IMMORTAL SLAYER

"Beyond gods. Beyond time. Beyond the known... waits the one who never bowed."

The inverted star hung in the air long after the emissary had vanished, pulsing like a bleeding wound across reality. It wasn't just a mark—it was a warning. Every beat of its rhythm felt like a countdown, as though something ancient had begun moving again.

And the world could feel it. 

Across realms, the divine trembled.

On Olympus, thunder ceased. Zeus stood at the edge of the heavens, his fists clenched tightly as the inverted star burned in the skies like a second sun. "He awakens…" the Skyfather murmured, and not even the winds dared respond.

In the Fallen Sanctuary of Nihra, Lucifer traced the symbol across his scrying glass, his lips curling in disgust. "That fool would dare rise again?"

And in the Sacred Spire of the Eternal Flame, where only the ancient gods were allowed to speak, the High Choir wept—for the prophecy once buried had begun to breathe.

In the Veil of Realms

Gabriel stared at the symbol, his tattoo of flame burning hotter than ever.

"What is he?" Gabriel asked, not taking his eyes off the inverted star.

Merlin stood beside him, face pale, voice low.

"He is the first god. The final god. The Unwritten One."

Gabriel turned to him, jaw clenched. "I thought the Ruler of All Gods was the first."

Merlin shook his head. "No. The Ruler was the first named. The first recognized by order. But before order, before law, before even light... there was something else. A being that refused to kneel to the pattern of creation. He did not want to rule over gods. He wanted to end them."

Gabriel's chest tightened. "Why?"

"Because to him, the idea of divine order was a lie. Gods claiming justice while bathing in blood. Angels hiding truth behind duty. The Final God saw it all… and rejected it."

Aziel approached from behind. "So he vanished?"

Merlin looked up at the symbol. "No. He was banished. By the Ruler himself. Sealed beyond time, beyond even thought. But you..." He looked at Gabriel. "You've broken the chain. You've wielded power beyond what should be possible. And the seal holding the Final God has cracked."

Nyra narrowed her eyes. "So what now? He just strolls back in and takes the throne?"

"No," said a voice none had heard before.

The ground darkened.

The clouds halted.

And from the void stepped a second emissary—taller, cloaked in the black bones of extinct gods. Its face was hidden beneath a hood, but its voice carried thunder.

"He does not take the throne. He offers it."

"To me?" Gabriel asked.

"To the one who proves worthy," the emissary said. "But beware. The throne does not give power. It demands it. Those who sit unprepared are consumed."

"Consumed by what?" Nyra asked sharply.

The emissary turned toward her.

"By truth."

Elsewhere…

Aeternis.

The realm outside realms.

The final plane, where nothing lives, nothing dies… and yet, something watches. The Throne of Absolute Null sat high above a sea of broken light. Around it floated pieces of failed universes—aborted creations, fragments of timelines that never came to be. And atop that throne sat a figure.

Not silent.

Not still.

But waiting.

Cloaked in the entropy of all things, the Final God turned his head, sensing the movement of the mortal flame—Gabriel.

He raised one hand, and behind him, the Thrones of Trial awoke. Six great seats, each forged from a forgotten cosmic sin. In front of them, six figures emerged—Judges. Neither god nor demon, angel nor beast. These were beings forged by the Final God himself. Each one bearing a challenge.

"Let the boy come," the Final God whispered through the cosmos. "Let him burn."

Back on the mortal plane

Gabriel looked to Merlin. "I'm not afraid of trials."

"You should be," Merlin said. "These won't test your strength. They'll test who you are."

Gabriel turned back to the emissary.

"Tell your master… I accept."

The emissary bowed, then vanished.

The air around Gabriel cracked. Fire curled up his arms. The mark on his back pulsed.

And in the distance… the first Trial of the Throne began to awaken