All Chapters of The Last God: Chapter 81
- Chapter 90
125 chapters
Chapter 81: Artemis's Choice
Artemis arrived three days after the explosions.No announcement. She just appeared in Marcus's tent at dawn, bow across her back, silver eyes cold."We need to talk."Marcus was awake. He'd stopped sleeping since the attack. "About what?""About Chloris. The one you accused of sabotage.""She was framed. Achelous used her tools.""I know. She came back to me. Told me everything." Artemis paused. "About how she was almost executed for something she didn't do.""She was questioned and released.""After you destroyed her reputation. What do you want, Artemis?""To know if integration is worth this." She gestured outside. "Sixty-three dead. Half your city gone. A saboteur in your house. Was it worth it?""You came to tell me I was wrong.""No. I came because I don't know if you were wrong. And that terrifies me."Artemis sat across from him. The goddess of the hunt looked tired."I've opposed integration from the beginning. You know that. Gods and mortals should be separate. Too differen
Chapter 82: The God Exodus
The message came from Zeus three weeks after The Wilds were completed."Stop stealing our gods."Marcus read it twice, confused. "Stealing gods?""Look at the numbers," Devon said, pulling up his tablet. "Past three weeks, we've gained four thousand residents. Ninety percent are minor gods. From established pantheons.""That's good. We need gods.""Not according to Zeus. Or Odin. Or Ra. They say we're poaching their followers.""We're not poaching anyone," Marcus said. "People are choosing to come.""That's what's making them angry," Elena said. Seven months pregnant now, moving slowly. "Minor gods are leaving major pantheons. Choosing integration over tradition."Rachel walked in holding applications. "These just came in. All from Greek minor gods. River nymphs, forest spirits. Forty applications in one morning.""Why now?" Marcus asked."The Wilds," Rachel said. "Artemis spread the word. Told nature gods there's a place where they're equals instead of servants.""And it's not just n
Chapter 83: The Gathering
The first portal opened in the city plaza.It looked like a tear in reality. Blue light spilling out, crackling with energy. Marcus stood twenty feet away, surrounded by security. Elena beside him, hand on her swollen belly. Rachel on his other side, notebook ready."Are we sure this is safe?" Elena asked."No," Marcus admitted. "But we're doing it anyway."The Council of Realities had given him access to five alternate Earths. Five realities where divine beings existed but weren't part of the pantheon coalition.Or five potential disasters."Which reality is this?" Rachel asked."Delta-7," Marcus said. "Post-apocalyptic Earth. Gods died out. Only demigods survived."The portal stabilized. Then they came through.The first was a woman. Maybe thirty-looking, but clearly older. Much older. Scars across her face, arms, body. Battle scars. Survival scars.Behind her, more came. All scarred. All carrying weapons. All looking like they'd been fighting for a very long time."You're Marcus Ch
Chapter 84: Cultural Collision
The first fight happened before breakfast.A Theta-9 mortal woman screaming at an Omega-1 god. Supposed to be roommates. Paired housing program started yesterday."Monster!" the woman yelled. "You're all monsters!"The god backed against the wall, hands raised. "I didn't do anything. I just asked if you wanted coffee.""Like you're my equal. Like you didn't spend your life enslaving people like me.""I never enslaved anyone. In my world, mortals hunted us. Killed us. I watched my family die.""Good," the woman spat.Marcus stepped between them. "Stop. Both of you.""He's a god. You expect me to live with a god?""Yes. And I expect you," he turned to the god, "to live with a mortal without being terrified.""She wants me dead.""I do," the woman admitted."Then you're in the right place," Marcus said. "Here, you'll learn she's a person. And she'll learn you're a person.""Or we'll kill each other first.""If you do, you both get exiled. Violence equals exile. No exceptions."They glare
Chapter 85: Preparing for War
The emergency meeting started at midnight.Every leader crammed into the command tent. Marcus at the center, maps spread across the table. Elena beside him. Rachel taking notes. Mia coordinating security."Three days," Marcus said. "Maybe less. Phobos is coming with an army to shut down the multiverse portals.""How big an army?" Kade asked. The Delta-7 demigod looked eager. Fifty years of war had made him comfortable with violence."At least five hundred soldiers," Sarah said. "Mix of gods and loyal mortals. All trained. All armed.""We have sixty-eight hundred people," Kaveh said. "But most aren't fighters. The refugees are traumatized. The Luminari don't even understand conflict.""The Delta-7 demigods can fight," Kade said. "All two hundred of us.""Two hundred against five hundred trained soldiers," Mia said. "Bad odds.""And Phobos is the god of fear," Athena said quietly. "His very presence will weaken your resolve. Make you doubt. Make you run.""Can we negotiate?" Elena asked
