Light's Dawn of Azeroth

Chapter 739, Section 17: The warden only wants everyone to be happy. Is he wrong?
Looking back, Diakum and Zovar haven't known each other for very long.

Although they had exchanged many "battles from afar" before, they had only actually come into contact with each other during the few days in the Maw. But without a doubt, their relationship was a very subtle one, "both enemies and friends".

The warden believed that Diakum understood his desires, and the vigilantes also thought Zovar was a "good man."

He was a perfectionist who could not tolerate terrible flaws, and an idealist who hoped to "create perfection." He served the "perfection" promised by the Firstborn, but immediately chose to rebel after realizing that this so-called "perfection" was just an illusion.

This is actually a very "selfish" behavior.

As the eternal arbiter, Zovar's dereliction of duty and rebellion have had an extremely negative and far-reaching impact on the cycle of life and death.

But this is also a very "selfless" act.

Because He is not truly seeking personal gain; to this day, everything He does has a reason: "to mend the imperfections of all beings and create perfection."

He was steadfast and almost never wavered, even after being stripped of all power, dignity, and freedom by his own brothers and sisters, and during the endless years of imprisonment in the Maw, He never bowed his head.

He possesses all the virtues of a "great villain"!
With unwavering will, clear goals, a strong sense of justice, strong execution skills, and the ability to work well together without giving up easily, Zoval is almost a perfect villain, except for his inability to laugh.

However, even though Diakum admired such a soul, this confrontation was simply unavoidable beneath the grand temple of the Creator.

Both of them had reasons to fight.

Unfortunately, these two fervent moral convictions clearly cannot coexist.

Diakum sought a balance of the Force, peace in the cosmos, an end to war, and a new beginning for life, thus ushering in a true era of prosperity for all the worlds.

But the warden believed that everything was rotten to the core. He thought there was no bright future, and that the fragmented universe was no match for the inevitable crises.

He desires to personally reshape reality, fundamentally resolving conflict, sin, and those flaws.

Both seek peace for all living beings, yet they have chosen drastically different paths.

The Vigilant moved his body, letting the wings of light and shadow unfold behind him. This was the first time he had pushed his combat power in his spirit form to its limit.

The light and shadows swirled and intertwined around his spirit, allowing Diakum to perfectly achieve the spectacle of "division in two".

His body was divided into the opposition and coexistence of light and darkness. Under the light wings of light and darkness, it seemed as if there were two of him wielding different great powers, yet they merged into one in the perfect chord resonance.

The holy face, its hood shrouded in shadow, lifted, and as its hands outstretched, the Sunstrider's warhammer leaped into its radiant left hand. Accompanied by the wondrous "resonance" of the Firstborn's cipher, the veil of life and death quietly opened at that moment, delivering the weapon representing "darkness" into its master's hands.

Twilight's hammer is cheering!
It had accompanied its master to the end beside Diakum's body, witnessing Dimensius's collapse and the dawn of a new day as the night drew to a close.

Upon receiving the call to war, it responded without hesitation.

As it fell into Diakum's hands, the shaping of light and shadow was finally completed. This Void artifact would inevitably embrace its own concept of power in today's battle, thus undergoing a transformation and becoming a "divine weapon of the path" like Ashbringer.

That was the desire of Twilight's Hammer, and also Diakum's "answer" to the Void faction.

One after another, hexagonal energy matrices transformed into "light and shadow chords" in the form of halos, spreading outward from Diakum's body. The truth bestowed by the Firstborn's ciphers soothed the final conflict between the two forces of the Vigilant, and he had completed the "fusion" with the body of the Sun God.

He has entered the "Holy Sun Rebirth".

"This is a clash of ideologies."

Diakum spoke.

In that strange resonance of light and shadow, Eredar and Shas'ar languages ​​rang out simultaneously, and amidst the echoing, eerie tones like sobs, the Watcher whispered:

"If we are moving forward with the same goal, then there will be no losers in this battle. Unfortunately, I must protect my principles in a way that undermines your ideals."

That was a misguided desire.

You cannot create a perfect order by depriving people of their freedom. You were born a god who knows nothing of human suffering. You sit atop the clouds, looking down on the flaws of all beings, yet you are unaware of the fundamental logic of the movement of the stars.

You are all talk and no action, and you disdain to understand the ants in your eyes.

All your desires are based on your rudimentary understanding of perfect order. You are no different from the original creators who, in their isolation, tried to conceive of a 'perfect starry sea' from scratch.

I will never deny your ideals; I simply doubt your abilities. So, step down!

The warden did not respond to Diakum's rebuke.

He merely gazed at the temple before him, which was called "Grand Blueprint," with a look of longing, expectation, and yearning. This was His first time here, and His first time seeing the design of the First Beings for the universe.

