I.. Am God?

"Nyarlathotep!" Matthias boomed with heavy authority. The 'Heavenly King', suddenly fell down to the ground as Matthias spoke more, "How brazen of you to speak of such blasphemous speech within the domain of a god."

"You!" Nyarlathotep grimaced.

"You Eldritch Beings might be powerful, but you still can't wantonly wreck havoc among the innumerable universes." Matthias sneered as he walked towards the kneeling Eldritch slowly and steadily, "There are still existences that can go against your race within every single universe."

In an instant, blinding light shone down from the sky which alerted the shocked Nyarlathotep.

There, three geometrically shaped beings floated above them, shining with unbelievably immense divine authority. Thousands of rings circled around them with eyes within, gazing at Nyarlathotep with judgment and indifference.

"I-Impossible!" Nyarlathotep yelled with sheer fear. Its eyes were widened with terror as the four beings slowly hovered towards them. "You are just a normal Heavenly God! How did you create such intricate existences!"

Matthias smirked, "You need not know." After saying that, Matthias looked at the four existences and said, "Tribunal, please."

The Tribunal, though not having a head, nodded spiritually. Divine fire slowly crawled around and enveloped them. Then..

"Banish."

"NOOO!!"

The Tribunal "spoke" judgment with a booming and knelling voice, quaking the very existence of Nyarlathotep. Its body gradually cracked as fragments of it flew and vanished into a soul-wrenching darkness.

"I swear upon the Outer Gods!" Nyarlathotep, knowing that it is its last moment inside this universe, yelled maddeningly, "Our existence is innumerable! We shall make sure that We will return and cause utter chaos within your Universe and We will one day claim it within the palm of our hands!"

"Then I shall await you." Matthias replied arrogantly, "This universe shall rise to the greatest of heights, and we will await the time when we ourselves would be able to conquer the True Nothingness!" He added. Matthias conjured a ball of golden flame and shot it straight at the remaining body of the Eldritch.

At last, its screech of pain became its last within this universe. Matthias knew that it would come back, in any shape and form, endlessly throughout the Universe's existence. It could even bring other Eldritch existences with it, and all he can do is to prepare for it.

It was also one of the reasons why Matthias created the Tribunal.

Centuries ago, after contemplating the Void of Existence and the Eldritch Race within it, Matthias knew that he would need something to counter them. And after thinking for a while, Matthias conjured the strongest form of his God Art.

Ultima; Silhouette of The Supreme.

It was the amalgamation of the four Silhouettes that was given to him by the mysterious Silhouette, namely the Silhouette of Authority, Time, Causality, and The Primordial. Matthias saw it as the power that transcends all of Existence, something that was bestowed upon him for a greater purpose.

After conjuring its power, he used all of its power and his energy to create three indifferent and unexplainable beings. He made them an Existence that is a part of that mysterious person. Because of that, the three beings became Judgment. Their purpose and goal is only to pass verdict and eliminate threats that would be harmful to the structure of the Universe.

They would even decimate three-fourths of the Universe if it's the only action that is possible for the remaining existences to be safe.

Being made like that, even Matthias can't directly control them. He would need to use Ultima once again to just command them, and that in itself consumes a great amount of energy.

Seeing as the outsider has been driven off, Matthias then turned his head, setting his sight at the remnant abominations that the Eldritch unleashed upon his domain.

Once again, the Tribunal burned bright before executing their move. "Death." A soul-quaking message came out from them.

​ Instantly, the monsters that had been besieging the Ourani suddenly exploded, and their bodies disintegrated, leaving none of their remains. The entire corrupted Ourani was eliminated in an instant.

Seeing that, everyone felt terror within the depths of their hearts and minds, especially Streid and his rebelling army. The thought of having something so powerful beyond their comprehension with the ability to wipe out existence within a blink's worth of time made them terrified of what is to come for them.

