Death of Black Adam
Teth Adam groaned as his eyelids slowly fluttered open, the solid white that greeted his eyes confusing him for a brief moment before a wave of agonizing pain washed over his body. He quickly shot up and clutched at his right arm...only to remember that he was now left-handed. With gritted teeth, he forced the pain back down again while he struggled to his feet, looking around at the emptiness with both fear and anger.
'Am I...dead? No, I cannot die! Not yet!' he roared in defiance as he lifted his head and called down for the word, but to his horror the divine lightning never came down and he was left in his mortal form. Adam took in his form quickly, seeing--to his confusion--that he was in the garb that he had been wearing when he had first been chosen by the word, instead of the attire that Celestia had created for him. 'Strange...the word is gone and I am dressed as I was thousands of years ago. What has happened?' The question went unanswered, for when Adam lifted his head all thoughts were struck from his mind as an old enemy of his stood across the white room from him.
"Shazam?" Teth Adam asked in confusion while his eyes rested upon the old wizard, who looked exactly the same as he had when Adam had taken his power for his own. "But...this cannot be. I watched you die. I...banished your ghost."
'It seems that you have continued to ignore the wisdom of Zehutti even after all these years,' the wizard said with a small smile as he began to walk towards Teth, using his staff as a crutch of sorts. 'For I will always be a part of you as long as you call upon my power. At least, until a few moments ago that was the case.'
"So...I was not mistaken in what I saw. You...sacrificed yourself for me," Teth Adam bitterly realized as he clenched his fist, but the anger vanished a moment later when realization dawned on Adam. "But then, how are you here now? And why can I not access my power?! And am I dead, for if I am not, I must go and return to the battlefield, so that I can-"
'Do what, my fallen champion? Continue to cause pain? To fight in a futile battle against a monster that could kill you in a moment?' Shazam asked with curiosity in his voice that hid hints of scorn. 'Are you still so blind, that you cannot see that all you have done by your actions has led to this? That you are responsible for the end of the world?' The words cut into Teth almost as if Shazam had stabbed him then and there, rendering the now-mortal being silent as Shazam continued to speak.
'The five chosen champions are fighting the end of the world right now, but they are only five in number when they should be six,' Shazam informed Adam, getting the human to lift his head with shock. 'And without the sixth member, they will fail to stop the threat. And then they, along with all of this world and possibly others, shall die. And whose fault do you suppose this is? You, Teth. Every action you have taken against the silver mare, against Sunnysmiles, has resulted in giving the End of Days another weapon in their arsenal. And when you interfered and cost the life of Freeze, you sealed this world's fate.'
"No...NO! That cannot be! I will not accept that my world is doomed!" Adam roared in defiance while he grasped at the old wizard's shoulder with his only hand, only to watch as it passed right through him.
'I am gone, Adam. This is nothing more than a memory that I have left behind to speak to you one last time,' Shazam informed Teth, who looked down at his own hand before casting his eyes downward. 'As for your powers and your fate, you are still alive and you still retain them, though in the face of such a monster, being alive is a moot point. Even if you awaken and even if you enter the battle with the other champions, you will die along with the rest of them. All because of your actions.' Shazam turned away from Teth Adam at that moment, but the words that left Adam's lips next were words that the wizard never expected him to speak.
"You are right." Stunned, Shazam turned his head to look at Adam, who was looking down at his only hand with sorrow in his eyes. "I am the cause of the end of this world, in more ways than one. I have caused pain, hatred and suffering to take over a world of kindness, love and compassion. I am the reason all of this is happening. All...because of me."
Shazam turned around fully to look at Adam, not sure what to make of the false champion's words. "I have caused so much pain; taken so much. It is fitting that one as powerful as I should spend his final moments powerless to stop the monster that he helped to create. Perhaps, only through my death can I atone for what I have wrought upon this land. But I know that whether I can win or not, I must aid the champions in this battle."
'If you go into this battle again, in the shape that you are in, there is no doubt that you will die,' Shazam warned Teth, but all his words did was get a smirk out of the man.
"I deserve no less. But if my death is the only way to atone for what I have done, and maybe...against all odds...it is able to aid the champions in their final battle...then so be it. I can accept death if it means that they can live," Teth said in a near whisper.
'No, my Beloved!' Both Shazam and Black Adam turned to see the ghostly form of Isis standing behind Teth Adam, hatred flashing in her eyes as she glared at Shazam. 'You cannot allow yourself to die! You are all that is left of the nation that you once ruled! Take the wizard's power once again and fly from this world! You may not be able to stop this creature here and now, but if you give yourself more time, then you will certainly find a way to prevail! But in order to do so you must live!'
