In Black Paradise, inside the meeting room, everyone watches in silence as countless digital screens display the destruction of entire planets. Demons and corrupted angels tear through worlds, cities crumble, stars collapse, civilizations vanish in fire and shadow.
Kairo, still bound to the chair, glares at Susan with pure hatred.
Susan meets his stare and smiles.
"The holy war was nearing its end," she says calmly. "Nearly all of the universal trees within the Everest Garden were destroyed."
The screens shifts as two colossal figures clash across a dying cosmos.
"But something happens between the demon brothers."
The image zooms in on Gander and Rear, their battle tearing reality itself apart.
"With every world consumed, Gander desired more of it. His hunger became unstoppable and his power was limitless."
Explosions ripple through the Everest Garden.
"But Rear…" Susan's voice softens slightly. "Rear gained immense power as well, yet he was the first to develop reasonable morals."
The screen shows Rear standing over shattered planets, frozen in place.
"With each life he takes, he sees the pain in their eyes. He hears the cries of dying worlds. The screams of entire galaxies."
Rear staggers back, clutching his head.
"He changes. He begins to understand the true meaning of life. And for the first time… he wanted to experience this so called life, wishing to preserve the remaining worlds."
The brothers collide again, one fueled by endless hunger, the other by newfound conviction.
"Their ideals clash. One wishes to devour all life. The other wishes to protect it."
The battle escalates, devastating what little remains of the Everest Garden.
"…But in the end," Susan continues, "Gander won."
The screens fall silent, all of Everest Garden goes dark.
A long pause.
"At that very moment, Gander realizes the truth."
The image shows Gander standing alone in an empty void.
"His hunger has consumed everything. There was nothing left for him."
Gander then turns his gaze outward, toward another Garden, the then screen shifts.
Gander descends upon the lifeless body of the fallen God Everest.
"He returns to the corpse of the dead God Everest… and merged with it."
Dark energy floods the screen the dead god's eyes snap open.
Everest rises, twisted, corrupted, and divine. She then marches toward the Adamas Garden.
At the edge of space, Adamas stands with his army, watching her approach with tears falling from his eyes.
Susan continues, her voice steady but heavy with meaning.
"Adamas knew what was best for his Garden… but his heart refuses to fight against his lover."
The digital screens show Adamas standing alone before Everest.
"He submitted to her."
A single motion she killed him, a shockwave ripples through the Garden with the death of it's God.
"The remaining lesser Gods and Angels of Adamas fought with everything they had. They stood against Everest and the incoming demon legions but they are far too weak to face a God of death empowered by Gander."
The screens fill with collapsing stars and burning celestial wings.
"At the end of the war…"
The image slows.
"With Gander's influence fully embedded within Everest's body, they underwent a final transformation."
Suddenly, every digital screen shatters into light.
The entire meeting chamber floods with holographic universal trees, towering, radiant, impossibly beautiful. Gasps ripple through the room.
Then, from the light, a divine celestial serpent manifests.
Its body coils endlessly, scales formed from galaxies and cosmic fire. It circles the room, vast enough that it feels as if it could wrap around existence itself.
Susan looks up at the apparition.
"They became the Universal World Serpent."
"It became so massive… it can coil around the entire Garden."
The serpent glides above them, silent and eternal.
"After consuming so much divine power," Susan continues, "Gander finally also gained reasonable thinking."
The serpent's eyes glow, no longer wild, but calculating.
"He did not wish to repeat his same mistake."
The cosmic image shifts, empty space stretches endlessly outward.
"The other Gardens are too far away to reach."
A pause.
"So he devises a new plan."
The serpent tightens its coils slowly, deliberately.
"To consume life… but at a controlled pace. Enough to satisfy his hunger and slow enough to ensure it never runs out."
Meanwhile, inside the Star Games, in the Black Room.
Corvex finishes off the orange-aura Star, the body collapsing at her feet. leaving Crank to be the last proclaimed Hero.
She scans the room with her eyes to see a lot of floor tiles aren't lit up.
