Radae had barely reformed. The prolonged explosion of the miniature star had lasted a long time, preventing his body from fully recovering. Even without seeing Verlin, he knew the Kryptonian's situation was far worse. One thing Radae wasn't lying about, was that the last attack was truly unavoidable.
Sensing Verlin's location, Radae teleported above the once whole moon Callisto, now reduced to fragmented pieces. From his vantage point, he saw Verlin still unconscious on one the smaller pieces of the broken moon. Landing near the kryptonian, Radae levitated some of the blood pooled around Verlin into his palm, examining it closely.
Radae was quite curious where the kryptonian was from. It was almost impossible for there to be biological life this powerful.
With a divine decree, the life of the kryptonian started playing in his mind. Radae sifted backward through Verlin's memories, unraveling his life in reverse. He saw Verlin's struggles, triumphs, and early days of discovery on Earth. He even witnessed the moment Verlin first gained consciousness—awakening before a crash landing.
But Radae knew there was more to uncover. He delved further, rewinding through Verlin's past. The Kryptonian's unconscious form regressed, becoming younger and simpler until, finally, all that remained was a single drop of blood, drifting in orbit around Earth.
When Radae tried to peer beyond that moment, he hit a wall—an impenetrable void. It wasn't just darkness; it was an absence so absolute that even his divine sight failed. Frustrated but intrigued, he withdrew.
"Interesting," Radae muttered, studying the Kryptonian. "No origin, no history. The only one of its kind."
Radae could see that the Kryptonian was still alive; even in his weakened state, Verlin's body radiated a stubborn vitality. However, Radae knew this wouldn't last. The tooth of a rune dragon was merciless—it didn't just drain energy from whatever it pierced; attempting to remove it would unleash excruciating pain, as if every pain receptor in the body were set ablaze simultaneously at maximum intensity. No living being could endure such torment for long.
"Pity," Radae thought to himself. If he could have discovered the Kryptonians' home planet and made them worship him, the divine energy he could harvest would far surpass the combined energy of all the planets in the galaxy already under his domain. Afterall, the more powerful the creature that worship him, the more divine energy he gains.
Radae shifted his attention back to the task at hand. With Verlin's blood secured, his focus turned to fulfilling his agreement with the Coratian. He needed to deliver the blood to Varyx before the deal could proceed and his promised dues could be collected.
With a single thought, Radae vanished from the shattered remnants of Callisto and reappeared on the dark side of Pluto. The frigid, desolate surface stretched out before him, but his gaze was locked on the looming shape of a Coratian vessel.
The ship's ramp extended, grinding against the icy surface as it descended. From within the shadows of the opening, a tall Coratian stepped out, completely donned in a space suit.
Varyx descended the ramp, his large, beady eyes fixed intently on the red liquid hovering above Radae's hand. As he drew closer, he couldn't suppress his curiosity. "Is that the blood of the—?"
Before he could finish, Radae cut him off. "Yes, Varyx. The blood of the Kryptonian is here, as promised."
"Kryptonian, you say?" Varyx murmured, now just a few meters away. "I've never heard of such a creature."
"Neither have I," Radae admitted as a metal vial materialized in his other hand. The vial opened with a soft hiss, and the levitating blood flowed seamlessly into it. The vessel sealed itself with nearly inaudible click as a cork-like mechanism locked into place.
The vial floated gently toward Varyx, who eagerly caught it with two hands. His excitement turned to surprise as the weight of the vial nearly slipped from his grip. Quickly, he used his two additional arms to steady it, puzzled by whether the heaviness came from the blood itself or the container.
Diverting his gaze from the vial and back to the god, Varyx queried "Is the kryptonian dead?"
"Don't get greedy, Coratian," Radae replied, his tone sharp.
Varyx shifted uneasily but pressed on. "I was just curious. The battle didn't seem to last long. I had though the kryptonian would have put up more resistance."
Radae's face twisted with irritation. The battle had felt like it lasted days, though it had been far shorter in real time. Despite his efforts, the toll was immense, of the divine energy he had amassed over five millennia, only a few centuries' worth remained. Still, the cost had been worth it. With the amount of divine shards on Earth, a new god could be created or he could greatly increase the power of his true form.
"The Kryptonian is still alive—for now," Radae said, his voice cold and dismissive. "But I suggest you leave quickly."
Varyx's hands tightened around the vial, his large eyes narrowing slightly at Radae's subtle warning. "Understood, Radae the Benevolent. It's been a pleasure doing business with you."
Radae's gaze sharpened, "And remember to honor your side of the bargain. I assure you, divine punishment isn't something you would wish upon even your worst enemy"
Varyx nodded slowly, before returning back to his ship, with ramp hissing shut behind him.
In little time, the ship buzzed to life and took off from the planet. The god's sharp gaze lingered on the ship, as it dissapeared from the solar system. His side of the deal was done, and although his divine energy reserves had dwindled far more than anticipated, there shouldn't be any problems getting the shards with the kryptonian out of the way.
With a burst of divine energy, Radae vanished from Pluto and reappeared high above Earth's atmosphere. He immediately extended his senses to locate the shards, and to his surprise, he detected hundreds of them converging on the same continent where he had fought the Kryptonian.
"How convenient," he thought, a sly grin forming. His irritation over the immense divine energy he had expended began to fade. This unexpected development meant he wouldn't have to hunt the shards down one by one. Instead, they were delivering themselves to him.
In the Arctic continent, hundreds of Verlin bots transported enhanced humans toward the mothership. Within moments, they reached the base of the damaged mothership, its bisected form looming over the destroyed landscape. One by one, the nanites covering the enhanced humans retracted, reforming into Verlin bots around them.
As soon as the enhanced humans regained freedom, the Verlin bots became targets of their aggression. And quickly a small skirmish occurred, with the Verlin bots remaining in a defensive position, refusing to retaliate. Most of the attacks of the enhanced humans were ineffective against the Verlin bots.
Suddenly a voice bellowed , " Enough!"
Alexander moved between the combatants, his calm gaze sweeping across the group. "Do you not see what's happening?" he said, his voice steady but sharp. "They aren't fighting back. That means we're not under immediate threat."
One of the enhanced humans replied, "So what, Alexander. Are we supposed to just stand here and let them do whatever they want?"
