One likely had many expectations of how a battle between gods looked. Perhaps it would be a fight where the very cosmos shook with every clash or one where solar systems easily collapsed, and while that certainly could happen, it was never the objective of the two fighters.
The Viper had spoken a lot to Jake about the importance of intensity in energy over scale. Quality over quantity. For the Malefic Viper and Yip of Yore, destroying things was easy. Blowing up a few galaxies was effortless... but also supremely wasteful.
Why launch an attack causing an explosion the size of a planet when you could instead condense that very same explosion down to the size of a large house, increasing the intensity several times over while reducing the cost? If your goal was only to strike one small target in the first place, a huge explosion would ultimately just waste a lot of energy hitting thin air.
The only instances where launching attacks of a larger scale made sense was when fighting a massive opponent or to ensure the attack would hit a speedy and very evasive enemy, or when one launched an attack above one’s ability to fully control. Oftentimes, it made sense to abandon some level of control for sheer power, with the end result often being better.
It was all about finding a balance between scale and intensity, and finding that perfect balance was something even gods could perpetually work on. Either way, the goal tended to be to make one’s attacks have just enough scale to still hit while optimizing the power put into it, and a good switch-up between larger and smaller attacks could often allow one to hit a good strike.
This all resulted in the battles of gods not looking that much different from even C-grades fighting, as long as one didn’t consider the sheer speed of their battles. At least it looked like C-grades for a few moments from the outside... until one took into account the shockwaves and inadvertent uncontrolled explosions resulting from the battle.
When blocking a strike, there was no need to lessen the resulting shockwave. In fact, quite the opposite, as the shockwave was often a result of dispersed energy, and many skills even focused on redirecting damage onto the world. This is why a regular punch from a god could easily result in a shockwave, turning countless nearby planets into dust once blocked.
Uncontrolled explosions also tended to happen when either party didn’t particularly focus on reducing the scale or when energy-based attacks clashed, mixed, and exploded. Two simple mana bolts, both condensed to only house-sized explosions by their respective casters, could often result in explosions innumerably times larger than either party intended if they clashed.
All of this is to say that it wasn’t out of the ordinary that the battle between the Malefic Viper, a Primordial god from the very first era, and Yip of Yore, an individual recognized as the most talented person to ever rise to godhood, started out with a simple probing exchange of fists versus claws, as both still restrained their power heavily.
The Viper had instantly drawn on his heritage as a being that evolved to godhood from a dragon as his hands transformed into claws, while Yip of Yore struck with his fists, his longer-than-average arms giving him more reach.Yip dodged the first strike as he countered, only for the Primordial to also dodge as the two exchanged dozens of blows immediately, none landing as both were just testing the other party.
“Seems like you remain intent on fighting... I certainly welcome it,” Yip smiled as he increased the tempo. His fists were no longer mere punches but instead left after-images that lingered, with some strikes appearing before he even made them. The Viper dodged most, but soon, a blow landed on his shoulder. Only a fraction of a second later did the fist actually strike where he’d been hit, the concept of reality bent around it, courtesy of Yip’s reality-warping powers.
Yet right as the Viper stumbled back, a small cut also appeared on top of Yip’s fist, the wound instantly turning dark green and festering. The god looked down at the wound for a second as the poison soon lost its effect, and less than a second later, the wound had healed.
“Did that also remind you of the first time we met?” the Viper asked in a cold tone, knowing he had the upper hand in that minor exchange.
“It sure did,” Yip smiled, unconcerned with everything thus far. “But no running away for either of us this time around...”
The other god charged again, launching another assault before the Viper struck back with an even higher level of power. In the beginning, they had fought with power that even a Fourth Circle God could keep up with, slowly progressing toward the peak of the Circles of Divinity.
It was an unspoken agreement of sorts... a gradual increase in power from both sides as they were still testing one another.
Every attack was more powerful than the next, and every shockwave that rocked the Great Planet below grew ever the more destructive. The Void Sphere hadn’t copied the defensive formation protecting the Order of the Malefic Viper beneath them, resulting in their clashes reducing the entire city to dust nearly instantly.
