All Chapters of The Last God: Chapter 41
- Chapter 50
125 chapters
Chapter 41: The Coalition
They emerged in Grant Park to find the world on fire.Not literally. But close. Riots in every major city. Protests. Violence. Humanity turning on itself."What happened?" Marcus asked, watching Chicago burn on nearby screens.Director Chen ran over, looking exhausted. "Yuki released a statement while you were gone. Told everyone you refused to save them. That you chose your own freedom over billions of lives.""That is not what happened," Elena protested."Doesn't matter," Director Chen said. "Public believes her. You are now the most hated person on Earth."Marcus watched footage of crowds screaming his name. Burning pictures of him. Demanding his capture."They want me in the cage," Marcus said quietly."They want to survive," Director Chen corrected. "Can you blame them?""Yes," Rachel said firmly. "Because Yuki lied. The cage only works for five hundred years. Then the Unmaker breaks free anyway."Director Chen went pale. "She did not mention that part.""Of course not," Athena s
Chapter 42: The Titan's Offer
Marcus met Kronos in the prison Athena built.It existed in a pocket dimension, designed specifically for beings too powerful to hold anywhere else. The walls were made of compressed reality itself. Nothing got in. Nothing got out.Except Kronos had found a way to make a phone call."How did you contact me?" Marcus asked, standing outside the energy barrier holding the Titan King.Kronos smiled from his prison. He looked smaller than before. Weaker. But his eyes still burned with ancient power."I am thousands of years old," Kronos said. "I know tricks your gods never imagined. A simple communication spell was easy.""Why contact me?" Marcus asked. "What do you want?""To help," Kronos said simply. "I can stop the Unmaker. Permanently. Not Yuki's five hundred year delay. Forever."Marcus felt suspicious. "How?""By becoming the cage myself," Kronos said. "I am primordial. Old enough to match the Unmaker's power. If I merge with Yuki's device, I can create a permanent prison. One that
Chapter 43: The Last Day
Marcus spent his final day saying goodbye.He woke before dawn and found Rachel asleep in a chair outside his room. Guarding him. Protecting him even in sleep."Hey kid," Marcus said softly, waking her.Rachel jumped up, embarrassed. "I was not sleeping. I was just resting my eyes.""Sure you were." Marcus smiled. "Come on. Let's watch the sunrise."They went to the rooftop. Chicago spread below them, broken but still standing. The sky turned orange and pink as the sun came up."Are you really going to do it?" Rachel asked. "Power the cage?""If I have to," Marcus said honestly. "But I am hoping our trap works.""What if it does not?"Marcus did not answer right away. "Then I want you to promise me something.""What?""Keep fighting," Marcus said. "Keep being brave. Keep protecting people who cannot protect themselves. You have Ares's mark too. Use it the right way."Rachel's eyes filled with tears. "I do not want you to go.""I know." Marcus pulled her into a hug. "But sometimes hero
Chapter 44: The Sacrifice
Marcus stepped toward the cage.Elena's gun stayed pointed at Rachel. Her finger on the trigger. Tears streaming down her face but her body controlled by Yuki's commands."Please," Elena whispered. "Do not do this for me.""I am not," Marcus said. "I am doing it for everyone."He reached the cage. Metal clamps waited to lock around his wrists and ankles. Once he connected, there was no escape. Forever trapped. Forever powering the device."Smart choice," Yuki said from her ship. "Step in. Connect yourself. Save your friends."Marcus looked at his team one last time. Zeus, standing proud. Athena, calculating even now. Bjorn, ready to fight. Hephaestus, holding the daughter he almost lost again.And Rachel. Young. Brave. Terrified."I am sorry," Marcus said.Then he activated Hephaestus's dagger.Not to cut his bonds. To cut Elena's.The blade flashed. Divine energy shot out, invisible to cameras but real to those with power. It hit Elena like lightning.She gasped. Stumbled. The gun fe
Chapter 45: The Judgment
Marcus stood in the void with the Unmaker watching him.Not watching with eyes. The Unmaker was awareness itself. It knew everything about Marcus. Every thought. Every choice. Every moment from birth to now."BEGIN," it said.Marcus felt his memories pulled forward. Not by force. By invitation. The Unmaker wanted to understand. Truly understand what made existence worthwhile."I was nobody special," Marcus began. "An EMT in Chicago. Ordinary life. Normal problems. Then my sister died."The memory unfolded around them. Sarah. His younger sister. Caught in gang crossfire that was really gods fighting over territory. Dead at nineteen."I failed her," Marcus said. "I was supposed to protect her. I failed.""FAILURE. SUFFERING. THIS SUPPORTS MY JUDGMENT.""Wait," Marcus said. "That is not the whole story. After she died, I could have given up. Could have let anger destroy me. But I chose to keep helping people. Became an EMT to save others. Turned pain into purpose.""ONE GOOD CHOICE AFTER
