The place where the meteor had fallen… was no longer recognizable.
Nearly a third of Silver Point had been completely destroyed.
Buildings lay in ruins. Smoke still rose from the ground. Sirens echoed through the air as rescue teams rushed across the devastated area.
Within minutes of the impact, emergency units had already arrived.
Stretchers were being carried. Injured civilians cried out in pain.
According to early reports—
Over 250 civilians had been present in the area at the time of the impact.
More than 150 had lost their lives.
Around 100 had been rescued…
…but many of them were severely injured.
The atmosphere was heavy.
Broken.
Hopeless.
⸻
At a distance, reporters had already gathered.
Cameras pointed forward.
And standing in front of them—
were two gods.
Kai, the God of Thunder.
Ethan, the God of Time.
Both of them looked exhausted.
Kai's body showed visible signs of injury.
One of the reporters stepped forward.
"Lord Kai, can you tell us what exactly happened?"
Kai remained silent for a moment.
Then he spoke, his voice heavy.
"The asteroid… was far larger than we anticipated."
He clenched his fists slightly.
"Stopping it completely… was nearly impossible."
A brief pause.
"But we did everything we could."
Ethan stood beside him, quiet.
Kai continued, his voice filled with guilt.
"Still… a fragment remained."
"And we couldn't stop it."
His eyes lowered.
"That failure… will stay with me until my last breath."
The reporters fell silent.
One of them spoke gently,
"Lord Kai… please don't blame yourself."
"This was a sudden incident. No one could have been fully prepared."
She looked at his injuries.
"And judging by your condition… it's clear you gave everything you had to stop it."
Before Kai could respond—
Ethan stepped forward, cutting her off.
"Kai."
His tone was serious.
"There's an urgent meeting at the Celestial Spire."
Kai frowned slightly.
"…Right now?"
Ethan nodded.
"Yes. Immediately."
Kai exhaled.
Then he turned back to the reporters.
"I'm sorry. I have to leave."
Without another word—
Ethan placed a hand on Kai's shoulder.
And in the next instant—
both of them vanished.
⸻
Far above the mortal world…
beyond the reach of human eyes—
stood a place untouched by chaos.
A divine realm.
Peaceful.
Silent.
Perfect.
At the center of this realm stood a vast hall.
Inside it—
a grand table was placed at the center, surrounded by eight chairs.
Five of them were already occupied.
⸻
Fierce — the God of Fire.
His presence burned with aggression.
Sylph — the God of Water.
Calm on the surface… but her eyes held something darker.
Lunaire — the God of Wind.
Silent. Unreadable. Mysterious.
Evie — the God of Love.
Kind. Gentle. Radiant.
And—
Mortessa — the God of Death.
The Immortal Queen.
⸻
Mortessa leaned back in her chair, a faint smile on her lips.
"Well then… did everyone enjoy stopping their little asteroids?"
Her tone was playful.
Almost amused.
"Felt like a thriller, didn't it?"
Fierce scoffed.
"Thriller? Don't joke around."
He clicked his tongue.
"In my area, not a single human died."
Sylph nodded calmly.
"Same here."
"Everything was handled perfectly."
Mortessa placed a hand on her cheek.
"Aww… how disappointing."
Sylph's lips curved slightly.
"I heard… around two hundred people died in your area."
Her gaze shifted.
"God of Thunder. God of Time."
Fierce smirked.
"Damn. Lucky bastards."
"I'm actually jealous."
Mortessa chuckled softly.
Then she turned her eyes toward Lunaire.
"And you?"
Lunaire didn't speak.
He simply raised his hand—
showing seven fingers.
Mortessa's smile widened.
"Not bad."
Evie spoke softly,
"Seven lives lost… is still unfortunate."
"But at least… there was no structural damage."
⸻
At that moment—
two figures appeared inside the hall.
Kai and Ethan.
Ethan glanced around and smirked.
"Well, well… looks like the idiots are already here."
Mortessa replied instantly,
"And now two more idiots have joined."
Ethan laughed.
"Nice to see you too."
Kai sighed and ran a hand through his hair.
