The Angel of Death

Author's Note: In case you haven't read the last story of mine, entitled The Time Game, I shall have to explain something to you. God created a law, which prevents anyone but themselves being able send themselves into the
Nothingness. Otherwise the people simply disappear.

Two men sat in a dark dimly lit room. Both sat on opposite sides of a table. One had black hair and wore a gray robe. His eyes were the purest of green. He was Cyril, the lord of Nothingness. The other man was dressed in a black suit with a tie and was wearing a bowler hat. Resting on the side of his chair was a walking stick. He had a handsome, clever face and black hair. Poking out of the top of his bowler hat were two pointed horns. He was Lucifer, the Devil, Satan, the most powerful angel in the universe and
Nothingness.

The Devil was one of the most powerful beings within the realms, second only to God himself. The lord of Nothingness was the third most powerful being in the universe. Well, as Satan was only an angel, the lord possessed
more power, but Lucifer had a huge horde of souls which also lent him
strength and which placed him second in the pecking order, rather than
third. Souls, this was what the subject of this meeting was. Cyril had
twice sought to claim a soul for his domain, and had failed twice. The first time, the man himself had foiled his plans, choosing to live on earth
rather than the gray realm of Nothingness. The second time he had been foiled by Angelo, the second most powerful angel in the realms. Angelo was
God's second in command, and this latest escapade had strained the
neutrality between Nothingness and Heaven to its limit.

The lord of Nothingness simply wished some souls to call his own, so he would grow in power, like his opponents, who constantly gained new souls.
The Devil however, wished to be number one on the pecking order. But he
would never possess the power to defeat God, and even if the lord of
Nothingness and the Devil banded together, which they were doing, they still would not have more power than God. But what the lord of Nothingness lacked in power, he greatly made up for in cunning. And so he went to the Devil for help, for without the help of Satan, his plans would not succeed. The deal was this: Together they would overthrow God, and place Lucifer on
the place number one on the pecking order, and the lord of Nothingness would be inherit Hell and all of its souls, placing him on number two. God,
weakened and defeated, would be placed on number three, and inherit the
Nothingness. In other words, God wouldn't inherit much.

Cyril's idea went as follows. To defeat God, they would either have to become more powerful than God, or make God less powerful. The former was what the Devil had been striving to do for thousands of years, with little success, so their goal was the latter. But there was no way of making God
weaker. So they had to find a time where God had already been weak. The
answer was simple. The only time that the lord had ever been weakened seriously was when he had created the universe from nothing. In fact, he had been severely drained. But God had foreseen that something, or someone, might try and take advantage of him in his weakened state, so he had set up a magical barrier, that only he, or someone as powerful as he, could break.
So they were back to square one, trying to become more powerful.

But the lord of Nothingness had found a way to destroy the barrier, and from then on the going would be easy. The Devil would create a distraction,
and in the meantime, while God was distracted, the lord of Nothingness would destroy the barrier, and then threaten to destroy the universe. God, who was weakened back then, would have to agree, or his pride and joy would
be destroyed. And both the Devil and Cyril knew that the lord loved his creation immensely. God would sign a document, and thereby hand over Heaven to Satan, who would hand over Hell to Cyril, who would hand over the realm
of Nothingness to God. Everyone wins. That is, except for God.

"Then it is agreed." Cyril said. "You create the diversion and I travel back to the beginning of the universe. God signs the contract," He gestured to a piece of paper that lay on the table, "And then I receive Hell and all of its souls." The Devil nodded. "And then, we will rule the universe." He said and began to laugh heartily. The lord of Nothingness then said "There is but one thing that can stop us once our plan is set in motion." Satan stopped laughing and raised an eyebrow. "God will be powerless to stop us, for he cannot break his own barrier without draining himself to his limit."
Then he continued. "And God is the only one who can stop you once you witness creation. I see no further problems." The lord of Nothingness shook his head. "There are only three entities in all the realms that can defeat me with their powers. God, yourself, and myself. This is true." The Devil nodded satisfied. "But there is one being that has a weapon that may defeat me." Lucifer's face darkened. "Necrolus and his infernal sword." The lord nodded. "The angel of Death is capable of stopping our plan, so I suggest
we eliminate him." The Devil smiled. "I will take care of it."