Shazam opened his mouth to speak to the ghost, but Teth shook his head as he turned to face his wife, both sorrow and acceptance written clearly on his face. "No. Today is the day I accept my fate for what I have done. And it is also the day...that I truly let go of who I used to be," Teth said as he walked over to Isis, placing a hand upon her shoulder as he closed his eyes.
"I used to find comfort in you, believing that you were all I had left of the old world...of the old me. And I was right, but not in the way that I believed. You are all that is left of the me...the hatred, the desire to kill all who oppose me, and the monster that I used to be. But I refused to let you go, refused to let go of a ghost because I believed she was all that I had left of my old life. But now my eyes are opened, and I realize...that the old me, my old life, is not one worth holding any memory of. That if I truly wish to be the hero that they believe me to be...then I must be willing to give up all of myself."
"And that is all you are...a memory that I have to let go," Teth said weakly as he opened his eyes and looked into the raging fire of Isis's eyes, finally seeing that they were not the eyes of his beloved, but instead the eyes of who he used to be. And in that moment, the image of Isis vanished and was replaced with the dark clad thunderer--with Black Adam. "And now, only at the end, can I finally find the strength to do so. Because now...I finally see that my own life matters not. All that matters is saving them. So, I must be rid of all that holds me back, that makes me question my actions. For Black Adam cannot save this world...but he can still die for it."
'No, Teth! I will not allow myself to die because of your weakness! I will rise once again!' Black Adam roared as he lunged at Teth Adam, yet the moment his hand touched Teth's chest he exploded into a cloud of dust, a cloud that quickly vanished from sight as Adam let a single tear fall from his eye.
"No, there is only one way that this ends. And now, at the end, I can finally accept it." Teth then turned back to face the wizard, who peered into the face of his fallen champion to see that there was no anger nor the will to fight in his eyes. There was only acceptance of his fate. "Send me back, wizard. Send me back so that I may atone for what I have done and try to set it right."
Shazam remained silent for a long time, not knowing how to respond to what Teth Adam, the man who had wrought so much agony across time, was saying to him. Then, Shazam lifted his staff and pointed it at Adam's chest with what almost seemed like...regret in the old wizard's eyes.
'I mean what I said, Adam. I died to save your life. When you return to the world, you will only be able to access your original powers and nothing more. But are you certain that you wish to do this?' the wizard asked one last time. 'You could barely hold on to your life with my added power, but now that it is gone...there is no hope for you.'
"No, Shazam, this is my hope," Teth clarified with--for the first time in centuries--the voice of a hero. "Only by truly sacrificing everything for others can I have hope for redeeming myself. And as I said, if it means my death...then so be it." The old wizard nodded sadly before his eyes illuminated with power long forgotten, and with a roar of ancient words he unleashed a torrent of lightning into the chest of Adam, causing him to roar as the world spun around him before casting him back into reality.
S=H=A=Z=A=M
Black Adam opened his eyes to find himself staring at a pure black sky, yet instead of the world around him being black, he also realized that the worried face of Luna and Celestia were looking down at him. As their faces turned to smiles, Adam also realized that he was still enchanted, for the black suit and the golden lightning bolt were still showing upon his body.
"Oh Teth, thank Faust you're alive!" Celestia cried out as she threw her arms around Teth's shoulders, holding him tight as he slowly sat up. He gradually took in his surroundings to see that he was lying in a small field that was stained with his blood, yet the loss of blood barely bothered him, because he turned his gaze skyward to see a monstrous beast that nearly covered all the sky. It was fighting five separate silver and gold lights, lights that barely seemed to glow in the face of such darkness.
"Teth...no," Celestia whispered when she glanced to see where Black Adam was looking, immediately knowing what he was thinking. "Luna and I barely managed to keep you from dying after the first time that monster hurt you, and I don't know if we'd be able to save your life a second time!"
"That is fine, Celestia, for I do not plan to return alive from this fight," Adam said quietly as he rose to his feet, gently pushing Celestia off of him while he looked up at the monster. "You were right about me, Luna. I am the reason all of this has happened. I took your friendship and turned it to hate. I took your love and turned it to fear. All that is wrong with this world...is because of me." Adam then turned his head to look at Luna, regret showing in his eyes.
"I wish that I could turn back time and stop myself from arriving on this world; from tearing you and your sister apart while plunging this land into war. But that is a feat that even I cannot achieve. So in penance for what I have done...I promise that I shall do all it takes to save you, even if I must die."
"No, Teth, there has to be another way!" Celestia screamed, tears streaming down her face as she tried to run to him, yet Adam held out his hand to keep her back.
"As for you, Celestia...I am so sorry. For so long you believed me to be a hero; believed that I had overcome the man that I was...but he never truly died. A little bit of him still resided inside of me after all these years," Adam admitted before giving her a courageous smile. "But that changes today. Today, let me show you that your faith in me was not misplaced. Today, I shall show you that I have become the hero you wished for me to be...no matter the cost."
