Maxi's breath caught in his throat.
He realized this this was the scene Colen had been excited to share all along.
The ice sculptures, the storms of snow, the divine stage it was all building to this moment.
Colen turned toward him and finally explained, his voice quiet but sharp:
"That being that descended... is one of the oldest gods. An observer beyond time."
The air grew thick with reverence. The world itself seemed to forget how to move.
But it wasn't that time had frozen no, far from it. Everything knew better than to move in his presence.
Even Death held its breath.
Even the winds bowed.
Even the Earthly gods knelt.
The ice sculpture of this ancient god hovered in the center of the room, faceless and robe-shrouded, flickering in and out of forms.
A being that melted and refroze with every heartbeat. Snowflakes bowed in his wake, spiraling upward like souls rising.
And then he spoke.
"My dear gods.
My dear Earthly gods.
My children.
Why have you disrespected me?"
His voice didn't echo it engraved itself into the room.
"The waters were a raging tide. I made a path for you.
I fixed your realm after you broke it. I watched you blaspheme what I gave you.
And what do you do? Favor two souls above all others.
Favoritism I allow. But only with variety. Only with wisdom.
You shared your gifts with only two obsessively. Repeatedly.
I expected more."
He sighed, and the snowflakes paused midair.
"You did it as a group. In unison.
Not once. Not twice. But trillions of times in parallel realms.
I watched you become tyrants. I watched you mold young gods into weapons.
And you my Earthly gods are supposed to be the wiser ones.
Yet I find the Outer Gods, even the Eldritch, more consistent."
The ice sculptureof the being then looked at the ice sculpture of kane.
"Oh. The God Seed finally awakened.
Hello, little one i haven't seen you in a second."
Then the being faced the Earthly gods again.
"I won't punish just you.
This is a collective punishment.
Tell the Outer Gods and Eldritch Ones what you did. Explain why they now suffer with you.
And when you try to unite again… remember that I have cut the strings that bound you."
He raised his faceless head toward the heavens.
"You will no longer work as a unit.
You will not assist or see anyone from this multiverse ever again.
You will come back after a time but when is that time only time will tell.
But you must be asking yourself another question when does this punishment begin.
The punishment... begins now."
The ice sculpture clapped.
And in that instant, he vanished dissolving into an impossible storm of snowflakes. The divine glow faded. The air unpaused.
But it felt… hollow.
Maxi felt a loneliness that stretched across time.
The ice sculptures of the Earthly gods seemed smaller now. Fragile.
Colen's voice returned, not triumphant but calm.
"In the end," he said, through the voice of Tom,
"I never needed gods to begin with.
This just makes it easier."
The ice sculpture of Tom grinned, eyes still glowing beneath a curtain of blood. The dragon beside him smiled too, blood dripping from fangs.
Maxi watched closely and finally thought:
I see it. He's like Techxin. That eerie confidence... that smile... it runs in the blood.
Kane, meanwhile, stood smirking.
He had only received a divine blessing recently he never relied on it.
But Oasis and Lore? They had built their entire strength around their blessings. Without them… they were immortals with no powers.
Colen continued narrating the final battle.
"But they still had weapons," he said. "Tom made sure of that while he was working for them."
The battle lasted three nights and three days.
On the left side of the ice wall, Tom etched glowing symbols into the air. As the dragon clashed with Lore, a magic circle expanded before its mouth. The moment the circle glowed bright red, the dragon released a blood breath that became a wave twice, three times its normal power.
Lore tried to resist, hands glowing, her sword clashing against the tide.
The thin layer of ice beneath the sculpture cracked then broke, sliding Lore's sculpture off the table entirely.
Tom, ever the showman, gave a salute.
The dragon smiled.
And as the ice piece slid toward the royal library's carpet, Snow appeared. She jumped, shaped her fingers into a pattern and the ice froze in midair.
Colen smiled, proud. " properly performed my dear Snow."
He snapped.
The sculpture shattered into snowflakes.
Maxi turned to the right side Kane and Oasis.
But it wasn't a battle. It was a beating.
Kane pummelled Oasis, blow after blow.
And Oasis… simply played his instrument.
Every note healed him slightly but not enough to retaliate.
"Oasis never wanted to fight," Colen said, expression unreadable.
"He just let Kane hit him. Until it was over."
At the final moment, Kane summoned a giant blood skull with the dragon's help, preparing a final strike. Oasis narrowly dodged.
The skull missed him but cut an entire chunk of the continent, forming a new one entirely.
Just like Lore.
Realizing what had happened that they were being exiled
But Kane, already prepared, knocked him out cold before he could do much about it.
So ended the battle.
Lore and Oasis were exiled banished to different continents, alone.
And as Colen finished, he whispered something Maxi wouldn't forget:
"It's said that only after their exile…
did they finally realize how much they loved each other."
Maxi rose from his chair, hands clapping.
"That," he said, turning to Colen with genuine awe, "was a masterclass in storytelling, my dearest big brother."
Colen nodded. "Thanks. But, Snow, time for bed. Mother will murder me if you don't sleep."
Snow nodded and slipped off the chair, taking Colen's hand.
Before leaving, she turned to Maxi with a smile.
"Good luck on your test, Maxi."
She clapped.
All the remaining sculptures turned into falling snow.
Maxi's heart froze and then melted. Warmed by her innocence. She reminds me of my daughter… though mine was even shyer. A little cuter, too.
Maxi and Angelina walked through the vast castle library, ascending the spiraling stairs.
His thoughts were light.
Blissful, even.
Until he hit something.
"Ah. what did I ?"
Maxi rubbed his nose and looked up.
He'd run into someone. Tall. Still.
They wore long black pajamas decorated with white triangle patterns. Their skin was darker than the fabric, making them almost invisible in the dim hall.
The only features Maxi could make out
were glowing white teeth,
blood-red eyes,
and hair so white it shimmered like moonlight.
Maxi's heart dropped. Dread filled every part of him.
No… No way.
It just had to be…
Mōkō.