Deep within Laia's divine realm, Kane's sealed workshop hummed with a power that made the very foundations of the mountains tremble. Max, the tiny purple paradox demon, hovered in the center of the room, his crystal head glowing bright as he waved a tiny paw at a pile of void-corrupted ore and broken divine artifacts spread across the workbench.
Borin leaned in, his eyes wide behind his goggles, his breath held tight. For centuries, he'd tried to purify void-tainted metal, to fix the broken artifacts the clan had dragged back from the void's edge. Every attempt had failed, the void's chaos too strong to undo. Until now.
Max chirped, and the pile of scrap shifted. The black, oozing void corrosion peeled away from the metal like wet paper, dissolving into thin air. The cracked artifacts mended themselves, their runes glowing bright and new, the dented ore refining itself into pure, gleaming divine steel, stacked neatly in a pile at the edge of the bench. No heat, no hammering, no wasted energy. Just… order, pulled from chaos.
Borin let out a roar of awe, slamming his fist on the workbench hard enough to crack the stone. "By the forge! It works! It actually works!"
Kane grinned, leaning against the wall, his chest tight with reverence. Their Overgod had created this. She'd reached into the very fabric of the universe, pulled a paradox into reality, and handed it to them like it was nothing more than a new kitchen tool for her sandwich shop. She didn't even realize the gift she'd given them. The power to undo the void itself.
"Told you it wasn't just for forges." Kane stepped forward, reaching out a hand to let Max hop onto his finger. The little demon chirped, nuzzling his hand, still a little skittish but proud of his work. "With this, we can purify every inch of void-corrupted land in the realm. We can turn the void's own energy against it, power the realm for eternity. We can build defenses that even the Abyss can't breach. All for her."
The workshop door slammed open, and Torin stormed in, his dragon scales bristling, followed by the rest of the twelve overlords. "What in the name of the Overgod is that rumbling? The western mountains are shaking! Did you two blow up the forges again? Laia will have our heads if we break the realm before her tournament!"
He stopped short when he saw Max, and the pile of perfectly purified divine steel, and the mended artifacts that had sat broken in the clan's vaults for centuries. His jaw went slack.
"Wait. That's the little familiar she made?" Torin stepped forward, his voice quiet. "It can do this?"
"More than you know." Kane's grin widened. "This little guy can reverse entropy. He can turn the void's chaos into order. With him, we don't have to worry about the realm eroding ever again. We don't have to worry about resource shortages. The Overgod has given us the key to everything."
The overlords exchanged looks, awe settling over all of them. Of course she had. She'd known exactly what she was doing when she'd lit her divine fire, when she'd activated that paradox authority. She'd hidden her true power behind a tiny, unassuming familiar, testing their ability to see its worth, to use it for the good of the realm. She was a genius. A merciful, brilliant Overgod, who gave them the tools to save themselves, even when they didn't know they needed them.
"Where is she now?" Elara the elven queen asked, her voice soft. "The tournament is tomorrow. We need to make sure she's prepared."
"She's back at the academy, worrying about her cheese supply." Kane chuckled, shaking his head. "Always thinking about the small things, the things that matter. Even when she's holding the fate of the universe in her hands." He looked down at Max, who was now nibbling on a tiny crumb of cheese Borin had given him. "We need to send this little guy with her tomorrow. If anything happens in that tournament, he can protect her. Even if she doesn't know she needs protecting."
The overlords all nodded. There was no argument. Their Overgod was going into the tournament alone, banned from bringing her most powerful followers. The least they could do was send her the one creature in the universe that could rewrite reality to keep her safe.
Back at the academy, Laia was still stuck in her classroom, listening to Elara rant about her family. The younger girl had gone from complaining about her cousin's overbearing training to pacing back and forth across the room, her face tight with worry.
"It's not just the tournament. They're up to something." Elara stopped, turning to Laia, her voice low. "Caspian and the elders. They've been talking about you nonstop for three days. They think you're hiding something. That you're some kind of hidden Overgod from a lost noble house, here to spy on the empire."
Laia blinked. Then she snort-laughed, leaning back in her chair. "Me? A hidden Overgod? Elara, I can barely afford a block of aged cheddar most months. I live in a 100-square-foot dorm room. The most ambitious thing I've ever done is plan a cheese sandwich shop. They've got the wrong girl."
Elara didn't laugh. She sat back down, her hands twisting in her lap. "That's the thing. They don't believe it. They think the sandwich shop thing is a cover. That the 'broke academy student' act is a mask. They're planning something for the tournament tomorrow. They want to force you to show your hand. To make you use whatever 'hidden power' they think you have."
Laia's smile faded. She frowned, leaning forward. "Wait, what? Force me to show my hand? How? It's a simulated tournament. The academy has safeguards. No one can get hurt."
"Caspian has friends on the tournament council." Elara's voice was barely above a whisper. "He's arranged for your first match to be against Kael Rourke. You know him? The son of the War God house? He's Rank 4, and he's vicious. He doesn't care about the academy's rules. Caspian told him to push you to the brink. To make you fight for your life, so you'll use whatever trait they think you're hiding."
Laia stared at her. For a second, she panicked. Rank 4? She was only Rank 3 Peak, even with her new divine fire. She'd never fought a Rank 4 god before. She'd never even fought in a real tournament before! Her only combat experience was yelling at her overlords when they blew up the dairy farm.
Then she sighed, slumping back in her chair. "Great. Just great. I can't even enter a stupid tournament for sandwich shop money without some noble house thinking I'm a spy. What is wrong with these people?"
Elara winced. "I'm sorry. I tried to talk them out of it. I told them you're just… you. But they won't listen. They're convinced you're the only one who can get them the void access they need for their stupid trait potion."
Laia waved a hand, brushing it off. She wasn't going to let some stuck-up noble brats ruin her shot at the prize money. So what if her first opponent was Rank 4? She had a divine fire now. She had a realm full of loy