As the rift in the sky widened, the blazing form of the sun—Apollo—slowly erged from within.
But when the people of the Myriad Races Continent raised their heads to the heavens and beheld the returning sun, their faces twisted in disbelief. What they saw was not the familiar golden brilliance that had illuminated their world for ages.
Instead, the sun that rose above them was grotesquely altered. The once-radiant surface, normally pure and incandescent, was marred by countless black spots. They dotted its surface in clusters large and small, and most disturbingly, these stains writhed and shifted as though alive.
Daniel’s heart clenched. He recognized them imdiately.
These crawling blemishes were none other than the Filth of God, the very corruption he had entrusted Milla to deal with only monts ago. Despite the imnse distance separating him from Apollo, Daniel could feel the stench of that corruption, an aura so foul it seed to poison even the light.
The question gnawed at him: What exactly was the Inner World? What kind of realm could generate such boundless corruption? The sensation he gleaned from Apollo was that of refuse piled upon refuse, countless impurities heaped together like an endless mountain of cosmic garbage.
When the clock struck seven o’clock sharp, Apollo erged fully into the heavens.
And then the impossible occurred.
The instant Apollo’s blazing form cleared the rift, the sun itself began to plumt. No longer suspended in its eternal course across the sky, the celestial body lurched into a catastrophic freefall, descending with terrifying precision toward the Myriad Races Continent below.
The sun was falling.
And it was aid directly at the world.
Milla’s blood ran cold. The casual composure she often carried was gone, replaced by a grim and solemn expression. Her voice trembled with the weight of urgency."Lord Daniel, the ti has co. We must open the Miracle Gate."
Daniel nodded, his expression hardening as he summoned the Universal Gauntlet. The gauntlet shimred into being, anchoring itself before the boundary of the Miracle Gate. His features were taut with tension. He knew what awaited beyond that gate—an existence beyond all others.
On the other side was not a demigod, not an awakened, but a true god.
Daniel prepared himself. He had readied the Reflective Shield, calibrating its angle so that if Aurelia struck, her own attack would be turned back upon her—directed at Apollo itself. His plan was desperate but precise.
Far below, upon the Myriad Races Continent, chaos reigned.
The searing heat of Apollo’s descent washed across the land like a tide of fire. The temperature of the earth spiked instantly, air shimring as though the very atmosphere were lting.
"Damn it, what’s happening?!""Why is the sun falling? And what are those vile things on its surface?""It’s too hot—I feel like I’m being roasted alive!""No—my body, it’s burning! I’m on fire!""...Wait... why do I feel so cold? Freezing—I can’t stop shivering—I’m turning into ice!"
Screams of confusion and terror filled the continent.
As the sun fell lower, a violet fire spread across the world. It licked across the ground, covering the earth in a spectral blaze. The purple flas did not stop at the soil—they climbed onto living bodies, igniting flesh and bone.
One after another, creatures burst into fla, their forms consud in monts. The contagion of burning spread so quickly that within seconds the continent was awash in violet infernos.
From Apollo’s full appearance to this mont, scarcely a handful of seconds had passed. Yet already, millions of lives had been snuffed out.
The sun’s fury was palpable. It radiated wrath, and its flas consud indiscriminately. Among all the countless creatures of the continent, only a few—those rarest of the strong, the peak Awakeners—managed to resist the blaze. But even they endured only the aftershocks, the diluted remnants of Apollo’s true fire.
And still, it was almost too much to bear.
The First Human Emperor struggled desperately. His body was engulfed in violet fire, every inch of his flesh seared. Yet his mind clung to clarity, forcing reason to remain. mories surged unbidden, pulling him back four millennia.
Four thousand years ago, Apollo had burned with this sa wrath. His fury had nearly consud the entire continent then as well. To this day, the First Human Emperor could never forget the horror of that scene.
He had never expected to witness it again.
His eyes were filled with despair. Back then, salvation had only co because a god had intervened, quelling Apollo’s rage before it annihilated everything. But now, four millennia later, could they expect such fortune again? Would a god rise to stop the fury of the sun?
Just as that thought passed through him, a figure appeared at his side.
Odin.
Flas of violet fire also wrapped around Odin’s form, but unlike the Emperor, his expression was not twisted by despair. His gaze was steady, his eyes resolute.
"Do not fear, elder," Odin said, his voice calm and firm. "Apollo cannot destroy us."
The First Emperor turned to him in astonishnt.
Odin lifted his head, staring up at the blazing mass hurtling ever closer. His tone was unwavering."To be precise... it is not he who will destroy us. It is we who shall destroy him. This too is part of Daniel’s plan."
In the Divine Realm, the atmosphere was taut with dread.
As the Miracle Gate creaked open, Daniel’s nerves tightened like drawn wires. Despite countless cycles of repetition, this mont was new. He had never once, in any previous iteration, dared to fully open the gate.
It wasn’t cowardice that held him back. It was caution. Beyond that gate lay Aurelia—the Goddess of Gold and Silver. To treat such a being lightly was suicide. Against a true god, even the smallest misstep could spell catastrophe.
Daniel had long realized the risk of using Flashback too often. Mortals and demigods alike might grow suspicious if they noticed anomalies in ti. But Aurelia was no demigod. She was a god. To think she would fail to notice his temporal manipulations was foolish. In fact, Daniel suspected she already knew.
After all, the first ti he had deflected her divine assault, he had done so by relying on his avatars spread across different tilines, bouncing her attack back through ti itself. Could she truly have been ignorant of that?
His instincts scread at him: Do not underestimate a god.
The gate swung wider.
Yet what greeted him was not an attack. On the other side of the Miracle Gate, silence lingered. No voice, no power, no presence surged forth.
Above, Apollo’s descent grew swifter, the burning sphere plumting lower and lower. Already it had dropped halfway, nearly level with the Divine Realm itself. The black masses of Filth of God writhed violently across its surface, as though eager to burst free.
If Apollo struck the earth, the Myriad Races Continent would be obliterated.
And still, Aurelia gave no reply. No strike ca. No divine hand reached through the gate.
Perhaps she had learned. Perhaps after the humiliation of being reflected once before, she chose not to act hastily.
Daniel’s expression darkened. "Damn... I underestimated her caution."
Beside him, Milla’s face was equally grim. Her voice was low but steady."Wait a little longer. There may still be a chance."
The rift above widened further, the sky trembling under the strain. The sun, tainted and enraged, continued its fall. And with every heartbeat, the doom of the world drew closer.
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