And then, Berenia's body collapsed.
The darkness retracted.
Day returned.
And where once an unquestionable law had stood… there remained an ancient fear, one that even the gods seemed to have buried in oblivion.
Because laws do not possess consciousness.
They do not distinguish between the innocent and the guilty.They know no compassion.
They simply exist.
—"Lord Lusian!" Berenia cried, trying to rise— "My lord…!"
Her voice broke.
Tears escaped her eyes uncontrollably.
Lusian, still dazed, immediately recognized those yellow eyes.
The eyes of the Duchy of Douglas.
A trait only inherited by the direct descendants of that bloodline.
They were his people.
Lusian took a step toward her.
—"Calm down," he said.
The Throne of Darkness had just accepted a new owner when the sky distorted.
A column of gold descended from the upper heavens.
It was not light.
It was condensed divine mass.
Space twisted around it, as if its very existence was something the world should not touch.
And when it descended…
a power that had never brushed this world made it tremble.
The Citadel, built on top of the mountain, sank ten meters into the bedrock.
Ancient walls bent like red-hot lead.
The towers groaned before breaking apart.
And the impact echoed across the entire continent like a reverse heartbeat.
Artereus, god of strength, could no longer hold back.
He descended into the world.
And fixed his gaze on that insignificant human with eyes filled with divine fury.
His body was carved in simple, brutal lines, as if the very concept of strength had chosen to take physical form.
He carried no weapons.
He did not need them.
His bare feet sank into stone with every minor shift of posture.
And when he took a step forward…
the mountain cracked.
—"Mortal," he said.
His voice was not sound.
It was direct pressure upon the soul.An absolute declaration that required no answer.
The golden aura collided with the newly claimed darkness.
—"If you hand over the divinity of Kheris… I will be merciful."
His eyes shone like suns crushing the world.
—"I will kill you without pain."
The ground sank again beneath his feet.
Artereus took another step forward.
And the world understood something.
Strength does not fear death.It does not fear darkness.
It only recognizes what is capable of resisting its power.
In a vast area, all beings remained pressed down under that monstrous pressure.
Some could barely breathe.Others bled from their noses and ears without understanding what was happening.
The mere presence of Artereus was crushing the world.
Kara and the others fell to their knees.
The ground beneath them began to crack.
And then…
Lusian released his power.
Darkness erupted around his body like a forbidden ocean.
It still felt alien to him.He still did not understand that divinity.
But he could not allow them to be crushed just for standing near him.
The black pressure collided with the golden aura.
And for the first time since the god's descent…
—"I don't know you. I didn't know gods lacked manners."
It was Kara who spoke.
Despite the divine pressure crushing the mountain, she held Artereus's gaze without lowering her head.
The god of strength looked at her in silence.
He immediately recognized that woman.
His hero.
The one he had once granted his blessing.
And yet… she had abandoned the game.
She had not followed the path he laid for her.
An obedient puppet.That was all she was meant to be.
Nothing more.
He would punish her later.
Because now, all his attention was on that man.
A god.
What an absurd idea.
A mockery.
A human could never become a god.
It would be an eternal stain upon divinity.
It did not matter that the Law had accepted him.
Artereus, god of strength, would never acknowledge him.
And then he advanced.
Artereus appeared in front of Lusian and the world lost balance.
There was no transition.No visible movement.
One moment Lusian was still standing.
The next, the god's fist was already buried in his abdomen.
The mountain behind them exploded.
The impact tore through kilometers of rock and dragged Lusian through the interior of the mountain range as the ground split like a gigantic wound under the monstrous force of the blow.
Kara saw a line of destruction cross the entire horizon.
Then came the sound.
A thunderous roar so immense the air burned inside their lungs.
Lusian was thrown through debris and fire before crashing into another peak in the distance.
He tried to stand immediately.
Artereus was already there.
He grabbed his head with one hand and slammed him into the stone.
The entire peak collapsed.
Lusian's body disappeared under tons of rock before an explosion of darkness destroyed the debris from within.
Lusian emerged from the dust, breathing heavily.
Blood dripped from his mouth.
The darkness around his body trembled unstably, expanding in violent pulses that devoured fragments of reality around him.
Artereus walked toward him.
Slow.
Unstoppable.
Each step made space itself crack.
He did not seem angry.Not even focused.
He seemed inevitable.
I'm going to die.
The thought cut through Lusian's mind with brutal clarity.
