Alex and Kaelios stood still, their gazes fixed on the final [Void Blaster] as its energy core began to glow.
But unlike the first and second, this time the glow wasn’t blue or purple, it was something darker, far more ominous.
A strange light pulsed from its core, a kind of deep, black radiance that made it seem like it was devouring the very color around it.
If darkness could shine, this was it.
Even the sky above the [Garden of Destiny], once vibrant and layered with ethereal color, started to dim, as if reacting to the presence of something it couldn’t comprehend.
It wasn’t just the area around the [Void Blaster], the entire domain began to tremble.
The trees stopped moving, the air grew thicker, and time itself felt like it had started to slow.
Alex’s eyes narrowed.
“Good luck with that,” he muttered under his breath, stepping back a bit.
The sheer weight of power radiating off the third phase was far beyond what he had felt inside the [Creation] space.
Back there, abilities had felt intense, yes, but that place had been designed to contain and suppress power, built to withstand whatever was thrown within it.
This wasn’t the same.
Here in the real world, within the heart of a divine domain, nothing was being held back.
The third phase of [Void Blasters] was showing its true form now, and reality was struggling to contain it.
Kaelios, staring at the now fully-charged skeletal cannon, let out a breath and gave a tired half-smile.
“No point in running,” he muttered, planting his feet, “Let’s just see what it feels like to die from this one.”
BOOOOOOM!
The entire world seemed to erupt.
The final [Void Blaster] unleashed its beam with full force.
The blast that surged forward wasn’t just dark, it was a concentrated explosion of void energy, so overwhelming that the moment it fired, Alex was sent flying.
He didn’t even see it hit Kaelios.
The impact alone was enough to hurl him across the [Garden of Destiny], his body crashing into the barrier wall at the very edge of the realm.
His back hit the divine wall with a bone-shaking slam, and his vision blacked out for a second.
When Alex came to, he was slumped on the ground, groaning as he propped himself up with his arm.
His head pounded, his wings twitched, and his vision was blurred by dust and smoke.
“What the fuck…” he mumbled, blinking rapidly as his gaze settled on the center of the domain.
The third [Void Blaster] was still hovering, its mouth wide open as the beam raged forth.
The ground beneath it had cracked open, the stone path and once-beautiful scenery destroyed.
The beam roared for ten full seconds, a continuous torrent of power that refused to die out early.
Everything it touched vanished, disintegrated into nothing.
Flowers, grass, stone, magic itself, it all turned to ash under the dark light.
Then, suddenly, the beam shut off.
The skeletal cannon’s mouth closed.
The black radiance around its core faded.
And the weapon returned to stillness, hovering in silence beside the other two.
Alex stood up slowly, coughing as he brushed off dirt and ash.
As the dust began to settle, the full damage became visible.
The once-vibrant [Garden of Destiny] looked like a warzone.
A massive crater had replaced the central courtyard, and most of the terrain was either scorched, broken, or completely obliterated.
Alex shielded his face from the lingering energy in the air as he walked forward, slowly making his way to the crater.
The stone platform at the center was gone, disintegrated under the blast.
The trees had been reduced to splinters.
The decorative runes around the area were broken, flickering with unstable light.
Reaching the edge of the crater, Alex peered down and blinked.
At the bottom, amidst the rubble, Kaelios’ body reappeared.
The [God of Destiny] had revived, as expected within his domain, but there was something wrong.
He wasn’t moving.
“…Kaelios?”
No answer. Alex narrowed his eyes and flew down immediately.
Landing softly beside the fallen god, he knelt beside him.
Kaelios’ eyes were closed, his body limp.
He was unconscious.
“Oh. Well that’s new.”
Without wasting time, Alex grabbed him by the shoulders and took off again, lifting the god out of the crater and flying back toward the edge.
He landed carefully and laid Kaelios down, waiting.
A full minute passed before Kaelios stirred.
His eyelids twitched slightly before slowly opening.
His gaze looked dazed at first, then slowly focused on Alex.
