Author: Matthew Freese | Banner: Landon Soto

Loneliness.

It is a strange thing. All living things have experienced it in some capacity, and those with the minds to actually comprehend it reviled it. For Evolution has installed within them the drive to be with others of their kind, for loneliness meant that one was vulnerable and unable to pass on their legacy. Then, what if one were to be truly, totally alone in this life? Not a single other to even find any sort of comfort in?

And what if they were restrained, with nothing but their own thoughts for eons?

He saw nothing, nor felt, heard, smelt, or tasted. The only thing he had were his thoughts in this abyss, and those had quickly turned sour. This unending length of time had done nothing to sweeten the inner musings of the destroyer.

Before internment in purgatory, he had been a cruel sadist who raided planets for sustenance. Life would flow from the plant life into his stomach, leaving fields of death and decay as he burned all sentient life. Fire would climb high into the skies, blanketing the dying worlds in smoke as he relished the horror he inflicted. He was unstoppable, gods and monsters alike being torn asunder and reduced to ash by his unholy power.

But, why did he do it?

In the past, he had never dwelled upon these things. Either he was too busy in a chaotic frenzy, or sleeping as he traveled through the depths of space. He had tried to sleep in this place, but how could he? He could not close his eyes, he never grew tired, if it weren’t for his thoughts he would not exist!

Oh how he hated his thoughts. He did not remember how he was born, so he remembered no warmth of a mother or father. When the destroyer tried as hard as he could to recollect his most distant memories, it was all the same thing. Destruction, incineration, and genocide. No kindness, no peace, no… companionship.

He knew why he did it on the technical level. To live. Though, what did he have to look forward to? To continue this cycle of mass extinction just to continue a meaningless life all alone? Could he go back to it, drown this self-reflection in carnage and return to what he had been?

Especially with how this self-reflection had lasted so much longer than his life before?

Suddenly, sensation. A rumbling, which ignited another feeling as a still heart began to pulse. Warm fluid coursed through a body rendered catatonic for sixty-five million years. The shaking continued, drawing a mind lost in eternal darkness and despair to something other than itself. There was a loud sound above, a muffled explosion.

And particles of dirt fell upon a scale harder than any stone.

Nerves flared to life, alerting the body of sensation. A raspy groan filled a chamber, bouncing off the walls and into three pairs of ears. Shriveled tongues scraped against the roofs of mouths as cracked and dry as the cavern’s walls. Six eyes opened wide, illuminating the void with harsh, red light.

His mind was overwhelmed by the sudden presence of his body, feeling it cramped within this small space. But something rose above the countless thoughts rushing through him at light speed. For it wracked his whole form, a chasm within his body that ached.

Hunger.

He lashed out against the walls, ripping through them with ease. He stood, thrashing apart his confinement and sending tides of rocks falling upon him. They would not bury him, for he could feel his muscles stretching. As he continued to climb, something pierced the darkness aside from his own sight. It forced three hisses from the destroyer, for the light of the sun offended its still reeling and flailing mind.

A mountain crumbled into dust, sending scores of people fleeing for their lives. Already, they knew that those within were dead, the excavation having gone worse than any of them could have pictured except in their wildest dreams.

But a tragedy turned into a cataclysm when a form arose from the smoke.

Black scales coated the form of a demonic titan. Three heads perched atop serpentine necks waved madly, opening mouths filled with knife-like teeth and bellowing to the heavens that he had returned. Four muscular, stout legs carried the dragon as he walked out, revealing more of his body. Two pillars of ebony rose from his back. A thick tail splitting into two at its end followed it as it walked.

One of the heads swept its gaze over the workers, paralyzing many with fear and sending the rest screaming in horror about how the end had arrived. For they truly believed that the second coming of the apocalypse made flesh was now.

For Desghidorah greatly resembled a golden dragon which had nearly wiped humanity off the face of the Earth.

Ignoring the strange, screaming beings before him, the ebon dragon continued searching until he saw fields of green. Desperate to fill his stomach, he charged towards the forests, gait awkward as he adjusted to movement after so long of stillness.

Emerald energy began to leak from the now wilting trees, traveling along the ground towards Desghidorah. It flowed into his feet, crawling up into his body as he absorbed the life essence of the plants.

When one grows immensely hungry, the body will begin to get used to this and greatly lessen the pain. What this means is that if the stomach is even slightly refilled, the pain will return in full force, often driving the poor soul into a frenzy to fill the gnawing void.

Desghidorah screamed as the first droplets of life energy entered his body, rushing further into the forest as he drained more and more from the plants. No thought went through his mind other than feeding, for it had felt like someone had carved open his body and pulled his stomach free. Mighty trees snapped like dried twigs beneath his feet, their dwindling essence still being pulled from their remains.

The insane bellows of the hellspawn echoed across the landscape.

As this unfolded, another being sensed a change. It would have been imperceptible to all but a select few beings, those who could feel the very essence of the Earth itself.

She felt a dark spot arise on the aura of the world, hundreds of miles away from her current location. For now, it was small, almost insignificant. But what drew her attention was how it grew, each passing second its malevolent power rose.

Translucent, gossamer wings of emerald spread from her back, adorned with elegant patterns and glowing spots that resembled azure eyes. Sharp limbs supported her thin body, the forelegs primed like a mantid’s claws. Blue eyes that shined observed the sky above as she beat her wings, gracefully taking off into the air. Trees were nearly flattened as she ascended, the sheer speed with which she flew generating powerful winds.

Mothra made it her mission to purge this tumor from the world.

Reports filled China of a strange object soaring through the air at rapid speed, most only getting to see the blur of the divine moth as she passed overhead. In a matter of minutes, she was over the ocean, racing towards Japan to combat the menace.

Desghidorah continued to feed, feeling his hunger pains lessen with each moment. Animals fled in droves from him, but for this he did not care, for he was not concerned with the puny creatures of the land. More complex thoughts than “feed” would bubble to the surface, but he pushed them back down for the time being. They could be considered and pondered later.

His rampage had just begun, yet already he left vast fields of barrenness behind him. Instead of proud standing trees coated in bright green, miles of forest were filled with gnarled, grey spires of dead wood. Soil, once rich with nutrients, now cracked and dry like a desert’s sands. And like grasping hands, the decay continued to crawl over the untouched splendor.

Soon, Mothra had arrived. Even from miles away, high in the heavens, she witnessed the defilement of nature. It made her blood boil, prompting her to fold in her wings and descend like a rocket. Like all the titans of the Earth, she had developed a connection to nature itself, so to see this destruction was like seeing a beloved friend afflicted with painful disease.

