Olympus—realm of clouds and gold, bastion of divine dominion—trembled.
A soundless pressure weighed down upon the sacred city as a single ripple tore through the veil between realms. The sky split open for a moment, not with thunder, but with silence… the kind that suffocates even the breath of the wind.
Then—
A single flash of red lightning struck the marble bridge that led to the House of the Gods.
Out of the mist and light stepped Megumi Valentine.
He didn't speak. He didn't need to.
His presence spoke for him.
Each step he took cracked the marble beneath his feet. His black and white aura pulsed violently—red electricity coiling around his limbs like living flame. His wings spread wide—one angelic, radiant and white; one fallen, blackened and vast. Above his head hovered a halo twisted in gold and shadow.
His golden eyes, glowing with quiet fury, scanned the city that had watched his world burn.
And Olympus watched back.
High above, on the balcony of the House of the Gods, Poseidon stepped forward, trident in hand, his sea-blue cloak fluttering behind him.
He narrowed his eyes, jaw clenched as the sheer force of Megumi's presence made the air shimmer.
"…He has arrived."
The wind stilled.
One by one, the gods appeared—Zeus, Athena, Apollo, Artemis, Ares, Hephaestus, Hera—all gathering at the edge of the divine steps to stare down at the man who had become more than a god.
Megumi stopped at the base of the mountain.
He raised his head, golden eyes locking with Zeus's thunder-filled gaze.
And then he spoke—not with rage, but with a calm so deep it made the skies feel hollow.
"You knew this day would come."
His voice echoed through Olympus like a divine decree.
"You prayed your thrones would protect you. That time would bury the sins you carved into the bones of this world."
He stepped forward, the very sky dimming around him.
"But I remember."
He looked to each god—his stare piercing, unblinking.
"You killed my family. You condemned your own creations. You turned divine power into a game of pride and cruelty."
The wind howled as red lightning cracked across the sky behind him.
"I am here to end that game."
Silence followed.
Until Zeus stepped forward, thunder clashing behind him.
"Then come, Fallen King," he growled. "Come and claim the throne you think you deserve."
Megumi's halo pulsed.
"I don't want your throne," he said, as his wings expanded fully behind him.
"I want your judgment."