Chapter 149
In the midst of the dreadful task that required them to bring an end to all creation, being near Aldraya, with her unwavering conviction, felt like discovering an oasis of tranquility in a desert of devastation.
Those who were plagued by doubt and sorrow quietly drew strength from her firmness.
Meanwhile, Equinox remained a foreign point of darkness, his face flat and unreadable, as if this mass destruction was nothing more than a mere transaction rather than a tragedy.
Yet in the tide of destruction that seemed almost unstoppable, an unexpected barrier appeared.
A stubborn and persistent repelling light continuously pushed back their wave of annihilation.
The light came from a human, a figure known as the pinnacle of civilization and the pride of mankind—the Human Heroism, King Xavier XVII.
With power that strayed from ordinary mortal fate, he stood firm like a reef in the midst of a tsunami, becoming the only point of resistance in a cosmic plan that was meant to be absolute.
His defiant presence became a thorn in their path, disrupting the perfection of the divine mandate and challenging the boundary between destiny and free will.
'He is no ordinary human. Flowing within his body is the legacy of the Lord of Five Elements from another universe, a power impossible for any mortal to possess.'
Anity, the guardian of the center of knowledge; Tapsry, the overseer of the threads of fate of all living beings; and the Matriarch—the respectful title for Aldraya Kansh Que, formerly known as Silvia Cantika Putri, the observer of all life—arrived at a startling truth, the reason why King Xavier XVII's power could not simply be categorized as extraordinary.
Xavier was not an ordinary human.
He was the rightful successor of the Lord of Five Elementals across the entire multiverse, a cosmic legacy that granted him strength beyond the realm of mankind.
With such formidable power, Xavier not only managed to stabilize his kingdom that had once been torn apart, but also succeeded in atoning for all the sins and failures inflicted by his ancestors upon their corresponding multiverses.
This accomplishment granted him unshakable legitimacy and confidence.
Armed with the elemental authority coursing through his blood and a resolve forged in the fires of redemption, he chose to attempt the impossible.
To defy the direct will of Quil-Hasa.
He became the only human voice to reject the total annihilation of the universe, a defiance unimaginable to any being.
Ironically, Xavier's rebellion arose amid great uncertainty.
Quil-Hasa Himself had never given a clear explanation to His thirteen Highest Angels.
Was this destruction truly the final apocalypse, or was it merely a cosmic test and experiment meant to measure their obedience and capabilities as angels?
This fog of ambiguity hung over the conflict, turning Xavier's defiance into not only a clash between man and god, but also a rebellion against a decision whose meaning was itself dark and unreachable by any mind.
'He may be able to match the Angels, but he will never be able to defy the decree You have set.'
In a way no one could comprehend, the Human Heroism, King Xavier XVII, was able to withstand the combined strength of the twelve Highest Angels.
The cosmic battle raged fiercely, sending ripples of destruction through what remained of reality.
Even Equinox, with his dark authority over the Land of Hell, grew increasingly irritated, as his destructive might seemed nearly useless in overcoming the human.
Though Xavier XVII's body bore wounds, none were severe enough to incapacitate him.
His tenacious resistance shone like a light refusing to fade in the midst of the darkness of total annihilation.
That stalled situation changed drastically and suddenly when Aldraya decided to intervene.
Her decision did not come from her own initiative, but from a direct command of Quil-Hasa.
However, the command was different from usual. The tone in the Creator's voice carried a nuance Aldraya had never heard before.
A pressure—almost sounding like a plea for help.
That faint vulnerability, no matter how small, melted every fiber of Aldraya's being.
Her unquestionable obedience merged once more with the blazing storm of love and the desire to protect Him.
And the moment Aldraya stepped onto the battlefield, the situation changed with astonishing speed.
'By obeying Him… will I end up losing Him?'
Tsiiing!
Buuuk!!
At first, everything unfolded according to the decree.
As the "Right Hand of God," tasked directly with eliminating the obstacle, Aldraya moved with undeniable precision and strength.
Each of her attacks forced Xavier XVII further into a corner, narrowing his movements toward an inevitable point.
The title the human king bestowed upon her during the battle—"Right Hand of God"—floated in the air like an irony she paid no mind to.
For Aldraya, there was only command and execution.
At the peak of the battle, when the sword granted by Quil-Hasa—the very same weapon that once defeated Equinox—was about to pierce Xavier's throat vein, a warning was spoken.
The human king's voice, though strained, echoed with conviction that struck directly at the current of Aldraya's belief.
Xavier did not beg for his life; he uttered a terrifying prophecy.
Killing him meant killing Quil-Hasa.
He warned that the God Aldraya loved, adored, and followed without condition would "lose Himself" in unfulfilled emotion and explode, leading to His own death once the universe collapsed.
Those words hit Aldraya like an invisible physical blow.
For a moment, the world she had always seen through the lens of dogma cracked.
The doubts she had buried for centuries surged back with crippling force.
Overwhelmed by the warning—by the possibility that her absolute obedience might end up destroying the very one she worshipped—Aldraya lost her guard for just a heartbeat.
Yet a mere fraction of a second was enough for a hero like Xavier.
With the last remnants of his strength, he launched a decisive counterattack.
A tremendous burst of energy crashed into Aldraya—not to injure her flawless body, but to shatter the fortress of her conviction.
Aldraya fell, her mighty body suddenly feeling weak.
She knelt on the ruins of reality, her silver-white hair cascading over part of her face.
Her divine gown remained unstained, her aura of perfection still radiating, making her appear nothing like a loser—yet her deeply bowed posture and the silence enveloping her were a far deeper defeat than any physical loss.
A defeat from within.
'All this time I have lived only to serve Him, to love Him in the way I understood.
But if this absolute devotion will only destroy Him… does it not render everything meaningless?'
Fhhhh!
'Then what is the meaning of all my obedience to Him?!'
As the human hero turned away, believing the battle had ended with the fall of the Right Hand of God, a suddenly fragile voice halted his steps.
Wait.
The word escaped from Aldraya, still kneeling—a plea no one could ever imagine passing her lips.
What followed was a conversation that shook the foundations of heaven and earth.
Upon the dying ruins of reality, amidst the fading echoes of destruction, the human king revealed a supreme secret.
Xavier spoke of Quil-Hasa's hidden condition, a divine burden He had carried all this time to sustain the existence of His creation.
An ancient "expression" beyond the scope of human language—an essential upheaval within the Creator that slowly eroded the stability of His consciousness.
The same power used to create was a double-edged blade—one that, if never released properly, would eventually turn and destroy its own source.
To be continued…