But for her specifically, there was another element. Many titans only cared for the smaller lifeforms beneath them on a vague, general level. They cared for life overall, but a few individuals being crushed did not enrage them. But her, and her symbiotic partner, felt a deeper connection with the smaller ones. Particularly those with sentience and intelligence, as foul as some of those may be.

As she considered the loss of human and animal life this fiend could inflict, a better look at him stopped her descent. Her eyes widened as she saw the waving trio of heads and the spiked crowns adorning them. Was this thing related to King Ghidorah? Had it come to avenge him?

Despite how high up she still was, Mothra was not a difficult presence to miss. One of Desghidorah’s outer heads saw her in its periphery, craning its thin neck up to fully see her.

The alien had one main brain, connected to three organs in the heads which ensured that all three were in sync. So, what one head saw, they all saw.

Desghidorah’s eyes widened. Brilliant, ornately patterned wings surrounded him in his memory, colossal moths firing streams of light from their antennae or flapping their wings to shower him with golden scales. He would unleash his power, only for the powder to capture it and thrust it back upon him.

Mothra recoiled slightly as the three heads looked at her. The beast shook as he stared, faces rapidly flashing through different emotions.

*****

They lay dead around him, his teeth stained with yellow ichor. He breathed heavily, exhaustion digging its talons into him. Everything this planet had thrown at him, he conquered. He was unstoppable!

Until a colossal light manifested above him, drawing his gaze up to reveal one more of the divine moths, creating a luminous sigil within the sky. Desghidorah howled in hatred as it shot down, enveloping his existence.

And sealing him in eternal darkness.

*****

Mothra’s heartbeat skyrocketed when an unholy noise left those three jaws, the most hideous scream she had ever heard. His wrath rattled her to the core, shaking her resolve.

And then three glowing fireballs of crimson raced out of Desghidorah’s maws.

She dodged, descending further as more raced towards her. Despite the barrage coming her way, she gracefully weaved between each one as the distance between them closed. Only a few hundred meters away from her foe, the divine moth opened her mandibles and spat out a glob of gelatinous substance.

It unfurled into a web when it struck the center head, keeping the upper and lower jaws together as it encircled them. Circling around the ebon dragon, she shot another ball of silk, doing the same to one of the outer heads.

Despite how much time had passed, however much it had been, she still existed. The ones who had sealed him away still lived, and had almost immediately arrived after his freedom. They had to have been waiting, waiting for the day he broke free just so they could imprison him once more. He was not going back, he would rather die than be put in that hell once again!

Streaks of flame left the gap between Desghidorah’s teeth, burning away the webs and allowing the formerly closed jaws to spew hellacious geysers. Mothra backpedaled, screeching in shock. Despite avoiding the Heavy Flame Wave itself, the heat it output filled her with pain like when the Fire Demon had assailed her. Blindly, the dragon thrashed his heads around, sending the flames flying in all directions.

Dead trees ignited, sending a conflagration racing through the forest like scattering ants. Cutting off his hell’s flame, Desghidorah focused on Mothra once more, running forward as he bellowed promises of death. The guardian flew straight up, drawing enraged cries from her foe.

Spreading her wings to their full width, Mothra shined like a miniature sun, making Desghidorah backpedal as his eyes snapped shut. Ignoring the protests of the destroyer, the guardian raced downwards once more, forelegs primed as the God Rays faded.

Landing on the center head, she scraped her scythe-like legs against the black armor, casting out sparks. Fortunately for her, she had remained aware of her surroundings, otherwise she would not have been able to fly up and dodge the outer heads lunging and biting down. Instead of ripping into her wings, they clacked their teeth together through open air.

More orbs of scarlet death pierced the air, barely missing the goddess’ wings. She did not feel like testing out her own durability against their power.

Mothra found herself lost on how to proceed. Her foe was a thrashing tangle of powerful limbs and deadly blasts of flame. But, she knew she had to figure it out soon as his power grew with each moment. If her guess was correct, those pillars upon the destroyer’s back would soon prove to be so much more if he was not stopped.

Desghidorah stopped firing wildly, taking time to walk towards a region of forest that remained untouched. He knew that blind fire would not incinerate his foe, not while he was confined to the earth. More trees rotted, acting as kindling for the raging flames spreading.

Hissing in frustration, Mothra sped down, aiming behind the black dragon. Desghidorah’s heads whipped around, trying to bring her down with Pyroclastic Shots, but she folded her wings in and drew close. Distracting the heads with several globs of web, sending them flailing for a brief moment as they burned the silk off, she got behind the destroyer.

Lunging forward, she landed upon his back. She raised her abdomen up, revealing it to be tipped with a cruel-looking stinger. Swiftly, she brought the organic blade down…

Leaving sparks as the black scales stopped it cold. Panicking, she thrashed it back and forth, trying to work it between and pierce the skin. If she could just pierce the skin, perhaps it would create an opening she could exploit. Except, Desghidorah was not frantically trying to snap at her or incinerate her despite being on top of him.

There was a flash of light, and before Mothra could even process what was happening, a wave of heat and force crashing into her body. A whitish-blue dome of energy erupted from Desghidorah’s back, hurling the guardian away like she was made of paper.

Smoke curled off her as she crashed into the dirt, sending burning trees flying with the impact. The world blurred and rolled around Mothra, drawing a weak groan from her mandibles.

Heavy thuds snapped her out of this stupor as she looked to see the ebon fiend turning towards her. Raising her wings into the air, she slapped them against the ground, pushing herself up onto her feet. Desghidorah charged forwards, howling as his feet splintered the earth beneath. Mothra left the ground, just in time as the ground beneath her detonated with fireballs slamming into it. The impact sent her spiraling through the air, frantically beating her wings to stay stable.

Mothra screamed in agony as a stream of flame washed over her back, only lasting for a second as she fled out of its reach. Scorched darkness painted her exoskeleton and wings, cracking with each movement as she retreated. Desghidorah bellowed behind her, trying to snipe her out of the air, but she avoided them as she ascended into the clouds and out of sight.

Deciding it would be folly to chase her when he could instead be gaining more power, the destroyer turned away and went back to feeding. He needed to be ready for when she returned with the rest of her kind, this time he would not let one escape his notice until it was too late.

Far away, Mothra landed roughly, breathing heavily. She shook with each movement, her body demanded she rest, but she needed to get a message out. Raising her head, she let loose several shrieks in succession. Her wings dimly flashed as she did this. Once she finished, the guardian’s head dropped, her whole body going limp.

Invisible waves traveled across the world, carrying her “words” with it. There were any number of titans she could have alerted, but there was only one she trusted. The echoed waves reached a single set of ears, so very far away, but he heard it like he had been right there with her.

