Scene 1
"I guess this is the real reason I was sent out here."
Holding my Black Spear of Flames, my eyes focused on the dozens of Peak Minor Gods and Low Major Gods surrounding me.
None of these Gods were truly noteworthy. Just the most loyal and available, gathered to catch me before I could make it back to land. After three weeks of constant fighting, I'd only managed to bring down half of this annoying group, with all the eyes of the world focused on this siege.
My spirit wouldn't accept anything except coming out as the victor.
Their combined effort of Laws had overpowered me and forced me into a hit-and-run strategy the Gods never thought I'd use.
What began as island-destroying skirmishes had turned into tsunami-producing sieges. Entire domains had been broken apart just so I could escape and recover. With my speed boosted by the Sun Laws, I remained barely outside the reach of the Wind Gods. Each time I escaped, only to be found again, it became another stalemate.
"Do you surrender and admit your crimes of sealing Aether?"
One of them stared down at me as they located my latest hideout inside this island's core. They had already bombarded it enough to threaten its total destruction, forcing me to choose between starting an issue with Poseidon or dealing with the fallout of meeting Apollo, who had run off before I could.
"Why would I? I'd rather be dragged through the Sea than tuck my tail to the Sky!"
Jumping at the closest one, I grabbed the Minor God by the throat and blasted her point-blank with Black Flames. The fire canceled her regeneration until a stronger God could put it out—the strategy I had been using to keep these Golden Cycle Gods from dragging this into a hundred-year siege.
"Insolent Godling! Your hopes of reaching the Underworld for protection as a Death Affinity God will be crushed today! You shall serve Lord Zeus until your sins are repaid!"
The leader shouted from the back of the remaining Gods, his borderline Mid-Tier Major God Divinity pressing down on me as if to force me off balance.
I played possum beneath it.
The same method I had employed over these past three weeks.
And finally, I earned the golden chance I had been waiting for, as everyone decided it was do or die.
Except it never was for me.
As I let my Darkness Domain reveal itself, my skin turned white, my hair black, and my divine marks shifted into an inky void.
"The heavens want to enslave me? Who decided that The End is subservient to anyone!"
Going mad, I blasted myself full of True Darkness. My mastery over Darkness exploded beyond Low Tier and touched the Peak God rank as I allowed the light around me to be swallowed into my shadow.
The island was swallowed whole.
The world turned pitch black.
And in the sky, a blazing Black Sun shined above it all, unafraid of the heavens beneath it.
Scene 2
"Insolent brat!!!"
The voice boomed from above as my body instinctively raised every barrier of Darkness it could.
Hoping to survive whatever it had foreseen in Fate.
Dozens of barriers launched upward, fueled by the newly gained Darkness Laws, yet they failed to close in time before the falling lightning bolt descended.
"You stupid brat! I'll come to Olympus and slaughter you if you try this again!"
My father's hoarse voice resounded from below the Sea as a crack formed across the waters, releasing a mass of True Darkness even heavier than mine.
"This brat never learns."
Another unfamiliar voice echoed out as the island forced itself back together. The Gods around me vibrated into mist, returning to Fate, while tsunamis and Darkness rose together to block the lightning bolt.
Then I was dragged into the Sea.
And deeper still.
Dream Laws blasted into me, forcing me asleep beneath the waters.
Scene 3
"Hecate, guide him to a mortal tribe. Eris, go as well. Seal his Darkness Affinity and Sun. He must learn the cost of being a Death God next. Don't forget to bring Punch to him. It will be his only comfort as he goes from Minor to Major God with Death."
Closing my eyes, I wiped the blood from my nose and mouth after saving Tenebris alongside Poseidon's aid.
I could already feel the wounds across my soul widening faster than the Faith my son brought in could heal. Advancing my time to just after the meeting of the God Kings with my brother had only worsened it.
"Hades, let's return to my realm. We need to stabilize you, or it could ruin your plans."
Opening my eyes, I found Rhea standing in front of me. I wiped my face again, catching the shine of dried blood in my sight.
"We'll look after the realm, Lord Hades. Please rest for now."
I nodded at Morpheus, who looked even worse than I did after forcing a Concept into his Dream Realm. Even maintaining the connection now only worked because Erebus had given him access to his realm.
Scene 4
Feeling a tug on my face, I jumped awake to the sight of Eris's wannabe lackey—a Minor God of the Death Domain in the shape of a child monkey.
"Punch?"
Its concern vanished the moment it realized I was awake. It immediately began jumping up and down, as if overjoyed to see me alive.
Glancing around, I found the rocky peaks of mountains sitting at eye level.
Standing up, I spread my senses and confirmed what I had already suspected.
I was standing among a chain of floating mountains, while the grasslands below revealed mortal armies waging war.
My internal clock told me I had been asleep, recovering from forcefully raising my mastery of Darkness until it rivaled my Sun at Peak Major God level.
Yet my Death Domain remained stuck at Peak Minor God level.
"I guess this is Dad's plan to keep everyone off my back."
Remembering my dumb idea of letting my Divinity force out a pseudo-domain, I could already tell what had happened.
It had naturally brought forth my Divine Symbol as an Origin Domain that belonged to the universe.