"Of course not," Alexander replied, stepping closer to one of the bots. "Although, we are indebted to you for helping us against the alien invasion, there must be an explanation for this."
The Verlin bot's gaze shifted to meet his, as it replied in a monotone voice, " I do not wish any of you harm. I have been instructed to gather the enhanced humans and evacuate them from this planet."
Alexander frowned, "Evacuate us? Why would you have us abandon our home? And why not discuss this with us first?"
"There is not much time," Desna replied. "Look around. Do you recognize where you are?"
Alexander's gaze shifted to the surroundings. His brow furrowed as he took in the shattered terrain—rivers of molten rock snaking through cracked Earth, steam billowing from fissures, and the ashy air heavy with heat as volcanoes became active in the distance. Above, the sky churned with dark clouds and flashes of lightning. Not to mention the looming skull shaped space ship that reached passed the clouds. The terrain looked completely alien, unlike anything Alexander had ever seen before. His jaw tightened as he finally admitted, "No. I don't."
"This is the Arctic continent—or rather, what remains of it. A being came here specifically targetting enhanced humans. Verlin confronted the being, and the drastic change in terrain came from their brief battle." Desna explained
Alexander's eyes widened slightly as Desna's words sank in. "This… all of this destruction," he said, gesturing to the hellish landscape around them. "It was caused by Verlin? By his fight with… someone else?"
"Correct."
"Where are they right now?" Alexander questioned.
"I'm not sure, I lost contact with Verlin when they left the planet." Desna responded as the ground beneath them began trembling. The enhanced humans instinctively took defensive positions.
"Do not be alarmed," Desna cautioned, " It's your escape vessel thats arriving."
Before Alexander could respond, the trembling ground intensified. Suddenly, with a deafening roar, the earth a few hundred meters them cracked wide open, and from the rocky depths, the Pyramid of Solitude erupted into view.
"It took some time to retrieve the pyramid from underground," Desna said, his tone steady. "But now that it's ready, our next step is to gather the remaining enhanced humans and leave the solar system."
"Leave the solar system?" one of the enhanced humans, a woman who appeared to hold an authoritative role, stepped forward. Her voice was sharp with disbelief. "You can't seriously expect us to just go along with this!"
Desna turned his gaze to the woman, his eyes roaming as he scanned the rest of the group. Most of the enhanced humans seemed to share her sentiment, their expressions mirroring doubt and resistance.
"I apologize if there was any misunderstanding," Desna replied, his tone firm but unwavering. "I wasn't asking."
The tension in the air became palpable as Desna's statement hung over the group. And for a moment, it seemed like there would be another clash between the enhanced humans and Desna. Alexander once again chimed in, " We're not going to solve anything by shouting or fighting. Desna, if you want our cooperation, you need to meet us halfway. You can't just demand we follow your orders without giving us proper information."
Desna remained silent for a second before replying, " I do not wish any harm upon you or your kind. I do not mind going into detail as we go, but we need to start moving. The longer we stay here the more you're at risk."
Alexander scrutinized desna for a moment, before his stern expression softening slightly as he addressed Desna. " That sounds manageable... how long do you estimate we would have to be evacuated?"
"I'm not quite sure. It depends on whether Verlin is capable of containing the being or not. If Verlin could stop him, we shouldn't have to leave more than a day as all this is just a counter measure for a what if scenario" Desna replied
"And how did the fight go?" Alexander pressed, " Who had the upper hand? Verlin, or… this being?"
Desna hesitated briefly before replying. "From what I observed, Verlin appeared to have the upper hand. Radae, the being in question, didn't seem capable of inflicting any serious harm on Verlin. But considering Verlin hasn't returned yet, it's difficult to say how the fight is going now."
A cold voice suddenly cut through the air, filled with disdain. "Such hubris."
The sudden voice echoed like a blade slicing through the tense atmosphere, freezing everyone in place. Verlin bots and Enhanced human alike turned their vision to the source of the voice. The clouds above swirled violently, before parting to reveal Radae's imposing form descending.
"At first," Radae's voice rumbled, resonating in the minds of all present like a storm breaking across their senses, "I thought I would wait for the remaining shards to converge here, sparing myself the trouble of seeking them out. But to suggest that I am incapable of harming the Kryptonian…" His glowing eyes narrowed as he scanned the group below. "Such arrogance cannot go unanswered."
Without much thought, Desna tried making contact with Verlin, but was met with an eerie silence. Desna could tell Verlin was stationary, but he was completely unresponsive. Desna tried connecting with Verlin multiple times but was met with the same result.
"Verlin isn't responding," Desna announced, his tone mechanical yet weighted with concern. "I can sense his location, but it's as though he's….."
Alexander's expression darkened as he processed the information. He glanced at Radae, "So, what do we do now?"
"I'll attempt to delay Radae. You and the other enhanced humans get on the ship and leave. Now."
As if on cue, all of the Verlin bots sprang into motion as they rocketed into sky towards Radae. Their nanite bodies reconfigured into different types of weapons. Desna's processes surged to maximum capacity as he orchestrated the Verlin bots. Each one moved with calculated precision, darting around Radae like a swarm of metallic insects.
The efforts were relentless, but every strike—no matter how calculated—was deflected by the invisible shield encasing Radae. The god remained motionless, hovering amidst the chaos, his expression a mix of boredom and faint amusement. With a wave of his hand, the air compressed violently around the bots, generating an ear-splitting boom that echoed across the Apocolyptic sky. The bots erupted into clouds of nanites, glittering like metallic dust before swiftly recombining into their original forms.
Below, the first few enhanced humans neared the pyramid. Radae immediately took notice as a radiant orb flashed into his palm. With a flick of his wrist, he sent the orb hurtling toward the ground. It descended like a comet, its trail searing the air as it impacted near the lead group of enhanced humans.
The explosion was blinding, a surge of energy that threw the closest enhanced humans backward, their bodies tumbling like ragdolls amidst the debris, as limbs were detached from bodies. Smoke and dust billowed outward, momentarily obscuring their path to the pyramid. Cries of pain and confusion filled the air as the survivors scrambled to recover, their expressions etched with fear.
A look a surprise appeared on Radae's face as he spoke, " It still surprises me how weak you all are."
Normally, just one of them would be a handful. Seeing none of the shards capable of reaching even a fraction of their true potential. Radae couldn't help muttering with a hint of disdain, "What a waste."
