The Fourth Beast

24

Calm before the Storm

III

Avalon Kingdom

The first Beast

666

Just standing in front of it, even though it was not real, Naruto could feel the despair and death trying to engulf his soul, to devour his sanity.

This being... it was darker than the empty space as if the void itself had been manifested in this form and came to feast. It did not have any consistent appearance or any notable features. But the worst part was, even though it had no eyes, it felt like the being was looking directly at you... at your very soul.

Also, it was gigantic. It was larger than anything he had ever seen.

And then, there he was... Amun-Ra.

He was wearing a golden armored shenti, with similarly designed shoulder pads and gauntlets. But what stood out the most was not the intricately designed falcon crown, but the miniature sun that was situated inside the hole in his chest.

He looked so grand, so noble... so God-like.

Amun-Ra waved his hand, and not a second later, out of thin air came multiple tower-like structures, each of which was large enough to go through a planet. And then, all of them pierced 666's void-like body.

The Beast screamed. Even he felt it. And he could tell that the scream alone was enough to fell Gods and Goddesses. But within a fraction of a moment, it stopped; as if someone had just pressed the 'Mute' button.

And then, he made his appearance.

Unlike Amun-Ra, Shiva was wearing traditional simple clothes. But it was his form that surprised him. This form was almost as big as the Great Red's. And he had four arms. The right backhand was holding his signature weapon 'Trishula' and his left backhand was holding a fireball of some sort. And he was making hand signs using the front ones. But what really caught his eye was the majestic snake that was on top of his shoulder.

Shiva looked more divine than Naruto had ever seen him.

The being changed its shape and took a more dragon-like appearance. Then it changed the shape again to that of a storm cloud. It looked like it was having a hard time maintaining a form... any form in this case.

Whatever Shiva was doing, it was doing a damn good job.

And finally, he saw him.

Unlike Amun-Ra and Shiva, whose forms towered over planets and stars, the Biblical God had the size and appearance of a normal human. But Naruto could feel it; he was just as much, if not more powerful than his fellow Gods. Naruto could not tell how he looked since his back was facing him and his whole body was enveloped in warm white light.

Suddenly, the Biblical God swung his hand and the Beast thrashed its body around as a large formless object came out from its body. After the object completely detached itself from the Beast's body and landed on the ground, it took the shape of a square pillar.

Then, some sort of unseen communication took place, as all three of them moved away from the Beast.

The reason was revealed just a moment later. Even though he could not see her, he felt it... her overwhelming presence, her unbearable power.

The second Beast.

Ophis

It was as if the veil was lifted and Naruto could finally see it, their surroundings. There was nothing but the rubbles of destroyed planets and remnants of stars. And then, these fragments started to move... towards 666.