Ramattra, the God of Lighting, and Garushido, the God of Vapor, stood facing each other as the world around them was being consumed by the storm created simply from their presence on Earth. Thunder and lightning boomed, while the air around them swirled up dust and debris as if they were stuck in an intense hurricane, though they paid it no mind.

If any mere mortal was within a mile, they would have been swept up and reduced to dust if caught in this storm.

Garushido acted first, lunging forward using their control of the world around them to propel themself toward Ramattra. With their razor-sharp claws, Garushido sliced away at the God of Lightning, cutting deep into their ram-like face.

Ramattra, furious, let out an earth-shattering bellow as it swung both of its building-sized greatswords at the God of Vapor, though the winged god was able to use its wings to propel itself toward the clouds. The God of Vapor's wings were so powerful, that just a single flap of their wings was able to cause Ramattra to slide backward, covering their face with their arms.

Ramattra wouldn't let their inability to take flight hinder them in battle. Using their swords, the Lightning God began raining down bolts of lighting from the sky in an attempt to clip the Vapor God's wings. Though these attacks were coming down at light speed, Garushido used its wings to gracefully dodge through the air, avoiding each lightning strike with ease.

Once the barrage of lighting had ceased, Garushido put both hands together and began charging an attack at their palms. Ramattra, however, saw this as nothing more than an opportunity, throwing their weapons to the ground before charging their hands and feet with electricity. Thunder boomed, and the sounds of lightning crackling resounded as Ramattra broke the sound barrier and propelled themselves up to Garushido's level.

Garushido's bird-like face winced as they released a blast from its hands, aimed directly at the Lighting God lunging right for them, though this attack would prove fruitless as the Lighting God turned its body into lighting for a brief moment and phased through the attack.

Garushido attempted to then turn their body into a gaseous state, but they were far too slow to react as Ramattra used their horns to impale the Vapor God in the chest, compelling Garushido to screech out in agony. As they bellowed, Garushido attempted to pry Ramattra's horns out of their chest, though the Lightning God wasn't going to let that happen.

As if Ramattra's horns were lightning rods, they started to expel a powerful current into Garushido's chest, burning them from the inside out. The god wailed once again, feeling its own insides being fried by the Lightning God, but they were not ready to give up just yet.

Rather than grabbing the horns, Garushido used their claws to stab the eyes of Ramattra, which in turn compelled the God of Lighting to cry out in pain along with them. Ramattra, using both their hands, grabbed Garushida by the wrists and ripped the arms straight from their sockets.

Though Ramattra was blinded, they were still able to then feel around Garushido, who was flapping their wings and kicking their legs frantically. Eventually, Ramattra found Garushido's wings and began prying them off. The sounds of feathers being forcefully plucked away were muted by the sounds of Garushido's screams until the wings were finally torn off in one go.

Now that Garushido's wings were clipped, they were a flightless bird, allowing Ramattra to grab them by the foot and throw them back toward the Earth. Ramattra followed the Vapor God, and the two of them hurled toward the ground like two meteors. As they fell through the sky, Ramattra's eyes reformed themselves, giving them their sight back. Meanwhile, Garushido's arms began to reform as well, starting off from bones that regrew from the tearing point before muscle and flesh started to form over them.

The second Garushido's arms grew back, Ramattra had already caught up to them, grabbing the god by the shoulders before opening its mouth wide. Electricity began to spark and crackle from deep inside Ramattra's mouth as they charged an attack from within.

Garushido did the same, charging a blast with their beaked mouth, just a few meters away from Ramattra's. Lightning crackled and air whistled as the two of their attacks collided, creating yet another shockwave, sending them both in opposite directions

As they landed on their feet, Garushido's wings began to regrow in the same fashion as their arms. Before they could finish taking form, Ramattra zipped forward, grabbing their swords from the ground with unseeable speed before singing both blades at the Vapor God.

Having enough time to react, Garushido turned their body into gas, slipping through the attack and clawing at Ramattra at the same moment. At the very last second, just as Ramattra's sword passed through their body, Garushido turned their body back into a solid and dug their claws into Ramattra's chest.