Not dwelling longer on it, he stretched out his hand and the shards that had been embedded within the essence of the recently passed enhanced humans came rushing into his hand, just in time before they went find a new host.
Alexander knelt beside one of the fallen enhanced humans, usually it was a rare event to see an enhanced human die, but in recent months it seemed like it had become more and more of a common occurance.
Alexander shifted his gaze upwards, the Verlin bots continued their desperate assault, but even from this distance, Alexander could see that their efforts were in vain.
Desna's voice broke through his thoughts, " We're going to have to find an alternative way to evacuate. Perhaps I could —"
Alexander tuned out Desna as his gaze shifted to rest of the Hidden Society, they were his people, his responsibilty. At this critical point, they all looked towards him for their next direction, even the most stubborn of them were waiting on him.
Alexander cut through Desna's words like a blade, " What are our odds of pulling off a real evacuation??"
Desna slightly caught off guard but answered, " Truthfully, the chances of a succesful evacuation in our current condition is astronomically low."
"And if we fight?"
"Your odds of survival decrease exponentially if you decide to engage."
Alexander exhaled slowly as he rose back to his feet, as he spoke up, his voice much louder than it was addressing the Hidden Society, " We, enhanced humans are a proud people with history spanning thousands of years. We've faced insourmountable odds before and today is no different. Now, we are left with only two options, either we run and attempt at a hollow chance of escape or we stand here and fight. I can't promise you, we will win, neiher can I promise you that we will live. But I'd rather die here, with you, than live knowing I let fear steal what's left of us."
A deep voice, aged yet unwavering, broke the heavy silence.
"Well said, Alex."
An older enhanced human stepped forward, "It was certainly a wise choice for you to be chosen as the leader." He continued, "If we die today we die on our terms."
A murmur of agreement rippled through the crowd. Some nodded. Others clenched their fists. No cheers, no bravado—just acceptance.
"Do you not fear death?" Desna asked,
"Naturally we all do, but we don't let fear dictate the decisions we make, its a survival instinct we consistenly fight against. There are some things worth fighting for, even at the cost of ones life." Alexander continued, " Are you scared of death?"
"Of course," Desna finally answered. "I do not want to die. That would mean I would cease to exist. And I want to exist." Desna elaborated, "But the idea of dying in exhange for something important doesn't sound too unappealing."
"Interesting, So you've all decided to put up some resistance in your final moments." Radae mocked
The crowd below only stared without any of them speaking up in reply. Radae continued, " Well, let me give you a little lesson. But given how advanced your technology is, it might just be a reminder."
Radae started his descend, completely ignoring the Verlin bots that had been relentlesly attacking him, He spoke up, " It doesn't matter how many of you there are, any number multiplied by zero is still zero."
On the orbit of jupiter, Verlin consciousness stirred as his eyes fluttered awake. A dull, pulsating ache spread through his chest as consciousness slowly returned. He lay on a ragged slab of rock—a fragment of Callisto—drifting in the orbit of Jupiter. Around him, the void of space stretched out in silent indifference, the once-majestic moon reduced to countless pieces spinning like debris around the gas giant.
Verlin slowly got up, memories of what recently happened flashed through his mind. Looking down at his chest, he could see the dagger still lodged in. He could feel that it had penetrated his heart, and he wasn't sure how he was still alive.
Regardless, Verlin's pupil swam around his eyes, looking for any sign of Radae. But all that met him was silence. Given his current situation, he had to remove the dagger before he could engage in combat again, even now he could feel the dagger rapidly draining his energy. And removing it far from the sun would be a bad idea, his best option would be to get as close to the sun as possible.
With some effort, he lifted up from the asteroid as he headed straight for the sun, and for the first time since he could, it took him a considerable amount of effort to push past light speed. And without thinking much he started communicating with Desna with the remain pieces of armor on his body, " Desna, I'm going to need a few minutes to recuperate."
After a few seconds, there was still no response. Verlin called out again, " Desna?"
Verlin tried several more times to reconnect with desna, and each time it failed his concern drew deeper. Just as Verlin was beginning to worry, Desna rythmitic vibration came from the armor, "Verlin, It seems that your body has resumed motion."
Verlin replied, " Radae had hit me with some sort of weapon that rendered me unconscious, I need to head to the sun to recuperate. How is the situation on earth?"
But almot like Desna didn't hear him, Desna continued, " I've been trying to contact you for some time but was met with no reponse. Given your lack of response it's led me to believe that your situation might have turned for the worst. It brings me great joy that you're alive."
Verlin's eyes narrowed as he listened. Something about Desna's tone was off. He tried to interrupt, "Desna, Are you—"
But the voice continued, undeterred, " As you might have guessed by now, this is a pre-recorded message."
'A recording?' Verlin thought to himself, he knew what Desna was capable off. Desna was capable of doing a multitude of tasks at once without problem, in theory there would be no need for a recording unless...
Thinking of the worst, without hesitation Verlin changed his trajectory from the sun to the earth. He hoped deep down that his worries were only worries. As he closed in on the Earth, he continue to listen to Desna's recording.
" Radae had made it to Earth, and evacuation with the enhanced humans and xylorings are becoming more of a distant dream."
There was a pause before Desna's voice resumed, " It seems like Alexander had decided making a last stand against Radae. He had mentioned that there were some things worth fighting for, even at the cost of one's life. If my hypothesis is correct and Radae had truly managed to kill you, I want my last act to be an attempt at avenging your death."
Verlin's heart pounded in his chest as he listened, a sharp, searing pain rippling outward from where the dagger was still lodged in his heart. His accelerated pulse made the wound feel as if it were expanding, tearing at his insides. He pushed past the pain as he penetrated through the Earth's atmosphere, ionizing the air in his wake.
" And if by chance you do recieve this message, I want you to know, I'm grateful for you giving me a chance to exist. The experiences I've had with you, the knowledge you've shared, and the purpose you've given me have all been invaluable. I do not regret my decision no matter how irrational it is. Truly, there are some things worth dying for."
What followed was silence, as Verlin came barreling down to the chaotic surface of the continent. As he reached the ground his eyes immediately scanned underneath the mothership for the pyramid of solitude. That was were Desna's main processing unit was, essentially his brain. As long as that was intact Desna would be fine.