Chapter 86: The Battle for Integration
Dawn came red and violent.Marcus stood on the eastern wall, watching Phobos's army advance. Five hundred soldiers in perfect formation. The god of fear at their front."Luminari, ready!" Mia shouted.Fifty crystalline beings took positions, glowing brighter as they absorbed the rising sun."Delta-7, hold positions!" Kade commanded his two hundred warriors."Recording teams, active!" Rachel called.Marcus felt his power flicker. Less than one percent now.He was facing an army as basically mortal.The army stopped three hundred feet away.Phobos stepped forward. "Last chance, Marcus Chen. Open the gates. Submit to the coalition.""No," Marcus said.Phobos raised his hand. "Then you die. All of you."His power exploded. Fear. Pure, overwhelming fear.It hit like a wave. People screamed. Some ran. Marcus felt it crushing down. Terror. Hopelessness.But then something unexpected happened.A Theta-9 child, enslaved by gods her whole life, stepped forward. Crying. Shaking. Terrified.But s
Chapter 87: The Cost of Victory
Two weeks after Hope's birth, Marcus returned to work.Elena was recovering well. Hope was healthy. But the city needed leadership."You sure you're ready?" Elena asked."No," Marcus admitted. "But the city needs me.""The city has Rachel. She's been running things fine.""Rachel is fifteen. She shouldn't have to run a city alone."Elena sighed. "Fine. But you come back every night. Hope needs her father.""Deal."He kissed them goodbye and walked back to the city.What he found shocked him.Population: twenty-three thousand.Buildings everywhere. New districts. The Spiral expanding. And in the center, something new.A monument.Fifty feet tall. Stone and divine metal. Carved with names. Every person who'd died defending the city."Rachel built it," Mia said. "She said we needed to remember the cost."Marcus read the names. All dead because of integration."I should have been here," Marcus said."You were with your daughter. That's where you needed to be."Marcus touched a name. Talia
Chapter 88: The Breaking Point
The food ran out on a Thursday.Not completely. But enough that people noticed. Breakfast rations cut in half. Lunch skipped. Dinner was thin soup and stale bread.By Friday morning, people were angry.Marcus stood in the central plaza, facing five hundred. Gods and mortals. All hungry. All scared."We were promised food," a mortal man shouted."Supplies from Reality Sigma-3 are delayed," Marcus said. "They'll arrive in three days.""We'll starve in three days.""No one will starve. We have enough to survive.""Easy for you to say. You're divine.""I'm mortal. Completely mortal. I eat the same rations as everyone else.""But your wife doesn't. She gets extra. While the rest of us starve."Marcus felt his temper flare. "My wife gets medical rations. Same as any new mother. That's policy.""Convenient policy.""This is temporary. We've had shortages before.""How many more times do we tighten our belts? We came here for a better life. This isn't better."Marcus didn't have an answer.Th
Chapter 89: The Impossible Choice
The emergency council meeting lasted all night.Twenty people in the command tent. All trying to solve the impossible problem."We can't surrender," Rachel said."We can't fight," Mia countered. "Phobos has ten thousand gods.""We could evacuate through the multiverse portals," Devon suggested."That's surrender with extra steps.""What about the Council of Realities?" Athena asked. "They could intervene.""Or they'll watch us fail," Marcus said."How long can we last without food?" Elena asked, holding Hope."A week. Maybe ten days. But people will start dying before that. The weak. The sick. The children."Hope made a small sound. Hungry."We have to find food," Marcus said."From where?" Tychon asked. "Phobos controls the approaches.""Not all approaches," a quiet voice said.Everyone turned. A Luminari stood in the corner."Explain," Marcus said."Phobos blocks portals to other realities. But we know of reality he does not know of. Reality not in Council database. Reality we disco
Chapter 90: Breaking the Siege
Three days into the siege, Marcus called a different kind of council meeting.Not just leadership. Everyone who wanted to come. Gods, mortals, all six realities. The Radiant included.Two thousand people crammed into the central plaza."We're surrounded," Marcus started. "Ten thousand gods have us trapped. They can't starve us anymore, thanks to the Radiant. But they can wait. So I'm asking you. All of you. How do we break this siege?"People shouted ideas. Arguments. Chaos."One at a time," Rachel called out. "Come to the mic."Tychon went first. "We fight. We have twenty-three thousand people. They have ten thousand. We outnumber them.""Most aren't fighters," Mia countered."Then we train them.""That takes months. We don't have months."Kaveh went next. "We negotiated in my reality. Found common ground. Made peace.""How long did that take?" Marcus asked."Ten years.""We have five months."A Theta-9 woman suggested evacuation. An Omega-1 god suggested asking the Primordials for h