Necrolus, the angel of Death, as appointed by the lord himself, gazed down at the wretched old man. His name was Scott Dyrson, and he was 88. He was lying in bed and he was deathly pale. Around him several family members and friends stood watching over him in his last moments. Scott felt healthier
than he had been in years and he opened his eyes. He gave a shout as he
realized a stranger stood before him. He had long white hair and wore a dark, black cloak. A dark hood hung over his face covering most of it. All
that could be seen where his deep blue eyes and his long white hair. He wore silver gauntlets. On the left of his black belt hung a burning sword, on his right side hung a glowing blue sword. Strapped to his black was a
black sword. The figure seemed quite terrifying, for from its back
protruded two black wings.

The old man cowered behind his blankets and looked to his family for help. But they were not moving at all. It was as if they were frozen. "I am the angel of Death." It said. "What do you want with me?" Scott whimpered. The
angel chuckled. "Isn't it obvious? I am here to send you to the other
realm." "What did you do to my family?" The old man demanded. The angel
simply said "This moment is frozen in time. Though it is without the annoying sound. This way I am able to send everyone to Heaven or Hell." The old man's eyes bulged at the mention of Hell. The moment of truth had come. The angel waved with his gauntleted hand and a piece of paper appeared. He scanned through it and after considering it for a few moments he said "You
have been deemed a good soul. You will now go to Heaven." The paper disappeared and the angel drew his shining blue sword. The old man seemed
scared as the angel lifted the sword above his head. He then plunged straight into the old man's chest. There was a burst of white light and the angel was gone. The old man lay limp on the bed. His son grabbed his hand
and said "No pulse." The old man had died.

Necrolus snapped his fingers and he appeared in front of his next victim. A
young man, lying dying in the snow in some alpine place. The man hadn't seen him yet, he had his eyes shut, expecting the end. The angel was about to speak when he felt something odd. He leapt aside just as a sword struck the snow. He instantly became invisible in the eyes of the human who had heard the sword strike the snow. Necrolus turned, drawing his black sword. His burning sword had the power to send anyone to Hell, the blue one sent
them to Heaven. The black sword send them straight to nothing. Not the
realm of Nothingness, they simply vanished. They disappeared from the realms. It was the single most deadly weapon that had ever been created. It
had been forged by God and had the power to destroy any being, that is,
except its creator.

He held the sword steady and he then saw who was attacking him. It was Beelzebub. The second most powerful angel in all the realms. Well, one of
the second most powerful angels. While Heaven's second in command was Angelo, Hell's was Beelzebub. His counterpart in Heaven possessed the exact same amount of power as he did. He was dressed in an imitation of his lord, and was wearing a bowler hat from which his two horns protruded and a suit with a tie and in his hand he carried a black cane. But protruding from the end of the cane was a thin, but wicked blade. It was known as a foil, used on earth for fencing. But unlike on earth, where the tip was covered by a rubber ball, Beelzebub's foil was pointed at the tip. The rest of the foil was usually blunt, but Beelzebub's had been sharpened, so that its sides
were as deadly as its tip.

The blade was a powerful weapon, capable of destroying angels and demons. But even it wasn't as powerful as Necrolus' blade. Beelzebub snarled and turned to face the angel of Death, his black wings flapping wildly. "So we
meet at last." He said and he took a little bow. Necrolus raised his
eyebrow and said "Do not fight me, for it will mean your death, demon."
Although Necrolus possessed less power than Beelzebub,(He was the third
most powerful angel) the weapon he possessed would easily defeat the Devil's second in command. The demon laughed. (Well, he was technically an angel, but angels from Hell are known as demons) "That would be true." He
said. Then a dozen more winged demons landed beside him. "If we were
fighting fairly." He finished and pointed his foil forwards.