The hexagonal platform is covered with "energy wells" that emit cosmic rainbow light. Each entrance is connected to an "energy point" in the physical universe. Above, on the magnificent and solemn stone slab, endless star maps are engraved. When the light shines, the starry sea of ​​various realms will appear in the projection.

That was a plan.

The First Creators left their plans for shaping the universe here, right on this platform. As long as the power they left behind is activated, the "fundamental rules" of their existence can be manipulated and rewritten through the connection between this place and the physical universe.

This is the control panel for everything!
Unfortunately, just as the Creator abandoned halfway through shaping the system of destiny and quietly disappeared, their transformation of the universe is still only in the planning stage.

The warden can see those unfinished star maps, so many creation tablets are still blank.

This means that the First Ones also gave up on their transformation of the universe; they are truly a bunch of insects who are good at "giving up halfway"!

A surge of anger echoed in Zovar's empty chest. He could not accept any of this, not only because of the perfectionist's regret for what was not finished, but also because of His disgust and resistance to the irresponsibility of the Firstborn.

They clearly had the ability to create a "perfect universe," but they chose to give it up.

They are the real "dereliction of duty".

Such a creator is not worthy of anyone's following.

"No need to say more!"

The warden roared:

"I am not someone you can persuade with words. Our morality is as blazing as the sun over the starry sea. Let's decide everything in the most primal and direct way."

Only those who wield great power can determine the future of the world!

If you defeat me, then it proves you are more qualified than I am.

"I have one last question before we start the war."

Diakum's feet slowly left the platform of this grand blueprint in a "divinely suspended" posture, still with the unique resonance of those two voices.

he asked:
"If you were truly given the opportunity to reshape reality, how could you guarantee that you wouldn't actively destroy the new perfect order you created? If you became a demanding creator, how could you guarantee that you wouldn't destroy the order you created once again after seeing that it wasn't perfect?"

“I was an arbitrator.”

The warden gripped his warhammer tightly with both hands, and as the grotesque skull-adorned hammer roared in battle, he said:
"I know how to become a perfect 'duty machine.' The moment I reshape reality, all the desires, anger, and passions you see will be eliminated. Only absolute fairness can ensure absolute perfection, and overly active emotions and ego are clearly detrimental to 'fairness'!"
I will 'kill' myself!
Only the will of the arbitrator remains here, to bear in place of the weak Firstborn all that they dared not bear; if all things suffer, then I shall bear it.

In that perfect future, all individuals will enjoy self and freedom, and I will bear all their flaws.

"What a lunatic."

Diakum offered his assessment.

The next instant, the two dazzling rainbow lights collided.

Sunstrider's warhammer blocked the primordial arbiter's ferocious warhammer, while Twilight's hammer, swung with the desire of an eclipse, smashed toward Zova's helmet, only to be repelled by the warden's slashing rainbow light.

A deafening roar accompanied the outpouring and clash of energy. As both forces retreated, the warden grasped a dazzling scythe filled with cosmic light. This scythe, named "Zovastam: Avatar of Annihilation," was clearly Zovar's most prized "collection," and it was most likely crafted by the Rune Carver.

The warden doesn't usually use it not because it's not powerful enough, but simply because He rarely encounters situations like this where He needs to fight with all His might.

Diakum hovered in the air, glancing at his severed and regrowing Void Wings. The broken wings of light transformed into fluttering, dim feathers as they fell, which were devoured by the greedy Twilight Hammer, replenishing the energy of this cracked artifact that was about to be "reborn."

In the experience of that all-out battle just now, he had tested Zovar's power limit.

They can fight.

And you can win!

The Eternals' greatest weakness is their strength. Even though Zovar tried his best to make up for his shortcomings in the endless seals, the fact that he was not the "only" one made it very difficult for him to reach the level he should have.

Let alone compare it to a slashing king like Sargeras.

Zovar's destructive power is at most on par with that of the fallen Aggramar. In other words, even Aggramar in his prime, the former guardian of the Pantheon, could easily defeat him here.

However, as the saying goes...
Once you reach their level in terms of life rank, simple numerical values ​​can no longer determine the outcome of a battle. Unless you can reach the level of "one sword breaks all laws" like Sa Zong, the confrontation of mechanisms is the key to victory.

In this respect, the warden, who is born a god and relies entirely on the system for his livelihood, clearly has the advantage.

As Diakum tested the limits of His power, Zovar also realized that the Lord of War's earlier attempt to stop Him, saying that He would die, was not just wishful thinking.

As the eternal ruler of conquest and victory, the Lord of War has an extremely accurate judgment of the power of the Vigilant.

