The god sitting before him had been killed by a player.
By a divergence.
By someone like him.
"What happened?" Alex asked quietly, though even his own voice sounded smaller inside the crushing atmosphere of the sanctuary.
The corpse fell silent for several seconds, its gaze drifting into empty space as though looking beyond the ruined chamber itself. For a brief moment, it almost looked lost in memory.
Then it finally spoke.
"He evolved beyond fear."
The answer sent a chill crawling down Alex's spine.
The dead god's expression didn't change, but the pressure radiating from its body deepened slightly, as though even recalling that existence disturbed something within it.
"The system failed to contain him," the corpse said slowly. "The gods failed to kill him. And eventually..." Its cracked lips twitched into the faintest hint of something bitter. "...even the Reigners feared him."