His elite demonic team flew forwards at the command and instantly attacked
the angel of Death. He bellowed and fended off the blows as best as he could, but he was struck several times. Angels cannot die as you or I do, but they lose power. Every time he was struck, he lost a bit of power, and was weakened. If he was struck enough, he would lose all his power and he would vanish. Given time, his wounds would heal, and his power would grow to its former stance. But the angel of Death wished not to die, nor to be weakened, so he fought ferociously. He struck one demon in the chest and it died instantly, the great power of Necrolus' sword overwhelming the demon in an instant. He pierced another demon through its skull and it too died.

The remaining ten demons backed away warily. They decided upon another course of action. They slowly surrounded him and then began attacking his weak side whenever they got the chance. He struck down another two angels and managed to escape to the air through the gap he had made. From above he summoned up his remaining holy powers and extended his arm. He spoke a holy
word and a beam of brilliant white light sped downwards from his hand, colliding straight into the ring of the remaining eight demons. There was a great flash of white light and the demons were gone. Vanished into nothing by the pureness of the beam. The side effect of this great feat was that
the angel of Death was greatly weakened. He drifted down onto the snow
where he fell to his knees.

Then a thin blade struck his black one away and it flew a few meters before
embedding itself into some snow. The angel looked up and saw Beelzebub standing before him. Necrolus managed to move aside just as the blade came down once more, and it sliced into his side, draining most of his little strength. Weaponless and weak he simply stared at the demon before him. "It seems that, I, not you am the victor of this bout." He said and with one hand he grabbed the angel's head and with the other he raised his sword.

Beelzebub swung. His sword never connected. In the split second before the
blade struck, Necrolus drew his burning sword and slashed clean through Beelzebub's neck. There was a burst of fire and the demon was gone. He was flung straight back down to Hell in an instant. The angel gave a sigh and fell into the cold snow. Very far above the angel Angelo watched. He saw the angel fall and he snapped his fingers. An instant later he was down in the snow beside him. He spread his hands and a golden light surrounded the comatose Necrolus. He snapped his fingers once more and they were in Heaven
again. He snapped his fingers again and an angel appeared by his side. "What is it, governor?" The small angel, a boy, said. "Bring the medics."
Was all Angelo said. There was a troubled look on his face.

Satan was sitting on his throne contemplating the next phase of the plan when his second in command landed ungracefully beside him. He looked up and saw the demon wince. "What happened? Is Necrolus dead?" The Devil asked, his eyes narrowing. Beelzebub gulped, for failing Lucifer wasn't healthy
for ones wellbeing. "He managed to kill my team sir," Beelzebub began. Satan winced. His best squad of demons was dead. "But the battle drained him and I thought him helpless. But when I was about to land the killing blow, he struck me with his Hell-sword and sent me back here." The Devil roared and several fires in his Hellish throne room exploded brilliantly. The place was tied to his emotions. And so, most of the time, it was a huge
inferno.

"So he still lives?" He shouted at the demon before him. Beelzebub nodded,
then said "He does sir, but-" The Devil shouted "WELL GO KILL HIM!"
Beelzebub stood up and said "I am afraid that is not possible, my lord, moments after I was sent here, he was brought to Heaven by the archangel
Angelo." Lucifer gritted his teeth together. "You let him escape." He
finally said, pointing accusingly at one of the second most powerful angels. Beelzebub nodded and then said "But lord, we weakened him greatly.
He is in no condition to cause any problems." The Devil nodded. He
contemplated this for a moment and then said "Very well, you may go."
Beelzebub left and Satan was left alone for a moment.

Then the lord of Nothingness materialized next to him. "Is Necrolus dead?" The Devil nodded. Cyril did not have to know that the angel of Death was alive. All that mattered was that he was incapable of messing up the plans. "Then phase two may begin. Once it is in full swing you must lend me your powers in order for me to break the barrier." The Devil nodded and grinned.
This was the part he was looking forward too. To make sure the lord of Nothingness would actually make God hand over Heaven, the Devil had made the sacred document irreversible. Cyril couldn't even replace the Devil's
name with his. Heaven was as good as his.

