chapter 73: The Core of Denial and the Point of No Return

There's nothing more powerful in the world than an idea whose time has come… except the one who dared to deny it.

The space between Shao and Loki ignited as if time itself split in two.

The battle was no longer just clashing energy — it had become an existential struggle; between denial and creation, between a distorted past and an unborn future.

Shao stepped forward, the blue core spinning above his palm like a tiny planet heavy with memories and scars.

In contrast, Loki laughed — a laugh that resembled betrayal more than joy.

"Do you think denial alone can bring down gods?"

he said, unleashing a pulse of his energy that formed a dark beast with broken wings and a single eye bleeding fire.

Shao didn't move.

Instead, he said:

"Denial isn't weakness… it's the only choice left for those who refuse injustice."

With every word, the earth trembled.

Behind Shao, a towering shadow emerged — the form of the god exiled before him, a banished being from ancient epochs, who once bore the same core.

A faint voice echoed:

> _"Deny to survive… not to avenge."_

Loki's beast lunged at Shao, tearing space as a sword cuts water.

But Shao closed his eyes and opened his hand.

The core burst.

But it didn't explode to destroy…

It erupted to recreate.

It transformed into wings of black light, gradually swallowing the beast.

Loki screamed:

> "Impossible! You're… rewriting the laws of creation!"

> "No — I'm writing them anew,"

Shao replied in a steady tone.

Then he knelt down and drove the core into the heart of the earth.

And all nine realms trembled.

That meant one thing:

> "Balance had been broken."

From afar, ancient swords fell from where they'd been embedded for millennia.

And the cry of an ancient dragon awakened from its slumber.

Chaos began.

…

Amid the rubble, a new figure appeared.

A man draped in a gray cloak, his features obscured.

He said:

> "If denial is set free… what will forgiveness do?"

He raised his hand — and revealed the Seal of Forgetting.

The chapter was not yet over…