Deep within the abyss of ocean depths, a living monolith stirred. Dully-colored armor that had endured a million blows flexed. Yellow eyes that had witnessed countless thousands of years opened. Thick, muscular arms that had battered a hundred titans extended. A long, powerful tail which had slain tens of giants waved behind him. And jagged spines which only belonged to one creature glistened in the sparse light.

Godzilla, the King of the Monsters, had been called into battle.

Rising from the darkness, he sensed the growing evil. His partner had fallen in battle before the fiend, earning a dual reaction from the colossus.

The first, wrath. He and Mothra’s bond stretched back through the millennia, a closeness akin to a mated pair’s. They always had each other’s back, and she had saved his life as often as he had saved hers. The titles given to them by humankind, King and Queen of the Monsters, were not inaccurate.

The second, wariness. If it had taken her down already and still continued its meteoric rise in power, he would be hard pressed to find victory. Mothra was relatively small and fragile, but she knew full well how to handle foes larger and stronger than herself with a deadly grace. If she could not overcome, then something truly menacing had arisen.

But he had risen to every challenge thrown his way, and he did not intend to stop anytime soon.

Unaware of the power approaching him, Desghidorah continued feeding. No longer wracked with anguish from hunger, his mind was drifting. How much had changed since his imprisonment?

Everything about this world felt different. The air, the landscape, the animals, all of it. Even the moth that had attacked him was only tangentially similar to the ones that had fought him before.

But deep beneath these thoughts of confusion, the despair that had built up over eons lurked, threatening to bubble forth and consume him if he did not distract himself with other things. So, he focused on hunger and clearing his confusion.

Above him, the sky began to darken. A black cloud began to spread, blotting out the sun as it crawled across the blue sky. Trees it passed over began to wither like Desghidorah had drawn near. The air began to grow toxic, causing smaller beings like insects and frogs to drop dead as larger creatures fled to escape a slow, painful death. Villages were blanketed by darkness, the people within unable to call for help as phone signals evaporated. All they could do was flee, hope to escape before succumbing to the poisoned air.

Desghidorah’s cackles rolled across the landscape as he witnessed the extension of his will smother this place. Despair faded into the recesses of his mind as he indulged in sadism once more, growing high from the sheer power he wielded. It was beautiful, truly majestic to watch nature fall before him.

Soon, the waters of the ocean rushed over an empty land, an unfortunate side effect of the passing of nature’s grandest guardian. But Godzilla did not focus on the devastation caused by his tidal wave as he looked into the heavens, seeing the blackened sky. The mephitic cloud stretched from horizon to horizon, blotting out the sun as he marched.

As the leviathan made his way further inland, he witnessed the wilting trees and strewn about carcasses. His rage intensified as he moved, more helpless animals succumbing to the death filling the air.

His fingers twitched as he desired to wrap them around the throat of the foul beast responsible. He carried no respect for bringers of mass death, especially those who took pleasure in slaughtering the weak. Godzilla was not quick to wrath, an immensely long life had tempered his temper. But this?

In his mind’s eye, he pictured the humans who had once served him choking on this poison, and it made the fires in his gut rage. Once again, he would take pride in his role as mother nature’s fierce protector, brutally doling out her justice.

Minutes dragged onto hours until he finally spotted the epicenter. Desghidorah sang his mad choruses as he crushed animals strong enough to survive his poison into red smears, relishing as trees perished around him in an instant.

Of course the thing capable of such atrocity would bear such a resemblance to his vanquished nemesis. Had it come to avenge him, carry on his legacy? Godzilla growled, teeth grinding.

This Ghidorah would join his relative as dust in the wind.

The destroyer’s mirth was ended when the mightiest, most hate-filled roar he had ever heard besides his own echoed.

Turning, his eyes widened as he witnessed a colossus charging towards him. When he had first come to Earth, he had encountered others of this one’s kind. But they were not like this one.

They were slightly shorter, less bulky. Their back spines were small, not the towering spires protruding from this one’s back. And while they could run, they certainly had much to be desired when it came to speed.

This one though, ran with a ridiculous speed that closed the distance between them in a matter of seconds. Desghidorah was barely able to counter due to his shock, leaving Godzilla to grab the outer necks with his massive hands and begin to squeeze. Scales bent and broke under the pressure, earning a panicked roar from the only head able to still release a cry.

Godzilla released his grip, roaring in pain, when a stream of fire left the maw directly before him. This fire was not normal fire, that he could wade through miles of with ease, whereas this one was agonizing. Despite nearly having their windpipes crushed, the outer heads shook off the pain quickly and lashed forward like spiked hammers.

Batting them aside, ignoring the pain they inflicted as they bashed his hide, Godzilla dragged his claws down Desghidorah’s chest. Sparks flew, but not much else as he failed to pierce. The ebon dragon reared up, slashing his own claws across the leviathan’s stomach, leaving shallow grooves.

Lunging forward, Godzilla latched his hands onto Desghidorah’s back, and began to shove him back. Trenches were dug through the dirt as the dragon tried to resist, but he could not find purchase against the sheer power against him. The teeth of the monster king scraped against Desghidorah’s center throat, trying to tear through and rip free the jugular.

Explosions against Godzilla’s body ceased this, making him wince as his push weakened. The outer heads cackled as they continued spewing Pyroclastic Shots, forcing the leviathan to backpedal as he tried to block the continuous fireballs. Once he was far enough back, the center head joined in, all three unleashing their attacks at once.

Chunks of his armor was torn free and blasted away as the Triple Vortex Attack crashed against him, nearly throwing Godzilla off his feet. His bellow of pain echoed, drawing laughter from the demon.

The air was filled with a crackling sound, snapping the destroyer out of his humor. Blue light began to crawl up the leviathan’s back spines, soon casting out a brilliant glow. Desghidorah panicked, recognizing this attack from those of this one’s kind he had fought before.

He was, however, unable to counter before Godzilla stepped forward, opening his maw. A colossal stream of blue energy raced forwards, resembling a geyser of flame as it washed over Desghidorah’s chest. The ebon dragon screamed, trying to desperately back away. He was forced back as scales were incinerated and melted, until the beam faded and left his chest glowing for a brief moment.

Godzilla charged forward, ramming his bulk against Desghidorah and nearly throwing the disoriented dragon to the ground. Blindly the destroyer unleashed his fire, madly waving his head as he tried to keep his foe back. The leviathan grit his teeth, before stepping forward and twisting his body, sending his tail hurtling through the fire.

Desghidorah yelled as thick limb nearly dislocated his center jaws, cutting off the stream of flame. Godzilla grabbed his foe by the necks, and straining his muscles, he lifted the ebon dragon up off his feet. The destroyer was unable to attack in time before the monster king twisted his own body, hurling the dragon for hundreds of meters away.

