"Kysar, you fool! Call out the other three traitors hiding behind you. How do you still not see it? They never trusted you!"
The Lifeless Dreadgod's voice cracked like a thunderbolt in Kysar Archbishop's ears. A brief mont of hesitation, and his resolve hardened.
"The veil is lifted," Kysar called out. "There's no point in hiding!"
"I know you've been siphoning the World Essence. Our Hope rests with the Titanion Realm, and I won't tolerate any missteps." He glanced toward the Titanion Realm's World Tree roots. Ever since their confinent, the colossal roots had writhed endlessly, fighting against the bindings of the four gods.
Within the gods' domain, three demigod phantoms materialized. They stared grimly at the rising mass of The Headsman's Block and the towering Divine Idols upon it.
"Maximilien, The Headsman's Block is under your domain," one of them said. "Did you not foresee this?"
The newcors were the remaining leaders of the Cult of Four: Archbishops Maximilien, Kendry, and Eryx. The Cult of Four divided its power among them, with each Archbishop commanding a unique artifact—The Dais of Judgnt, The Headsman's Block, The Dais of Eternity, and The Dais of Ascension.
By all rights, Maximilien should have controlled the newly manifested Headsman's Block. Yet, his brow furrowed in utter confusion. The sight before him defied reason.
"I haven't invoked my Authority over The Headsman's Block," Maximilien said. "I'm certain of it."
"Which ans our Authority over these artifacts was never complete." The implication hung heavy in the air.
"The gods... they never trusted us?"
It was a bitter realization. The four Archbishops, Kysar included, felt a cold dread wash over them. If the gods had planted this failsafe, there were undoubtedly others. They had hollowed out the Cult of Four from the inside—a blatant betrayal. The impending wrath of the gods suddenly felt very real.
"They never trusted you, and you trusted them?" The Lifeless Dreadgod sneered. "Idiots! It's every man for himself. We have a shot at ascension. Claiming the Divine Mantle—that is the only truth, the only faith, and our only way out! Strike now, or I swear I'll drop everything and let us all burn together!"
Furious, The Lifeless Dreadgod summoned his own massive effigy, sending it barreling into the Divine Idols atop The Headsman's Block.
Boom! He was swatted away. His effigy shattered and reford violently as it tumbled through the air.
Within the Titanion Realm, Orion and Moriphara held their ground. Blind to the full scope of the trap, they opted for caution, watching the chaos unfold. That changed the mont the Titanion Realm's World Tree roots pulsed with a desperate plea for help. Their fates were tied to the realm; if it fell, they fell with it.
"Kill!" Orion roared. A massive phantom erupted from the Divine Vessel upon the World Tree throne—a four-headed, eight-ard Stoneheart Titan. Without hesitation, it charged headlong into the gods' domain.
The Insect Queen, Moriphara, was right behind him. The primal insect phantom perched on her shoulder dissolved into a streak of light, trailing Orion's wake to strike at The Headsman's Block.
Everyone leaped into the fray, converging on the artifact. Only Kysar Archbishop hung back, burdened with anchoring the three tethered worlds.
But they charged straight into a slaughter.
Sever... Sever... Sever...
An ancient, hollow voice reverberated through the space. It carried no emotion, no sentience—only the absolute mandate to execute anything that crossed its path.
A sickening crack echoed. An irresistible, blinding agony tore through their minds, spirits, and sheer force of will.
Snap. The Lifeless Dreadgod's head separated from his neck.
Snap. Maximilien's head rolled.
Snap. Snap. Kendry and Eryx followed.
Snap. Even Orion's titanic Stoneheart phantom lost all four of its heads.
The severed heads hit the floor. Their wide eyes were frozen in absolute, uncomprehending shock—stunned by a power that utterly defied logic.
Snap. The primal insect phantom lost its head as well. Its decapitated spectral body froze, too terrified to take another step.
A suffocating silence hung over the battlefield. The insect phantom attempted to regenerate, but the mont a new head sprouted, it was instantly lopped off.
"Do you feel it?" The severed head of The Lifeless Dreadgod rasped from the floor. His expression flickered erratically between twisted agony and manic ecstasy. "The supre might of the gods. A force no demigod can defy. Sever... Sever... Sever... It's the law... a divine mandate..."
The Lifeless Dreadgod suddenly trailed off. The realization hit him.
"Wait. If they are true gods, they can't descend to this plane yet. It's not a real god. It's just a relic. One of the Divine Idols left behind! It's a remnant from before they ascended!"
He was muttering frantically now, the pieces falling into place. "It isn't a god! It isn't invincible!"
The revelation snapped the others out of their stupor. If it wasn't a god, the Divine Idols could bleed. Even if it held the power of a peak sixth stage entity, they could overwhelm it with sheer numbers and exhaust its reserves.
Besides, this construct wasn't a true demigod at the peak of the sixth stage. It lacked a real Divine Vessel, and it had no Divine Kingdom to grant it endless power. It was surviving purely on residual divine power and programd laws. Its only battery was the local World Essence—and that sa World Essence was currently being leeched away by their World Tree roots.
"Don't bother regenerating your heads!" The Lifeless Dreadgod shouted. "We can't override the divine mandate of the severing. We're fighting as a phantom will anyway! Losing a head just seals off a fraction of our power."
His voice rose to a fanatical shriek. "Hit it now! Bleed its divine power dry!"
Without hesitation, The Lifeless Dreadgod's headless demigod phantom threw itself into a suicidal assault against the Idols. His sheer, kamikaze-like desperation was infectious, instantly igniting the battle lust in Orion and the rest.
True to his words, The Lifeless Dreadgod was the first to condense a combat phantom and dive straight into the four gods' realm.
Orion, Archbishop Kysar, and Moriphara froze, montarily stunned by the sudden reversal.
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