Sell you a Bridge chapter 361

July 15th 2016 Scala ad Caelum, 6:30 PM EDT

The  saying 'be careful what you wish for' is one I've mostly overlooked for  the majority of my life. Not that I wasn't aware of it, just that it  wasn't something that really applied to me.

It definitely  applied now. Barbatos WAS following me as planned, and I could sense a  few others closing in and paying attention, which was great for my  people, but his space burning dread flames were making my void step all  but useless for dodging.

Since I couldn't rely on the  void, I was having to use my Domain to dodge. I'd had it open anyway. as  part of the plan but I hadn't counted on it being the only way I would  survive.

"Sit Barbie, sit! Good dog." I bellowed over one  shoulder as I switched places with an illusionary copy I created in the  distance. Even with the successful dodge seeing my image consumed by  world ending black flames wasn't exactly comforting.

I  was so distracted by the black flames that I almost missed the colossal  wave of rose covered vines that erupted from the ground below me. Of  course, almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades and I was  able to shift myself intangible and let the vines pass right through me.  Still, it made it clear to me that we weren't alone, a fact confirmed  when that pink haired fuck from the tower appeared in a shower of rose  petals, holding that giant ass scythe.

There  was a burst of flame and Axel appeared on a different building, while  several other figures emerged from the normal dark corridors. I supposed  the first two had teleported short range. Or they were just incredibly  dramatic assholes. I flipped them all off and void stepped again,  avoiding a series of shots from Xigbar that had appeared behind me, and  then used my Domain to switch places with an illusion.

Well,  this was...actually kind of a good thing. The more of them that showed  up the less likely they would be assaulting my people. Plus with the new  upgrade from the god blood I was playing in a whole new league.  Granted, I had no confidence in my ability to take out that big fuck off  dragon and keep up with the others at the same time, but I wasn't doing  that. I was just running away, and I could escape from these fuckers  all day.

That  thought was quickly followed by another torrent of black, space rending  flames that made my void step unuseable. Well, maybe not all day. But  still, it would be fine for a while.

"So."  Came a resonant baritone from behind me. I void stepped, avoiding what  looked like a fucking LIGHTSABER as a long haired asshole with silver  locks tried to skewer me. "You're the one who has been giving us so much  trouble." He bowed to the dragon. "My lord. Apologies for our lateness.  We will do our best to help you corral him."

"Ok.  A. Fuck you." I added helpfully. "And B why don't you and your little  coat club for men buzz off. You have to be able to sense that I'm  stronger now. You really think you can take me?" I knew he couldn't, I  could see his aura, which was much stronger than mine had been before  the upgrades, but wasn't anywhere near enough now.

I  ALSO knew that the other twelve assholes were currently surrounding me  while he tried to buy time, and that Barbatos was letting them,  presumably for some stupid reason like that he wanted me to suffer or  something.

I  wasn't worried. While Barbatos could break my void step with his cheap  ass dread flames, the others had no count to it, and my Domain was open,  and within the area of its effect I could always avoid that one blow.  My absurdly overpowered armor combined with my godly prowess and my  mastery of the void after (relative) centuries of training in the Outer  Body meant that I could come and go as I pleased here.

Of  course, I didn't want THEM to know that, because if they did they might  stop chasing before my friends were in position. I needed them busy  with me right up until the last second. My plan was a hail Mary, but if I  pulled it off it should make sure I had the couple of seconds needed to  begin the forging process.

That  was the good news. The bad news was that once I took my position the  Dark Multiverse would stabilize and Barbatos could come here in person,  not just with a lizard puppet, as scary as that puppet was, but hey, one  step at a time.

I  felt my obsession howling within me to protect my girls and the others,  and my demonic nature was indulging hard in the sin of wrath to  counterbalance it, basically setting off a fucking storm of power in my  chest. My mana capacity was through the roof right now, having been  boosted when I became a god, and even without points I had more power  than I knew what to do with.

Once  I felt them finish surrounding me, I MOVED. Void stepping at Xemnas  (lightsaber boy couldn't be anyone else) I swung Thanatos in a blur, the  abyssal allot teeth whirring to life and creating my preferred chain  sword. He cursed and swung his light blade up to intercept, and the  impact drove him back.

I  flapped my wings once shooting up and out of the path of a dozen of  Xigbar's crystal bullet things. Xemnas snarled in annoyance and started  deflecting as I flicked Thanatos and called a sphere of hellfire to  defend against the wave of vines that was coming at me. They hit the  sphere of fire protection and dissolved as I void stepped away. I was  careful to stay within the encirclement so that they wouldn't disperse.