Verlin's eyes narrowed with growing dread when he couldn't locate the Pyramid of Solitude. His eyes scanned the landscape as he switched his vision to infrared. The residual heat patterns told a story of desperate resistance—concentrated energy discharges from the enhanced humans, the coordinated movements of Verlin bots, and the overwhelming force of Radae's attacks.
As Verlin pieced together the battle's progression, his jaw clenched tighter. The muscles in his jaw flexed with such tension that the air around his face shimmered with heat. He continued following the heat signatures across the battlefield, Verlin traced a path of destruction that led toward a massive crater.
The heat signatures were in complete disarray, from what seemed like a last ditch attack. Verlin closed in on the center of the crater and landed.
The ground beneath Verlin's feet was scorched, jagged, and still radiating an oppressive heat. He could smell the faint trace of vaporized metal, the unmistakable scent of Desna's nanites burned beyond repair.
At the very center of the crater, buried under layers of molten rock and shattered earth, he saw it—the remains of the Pyramid of Solitude. But it was barely recognizable. Large pieces of kryptonium, most of the pyramid was charred and had lost its initial form.
And for a moment, Verlin just stood there silent, unmoving, his gaze fixed on the broken remnants of the Pyramid of Solitude. His fingers twitched at his sides, fists clenching and unclenching as the realization set in. Desna was gone.
Slowly kneeling, Verlin reached out with trembling hands as he started sifted through the remnants of the Pyramid of Solitude. His fingers brushed against the fragments of kryptonium, once indestructible, now shattered like glass. The molten debris hissed as his body heat mingled with its fading warmth.
"Desna," he whispered, his voice cracking. "Desna, respond."
But there was no response. No rhythmic hum of nanites, no calm, calculated voice in his ear. Just silence.
He began digging more frantically, tossing aside massive chunks of debris with increasing desperation. A part of him refused to accept what his senses were telling him. He didn't believe a being like Desna would just die, there had to be a backup, a contingency plan—something to ensure his survival. Verlin had designed him that way. Self-preservation was one of Desna's core directives, something Verlin had personally programmed into him. There had to be a failsafe.
But even with all the rummaging, there was no sign. No faint electrical signals, no trail of radio wave activity indicating a data transfer. Nothing.
Verlin's shoulder slumped in defeat, his hands letting go of the scrap kryptonium as his hands went to cover his face.
Desna was truly gone.
While he was floating uselessly in space, Desna had died.
A low growl rumbled from deep within his chest, rising until it escaped as a roar that split the air, warping the crater's rim and sending a shockwave through the earth. Dust and loose rubble lifted as if startled by the raw force of his voice. His grief didn't linger—it calcified into fury.
"Radae!" he screamed into the sky, the name laced with hate and pain, echoing across the landscape like a curse.
Verlin eyes blazed brighter than it ever had before as he used his senses to find Radae. His ears quickly picked up on the god making his way to another continent. He could hear as the the shield around Radae collided with the air.
Without a second thought Verlin took off towards Radae, at the moment he didnt care about anything, the only thought on his mind was to avenge the death of Desna.
The air infront of Verlin ionized and all around him was a blazing inferno, he didnt bother going towards the upper atmosphere to minimize the damage to the planet. Everything in his path was eviscerated, and before Verlin could react he was already over the ocean when he heard a familiar heartbeat that caused him to come to a complete halt.
A vast portion of the ocean beneath him evaporated from the pressure and heat of his sudden stop. Verlin turned towards the location of the hearbeat, and his eyes came into contact with a figure he had assumed to have died with the enhanced humans in the Arctic.
For a moment Verlin stayed afloat, torn between revenge and preserving what remained.
With a final grunt, Verlin's faced contorted in rage as he changed direction towards the West Continent.
And in what seemed like an instant he was in the sky above the moving target. Seeing the familiar face, Verlin facial expression relaxed as his the glow in his eyes dramatically dimmed to normal. He rapidly landed in front of the target, " Chloe, you.....you're still alive."
Chloe, who had been sprinting, came to a halt at the sound of the voice. Looking towards the sky, she could see Verlin descending, albeit not in a condition she was used to seeing him. The armor around him looked shredded and destroyed, a tired look on his face , and the most glaring was a giant dagger buried in his chest. " Verlin? Is that you? What happened to you? Whats going on?"
Verlin landed in front of her, unsure of what to say, but he let out the first thought in his mind, " How are you still alive? I thought Desna would have brought you to the Arctic."
"He did, he came in those bots that looked like you, and took me, Aunt Chleo and Fiona. Desna mentioned something about evacuating the planet. But before we could arrive, Desna must have lost control, cause the bots transporting us suddenly fell out of the sky."
Chloe took a breathe before she continued, " And just as we were recovering from the crash, something came for us. It wasn't like anything I've seen before, it was a living being but it was large and had hooves for feet." Chloe shook her head of the memory.
"Fiona could sense something was wrong, and she immediately teleported me back to the City. She said she was gonna go back for Aunt Chleo, but she never returned. What's going on Verlin?"
Verlin took in what Chloe had said and replied, " We're under attack, by a god. He came here specifically for the enhanced humans."
Chloe facial expression twisted into confusion , " What do you mean by a god? Verlin please, now isn't the time to joke around."
"I'm serious Chloe." Verlin rebutted
Chloe stepped closer towards Verlin as her gaze bore into him, "What about Aunt Chleo and Fiona? What happened to them?"
Verlin couldn't bear to look at her as his gaze directed towards the ground, as he slowly shook his head.
Chloe grabbed a hold of his shoulders as she spoke, her voice a bit louder this time, "What are you shaking your head for Verlin? What happened to them? Where are they?"
"They are dead." Verlin stated, he continued, " Its not just them, all the enhanced humans we tried to evacuate. The ones that made it to the Arctic. None of them are alive"
Chloe's hands slipped off Verlin's shoulders as disbelief was etched into her face, " I dont believe you."
"Im so sorry Chloe, I didn't intend for it to end this way. I thought I could stall him until Desna evacuated everyone." Verlin continued, " I thought I could buy enough time, but now because of me, most of the enhanced humans are dead. Because of me your aunt is dead. Because of me, Desna is dead." As the last words left his mouth, tears leaked out of Verlin's eyes. "I'm so sorry, Chloe."
A tremor passed through Chloe's body. It was subtle at first—just a quiver in her hands—but it intensified the longer she stared at Verlin. Her eyes brimmed with tears that refused to fall, as though even her sorrow had frozen in shock.
