Chapter 43 — When Gods Tremble

The battlefield groaned beneath the weight of two competing tolls. One divine, one older—each vibrating through the bones of the world. The air split in jagged fissures, swallowing light.

The Sovereign’s form warped, its countless eyes darting toward the horizon. For the first time, its voice faltered.
“This world dares… to remember.”

Kael steadied himself, his blade trembling in his hands. He could barely stand, but seeing the god flinch stoked a savage fire within him.
“Scared, are you? Guess even gods can bleed.”

The Sovereign’s gaze snapped back to him, fury distorting its voice into a thunderous roar.
“You are not defiance—you are decay! If the counter toll rises, this world collapses into nothing. Do you not understand? You fight for annihilation!”

Kael staggered forward, blood dripping into the cracks at his feet. His grin was sharp, feral.
“Then I’ll drag you into that nothing with me.”

The god’s chains surged, faster, heavier, more vicious than before. Each strike carved craters into the earth. Kael met them head-on, his black flames exploding with every swing. The city dissolved into ruin around them, buildings swallowed by collapsing space.

Far away, in temples and palaces, priests screamed at the sound of the counter toll. Kings ordered armies to retreat. Scholars tore through forbidden texts, pale and trembling. The world was beginning to realize: this wasn’t just a battle. This was the unraveling of its very scripture.

Kael slammed his sword into the ground, releasing a surge of Tsuyoi energy that split the chains long enough to breathe. His chest heaved, his body breaking under the strain.

Still, he lifted his blade again.
“Erase me. Forget me. Curse me. I’ll still stand. Because I’m the one thing your story never accounted for.”

The Sovereign’s form bent forward, its fury shaking the stars themselves.
“Then you will learn what it means to stand against the author of existence.”

The two forces collided again, their clash echoing louder than the tolls themselves.