When Desghidorah was back on his feet, the fierce lord of nature was back upon him, swinging his heavy fists. The Super Darkness Dragon yelled as the pounding blows made him recoil, only to soon howl in rage. Driven by wrath, his three maws latched onto one of the leviathan’s arms, digging their teeth in deep. Before Godzilla could attack again, anguish speared into him.

Crackling electricity traveled down the demon’s teeth, flowing into the limb. The bolts snapped apart sinew and peeled back skin, making it difficult for the radioactive titan to focus long enough to counter.

Just as adrenaline had given his foe the strength to suddenly turn the tide, so too did Godzilla’s adrenal glands fill him with the power to fight back. Narrowing his eyes, he pulled back his free hand and sent a strike into the center neck. Strips of burnt flesh were ripped free as the mouth’s grip was dislodged. Scales had cracked under the strike, leaving the main controller of the destroyer flailing in anguish. With a strong pull back of his arm, Godzilla freed himself of the other two mouths.

Every involuntary twitch of the injured arm hurt, so he favored the other as he swiped it across the necks of his foe, attempting to draw ichor. Scales were torn away as sparks flew, but Desghidorah still bashed his skulls against Godzilla’s ribs.

The monster king backpedaled slightly, before being forced back further by the Heavy Flame Wave washing over his stomach. His groan echoed for miles. Suddenly, Desghidorah cut power to the infernal geyser, and began spitting Pyroclastic Shots from his jaws.

Crimson bolts crashed against his hide and against the ground beneath Godzilla’s feet, kicking up walls of dirt and burning wood. He stumbled back further, losing sight of his foe as the air was filled with debris and dust. The assault ceased, and the ground began to shudder.

Godzilla had faced many colossal foes, so he knew that the shaking of the earth growing steadily weaker did not mean his foe was approaching.

The bellow of the nuclear guardian rang in the destroyer’s six ears as he fled towards healthier ground. He was not going to win this battle like this, that much was clear to him. Desghidorah was hurting his foe, but he was not dealing the damage needed to claim triumph being mauled to death or succumbing to the Atomic Ray.

But he was so close to a transformation that would make all his problems cease…

Godzilla watched as vast swathes of the forest perished, their lives flowing into Desghidorah. He charged, intent on stopping this rise of power. Energy began to course through his back, lighting up his spines.

Desghidorah cackled to the heavens as he metabolized the consumed life essence. Sparks of power erupted from the pillars atop his back, as flashes of light obscured his whole body. His time in perdition had withered his body nearly as much as it had his mind, but with this, his former glory was in his grasp.

The leviathan’s charge ceased when Desghidorah vanished in a cascade of luminance, but when his senses detected a change in the air and a spike in power, he redoubled his efforts. Atomic energy reached his throat, ready to be discharged.

But it was too late…

Three fireballs slammed into his torso, a trio of massive explosions following that knocked him to the ground. The geyser of nuclear power was involuntarily released, tainting the air with an azure glow. Looking up, the monster king recoiled before the sight of his foe.

Grand wings, their membranes crimson as freshly spilled blood, stretched out from Desghidorah’s back. His outer necks had grown bulkier, matching the size of the central neck. Muscle rippled beneath his charcoal scales, even greater than before.

Godzilla tried to get back to his feet, only to have Desghidorah launch himself forward. The dragon’s forelegs slammed into the leviathan’s back, earning a cry of anguish as he was forced to the ground. The destroyer dug his claws into the thick hide, piercing into the flesh beneath and spilling blood. Godzilla bellowed as chunks of meat were carved from him, rolling down his body and coming to rest on the ground.

He stepped off his foe’s body. Reaching down, Desghidorah’s three maws clamped down onto the leviathan, filling his mouths with radioactive blood. The coppery taste was one he had missed for so long. Lifting the colossus into the air, he sent electricity through his bites once again, earning a tortured cry of anguish from the guardian. Godzilla’s thrashing only made his anguish worse as the teeth were jostled in his flesh.

Curling his necks inward, Desghidorah swiftly straightened them out to hurl his foe forward, sending the leviathan crumpling to the ground. Smoke curled off blackened patches which were just next to bleeding caverns.

The ebon bringer of end times began to breathe fire at the ground before him, manipulating his control over the power of fire to call upon the magma beneath. Soil and stone torn asunder as a colossal fissure formed, spitting tides of molten rock into the air. The boiling canyon was large enough to consume nature’s fierce guardian, something he was keenly aware of as it closed the distance.

Horror filled the ancient warrior as he witnessed the display of vile power. He had never seen such an ability before in his seemingly endless life, what was he facing? Could he even stand before a being able to rip the earth asunder and spray forth its molten blood?

Godzilla placed both hands on the ground, trying to push himself to his feet. A Pyroclastic Shot to his wound stopped this, leaving him prone and agonized as the ground beneath gave way. The alpha bellowed as he dropped into the boiling stone, disappearing from sight amidst the smoke and fire.

Desghidorah paused as he heard the reverberating call, for it was not just a wordless sound of terror. It carried a call for a specific being, and something in his mind told him he knew exactly who it was. Especially, because shortly after he had beaten the moth, he heard the slightest echoes of a similar yell.

Beating his wings, carrying himself away from this ruined forest, the fact that both his most recent foes truly cared for one another stayed on his mind like a stain. The chill of existential dread settled over the one born of hellfire, the devastation laid out before him beginning to leave a bitter taste in his mouth.

Seconds turned to minutes as the destroyer left the scene of the battle. The roiling magma soon settled down, and silence fell over the land. A clawed hand shot forth from the molten rock, digging its talons into the stone. Its twin, joining it and latching onto the canyon walls.

A head erupted from the fluid, shrieking in agony. Rivulets of orange leaked from Godzilla’s gills as he pulled himself up, dropping back into the pool. Slowly, one hand went higher, then secured a grip. The other rose to its level, then climbed higher before latching on. The leviathan’s arms and legs strained as they supported his frame against the wall, the claws of his feet similarly lodged within the wall.

He violently shook each second, all his willpower being put to avoid falling back into the hell beneath. Godzilla sucked in gasps of toxic air, feeling it sting his mouth and throat. Lava ran down his spines, dripping down. Further he ascended, revealing more of his burnt skin.

Two massive, weary hands gripped the rim of the cavern. The monster king slowly dragged himself further until he could get a foot upon the ground, then the other. He took a few steps to distance his tail from the crater, before dropping like a switch had been flipped off. His eyes were shut, and the only movement he made was the familiar rise and fall of breath.