Fortunately for them, after the Tribunal wiped out the scum that polluted the Heavenly Dominion, they immediately vanished, with not even a single trace of their existence left. When they disappeared, the space they once occupied experienced a temporary void when they brought with them all of the things down to the tiniest of quarks surrounding them.

On the other hand, unfortunately, Matthias and his most elite Ourani, the 100,000-Ourani Dionadir, had already surrounded them.

By now, the other Heavenly Nobles have already arrived, with them an immeasurable force. Lazarus, who was performing his task outside of Heaven, as soon as he heard the news, also rushed to the Divine Capital with the warriors of the Divine Kingdom.

Now, he was glaring wrathfully at the Heavenly King. One was because his Master and Divine Heaven was placed in a serious threat in the middle of a possible otherworldly invasion, and the other was because he had known that his wife was there.

Had Mackenzie not left the capital and was hurt, possibly not even Matthias would be able to predict what Lazarus might have done.

"Your treachery knows no bounds, lizard!" Lazarus spat as he disappeared from his position and reappeared in front of Streid, pushing him down with his hand clutching at the Heavenly King's horn, with it being dangerously close to breaking.

Right now, the pridefully strong Heavenly King who had razed and placed judgment over countless foes had his proud head lowered in shame and guilt.

"Stand down, Lazarus." Matthias feels the bottled up anger within Lazarus, but he could not let it explode now. Knowing this, like an opened soda can, the pent up wrath of Lazarus magically subsided as Matthias spread his comforting divinity throughout the Ourani. Without the anger bubbling up his very being, Lazarus finally stepped back.

"You have done great sin upon the entirety of Heaven's domain, Streid." Matthias spoke with punctuality, "Just the thought of rebellion alone would have already cost you your life, but you did not just think of it, and instead, acted on it and desecrated the Divine Capital, center of Heaven's rule. That is a crime punishable by the obliteration of your souls."

Streid stayed silent, together with his army. They know their sins the moment they've gathered their forces to challenge Heaven's authority.

"I would've already done so long ago.." But, surprisingly, Matthias spoke with leniency, "..but, considering the contributions and merits that have piled up in your name that helped the Divine Empire reach its heights today, I shall grant your domain Amnesty."

Saying the word "Amnesty" that echoed throughout the domain, bright light immediately shone from Matthias, falling down onto the soldiers below.

Within the Divine Empire, a set of laws have been established that holds great weight within them. The power that has been used to create those Divine Laws has been and always will be the cornerstone that is supporting the very foundations of the Divine Dominion.

As such, anyone within the Heavenly Sphere, once they commit such blasphemous crimes, would be subjected to the wrath of the Dominion's Divine Laws. Branded by the Divine Empire's Mark of Erysichthon, their souls would never be able to hide from the subjects of the Dominion. Even their souls being eradicated could be considered light.

Such brands that mark their treachery and immorality are irreversible. But, as the authority that created the laws himself, The Divine Emperor is given the power of pardoning; Amnesty.

As the word implies, it removes the Mark of Erysichthon that was branded deep within their souls, erasing their responsibilities for the sins they have committed. Of course, there is a price..

"In turn, however, your status as Heavenly King shall be revoked, your domain stripped off of its territories and possessions, and your subjects removed from their positions."

As he said this, the aura of the Ourani noticeably weakened, with Streid's body gradually shrinking and his scales turning to a color similar to ash gray. When the process finished, the Ourani's form had already turned to that of a gorgeous mortal man, devoid of Heaven's Divinity nor the power of Immortality. Their skin, although still indistinguishable to other mortal beings, has already shown some signs of aging. Streid also started to slowly revert to his wild draconic nature, with it gradually taking over his mind.

But, suddenly, all of it halted once more, as if time stopped ravaging their bodies. The Ourani, startled, looked up and saw Matthias' hands raised to the side, having seemingly waved his hand to the side.

Streid's sentience also returned, which came as a huge shock to him, "Y-Your Majesty, what happened?"

"You have now become The Malkim." Matthias responded without gazing at the former Heavenly King.