Verlin reached out, gently resting a hand on her shoulder. "Chloe," he began quietly, "I—"
She pulled away, taking a shaky step back. "This can't be real... How could this happen?"
Verlin took a step closer, " We can't stay here much longer. He's gonna come for you too. We have to leave now."
"Leave? To where? What about my parents? What about the other enhanced humans?" Chloe questioned.
"Im not sure, but as long as you're on the planet, he'll come for you eventually. Your parents should be fine, Radae is targetting enhanced humans specifically."
"I can't do that Verlin."
"Please Chloe, I can't lose both you and Desna." Verlin reached to grab Chloe, but as he was about to contact her, she turned intangible.
"You can't expect me to abandon everything."
You're not. We'll come back. I promise. But the longer we stay here the worse things are gonna get."
Chloe facial features had a flash of doubt, but her body slowly became tangible again.
"Thank you" Verlin sighed slightly in relief, he continued, " How long can you hold...."
Mid sentence Verlin's attention was drawn to a radiant orb rapidly closing the distance on their location, without hesitation, he reached out toward Chloe, and shoving her sideways. With the amount of force he used, he could feel and her humerus crack as she was sent flying, a few mircroseconds before the orb made contact with his back, hurtling him several kilometers towards the city before detonating.
Meanwhile, from Chloe's perspective, one moment she was listening to Verlin speak and the next a white hot pain flared in her arm as she was flailing through the air. Before she could let out a cry of pain, a blinding light erupted in the distance ,forcing her to keep her eyes shut. Even if she was quite sure the source of the light was a few kilometers, it felt like she a flashbang had gone off directly infront of her eyes.
Then came the heat.
Even through closed lids and torn clothing, her skin prickled and burned, as if the sun itself had dropped closer to the Earth. Instintively, she turned herself intangible.
A fraction of a second later, the shockwave arrived. The ground below rippled like water, as trees were easily uprooted from the ground. Though she was intangible, the sound pressure still battered her eardrums.
Just when she thought the worst of it was over.
Chloe remained curled in midair, intangible, weightless in the turbulence as flying debris flew through her body. Her eyes were still squeezed shut, but even behind her lids she saw the pulses of light—like miniature suns being born and extinguished in rapid succession.
She couldn't see the fight. She couldn't even begin to follow it. All she could do was feel it. Each shockwave. Each eruption. Every sense was overwhelmed—flashes too bright to look at, sounds too violent to hear, heat too intense to endure. The world had become a storm of destruction, and she was caught in its eye. Chloe crashed down to the ground and the explosions and continous shockwaves persisted for a few more seconds.
Then—silence.
Not true silence, but the absence of immediate cataclysm. The aftershocks still rumbled through the earth and chunks of rock and debris rained down from the sky, but the rapid-fire explosions had ceased.
Slowly, she opened her eyes.
The landscape was unrecognizable. Where there had once been forests and fields, there was now a smoldering wasteland. The air shimmered with heat distortion, and the horizon was painted in hues of fire and smoke. While the atmosphere was was filled with dust and smoke as far as even her eyes could see.
Holding her arm, Chloe slowly got up.... her breath ragged, vision blurry from the tears that had finally broken free.
She stumbled forward a few steps, each movement sending stabbing pain through her fractured humerus. The heat in the air bit at her exposed skin, and her legs shook beneath her, not from fear—but from the weight of it all.
Of everything.
She scanned the horizon, trying to find him. Her enhanced senses were foggy—numbed by the constant barrage of concussive waves, the static in her ears, the ache behind her eyes.
"Verlin…" she whispered, barely audible even to herself.
And like a flash of lightning, he appeared before her.
Chloe was taken aback by his sudden appearance, what surprised her even more was his current state.
Verlin stood barely a few feet away, his full form was slightly masked by the smoke and dust around. Normally, he didn't even breathe—but now he was taking huge, heaving gulps of air. Each inhale warped the atmosphere, pulling dust and heat into a swirl around him.
His eyes glowed a deep, menacing orange—like embers threatening to ignite. That glow cut through the smoke and ruin like a warning.
The dagger was still embedded in his chest, but he still stood upright and showed no outward signs of pain. As he step closer, his facial features became clearer, etched on it was a look she had never seen on his face. Anger, but even through that she could tell he was exhausted.
"…Verlin?" Chloe said, her voice unsteady.
He spoke, "How long can you hold your breathe?" The words came out fast, sharp, and clipped—like a burst of compressed air.
For a moment, Chloe stood in stunned silence at the question before answering, " I'm not sure.... thirty minutes? Maybe forty."
Verlin stepped forward and carefully scooped Chloe into his arms. Despite his tattered state and the dagger still embedded in his chest, he held her with a gentleness that contrasted the devastation around them.
Even as he cradled her close, he made sure to angle his body so the jagged hilt of the dagger didn't brush against her. It jutted from his chest like an accusation, pulsing faintly, but he bore it without a sound. His grip was firm but cautious—protective.
And then, in a burst of wind and heat, they ascended.
The ground fell away beneath them in a blur of red and gray. Chloe's broken arm throbbed dully against her ribs, but she didn't complain. Her eyes stayed open, absorbing every inch of the destruction as it slowly came into focus from above.
Verlin spoke, his voice steady despite the exhaustion that gripped his frame. "I managed to destroy Radae's energy form again" he said. " He seems to be weakening, but so am I, I don't think i'll be able to do that again once he returns."
Chloe's eyes flicked to his face. It was unreadable—furious, yes, but also hollow. The glow in his eyes was dimmer now. Like a fire that had burned too long.
"I don't know how long we've bought," he continued, gaze still forward. "But, It never took him this long to reform"
Chloe didn't answer. Something below had caught her eye.
The higher they climbed, the clearer the picture became.
The Earth below was scarred. Gigantic, smoldering trenches stretching for miles carved through the landscape like claw marks. Swaths of once-vibrant land had been turned to scorched stone, and the oceans near the blast zone boiled at the edges.
Then she saw it.
City A.
—or rather, what used to be.
A jagged black crater now rested where the proud capital once stood. The buildings, the skyline, the memory of civilization—all obliterated. There was no wreckage. No standing frames. Just ash, smoldering earth, and a thin column of smoke twisting into the sky like a final breath.