An old man stepped up to the desk. St Peter looked at him and a page
appeared in his hand. At the top was written Scott Dyrson. The old man seemed pleased with himself. He had made it to Heaven. Peter scanned the page and then said "This appears to be in order." He waved his hand and the
huge golden gates to Heaven opened and the old man walked in. The gates
promptly closed behind him. "Next." He said and a person from the line stepped forwards. Without looking up St Peter looked at the different file that was in his hand. It was bright red. Stamped across it was the word:
Damned. "There seems to be a problem." St Peter said. "You seem to be already damned to Hell." He looked up and then suddenly the man before him grabbed him by his neck and lifted him over the desk. "I was hoping for a
transfer." He growled.

Two horns protruded from his head and a Hellish fire seemed to burn in his eyes. He was a damned soul. From Hell. And he wasn't supposed to be here. He grinned as he saw the saint struggling in his huge hand. Suddenly his hands began to smoke and he let go of the saint with a yell. Big burns had formed on his hand. Holy burns. St Peter swung his arm forwards as though throwing something and there was a flash of holy light which would blind the damned soul. How he got there, St Peter did not know. Then he stared.
Everywhere in the line damned souls were rushing ahead, accompanied by flying demons. An army of demons and damned souls began marching for the
gates. And at the head was Beelzebub, Lucifer himself, and the lord of Nothingness. His spell had momentarily blinded most of them, but they soon
began marching once more. St Peter turned and ran. The gates opened
themselves and he dashed through them, and they then closed once more. "ATTACK!" He shouted at the top of his voice and the sound carried all the
way through Heaven.

Angelo was sitting down when suddenly an angel boy appeared in mid air. "What is it?" The archangel grunted. He was in a foul mood. The angel of Death had been attacked by Beelzebub and he was supposed to figure out why. "Urgent message from St Peter sir." The little angel said. Angelo stood up. Messages from St Peter were rare. "What is it?" He demanded. The little boy
seemed scared. "He says sir, that Heaven is under siege by Hell and the
lord of Nothingness."

Angelo instantly appeared before the gates and saw that they were about to break. The Demons were ramming the gates of Heaven! Angelo opened the palm of his hand and a golden ball of light appeared. He tossed it straight up
into the air where it exploded into a thousand golden wisps. It was the signal. The war signal. Instantly the angels of Heaven descended from the sky and landed behind the gates. Several older, more powerful souls joined
the throng of angels. Then the gates collapsed. The demons poured into
Heaven. The angels drew their swords. Angelo flew down and drew his own
blue sword. Then the two forces clashed and the fight began.

Satan grinned in satisfaction as the gates crashed to the ground. Cyril
turned to him. "We shall begin." The Devil nodded and placed his hands before him. The lord of Nothingness stood opposite him and did the same. They both incanted sacred words of power, and the air before them began to shimmer. The barrier was weakening. Soon Heaven would belong to Lucifer. He
grinned and willed the barrier to break with all his might.

About 14 billion year ago, a few minutes before the universe had come into existence, the lord of Nothingness sat on his throne. He was watching the
universe slowly compress itself. God had set in motion what the human
beings would later call the big bang, and once the universe reached the size of a single atom, it would explode with titanic fury, spreading the universe out until it reached the boundaries of the Nothingness. One has to
imagine the universe as a giant ball, and within it is a vast amount of
planets and suns. Outside this ball is the realm of Nothingness which
extends forever. The lord then felt another presence attempting to come into this time and space. It was trying to break through a barrier of some kind. Then Cyril realized that it was himself. A future self. He reasoned that his future self must have a good reason for coming and he willed the barrier to break. It was incredibly strong, but he used the extent of his powers until finally it cracked, and he sat drained, upon his throne. He was now as weak as God was, for God has just created the universe. Then a portal appeared and his future self came through the portal, and it closed
behind him at the same time as the barrier.

