the slain Gods.

"I made a promise with Kai, so we will bury them. I'll let him choose the spot as to where!" Ren sighed, "But before everything, I bet we have a lot of things to do outside!" she looked around them. "First, the war must end… everything comes after that!"