All Chapters of The Last God: Chapter 71
- Chapter 80
125 chapters
Chapter 71: The Five
The space between realities was emptier than Marcus remembered.Just him and the Unmaker. Floating in nothing. Waiting."WHERE ARE THEY?" Marcus asked."COMING. PRIMORDIALS MOVE IN THEIR OWN TIME."Marcus waited. Minutes felt like hours in the void. No reference points. No sense of time.Then reality shifted.Four beings appeared. Each massive. Each incomprehensible. Each radiating power that made the Unmaker look small."THE CREATOR," the Unmaker introduced. "BRINGS EXISTENCE FROM NOTHING."The Creator looked like pure light. Constantly shifting. Forming shapes. Stars. Galaxies. Life."THE PRESERVER. MAINTAINS STABILITY."The Preserver was solid. Unchanging. A presence that felt eternal. Immovable."THE CHANGER. DRIVES EVOLUTION."The Changer flickered constantly. Never the same form twice. Always moving. Always shifting."THE ENDER. BRINGS CONCLUSIONS."The Ender was darkness. Not evil darkness. Natural darkness. The kind that came when things finished."TOGETHER WE FIVE SHAPED EARL
Chapter 72: The Weight of a Million Dreams
The hologram floated in the middle of the room like a ghost. Marcus couldn't stop staring at it. Blue numbers spun slowly in the air, glowing bright enough to make everyone's faces look strange.One million people.The words didn't make sense. One million. That was more people than he could picture. More than he'd ever saved."Say that again," Elena said. Her voice was flat. The way she talked when she was trying not to scream."One million residents," Athena repeated. "Five hundred thousand gods. Five hundred thousand mortals. Built from nothing. In one year.""That's insane," Devon said."That's impossible," Kenji added.Rachel sat across from Marcus at the big table, her silver eyes locked on the hologram. At fourteen, she looked too young to be here. But Marcus had stopped thinking of her as a kid a long time ago."Can we do it?" he asked her.Everyone turned to look at Rachel. She was the practical one. The one who did the math while everyone else panicked.Her fingers tapped the
Chapter 73: Breaking Ground
The Nevada desert was exactly as Marcus remembered. Hot. Empty. Dead.He stood in the middle of nothing, looking at more nothing. Sand stretched in every direction. The sun beat down hard enough to make him dizzy."This is where we're building a city?" Devon asked, squinting at the horizon. "There's literally nothing here.""That's the point," Rachel said. "We get to build it exactly how we want.""Except the history that happened right there," Elena said quietly, pointing.Marcus didn't need to look. The Vesper's cathedral had stood two hundred yards away. It was gone now, cleared by the government. But he could still see it in his mind. The black walls. The screaming. Ares dying in his arms."You okay?" Elena touched his shoulder."No," Marcus said honestly. "But I will be."A portal opened behind them. Blue light spilled across the sand. People started walking through. Lots of people.Athena came first, followed by Kenji and his tech team. Then construction workers, engineers, arch
Chapter 74: The Architecture of Hope
Marcus woke to arguing.Every muscle hurt. His head pounded. The mark on his chest felt hot and angry. Yesterday's consecration had cost him more than he'd admitted."You can't build it like that!" someone shouted outside.Marcus stumbled from his tent. The construction site was packed with people yelling at each other.In the center stood a tall woman holding blueprints. Gods and mortals surrounded her, arguing."What's going on?" Marcus asked Elena."That's Dr. Amara Okafor. The architect we hired. She arrived an hour ago and everyone hates her design."Dr. Okafor saw Marcus and walked over. "You're Marcus Chen.""That's me. And you're making everyone angry before breakfast.""Good," Dr. Okafor said. She spread blueprints on a table. "If they're not angry, I'm not doing my job right."Marcus looked at the design. Most cities used grids. Straight lines. Neat squares. Dr. Okafor's design looked like dropped spaghetti."What is this?""I call it The Spiral," she said, pointing to the c
Chapter 75: The First Thousand
The first thousand people arrived on a Tuesday.Marcus watched them come through the portal. Gods and mortals, young and old, carrying bags and hope. They stepped into the Nevada desert and looked around at the half-built city."One thousand," Devon said, checking his tablet. "Six hundred mortals, four hundred gods. Ahead of schedule.""For now," Elena said. "Getting the first thousand is easy. Everyone wants to be part of history. The next nine hundred ninety-nine thousand will be harder.""Welcome!" Rachel called from a platform. "Welcome to the city that doesn't have a name yet!"Nervous laughs."We're still building," Rachel continued. "Still figuring things out. But you're here at the beginning. You'll help decide what this place becomes."A mortal woman raised her hand. "Where do we live?""Blue flags for housing," Rachel said. "Temporary shelters until your permanent homes are finished. About two weeks.""Food?" a young god asked."Red flags for dining hall. Three meals a day.