Satan gave a sigh of relief. He was quite drained of power. It had taken the majority of his power, the power of the lord of Nothingness, and the power of Cyril's past self to finally break the barrier. It was so simple! Why hadn't he thought of himself? He wondered. Meanwhile several hundred meters away Angelo watched the fight progressing below. Neither side seemed to be gaining any ground. Then Angelo felt something. Something he had not
felt in a long time. The Devil felt it too, and even Cyril, who was momentarily in the past, felt it. Angelo looked uncertainly at the palace in which God sat and ruled. God was intervening. For the first time in two thousand years, God was directly intervening. Angelo felt the vast force
moving slowly forwards, like a giant wave of power, till it reached the edge of the temple. The battle below stopped and all gazed at the temple.
There was an incredible blinding white flash and the force that was God then retreated back into the palace onto the throne. On the battlefield, every single denizen from Hell had been sent back there. Except for one. The Devil stood there, with several sword points to his throat, and he was powerless to stop them. Angelo snapped his fingers and Satan and himself
were brought into the palace. Lucifer was trapped.

"Do you realize what you have done?" Angelo said. The Devil simply laughed
and said "In a few moments Heaven will belong to me." Angelo shook his head. "Fool!" He said. "Cyril has gone back in time. Anything he has done would have already happened. The only reason that nothing has is because we can still influence the past. But we have little time, and you must help us." The Devil snorted. "Why would I help you?" Angelo tilted his head as though listening to someone. "He says that you have been betrayed." Satan shook his head. "Impossible, Cyril cannot change the document. I made sure
of that." Angelo laughed. "How could you have been so stupid!"

The Devil raised an eyebrow and said nothing. "All Cyril has to do is destroy the universe in the past, and it will cease to exist in the future! And that means no souls for you or God. And the worst thing is that because at that time, the law does not exist! Which means that not only will the
universe cease to exist, but it will become part of the realm of Nothingness! He would control all the souls, whether good or bad. He would
have more power than God or you! He never intends to make God sign that document!" The Devil seemed stunned. For all the careful planning he had
missed this vital part. "What can I do?" He said. Having some souls was better than having none at all. Angelo smiled. This was a landmark moment,
Heaven and Hell working together. "God will use his powers to break the
barrier." He said.

Satan shook his head. "I am in no condition to fight Cyril. And no one else
has the power, especially God, since he will be drained." He then said.
Angelo nodded. "But there is someone who has a weapon with which he can fight the lord of Nothingness." Lucifer's eyes widened. "Necrolus." Angelo nodded. He waved his hand and a chime rang. The angel of Death staggered
through the door a moment later. He was still weak from his ordeal with Beelzebub. When he saw Satan his eyes narrowed. "What's he doing here?" The prince of darkness shrugged. "He is here because he has been captured. He
recently assaulted Heaven and now he is a prisoner of war." The Devil's eyes narrowed but he said nothing. Angelo continued. "This idiot," He said
gesturing to Lucifer, "Has just handed the universe to the lord of Nothingness. He helped break the barrier to the big bang which let Cyril through. He is now about to stop the big bang and thus sending the entire
universe to the realm of Nothingness." Necrolus winced.

"But what about the law, won't the universe just disappear from space and time?" He then asked, glaring at the Devil. "That would be so, except for the fact that God's law did not exist back then. In fact, the only reason
we aren't already in Nothingness is because we plan to send you back in time to stop Cyril. You are the only one who can." Necrolus shook his head
"Thanks to a certain dark lord, I am incapable of foiling the lord of Nothingness in my current state. He has planned this thoroughly, it would
seem." Angelo shook his head. "What he didn't count on was God's interference. Which was stupid actually, what did he expect, that God would allow Hell to take control over Heaven? Unlikely. He assumed we would all still be fighting at this point." Then he added, "As for your wounds." He
placed his hand upon Necrolus' shoulder and closed his eyes.