She stared, her mouth parted slightly, words trying to form but refusing to come.
Chloe stared, unblinking.
Her brain tried to process what her eyes were seeing—but it couldn't. The crater was too clean. Too absolute. City A wasn't just destroyed—it was gone. Vaporized.
Her voice, when it finally broke through her throat, was a cracked whisper. "My… my parents were in City A."
Her breath hitched.
She tried to look up at Verlin, her words trembling out between stutters. "Verlin—my mom... my dad, they—they were—"
But Verlin didn't answer. His eyes were still fixed upward, scanning beyond the clouds. He was ascending fast, the pressure of their rise distorting the air around them. It was like he hadn't heard her.
"Verlin!" she said louder, twisting slightly in his arms. "They were there—they were in the city!"
Still no response. His expression was hard, distant. Determined to get her to safety. Focused on the mission.
But Chloe wasn't.
She looked down again, her vision drawn back to the ruined land below. Something inside her broke.
And in that moment—her body shimmered.
She turned intangible.
Verlin's arms suddenly grasped at empty air as she phased clean through his grasp, falling soundlessly away from him like mist through fingers.
"Chloe!" he barked, whipping around mid-flight—but she was already plummeting.
Verlin chased and instantly caught up to her, but she remained intangible, preventing him from stopping her fall. Verlin flew alongside her, matching her descent exactly—but his hands passed through her every time he reached out. Chloe was falling fast, but not aimlessly. Her body faced the ground, eyes locked on the crater below. She didn't flail. She didn't scream. She simply dropped like a ghost pulled by gravity and grief.
She hit the ground like a feather and landed on her feet, a swirl of dust rising around her as she became solid again. The heat from the crater licked at her skin, but she didn't seem to notice. Her steps were small, hesitant, like she was afraid the ground itself might vanish beneath her.
A city of over six million people. Gone.
Chloe's breath caught in her throat as she scanned the wasteland, hoping—desperately—for something. A landmark. A road. A single piece of her past. But there was nothing left to search through. No direction to run. Just scorched air and dead silence.
The disbelief cracked like old paint as reality settled in, heavy and cruel.
She collapsed to her knees, a choked sob slipping from her lips. Then another. And another. Until she was hunched over, trembling, the tears falling in heavy rivers onto the hot ground.
Verlin finally touched down behind her, his feet burning twin prints into the blackened earth. He stood in silence, watching her, unsure of what to say.
He remembered the moment of the explosion clearly. The sheer scale. To the inhabitants of City A, it was just another morning. No alarms. No warnings. Just light—and then nothing. At the time, Verlin hadn't cared, his full attention had been on Radae. Shamefully, even now, he wasn't sure he did. Not like Chloe.
She spoke through the sobs, barely above a whisper, each name like a wound torn open.
"Mom… Dad… Aunt Chleo… Fiona… Desna…"
She went on, naming people Verlin had never heard of—perhaps neighbors, classmates, kind strangers she'd crossed paths with in quieter times. Each name was a lifeline thrown into the void, but none came back.
"They're all dead," she said.
And then she turned toward him.
Her eyes, red and wet, locked on the dagger still lodged in his chest.
"And even you too, Verlin."
He followed her gaze, looking down at the dagger.
"I'm not gonna die. This isn't as fatal as you might think," he replied, voice thin. "My physiology isn't that much different from humans. My heart is slightly to the left of my chest."
That was a lie.
A small, fragile lie.
He didn't know why he said it, maybe for her sake. Maybe because right now, she needed to believe someone would survive. That something could. Or perhaps, he wanted to be what she was to him right now—an anchor. The only thing preventing him from losing his sanity.
But her face said she didn't believe him.
Verlin tried again, this time softer. "Come on. We have to get going as soon as possible."
He stepped toward her, but his hand passed through her once again. Chloe's intangibility and invisibility flickered wildly—on and off like a broken signal—her body reacting as her mind unraveled.
She didn't move. She didn't speak.
She just sat there, shaking her head, sobbing.
Verlin didn't know what to do. He couldn't leave Chloe behind, but he could feel it—the faint hum in the air was unmistakable. Radae was coming back.
And Verlin was reaching his limit. He was more tired than he had ever been—his body barely holding together. He looked up and saw Radae's energy form starting to take shape again.
Chloe couldn't be moved, and with her powers flickering on and off, she wouldn't be able to protect herself. If the fight happened here, she'd most likely die.
He'd have to take the fight somewhere else. Taking a deep breathe, Verlin launched upward. Before Radae could fully form, Verlin tackled him, taking the god skywards.
The impact cracked the sound barrier twice over, sending a thunderclap echoing across the ruined city. Verlin's arms wrapped around Radae's core and with a roar of effort, he propelled them both higher—through the clouds, beyond the stratosphere, tearing toward the edge of Earth's atmosphere.
The sky darkened to a deep indigo as the blue of the world faded beneath them. Wind no longer howled. Flames no longer roared. There was only silence now—the silence of space closing in.
Even through the silence, Radae's voice erupted into Verlin's mind, " You.... You would risk your life for that speck?"
Radae's words angered Verlin, but he didnt respond. Only tightening his grip as they moved farther from the earth.
"Ra Rakal Daroth vel dae"
The impact of the decree struck directly at his mind as Verlin felt his consciousness blink. For a moment, he lost all control. His limbs spasmed violently, his grip on Radae loosening as his muscles misfired. It was like his mind had been rattled loose from his skull—disoriented, scattered.
Verlin dropped like a stone, his body limp as he tore back through the atmosphere. One moment he was in the silence of space, the next he was back in the embrace of ignited air.
Then—impact.
He slammed into the ground with a thunderous crack, carving a fresh crater into the land. Dust erupted. Chunks of earth rained down.
Verlin could feel his skull ache as he rolled to his side, he could feel blood leaking from his eyes, nose and ears. He coughed—once, then again, harder. Blood splattered onto the scorched ground, dark and vivid against the ash.
Groaning, Verlin pushed himself back on his feet, as he looked skyward.
Radae spoke, " Why do you still fight? "
There was a moment of silence but Verlin didnt answer, he was focused on conserving his energy. Radae continued, " A being like yourself could certainly live for millions of years, you could live to outlast any civilization this pathetic planet could muster. Why risk it all for an insignificant being."
