Lucid staggered under the crushing weight of his own realization. He understood that he could not afford to yield even for a single second. If he failed to strike back now, the entity before him would claim victory, and the silent orchestrator behind this ordeal would achieve her ultimate objective.
Mercyros shifted his position slightly, gazing into the eyes of the young man with an expression of quiet contemplation.
"Neptune, my sister in blood, chose a surprisingly vibrant young man," Mercyros murmured, his voice echoing softly through the dense air. "You stand shrouded in a thick mist that renders every single transaction completely unpredictable. You remain a blank canvas upon which destiny has yet to write."
The deity extended his remaining arm forward. He wrapped his limbs tightly around the upper torso of the boy, pulling him into an inescapable physical embrace.
"You will soon comprehend the absolute truth," Mercyros whispered directly into his ear. "You will learn the true clarity of your fundamental self."a
'This is complete nonsense,' Lucid thought, his mind racing against the suffocating warmth of the divine contact.
Lucid refused to succumb to the physical pressure. He had already absorbed the gravitational forces of multiple collapsing singularities, forcing his physical body to adapt beyond normal mortal boundaries. The severe trauma inflicted upon his Pierced Spine trait triggered his innate passive trait, driving his endurance to its absolute structural ceiling.
A series of sharp mental notifications flashed across his internal consciousness with pristine clarity.
[ The Divine Wrath: Stabilization Achieved ] [ Attribute Evolution: Moderate Pain Resistance, High Resolve Manifestation, Moderate Reinforcement ]
Lucid clamped his jaw shut and channeled the raw energy surging through his bloodstream. He drove his right fist straight upward through the center of the deity's skull with devastating physical force. The brutal impact shattered the divine bone, sending golden white fluid spraying into the air. Before Mercyros could recover his balance, Lucid grabbed the deity's remaining shoulder and violently tore the arm clean off the socket.
The surrounding space could no longer maintain its physical coherence.
The total gravitational consumption of the black holes had drawn every piece of matter and energy from their environment into a single, dense point.
The dark dimension suddenly folded inward upon itself, collapsing into complete oblivion.
The endless darkness shattered like glass, giving way to an impossible new environment. A vast, blinding white space expanded rapidly around them. The floor, ceiling, and walls vanished entirely, replaced by a seamless expanse of absolute white matter.
Lucid looked upward into the infinite ceiling, observing distant stars and entire galaxies dissolving into the pale emptiness.
"You managed to shatter the dark matter itself," Mercyros observed, his voice faint as he rested on his knees upon the white floor.
Lucid surveyed the surrounding domain with a mixture of quiet awe and instinctual dread. The visual landscape was terrifyingly pristine. Dark matter represented the complete absence of physical substance, the primary fabric that held space and time together. By forcing the black holes to consume their own selves, Mercryros had destroyed the foundational layer of reality itself, exposing an underlying layer of pure, white void.
Mercyros looked up, his golden eyes half-lidded as thick liquid leaked slowly from his shattered frame.
"You will eventually understand that forces exist far beyond our current comprehension," Mercyros stated, struggling to maintain his upright posture. "The divine barriers of this world remain in f pa state of perpetual conflict."
Lucid stood in the center of the white place, his chest heaving as heavy breaths rasped in his throat. He had endured the entirety of this agonizing altercation, and his mind now burned with a concentrated rage that surpassed any divine punishment.
The extreme energy circulating through his muscles granted him an absolute, terrifying authority over the local domain.
He possessed the immediate power to erase any physical object, any living entity, any deeply held belief, or any abstract concept from existence. A single snap of his fingers would instantly dissolve the remaining fabric of this space.
Nothing could escape a black hole after all.
Mercyros stared directly at him with calm resignation.
"Do it," Mercyros urged quietly.
Lucid stepped forward, his feet making a distinct, solid sound against the white floor despite the absence of stone. He extended his right hand and tightly clenched his fingers. A massive shaft of pure, crimson energy materialized instantly within his grip.
The energy condensed into a solid spear that extended a hundred meters behind his body and a hundred meters in front of him, radiating an intense thermal aura that distorted the white light around it.
Mercyros closed his eyes and lowered his head, awaiting the final blow.
Lucid took another step, raising the massive energy weapon into striking position.
Suddenly, the sound of frantic footsteps broke the stillness of the void.