There was a brief flash of light from beneath Angelo's hand. Necrolus immediate regained his former power, as well as a little more. Angelo then
sat down, weakened. "I can not contribute further." He said. He had transferred his power to Necrolus. "It is time." He then said. "God will
open the portal and Satan will send you back through time." Then he sat still. Necrolus pulled his black sword and waited. All three angels felt
God's power extending and then the air before them began to swirl. The
barrier was weakening. Lucifer added his remaining power and created a portal through which Necrolus would travel. After a moment an oval portal of gray hung in the air. "Go!" Angelo shouted and the angel of Death leapt
into the grayness.

The lord of Nothingness paced back and forth in his realm. He could see the universe from here, at the very border of the two realms. His past self was too drained to help, and God's was to weak to defend the universe. A giant black orb hung in the air. Contained within it was the entire universe. It
would continue to compress till it would reach the size of an atom, whereupon it would explode sending planets suns and stars hurling outwards. And a second or two before the big bang, when the universe was the size of a fist, Cyril would cleave it in half with an enchanted sword. The energy
would dissipate, and the universe would cease to exist. In the normal
realms at least. Then his plan would be complete. The lord was so
preoccupied, he did not realize the portal opening behind him.

It was only when Necrolus had emerged from the oval hole when Cyril spun. "You." He snarled. Then his face relaxed. "I should have known not to trust Lucifer. Well, it does not matter now. I will kill you all the same." And with that he pulled his gray sword from his belt. The angel of Death stood ready. Then he leapt forwards and viciously slashed at Cyril's head. The
lord of Nothingness parried and the sword slid over his head. He then
slashed sideways at Necrolus' hand. The angel stepped backwards and the
blade passed him harmlessly. "My plan was quite ingenious was it not?" Cyril began. Necrolus didn't answer, but extended his blade with impossible
speed.

The lord cackled and beat the blade aside, and then he lunged forwards. The angel flung his sword back and parried the blow. Both swords then pressed against one another, and Cyril began talking once more. "All I needed was
to return to the past. There I could easily gain control over the whole
universe. Then, with my newfound power I would slay Satan and imprison God!" Necrolus disengaged and leapt back, the tension on his blade gone.
The two opponents circled one another slowly, each warily watching each other. "I knew my past self would help, but it still wasn't enough to break
the barrier. I needed Lucifer!" Then he leapt up and jabbed his sword straight down at the angel. Necrolus realized he couldn't step back quick
enough, so he buffeted himself away with his wings.

"I offered to travel back and force God to submit Heaven to Satan, and I would then receive Hell." He gave a laugh and flew forwards with his wings, sword extended. The angel struck the blade with all his might and Cyril was directed straight past the angel, who turned and held his sword ready. Even with Angelo's extra power, this was the most difficult fight he had ever
fought. "As if I would just settle for Hell. I wonder how such a fool became lord of the underworld." Necrolus shouted and slowly advanced upon the angel. Necrolus roared and leapt forwards, hammering at Cyril with a combination of extremely complicated combat maneuvers. Cyril danced back and shouted "Then all I need was for Satan to besiege Heaven, and for him to kill you!" Then he slashed viciously cutting into the angel of Death's
leg. Necrolus fell to his knees and found a sword at his neck. "Both of which he failed. I shouldn't have expected more from an angel. I assume he helped send you back here." Necrolus nodded, very conscious of the blade against his neck. "A brave attempt, but it was doomed to fail." He grinned.
"Goodbye, Necrolus."

He lifted his sword. It was then that Necrolus' twin Heaven and Hell blades cleaved straight through the lord. At the current time there was no Heaven or Hell, and their powers were greatly diminished, but they still weakened the lord of Nothingness. Necrolus leapt backwards, away from his opponent and saw the lord clutching his wounded chest. His wounds seemed to have healed, but the damage had been done. "You are more persistent than I was lead to believe." He said and raised his sword high. "But you are still
weak." He said and swung his sword down, gripping it with both hands.

