Amon's consciousness slammed back into his body in the Celestial World.
Instinctively, he grabbed his waist.
The sensation of being split in half was still burned into his mind.
And it had not been pleasant.
Artereus saw him open his eyes.
—You're back.
Amon pointed at him immediately.
—This is your fault.
—What did I do now?
—How do you even choose the heroes you bless? That savage barbarian actually pointed her sword at a god.
Artereus stayed silent for a few seconds.
He couldn't argue with that.
He had definitely made a mistake with Kara.
Though at first, he had liked her personality. Confident. Aggressive. Bold.
She reminded him a little of himself.
But the decisions she made…
Well.
She was a woman.
Sometimes he simply didn't understand them.
Further away, Ignivar continued grumbling while watching the battlefield.
—Your plans are useless, Amon.
The God of Fire crossed his arms.
—Aren't you always bragging about being the wisest god? Doesn't look like it.
Amon clicked his tongue.
—Shut up.
Ignivar kept going anyway.
—Those hero bodies are garbage. Too fragile. They break like glass.
Amon finally turned toward him.
—The Oracle isn't working. I had to improvise.
Ignivar let out a laugh.
—Improvise? You're the idiot who let the Demon Queen rip half your body off.
—And you're the moron who wrapped your hands in divine fire to punch her.
Ignivar frowned.
—And what was wrong with that?
—DIVINE FIRE ISN'T MADE FOR HUMAN BODIES, IDIOT! —Amon shouted—. IT BURNS EVERYTHING! HOW THE HELL WAS THE VESSEL SUPPOSED TO SURVIVE THAT, YOU STUPID FIRE GOD?!
While the gods argued in the Celestial World…
On Earth, the heroes were being overwhelmed.
Elizabeth kept advancing.
She released more and more power with every step.
Demonic mana covered the mountain like a black storm.
The heroes' attacks barely managed to slow her down.
—How the hell did they defeat this thing before…? —one of the gods growled while blocking another strike.
Another impact shook the mountain.
—I don't know —the other answered in frustration—. I think they combined their blessings or something…
He never finished the sentence.
Elizabeth hit him head-on.
The god was launched away like a projectile, crashing through several rocks before stopping.
Elizabeth walked forward through the smoke.
She was smiling.
—Is that all, gods?
The demonic pressure made the air tremble.
—Humans fight better than you do.
The two gods assigned to contain her were reaching their limit.
And so were their vessels.
The heroes' bodies were already starting to break apart internally under the divine pressure.
Blood ran down their arms.
Their skin began to crack.
They would not last much longer.
The two gods looked at each other.
They understood the same thing.
If they were going to fall…
Then they would take the Demon Queen with them.
Without hesitating, they released all the divine power those bodies could withstand.
The vessels began to disintegrate.
And one second later…
a gigantic explosion consumed the mountain.
The light could be seen from kilometers away.
Elizabeth was caught at the center of the blast.
Lusian saw the explosion.
The world turned white.
For a moment, he stopped hearing the battle.
—…Elizabeth…
His breathing broke apart.
He wanted to move.
Wanted to run toward her.
—No… no…
Fear pierced through his chest.
—ELIZABETH!
He tried to move.
He couldn't.
Berenia stood before him.
Or what remained of her.
Her silver silk armor did not reflect light.
It absorbed it.
As if even brightness avoided touching her.
The shadows moved around her body, folding with every step.
Her eyes no longer looked human.
They were deep.
Cold.
Ancient.
Nyxara looked through them.
—Lusian Douglas.
The voice did not come from a throat.
The air itself seemed to crack upon hearing it.
—Heir of Kheris.
The darkness around the goddess slowly contracted.
As if reacting to the name.
Lusian clenched his teeth.
He still wanted to reach the explosion.
But Nyxara completely blocked his path.
—You claimed something that did not belong to you.
Shadows began spreading across the ground.
—You stole a power that should have been mine.
Silence.
The pressure increased.
—Because of you, my ascension was halted.
The goddess' eyes never left him.
—My throne remains empty.
Another pause.
—And the balance remains incomplete.
Lusian felt the weight of that presence crushing the air itself.
Nyxara stepped forward once more.
—You delayed a goddess, Lusian Douglas.
Darkness vibrated around them.
—And that… is not a sin that can be forgiven.
Something tightened inside Lusian's chest.
As if the weight of the entire world had just fallen onto him.
And had no intention of ever moving again.
