The Valghul, after fully reverting back to a humanoid form again, stands up and cracks its neck before it speaks.
" And so The One's lapdog appears… "
Tom looks at the Valghul with disgust as he responds.
" You're outnumbered and you can't escape us. Release your grasp on Sir Arthur and we won't use the book on you. "
" Oh? Are you sure that's really an option? "
The Valghul says in a taunting demeanor.
" The mortal whom I possess has become None… Even if you could use the book on a Valghul like me, it would only tamper with my host, leaving me unaffected and putting your little plan to reunite him with his wife in jeopardy. "
The Valghul tilts its head down and looks directly at you with a menacing glare as it rolls up its sleeves and continues talking.
" As for being outnumbered, all I see before me is a weakened servant and a washed up myth that's unfamiliar with his powers. There's no need for me to escape. I'm going to kill both of you. "
Tom immediately throws the remaining five trees at the Valghul one after the other in quick succession. Each of them flies through the air like a bullet, but the Valghul disappears before the first tree makes contact, causing the trees to crash into the ground behind where it was standing and explode.
The Valghul suddenly reappears behind Tom in the air and spin kicks him as Tom tries to turn around, bringing its foot down onto Tom's shoulder and launching him into the ground before disappearing again.
Your pulse quickens as you mentally prepare yourself for the fight, and in order to free your hands, you toss The Holy Omniverse Transcript upwards and hold it telekinetically in the air above you. The Valghul suddenly reappears in front of you and throws multiple punches towards you rapidly, but your heightened perception and speed allow you to read the movements of the Valghul, barely weaving and dodging its strikes before Tom comes flying out of the woodwork to strike it from behind. In the blink of an eye, the Valghul turns around and catches Tom's fist, swinging him with one hand into the ground; and as Tom's body hits the ground, dirt and grass fly up into the air from the sheer force of impact. The Valghul then raises its other fist to strike Tom while he's on the ground but you take this opportunity while the Valghul has its arm raised and back turned towards you to grab its arm, pivoting your body and heaving it into the trees behind you. A multitude of trees shatter and fall down as the Valghul's body disappears into the jungle.
You kneel down next to Tom to check on him and you see that he looks beaten and bruised as he slowly gets up. Tom speaks to you in an exhausted demeanor as he wipes the dirt off of his torn up robes.
" This tainted Light is fucking me up, Donny. "
You use your ability to see Light and Darkness to peer into Tom and you can see the tainted Light inside of his existence. This tainted Light appears to be red instead of white and it's shaped like some sort of parasite. You lean forward in a concerned manner, putting your hand on Tom's shoulder as you propose a solution.
" Let me take it from you. You have more experience dealing with Valghuli. Right now our best chance is having you be at your full strength. "
You say to Tom as he looks back at you with fatigued eyes.
" No, Donny. I won't burden you with this. I don't know how it will affect you- "
You immediately sense the Valghul reapproaching from behind, but its trajectory appears to be aiming towards Tom, so you quickly shove Tom away from you in order to spare him the incoming attack. As soon as Tom falls down, you see the Valghul arrive and dive forward, swinging its arm which it has transformed into some sort of pike, stabbing where Tom was with the intent to impale him. Upon missing the strike, the Valghul spins and swings its leg at your face with a kick, but you hold your forearm up to block the blow and the Valghul's shin creates a sonic boom before it makes contact with your arm.
You plant your feet firmly as you slide away, standing for a moment after the strike lands, then you fall down onto your knees in agony as you hold your arm, struggling to breathe. Your entire arm feels shattered, but you can't seem to see any signs of it being broken. Your mind goes blank from the unbelievable amount of pain that you're experiencing and you fall over on your side, rolling around on the ground as you hold your forearm. The Holy Omniverse Transcript drops to the floor from you losing your focus on holding it with your telekinesis.
The Valghul walks over to you and stands over you, amused by your suffering, and taunts you while it looks down at you.
" Is this really The Lamenter that the Gods of the Omniverse once feared? "
The Valghul then crouches down next to you and gets in your face as you're still writhing around on the ground.
" It is tragic. The One killed your daughter, erased the memory of your family, and made you forget your powers… "
The Valghul then looks over at Tom who's laying in the dirt as it continues speaking.
