THE LAST GODSLAYERChapter 31 — The World Without HansDarkness.That was the first thing Hans knew.Not pain.Not fear.Not even loneliness.Just darkness.He couldn't see.Couldn't move.Couldn't remember.There was no name inside his head.No past.No purpose.Only the faint sensation that he had forgotten something important.Something enormous.Something he had once loved.A voice whispered through the darkness."Wake up."Hans didn't know who was speaking.He tried to answer.Nothing came out."Wake up."The voice became clearer."Who are you?"His own voice sounded unfamiliar.The darkness trembled.Then light appeared.A tiny point.It expanded.And suddenly—Hans opened his eyes.He was lying on a wooden floor.Sunlight entered through an open window.Birds were singing outside.Someone was cooking.A woman was humming.Hans stared at the ceiling.A moment later, footsteps approached.A girl leaned over him.She had dark hair and bright eyes.She smiled."You're finally awake

THE LAST GODSLAYERChapter 33 — The Woman Who Should Have DiedHans opened his eyes.The first thing he felt was heat.The second was pain.The third was someone's hand pressed against his chest.He moved.A blade immediately stopped beside his throat."Don't."Hans froze.The voice was familiar.Lyra.She stood over him, one hand gripping a silver dagger.Her hair was disheveled.Blood covered one side of her face.Behind her, the laboratory was burning.Not with ordinary fire.Silver flames crawled across the walls, consuming symbols and machinery without producing smoke.Hans slowly sat up."Where is Cael?"Lyra's expression changed."He isn't here."Hans looked at his chest.The silver and black glow beneath his skin was still there."He is."Lyra stared."What did you do?""He chose me.""That wasn't possible.""It happened."Lyra lowered the dagger.For several seconds, she simply watched him.Then she whispered:"You integrated him."Hans stood."Yes."Lyra took a step backward

THE LAST GODSLAYERChapter 35 — The Name Beyond the WorldThe name remained suspended before Hans.AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION:HANS ACEHe stared at it.No one spoke.Even the approaching Observer had stopped.For the first time since Hans had awakened in World Thirty-Nine, reality itself seemed to be waiting.Hans slowly looked at Lyra."You knew."Lyra's face was pale."No.""Aster knew.""I don't know.""Cael?"Silence.Hans closed his eyes.Inside his mind, Cael answered.I don't know.Hans opened his eyes."You're lying."I'm not."You were inside me."Yes."You've seen everything."Not everything.Hans looked at the message again."Then who is Hans Ace?"Cael didn't answer.Hans waited.Finally:You.Hans's jaw tightened."I know that's my name."No.Cael's voice became quieter.That's not what I mean.The message flickered.The letters began changing.AUTHOR IDENTIFICATION: HANS ACEThen—SUBJECT IDENTIFICATION: HANS ACEThen—AUTHOR = SUBJECTHans stared.The two lines merged.AUTH

THE LAST GODSLAYERChapter 37 — The EndingThe door opened one inch.Then stopped.Hans stared at the darkness beyond it.Cael stood beside him, completely still.Neither brother spoke.The voice came again."The ending."Hans tightened his grip around the pen."End of what?"Silence.Then:"Everything."The door opened wider.Nothing stood outside.No monster.No god.No human.Only darkness.Hans looked at Cael."Stay here."Cael immediately shook his head."No.""Cael—""We've spent enough worlds separating."Hans smiled faintly."Fair."They stepped through together.The room disappeared.Hans found himself standing in a city.Not a familiar city.A dead one.Buildings stretched into the sky, their surfaces covered in black vines.The streets were empty.No bodies.No destruction.Just absence.Cael looked around."Where are we?"Hans noticed something strange.There were no stars.No sun.No moon.Nothing above them."Inside a world."Cael shook his head."No."Hans looked at him

THE LAST GODSLAYERChapter 39 — The Brother Behind the SystemThe white space shattered.Not cracked.Not fractured.Shattered.Reality broke into millions of pieces, each reflecting a different version of Cael.In one reflection, he was a child.In another, a warrior.In another, a corpse.In another—a god.Hans stared at his brother."Cael."Cael didn't answer.His silver eyes remained fixed on Hans.The Senior Editor was backing away.For the first time since appearing, he looked genuinely afraid.The first draft whispered:"No..."Hans turned toward him."You know what this is."The first draft didn't answer."Tell me.""It's impossible.""Tell me!"The first draft finally looked at Hans."You were never supposed to remember him."Hans looked back at Cael."Remember what?"The first draft swallowed."Cael wasn't created after you.""Then when?""Before."Hans frowned."Before me?""Before the first world."The little girl suddenly stepped backward.Cael turned toward her.She fro