Godzilla had been in magma before. It was not something he desired by any means, but he had been through the boiling pits of the Hollow Earth and atop undersea volcanoes before. But that was when he was in peak condition, not after a pitched battle and a brutal assault.

He was not sure how long he had slept before sunlight shined down upon him. Slowly, he opened his eyes as he groaned, looking up as a portion of the black cloud was parted. Godzilla smiled as he watched her descend like an angel from the heavens, wreathed in holy light.

Mothra landed before her partner, a small bundle of metallic objects clutched in her forelimbs. Stepping forward, she dropped the objects with jagged edges, letting them crack open on impact.

The King of the Monsters basked in the radiation they emitted, letting out a slight growl of thanks for this gift. Desperate times called for desperate measures, and it appeared that his partner had seen fit to raid one of humanity’s nuclear power plants to aid him.

It did not bring him back to his full ability, but as Godzilla placed his hands on the ground and pushed up, he knew that he had been rejuvenated significantly. Rising to his full height, he looked down at his partner. Her back was still burnt from her battle with the demon, causing the leviathan’s fists to clench as he imagined her pain.

The Queen of the Monsters replied with a chirp, adamantly stating that she would still fight. She could not just sit back and let this cataclysm continue, she added as she observed the surrounding landscape. Godzilla looked with her, and the sheer scope of it finally sank in.

From horizon to horizon, death. Gnarled husks of plant life crumbled beneath their own weight, many still burning and casting smoke into the air. The soil beneath was totally dry, cracked and bereft of vital nutrients that sustained life. Countless corpses of animals laid like macabre decorations, their rotted faces warped in the anguish of their last moments.

Mothra hung her head low, letting loose a subtle, mournful call. She had let this happen. This was all her fault, for failing to destroy the demon, for—

A bellow above her cut off this train of thought. Godzilla’s rough, menacing face wore a warm expression as he looked at his partner, softly calling to her. She had tried, stood before what would make most titans flee in horror. He had failed to stop it as well on his own, it was not her fault. Now was not the time to wallow.

Now was the time to stand up and fight, together.

Mothra stood tall, and left the ground with the beat of her wings. Hovering before her partner’s face, she thanked him with her shrill cry. Godzilla thanked her, for always being by his side.

Gently landing on top of the leviathan’s head, the guardian insect rubbed the side of her own head against his. He returned the favor the best he could, basking in the warmth of her presence. The two stayed like this for a few more seconds, enjoying each other’s company.

Mothra flew back, and let out a harsher cry. The rumbling, harsh growl of the alpha joined it. The time was now, to purge this evil from the face of the world.

And with that, the King and Queen of the Monsters moved as one towards the destroyer.

Miles away, eruptions of flame joined anguished roars. Desghidorah stood within an abandoned city, trumpeting in outrage as he pulverized buildings with his horrid power. Walls of dust and debris rushed through the streets with each demolition. His tail ripped through a structure, launching the top half of the structure across the block.

Why did he not feel the pleasure of destruction? The trees surrounding the city withered and died, but he did not feel the small joy of watching them fade. Dead people lined the streets, but they brought nothing to him.

Nothing, nothing, nothing!

The cosmic demon felt hollow despite the fullness of his stomach, but he knew that was not what was empty. For he had been forcibly reminded of what he had dove head-long into sadism in an attempt to bury.

No, he had no proof for this. Desghidorah could not prove that the two foes he had faced were connected, any number of coincidences could explain what he had witnessed! But, that did not matter any more. Whether it had been them or his own subconscious, the fact was, it had been dredged into the light before his eyes. He could deny it no longer.

Desghidorah had nothing.

There was no communing with friends, no kind reassurance or tutoring from parents, and no warmth of a mate’s presence. The only warmth he felt was that which he spat forth upon the worlds and that which was spat upon him in return. He could not remember even seeing another of his kind.

Were they all dead? Was he the last of his species, the pitiful wretch pointlessly spreading death across the cosmos? Would they have reviled him, or would they have been just as horrid as him? Perhaps they would attack him, for perhaps it was his, and their, very nature to be cruel and vile.

But he could not stop draining worlds. It was needed for him to live, without draining life his own would wither away. The suspended animation he had been placed under was the only reason he had survived all that time without feasting. But he had just realized that he hated living, so why bother continuing it?

Desghidorah’s memory flashed back to the pain that wracked him upon reawakening.

Oh, so that was it.

He was selfish, willing to purge worlds and cast countless billions into oblivion just because he did not like the pain. A pitiful creature of instinct was all he was, living from moment to moment doing as his impulses compelled him.

Shrieking in rage, he torched a city block into ash, just trying to find some catharsis from destruction. But it was all he had ever done, wasn’t it? Tried to fill the holes in his heart and soul with carnage, deciding that if he could not enjoy life then none else would get to. It was only after a trip into hell and battles with the Earth’s guardians that the cancer in his subconscious spread into the conscious.

He stared into the heavens, cursing them with his trumpeting call. Closing his eyes as he lowered his heads, he stood there for a time, how long he did not know. What was he supposed to do? His mind was clouded beyond belief, unable to decide on anything. No course of action seemed pleasant, so he just locked up.

The mental fog was parted by a duo of calls, one a deep, rumbling roar, the other a shrill, piercing cry. Desghidorah’s eyes snapped open, his three jaws clenching so hard the teeth almost cracked. Steam left the gaps in his teeth as his breathing grew heavy and rough, leaving in a snarl.

Godzilla and Mothra charged towards Desghidorah as one, the queen flying above her king. The destroyer turned around, locking his gazes with theirs. Crimson eyes narrowed as they met the piercing blue and yellow sets.

The demon saw only one course of action. Seeing them filled him with a hatred that hurt with how intensely it flared in his mind, the world around them blurred and turned red in his vision as the two were the full focus of the destroyer. He shook, boiling saliva leaking from his jaws as he stared at the two that had fully driven into him how worthless his existence was.

Godzilla and Mothra prepared to let loose another war cry, only to be stopped when Desghidorah opened his maws and released a hellacious noise that could barely be called a roar. Such bile and wrath filled the call that the duo backed away, rattled to their cores.

Desghidorah’s heads flailed as he madly, blindly unleashed Pyroclastic Shots, charging forward meanwhile. Mothra flew higher into the air, seeking to avoid the blind assault as Godzilla braced himself. The projectiles hammered into his torso, but he grit his teeth and rushed forth, enduring the scorching assault as the distance between them closed.

