Clifford was gone.
What rose in his place was something reborn—stronger, sharper, faster… divine.
He was Striver, the Creator's right hand.
His body felt weightless, as if he could float forever. Yet at the same time, he sensed that if he simply placed his foot down with intent, entire planets would sink beneath him.
Power and freedom.
Chaos and control.
His senses stretched outward like a universe waking up.
He heard laughter and screams from worlds he had never visited.
He saw galaxies light-years away as if they were painted before him.
He stared past the fabric of time itself.
But the rush was too much.
Reality bent, twisted, spun.
His mind couldn't keep up with the magnitude of his own awakening.
He stumbled, landing hard on his back. The impact shook the ground violently, making Layla lose balance and flail awkwardly as she tried to keep her dress from lifting.
"Careful!" she yelped, cheeks burning.
"Sorry… my bad. Ha… ha…" Striver replied, unable to stop his eyes drifting where they shouldn't.
He cursed himself for missing the moment.
Then the Creator's voice cut through the chaos—deep, low, urgent.
"He's coming. Go. Now."
Striver froze.
A cold spike of fear stabbed into his spine.
His skin crawled.
His hair rose.
Even the new godlike energy in his veins trembled.
No time for etiquette.
No time for thinking.
He grabbed Layla, lifting her effortlessly as her arms wrapped instinctively around him.
Energy surged down his legs—ground cracked—air screamed—and they shot upward like a rocket, leaping planet to planet in seconds.
But it wasn't enough.
A massive moon hurtled toward them, tearing reality as it came.
Time slowed.
Striver's brain processes every particle, every trajectory, every vibration.
He scanned, calculated, and chose.
Found it.
He set Layla down gently and turned.
Power flooded into his right arm, condensing until his bones hummed like collapsing stars.
He punched.
The moon shuddered…
vibrated…
fractured…
Its very molecular bonds snapped like twigs, exploding outward into cosmic dust.
Striver gasped—amazed, terrified by his own strength—
And then a fist struck him.
Hard.
Silent.
Effortless.
He flew like a broken comet, smashing through one planet… then another… then another.
Blood smeared the void with every impact, growing thicker, darker.
His breath thinned.
His bones cracked.
His consciousness flickered.
"STRIVER!" Layla screamed, her voice somehow trembling through the vacuum—her sealed power instinctively resonated just enough to carry her cry.
Furious, she charged.
Her punch moved faster than time, breaking the sound of the universe—
BOOM—
She struck Ultimate.
It did nothing.
Not even a flinch.
Without turning, without emotion, without thought, he simply caught her by the throat.
His grip was calm.
Cold.
Inevitable.
A voice flowed from him—if it could be called a voice at all.
It sounded like a choir of dying stars whispering through endless night.
"Waste… of my… time."
He tossed her.
The force sent her spiraling helplessly through space, barely stopping herself from destroying a cluster of nearby planets.
Then Ultimate paused.
He placed one hand over his own face.
His fingers pressed deep—far deeper than flesh should allow—yet no blood came.
His skin simply healed the moment it tore.
"Chosen… you?" he murmured, hollow and confused.
A beat of silence.
Then stillness.
From his outstretched palm, a black hole bloomed.
Bigger. Darker.
A devouring gravity that swallowed even light's memory.
He walked.
Slow.
Heavy.
Each step made the universe tremble.
Striver lay at the crater of his final crash, barely breathing.
Blood floated from his wounds like drifting stars.
His vision blurred.
His bones felt like dust.
Ultimate approached, his empty eyes staring without emotion, without mercy, without anything human inside them.
As he crouched beside Striver, he spoke—soft, quiet, final.
"Killing… a god."
He lifted Striver by the throat with one hand, holding him like broken cloth.
Then he leaned close, his voice brushing against Striver's ear like a grave whisper from a forgotten eternity.
"Ah… the only thing… I haven't done."