"What a tiring day…"
⸻
Suddenly—
the atmosphere changed.
A pressure.
Heavy.
Overwhelming.
Every god in the room felt it instantly.
Silence fell.
Mortessa's expression shifted.
"…He's here."
All of them stood up immediately.
And bowed.
"Welcome… Lord Nihryx."
⸻
At the head of the table—
something appeared.
Not fully.
Not clearly.
A presence.
An existence beyond form.
His face could not be seen.
Only a pair of pure white eyes… floating within distorted space.
Reality itself bent around him.
He was calm.
Silent.
Absolute.
The origin of gods.
Because gods were created…
…but Nihryx was never created.
⸻
"Sit."
His voice was deep.
Calm.
Yet impossible to ignore.
All of them obeyed instantly.
Mortessa spoke first.
"Lord Nihryx, as per your command…"
"I directed the asteroids toward three locations."
"We handled the situation well… but some civilians died."
Nihryx responded calmly,
"Yes. I am aware."
A pause.
"We cannot allow such losses too often."
"Otherwise… their trust in us will begin to fade."
Evie spoke gently,
"Lord Nihryx… many families were destroyed in this incident."
"We should ensure something like this never happens again."
Nihryx looked at her.
"I know."
A brief silence.
"That is precisely why I ordered Mortessa to initiate this."
The room went still.
"I wanted to strengthen humanity's faith in us."
"I trusted that you would stop the disaster."
His voice remained unchanged.
"But today…"
"I was disappointed."
⸻
Kai lowered his head.
"I'm sorry… I couldn't save them."
Ethan spoke as well,
"We both did everything we could."
Nihryx replied,
"Failure… is expected."
A pause.
"Just make sure it does not happen again."
⸻
Sylph spoke calmly,
"And what if… a human finds out the truth?"
"What if they try to take revenge?"
Fierce laughed.
"Humans?"
"They can't even touch us."
"In the end, they always come crawling back to the gods."
Mortessa smiled.
"I agree."
Then she glanced at Fierce.
"But what if… a human kills you?"
Her eyes gleamed.
"That would be… entertaining."
Ethan laughed.
"Now that would be absolute cinema."
Fierce burst into laughter.
"That's impossible."
⸻
Nihryx spoke again.
"Do not underestimate humans."
A brief pause.
"After all…"
"…without them…"
"…we would not exist."
⸻
The room fell silent once more.
⸻
Far below…
in the ruins of Silver Point—
Ryuk stood in front of what was once his home.
Now—
nothing remained.
Only debris.
Ash.
Silence.
⸻
His body trembled.
His mind was blank.
His heart…
shattered.
Slowly—
his eyes fell on something.
A broken photo frame.
He walked toward it.
Picked it up.
Wiped the dust away with his sleeve.
And looked at it.
A family picture.
Him.
His father.
His mother.
Sally.
All smiling.
All happy.
⸻
His hands began to shake.
Tears fell onto the glass.
"I had a chance…"
His voice broke.
"I could have saved them…"
He clenched his teeth.
"But I failed…"
"I'm a failure…"
His breathing became unstable.
"This… this is all because of them…"
"Those so-called gods…"
His eyes filled with rage.
"I'll kill them…"
"I'll take revenge…"
"For my family…"
"For everyone…"
He fell to his knees.
"But how…?"
"How can I fight gods…?"
His fists slammed against the ground.
Again.
And again.
Until they started bleeding.
"I couldn't do anything…"
"Mom… Dad…"
"I'm sorry…"
"Sally…"
"Your useless brother couldn't protect you…"
He collapsed onto the ground.
Tears wouldn't stop.
His breathing grew heavier.
⸻
And then—
his vision flickered.
⸻
Something…
appeared.
⸻
[ERROR…]
[EMOTIONAL OVERLOAD DETECTED]
[CONDITION MET]
⸻
Ryuk blinked.
"…What…?"
The screen glitched.
Distorted.
Unstable.
⸻
[INITIALIZING SYSTEM…]
⸻
And in that moment—
something inside Ryuk…broke...awakened.
⸻
To be continued…