Becoming A God In Another World With My Crush

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Gaea's eyes burned with fury. "You dare bring this lie into our temple?" she hissed, raising her blade. "You think we're fools?"

Before anyone could speak, she ran towards them, Xander barely had time to flinch, but Iris moved first.

Her chest glowed bright pink as she stepped in front of him, arm raised, and the blade clashed against a barrier of energy that pulsed from her mark. Xander stared in shock, Iris looked shocked too at her own strength.

'Since when was Iris capable of magic?!'

"Enough!" Iris shouted when she collected herself, "Stop attacking us!"

The force of the clash sent a shockwave through the room. Gaea stumbled back, eyes wide as she stared at the glowing mark on Iris's chest. "The Kaelhi's Companion…" she breathed.

A beat of silence passed, then her expression twisted into something darker.

"You planned this," she growled. "You've been preparing this deception for years—"

"What? No, you dumb bitch!" Iris snapped. "We didn't even know what any of this meant until–!"

"You expect me to believe that?" Gaea's voice rose. "That two strangers just happen to bear the marks of prophecy after all this time?"

She raised her hand, light gathering in her palm.

"Wait—don't—!" Alyhana cried.

But it was too late....A blast of divine light similar to the one Alyhana had used to defeat the shedracks shot from Gaea's hand and slammed into Iris's chest. The impact sent her flying backward, her body hit a stone pillar with a sickening crack before crumpling to the floor.

"Iris!" Xander yelled, running toward her.

Alyhana and Eli were already moving, but the room had gone still, the only sound was the soft crackle of the blue flame behind them.

"Iris!" Xander shouted again as he dropped to his knees beside her.

Alyhana and Eli were already there, Alyhana's hands glowing faintly as she hovered them over Iris's chest.

'Was this some kind of healing magic...?' Xander thought to himself but quickly decided he didn't care, what matters was the fact that...Iris wasn't moving.

Her eyes were shut tight, her breathing shallow, and blood trickled from her nose down the side of her cheek.

Xander's heart dropped. "I-Is she—" he started, voice cracking.

"She's alive," Alyhana said quickly, checking her pulse. "It wasn't a fatal blow. Just an energy blast, her body's in shock, but she'll recover."

Xander didn't respond.

He couldn't.

He just stared at her, at the blood, at the way her body looked too still. Eli placed a hand on his shoulder. "She's strong. She'll wake up."

But Xander didn't hear him either.

His ears were ringing, his chest was tight and something inside him was boiling within him. The crystal in his body pulsed once, then again, stronger.

Alyhana looked up, her eyes widening when she saw his eyes were glowing. "Kaelhi…?"

Xander's hands clenched into fists as his chest rose and fell in sharp, uneven breaths as he stared at Iris's still body.

Purple lightning sparked across his arms.

Alyhana gasped.

"Xander, wait—" Eli started, but it was too late.

Xander stood up slowly, his gaze locked on Gaea. "You...hurt her," he said, voice low and shaking. "YOU HURT HER!"

Gaea took a step back, her expression shifting from anger to something closer to fear.

"I...I," she said quickly. "You're nothing but frauds!"

Xander growled, the lightning around him flared violently, cracking through the air like a storm had been summoned inside the temple.

Maia took a step back, her expression shifting. "You need to calm down, control the—"

"No," Xander growled. "You don't get to tell me that!"

Eli stepped forward. "Xander, stop. You're not thinking straight—"

"I am," Xander snapped. "For the first time, I actually am."

Then he moved.

He ran straight at Gaea, lightning trailing behind him like fire. He was almost on Gaea when Maia suddenly stepped in front of him.

She reached out and grabbed his forehead with both hands, the moment her skin touched his, her eyes widened.

"By the gods…" she whispered. "You've swallowed the crystal."

Xander tried to push past her, but her grip held firm. His body was burning hot, lightning still crackling around him.

"Let me go," he growled. "She hurt Iris—she could've killed her!"

"You need to calm down!" Maia said, her voice shaking. "You don't understand what's happening to you!"

"I don't fucking care!" he shouted. "She doesn't get to walk away from this!"

The ground beneath them rumbled.

The temple walls groaned as dust fell from the ceiling. The statues around them trembled like they were about to collapse.

Alyhana looked around in panic. "The temple! Kaelhi stop!"

Eli stepped forward, shielding Iris. "Xander, stop! You're going to bring the whole place down!"

But Xander couldn't hear them anymore.

All he could feel was the fire in his chest and the rage that refused to die down.

Some temples are built on faith. 

Others are broken by it.

The lightning around Xander snapped louder now, wild, uncontrolled.

Statues crumbled one by one, crashing to the ground as dust and debris filled the air. The temple shook with each impact.

Vimea stumbled back, eyes wide. "This isn't normal magic…"

Gaea stared at Xander in great shock, her voice barely a whisper. "The power of the prophesy..."

Alyhana shielded her face from falling stone. "Xander, please! You have to stop!"

"Kaelhi!" Maia shouted over the chaos. "You have to stop! You'll destroy everything and everyone! Control it, or it will consume you!"

But Xander didn't stop, not because he did want to but because he realized that he couldn't. His chest felt like it was going to explode.

The massacre of Iasora. The weight of the prophecy. The voices, the dreams of people dying as the called out to him. The pressure of being chosen. Iris lying unconscious. All of it crashed into him at once. "I didn't ask for this!" he yelled, voice raw. "I didn't want any of this!"

Alyhana tried to reach him. "K–Kaelhi please, listen to us!"

"Don't call me that! I'm not a hero!" he shouted.

Another bolt of lightning shot from his body, hitting the ceiling. More stone rained down.

Eli stepped forward, shielding his face. "Xander!"

"Gaea! Do you see what you have caused?!" Maia turned to her sisters, her voice sharp and urgent. "Get the Aurex Blade. Now! If we don't ground him, he'll tear Iasora apart."

Gaea hesitated for half a second, still staring at Xander like she didn't recognize him anymore.

"Go!" Maia shouted.

That snapped her out of it.

Gaea and Vimea turned and ran, dodging falling debris as more of the temple began to collapse around them. Statues cracked and split. The floor trembled beneath their feet and behind them, the sound of lightning crashing and stone breaking echoed through the temple.

Alyhana knelt beside Iris, shielding her from the falling dust. "Please hold on," she whispered.

Maia stood firm in front of Xander, her hands still raised, her eyes locked on the storm inside him.

"Just a little longer," she murmured. "Hold on, Kaelhi. Help is coming."