Max crept closer, wanting to see who Thomas was speaking to.

  Thomas suddenly turned his gaze toward Max.

  "Excuse me for a second."

  "Max panicked and stumbled back—just as the doorway behind him opened. He fell through it right as Thomas lunged forward, but the doorway sealed shut before he could reach it."

  "I can’t see anything. Where am I?"

  The room was nearly pitch-black, save for a sliver of light from a small window. Then Max noticed the Goddess of Life, asleep.

  "—This must be the place. How do I wake her? "

  He stepped toward her, but his foot caught on a stray shirt, and he slipped—crashing down right on her chest with a yelp.

  'Oof! That wasn’t part of the plan!' he muttered"

  She jolted awake.

  "Where am I?! What’s happening?!"

  She saw Max sprawling on her and, in a panic, flung him across the room. He groaned in pain.

  "Ah—ah! I-I’m so sorry! I didn’t mean to—… I remember you. Your name’s Max, right? We fought together earlier."

  Clutching his head, Max muttered,

  "Yeah, that’s me. Sorry for waking you like that. The Goddess of Fate told me to get you, and then I slipped on some clothes."

  Emily blinked, confused at first, then realized.

  "Oh, you mean Amber. How long have you been here? Has no one told you our names yet?"

  "Thomas did, but I still feel weird calling you by your divine names."

  Emily rubbed her temples.

  "How long was I out? Where are we going?"

  "I think we’re heading to the New Pantheon?"

  "Oh, right. We’re supposed to take you to Neo. She’ll tell us what to do with you now."

  "Do with me?"

  "Thomas hasn’t given you *The Talk* yet? Ugh, he usually does it best."

  "Why does everyone keep mentioning *The Talk*? Thomas explained some things, but then he got called away."

  "I’m not great at this, but I’ll try."

  Emily took a deep breath.

  "Okay, so… like… way back, there was this guy—Jahweh, right? And he, like, *died*—not just died, he was *murdered*! By, uh… his friend? Someone from the team. The God of the End? Yeah, that’s it. And then—wait, no, actually, did he kill him back? Or did they both die? I don’t remember. But after that, like, the others—gods, people, whatever—they came back to life, or something. And meanwhile, the God of the End made this whole *empire*, right? And he’s, like, trying to change everything—the old order, you know? It all fell apart after Jahweh died. A bunch of gods just… left, did their own thing, made their own worlds. And now that we’re all back, Neo’s gonna tell us what to do, but who *knows* what that’ll be—"

  "Uh… can you repeat that?"

  Emily’s face turned red with embarrassment.

  "I *told* you Thomas does it better! I just made it all confusing!"

  "It’s fine, don’t worry. It’s complicated—not your fault."

  **"Successful arrival at the New Pantheon."**

  A doorway opened in the wall.

  "Mr. Max, I’ve been looking everywhere for you. I’m sorry I couldn’t finish *The Talk*, but don’t worry—I’ve arranged something even better to help the information sink in. Emily, glad you’re awake—perfect timing."

  Behind Max, Amber appeared.

  "She’s waiting for us outside. We need to go."

  "Oh, right. Max, I didn’t tell you yet—we’re lowering your profile now. Your cover story is that you’re a half-god, half-human, and we *rescued* you from the New Empire’s captivity!"

  Stolen content warning: this tale belongs on Royal Road. Report any occurrences elsewhere.

  "Bit dramatic, don’t you think?"

  "Don’t worry, no one will find out. Oh, and Amber—you need to use your power on Max. He still can’t breathe without air."

  "You're kidding me. Is that why it was so hot here? You added *oxygen*?"

  "Amber, you *know* Max would’ve died. That’s the last thing we need."

  "*Would have*."

  "What do you mean, use her power on me? She can make me survive without air?"

  "Exactly. Her power lets her manipulate infinite possibilities, including one where you can breathe in space. But I didn’t want to annoy her too much, so I kept the ship pressurized first."

  One of the guards appeared.

  "Sir, Neo is waiting for you."

  Thomas nodded calmly.

  "We’re coming. Don’t worry."

  As they walked toward the exit, Max wondered:

  Why does this ship even have doors if you can just open doorway anywhere"? "

  "Mr. Max, learn this now—we don’t do things without reason. You just don’t know the reason yet. Or, well… sometimes it just looks cooler this way."

  The moment they stepped outside, Max felt lighter than ever. Before him stood a palace so grand no human could’ve imagined it—perched on a cliff, with sprawling cities resting on clouds below and godlike beings soaring through the skies.

  *This is what humans call heaven. The place everyone dreams of reaching.*

  But then a tall woman shattered the divine silence.

  "You took your time getting here, Guardians of Creation."

  Thomas bowed slightly.

