Bruce wiped the blood off his blade as he looked around the destroyed sanctuary.
The god’s presence had vanished, leaving only a strange emptiness behind. He turned to Kyle, who stood silently, his gaze on the space where Moras had crumbled into dust.
"Young master...What happened? Where’s Moras?"
Bruce hesitated.
Kyle didn’t take his eyes off the crumbled remnants of the altar.
"It’s taken care of. Moras will never be able to co back... ever."
He said quietly.
Bruce let out a long sigh of relief.
"Good. That’s... that’s good."
But the mont didn’t last.
Bruce straightened, his face darkening with concern.
"But... is this fine? You just sealed a god. Won’t that have consequences?"
Kyle finally turned to look at him.
"It will. But those are the consequences we want. Sooner or later, those pests would’ve tried to invade this world again. Now, we’ve made our stance clear."
He said without hesitation.
Bruce ran a hand through his hair, groaning.
"I don’t know why, but I knew it’d co to this. The mont you stepped into that temple, I had a feeling we’d end up declaring war on the heavens."
He muttered.
Before Kyle could respond, lissa gasped sharply and doubled over, coughing violently. Her skin had regained so color, but her body trembled with every breath. Kyle was instantly at her side.
"lissa."
"I... I can feel it. The curse... it’s lifting."
She breathed.
Kyle steadied her and offered a reassuring nod.
"That’s Queen’s doing. The fruit it delivered nullified Selene’s curse. You’re safe now."
She looked down at Queen’s form in Bruce’s arms. Its feathers were singed, but it was still breathing, though shallowly.
"I... owe it everything."
She whispered.
"You can thank it once it’s recovered. For now, rest. You’ve done enough."
Kyle said.
lissa opened her mouth to argue but relented when Kyle gave her a stern look. She leaned against one of the broken pillars, catching her breath.
Kyle rose to his feet, surveying the aftermath.
The sanctuary was in ruins. Debris littered the ground. The once-glorious symbol of Moras’s rule was nothing more than a shattered monunt to the divine’s defeat.
And outside... silence.
The divine pressure was gone. The dazed priests and townspeople had collapsed, many unconscious.
With Moras gone, the spell blanketing their minds had been lifted—but so too had the unifying power that kept this land in check.
Kyle narrowed his eyes.
"This city... is without a master now."
Bruce glanced at him.
"You’re thinking soone else will try to seize it?"
Kyle nodded.
"Not soone. Everyone."
lissa coughed again.
"The gods?"
Kyle crossed his arms.
"And their followers. There’s no way they’ll let this insult slide. But before they get here—before anyone thinks to take what we’ve earned—I’ll make this city mine."
He stepped forward, his shadow stretching behind him like a banner of war.
"Let this beco the first stronghold in the coming war against the divine."
Bruce blinked.
"You’re going to claim a holy city?"
"I’m going to repurpose it. This land will no longer be a temple for gods. It will be a bastion for mortals. A place to prove we’re not pawns in their gas."
Kyle corrected.
lissa straightened with a groan.
"I thought we were just here to investigate..."
"We were. Now we’re here to change the world."
Kyle said with a small smile.
Bruce chuckled bitterly.
"You make it sound so easy, young master."
"It won’t be. But it’s necessary."
He turned to Queen, now barely conscious in Bruce’s arms. Its small body still pulsed with traces of mana, but it was fading fast.
"I’ll need to tend to it. It’s connected to . If it falls, I fall. I’ll lend it my mana once we’ve secured this place."
Kyle murmured.
"Do we have ti?"
lissa asked, eyes scanning the crumbling sanctuary.
"Not much. But enough."
Kyle admitted.
He began walking toward the shattered temple doors.
"There are survivors outside. Confused citizens. Disgraced priests. I’ll deal with them. You two rest. When you’re ready, we’ll rebuild this place into sothing new."
Bruce shook his head in disbelief.
"You really an to stand against the heavens."
Kyle paused.
"No. I an to stand above them."
He said quietly.
______
In the luminous halls of the divine abode, where stars moved like thoughts and ti obeyed no law, a sudden pulse of divine alarm summoned the gods.
One by one, they appeared, stepping into the grand sanctum surrounded by ethereal pillars that shimred with ancient power.
Goddess Charrin arrived first, her form wreathed in green fire, eyes sharp with wariness. She took her seat on a floating shard of divine crystal, her arms folded tightly.
Then ca Seraphina, radiant with golden wings and a voice that echoed like a hymn. She barely acknowledged the others as she floated down, her gaze distant, disturbed.
God Klien erged from a rift in space, his form constantly shifting between steel and mist, as if undecided what shape he preferred.
Soon, other gods arrived—unnad, but brimming with arrogance. Whispers filled the chamber, chaotic, angry.
"Humans have gone too far."
"They dared to strike one of us."
"We must reclaim what is ours."
"They should crawl again... helpless and silent."
"They need to be reminded who their gods are."
The voices rose, blending into a chorus of divine pride and fear.
"They’ve tasted too much freedom. Let us strip them of their minds and will, return them to what they once were—re vessels for prayer, incapable of disobedience."
One sneered.
There was a murmur of approval.
But then Charrin’s voice cut through the noise, calm and cold.
"That is what gave rise to the monster before."
The others went silent.
Charrin looked around, her tone steady.
"We controlled them once. Completely. We took their thoughts, their will, their strength. And in that void, sothing terrible was born. Sothing that defied us all and nearly brought the divine order to collapse."
"You think this is the sa?"
Another god scoffed.
"I think we’re playing with fire again. This defiance... it’s familiar."
She said.
Seraphina nodded slowly.
"I felt it too."
Eyes turned toward her.
"I descended briefly last cycle to bless one of my temples. And in the outskirts of my reach... there was soone. A human. But the power they carried—" She paused. "It was almost enough to rival mine. I didn’t engage. I left."
She said.
Shock rippled through the chamber.
"A human almost challenged your domain?"
A deep voice questioned.
Seraphina frowned.
"Yes. And I don’t think it was an accident. There’s sothing moving down there."
The gods fell into uneasy silence. The threat was no longer vague—it was personal.
And then Klien stood. His voice was flat.
"Moras is dead."
The entire sanctum seed to freeze.
"What?"
Charrin whispered, eyes narrowing.
"He is gone. Slain. Or rather... absorbed."
Klien repeated.
"No. That’s impossible."
Seraphina said, disbelieving.
"His vessel was destroyed. His power was captured and consud by a human."
Klien’s eyes darkened.
"The balance has shifted."
Whispers rose again, but this ti not with arrogance—this ti with fear.
"Who was it?"
"Which human?"
"Which region?"
"Is this... the sa one as before?"
Klien didn’t answer. He only stared out at the mortal world below.
"He has returned. Or sothing like him."
Charrin muttered.
Klien spoke again.
"We must decide now. Do we let him grow... or do we erase him before he becos unstoppable?"
No one answered imdiately.
They all knew one thing: this wasn’t just about punishing defiance.
It was about survival.
And for the first ti in eons, the gods felt... vulnerable.
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