"No, Mercyros, please!" a young voice cried out in desperate panic. "Please, you have to get up!"
Aurelia ran across the white expanse, her feet skidding against the smooth surface as she threw herself in front of the kneeling deity. Lucid recognized her immediately.
She was the guide who had previously concealed her true identity, the figure who had orchestrated the events leading to this final confrontation.
"It is fine, my child," Mercyros spoke softly, his tone laced with gentle acceptance. "Our age has long since faded from this world. This new age of humanity seems destined to move forward without us."
The deity coughed violently, spraying a harsh splatter of golden blood across the pristine floor.
An intrusive, predatory voice suddenly reverberated deep within the mind of the boy. The entity whispered with a desperate, bloodthirsty lust, probing at the edges of his conscious thoughts.
"Finish him right now," the voice urged in a sinister murmur. "Do it immediately. Make me happy."
Lucid took a slow, deliberate breath, actively flexing his mental discipline to seal off the intrusive voice.
It was her...
He forced his mind to remain clear and focused strictly on the living beings in front of him.
"You mentioned the name Neptune earlier," Lucid said, his voice raspy and low.
Dark crimson blood dripped steadily from his chin, staining the front of his life jacket. He was completely coated in a mixture of his own blood and the golden residue of the deity.
Mercyros nodded slowly, acknowledging the question.
"There are others like me scattered across the realms," Mercyros explained faintly. "Some remain alive while others have fallen into obscurity. However, we maintain a shared awareness of major occurrences that affect one another."
"So that means you saw everything," Lucid replied, his eyes narrowing.
"Yes, I witnessed those events," Mercyros answered, his expression remaining entirely neutral. "I express my sincere condolences for what transpired."
"Condolences?" Lucid shouted, his voice cracking with sudden, explosive anger. "What kind of sick joke is this? If you are the supreme Monolith of this territory, where were you when she burst into the railway station? Where were you when the rift incident occurred and thousands of innocent people died in seconds? Where were you while a rogue organization ran rampant across your domain? Where were you while a ritualistic, genocidal fanatic roamed the land offering human sacrifices?"
Lucid took a heavy step forward, pointing the tip of his crimson spear directly at the deity's face.
"Where were you when those people died?" Lucid demanded.
Aurelia turned around sharply, her face flushed with sudden outrage.
"You have absolutely no consideration for the truth!" she yelled, her sharp voice echoing across the white void. "You mortals know nothing of the immense burdens we carry! All you ever do is take, complain, and worry exclusively about your own selfish interests! You care about nothing else!"
Mercyros weakly raised his remaining hand to gently silence the outburst of the girl.
"A strict pact exists between us," Mercyros said, his breathing growing increasingly shallow. "No entity may trespass upon the authority entrusted to another Monolith who holds dominion over a concept. I am forbidden from encroaching upon the authority of life and nature. To transgress that law would invite a catastrophic curse upon my very existence."
"You already suffer under six separate curses," Lucid countered flatly.
Mercyros nodded in quiet agreement.
"That is correct," Mercyros admitted. "Furthermore, we are not true gods. A genuine god exists far beyond the boundaries of these scattered realms."
The deity suffered another violent coughing fit, his frame trembling under the physical strain.
"I was once opposed to her grand scheme,"
"What scheme?" Lucid cut in.
Mercyros continued softly completley ignoring him. "Yet after centuries spent searching for a purpose, and for an answer as to why she cast us down, I abandoned that pursuit. The only path that remained was to protect the one soul I truly cherished."
He looked up at Aurelia standing before him. Tears streamed down her pale face, soaking the collar of her white robes.
Lucid chose not to inquire about the specific identity of the higher power Mercyros referenced.
He understood that this entity had made calculated decisions that shattered the celestial realms.
That grand political history did not concern him right now. However, he recognized that this brief moment represented his sole opportunity to seek the one answer that mattered to his own life.
"Is there any possible way for me to return home to Earth?" Lucid asked directly.
Mercyros looked up, his half-closed eyes studying the young man with solemn quietude.
"That knowledge carries an exceptionally high price," Mercyros replied.
"Then I will pay for it with your death," Lucid answered coldly.
Aurelia gasped in horror, glaring at the boy with absolute hatred.
"You arrogant fool," she spat angrily. "How dare you utter such blasphemous words to him!"
Mercyros offered a small, weary smile amidst the tension.