  "My apologies, Neo. I hope you’ll forgive us. It took a while to find our ‘half-god, half-human.’"

  The woman studied Max, then stepped closer.

  Max frowned.

  "You need something?"

  She smirked.

  Half-god, half-human… right*."

  —Is this woman supposed to be Yahweh’s successor?

  "Come. I have much to discuss with all of you—especially you, half-god."

  Meanwhile, in another realm..

  A twisted creature crept toward an unconscious girl, drooling hungrily. Just before it could bite, footsteps echoed through the darkness.

  From the shadows emerged a woman with poison-colored purple hair, her eyes glowing faintly.

  "So this is where you were hiding, Sophia. I honestly thought they’d killed you. Guess they took pity on you instead—how foolish. Still asleep, huh? Well, let me give you a little incentive to wake from your beauty nap."

  Without hesitation, she kicked Sophia hard in the side. Sophia jolted awake with a gasp, coughing.

  "W-Where am I? What’s going on?"

  "You really don’t remember? Well, I guess I’d want to forget too if I got beaten that badly."

  Sophia’s eyes were wide, her face pale, still trying to process everything.

  "H-How did I get here…?"

  "Why do you think? The God of the End wants to speak with you. You’re in serious trouble."

  The woman smiled wickedly, eyes filled with amusement.

  Sophia gathered herself, anger rising.

  "It doesn’t make sense! I’ve fought the Guardians of Creation before, and never—not once—were they able to control my power like that. But the God of the End… he did it so easily. How is that fair?!"

  "Hey, save the tantrum for him. I’m not the one who sent you."

  She looked out toward the empty sky and said into the air:

  "I found her. You can teleport us back now."

  In an instant, both vanished in a shimmer of divine light.

  They reappeared in what looked like the upper floor of a hyper-advanced skyscraper. Before them stood a blonde woman with emerald eyes and a perfectly blank expression.

  "Thank you, Lilith. You really helped us locate Sophia."

  "Great. So can I return to my universe now?"

  "Yes, you may."

  Lilith laughed, glancing at Sophia mockingly.

  "Good luck, Sophia. I wouldn’t want to be in your place."

  As Lilith turned and walked away, realization struck Sophia like thunder. Her breath quickened.

  "I did everything you asked! It’s not my fault tha—"

  The emotionless woman cut her off.

  "Please. Come with me."

  They entered a high-level executive-looking room. In its center sat a tall man—over two meters—with jet-black hair as dark as the void. His muscular frame radiated power, though he calmly worked through some documents.

  "I brought Sophia, just like you asked."

  He looked up slowly, eyes settling on her.

  "Thank you, Hikari. No matter the situation, I can always rely on you."

  Hikari closed the door behind her and stood to his right.

  Sophia’s heart pounded wildly—far beyond anything human.

  "So, Sophia. You failed your mission. Do you have anything to say for yourself?"

  Suddenly, fury overtook her.

  "Failed?! Failed?! You knew! You knew what was going to happen, and you still sent me to that cursed planet! You didn’t even hesitate! Like my life was just another pawn in your twisted game! You didn’t warn me. You didn’t prepare me. You threw me into the abyss and watched from afar. Why?! Why should I keep following you after that?! Why should I even listen to you?! You betrayed me! You sent me to die—and then stood there like it meant nothing! So don’t you dare stand there and say I failed. You’re the one who failed me!"

  "I suggest you calm yourself, Sophia. You need to remember your place."

  "I won’t calm down! Not until you tell me why you did this to me! I admired you! You promised me power beyond imagination—then threw me into a suicide mission like I was disposable! A puppet! A joke! How the hell did Thomas manage to override my power like that?! He’s never done that before—I know it! You knew, didn’t you?! And you still sent me!"

  The God of the End stood slowly, walking to a nearby table and pouring himself a drink.

  "Sophia, if you truly want to join the Endborn, you’ll need far more than the borrowed divine power of someone who once wielded it millions of years ago."

  "I—I defeated Jahweh! You’re seriously underestimating me!"

  Sophia snapped completely. Laughing maniacally, she opened two massive portals behind her.

  "You’re going to die here with me!"

  "I’m disappointed in you, Sophia. I truly thought you were better than this."

  Sophia suddenly clutched her head in pain.

  "W-What’s happening…?"

  She looked down at her hands—then vanished without a trace, as if she’d never existed at all.

  The God of the End sipped his drink, unbothered. Then he turned to Hikari.

  "Tell Malos I command him to destroy that planet—Earth."

  She raised an eyebrow.

  "Are you certain, my lord? The Guardians of Creation aren’t always stationed there."

  "Don’t worry. They’ll show up—especially Jahweh. He’s always exactly where he’s needed."

  "Very well, my lord. I’ll summon Malos immediately."

  "Such a shame… I can’t go there myself."