Zoval can't beat him!
Therefore, the warden used a tactic right from the start of the second all-out confrontation.

As He charged toward Diakum wielding a warhammer and scythe, countless chains of authority burst forth from nowhere, like a swarm of snakes emerging from their cage, just as in the "Lord's Treasury: Dark Version".

That was the eruption of the power of domination. Perhaps Zovar could not completely suppress Diakum's mind, morality and will in a short time, but in this bloody battle, if Diakum was entangled by the chains of domination for even a moment, he would die on the spot.

The concept of the Death Force is obscure and cold, and the Domination Force, developed by the "old silver coin" Warlord, embodies the destruction, binding, suppression, and assimilation of the Death Force in the most brutal way.

The almost insurmountable absolute suppression that Frostmourne exerts on the dead in the mortal realm is a manifestation of its domineering power.

This thing could wreak havoc on Azeroth even in the hands of the Lich King, Dog Egg. Its power in the hands of the Jailer is self-evident. However, I, Diao Ye, am not one to back down from trouble.

You have a mechanism, but I don't?
solar eclipse
Let it erupt!
"boom"

The explosive aftershocks from the collision of energies transformed the earth-shattering light and shadow into the cold illumination of a solar eclipse. Dick really didn't hold back this time; his outburst was his full power.

In the dim light that swallowed and assimilated everything, most of the Warden's chains of dominion were transformed into "ash crystals" before they even touched Diakum, and were then shattered into countless ashes in the "full-screen AOE" burst of light and shadow chords.

The light will be extinguished!
No matter what reason or cause you use to light up anything, it will all be extinguished once an eclipse occurs.

"what"

Zovar cried out in pain.

His life light has been eroded and entangled by the coldness, and the eclipse has already enveloped this land of creation. He cannot escape the eclipse's entanglement unless he leaves the grand blueprint.

However, will He, who calls himself a "moth drawn to a flame," really back down?
In this place where ideals and desires are about to be realized, would He, who is willing to risk even His life, really fear being covered by the eclipse and reduced to cold ashes?
He was born for an ideal, and he will die for an ideal!

"boom"

The Twilight Hammer, carrying immense power, slammed into Zova's shoulder armor. The moment of contact, the twilight of the void erupted into a miniature black hole, but the Warden's warhammer also struck Diakum's Wings of Light, shattering the wings of light. At the same time, accompanied by the Warden's shout, the skull at the top of the Primal Arbiter's Warhammer opened its maw wide.

"puff"

A chain of dominion, hidden within the Arbiter's Hammer, sprang out like an alien's "tongue," instantly binding Diakum tightly.

The power of domination erupted, leaving the Vigilant no chance to dodge. Then, Zovart's cosmic blade, an avatar of oblivion, slashed down, severing Diakum's dog head amidst Zovart's roar of pain and regret.

The light faded.

The moment the head flew off, the vigilant's spirit collapsed.

This was a blow from the eternal being of death. Annihilating souls was just a basic ability. Zoval clearly saw Diakum's luminous spirit dissipate into shattered light before his eyes. Was he dead?
"boom"

The Sunstrider's hammer strike from behind ignited the starlight, dragging the Warden into the scorching flames of the Sunfire.

In that eclipse-shrouded land, the "sculpture" formed from the gathering and dispersing of ashes was annihilated by this powerful strike, revealing a magnificent new Diakum.

It was still him, exactly the same as before. The only change was that, compared to the coexistence of light and shadow in Diakum before, the areas of light and shadow around Dick this time had been "swapped".

Originally, the left side was light and the right side was shadow; now, the left side is shadow and the right side is light.

This signifies that a "twin of light and shadow" was completed in that instant, meaning that the Vigilante completed the rebirth of light in the darkness the moment the Warden slew Diakum.

die?

Death is now a "pseudo-concept" for him.

The warden, enraged and ready to retaliate, was met with a powerful counterattack from the Vigilant, who unleashed a super-powerful combination of the Echoing Slash and the Supreme Slash, a power that had been building up since the start of the battle.

The moment Echoes of Ashes was activated, the Warden knew he had missed his only chance. As the Primal Arbiter Warhammer and Zovarst Annihilation were blasted away, Zovar was also dragged into the storm of light and darkness dancing before him.

"The transformation of light and shadow occurs constantly in my existence. You must extinguish all light and dispel all shadow to kill me."

In the dance of light and shadow, the vigilant whispers:

"But how do you prevent the shadows from coming when the light is extinguished?"

"Sorry, but you lost."

Ps:

The concept icon for Diakum's coexistence of light and shadow is actually the "source of inspiration" for my design of the Dick Power system:
(End of this chapter)