The sky stayed frozen. It was unnerving, honestly—seeing clouds and massive, star-forged beasts hanging in the air like they were stuck in a painting. The cracks I’d made were still spreading, jagged white lines cutting through the blue. The five Arch-Judicators were just as still, their eyes wide, their hands locked in that half-finished gesture of a spell that couldn’t complete.They were trapped. They were realizing that if they pushed that seal another inch, their own heaven would crumble right along with mine.I looked at the center rider. He couldn’t move a muscle, but I swear I could see the panic in his gaze. He knew he had miscalculated. He had expected a cornered animal, not a suicide bomber.I gave it another heartbeat of silence—or, well, the lack of one—just to let the fear settle in. Then, I didn't think about it anymore. I just surged. I pushed a massive blast of Divine Essence through my own veins, forcing my heart to kick back into rhythm.*Thump.*The sound was like

The evolution felt like my skin was being pulled off with hot pincers. It wasn’t a graceful transformation—it was messy, painful, and honestly, it made me want to scream. But I couldn't afford to scream. Not with five gods currently diving toward me, their blades drawn and eyes full of that desperate, frantic energy you only see when someone realizes they’re about to lose everything.They weren't using spells this time. They were done with tricks. They wanted me dead, old-school style."He's vulnerable!" one of them shouted, his spear whistling through the air inches from my ear. "Strike him now!"I didn't think; I just moved. My body felt heavier, like I was moving through thick oil, but every time I twitched, the power behind it was staggering. I gripped the Unmaker Scythe. The metal had changed. It was pulsing with that same dark, terrifying energy I’d been absorbing from the armada.I didn't try to parry. I just spun.It was a simple, horizontal sweep. I didn't put much thought in

The crunch of those teeth was loud—like a subway train derailing right next to my ear. Before I could even blink, the Warden had me. I was tossed into the dark, sliding down a throat that felt like a wet, slimy tube of rubber. Then, the trap shut.It was pitch black. The air—or whatever passed for air in here—smelled like rotting salt and old computer parts. Then, the walls started to pulse.System Alert: Deletion Matrix engaged. Converting biological signature to raw data.I felt it immediately. My skin started to tingle, then burn. It wasn't just acid; the beast was literally trying to uncode me. It was scrubbing my existence, turning my flesh and bones into binary soup. My vision flickered, and for a second, I wasn't even sure where I ended and the beast began."Nice try," I gritted out, even though the words felt heavy, like I was speaking through molasses.I didn't focus on the burning. I forced my eyes open, pushing past the static, and that’s when I saw it. Floating right in th