Corvex exhales sharply.
"I may have been overconfident," she mutters, "but I'll just push beyond my speed limits."
Above them, the ceiling continues its slow, merciless descent.
Boa and Crank are already exhausted from pounding against it, their arms shaking, their breaths ragged.
Then, suddenly in an instant, Corvex rushes in front of Crank and slashes across his chest with her bare hand.
Blood splatter all over as Crank staggers back, teeth clenched, ready to counterattack
"Wait," Boa snaps, grabbing his arm. "Don't get the wrong idea. She's only trying to help!"
They watch as Corvex dashes to one side of the room, dragging her fingers across the floor tiles, each one smeared with Crank's blood.
One by one, the tiles ignites with light.
Boa's eyes widen.
"Everyone!" he shouts. "Get over here now! If you don't, we're all going to die!"
Panic erupts.
A dozen Stars rush toward them while the rest scream in terror, frozen beneath the descending ceiling.
Five Stars press their hands against Crank's bleeding chest, coating themselves in blood, then sprint to the opposite side of the room, stepping across tiles and lighting them as they go.
The chamber glows brighter as Crank drops to one knee and braces himself.
Boa and the other seven Stars climbs onto him.
He becomes the foundation of a human tower, muscles screaming as he lifts them onto his shoulders.
Together, they push upward against the descending ceiling.
Meanwhile, inside the White Room, the blood sea churns violently.
Thick blood tides slam against the walls as the last pockets of air shrink, only seven feet remain. Above, red balloons continue to pop one by one, bursting and releasing even more blood into the room.
"If you can reach it, do it!" Tobias yells over the tides.
Voytek dives beneath the surface.
He slips between Hans's legs and surges upward, lifting him on his shoulders. Hans stretches both arms toward the ceiling, fingertips trembling.
He's only inches away.
With a roar, he slams his hand against the ceiling.
A bloody handprint stains the surface and then it glows.
"Hold your breath! Swim hard! And dig!" Tobias shouts.
Hans launches himself off Voytek's shoulders and plunges into the blood sea. He swims with everything he has, forcing his way through the thick liquid as lifeless bodies drift past him.
At last, his hand touches the bottom, on impact the floor then becomes a Jelly-like surface.
He starts digging through it with each hand.
From above, several Stars see what he's doing and follow, diving desperately toward the bottom.
"Don't!" Tobias screams. "If you haven't touched the top, you can't do it!"
The other Stars also reaches the floor but their hands are unable to dig against the jelly surface. Panic flashes across their faces as they thrash.
One by one, they drown.
Hans keeps digging at the jelly surface as a hole of blinding light appears in front of him.
He falls through and the jelly floor seals itself instantly behind him.
Voytek bursts out laughing, exhilarated.
"It actually worked!"
Ignis turns toward Tobias, eyes burning with belief.
"I told you, Tobias. You can achieve anything if you put your mind to it!"
Tobias doesn't answer.
He's barely keeping his head above the blood sea, arms weak, body trembling.
He forces a breath and looks at Ignis.
"You must live… for my sake, Ignis."
His strength fails as he sinks beneath the surface.
"Tobias!" Ignis cries. "I can't do this without you!"
He swims as hard as he can toward Tobias's sinking body.
Around them, Voytek and the remaining Stars struggle to stay afloat, kicking frantically as the blood rises higher.
Voytek reaches one arm toward the ceiling, now only five feet away.
"Just… a little bit longer!"
Meanwhile, inside the Black Room, Boa and the other Stars strain beneath the descending ceiling.
Their bodies shake, one by one, they lose their grip and tumble off Crank, collapsing onto the floor in exhaustion as the ceiling continues its relentless fall.
Across the room, Corvex finishes her side and scans the room to see several floor tiles are still unlit.
"Damn it!"
She sprints toward the other side, but panicking Stars flood her path. She stumbles, nearly falling as bodies crash into her.
The ceiling drops to Crank's height, six and a half feet.