For a moment, he understood.
He had never chosen any of this.
Not Kheris.
Not this world.
Not the power inside him.
But he could not return it either.
The air tensed.
—Now… —Nyxara continued— darkness will return to its rightful source.
Berenia slowly raised her hand.
But the attack never descended.
First…
daylight vanished.
The sky darkened instantly.
Berenia's hands pointed upward as an immense darkness began spreading across the entire mountain.
Lusian looked up.
And understood something.
His end was approaching.
But even so…
he had no intention of dying without fighting.
The other gods watched in silence.
For one instant—only one—they believed it was over.
That the anomaly was finally about to disappear.
That the error in destiny was about to be corrected.
Nyxara believed it too.
Darkness continued swallowing the sky while Berenia raised her hand to deliver the final strike.
Then…
a voice spoke.
It did not descend from the heavens.
It did not rise from the earth.
It was born from the darkness itself.
And at the same time… it echoed inside Lusian's body.
The gods stiffened.
Something was wrong.
Terribly wrong.
Because in a plane where they believed they controlled every law…
where destiny, souls, and order had been written by their own hands…
two wills had just moved beyond their control.
The darkness stopped moving.
Everything became still.
Then the voice spoke again.
It was not loud.
But every word made space itself tighten.
—The Law existed before the birth of the universe.
Silence.
—Every god must be recognized.
The darkness around Berenia began to tremble.
—Without authorization… you do not have the right to call upon me.
Nyxara froze.
For the first time since descending…
she felt fear.
Not human fear.
Something worse.
The fear of an inferior existence standing before something infinitely older.
—Why…?
The voice did not answer immediately.
Because that was not a god.
It belonged to no pantheon.
It had no throne.
No form.
The Primordial Darkness.
Not darkness as the absence of light.
But as origin.
As the silence that existed before the first god.
When it spoke again, it was not a voice.
It was truth imposing itself.
—I never granted you permission to claim Kheris' place.
The air shattered.
Not from power.
From authority.
The other gods felt a chill spread through the Celestial World.
And then…
Nyxara's consciousness was violently expelled from Berenia's body.
On the mountain, Berenia fell to her knees while the darkness covering the sky began to collapse.
And in the Celestial World…
Nyxara screamed.
For the first time, fear shattered the voice of a goddess.
—NO…!
Her body began slowly disintegrating.
Fragments of her divinity vanished into emptiness.
—I HELD THE NIGHT! I RULED THE DARKNESS!
But the primordial voice did not answer.
Because Nyxara had never been recognized by Darkness itself.
A vibration spread across the Divine Thrones.
The constellations engraved across the heavens dimmed for an instant.
Even the Universal Laws seemed to shift.
Nyxara understood too late what her sin had been.
She had tried to claim Kheris' Throne without possessing the right to do so.
Because no god stands above the Law that gave them birth.
They may use its power.
Rule it.
Shape it.
But they cannot claim it as their own if the Law itself rejects them.
And when a deity attempts to sit upon a Throne that does not recognize them…
there is no judgment.
No punishment.
Only correction.
Nyxara's name vanished from the celestial records.
And her existence was returned to the primordial void.
Berenia's body slowly turned.
Her eyes had changed.
They no longer reflected borrowed stars or shadows.
They were ancient and deep.
Like a night that existed before the gods themselves.
In her open hand floated Nyxara's essence.
Reduced to a dark, fragmented core.
It trembled weakly.
It no longer screamed.
No longer resisted.
It had lost even the right to do so.
Berenia stepped forward.
And the darkness of the entire world answered.
The shadows bowed.
The blackened sky itself seemed to hold its breath.
—You are Kheris' heir —she said.
It did not sound like a proclamation.
It sounded like a truth the universe itself had just accepted.
Nyxara's essence slowly rose.
And was drawn toward Lusian.
Merging with his divinity as if recognizing him.
As if that darkness had been waiting for him since long before he was born.
—This was Kheris' final will —Berenia continued.
Darkness began wrapping around Lusian's body.
—And I accept it.
The world trembled.
Then the primordial voice spoke one final time.
—I recognize you.
Silence.
Absolute night engulfed the Throne of Darkness in the Celestial World.
Kheris' name slowly began to disappear.
Not as punishment.
But as the natural end of an existence that had already fulfilled its purpose.
And in its place…
something new was carved into reality itself.
In clear words.
Lusian Douglas of Mondring.
The new God of Darkness.