Cracks in the Foundation
The building collapsed at three in the morning.Marcus was awake when it happened. Too much on his mind. Elena's pregnancy. The water shortage. The feeling of being watched.The crash sounded like thunder.Marcus was out of his tent in seconds. Half the camp ran toward the noise. A cloud of dust rose into the night sky."What was that?" Elena asked."Nothing good," Marcus said.The building was one of their first permanent structures. Three stories. Housing for fifty people. Supposed to be safe.Now it was rubble."Oh god," Elena whispered.People were digging through debris. Gods lifting heavy beams. Mortals pulling smaller pieces. Everyone working together."How many inside?" Marcus asked Mia."Thirty-seven. We got twelve out so far. All alive. But more are trapped."Marcus started pulling concrete chunks. His hands bled. He didn't care."Here!" someone shouted. "I found someone!"A woman emerged, coughing. Blood on her face. Alive."My daughter," she gasped. "She's still in there."
Chapter 77: The Recruitment Problem
Two months since the sabotage. City population: three thousand."We need fifteen thousand by month three," Devon said. "We have three thousand.""Why aren't people coming?" Marcus asked."Because they're scared," Elena said, hand on her stomach. Three months pregnant and showing. "Building collapse. Saboteur. Water rationing. Why risk it?""Because integration is important," Marcus said weakly."Is it more important than safety?" Elena asked.Marcus didn't have an answer."We need a new approach," Rachel said. "Waiting for volunteers isn't working.""What do you suggest?" Athena asked."We go to them," Rachel said. "Show them what we're building.""A demonstration project," Kenji said.Rachel nodded. "Invite skeptics. Let them live here for a week.""That's risky," Mia said. "What if they see all our problems?""They already know our problems," Rachel said. "We can't hide failures. But we can show we're solving them."Bold. Maybe too bold. But desperate times."How many?" Marcus asked
Chapter 78: When Gods Walk Among Us
The paired housing program started Monday.Marcus watched new residents meet assigned roommates. Gods with mortals. Everyone nervous."This is going to be a disaster," Devon muttered."Probably," Marcus agreed. "But we're doing it anyway."If seven days could change minds, maybe permanent housing pairs could build real relationships."Welcome to your new homes," Rachel announced. "You'll live with your assigned partner for three months. Same house. Shared spaces. Figure out how to make it work.""What if we can't?" a mortal woman asked."Then you figure out why," Rachel said. "And try harder."Marcus watched fire god Pyrax meet his mortal roommate Tom. They shook hands without enthusiasm."Great," Tom said. "I get to live with someone who could burn me alive.""And I get to live with someone who'll probably try to kill me first," Pyrax shot back."Gentlemen," Marcus stepped between them. "You both volunteered.""I volunteered for an integrated city," Tom said. "Not to share a bathroom
Chapter 79: The Saboteur
Marcus didn't sleep that night.He sat at the kitchen table, studying the threatening note. Elena had gone to bed hours ago. The house was quiet."The city will burn. Integration will fail. You will all die."The handwriting bothered him most. Beautiful. Flowing letters. Perfect spacing. Whoever wrote this had taken their time.Like they were proud."You should sleep," Daphne said from the doorway.Marcus looked up. The nymph wore a simple nightgown, looking younger. Less fierce lieutenant, more tired woman."Can't," Marcus said. "Thinking.""About who would write it?" Daphne sat across from him."This isn't some angry resident. This is calculated. Personal.""You have plenty of enemies," Daphne said."But they're not here," Marcus said. "Whoever wrote this is in the city. Close enough to slip a note under my door unseen."Daphne studied the note. "The handwriting is educated. Formal. Almost old-fashioned.""Like someone who learned to write centuries ago," Marcus said.Their eyes met
Chapter 80: The Price of Trust
The search for Achelous started immediately.Mia mobilized security teams. Kenji monitored portal exits. Devon organized search parties. But Marcus knew they wouldn't find him. Achelous had planned this too carefully."He's been preparing his escape for weeks," Athena said. "While living in your house. Pretending to be your friend."Daphne sat in the corner, staring at nothing. Her partner of three thousand years had used her."This isn't your fault," Elena said gently."I should have known," Daphne whispered. "He asked me questions. About Marcus. About security. I thought he was curious. Learning to believe." She looked at Marcus. "I told him everything.""You didn't know," Marcus said. "He fooled us both.""What's his endgame?" Devon asked."Maximum damage," Athena said. "He wants integration to fail spectacularly.""The water supply," Kenji said. "He's a river god. He could poison everything."Marcus's blood went cold. "Check every water source. Every pipe. Now."Teams scattered. A