Crank roars, every muscle in his body screaming as he forces his arms upward, holding the ceiling back with pure will.
Boa pushes himself up, arms trembling. He looks over and sees Corvex kicking and punching through the crowd, clearing a path as she slams her blood-stained hands onto tile after tile.
Light spreads across the floor.
Crank buckles and drops to one knee.
The ceiling sinks lower.
"RAAAH!" Boa bellows as he throws himself beneath it, pressing both hands upward. A few dozen Stars around also joins in holding the ceilings with their arms.
The room groans as Corvex reaches the far end and crouches, pressing her hand to a tile.
It lights up.
"That should do it!"
But the ceiling doesn't stop, Crank collapses onto both knees.
Panic surges, Stars turn and brace their backs against the falling ceiling as the ceiling lowers to four feet above the floor.
Crank and Boa plant their hands on the ground, forcing their backs upward with everything they have left.
"What's going on?!" Boa yells.
Corvex's eyes dart across the room.
Then she sees it.
One unlit tile left but a panicking Star is above it, frozen in place, sobbing in terror.
Corvex drops to all fours and crawls, shoving Stars aside without hesitation.
The ceiling lowers again.
Three feet.
Crank and Boa collapse onto their elbows, still pushing, faces pressed close to the floor.
Corvex reaches the terrified Star and grabs her arm.
"Move!" she shouts, hurling her aside.
She slams her blood-smeared hand onto the final tile.
It lights up.
At that exact moment, the ceiling nearly crushes them against the floor and then it vanishes in a surge of magic.
Sparkling dust rains down as the pressure disappears.
Silence comes as everyone remains on the floor, gasping, shaking, utterly spent.
Above them, brilliant light shines upon them.
Inside the White Room, the blood sea has risen high enough for Voytek and a dozen Stars stretch upward, finally reaching the ceiling. One by one, their hands slap against it, leaving bloody handprints behind.
They gasp in deep breaths then dives under.
Voytek cuts through the blood sea and passes Ignis, who is swimming upward with Tobias in his arms, pushing himself forward with everything he has left.
Voytek ignores them as he and the others reach the jelly-like floor and begin digging with their bare hands. The surface ripples, then tears open, revealing holes of light.
Without another second, they plunge through.
Meanwhile Ignis finally reaches the top.
Tobias hangs limp in his grip, unconscious. The air gap is almost gone, only half a foot remains.
Ignis slams his hand against the ceiling.
Then he grabs Tobias's wrist and forces it upward, pressing Tobias's hand against the surface as well.
Both handprints glow.
Ignis drags in several desperate gulps of air and dives.
Soon he reaches the bottom and releases Tobias for a split second, using both hands to tear into the jelly floor. Light bursts through as the surface gives way.
Ignis then grabs Tobias again, together, they fall into the hole of light.
They reappear in another White Room.
Ignis collapses to his knees, coughing up blood as he drags Tobias onto the floor. Around them, the remaining Stars lie scattered, alive, shaken, but breathing.
"No… no…" Ignis mutters.
He presses his hands to Tobias's chest and starts CPR, arms trembling, strength nearly gone.
"Ignis, let us help you!" a voice says.
Hans and Voytek rush in, taking over. Their compressions are hard and relentless.
Once.
Twice.
Three times
Tobias suddenly coughs violently, blood spilling from his mouth as his body jerks.
He sucks in a ragged breath as his eyes snap open.
The first thing he sees is Ignis's face, hovering over him, exhausted, bloodied, but filled with hope.
At the same time, in both rooms, the Puzzle Boss descends from above.
Its massive form floats effortlessly through the air, casting a long shadow over the exhausted Stars. Its voice echoes, calm and absolute.
"Well done, Stars, for solving the first puzzle room. You will be granted a brief moment of rest before the start of the second puzzle room."
Silence follows.
Blood drips. Bodies tremble. Breaths come hard and uneven.
Every Star lifts their gaze toward the Boss Monster, wounded, shaken, yet unbroken.