Soon, they reached the level of high-tier godhood, as the two of them began to pull out more and more skills. The Viper unleashed his wings to block several attacks as poison mist was dispersed, corrupting the sky and land. His claws began to glow with more power than before, and his very presence became a beacon of corruption that infected everything. Even the blows Yip did land failed to do much due to the empowered scales covering his entire body, offering better defenses than nearly any armor, with his presence and scales poisoning Yip every time he landed a punch.
Meanwhile, Yip began to increase the conceptual level of his attacks while also unleashing the occasional skill. Yip was rare in that he didn’t have any particular affinity he stuck to but instead used many different kinds of attacks. He was incredibly skilled in most of the high-concept ones, such as space and time, as both had axillary connections to his primary concept of bending reality according to stories and his will, resulting in many of his attacks taking on a silvery light.
Continuing to fight in the realms of high-tier gods, they progressed through the Seventh Circle, the Eighth, Ninth, and soon, they reached the Tenth Circle of Divinity- also known as the Supreme Circle of Divinity of Godkings and Godqueens.
Every clash at this point lit up the sky and sundered the earth beneath them. They had barely moved from where the fight initially began, as both refused to give any ground and whenever one of them did have to temporarily retreat, they made sure to swiftly retaliate, evening the score.
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At this level of power, both would already be considered beings near the pinnacle of the multiverse.
The realm of Godqueen and Godking had, for many years, been viewed as the limits of godhood. It was known as the limit because that was the realm that the Primordials managed to reach by the time other gods also rose – at least, this is what was estimated. No one truly knew.
All they did know was that it would take several eras for someone to break through the ceiling that was the Tenth Circle. Once more, history was very unclear as to who was first. All that was clear was that several of the top figures did it at roughly the same time, reaching a level beyond regular godhood.
Even reaching the Tenth Circle was something most gods would never be able to do, even if they were immortal. Well, perhaps one should never say never, but for some, it was an insurmountable task they didn’t even try to attempt.
Perhaps they didn’t have the foundation, or maybe they lacked the work ethic. Many gods also became far more averse to risk upon attaining immortality. Time no longer being a threat made many treat time as the infinite resources it was and would never be in a rush to do anything, especially not when rushing and taking risks was the one thing that could actually kill them.
All of this was part of why Yip of Yore was such a legendary figure in the multiverse... because within a single era, he had not only managed to become a Godking, he’d managed to go beyond that realm, and not just by a single step.
After clashing another few times, Yip flew back a little. No real harm had been done to him thus far, though he did have a few signs of damage taken here and there. Opposite him flew the Malefic Viper, his simple robe now mostly broken but his scaled body unmarked.
Yip looked at the Viper for a few moments before smiling and looking toward the sky.
“You know, I find it a bit funny... when I ascended to godhood, I would only hear whispers of those legendary figures who’d managed to go beyond the Circles of Divinity. They were spoken of like truly mythical individuals that one couldn’t ever reach,” Yip said, looking almost nostalgic.
“Back then, I was skeptical, but having no better way of knowing, I believed all those who said these things. Why wouldn’t I? The few gods I interacted with then were in awe whenever they were even in the presence of a high-tier god, much less a Godking or Godqueen. They were only telling the truth from their perspective... which is why it was so odd,” Yip continued talking as he looked at the Viper.
“If it was described as so hard by everyone... why was it so effortless for me?” Yip asked rhetorically with a smile. “I reached the so-called wall quickly. I saw the wall. Felt it. And then I made it crumble before me and stepped into the next realm. Was it harder than forming another Circle? Perhaps, but only slightly.”
Vilastromoz let him brag as he spoke, knowing he was telling the truth. Again, Yip was the most talented individual to ever reach godhood for a good reason. He also held the record as the one to progress through the Circles of Divinity the fastest. Now the only question was... how far had he actually gone past the realm of Godking?
Yip of Yore’s power began to grow as his aura spiked. The world around him began to slowly twist as he released more and more energy, the Viper finding himself forced to respond in kind as he, too, surpassed the realm of Godking to match his foe.
Their auras clashed in the sky, and for the very first time, neither held back from infusing said aura with energy as they didn’t have to consider killing any mortals or weaker gods. The green aura matched the silvery one of Yip of Yore, tearing holes in space as both were roughly equally matched, having both taken a single step beyond the Circles of Divinity.
