The platform did not calm after Darkness left.
If anything, it felt tighter—
as though reality itself had drawn a breath and was afraid to exhale.
Nullivar finally moved.
He sat back into his seat, long fingers interlacing, expression dark and unreadable. For a moment, he said nothing—only stared at the space where the shadows had closed.
Then he spoke.
"I didn't want to involve them this time," Nullivar said slowly, voice echoing across the voided hall. "But it seems I no longer have a choice."
Several Monarchs stiffened.
Nullivar lifted his head slightly.
"Micheal," he said.
"Sylax."
The two Destroyers straightened.
"Visit the other leaders," Nullivar continued. "Tell them it's urgent. The Abyss has returned."
A pause.
"And this time," he added, eyes narrowing,
"it is his first incarnation."
A ripple passed through the gathering.
Kratos exhaled a low, humorless breath and leaned back in his chair, crossing one leg over the other.
"If you do that," Kratos said calmly, "you'll break your own agreement."
Nullivar didn't look at him.
"The one you swore to uphold a thousand years ago," Kratos continued. "You'll break your own word."
Ivis scoffed, flames flickering lazily around her shoulders.
"You think he cares?" she said, rolling her eyes. "Look at him. He stopped pretending to be honorable a long time ago."
Axel yawned loudly, stretching like this was a meeting he'd accidentally walked into.
"Can y'all hurry up?" Axel muttered. "I wanna sleep."
Asura remained silent.
As he had for ages.
Nullivar's gaze flicked briefly toward Ivis.
"Thank you," he said flatly. "At least you understand."
Ivis smirked and shrugged.
"Hey, I'm just a fiery woman. What would I know?"
Kratos chuckled softly.
"Well," he said, eyes half-lidded, voice dangerous in its ease, "I'll tell you this much."
He leaned forward slightly.
"I'm with the winning side."
Several Monarchs turned toward him.
"And as far as I can see," Kratos continued, "none of you Destroyer leaders are winning this."
A new voice cut through the space.
"Surely," it said smoothly,
"you don't mean that, Kratos."
Kratos didn't turn.
Didn't flinch.
"I mean everything I say," he replied evenly.
"…Demetrius."
The void behind the platform shifted.
Reality folded inward.
And four figures emerged.
Not stepping—
arriving.
Demetrius stood at the front, tall and composed, eyes sharp with calculated cruelty.
Beside him materialized Mephisto, smiling as if he'd just walked into a reunion rather than a war council.
Then Doom, silent and massive, presence crushing without a single word.
And lastly Urus, eyes like dying suns, expression devoid of anything resembling mercy.
The air changed.
Even the Monarchs felt it.
These were not subordinates.
They were equals.
Leaders.
The ones who had ended everything.
Nullivar rose slowly to his feet.
The five Destroyers—
Nullivar.
Demetrius.
Mephisto.
Doom.
Urus.
Together.
Asura finally moved.
His head lifted.
His eyes opened.
And the space around him trembled.
"Mephisto," Asura said, voice low and ancient, carrying the weight of eras.
"I believe I told you never to step in front of me again."
Mephisto's smile widened.
"That fight," he replied casually, "was with me being suppressed."
He tilted his head, eyes gleaming.
"Don't misunderstand our places."
The moment stretched.
Then—
Kratos released his energy.
Not fully.
Not violently.
Just enough.
The air became thick.
Heavy.
Gravity bent inward, pressure crushing down on everything that existed within reach. Even the Destroyers stiffened—muscles tensing, instincts screaming.
This was why Kratos was feared.
Why even the ones who ended worlds did not take him lightly.
Kratos stood.
Slowly.
The platform creaked beneath his presence.
He looked at the Destroyers—one by one.
Then spoke.
"Say what you all came for," he said coldly.
"And stop wasting my time."
Belias sat upright.
Aseir leaned forward.
Cyclops cracked his knuckles.
Silas's eyes sharpened.
Darian growled low under his breath.
Every Monarch was listening now.
Because the real conversation—
the one that would decide whether the universe burned or survived—
had finally begun.