The minutes ticked by faster than expected after the crimson countdown appeared in the sky like a scar carved into the heavens, visible to everyone in every world connected to the [System].
Alice and Aurelia stood close beside Alex as he spoke with Arcelia, who for the first time since waking up seemed to have found the courage to speak up.
Her voice was hesitant at first, uncertain, but her questions held weight, questions that had been bottled up for too long, buried beneath trauma, loss, and confusion.
Until now, she’d only been surviving on instinct, unsure if she’d woken into a salvation or a punishment.
To open her eyes and find the world on the brink of collapse was a cruel joke in itself.
Whether it was divine irony or some twisted form of karma was something not even she could say.
She had suffered so much before all this.
Waking to a world ending felt like either divine cruelty or fate handing her a final chance to witness its conclusion.
And at the center of it all was Alex, the person everyone relied on, the one who had chosen to fight in the [Chosen Games], the final clash that would determine the fate of all the realms tied to this collapsing system.
She asked if he really believed he would make it back.
After all, he’d said it himself more than once, there was a very real chance he wouldn’t survive this.
Only one God and one Chosen One could emerge in the end, which meant even victory came at a cost.
If he died, the world would lose the only person who had fought this far for them.
But if he lived, he would carry the weight of everything and everyone.
Worse still was the silent knowledge hanging over them all, if Kaelios fell, then Alex would die as well.
That was how the rules worked.
God and Chosen were bound.
If one perished, the other followed.
It meant that not only did Alex need to win, he also had to protect Kaelios, the [God of Destiny], whose power made him a natural target for every other deity.
A sound echoed through the sky like a tolling bell.
Ding!
[5:00 minutes remain until the final event.]
Alex had already guessed who was behind the messages. The [Creators].
It had to be them, those unseen hands that governed the [System] from beyond mortal comprehension.
They were the ones projecting the countdown across every world, ensuring that not a single living soul could miss the start of the end.
No matter what species, race, or planet, they would all witness this last stand.
This wasn’t just a game anymore.
This was the final battleground, where the future of everything would be decided.
If a cruel or tyrannical god won, everything would fall into ruin.
Alex had seen firsthand what those gods were like.
Twisted, hungry, merciless.
They weren’t the kind to bring peace or prosperity, they were the kind who wanted thrones built on corpses.
And the thought that one of them could rule in the aftermath made his blood boil.
He’d already done everything he could to prepare.
He had fought and bled and clawed his way through enemies, disasters, and impossible challenges just to give humanity a better chance.
A real chance.
Even if it wasn’t perfect, he’d tilted the odds.
That had to count for something.
But even thinking like that felt wrong.
No, that kind of thinking was dangerous.
If he told himself he’d done enough, then deep down, it would mean he was already accepting death.
It would mean he was ready to die as long as he did some good before falling, and that was unacceptable.
He had to live. He had to.
That was the only mindset that would carry him through this war of gods.
Because belief mattered. Because survival started in the mind long before it reached the body.
And Alex wasn’t going to lose, not if he had anything to say about it.
[3:00 minutes remain until the final event.]
He continued speaking with Arcelia as calmly as ever, answering her questions without a hint of fear in his voice.
His tone was composed, steady, and yet somehow gentle.
Despite everything going on, he made sure she didn’t feel lost.
She deserved that much.
After all she’d endured, he wasn’t going to treat her like a problem that needed solving.
[2:00 minutes remain.]
Alera and Lilith returned, both slightly out of breath but otherwise unharmed.
They had gone to check on the fox tribe, making sure every single girl was safe before rushing back to Alex’s side.
They hadn’t wanted to miss even a second.
As soon as they reached him, the group gathered in a collective embrace.
It was silent, no words shared between them, none were needed.
Even Arcelia hesitated at first, but Alice reached out, gently pulling her into the hug.
No one was left out.
Not now.
And for once, Arcelia didn’t resist.