" What's even more tragic is the fact that your best friend, after all of these things happened to you, decided to serve the being that was responsible for your suffering. It's almost as if he never cared about you to begin with. "
" You're wrong! "
You're taken by surprise as you hear Tom speak up and you look over in his direction. He slowly gets up, struggling to find the strength to keep his feet under him before looking at the Valghul with conviction. The Valghul cracks a sinister grin of amusement as it looks at Tom struggling to stand while he shouts.
" Donny isn't my best friend, he's my brother, and you have no right to disrespect our bond! You couldn't possibly understand what it's like to have gone through everything we've been through together!
Yeah, The One made a mistake in thinking that Black Traps were the reason for the undoing of his universes… and in doing so he almost drove us to the point of extinction. It was a misunderstanding, and it was one that cost us the lives of many of our brothers. Ariel and Rosie would've also lived a long life and Abbadon's lineage could have still been alive today if not for that misunderstanding… However, the blame for this misunderstanding doesn't belong to The One or Black Traps! It belongs to The None! It belongs to you! "
You stare at Tom in awe as tears run down his face. His eyes are stained with the pain of grief and loss as he continues shouting at the Valghul.
" You were undoing those universes! You sat back and watched my brothers die one by one because they were being blamed for the things that you did! You appeal to those who are broken and claim that your goal is to rid their universe of suffering and pain, but in doing so you also rid their universe of joy and love! The None paints The One as an awful and cruel being by allowing his children to endure the trials and tribulations that come with life, but what about the good times?!
What about the happiness and innocence of childhood? What about the pleasures that come with experiencing reality through taste, touch, sight, hearing and feeling? What about the experience of falling in love and the joy of creating a child that's a part of you to nurture and take care of? The One believes that these things are what makes reality worth experiencing, and I agree with him! In life, there will always be pain and sorrow and suffering, but it's the bad times that make us truly appreciate the good. You need both Light AND Darkness to fully understand the importance and meaning of each side, and that's evident all the way down to the fundamental elements of the Omniverse!
So yes! I made a deal with The One because I believe that everyone should know what it's like to exist, just like The One believes as well. That's why he created the Omniverse to begin with! You and The None are nothing more than selfish murderers who refuse to share reality with others, and I would rather die than allow you to take reality back for yourselves! "
The Valghul sits silently for a moment as it stares at Tom. The smirk is gone from its face and you see that it's irritated that Tom isn't rolling over and admitting defeat.
The Valghul then stands up, walks over to Tom, and grabs him by the collar of his cloak before it speaks to him with malice.
" So be it. "
The Valghul then impales Tom through the stomach and lifts him up off the ground. Blood pours out of his stomach all over the surrounding vegetation and you let out a blood curdling scream.
" NOOO!!! "
You cry as you hold out your non-injured arm towards Tom. The Valghul growls demonically with satisfaction as Tom's body goes limp, and seeing Tom impaled on the Valghul's arm reminds you of the traumatic memory of when Aatu died the same way. While your arm is extended, you notice the ring that Aatu had given you on your finger. Aatu's voice echoes within your mind as you recall what Aatu had told you the moment he gave it to you.
" The ring will act as a buffer to any Light that you consume and throttle any Light that you cannot handle, storing it within the ring instead. "
You repeat his words to yourself as you come to a realization.
" Any Light that I can't handle… "
Your hand then glows a bright green as you immediately siphon the tainted Light from Tom's body while he's impaled on the Valghul's arm. You see the red tainted Light leave his body and get funneled into the ring instead of going into you. Aatu's ring immediately illuminates a bright white and the red Light dissipates, exploding out of the ring as a red mist. Seeing that Aatu's ring has purified the tainted Light, you stare at the ring in amazement.
" Aatu… you're a genius. "
You say to yourself as you recall Aatu's conversation about his plan.
The Valghul immediately looks back at you in frustration and you make eye contact with it. While the Valghul is turned away, you see Tom quickly regenerate and regain consciousness. Tom then looks down to see that he's impaled before kicking himself off of the Valghul's pike-arm, launching the Valghul away from him and doing a backflip before he lands on his knee. The hole in his stomach heals and he looks at you with grateful eyes.
" You saved my ass, Donny. "
He remarks with an appreciative tone.
" Guess that makes us even. "