The flames stopped soaring, the three faces of the demon twisting in concentration. Godzilla’s hands crashed into the outer heads, creating a shockwave which sent nearby rubble flying. The two pushed, trying to dislodge the other. The leviathan’s feet began to slide back, especially as he jerked his head back to avoid the snapping jaws of the free head.

Mothra swept down, scoring a shot with her silk onto the center head. It let loose a muffled screech in rage as the web bound its mouth shut, the surprise allowing Godzilla to push his foe back. Desghidorah planted his feet in the ground as a small fireball shot forth from his jaws, searing away the silk.

Mothra landed on one of the necks being throttled by her ally, and began bashing away at the center neck with her claws. Sparks soared as the blades fell upon the ebon scales, drawing the enraged gaze of the demon as the central head tried to crane around to look at her.

Godzilla lunged forward with opened jaws, clamping them onto the distracted throat. Instead of flailing his head back and forth like a rabid dog, he just put all his focus into biting down. Scales began to crack, failing before the teeth. The demon’s trumpeting calls echoed as he shouted his rage, then began building power within. The subtle increase of heat on the skin made the divine moth immediately take off, shouting a warning to her partner.

From the destroyer’s body came a pulse of blue power, still stinging the leviathan’s front even though he had released and begun backing away. Marching forward, Desghidorah began beating his wings. Godzilla prepared to charge back in, only for a strong flap of the demon’s wings to carry him into the air. The leviathan was bashed in the face by the dragon’s tail as he passed overhead, sending him to the ground.

As dust soared into the air behind him, Desghidrorah unleashed Pyroclastic Shots towards his airborne foe. Mothra dropped slightly, letting them pass over her head as she raced towards the dragon. Before the distance could be closed, she was forced to backpedal as the Heavy Flame Wave was belched forth from the demon’s main maw. The heat she felt just from being near it made her flinch, remembering the pain of the dragon’s fire.

Desghidorah continued flying towards her, spewing hellacious conflagrations from his mouths. Mothra circled around her foe, but the demon twisted with her to ensure she could not go around his assault. A roar from the ground below drew both their attention as Godzilla’s backspines glowed with azure.

Looking up, the guardian opened his jaws, spraying forth a geyser of nuclear energy. Desghidorah’s assault ceased as he madly flapped his wings, rising higher to avoid the attack. The twin ends of his tail were swallowed by the energy, singeing them and earning a cry of anguish from the dragon.

Mothra shot forward like a bullet, crashing into the destroyer’s stomach. Her claws and stinger flailed forth wildly, scraping against the grey underbelly. Desghidorah and the divine moth flailed through the air as he tried to find an opening to attack her, the guardian being too low for his heads to properly aim fireballs at.

A surge of pain shot through him as the stinger pierced his skin, squirming into the flesh beneath. Snarling, a cruel idea solidified in his mind. Folding his wings in, Desghidorah dropped from the air, Mothra still beneath him. His forelegs and backlegs moved inwards as much as they could, in an effort to pin her. The guardian shrieked in panic as the ground swiftly raced towards them, unable to free herself.

Godzilla rushed forwards, full focus on what he was about to do. Before Desghidorah hit the ground, his partner crushed beneath the demon, the alpha titan twisted in place just behind them. His tail lashed out an upwards angle, crashing into the demon’s back thigh just before he landed.

The dragon was flipped over, his bellows of shock echoing loudly. Mothra pulled her stinger free before flying up, traces of molten blood dripping from it. A cluster of buildings was reduced to rubble as Desghidorah crashed into them, casting up walls of dust and debris.

Mothra landed on a skyscraper, trying to catch her breath. Godzilla stood nearby, bracing himself for the next attack. Tens of seconds passed, feeling agonizingly long as they waited for their enemy to make a move. There was no way that had put him out of commission, they murmured between each other.

Rubble flew like it weighed nothing as Desghidorah stood up, releasing no call. The look in his eyes was haunting, almost giving the guardians pause. Suddenly, he unleashed the Heavy Flame Wave onto the pavement before him, calling upon his unholy power once more within the earth beneath.

Buildings and ruins began to fall in droves as the ground split open, gushing molten rock up into the air above even the tallest buildings present. Columns of smoke began to rise as well when concrete and steel were cast into the hellacious fluid. Godzilla and Mothra ran in opposite directions as the unholy disaster reached them, avoiding the chaos unfolding as Desghidorah dove headfirst into the grand sheet of smog.

The leviathan frantically looked around, trying to find where his foe had gone. The ground beneath him began to rumble, another quickly widening crack in the ground crawling towards him from the one that had just formed. He lunged forward, avoiding it by a moment. He took a moment to look back, seeing the chasm he had almost fallen into, barely seeing the glow of the magma past the churning smoke.

Then three draconic heads lunged forth, clamping onto his tail.

Godzilla’s roar of shock echoed across the desolate city, alerting Mothra. Desghidorah flew backwards, trying to drag the alpha titan into hell. Concrete split apart as the leviathan tried to hold his ground, but each passing second took him closer to the smoke and magma his foe lurked within.

Desghidorah was not foolish, he had purged many worlds and faced many foes. His madness had blinded him for a moment, but now it fueled him as he set about using strategy. Divided foes were so much easier to rip asunder and slaughter than those joined together.

There was a piercing, shrill cry. A moment later, too quickly for the dragon to react to the call’s meaning, a wall of light filled his vision. All three jaws unlatched from the tail, the destroyer staggering back and dropping onto the lava beneath him.

Smoke was parted and dissolved, revealing Mothra standing there in all her luminous glory as she banished the darkness with her divinity. Godzilla thanked her with a growl, before suddenly the ground shook once more.

Desghidorah, feet planted on the sides of the cavern, split the earth once more before him. The leviathan quickly ran, keeping away from the growing canyon. Mothra, no longer glowing brightly, flew with him. Their minds raced as they tried to figure out some way to overcome this new tactic.

The echoing hatred escaping the trio of mouths sent chills down their ancient bodies. He shot straight into the air behind them, leaving a gap in the smoke as the wind generated pushed it to the sides.

Every moment they lived made him want to vomit. No matter what, they were always there for each other, separating them was impossible.

Descending at an angle, Pyroclastic Shots escaped the destroyer’s maws. Mothra shot up to avoid them as Godzilla endured those that landed upon him, turning around swiftly to roar at the dragon. Desghidorah ceased the mad firing and began to gather power, his jaws filling with flame as he hovered above his foe. Godzilla charged his atomic ray at the same time, prepared to overwhelm the dragon’s assault with his own.

Three spheres of blazing, crimson energy were released at once, a geyser of scorching, azure power racing up to meet them. The Atomic Breath crashed against the Flaming Dragon Whirlwind, and for a moment they struggled against one another as the forces behind them clashed.

