The battlefield burned.
Ash choked the sky, black smoke blotting out the stars as if the heavens themselves turned their eyes away. Craters split the earth, rivers of molten rock oozed through broken ruins, and the screams of the dying faded into silence.
At the center of it all stood Persi, the Demon Lord, the one they called the God-Killer. His blade dripped with divine ichor, the blood of gods who had thought themselves untouchable. His breath was ragged, his body broken, but his eyes still blazed—one a piercing blue, the other a searing amber.
And yet, it was not the gods who had struck the final blow.
The figure across from him, cloaked in shadow, pulled their weapon free of Persi's chest. The blade gleamed wetly, still hungry for his life.
"…You," Persi whispered, coughing blood, disbelief cracking through his voice. "After everything we fought for—why?"
The shadowed figure didn't flinch. Their voice was calm, almost reverent.
"Because even God-Killers don't know their place. You reached too high. Someone had to end you."
Persi staggered, rage and sorrow twisting his face. "I wasn't fighting for power. I was fighting for them—for the people. For a world without hunger, without chains!"
The betrayer's grip tightened. "And yet, you became the very monster you swore to destroy."
Lightning split the sky, illuminating the battlefield one last time. Persi collapsed to his knees, blood spilling into the shattered ground. His vision blurred, but he forced himself to smile through the pain.
"You think killing me will end this? No… you've only bought yourself time. The reapers will come for you. And if not them… then I will."
The betrayer's weapon rose for the final strike. "Then die, God-Killer. Die and be forgotten."
Steel pierced flesh.
The world seemed to shudder, and the battlefield went silent. The Demon Lord, the God-Killer, slumped forward, lifeless.
For a moment, all was still. And then—
A voice, ancient and mocking, whispered through the void that swallowed him:
"So even you have fallen, Persi. Good. Let us see what becomes of you in a world where death no longer reigns."
And the darkness closed in.