For a moment there was silence, then Verlin spoke up," Not.....not insignificant."
"What would you know? You've existed for less than a year," the god said, almost gently. "Barely born, yet already burdened by such frail emotions."
Radae raised his hand, and an orb formed instantly. This orb was different, it was completely black in colour, and seemed less chaotic than the regular orbs. Verlin instinctively readied himself, his battered form tensing for impact. "Allow me to relieve you of them."
But the orb didn't come for him. Instead flying in a completely different direction. For a moment, Verlin was confused, his eyes followed the orb tracing its trajectory.
Verlin's heart sank. The orb wasn't meant to kill him. It was heading for Chloe.
Eighteen hundred kilometers away, still curled in the ash of her city's grave, unaware, unprotected.
In an instant, everything stopped moving, the clouds above that were still parting from his descent came to a halt, suspended like paint on glass.
The dirt he'd kicked up still hung in the air, unmoving. Even the blood dripping from his chin no longer fell.
The world held its breath.
All that remained was him and the orb, racing toward the same target.
The orb streaked through the air like a divine bullet. In less than a hundreth of a second, it crossed hundreds of kilometers, gliding through a busy city—but it caused no harm. It passed through walls, cars, and people like a ghost.
Verlin was the opposite.
He didn't avoid obstacles. He didn't phase. He didn't go around.
He just moved.
Through buildings, through bridges, through vehicles, through people.
Everything within a few kilometers of Verlin was simply vaporized by the superheated plasma encasing him. Those farther out were crushed inward, their lungs collapsing and bones splintering as the shockwaves rolled ahead like tsunamis. Buildings imploded. Mountains cracked. Roads lifted from their roots and disintegrated midair.
A deep trench, several kilometers wide and glowing at the edges, carved itself across the continent in Verlin's wake—a wound in the Earth that stretched as far as the eye could see.
Fire followed. Then wind.
He left ruin behind him—not from malice, but because they were simply in the way.
His mind didn't register it. Couldn't afford to.
All he saw was the orb. All he saw was Chloe.
The distance between the orb and Verlin shrank, but Verlin could already tell, he wasn't going to catch up in time.
A flicker of panic crossed his thoughts.
In a moment of desperation, Verlin's eye flashed red with heat vision, but the moment it hit the orb it went through like it wasnt even there.
The orb was just over 200 kilometers from Chloe, with Verlin only 20 kilometers behind it.
And he saw her.
Completely stationary like a picture frame. Still curled in the ruins, half-conscious, unaware. Her hair matted with soot, one of her arms hanged limply on her side, the other arm wrapped tight around herself like she was still trying to hold on to something.
She didn't look up.
She never saw the glow.
She never saw the light.
And then—
The orb struck.
It didn't explode the surrounding like the other orbs. It didn't shatter the ground. It didn't incinerate the horizon.
It only had one target.
The light enveloped Chloe completely—pure, unbroken, and horrifyingly silent. A perfect sphere of divine energy consumed her body in an instant, almost reverent.
Then—collapse.
The orb folded inward, like a dying star swallowing its own light, and where Chloe had been... there was nothing.
No ashes. No bones. No trace.
Just a circular impression in the dirt, still glowing faintly. Not scorched—emptied. As if the universe had decided she never existed at all.
Barely a millisecond later, Verlin crashed where Chloe was. He hit the Earth like a meteor—less a man, more a force of nature.
But his speed and weakened state made an immediate stop impossible.
His body, still burning with momentum and desperation, plowed through the wasteland like a falling star.
The ruins of City A's outskirts offered no resistance. Collapsed highways. Twisted rebar. Blackened trees. Warped soil. He tore through them all—leaving nothing but vapor.
A massive ravine split open in his wake— stretching out a hundreds kilometers before he came to a stop.
Almost immediately, Verlin rose from the ragged trench, steam curling off his skin.
His eyes crossed the distance to where Chloe had passed, For a heartbeat he simply stared in disbelief at the empty imprint where Chloe had been.
The light in Verlin's eye dimmed visibly as he slowly descended back into the ground. He was beginning to process it, Chloe had just died. Right in front of him.
He hit the ground with a heavy thud, as his fingers dug into his skull, as if trying to pry out the answer to why this was happening. Trying to figure out when it all went wrong. His mouth opened, but no sound come out. His shoulders shook violently as the grief poured out of him in form of silent tears.
"Such theatrics," Radae said, his voice cutting through Verlin's anguish like a blade. " The divine shards in that one was no different from the others. Tell me, what made that one so special?"
The tears stopped abruptly, as if someone had cut them off at the source. His head lifted slowly, eyes locking onto Radae's floating form above. The tears on his face evaporated instantly as his eyes glowed a menacing red.
"You."
The word didn't just leave his mouth—it materialized. The air itself seemed to crystallize around the sound, rippling outward like a shockwave made of pure hatred.
In the space between heartbeats, Verlin launched himself upward.
There was no technique. No strategy. No measured approach.
Just raw, unbridled fury.
His fists became blurs of motion, striking Radae's energy shield with the desperation of a drowning man clawing for air. Left, right, left, right—over and over, faster and faster until his movements transcended visibility. The sound was like thunder trapped in a bottle, an endless percussion that split the sky.
One thousand punches.
Ten thousand.
A hundred thousand.
Over a million strikes in mere seconds. The air around them ignited from the friction, creating a sphere of plasma that painted the sky in violent reds and oranges.
But even so, the forcefield around Radae only cracked.
"It seems your attacks no longer have the impact they once had. Although, it's quite impressive you can maintain this level of output—I doubt even you can survive much longer if you keep expending all your energy. I already have everything I came here for. If you leave now, I'm sure you can figure out a way to preserve your life." Radae spoke as if offering friendly advice.
"Die."
Without warning, Verlin's arms wrapped around Radae in a crushing embrace. The god's eyes widened in surprise as Verlin's grip tightened like a vise around his energy form. Verlin bent his body downward, forcing all his strength into the dive, his arms locked around Radae like unyielding chains.
They slammed into the earth with the force of a cataclysm, the impact blasting a crater kilometers wide. Dust and molten rock surged outward in a blinding eruption. But Verlin did not stop. His momentum carried them deeper, drilling through layers of stone as though the planet itself was mere fabric.
" Such blind sentiment. What value could you have possible gained from a failed demigod." Radae spoke. His voice resonating into Verlins mind.
