Chapter 91: Beneath the Fate

Jin Shang stepped into the Dream.

The world around him melted away, reshaping into something beyond mortal comprehension. This was not a mere realm—it was existence in its purest form. Colors that had no names swirled in the sky, while golden rivers flowed backward, defying time itself. Towering trees bore fruit made of stardust, and the air vibrated with a melody that whispered forgotten truths. The Dream was not bound by logic or physics. It was fluid, changing with the will of its ruler.

A woman stood before him.

Gaia.

She was breathtakingly beautiful, appearing as if she were in the prime of her youth—no older than twenty-five. Her emerald-green eyes held the wisdom of eternity, her golden hair cascaded like the sun's radiance, and her very presence felt like the embodiment of nature, of existence itself. She wore a flowing robe woven from the fabric of the cosmos, shimmering as galaxies danced across its surface.

She smiled softly, yet her gaze bore the weight of something far beyond kindness. "Welcome, Jin Shang."

Jin's fists clenched. "This place… the Dream. It changes shape depending on its owner, doesn't it?"

Gaia chuckled, nodding. "Perceptive. The Dream is an extension of our will. It takes form based on the one who rules it."

Jin took a deep breath, ignoring the suffocating aura she exuded. "Then let's not waste time. I completed the quest. I need you to fulfill your end of the deal."

Gaia tilted her head. "And what would that be?"

"Save Lia."

A brief silence.

Gaia sighed. "It is not possible."

Jin's heart pounded. "What do you mean it's not possible? You are Gaia, the mother of all existence! If anyone can change fate, it's you."

She shook her head, her expression unreadable. "Fate is not as simple as you think, child. There are rules even gods must obey."

"Then tell me!" Jin's voice cracked with desperation. "Tell me why!"

Gaia's eyes softened, yet they carried the weight of judgment. "There exists a Divine Hierarchy. A structure that dictates the power of all deities."

She raised her hand, and cosmic symbols formed in the air.

A. Third-Class Deities

The Olympian Gods, Lesser Titans, Celestials

Even you, when you first became the God of Death and Chaos

B. Second-Class Deities

Laplace, Han Jin Hyuk, Han Lilian, Zeus, Poseidon, Hades, Kronos, Rhea, Uranus, Hera

Even you, after your second ascension

C. First-Class Deities

The Primordial Gods

D. Transcendent-Class Deities

The Monarchs

"You have ascended three times, Jin Shang," Gaia continued. "Once to godhood, once to the Second Class, and now to the level of a Primordial. That alone is a violation of the Divine Rule."

Jin's breathing was ragged. "What rule?"

"The gods cannot ascend," Gaia said simply. "It is forbidden. A god's class is fixed the moment they are born. This law ensures that the higher class always dominates the lower class. Yet you—" she gestured toward him, her expression amused. "You have shattered this law. You are an anomaly. And anomalies must be punished."

Jin's fury exploded. "Then I'll break that rule too! If my status as a Primordial means anything, I will change Lia's fate!"

Gaia laughed.

It was a soft, lilting laugh—mocking, yet elegant. "Oh, Jin Shang… You still don't understand."

Her eyes gleamed with cruel amusement. "You are not a full Primordial."

Jin's body stiffened. "What?"

Gaia stepped forward, and suddenly, the Dream itself seemed to close in around him. "Do you think the other Primordials would allow you to ascend so easily? So we have already taken half of authority from your friend and Mentor, Erebus, stripping you of true divinity."

Jin's heart pounded in his chest. He reached for his abyssal power, but something was wrong. It was weaker. Incomplete.

Gaia leaned in, whispering with sickening gentleness, "You are nothing but a half-born god, pretending to be our equal."

Jin roared in fury, his divine energy erupting as he charged at her. He would not be mocked. He would not be toyed with.

But then she gazed at him.

A single glance.

His knees buckled. A crushing force bore down on him, far beyond anything he had ever felt before. His body trembled. His vision blurred. No matter how much strength he summoned, his limbs refused to move.

Gaia's voice was filled with amusement and pity. "Do not fight, Jin Shang. Just accept your fate."

"No," Jin growled, gritting his teeth. He struggled to move, to push forward, but it was useless. The gap between them was too vast. He was nothing before her.

Gaia sighed. "You truly are stubborn. Very well."

She raised her hand, and Jin's body convulsed in agony. Something deep within him shattered—his Primordial status. His power, his ascension, his very essence as a god was torn away, leaving behind only the hollow shell of the warrior he once was.

Jin screamed, but no sound came out.

The world spun. The Dream crumbled.

And then—darkness.

Jin crashed onto the cold, unforgiving earth.

He gasped for air, his body weak, his soul shattered. He reached out, as if trying to grasp something that had already slipped away.

His hands clenched the dirt beneath him, his fingers trembling. It was gone. Everything. His power, his status, his hope.

He had failed.

Again.

Tears burned in his eyes, but he refused to let them fall. His promise to Lia, his vow to change fate—it was all meaningless now. He had lost. He had been cast aside like a worthless pawn in the grand game of gods and fate.

Jin Shang, the man who defied the Fate, now lay broken beneath them.

And for the first time in his existence…

He had no idea how to rise again. He had lost everything.