BOOM.
The outer surface of the octagon came into view, and I didn't think—I moved. I placed my hand against it. The structure responded. Space opened just enough for one person. Wanora and Evena stayed behind. I told Wanora to fire in a particular direction. She obeyed without question—but she didn't follow. Only I went in.
I had to jump. I couldn't afford to be touched by the deity's flesh.
The entrance sealed shut the moment I passed through. No way out now. My hand touched the floor as if instinctively thinking for a countermeasure. The best thing I could use against the deity… No. It wouldn't work. That thing would regenerate.
And then—
A screech.
No, the screech. Piercing. Monstrous. My ears throbbed, my vision shook.
I knew what it meant.
The wall of heat had touched the island.
And it was melting it.
It was melting the deity.
This heat wasn't just dangerous. It was annihilating. The kind of power that would erase the entire island from the map.
Wanora had made sure that the heat wouldn't spill beyond the island, because if it did, the outcome would be catastrophic. But everything within its range… would be pulverized. Including us. If we couldn't kill the deity in time—
Wanora... she was cold like that. Calculated. Ruthless with the stakes.
But how do you kill something like this?
From the inside?
Spikes?
No. It'll heal. It always heals. It's a god.
The only thing that was actually damaging this monster—
—the heat.
That's it.
The heat.
If I could expand the octagon—push it to such a size that it forces the deity into the wall...
Yes.
That could work.
Hands back to the ground. Focused. Breathing tight and shallow.
Expand.
And then it happened.
In an instant.
Not slow. Not gradual.
The octagon reverted to its original size all at once. The sudden backlash hit me like a truck. Screeching echoed—louder than before. My vision swam. My eye flicked, involuntarily. Blood dripped from my nose. Too much. This was beyond my control. I had wanted to do it slowly, carefully.
But it was instant.
And I was losing it.
"Fuck…"
The wall continued to expand. Screeching reached a crescendo. The octagon hit the surface—still growing, still pushing limits.
Then—
Crack.
The screech turned feral. The octagon shattered.
It had broken the walls.
The deity poured in.
The octagon—overextended—was too fragile. I had pushed it too far.
"Fuck..."
Towering flesh collapsed onto me. It enveloped me. No resistance. I couldn't even scream. I was being absorbed. Slow and inevitable.
My consciousness faded.
My artifact shattered.
My soul… soon to be devoured.
Ah… this is sad.
Is this how it ends?
I really wanted Evena to see freedom.
Sorry…
---
My name is Phobeus.
I'm a farmer.
I've lived on Wallowtear for years.
And one day, a deity came.
Whoever didn't worship it—
They turned into it.
I saved the outsiders. The ones lured in by that thing disguised as one of us. I told them not to eat the food. Because the food was a part of the monster. Of course I knew. I knew why all of this was happening.
I saw Evena.
I saw what happened to her.
And I did nothing.
That's right.
I'm her relative.
After the outsiders left, the creatures—those that had pretended to be villagers—turned to me. Their eyes held the weight of judgment. I had to beg. I dropped to my knees. I prayed. I said I wouldn't do anything. And… I was spared.
Spared.
Would it matter now?
The wall of light surrounds me now. It will burn me. It'll incinerate me.
But that's not the worst part.
No.
I could accept death by light.
BUT WHY?
"WHY?! WHAT IS THAT?! WHY IS THAT HERE?!"
Phobeus broke down in tears, staring up at the sky.
Any other human would've done the same.
Because in the sky…
Death had come.