“Am I correct to assume you weren’t that far off this level of power when you went into your isolation all those eras ago?” Yip of Yore asked with a smirk.
“Not quite there,” the Viper responded coldly.
“Ah, but we’re not far off, I feel,” Yip said confidently. “Either way, I look forward to seeing how strong you truly are. I know you’ve grown even during your isolation and that we are still far from your limit. Then again, neither am I. Let’s not disappoint one another by failing to keep up too soon, alright?”
“You talk way too much,” Vilastromoz scoffed.
“Ah, but you allow me to, don’t pretend you aren’t,” Yip just grinned. “I personally find it more pleasant for the final moments of one of us not being filled with meaningless silence but a bit of banter. It gives them more meaning and adds more to the legend. I also know you obviously care about this fight as we try to figure out who has the highest ceiling in power. I almost feel like I’m being evaluated here for you to see if I’m worthy. Of course, the question still remains if I’m being evaluated to see if I’m worthy of being the one to kill you or worthy of being killed by you.”
Remaining silent, the Viper simply raised his hand and pointed a finger toward Yip of Yore as his hand began to glow green.
Yip’s eyes opened wide as he dodged to the side, only for where he had just been to implode as space shattered, and for a brief moment, one could glimpse the void on the other side. Seeing this, Yip grinned and responded in kind as he charged the Viper with energy revolving around him.
The concept of probability gathered as he punched. Vilastromoz tried to raise his hand to block but was unable to as if his actions were delayed by some unseen force. He was struck head-on, sending him flying back, Yip of Yore giving chase.
He teleported to appear right above the Viper, only to be met by a beam of malefic light, shooting him upwards as he blocked the blow... at least it looked like that for a moment, before reality warped. Yip of Yore avoided the beam as his teleport now no longer had him appear above but at the Viper’s side, allowing him to launch another shockwave of force, blowing back the Primordial yet again.
Yip of Yore prepared to follow up, but a curtain of dark green energy stopped him in his tracks as he nearly flew through it. The remnant energy entering it when he abruptly stopped was instantly turned to nothingness, and even if Yip dodged, he was still slightly affected and had to back away.
The Viper stopped himself as he raised a hand, a magic circle appearing behind him as magic manifested. Countless streams of energy were summoned that shot toward the other god, making him block or dodge all of them. Yip tried to counter, but the Viper went fully on the offensive as he deployed his magic to pressure his opponent. One had to remember that the Malefic Viper wasn’t a close-range melee fighter but was more of a mage than anything else. A master of magic, if you will.
For a moment, the Viper had the advantage once more as the two of them kept growing in power despite having already surpassed the Circles of Divinity. It was more gradual now, but with how impactful every Step was at this stage, the actual increase was substantial as they were closing in on the second Step.
The second they passed it, both had another massive increase in power as the scope of their battle increased. Now, things began to actually deal a bit of damage to the two of them.
Who had the advantage was constantly shifting, but throughout, the Viper was the one who mostly set the tempo. He was the one increasing his own level of power displayed with Yip simply matching him at all times. At some point, either the Viper would become unable to keep pulling out more hidden power or Yip would become unable to keep up, but both were not yet there.
Even as they entered the Third Step, both were able to continue fighting with roughly equal power. However, after another few clashes were both traded injuries, Yip once more took a step back and spoke.
“Things are finally getting a bit more serious, eh?” he asked casually. “With that in mind, let’s change things up a little...”
With those words, a sword appeared in his hand as the aura of the weapon filled the cosmos, actually forcing the Viper to take a step back, and not just because of the power inherent to the weapon, but the nature of that power.
In the same vein that some concepts opposed one another – such as how light countered dark – this sword held innate power that directly opposed the Malefic Viper’s. It was tailored to counter him and would, in simpler terms, be considered super effective against the Malefic Viper.
To counter, the Malefic Viper also pulled out a weapon of his own. He brought out an ancient-looking wooden staff with metal bindings covering its body, and at its head was a dark green orb with a faint glow that managed to push back the sword’s aura in the Viper’s immediate surroundings.
So far, the battle had been one where probing was the sole intent, neither able to do any meaningful damage to the other party... a dynamic that was now about to change.