Looking  around, I mapped the distance to the forge. It wasn't close but it  wasn't far. I couldn't take them in any of the directions around us  because of the ritual, so I started to slowly ascend, dragging them all  up with me.

They  didn't seem to notice, slowly rising alongside me as the closed ranks.  I'd kind of expected the flight thing to be a problem, but they were  doing this weird thing where they all walked on darkness. If I wasn't  missing my guess they were opening small portals to the ground to give  themselves footholds, which was actually a neat idea.

As  we rose though, a flash of light exploded out and a series of massive  playing cards popped up behind each of them, sucking them all in as  fucking Luxord made his move. Once they were ensconced by the cards they  flipped and then began to spin around me in a circle.

I'd  expected Barbatos to attack by now, but apparently he was playing it  cool so he didn't kill any of his minions, I imagine it would make the  others seem pretty upset. I looked out over the sprawling mass of  buildings that was Scala ad Caelum, and confirmed that my team were  almost in position. Once they reached their posts I'd need to do this  fast. I had a perfect way to break out of here, but it would only work  properly once.

I  wasn't just going to get free, I was going to make sure they didn't  know it, and to do that I needed Barbatos to take another swing. I  looked over at the dragon. "You get tired of fetch boy? Want to play a  little fifty two card pickup? Seems like an advanced game for you, but  you're a smart puppy aren't you? Whose a good boy? Who is? Barbie is a  good boy!"

I  cooed at him in the most insulting possible manner, preparing for my big  move. I'd had a lot of time in the Outer Body trance, and between  training my void magic, I'd taken breaks to train my Domain as well. I  knew it would be useful and important, and I'd been right. I'd figured  out a unique and very powerful trick that could be done with a Domain.

Honestly  if I wasn't about to ascend to become an Endless I probably wouldn't be  willing to do it. But since I was I would have to take the risk. I  would beat Barbatos, create a world, and keep my people safe. I vowed  it. As the dragon wheeled on me, charging up his breath weapon to its  maximum, I reached out and did something that pretty much anyone else  who know my powers work would call crazy. I shattered my Domain.

The  power fractured, reality cracking around is, the void fragmenting,  effectively preventing all forms of teleportation in what probably  seemed to Barbatos like the world's stupidest suicide. But it wasn't.  I'd trained in the Outer Body, and in there I'd tried millions of  possible permutations of the Domain, and destroyed it millions of times.  I'd been in there a LONG time, and I'd had time to get it right.

I  used the vow I'd made to myself as an anchor, changing the nature of my  Domain. Once I'd done that, the range limitations were gone, the only  limitation I had was that I needed an illusion of myself to have been  cast personally by me to impose my will on it and make it real. An  illusion like the small and inconsequential one I'd cast up near the top  of that castle earlier before Barbatos had left.

I  became real. Standing miles from where I had been, while the former me  became illusionary in the same spot I'd been standing before the switch.  I made sure with my abilities that it would deceive him properly as he  bathed the space in black flame, catching at least one or two of those  cards on fire. Ouch, hope those two weren't some of his minions. Wait,  no I didn't actually care.

Bolting  up the side of the castle, I landed on the roof and sped forward as I  felt the magic around me begin to change. The ritual was active, all  twenty of us in position. I called Thanatos, thrusting it into the air  to act as the focus. Twelve beams of pure darkness and seven beams of  pure light smashed into the weapon, radiating out from around me in a  perfect circle. I felt the keyblade in hand begin to warp as space  itself buckled under its growing power.

The  black flames cut off as Barbatos's dragon snapped its head up to pierce  me with that crimson glare. I ignored it, grinning as Thanatos  transformed. A pair of handles, a pair of crossed silver keyblades with a  single long blade emerging from the end. I could feel the power in this  thing. It felt like...reality made manifest. I stepped into the center  of the roof, onto a seemingly inconsequential circle.

I  stomped down and the circle lit up, the entire rooftop filling with  light and symbols as the forge of worlds became active. Closing my eyes,  I called on my power, my gift. I called on Deception. On every lie I'd  ever told, to others or myself. Every piece of spam I'd made manifest,  every illusion I'd cast. I called on every disguise, on every half  truth, on every comforting falsehood.

I  scoured my life clean of every bit of untruth, and then I reached in  deeper and took the truths themselves. Everyone's truth was a lie to  someone else. I stacked every piece of myself up like firewood, and I  threw a match onto it. I tossed in my ghostly obsession, I tossed in my  devilish nature, I threw in ninja skills, my reflexes, the muscles I got  that first day. I fed myself into the fire and I stoked it high and  hot, I BECAME the flame. Then I tightened my grip on the X-blade and  locked eyes with the dragon, and with a mighty swing, I brought the  hammer down, and forging of a world...began.