He tasted metallic blood filling his mouth as he tried to breathe. His chest barely responded. Each heartbeat was weaker than the last. The monstrous pressure of Artereus kept crushing the crater, sinking it deeper and deeper into the ruined mountain.
No.
It couldn't end like this.
Not after everything.
Not after surviving so much.
Fear surged violently through his body.
Lusian extended a hand and the void opened in front of him like an infinite night tearing the world apart. Darkness surged forward, devouring everything in its path. Light disappeared. Sound died. Even the air seemed to dissolve within that absolute blackness.
Artereus passed through the void.
Strength compressed the darkness around his body until it broke.
Literally broke.
As if the god were crushing nothingness between his hands.
Lusian's eyes widened slightly.
Then Artereus struck again.
From a distance, the blows could be heard—dry, heavy, as if the world itself was being shattered. Even here, where they should barely reach, the force could be felt in the air: a brutal pressure that made the chest vibrate and cut off breathing. It was terrifying, impossible to ignore.
Kara felt it before she saw it clearly.
A louder sound.
More final.
Something inside her broke.
Fear hit her fully, cold and immediate.
Lusian is going to die.
Luminaria had cornered Emily and Isabella.
Divine light slowly wrapped around her hands, as if enjoying the fear in their faces.
She did not intend to kill them quickly.
She wanted to do it slowly.
But then…
the clash of that force shook the world.
The mountain trembled.The sky vibrated.
Even Luminaria's light distorted for a moment.
The goddess turned her head toward the horizon.
And her eyes widened slightly.
—Artereus…
No.
That power did not belong to the hero's body.
It was too immense.Too pure.
It was his true power.
He had descended.
For a moment, even Luminaria forgot Emily and Isabella.
Because there was only one reason the god of strength would leave the Divine Realm and personally descend into the mortal world.
Something capable of threatening the gods had appeared.
Another strike from Artereus sent Lusian's body into the sky.
The atmosphere exploded around him.
Before he could stabilize, Artereus appeared above him.
And struck.
The impact distorted the clouds.
Then another.
And another.
Each blow lit up the sky like golden lightning.
Each impact made heaven and earth tremble.
Darkness protected Lusian's body, wrapping around him like a divine mantle, but he could still feel it.
Each punch shook his internal organs.Each impact vibrated through his bones.
Lusian released more dark mana.
Black divinity covered his entire body.
But blood still slipped from his lips.
He tried to create distance.
Artereus grabbed his arm before he could.
The space around them warped under the pressure of that grip.
Lusian screamed.
A short sound.
Human.
Artereus watched him for a few seconds while holding him suspended above the void.
—"You're still resisting," he said finally.
His voice made the sky tremble.
Lusian tried to break free.
He couldn't.
The difference in strength was absurd.
Then Artereus threw him downward.
Lusian's body fell like a black meteor.
The impact against the ground raised a storm of fire and rock that wiped out entire kilometers.
Kara felt the ground sink beneath her feet.
The roar took several seconds to fade.
And when the dust began to clear…
she saw him.
Lusian was inside the crater.
On his knees.
Head lowered.
Not moving.
The darkness around him flickered weakly, like a flame about to extinguish.
Then Artereus descended slowly in front of him.
And for the first time since the battle began…
Lusian looked small.
Not a god.Not a monster.
Just a broken man.
—"You see… a human cannot become a god," Artereus said.
Lusian did not respond.
He was breathing with difficulty.
Each inhale felt like it tore his chest apart from within.
Blood slowly dripped from his jaw onto the broken ground of the crater.
Artereus watched him in silence for a few moments.
Then he extended a hand toward him.
And pressure fell upon the mountain again.
Kara felt her body bend involuntarily.
The rock cracked.
The crater sank even deeper as a monstrous force pressed down on Lusian from all directions.
But he did not move.
He remained on his knees in the center of the abyss.
Artereus began to approach slowly.
Certain.Unshaken.
Like a god who had never known anything other than absolute victory.
—"Your body has reached its limit," he said.
Lusian let out a broken laugh.
Weak.Tired.Human.
Then he tried to stand.
His legs collapsed immediately.
He fell back onto one knee.
But his eyes were still burning.
And when he looked up at Artereus, the god felt something strange in them.
Not fear.
Determination.
—"If I'm going to die…" Lusian's voice came out soaked in blood… "I won't go alone."
—"I swear."