Chapter 46: New Foundations
Three days after saving the universe, Marcus was drowning in paperwork."Sign here," Director Chen said, pointing to another document. "This establishes divine and mortal cooperation zones. And here. This creates the joint council. And here...""How many more?" Marcus asked, his hand cramping."Seventy three," Director Chen said without sympathy. "You wanted gods and mortals working together. This is what that looks like. Bureaucracy."Marcus groaned but kept signing. Around him, the new Divine Council building buzzed with activity. Gods and mortals working side by side. Planning. Building. Creating something that had never existed before.A true alliance."The first joint council meeting is tomorrow," Athena said, entering with her own stack of papers. "All pantheons agreed to attend. Even the Forgotten Gods.""That is progress," Marcus said."It is chaos waiting to happen," Athena corrected. "But yes. Also progress."Elena entered carrying coffee and looking tired. "The UN wants you
Chapter 47: The Thread Unravels
The Fates met Marcus in the place between places.Not the void where the Unmaker lived. Somewhere different. A white room that existed nowhere and everywhere at once. The three ancient women sat at a loom, weaving threads of gold and silver.Marcus's thread among them."You called me," Marcus said, stepping into the room. Elena had wanted to come, but the Fates insisted he come alone."We did," the first Fate said, not looking up from her work. "Your thread concerns us.""It is breaking faster," the second Fate added. "You have less time than we thought."Marcus felt cold. "How much time?"The third Fate finally looked at him. "Three months. Maybe four. Then your thread snaps completely. You cease to exist.""I thought I had six months," Marcus said."You did," the first Fate replied. "But your confrontation with the Unmaker changed things. You pushed yourself beyond mortal limits. Beyond divine limits. The strain accelerated the damage."Marcus sat down hard on the white floor. Three
Chapter 48: The Academy
Two weeks later, Marcus stood in front of an old military base outside Chicago."This is it?" Elena asked, looking at the run down buildings and cracked pavement."This is what we can afford," Director Chen said, checking her tablet. "The government donated it. No cost. But also no repairs. No utilities. Nothing."Marcus walked through the empty base. Barracks that had not housed soldiers in decades. Training grounds overrun with weeds. A mess hall with broken windows.It was perfect."We can work with this," Marcus said. "The new gods need a place to learn. This gives us space. Privacy. Room to make mistakes without risking civilians.""It needs everything," Elena pointed out. "Power. Water. Heat. Walls that do not leak.""Then we fix it," Marcus said. "Together."He sent out a call. Every new god. Every marked one. Everyone who wanted to help.They came. Sixty people with divine powers they barely understood."We are building a school," Marcus announced. "A place where we learn cont
Chapter 49: Captive
Marcus woke in a cell made of pure divine energy.Not walls. Not bars. Just shimmering light forming a cage around him. His wrists were still shackled. The nullifiers hummed, keeping his power suppressed.He had no idea where he was or how long he had been unconscious."Awake finally," Deimos said, appearing outside the cage. "Good. We can talk.""About what?" Marcus asked. His throat was dry. "Revenge? Killing me? Get it over with.""I am not going to kill you," Deimos said. "That would be wasteful. No, I have something better planned."He pulled up a chair and sat. "You humiliated me. Freed me from the Vesper's control, yes. But also exposed my weakness. My failure. The Greek pantheon barely tolerates me now. I am a joke.""So this is about pride," Marcus said."This is about justice," Deimos corrected. "You think you are a hero. The savior. The bridge between worlds. But you are just a mortal with stolen power. I am going to prove that.""How?""By making you choose," Deimos said.
Chapter 50: The Choice
Marcus stood before the Fates in the white room one final time."You have made your decision?" the first Fate asked."Yes," Marcus said. He had thought about it for three days. Weighed every option. Considered every consequence."Speak it clearly," the second Fate said. "Once spoken, it cannot be undone."Marcus took a breath. "I choose to keep the power."The third Fate tilted her head. "You understand what this means? Three months maximum. Then you cease to exist. Erased completely.""I understand," Marcus said. "But those students need me. The Bridge Academy needs leadership. The alliances between gods and mortals are still fragile. Three months of making a difference is worth more than a lifetime of safety.""A noble choice," the first Fate said. "Or a foolish one. Time will tell.""There is something else," Marcus added. "Something I want to try. You said my thread is breaking because reality does not know what I am. Mortal and divine mixed in a way that should not exist.""Corre