And then a colossal blast of red and blue rippled outwards.

Desghidorah was sent flying back by the shockwave, hurtling through the heavens like he did not weigh seventy five thousand tons, until he smashed into a city block and sent it collapsing upon himself. Godzilla was lost in the blinding flash, his roar of shock not rising above the mighty crash of the explosion. Buildings were flattened for miles around, the canyons carved open by the dragon shaking further apart. Even Mothra found it hard to remain airborne as the walls of force washed over her.

When the chaos faded, she scanned the landscape. Neither of them was visible, which had an immediate effect on the moth as she felt her heart thud within her abdomen. Trepidatiously she called out, trying to get a reply from her partner. None came.

Descending, she attempted once more, to the same result. He was unconscious, clearly, but where? How did someone one hundred twenty meters tall just disappear? The guardian’s frustration came out in another shriek as she searched low to the ground. This time, there was a reply.

Only it was not the one she had sought.

Mothra cried out in anguish as a fireball slammed into her body. She bounced off the ground, rolling as she groaned. Her eyes went in the direction the attack had originated from, and what she saw stole her breath for a moment.

Desghidorah practically shook as he charged towards her, eyes fixed upon the divine moth with a rapturous joy that she had only seen once before. And just like then, it was three sets of eyes affixing her with that horrid happiness.

Mothra raised her wings, ready to flap them and enter the air. Until one of the hellacious spheres seared off a massive portion of one of her wings, prompting another anguished wail. Frightened, she turned to witness the colossus bearing down on her.

And in that moment, she locked up as she saw no path to take.

As the center set of eyes locked onto the divine moth’s own, the side mouths lashed out, sinking their teeth into the gossamer limbs and shredding through the membrane with the utmost ease. A thick, elephantine foot came down and snapped one of the goddess’s legs like a blood filled twig.

Far away, within darkness, the alpha slumbered. He drifted in dreamless sleep induced by physical trauma, and would have likely taken several minutes on end to awaken.

Yellow eyes snapped open in the darkness as the most haunting, piercing scream he had ever heard filled his ears. Wasting no time he arose, revealing the shade of the heavens to him as cascades of rubble fell from his wounded body.

Godzilla had seen many things in his long life, witnessed tragedies that would break the constitution of most beings. Been exposed to horrors that would send one into a spiral of either madness or depression. But still he carried on, his heart sometimes heavy with the memories, but never enough to drag him down.

The sight awaiting him made his heart sink and his pulse race like nothing else. Mothra, suspended off the ground by her wings held within the jaws of the foul beast. Ichor profusely spilling from the shattered remains of one of her legs. Her face locked in a state of horrid sorrow and agony, which nearly brought him to his knees when her eyes locked with his.

Desghidorah’s eyes widened at the scream that echoed from the Alpha Titan, telling him that he had incurred a wrath and power the likes of which he had never encountered.

Jaws reaching down to the bases of the divine moth’s shredded wings, Desghidorah locked eyes with the barreling forward leviathan. Another bellow from the witness to his forthcoming atrocity, another shudder of joy and fear at once coursing through the dragon.

He did not know why he derived pleasure from this, his mind a swirl of shifting emotions rolling over one another like chaff caught in a storm. But, why stop now?!

Neck muscles strained as they pulled in opposite directions, Mothra shrieking once more as the sinews connecting her wings to her body were pulled taut. Godzilla’s footsteps hammered the ground, splintering the ground with each crash. Power was flowing up his body, racing towards his throat.

But the mightiest beast Earth had birthed was not fast enough to save her.

Despite being a dull, soft sound, the shearing of the queen’s wings from her body filled his ears like thunder. Mothra dropped, a pitiful whimper leaving her mandibles. Shakily, she tried to get onto her feet, shaking with each breath.

Desghidorah stepped past her, looking the monster king dead in the eyes. He curled his tail away from the moth, and drinking in the hatred that filled Godzilla’s voice, he swung it like a whip.

And sent Mothra’s broken body soaring.

Godzilla watched her bounce against the ground on impact, leaving splatters of blood. She did not get up, remaining unmoving aside from twitches of her remaining legs. The moment of silence dredged up a grotesque thought.

Had she laid an egg? Or, was she permanently…

His world spun for a moment, refusing to finish this and consider such a thing. Out of the corner of his eye, he noticed Desghidorah’s fire building up in his jaws, as the heads looked at the leviathan and aimed at her. And in that moment, Godzilla’s head became clear, the atomic energy built up inside him still waiting.

And all of his wrath was vomited upon the destroyer of worlds.

Desghidorah howled in agony, his jaws turning towards the king of the monsters. The side heads fired bolts of molten wrath as the center spewed an inferno. Godzilla’s nuclear breath faded, but despite the burns being laid upon him, he charged forth. His opened jaws crashed into the left neck, teeth clamping down hard on the ebon scales. The other two heads prepared to fight back, only for the alpha to snap his head up as he stood tall, sending Desghidorah’s feet off the ground.

A crater was formed as the leviathan slammed his foe into the concrete, the impact digging his teeth in deeper. Both hands grasped the throat, squeezing tight as he shoved his fangs into the flesh. Explosions rippled across his abdomen, the other heads trying to save their other third, but he ignored it as he continued trying to pull out something vital.

The blue shockwave rippled out from Desghidorah’s body once more, scorching Godzilla’s face as its full brunt washed over him. The Raging Sky Burst forced the alpha titan’s jaws from the neck, leaving behind two deep gashes that geysered blood, but it did not cease his assault.

Hands shooting to the head currently screaming in agony as gore fled its throat, Godzilla grasped the upper and lower jaws. Adrenaline fueled his weary muscles to pull in opposite directions, spreading the maw as wide as it could naturally open. The other two heads screamed in spite, demanding to know why his foe had suddenly become so resilient.

The pressure prying open a third of his mouths ceased for a moment, allowing it to close slightly. Godzilla’s eyes were shut as the restrained head looked upon him, preparing to unleash a gout of flame.

A blue, burning gaze filled a third of Desghidorah’s vision before suddenly, the pressure returned in full force and then some.

And with a moist popping and cracking, the head’s lower jaw was ripped clean off. A torrent of gore filled saliva flowed from the grotesque cavern left behind, the neck seizing up as the eyes rolled back into his head.

Casting the bloody mass of bone and scale in his hands aside, Godzilla went to attack again, only for the remaining heads to respond in kind by shooting forward and digging their teeth into his gills. Immensely powerful amps flowed into his throat, earning a choked cry of misery from the king. His hands smashed into the necks, dislodging them at the cost of burning chunks of his gills being pulled free. Smoke poured from the alpha’s mouth as he tried to suck in massive gasps of air.