From the end of the sword a burning ball of flames shot, heading directly for Necrolus. The angel of Death crossed his swords so they formed and X and then the fire ball struck. The swords absorbed the blast, but they both shattered. Now Necrolus was weaponless, for his black blade lay in front of Cyril, who picked it up. "An extremely powerful blade." He said, admiring it. Necrolus held his hand out and the sword flew straight back into his.
Then Necrolus spoke for the first time and said "It is only for me." He
chanced a glance at the universe and saw that it was now several times smaller, about the size of the moon. In a few minutes it would explode. If
only he could delay long enough. The lord of Nothingness approached and said "Too bad about your blade. "Then he ran and slashed at Necrolus, who
barely parried in time. "I had planed to take it from your corpse!"

Then he flew straight up into the air, as grey wings sprouted from his
back. Necrolus ran and leapt straight into the air, his black wings
supporting him. Then the vicious duel began in the air. With a shout of
rage Necrolus sped forwards and struck Cyril's blade aside. He slashed
forwards, but the lord of Nothingness sped backwards, out of reach. The
angel of Death looked down and saw a few drops of blood fall from his wounded leg. Healing it would only weaken him more, so he was forced to let it bleed. It was throbbing madly, and was slowly weakening him. Then Cyril attacked from above, driving the angel down. Furious blows were exchanged. Necrolus then sped out from under the lord and flew up as fast as he could,
the lord fast in pursuit. Then the lord stopped. The universe now was a huge globe, and would explode in a minute or two! Now was his chance, he could strike the universe! Then Necrolus hurtled down like and tackled the lord, sending both straight down to the floor like a comet. A second later
they hit the floor at nearly one thousand kilometers per hour and the
Nothingness below rippled before being still.

The Nothingness got up and limped over to the universe. It was now still bigger than he was, but it was rapidly compressing. The lord was weakened
but he still had enough power to destroy the universe. It was then that Necrolus drew back and tossed his sword. It spun several times before it
embedded itself into Cyril's shoulder. The blow was not fatal, but it
weakened him ever more so. He was so close. The universe was now little bigger than his head. He stood in the Nothingness and raised his sword, and he prepared to strike. Necrolus gave a shout and leapt into the air, and then he struck Cyril from behind, sending both tumbling. He was robbed of
his strength and could barely hold Cyril back. The lord of Nothingness
shouted "I will not be denied!" And he ripped Necrolus' sword from his
shoulder and shoved it straight into its owner's chest. Necrolus gave a
sigh and fell to the floor. "No one may escape death, Cyril." Then he
coughed and said "Your time has come." Cyril turned and found that the
universe was nearly the size of an atom! He swung his blade down and Necrolus, with his last bit of strength, kicked the lord in his leg, and the sword missed by an inch. Cyril's eyes widened as he sensed the universe finish compressing. Necrolus then let the air into his lungs one last time.
Then came the big bang.

In less than a second the universe exploded outwards and expanded. With an explosion that could rival several times a hundred trillion supernovas. In
an instant the realm of Nothingness was pushed back as the universe expanded. God and the past Cyril were at a safe distance, but every other living thing was then obliterated. The big bang destroyed anything in its path. Not even the second most powerful entity that ever existed, the lord of Nothingness, was powerless against this raw force. The future lord of Nothingness simply vanished, his very atoms disappearing. Nothing escaped. Necrolus' sword simply dissipated and the angel of Death evaporated. And since that day only four entities know of the demise of Cyril and the angel of Death. The past Cyril, God, Angelo and the Devil. Satan was allowed to
return to Hell due to his services to heaven. But both the post of the angel of Death and the lord of Nothingness had not been filled to this day.

Author's Note: In case God reads this (and I am sure he will) I hope he will not think that I am breaking the 3rd commandment and am misusing his
name. Everything in the above story is just a story, and is not reality (unless of course, by some queer twist of fate, it is) I hope I don't go to hell for writing this, but I am sure God will not punish me for this story.
(hint hint)