The Supreme God's form cracked under the weight of Aqua's [Crimson Fire].
Once, he had been the undisputed ruler of the world, the dominator of lesser gods and all living things. Now he was a cracked shell fighting for survival.
Since childhood, he had taken everything from Aqua: her family, her teachers, and finally her entire kind. Why? For mere lust.
Aqua had been meant to become another ornament in his collection. Another mortal woman chained, used, and discarded.
Instead, she became his executioner.
However, like many before him, the god had fallen to hubris. The moment he had disturbed the balance of life, he had drawn the ire of the world itself.
A world soul, dwarfing even him.
His attempts at subjugating the soul were for naught. After all, Sun God was the most powerful entity that Aqua knew.
"Even the sun will bend the knee, is that what you used to say, Tyrant?!" she shouted, mocking the cruel god.
His old human visage dispersed, revealing a titan of divinity. He who hoarded the power, consuming all nascent gods, found himself alone and at the mercy of Sun God's champion.
The power of divinity coalesced in front of him, and after a moment of silence, a massive wave of power crashed into her [Temporal Barrier].
The cobweb of cracks spread over the bronze barrier before shattering and reducing defenseless Aqua to dust.
However, the scene did not bring the supreme tyrant any pleasure.
A spectral clock of [Altered Time] ticked back, returning Aqua to her pristine state. There was nothing a mere god, no matter how powerful, could do to her now.
While the power of time was something she seldom used, it was necessary against someone as powerful as the supreme deity of her world.
She was no longer weak, nor was she helpless.
For centuries, Aqua was on the run, escaping and living like a feral animal each time her shelter was destroyed by his forces.
Her teeth gritted. "You will never again take anything from me, oh no. This time, I will be the one to take everything from you!" she shouted, and the Crimson Fire turned black, consuming the god, shrinking him to the level of a large human.
You insignificant gnat, you could have been my slave like all mortals are, but instead chose to fight your ruler. Let me show you the error of your ways.
His voice echoed through the divine palace.
"You took Umbra from me!"
She opened a portal, redirecting the blast of divinity back into the god.
"You took my family! Death will be too good for you!"
Each time Black Flame touched him, his divinity grew dimmer. The Black Flame was not mere fire. It devoured everything it touched, even divinity.
Each strike of black flame empowered Aqua further, granting her access to the divinity, yet the consumed essence seeped into her very being.
She carried divinity inside her, cursing her with godhood.
However, she could not afford to dwell on such a curse. Once the Supreme Parasite had been dealt with, she would burn herself, leaving the world pure of all that was divine.
Her blazing wings unfurled, and with a single flap, she broke through the roof of the ethereal palace. She raised her hands toward the sky, and a crimson circle appeared over the realm of divinity.
The power to end worlds was about to descend and free her, at long last, from the supreme trash.
"I will not be a slave!" she shouted, and then the world shuddered.
A pillar of crimson fire, hotter than ten thousand suns, erased the palace.
However, "the most powerful god" was not an empty title. He truly stood above all divinity.
While gravely injured, and his divine realm battered and burned like the mortal world outside it, he still stood tall.
I no longer care to preserve what I once desired. You were meant to kneel beautifully among my possessions. Now even that mercy is wasted on you.
His words made her face contort in disgust.
Sun God was right, reorigination of the world and the divine realm was the only way. This disgusting parasite is unforgivable.
She weaved through attacks of light, teleporting right in front of the god, her fist covered by black fire.
He threw a punch at her, which she caught and squeezed. The god-devouring flame consumed his arm, forcing him to teleport away from her.
Before I kill you, I will leave you begging for death! And then, I will deny you!
The gravity collapsed around her, attempting to crush her under the weight of a dead star. However, Aqua flicked her wrist, and the black hole unraveled.
"You are truly suffering from both lust and pride, are you not? You do not realize that even if you killed me, Sun God would deal with you himself. You are nothing but a parasite who hoards power like a dragon hoards gold."
The god was weak now.
He was a shell of his peak and was in a state where Aqua could consume him, yet she did not.
She wanted him to suffer for everything he had done to her and everyone she cared about.
The genocidal god would be extinguished right here, at the center of his power.
The target of his desire truly became an architect of his downfall.
Enough! If I am to fall here, then so will you! Die, mortal!
His voice rang out, and his form bloated.
The cracks spread. His divinity fell with each passing moment, fueling an attack that would in a single moment trump even Sun God.
The divinity saturated the air.
Not a chance.
The god exhausted the final drops of power, putting everything into one final desperate strike against the rebellious elf.
She prepared both [Temporal Barrier] and the [Blazing Barrier] for a world-shattering impact.
Yet it never came. Time slowed down, and something tugged against her whole being.
Space and time ripped open beneath them, revealing a hole between worlds.
Even the Supreme God stared at the rift in shock and surprise.
His bloated form split apart before the attack could be released, his remaining divinity collapsing inward. By the time the rift swallowed them, the Supreme God was already dead.
Aqua's eyes widened, and she prepared to defend herself; however, it was far too late. In the blink of an eye, both she and the Supreme God's corpse were hurtling toward the ground.
"No!" she shouted, and the blazing wings sprouted once more. She flew toward the god.
"Dead…"
"You just couldn't let me have one victory unsullied, huh?" she asked the dead god and placed her hand on the corpse.
However, it did not matter that her victory was sullied. She would consume him in full and then end herself at long last.
The black flame raged, and soon the corpse was consumed.
The power of the supreme god was hers, her family's ruby circlet melted away, and it turned into a halo of flame.
Her wings gained an angelic glow, and her eyes shone pale blue.
Her existence changed, and she truly became what she despised the most.
"I am an unforgivable entity now," she whispered, a black fire forming in her hand.
She looked into her palm, and a tear rolled down her face. "It's finally done. The tyrant is gone, and I have my freedom."
There was no reason for a goddess like her to remain alive. She brought her hand closer to herself.
Yet she hesitated. "No, I have to end myself, I cannot sully this world with my divinity."
However, as she was about to consume herself, her hand fell to her side. "I can't do it. I am pathetic."
Despite everything, she wanted to live. Despite being a goddess, a creature deserving of the most painful of deaths, she hesitated to kill herself.
Aqua's eyes scanned the grand forest below her.
"No, I can't let it end. I want to live!" she reassured herself.
The cursed fire dissipated, and Aqua looked at her divine, blazing wings. "At least they still look beautiful."
Then her senses picked up the presence of two rather powerful divinities reaching out to her. "Gods…"
She did not care about anything they desired, all gods were parasites she would exterminate.
Her fists clenched, and she reached toward the presence, which quickly shrank away and escaped her sight.
A sigh escaped her lips, and she crossed her legs.
"Aqua, I guess you get to start anew…" she said to herself. "I swear I won't become like that supreme trash."
Only Sun God and Aqua remained to remember what once was.
Aqua slowly descended into the forest.
Though her wings could have carried her across the horizon in an instant, Aqua descended slowly. She needed silence, fresh air, and time to gather her wits about the new world she had been thrust into.
However, as soon as she began her descent, she smelled iron in the air and a sudden flare of divinity. Her eyes glowed, and she witnessed the presence of many blessed individuals.
She closed her eyes and sighed. Trouble seemed to follow her no matter where she went, be it new or old.
Her wings unfurled again, and she flew toward the bloody warzone.