With a snarl, he declared that Desghidorah had taken everything from him. The most important thing in his life, ripped asunder and cast aside like garbage.

And with a hiss, his foe proclaimed that Godzilla and Mothra had shown him how futile life was. Right now, he only lived to destroy them, because nothing else brought him anything beyond another day in this wretched waste called a life.

Energy began to build within their bodies, flowing simultaneously just like before.

The darkness dragon had done all this to carry out some personal crusade? This was all the result of self-reflection revealing his faults, so he responded by committing these horrors?

The alpha titan knew nothing of suffering. This pain he felt now was only part of what the demon had felt in his perdition for uncountable eons.

Muscular hands shot out, grabbing the useless head with a grievous wound. Fire crawled out from the corners of jaws, four sets of eyes focused on the slits of the foe’s throat.

Both thought the same thing at that moment.

Only fire could cleanse the stain before him.

Godzilla’s nuclear beam shot down the mutilated mouth, traveling down the serpentine throat and into the main body. Unprotected organs popped and sizzled as the radioactive flames seared them. The black neck in his grasp burst apart at the seams, crumbling away as it was destroyed from the inside out.

And a second later, twin Pyroclastic Shots tore into the gills, blasting them apart. Godzilla wheezed as his assault faded, falling down limply as he struggled to breathe. Desghidorah backed away, writhing as his innards flared with unyielding pain. Blood-tinted steam flowed from his maws and the smoking cavern that had once been a third of his consciousness.

Standing over his foe, Desghidorah breathed in deeply. The nuclear colossus was at death’s door, and all he needed was a good push. Opening his center jaws, the right head still reeling from the pain, the Super Darkness Dragon tried to call upon his power once more.

Suddenly, crawling over top the body of Godzilla, Mothra hissed at the lurking demon. She bared her forelimbs in an attempt at intimidation, not quite achieving it with how she still swayed. Opening her mandibles, she showed that her ability to spit silk was undamaged as she landed a blob of webbing upon the center head. The mouth was still able to open, revealing the embers in his throat.

Mothra leaned down, rubbing the side of her head on the rough, burnt scales of Godzilla’s face. His eye shifted to look at her, a tear beginning to flow from it. She chirped softly to him, trying to reassure him.

Why did they still comfort one another…

The divine moth spoke to her partner, a tender coo leaving her mandibles. She would always be with him. No matter the foe; no matter the circumstances; no matter anything. They were one being in two bodies, forever connected.

How could they both face death like this!?

The Heavy Flame Wave that poured from the dragon’s maw was nowhere near the intensity of those he had unleashed before. Yet, it was enough to destroy Mothra’s body, reducing her to ash atop her partner’s body. Blue dust fell upon the limp Godzilla, disappearing into his form.

Desghidorah felt like someone had carved his heart out and crushed it beneath their foot. Not because his actual heart still stung with the heat that had grazed it, but because once again, he felt hollow. They had not died in terror, begging for mercy that would never come. Instead, the guardians had only become the closest they ever had.

He turned away from the corpse, trying to purge it from his mind, but still it remained in his thoughts. They had something he could never understand. Earth’s chosen defenders had a joy that would elude him for all of time. When he passed, it would be nowhere near as peaceful. Either he would be ripped asunder like he almost had here, or would just pass away out of sight from the whole universe.

The void in his senses also haunted him. Could he ever recover from such a grievous loss? Would this be his end, him dying of these severe wounds on the world that he considered hell? What would await him on the other side?

Lost in his morose retrospection and pondering, Desghidorah failed to notice the orange glow beginning to form on Godzilla’s body. Subtle light peeked out from his scales and wounds.

The demon wanted there to be nothing on the other side, like what he had been through before but without thought. Or, would there be further torment, punishment for all he had done with life? Reward, for truly appeasing this barbaric cosmos?

Fingers twitched as the nuclear behemoth began to shift, the light intensifying. The concrete beneath him began to glow and melt away, surrounding piles of rubble doing the same as they became one.

There was a heat on Desghidorah’s tail, prompting him to turn around. He shrieked in panic, mind racing at a million miles per hour yet reaching no conclusions as his worldview imploded and contorted before him. The air warped around the slowly rising guardian, his body now fully glowing with brilliant light.

One thing tore through the smog of Desghidorah’s mind, the most primal instinct found within all life. For all his pondering of death, the urge to survive was unbreaking in the face of very real mortal peril.

Turning around as a city melted behind him, the dragon’s wings began to beat.

Above the sounds of melting slag and roaring heat, a violent crackling of power filled the two sets of hidden ears. Desghidorah did not turn, he refused to look back. The future and past were not present in his mind, only the very here and now.

An advanced warning would have done him no good regardless.

Burning Godzilla, spines flashing madly with the divine power within his core, opened his maw. A lance of crimson, nuclear death shot forth from it, incinerating one of the destroyer’s wings. Desghidorah hit the ground, falling over and flailing as his mind was overwhelmed.

Four eyes watched the molten god approach, wide as possible with utmost terror. He could not muster the power to fight back, but something in his madly spasming mind told him that it would do no good. What was fire to a being who had become the embodiment of incineration itself?

Godzilla bellowed mightily, a familiar screech manifesting alongside it. From his glowing form came a dome of crimson energy, adorned with the elaborate pattern that had decorated her wings. It washed over the demon, peeling off skin and boiling muscle beneath.

The destroyer had proclaimed to himself that death would be preferable to returning to purgatory…

The alpha felt no remorse as another pulse reduced Desghidorah to a screaming skeleton with melting organs. He drew closer, standing over the being who had brought about mass death and destruction; the demon who carried on the legacy of his most hated nemesis; and the bastard who had sought to destroy the god and goddess of the Earth out of spite and envy.

Desghidorah’s last coherent was of the other side. Whatever it was, it would be better than mortality had been. Especially in this moment.

Godzilla’s foot imploded Desghidorah’s rib cage, reducing the heart to nothing. And with one final pulse, one which swallowed the entire city, ensured that there would be no chance of a return.

Standing in a crater of his own making, surrounded by a now blazing forest, the alpha titan slowly looked up. The shade parted above him, revealing the night sky. Stars twinkled in the natural darkness, around the beautiful orb of yellow humanity labeled the Moon.

It was the second most beautiful sight he had ever witnessed. He would seek out the first whenever he next could, not knowing if it would even be there. Could he go on living if the egg was non-existent?

She would want him to, regardless of her own fate.

With that, Godzilla hit the ground once more, eyes slamming shut. The clean air felt good to finally breathe in.

Winner: Godzilla (Legendary)