Pestilence: Rise Of The Pure Undead

A most captivating sight, festering scenery, of silence and darkness, all seemed so overwhelmingly suffocating, all was night, all so perfect, rot was rising, vultures were laughing, nature was returning to divinity, grass was a bone white, red and purple blooms, miasma hanging in the air.

Simply beautiful, praise upon the most divine death!

Leafless, bark like bones, putrescent fruits, oozing of tar-like blood, pristine skeletons reaching out from within the trunk, sanguine rivers, roots chaotically spreading all around.

Its holiness faced off against the vile life, its great might challenged that of the tree of life, standing just as tall, spreading with more vehemence, with more intensity, unwilling to leave even a speck untouched by death.

Having manifested into existence, parting the clouds forcefully, pouring dark miasma, filling a wide area with death force, like two armies crashing into one another head-on, the life and death environment was changing near the edges of their respective territory, until all hell broke loose, opposite to one another, the master of the trees.

Thanatok Ynigós, Champion Of Life, master of the Zoitree.

Loimos, Death's Chosen Champion, master of the Lithitree.

Taking control of their respective tree, focusing all attention not on the surrounding, but on their enemy, the entire area began blooming over and over again, life took over death, death took over life, intertwined and destroying one another, corpse bloom wrapped around vibrant flowers, thriving bushes smothered saplings of vampiric blood.

Death and life focused all around both of them, the side of Loimos's helm was torn away, revealing his unfeeling skull, quickly mended, a gaping hole appeared where Thanatok's heart and lungs should, he didn't even blink, all damage was gone in the blink of an eye, injuries and destruction was reversed instantly, even as nearly all of their bodies were knocked away, barely a shred of flesh or bone would be left every instant, slowly but surely, more and more of their bodies were being ripped apart, the first to be entirely crushed would be the loser of this fight, but neither was giving even a millimeter.

Loimos uncaring, Thanatok Ynigós ecstatic, he doubted that he could have experienced such thrill even if a god had come down to challenge him, he had not expected to be pushed to the point of unleashing the Zoitree, the very first time he ever had to use it, the pure joy coursing through his blood, through his flesh, through his bones was nearly intoxicating, flaring up like a moth in the abyss his life force reached heights he had never even dreamed of, and yet, and yet-!

Loimos remained stalwart, unmoved, unbudging, staring in the depth of his sockets, there was nothing to be seen, even as devouring life reached every fibre of his being, he remained unshaken, the terrifying hold of both their energies was way beyond its usual strength, not simply destroying life and death, but seeking to convert.

The death hunter could resist thanks to his time as Sun-Walker, but Loimos, who had never even been alive in the first place, did not have this sort of experience, but death's champion was simply impossible to turn.

This mindless confrontation of pure might lasted exactly four minutes, four unending minutes, the audience of living was incredibly tense, incapable of discerning who had the advantage even for a second, nothing but their mastery over life and death was at play here, none could glean through it.

Eventually, as both of them once again became whole again, something else happened, a loud crash resounded, the living bursted with blood, his body rupturing, whilst the undead seemed to be cracked like glass, both falling to the ground.

The former on both hands and knees, warm bloom flowing from his eyes, nose, ears and mouth, his breathing ragged.

The latter to one knee, head hanging low as shards of dark metal broke off, flaking off, bits of the bars on the visor crumbled in their middle.

Tattered and worn out, the world trees behind their backs fell apart, leaving behind a unique biome of life and death mixed together in endless conflict.

Coughing up more blood, feeling that everytime his heart beat, a gruesome wound upon it got worse, Thanatok Ynigós pushed himself to his knees only, slowly standing up, unsteady.

Pushing hair covered in blood out of his face, eyes still bright with life, a smile affixed upon his face, white teeth turned red.

Creaking like a rusted iron door, bones covered in cracks, armour close to collapsing, he brought himself back up, the purple glow barely shining at all.

"Well… Let's end this, the- Regular way…" smiling with his teeth gritted, blood forcing its way through anyways, he coated his fists with life force, or at least he tried, he only had enough left to not die, the same went for Loimos, all that was left was exactly what could be seen, he could still use arts, but without the support of the chamber of limbs, there was no time for it.

Even in their state, with nothing but their pure brawn, they kept on fighting ferociously, through the fields of rot and vigour, until they reached a few buildings that had yet to be obliterated, overgrown with the polarised vegetation, but not gone completely.

Only one of the flying golems had been spared from the conflict, having been caught in the tree of life, with this only point of view, the livings failed to see everything that was happening, as both duelists went right through a window of stained glass, they lost sight of them.

Soon enough, one was pushed through the partly broken doors of the small church, Thanatok Ynigós seemed a bit dazed, but was quick to recuperate and move forward, only to lose his footing, lacking in blood, muscles spent and damaged, his body failing him.
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"The fate of all that lives, to be consumed by time" Thanatok Ynigós looked down at the arm plunged right through his chest, grasping his heart with an iron grip.

He looked back up at Loimos, smiling once more, coughing blood directly onto the undead.

"Ah Ah Ah! Unbelievable! I hit you with the full might of the Zoitree and all that managed was to get you to spout a freaking one-liner? That's hilarious!" he grasped the skeleton's shoulder weakly, bringing his forehead against the helm.

"Aah…"

"I feel so absurdly cold… Dammit… I guess- I guess I lost? Even at the height of my power? We should have a rematch one of these days, just to see if you can pull more shit out of your ass! Ah!"

"Loimos… Since you are feeling talkative right now, mind explaining why I lost?"

"Life is simply inferior, you can try to imitate death all you want, you can not exist without it, whilst death does not require life to keep on existing, upon eternity" with a firm movement, Loimos ripped out the pure living's heart, crushing it.

Death's champion stands victorious, and from the flying golems, a spell kept within transports warrior of life, all swooping in to finish off Loimos, now as weak and vulnerable as ever.

Standing over the corpse of life's champion, dread personified was ready to kill again, one by one, until nothing remained.