Chapter 27: When Gods Tremble
1. The Supreme One Moves
The air itself froze as the Supreme God's golden gaze bore down upon the Ashen King.
A presence that transcended existence pressed against reality, warping everything in its wake. The gods of the Pantheon—beings who had ruled for eternity—knelt in his presence.
And yet, the Ashen King stood.
Smiling.
"You fear me," he murmured. "Good. You should."
The Supreme God did not reply.
He simply raised his hand.
And the world shattered.
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2. The Wrath of a Creator
Reality bent at the Supreme God's command.
The land rippled like water, space fractured, and the very concept of existence was rewritten.
The Ashen King was unmade.
Erased from causality.
Every trace of his presence removed from history itself.
But in the silence that followed…
A voice echoed through the void.
"You think that's enough?"
The Supreme God's expression shifted.
For the first time in eternity, his eyes widened.
Because from the void—**from the very nothingness he had created—**the Ashen King stepped forward.
Untouched.
Unaffected.
Unbroken.
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3. The Rift Answers
"You call yourself a god," the Ashen King said, stepping onto the broken battlefield. "But your power is borrowed. A system you created, rules you imposed. And you think they apply to me?"
He tilted his head.
"Let me show you something."
The Rift shuddered.
A pulse of impossible energy surged through the world.
The Pantheon recoiled as a force unlike anything they had ever felt erupted from the Ashen King's body.
The Supreme God raised his hand again. A golden spear—forged from pure divinity—formed in his grasp. With a flick of his wrist, he hurled it.
The spear tore through reality itself, moving at a speed beyond time—
And the Ashen King caught it.
With his bare hand.
The ground ruptured, the sky howled, and every god in existence felt something impossible.
A mortal… had stopped the Supreme One's attack.
And then—
The Ashen King crushed the spear.
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4. The Pantheon Breaks
"No," whispered one of the lesser gods. "That's not— that's not possible!"
The Supreme God said nothing.
But something changed.
For the first time in eternity… the Pantheon felt fear.
And the Ashen King smiled.
"You were so sure of your divinity," he said. "So certain you were untouchable. But you failed to see the truth."
He raised his hand.
And the Rift answered.
From the depths of the void, a second power emerged.
One that did not belong to gods.
One that predated them.
The Abyss itself opened its eye.
And it looked upon the Supreme One.
And laughed.
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5. When a God Kneels
The Supreme God stepped back.
A motion he had never made before.
"You…" he murmured. "You are…"
The Ashen King's smile widened.
"Not bound by your laws."
He clenched his fist.
And the Rift moved.
Reality itself obeyed him.
The Supreme God was pulled forward. A force beyond divinity—beyond the concept of power itself—dragged him toward the Abyss.
For the first time in eternity…
A god fell to his knees.
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6. The End of an Era
The Pantheon screamed.
Celestial warriors rushed forward, desperate to protect their creator. Twelve champions, each wielding power beyond comprehension—
The Ashen King raised a finger.
And time stopped.
Not froze.
Not slowed.
Stopped.
The gods stood frozen, their divine power meaningless.
Only the Supreme One could still move.
And he was afraid.
"Who… no… what are you?" he whispered.
The Ashen King leaned forward.
"I was nothing," he said. "And from nothing, I became everything."
He reached out.
And reality shattered.
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7. The Dawn of the Riftborn
The sky collapsed.
The laws of existence broke.
The Supreme God's throne—**the seat of all creation—**crumbled into dust.
The Ashen King stood alone.
No more gods.
No more Pantheon.
Only him.
The first.
The last.
The Riftborn Sovereign.