Chapter 60: The First Divine War

Breaking the Heavens

The first strike came faster than thought.

A celestial spear, forged from the essence of divine law, hurtled toward Aric like a comet. It burned with the weight of absolute authority, a weapon meant to erase anything that defied the gods.

Yet, Aric didn't move.

Instead, the Infinite Realm responded for him.

A barrier formed—not of light or energy, but of sheer will. The spear slammed against it, shattering in a burst of golden flames.

The celestial general's eyes widened in disbelief. "Impossible—"

Aric stepped forward, his presence pressing against reality itself. "You're still clinging to your old ways. You think power comes from authority alone?"

He raised his hand, and the Infinite Path surged.

System Override: Conceptual Rejection

[Divine Authority Invalidated Within Infinite Realm]

[Gods' Suppression Effects: Nullified]

The very laws that gave the gods their power were rewritten. The heavens above the Infinite Realm cracked, the once-absolute rules dissolving into chaos.

For the first time, the divine were truly mortal.

And Aric was no longer beneath them.

The Fall of Dominion

The God of Dominion wasted no time. A titan of absolute rule, he descended from the shattered heavens, his form burning with wrath. Each step he took sent ripples through the void, his presence alone enough to fracture reality.

"You have defied the natural order," Dominion declared. "You will be corrected."

Aric didn't flinch. "Natural order?" He smirked. "You mean the one where you get to decide who lives and dies?"

Dominion raised his hand. A thousand chains of golden law erupted from the void, each one a binding force meant to subjugate existence itself. They surged toward Aric, seeking to ensnare him.

But the moment they touched him, they disintegrated.

Aric's voice rang clear. "I have no chains left to break."

Then, he moved.

One step.

The distance between him and Dominion collapsed in an instant. Before the god could react, Aric's fist met his chest.

The impact was silent.

Then the sky exploded.

Dominion was sent hurtling through the cosmos, smashing through celestial constructs, his divine form fracturing from the sheer force. Blood—golden and shimmering—spilled into the void.

A god had been wounded.

And for the first time, the Divine Court knew fear.

Warriors of the Unbound

The battlefield erupted.

The celestial host charged, but the Irregulars met them head-on. Elandir's sword clashed against an angelic warlord, his blade cutting through divine energy as if it were mere air.

Kaelith danced through the chaos, her movements weaving between strikes, each counter a death sentence for her foes. Her spear struck like lightning, severing divine forms with brutal efficiency.

But it was the Unbound who made the gods hesitate.

Exiled titans, fallen celestials, and those who had once been divine themselves now fought against their former kin. They had suffered beneath the gods' rule. Now, they fought with a fury that shook the heavens.

An exiled seraph, her wings scorched from betrayal, tore through the enemy lines, her screams filled with the agony of ages past. A titan, once shackled by divine command, now roared in defiance, his hammer breaking through god-forged armor.

The war had truly begun.

And the gods were no longer winning.

The Last Gambit

In the heart of the Divine Court, the Goddess of Order watched with an unreadable expression.

"This has gone too far," she whispered.

The Eternal Devourer chuckled. "Oh no, my dear. This is exactly where it needed to go."

Dominion was weakened. The celestial forces were faltering. The gods had never known defeat.

And that was exactly why they would not accept it.

Order raised her hand. A single command echoed across existence.

"Invoke the Final Edict."

A tremor rippled through the multiverse. The Divine Laws—shaken but not broken—began to shift.

System Alert: Emergency Protocol Engaged

[Final Edict Detected]

[Absolute Intervention Initiated]

Reality twisted. Time, causality, even the concept of existence itself began to distort.

This was no longer a battle.

This was the gods rewriting the very nature of reality itself.

Aric felt the shift. The Infinite Realm trembled, fighting against the imposed rewrite. But this was different. This was absolute law.

If the gods could not defeat him in battle, they would erase the very possibility of his victory.

Kaelith cursed. "They're trying to undo everything!"

Aric exhaled. He had expected this.

And he had one last card to play.

Breaking the End

He reached inward—beyond the system, beyond his powers, beyond even the Infinite Path itself.

He reached outside of everything.

And he pulled.

System Override: Absolute Defiance

[Final Edict Countermeasure Initiated]

[Authority Source: Undefined]

[Executing Override…]

The Divine Rewrite halted.

The gods felt it instantly.

The Eternal Devourer's smile widened. "Oh… now this is interesting."

Order's expression turned cold. "That shouldn't be possible."

Dominion, still weakened, spat blood. "What has he done?"

Aric opened his eyes, and for the first time, he saw it.

The framework of reality. The true structure of the multiverse.

The strings that even the gods were bound to.

And he did what no one—god or mortal—had ever done before.

He reached beyond them.

And he cut the thread of inevitability itself.

The Aftermath

The Divine Rewrite collapsed.

The Final Edict shattered.

The gods recoiled, their forms flickering, their very existence shaken.

Aric exhaled, his voice quiet but absolute.

"I told you before. I don't play by your rules."

Dominion fell to his knees. Order remained silent. Even the Eternal Devourer, for the first time in eternity, seemed… impressed.

The battlefield stilled. The celestial forces hesitated.

The war was not over.

But for the first time in history…

The gods had lost.

To Be Continued…