Ramattra released a bestial bellow as they grabbed Garushido's hand and began pulling it out from within themself. Ramattra dropped one of their swords before bending Garushido's arm inward by the elbow, breaking it completely.

Garushido then attempted to slash at Ramattra with their other clawed hand, though Ramattra was quick to slice it off with their sword. Garushido, missing an arm and having one broken, flapped their wings in an attempt to gain space on the God of Lightning, only for Ramattra to grab the Vapor God's clawed foot before pulling them in close and impaling Garushido with their sword.

Ramattra aimed for the heart, but was off by just a few meters. The heart was the weak point of any god on Earth as that was the location of their Effigy's body during the transformation. If the heart was destroyed, the Effigy would die, and the god would lose their ability to take physical form on Earth.

Just as Garushido was stabbed, their broken arm fixed itself, allowing them to grab onto Ramattra's arm and hold it in place. Using their other arm, Ramattra attempted to attack Garushido, only for the Vapor God to use their wings to slice that arm clean off. Ramattra bellowed, and at that same moment, Garushido crushed Ramattra's arm, rendering it useless, before Garushido stabbed Ramattra in the chest with their clawed hand, reaching for the one place that could not regenerate: the heart.

At the same time, Ramattra was preparing one final attack, needing a second or two to charge it, but an attack that would end this fight right where they stood. Their chest glowed brightly, as did their eyes and the veins coursing throughout their body.

At this very moment, Garushido, or rather, Keo hesitated. It was only a brief moment, but Keo hesitated nonetheless. This hesitation, this moment of Keo remembering who was once his friend as he held his claws around his heart, would be his downfall.

Sensing the hesitation, Ramattra released a massive blast from their body, accompanied by a city-sized lightning bolt that came from above, annihilating them both and reducing them to nothing, including the men inside their hearts.

The impact of this attack was so incredible, that those from far-off cities could feel their homes trembling as if there was a cataclysmic earthquake. Despite being miles away from any town, the pressure from the attack wiped out some of the rural areas completely, erasing them from existence.

Time passed, and the dust cleared. Despite there being nothing left around them, the two Effigies remained. Due to their exhaustion, they could not retain their god forms and were restored to their human forms. As they breathed harshly within the storm brewing around them, the two Effigies rose to their feet slowly, their gazes locked.

However, before either of them could get into a ready stance, a dreadful sound resounded around them, stopping them still in their tracks. Whistling, a dreadful whistling, one recognized by both Effigies. It was their brother, though not by blood, whistling a tune they'd heard many times throughout the years. The gods within them knew the tune as well, one repeated to them from the start of time itself by their sibling.

Khaos.

The God of Chaos and their Effigy had found them.

In fact, this entire thing was all staged by them.

To weaken Xod and Keo.

What both Effigies saw before them, emerging from the dust with malice in their steps, was an unrecognizable version of who was once considered their sibling. Khaos's Effigy no longer had eyes, they'd been removed by him long ago with his own blade, the same blade being held in its sheath at that very moment. Over his eye sockets were vertical scars that went from his forehead down to the corners of his mouth. His skin was ashen, devoid of all signs of life. It was as if he was nothing more than a corpse being marionetted around by some force, though this corpse's power was beyond any mere mortal's comprehension.

The Lighting and Vapor Effigies were far too weak to escape, Khaos and their Effigy knew this.

Khaos's Effigy grabbed the hilt of his blade, tapping the hilt with just his thumb, and as he did so, the Earth beneath his feet began to tremble as an immense pressure was seemingly released from the blade itself. A pool of blood began to pour from inside the sheath, though this stream of crimson seemed infinite as it pooled at the feet of the blind Effigy.

The moon too became doused in blood, its crimson glow being seen by billions around the world, telling all that death, Khaos, was coming for someone.

Unbeknownst to those viewing the blood moon from below, the victims of Khaos would be the Lightning Effigy and the Vapor Effigy. And at this exact moment, two children were being born, both being in the running to become the new Effigies of both gods. However, the identity of these two Effigies would be a mystery and remain so for the next dozen or so years...