"But you can't die!" Celestia begged as her voice was choked with sobs. "I don't know what I'd do without you! I...I don't know if I can..." Adam smiled slightly and walked over to her, placing a hand on her cheek, getting her to look up at him.
"You are strong, Celestia, far stronger than I ever pretended to be. I know that even without me, you can help bring the world back together again," Teth said in a comforting tone before he turned his gaze skyward once again, watching as one of the silver lights was hurled into the ground below. "But now I must go. It is time for Black Adam to finally meet his end. Be strong, the both of you, and try to forget what tore you apart...that includes me."
Adam rocketed off into the sky as he said this, closing his ears so that he could not hear the words that Celestia yelled up at him. Instead he chose to narrow his eyes while he let loose a bellow of rage, releasing that rage into a column of thunder and lightning that illuminated the dark sky with a flash of lightning. He flew past four lights as he hurled his lightning into the side of the monster, causing it to roar as it turned and narrowed its eyes at him, almost as if it were saying that it was surprised that he was alive.
"Adam?" Captain Marvel asked from beside the Dark God, looking at him in confusion before the both of them flew off to the side to avoid the onslaught of darkness that was cast down upon both of them. "What are you doing...oh gods, your arm! Adam, you can't-"
"If you have time to worry about me, then you have time to focus on the fight before you!" Adam roared at Billy as another torrent of darkness was hurled at Adam, but to his surprise a silver monster with golden veins placed itself between him and the darkness, slicing a path in the darkness that caused it to split to the sides and avoid the two.
"Got to admit, was beginning to wonder what had happened to you," Hulk snarled as he and Adam flew to the side to avoid another torrent of darkness, Hulk looking at Adam's missing arm quickly before looking into Adam's eyes, where the Hulk was able to read what Adam was thinking almost immediately. "So...that's your decision then?"
"It is all I can do," Black Adam responded. Hulk nodded before the two of them split up to avoid the next wave of attacks, forcing Adam next to Trixie where they all heard Batmare bellow orders over the silence caused by the dark waves.
"Billy! Hulk! Get to either side of that monster and see if you can keep it distracted. Bubbles, spin that drill for all you are worth and prepare to punch a hole through the center of that thing! I want to see it bleed!" Batmare then turned her gaze to where Adam and Trixie were, giving them both a motion to join her before she continued her plan. "You two, with me! We're going to be going for the eyes! Wonder if it can fight while being as blind as a bat?"
As she said this she created batarangs of divine silver and hurled them at the monster, with Trixie and Adam following suit as they each hurled their own brand of magic at the monster. Yet to Adam's internal pain, while the batarangs and the golden bolts of magic had a visible effect on the monster when they punched a couple of holes in it, his own lightning was only absorbed by the monster and used to repair the damage done.
"SHAZAM!" Marvel roared with divine thunder, summoning down the divine lightning to pierce through the monster's darkness, illuminating the sky once again from a brief moment before the roar of the Hulk drowned out the rumbling of the thunder.
"SMASH! Hulk bellowed as he delivered twin fists to the back of the monstrosity that nearly shattered the planet beneath them. For the first time, they heard the beast of destruction roar out in either pain or rage, before it swung its tail and struck the Hulk down, sending him through the mountain. It then bellowed its darkness upon Trixie and Batmare, who were both consumed in darkness while Adam just barely managed to hurl himself to the side to avoid the blast.
Finally, the monster rounded on Billy, who summoned a sphere of lightning so powerful within his grasp that the entire world trembled beneath its might. With a roar that shook even Adam, he hurled the sphere towards the monster, blasting away the darkness as the sphere created a light that would not be extinguished. But to the horror of all who were watching, the monstrosity created a portal into the darkness that swallowed the sphere whole. Then with a smile, it created another portal behind the Captain from which the sphere came flying back through.
Marvel roared in agony as his own magic struck him in the back, sending divine lightning coursing through his own body. As the lightning storm came to an end, Marvel went limp and slowly began to fall towards the surface below, yet he had hardly begun to fall before the monstrosity rounded on him. It opened its gaping maw as far as it could while summoning all of its dark power, preparing to end the champion.
"NO!" Black Adam roared while he hurled himself forward with all of his godly speed, barely managing to place him between Captain Marvel and the blast of unyielding darkness. For a brief second every cell in his body screamed out in agony as the darkness consumed him, but a moment later he neither felt nor sensed anything. The darkness had completely pierced through his body and pretty much killed him. All he had left to do was realize that he was dead. He didn't hear Captain Marvel cry out his name while he began to fall, nor did he feel the darkness that continued to tear into his body. All he knew was that it was finally over for him.