“Kid,” Kaelios croaked, not even bothering to sit up, “that attack is too strong.”
Alex exhaled and gave a small nod.
“Yeah.”
He wasn’t exaggerating.
Even within his own domain, a place where he should be indestructible, Kaelios had gone unconscious.
It wasn’t death, but it was enough to prove how dangerous the third phase really was.
In an actual fight, that level of power would be decisive.
Still, even though the [Void Blasters] were terrifying, reaching that level wasn’t easy.
Ninety seconds of uninterrupted charging, while defending the blasters from any sort of hit?
That was the challenge.
Kaelios finally sat up, brushing debris from his robe.
“Our strategy needs to revolve around that,” he said, “Forget everything else. If we can find a way to defend them long enough for that third phase to fire, we can end anything.”
“Gods, monsters, chosen, it won’t matter.”
Alex nodded slowly.
No need to complicate things. No need for hundreds of predictions about what might happen. No need to out-think or out-scheme every enemy.
It all came down to one thing: protecting the blasters.
If they managed that, the rest would fall into place.
After dusting himself off, Kaelios extended a hand and repaired the [Garden of Destiny] in a flash of divine light.
The broken stone pieced itself back together.
The crater disappeared.
The grass regrew, and the trees stood tall once again.
“If all three fire at once,” Kaelios warned, “my domain might actually collapse. Be careful.”
“Got it,” Alex replied, though in the back of his mind, he stored that information.
It might come in handy someday.
The next two hours passed quickly, but they were anything but relaxing.
Kaelios summoned hundreds of [Light Dummies], magical constructs created to simulate battle.
Their only goal was to reach the [Void Blasters], and Alex and Kaelios worked together to stop them.
The difficulty was enormous.
Defending themselves was easy by now, but the [Void Blasters] didn’t move, and a single hit was enough to reset their charge, so every second mattered.
They failed often.
The dummies would break through sometimes, cutting down the blasters just before they fired.
But each failure taught them something new.
Where to stand. What timing to use. Which abilities worked better in defense, and which ones created openings.
Alex also decided to test them one at a time.
Since each [Void Blaster] had a five-minute cooldown once hit, using all three at once would only make things harder if they failed.
So instead, they worked with one blaster per attempt, focusing all defenses on that single point.
Progress came slowly, but it came.
Their synergy improved.
Their movements became more coordinated.
It was still far from perfect, but the results were undeniable, they were adapting.
Eventually, though, the timer began to catch up with them.
[Time before the Chosen Games: 30 Minutes…]
Only thirty minutes left.
Alex sighed, wiping sweat off his brow as he glanced at the clock in the corner of his vision.
They had made significant progress, but they still hadn’t succeeded even once.
The blasters were simply too vulnerable during their charge time.
Even though his emotions were normally well-contained, Alex felt a small knot of pressure in his chest.
His determination powers helped him stay focused.
And meeting one of the [Creators] had given him a layer of calm confidence he hadn’t had before.
But this wasn’t just any battle.
This was the end. The final event. The moment that would decide the fate of everything.
Every god and chosen would be there.
All plans, secrets, betrayals, and hopes would collide.
Alex knew he had to go.
“I’m heading out,” he said finally, letting out a breath.
Kaelios didn’t respond right away.
But when he did, it was quiet, and firm.
“Go ahead, human. Once the timer hits zero, we’ll all be dragged to the arena anyway. Spend these last moments doing whatever matters to you.”
“Talk to your allies. Prepare your mind. You won’t get another chance.”
Alex nodded.
He opened his [World Map], selecting [Angel City] without hesitation.
He needed to check on the angels, see how things were progressing.
It wouldn’t take long, but it had to be done.
He pressed the confirmation.
His body turned into glowing particles, fading from the [Garden of Destiny] and vanishing through the veil of space.
Left alone, Kaelios exhaled and summoned a chair from thin air, collapsing into it as he rubbed his temples.
“This is gonna be hell,” he muttered, staring up at the dimming sky.