HP: god of potions

Chapter 148

The blackened ruins of Apokolips vanished in an instant, replaced by a vast, shifting expanse of crystalline landscapes and molten rivers of liquid light. Towers of obsidian stretched into the endless sky, and the air itself thrummed with power. The ground pulsed like a heartbeat beneath them, the very fabric of this space bending to Grey's will.

Trigon's eyes flared with rage. "What is this?" he growled. "My home," Grey said simply. Darkseid's Omega Beams erupted from his eyes, jagged and furious, streaking toward Grey with the promise of instant annihilation. Grey lifted a hand — and the beams froze in place. Then they twisted, spiraling backward, and launched toward Trigon.

The demon roared, his own dark magic surging to deflect the attack, but Grey was already moving. He stepped through the air as if walking across solid ground, his speed transcendent. In a flash, he was in front of Darkseid. His fist slammed into the god's face with a crack that shattered the crystalline towers around them. Darkseid flew backward, smashing through mountains of liquid light that solidified around him, trapping him in a cocoon of hardened brilliance.

Trigon unleashed a wave of hellfire, the flames turning the atmosphere into a roaring inferno. But Grey simply gestured, and the fire transformed — becoming ice, then stone, then dust. "Your power means nothing here," Grey said. Darkseid broke free with a thunderous explosion, his fists glowing with the Omega Effect. He charged, his strikes fast and brutal. Grey caught every blow, his own movements faster, stronger. Every punch he returned cracked the landscape. Each kick sent shockwaves that turned rivers of light into glass.

Trigon's form expanded, his true size looming over the battlefield. He reached down with a hand large enough to crush cities — but Grey raised his own, and the massive limb froze mid-air. With a twist of his fingers, the hand collapsed inward, transforming into a twisted sculpture of dark crystal. "No more games," Trigon spat, summoning a torrent of dark magic. Bolts of energy rained down, each one powerful enough to obliterate planets. Grey waved a hand — and the bolts turned into harmless petals, drifting to the ground.

Darkseid's Omega Beams spiraled through the air again, more erratic, faster — but they bent the moment they entered Grey's domain, looping endlessly, never reaching their target. Trigon unleashed his full might — waves of hellfire, storms of shadow, constructs of demonic energy. Darkseid struck with every ounce of his godlike strength, his blows enough to shatter moons. And Grey danced through it all.

He didn't dodge — he redirected. A tidal wave of molten shadow became a cascade of crystal shards. A world-ending punch turned into a gust of wind. Hellfire became water. "You're in my world now," Grey said, his voice cold and calm. He struck. One punch sent Trigon sprawling, his massive form crashing into the ground with enough force to raise mountains. A kick sent Darkseid into the air, where the sky itself solidified around him, holding him in place. "And here, I am the only power that matters."

Grey's smile stretched wider as the shattered remains of the planet floated in the void behind him. Trigon and Darkseid glared at him with unfiltered rage, their power radiating so intensely that space itself buckled around them. "I forgot to tell you guys," Grey said, his voice calm and almost amused, "I'm a wizard." He raised his hand — and reality cracked. The space around them twisted, folding into itself, and in an instant, they were no longer in the void of a broken world. They stood in Grey's domain — a realm of his own creation, where he was absolute. The air itself hummed with his presence, heavy and oppressive, yet perfectly controlled.

The environment shifted and morphed at his will. The ground beneath them turned from polished obsidian to crystalline glass, glowing with molten veins of light. In the distance, titanic storms of liquid fire and ice spiraled around mountains of solidified lightning. The sky above churned with cosmic forces — constellations shifted and aligned into strange patterns, and celestial bodies moved as Grey willed.

Darkseid's eyes blazed with the Omega Effect. "You think a parlor trick can save you?" he growled. Trigon sneered, his form swelling with infernal power. "This realm will burn like all the others!" They attacked. Darkseid's Omega Beams shot forward, twisting through space, tracking Grey with terrifying speed and precision. At the same time, Trigon raised his hands and summoned an apocalyptic inferno, a storm of hellfire that could consume entire dimensions. Grey didn't move.

The Omega Beams reached him — and stopped. The red energy froze in place, and with a flick of his finger, Grey turned them into a cascade of shimmering crystal that rained harmlessly to the ground. Trigon's inferno surged forward — only for the flames to twist and transform into a spiraling column of liquid light, which Grey absorbed into his hand.

"Is that it?" Grey asked softly. Roaring in frustration, Trigon unleashed a barrage of dark magic, hurling curses and eldritch energy powerful enough to shatter entire realities. Darkseid followed with a physical assault, his fists striking with the force of collapsing stars. Grey's domain bent to his will. The curses unraveled into harmless mist. The eldritch blasts were transmuted into showers of harmless petals. Every punch Darkseid threw was met with air that became harder than diamond, halting his blows mid-swing and sending the force rippling back toward him. The ground shifted beneath them, swallowing their attacks and reshaping itself with every strike.

Trigon bellowed and summoned a colossal black sun, an engine of destruction that spat waves of annihilation. Grey raised a hand — and the sun froze.

He clenched his fist, and the sun shattered into a million shards of onyx glass. Darkseid's patience snapped. He unleashed his full strength, his fists moving faster than light, his eyes blazing with unrelenting Omega Beams. The entire dimension trembled under his assault. But Grey was untouchable. With a wave of his hand, the space around him solidified. Every attack slowed and stopped. The beams were redirected into spirals that circled him harmlessly. Grey walked forward calmly, brushing aside reality itself. "Your powers are impressive," he said, "but here… they're nothing." He gestured — and the ground rose up, wrapping around Darkseid like living chains, dragging him to his knees. Trigon screamed in fury, his body swelling as he summoned the full power of his demonic essence. "I AM TRIGON! I AM ETERNAL!" Grey tilted his head. "No, you're just loud."

Trigon's claws reached for him again, but Grey caught them. With a roar of effort, he twisted, hurling the demon into a mountain range. The peaks collapsed in an avalanche of stone and fire. Darkseid rose, his expression a mask of fury. He charged — and Grey met him halfway. Their fists collided again and again, each strike detonating with the power of a supernova.

Grey's eyes blazed with cold fire as he twisted under Darkseid's next swing, driving his elbow into the New God's ribs with a sound like a planet cracking apart. The force sent Darkseid skidding back, gouging a deep trench through the molten remains of Apokolips' surface. Before Darkseid could recover, Grey was on him, his fists a blur. Every punch landed with the weight of a collapsing star, shattering armor and bone alike.