She just closed her eyes and let herself exist there, among people who cared.
[1:00 minute remaining.]
Across every world, panic had begun to spread.
People screamed.
Others stared up at the countdown, frozen.
Even those who weren’t directly involved could feel something unnatural looming in the air.
Electronic devices had long since stopped functioning, as though the very rules of technology had been overwritten.
No screens, no communications, no signals, just the glowing crimson clock, ticking down like a prophecy.
[30 seconds remaining.]
“…So,” Alice finally broke the silence, her voice trembling slightly as she looked at the ground, “you really have to go, don’t you?”
Alex gave a silent nod, not trusting himself to speak.
She swallowed hard, her next words barely a whisper.
“And… you’ll come back? Right?”
Still, he didn’t respond.
His expression didn’t shift, but his eyes darkened, shadowed by the weight of the truth he couldn’t bring himself to say.
Seeing that, how composed he was even now, was more terrifying than any scream or panic.
They understood.
He was calm not because he felt safe, but because he had accepted what had to be done.
It wasn’t blind confidence, it was raw determination.
They didn’t try to stop him.
They knew better.
And more than that, they respected him too much to beg him not to go.
[10 seconds!]
Crimson panels erupted in front of every person, flooding the sky and cities across every realm.
It wasn’t just a countdown now, it was a declaration.
Warning: The Final Event is about to begin. Prepare yourselves.
Fear spread like wildfire, uncontrollable and suffocating.
Alex turned to face them one last time.
A wide smile stretched across his face, so genuine, so bright, that it almost hurt to look at it.
They stared into his eyes.
No bloodlust. No chilling aura. No overwhelming godlike presence.
Just him. The real him.
Unbreakable, fierce, and burning with purpose.
“I guess… it’s time.”
He didn’t say anything like “I’ll be back” or “I’ll survive.”
That would’ve been a lie. And if there was one thing Alex refused to be in this moment, it was a liar.
He raised a clenched fist, placing his other hand over his heart, eyes burning like fire.
“Don’t forget about me.”
That smile, paired with those words, hit harder than any goodbye could have.
It was beautiful, defiant, and unforgettable.
Alice, Aurelia, Lilith, Alera, even Arcelia, couldn’t hold back their tears.
They fell before any of them realized it.
Even Eleonora, the once-proud dragon who had rarely shown emotion, looked away, unable to hide the sorrow in her eyes.
They all reached out at once for one final hug, but it was already too late.
Ding! Ding! Ding!
[The Final Event will now start.]
[Be ready, humans and other races, your fate is now in the hands of the Chosen.]
[The “Chosen Games” will now begin.]
Alex’s body lit up in a flash of white light.
And just like that, he was gone.
He had done everything.
He’d finished every quest, spoken to every ally, even met a [Creator] behind the [Door of Destiny], earning the right to ascend into godhood himself, becoming the [God of Determination].
He had nothing else left to do but fight.
And then—
Fwish! Ding!
Alex reappeared in a completely different place, transported far away from the Fox Tribe and everything he’d just left behind.
His vision adjusted to the sudden teleportation as he looked around.
The room was enormous, though minimal in design.
The walls were tall and smooth, made of white stone etched with faint gold lines that pulsed like veins.
No windows. No doors. Just two beds and a strange, unnatural silence.
Kaelios stood waiting for him.
“You’re here, partner,” he said, a small smile tugging at his lips.
The [God of Destiny] was the only other one in the room, no distractions, no outside noise, just the two of them standing in the void between worlds.
They were a team now. One of nineteen pairs.
The remaining Chosen and their gods were somewhere else, placed in similar isolated spaces.
No one could interfere now. No one could run.
They waited in silence for five minutes, tension building like a rising storm.
Then—
Ding!
[Congratulations for making it this far.]
[The Chosen Games will now begin.]
[Let the strongest pair win.]
This was it. The final war had begun.