'That was quite a display. Very noble, if I must say.'
Adam wasn't sure how he heard the voice, since he could hear nothing else, but there was no mistaking that somepony was somehow talking to him. Adam was then vaguely aware that he had stopped falling, but he wasn't certain if that was because he was dead or someone had caught him.
'Yes, you must be quite the guy, if so willingly are you to die.'
'Who are you?' Adam weakly asked.
'But to give your life for one you called foe? To your pride that must be quite the blow,' the voice continued, ignoring the question. 'Care to tell me why you did such an act? Or are you ready to finally feel the impact?'
'Because for so long I believed myself to be the champion--to be the one that would save the worlds,' Black Adam admitted, almost as if he were confessing his sins. 'But now I know I truly am a false champion; that Billy was the true hero all along. He was worthy of the power of Shazam, a power that I should have never known. Because I have brought so much death and pain with it, whereas he has risked all, time and time again without any thought for himself. He could not be allowed to die. He is one of the champions that will save this world. But me...as long as they can save the world, I will die for them.'
'Have you not saved the world, funny guy? So why must it be you that has to die?'
'Because I am not a champion. I am a failure. But for so long I could not admit that, and I believed myself to be the hero that so many thought that I was,' Black Adam admitted as he felt his conscious begin to leave his body for the final time. 'But maybe, through this one act of true selflessness, perhaps I can finally accept who I am. I can accept death.' To Adam's confusion, he began to hear laughter at his words.
'A very interesting response and very true...you know what, I think I like you.'
A massive explosion of magic went off in the sky, causing both champions and monster to turn towards the column of divine magic. For in the center of the magic was a man in a golden suit, with a silver lightning bolt upon his chest and that same silver energy rushing through his suit. He opened his eyes to find himself supercharged with power, a power that had healed his wounds. But as he looked down at his stomach, he found that he was now wearing a belt with an icy heart in the center of it. But in a moment, the ice exploded to reveal a golden heart crackling with electrical power.
"This...this cannot be," he whispered to himself as he looked at the power, a power that was stronger and more pure that what he remembered the stolen power of the wizard had felt like. The power was calm, peaceful, and yet he felt happiness flow through his body, a happiness that he could not remember having felt before with power. For the first time since he had ever uttered the word, he felt like a hero again. He felt like a champion.
'Oh, do not worry, my choice is clear. Only in your final moments did what I seek appear,' the mysterious voice said to him before turning his head towards the monster. 'Now, go fight this battle and put an end to this dance. For it is time for you to save the world...'
'My Champion of Acceptance.'
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Well, well, well the plot twist happened.
Well now... I think some people here would say they called it, but that just leaves one last question for me.
"The heck happened to Ryan?" Personally I hope he still survives, but it's funny here...
A once was villain turns the tide against destruction by becoming a hero.
called it
5932188 he will survive, after all that is what he does
Noooooooooooooo! I wanted Ryan with this power he was more worthy then Black Adam and funnier also. Black Adam was my least favorite of the characters. I need to see where this is ending as it has been to great a journey for me to just up and leave.
Did anyone else notice the thing was rhyming? Could it be Ryan's Super Zecora?
Well this was a interesting end to a chapter... but dammit I was still hoping it would be Ryan. He better get a more significant role later anyway.
Damnit, hoping the last champion was going to be Ryan. Ah well, hope he's still alive at the very least.
Knew this would happen, Ryans probably going to be annoyed.
.....comeon ryan....get your fokking gem now
That was exceptionally well done, brovo. I particularly enjoyed the scene between Adam and Shazam, it felt, right.
~Dollars.
Totally called that ending...
My question is this why did people think that Black Adam was going to get the final element? He never gave me that vibe and it feels out of character for him to get past his issues enough to be more then a road block in the story.
5932263 Imagine Ryans face when he realized Zecora was trying to get him to be the Champion Of Acceptance by beating the everliving shit outta him while spouting rhyming nonsense only for Teth to get it at the end.
I'm actually glad that it is Teth who gets the element, considering all the trials he has gone through.
5934344 .....And Ryan hasn't?
5933216 I knew it.... I just didn't want it to be true. Nothing against Adam it's just that hasn't Ryan earned it by now to?
5934344
Can I ask what trials? I am not a fan of a last minute conversion to the light side that Black Adam seemed to pull here. Looking back it took only a few paragraphs for Black Adam to become worthy while Ryan has been growing since his trials back in his story. I hope our author will explain, after the story is complete, why Black Adam got the nod because it kinda comes out of left field in this story.
I almost saw this coming, but I was still nonetheless surprised.
Achievements earned (all Teth Adam):
Loveless (Banish "Isis" from your mind)
Honest Heroism (Obtain the Element of Acceptance)