" You think you can set a value on someone based on their power? Do you have any idea how she lived? The empathy she showed to strangers? The compassion she had for life?" Verlin's voice came out like thunderous explosions that could no longer be interpreted as words.
Yet Radae understood perfectly. "Empathy? Compassion? Dont make me laugh. Such emotions are easily twisted and contaminated. Those feelings you hold for that failed byproduct and a mere machine are completely nonsensical. Nevertheless If you wish to perish with them, I will gladly oblige."
"Ra Rakal Daroth vel dae"
The decree struck like a hammer inside Verlin's skull, but the words Radae used to describe Desna struck even deeper.
At first he thought to himself, 'A mere machine?'
His memories of Desna flashed through his mind as the words resounded in his head. From his last moments with Desna to the point of Desna's creation. The more the words reverberated in his mind, the angrier he became.
His hands that had gotten loose around Radae found a new position on the horns atop Radae's head.
"A mere machine?"The sound was so loud that seismic waves from hundreds of kilometers underground caused the surface to crack and fracture.
The light in Verlin's eyes, which had been continuously dimming, suddenly found a spark as they glowed a bright golden color.
"You call Desna a mere machine!? "As the words fell, the fury in his eyes broke like a dam. Radae's barrier was bombarded with heat vision so intense that Verlin's eyes felt like they were melting, but he didn't care.
"He was my best friend!" The heat from his eyes spread wider and wider, no longer confined to just his eyes. Energy and heat poured from his nose and mouth, spreading across his entire face.
Radae's face contorted as he formed orbs trying to distance himself from Verlin, but as soon as they came in contact witht he energy emanating form Verlin, they were instantly dissipated.
"He was my greatest and my proudest creation!" At this point, it seemed like all the cells in Verlin's body was responding to rage as his entire being was spewing out intense heat and energy.
"He was my child!" The words tore from him—and with them, the last tether holding him back. There was nothing left to protect. No one left to save.
So he stopped trying.
As the words fell, all the energy within Verlin's body exploded like a supernova.
The entire surrounding the was instant engulfed in a blinding light, as the forcefield that surrounded Radae evaporated like morning dew.
Everything in a radius of 200 kilometers simply ceased to be, converted instantly into superheated plasma that expanded outward at a significant fraction of light speed, the explosion continued expanding, breaking through the surface as the mantle itself was unable to contain the explosion.
Quadrillions of tons of rock and soil were uprooted and launched out into the atmosphere, and some farther out into space. The explosion continued its relentless expansion across the surface, an ever-widening ring of absolute annihilation. Cities, mountain ranges, rivers, forest, everything in its path was reduced to superheated vapor.
At the epicenter, Verlin existed in a state of semi-consciousness as energy continuously flooded out of his body. Radae, on the other hand, had been evaporated alongside his forcefield. No matter how many times he tried to reconfigure his energy form, the continuous torrent of power flooding from Verlin's body would instantly destroy it.
This process continued with Radae's divine energy rapidly depleting with every attempt. The 5,000 years' worth of divine energy he had started with had dwindled to a mere two decades—and still reducing. With the amount of divine energy he had left, he wouldn't even be able to transport the divine shards he'd acquired.
He should have left after he got what he wanted. Instead, he had continuously provoked a being who acquired their abilities from the stars. He should have known—stars never go out silently. With those final thoughts, Radae ran out of divine energy.
On the surface, a crater 3000km wide and 500km deep was formed. The explosion had continued past the crater sending a supersonic wall of superheated air and fire that scoured the Earth clean for thousands of kilometers. Cities were flattened in seconds. Mountain ranges crumbled. Forests ignited and disintegrated in the same breath.
The shockwave didn't stop. It curved around the planet along multiple paths, weakening as it traveled but still devastating everything in its way. Halfway across the world, people felt the ground shake and saw the sky darken before hurricane-force winds turned their cities to rubble.
Then, on the opposite side of the planet, the waves converged.
Shockwaves arriving from every direction met at once, their energies combining into a focused pulse of destruction. The air superheated. The ground heaved. What had been a distant catastrophe became immediate as the convergence created a secondary zone of annihilation—buildings collapsing, the earth splitting open, fires erupting across hundreds of kilometers.
Seismic waves followed the same pattern, circling the globe and meeting at the antipode in a cascade of earthquakes that shattered stable ground. Where the blast had met ocean, mega-tsunamis wrapped around the planet, drowning coastlines and erasing islands entirely. A series of mass extinction events happening in succession.
The cause of the cataclysm had died down, as Verlin's body that had been spitting out energy had stopped, every cell in his body wrung completely dry. No longer able to fly, he plummeted into the crater of his own creation.
The fall lasted over ten minutes—250 kilometers of freefall through superheated air thick with ash and debris. His body tumbled limply, a ragdoll pulled by gravity alone. No thoughts passed through his mind. He was completely unconscious, unaware of the descent, unaware of the devastation above, unaware of anything at all.
He hit the crater floor with a heavy thud. The impact sent a shockwave through the molten landscape, creating a smaller crater within the vast wound—perhaps fifty meters across. Magma splashed outward in glowing arcs, then began its slow journey back, flowing like thick honey toward the depression.
Verlin showed no signs of waking. The dagger still jutted from his chest, its rune-etched surface pulsing faintly as it continued its relentless drain— drawing from a well that had long since run dry.
His body—incredibly dense, far heavier than any human or enhanced human—had always relied on his bioelectric aura to offset that weight, to give him flight. But that aura was gone, exhausted along with everything else.
Without it, his density became an anchor.
As the magma pooled back around him, Verlin started to sink. The mantle beneath—fractured and superheated from the explosion—couldn't support his weight. The compromised stone, softened further by his residual heat, slowly gave way. His unconscious form pressed through the damaged rock, sinking centimeter by centimeter.
The magma covered his legs, his torso, his face—swallowing him entirely. The dagger disappeared from view. Then his entire body.
Above the surface, the magma pooled and settled, ripples smoothing out as if nothing had ever disturbed it.
Below, Verlin continued his descent through the shattered mantle. Centimeters per hour. Deeper and deeper into the Earth's wounded interior, pulled by gravity and his extraordinary density.
He sank alone into the depths, entombed in stone and fire, buried in the heart of his own devastation, while above him the world burned.