--All my life, people have looked down on me. I’ve always been that guy everyone knows but no one actually talks to. It’s not fair. Why can’t I ever get anything right? I promised myself one thing: that one day I would prove myself and show everyone they were wrong.

  The girl who fell from the sky strides toward the Goddess of Life.

  "You have no idea how hard you were to find," she sneers, her voice dripping with mock admiration. "Hiding in this backwater realm? Clever... but no one hides from me. Ahahaha!"

  "Sophia," the Goddess breathes, her voice tight.

  "Ooooh, and what do we have here?" Sophia's eyes lock onto Max with predatory delight. "A native of this... undeveloped little planet. Tell me, boy—just how unlucky do you have to be to get caught near her when I arrive?" Her laughter echoes like shattering glass.

  Max staggers to his feet. The Goddess's face grows paler by the second.

  "Listen, Max—" the Goddess begins, voice urgent, but—

  Sophia vanishes. A portal winks shut behind her.

  "What's she doing?!" Max gasps.

  "I don't know exactly," the Goddess whispers, "but her power lets her disappear from her enemy's sight—"

  CRACK!

  Sophia materializes behind the Goddess, her hands now smoking with violet energy. She strikes—

  BOOM!

  The explosion rocks the forest. The Goddess barely blocks it, but the shockwave sends Max tumbling through trees. He crashes fifty yards away, his leg snapping with an audible SNAP!

  "Gah—! My leg!"

  At ground zero, the Goddess stands in a crater, arms raised against Sophia's onslaught.

  "Really think you can save yourself?" Sophia taunts. "My orders are clear: capture you, and slaughter everything in my path—including this pathetic planet."

  "I know exactly why you're here," the Goddess snarls. "He fears our full power returning... doesn't he?"

  She lands a crushing uppercut. Green energy erupts from her fists—

  WHOOSH!

  —but Sophia barely flinches. "Ahahaha! Was that supposed to—?"

  "Distraction," the Goddess smirks.

  The earth beneath Sophia splits open. A crystalline spike shoots up—

  Unlawfully taken from Royal Road, this story should be reported if seen on Amazon.

  But Sophia vanishes again.

  "Damn it!" the Goddess pants. "I need backup."

  Meanwhile, Max clutches his broken leg. White-hot pain shoots through him.

  "Gotta... move..."

  Sophia reappears—only to eat a devastating punch from the Goddess.

  "Your portal trick won't work twice," the Goddess growls.

  Their battle becomes a blur. Fists clash at hypersonic speeds, trees vaporizing around them. Max can't even track their movements—only flashes of green and violet light.

  "You won't win!" the Goddess roars. "You haven't seen my true power!"

  Her brown eyes flare emerald. Her hair whips like living vines. She gains the upper hand, driving Sophia back with a haymaker to the jaw—

  "Ghk—! That... actually hurt," Sophia spits blood. "But you really think—?"

  The Goddess clasps her hands behind her back. A luminous green halo erupts around her.

  "BREATH OF CREATION!"

  The blast hurls Sophia through miles of forest. The Goddess rockets after her.

  "This is bad," she mutters. "They've found us... and we still haven't located Jehovah."

  "Ah... ahahaha!" Sophia's laughter echoes from the smoke. "You thought that would finish me?"

  She rockets forward—

  POW!

  —and sends the Goddess flying into the horizon.

  "Mmmph. You are strong," Sophia purrs, stretching. "Haven't had this much fun in centuries."

  Then her gaze lands on Max.

  "Ohhh? You're her little pet, aren't you?"

  Max tries to crawl away. His stomach heaves—

  "Blurgh!" He vomits from sheer terror.

  "Aww, don't be scared," Sophia coos, stroking his cheek with a mock pout. "I promise it'll be quick. Cross my heart!" She raises a finger, giggling. "And don't worry—I won't keep your corpse for my collection."

  "You—you're insane—!" Max retches again.

  "Oops! Sorry for frightening you~" Her grip tightens on his face, her grin widening. "Hey, hey... it's okay. Everyone dies eventually."

  "This isn't fair," Max thinks, despair crushing him. "I'm still young... I haven't even lived yet—"

  In the distance, the Goddess streaks back toward them.

  "Ah-ah!" Sophia tsks. "No interruptions."

  Sophia touched Max, and then the world drains to grayscale. Time freezes. The Goddess becomes a speck in the distance—too far to help.

  "Now that we're alone..." Sophia's voice drops to a whisper. "Let's have some real fun. Killing her is tedious... but you? You'll help me relax."

  Max bolts—

  "Tsk tsk. Running?" Sophia materializes in front of him. "This is my world now. I control everything here." Her eyes gleam. "Or... we could play tag? That might be—"

  "Never!" Max spits. "I'll survive this—!"

  "Boring!" Sophia sighs. A portal opens behind Max. Her fist, now glowing purple, slams into his gut.

  "GACK—!"

  Poison floods his veins. The world spins. He collapses, limbs leaden.

  "This venom causes hallucinations," Sophia muses, pressing her boot into his face. "You won't even know when you die."

  Max tries to scream—but no sound comes.

  "I do love hands-on kills though," she murmurs, lifting him by the throat. "Watching the light fade..."

  His vision darkens. His face turns corpse-purple.

  "Is this... it?" he thinks. "Did my life even matter?"

  Then—

  BLACKNESS.

  An endless void. A shrouded woman stands before him.

  "Who... are you?" Max chokes out.

  Silence.

  A radiant light glows in the distance.

  "Is that... reincarnation?" Hope flickers. "Wait—you're the woman from my dreams! "Are you the Angel of Death?"

  He stumbles toward the light—

  "No," the woman whispers. "Don't go there."

  "Why not? This is my second chance! I can become stronger—!"

  Her fist plunges into his chest—

  Not blood, but LIGHT erupts.

  Max hurtles through the abyss.

  "What did you DO to me?!" he screams. Something unfolds inside him—

  CRASH!

  An obsidian barrier shatters. He plummets—

  "Don't... give up..." the woman's voice echoes.

  Then—

  REALITY SNAPS BACK.

  Sophia still chokes him... but now his body burns with unknown energy.

  "Oh?" Sophia blinks. "Not dead yet? "

  "You're wrong," Max rasps. "I'm the one who'll kill YOU."

  He breaks free. His eyes blaze WHITE—purer than divinity itself.

  Sophia staggers back. "You... YOU—"

  "I AM MAX RAVEN"

  The Goddess's voice rings out in shock:

  "MAX... YOU'RE JEHOVAH!