The heavens were silent.
Not peaceful.
Silent.
There was a difference.
Lucius Nachtveil stood among the ruins of the Divine Realm, his black coat torn, his crimson eyes staring at the endless cracks spreading across the sky.
For the first time in thousands of years...
The gods were afraid.
Not because he had defeated them.
But because he had remembered.
Every betrayal.
Every lie.
Every moment they erased from history.
Every time they called him a monster while secretly using him as their weapon.
"Lucius..."
A voice called behind him.
Soft.
Broken.
He knew that voice.
He hated that he knew it.
He turned around.
Standing there were the girls who once ended his life.
The ones who had watched him fall.
The ones who had chosen the world over him.
And now...
The ones who refused to let him disappear.
"You shouldn't be here."
Lucius' voice was cold.
The girls froze.
Even after everything...
They were still scared of that voice.
The voice of the Final Boss.
"We know."
The first girl stepped forward.
Her hands were shaking.
"But we came anyway."
Lucius laughed quietly.
A hollow laugh.
"Why?"
The question echoed through the destroyed heavens.
"Why now?"
Nobody answered.
Because they knew.
There was no excuse.
No apology good enough.
No words that could repair what they broke.
"You abandoned me when I needed you."
Lucius looked down.
"You watched me become the villain."
His fingers tightened.
"You watched the world curse my name."
A dark aura surrounded him.
"And now that I stand above gods..."
His eyes turned toward them.
"Now you want me back?"
The oldest goddess watching from the broken throne whispered:
"Impossible..."
Everyone turned.
She looked at Lucius with fear.
"The prophecy..."
Her voice trembled.
"It was wrong."
Lucius narrowed his eyes.
"What prophecy?"
The goddess swallowed.
"The Final Boss was never destined to destroy the world."
Silence.
"The Final Boss was created..."
She looked directly at him.
"To save it."
Lucius froze.
For the first time in centuries...
His expression changed.
"What did you say?"
The goddess continued.
"The darkness inside you was never a curse."
"The power that corrupted you..."
"It was a seal."
Everyone went silent.
A seal?
Lucius clenched his fist.
"No."
His voice became darker.
"Don't give me another lie."
The sky shook.
"I spent my entire life believing I was the monster."
A tear fell from one of the girls' eyes.
"But if that's true..."
Lucius looked at his hands.
"Then who was the real monster?"
Suddenly...
The world cracked.
Not the heavens.
Not the Divine Realm.
Everything.
Reality itself.
A black hand emerged from the broken sky.
Everyone stepped back.
Even the gods.
Because they recognized it.
Impossible.
Something older than them.
Older than creation itself.
A voice whispered:
"Finally..."
"The vessel has awakened."
Lucius looked upward.
The presence smiled.
"Hello, Lucius Nachtveil."
"You have spent your entire life fighting against becoming the Final Boss."
The darkness expanded.
"But you never realized..."
"You were only the beginning."
Lucius raised his sword.
The girls stood beside him.
He looked at them.
"You all should run."
They shook their heads.
"No."
Lucius frowned.
"You don't understand."
One of them smiled sadly.
"We do."
"We already lost you once."
She gripped her weapon.
"We won't lose you again."
For the first time...
Lucius didn't feel alone.
But that scared him more than anything.
Because now...
He had something to lose.
The entity in the sky laughed.
"How beautiful."
"The Final Boss gained a heart."
The darkness consumed the heavens.
"Now let's see..."
"How long it takes before I break it."