Groooooooar!
The master of the Sagyeon Palace let out a guttural scream as his Avatar Body writhed in agony.
He clutched the adamantium spear embedded in his chest and uttered words in the divine tongue.
[This... this can't be!]
Mortals of the Phenomenal World could not stand against the constellations of the higher dimensions.
Yet there stood the sole exception, the Godslayer Stone that pierced his chest: the one weapon capable of such a feat.
And the only one who had ever wielded this Godslayer Stone, created long ago by the God of Chaos, had been Solomon.
The sole blemish on the constellations' record, their most fatal mistake.
The being they had crafted to efficiently manage the Phenomenal World had turned that very power against them, its creators.
Of course, that impious unbeliever had paid the price and been annihilated, atoning for his sins.
It had all ended eventually, but the betrayal by that failed creation, Solomon, remained a shocking memory for them. And now, something equally shocking from the past happened again.
The master of the Sagyeon Palace strained with all his might to pull the Godslayer Stone spear from his chest.
But the firmly lodged Godslayer Stone refused to budge, as if rooted in place.
Crackle! Crackle!
He turned his head to gaze at the spot where the aura of faith still lingered.
Zeke, whose very existence had been erased, slowly reconstituted himself.
Tssstsss—
Shrouded in shadows across his entire body and gripping Laevatein, Zeke had fully recovered.
The master of the Sagyeon Palace realized that an alien energy, unlike anything he'd sensed from Zeke before, emanated from him. In disbelief, he murmured.
[That aura... ?]
"The One Who Shines on His Own" had been the constellation title of the Arrogant Savior before his fall to the Demon Realm.
Having fully absorbed the Arrogant Savior's soul, Zeke had been on the verge of complete erasure by the master of the Sagyeon Palace's authority. But through the authority of Re-Creation, he reconstructed his own existence.
Golden Dragon Eyes manifested in Zeke's gaze. Staring at the master of the Sagyeon Palace, he spoke in the divine tongue.
[Master of the Sagyeon Palace. King of Cruel Lightning.]
With the Arrogant Savior's soul fully absorbed, Zeke could now recall information about the master of the Sagyeon Palace simply by facing him. His golden eyes flashed as Zeke continued.
[True Name, Ramiel. One of the first apostates who betrayed the Primordial Light.]
Ramiel, embodied in the angel's form, shuddered at Zeke's words, struck by profound shock.
[You! What in the world are you? How does a mere mortal know a constellation's True
Name... and possess the aura of a fallen one that should not exist?!]
Ramiel could not comprehend the being before him named Zeke. A mortal with divinity. That alone was incomprehensible.
Yet on top of that, he wielded the power of the God of Chaos, the power of a fallen constellation, and even the power of dragons.
Across countless civilizations created and destroyed, no such being had ever appeared— and none ever should.
Of course, in the Phenomenal World, there were occasional cases where someone grew stronger than expected, devouring excessive karma. But they were transformed into heroic spirits and isolated in another dimension, so no real problems arose.
The Phenomenal World had always turned peacefully according to the constellations' will.
But now, he faced a being that denied it all.
Zeke raised Laevatein and drew forth Solomon's Chains from his left hand.
He looked at Ramiel and said.
"Did you think the constellations of the Celestial Realm could forever toy with the
Phenomenal World as they pleased?"
He resisted the gods not by another's command, but by his own will—and now sought to slay one.
"You should realize we're not your playthings."
Chaos Field power surged from Zeke's sword.
Rumble rumble rumble!
After absorbing the Arrogant Savior's soul, his divinity had elevated, allowing him to wield the Chaos Field even more freely than before.
Sensing the Chaos Field power that emanated from Zeke's sword, Ramiel could only panic.
'Isn't that the power of the God of Chaos?'
The sole heterodox existence capable of twisting the order they had established.
Even he, one of the first apostates, had borrowed the God of Chaos's power to slay their creator, the Primordial Light, and used it to forge the current world.
And Solomon had found the hidden God of Chaos, using its power just as they had to discover the means of godslaying.
'So that horrific godslaying power has been inherited by this mortal.' Ramiel realized his situation was far graver than he'd first thought.
Though his pride as a god recoiled at the idea of failing to judge this impious being and returning to the Celestial Realm empty-handed, he acknowledged that reporting the situation took priority now.
'Damn it, no choice!'
Cursing inwardly, Ramiel tried to abandon the angel Avatar Body and return to the Celestial Realm.
But in that instant, he sensed something was wrong.
'I can't return?'
His soul, pierced by the Godslayer Stone, was bound to the angel's flesh as the Avatar Body.
Realizing return was impossible, Ramiel finally grasped his predicament.
'Did I fall into this mortal's trap?'
Trapped in the Avatar Body, unable to return to the Celestial Realm, he felt an emotion no god should: fear.
Terror.
The terror he'd felt long ago when the godslayer Solomon killed and devoured gods crept over his entire being.
'I must escape this place quickly.'
Ramiel tried to seal off this world and pull out the Godslayer Stone spear to find a way back to the Celestial Realm. But Zeke wasn't about to let that happen.
Clatter clatter clatter!
Solomon's Chains, attached to the spear shaft's end, slowly revealed themselves.
Seeing this, Ramiel was even more shocked.
[S-Solomon's Chains!]
The cursed weapon of the godslayer, capable of binding even gods' souls, had appeared.
In panic, Ramiel tried desperately to extract the spear from his chest.
Matching his effort, Zeke yanked the chains with all his strength.
Whoosh whoosh whoosh—
Ramiel's Avatar Body, impaled by the spear, was rapidly dragged toward Zeke.
Wooooong!
Gripping Solomon's Chains in one hand and Laevatein infused with Chaos Field in the other, Zeke swung his sword at the oncoming Ramiel.
[Groooaaargh!]
Ramiel hastily folded his wings to block Zeke's sword strike.
Crunch crunch crunch!
The Chaos Field-infused strike shattered Ramiel's wings to pieces. The blow struck Ramiel's soul as well.
[Gah!]
Luminous sacred blood flowed from Ramiel's mouth, the noble blood of a constellation scattering into the forsaken world.
Reeling from the soul-shaking strike, Ramiel couldn't regain his senses.
As he struggled to steady his trembling body, he glared at Zeke and roared.
[How dare a mere mortal! Impious! Utterly impious!]
Zeke looked at the indignant Ramiel and said.
"You're still talking nonsense, so you must have some fight left."
At the same time, Solomon's Chains erupted from Zeke's left arm, wrapping around Ramiel's body.
Clatter clatter clatter!
With the Godslayer Stone spear embedded and now Solomon's Chains binding the Avatar Body, Ramiel's soul was even more trapped.
Ramiel realized the situation was deteriorating. 'At this rate, my soul body will take severe damage.' Constellations' souls were not truly eternal.
If they were, there'd be no need to exploit the Phenomenal World's karma.
Maintaining their soul bodies required vast amounts of karma, and external damage like this demanded even more to repair.
But the karma from the Phenomenal World was finite, so such wounds would deplete reserves—and that meant diminished influence in the Celestial Realm.
'If the other constellations find out, they might invade my domain and hunt me.' The Celestial Realm was no paradise free of conflict.
Conflicts there led to far more brutal outcomes than in the Demon Realm.
Maintaining the Celestial Realm required at least ten constellations, so souls weren't outright destroyed, but karma could be seized to minimize influence.
That would force reliance on others' karma for survival, turning one into a humiliating plaything. Remembering the vicious games other constellations played, Ramiel shuddered.
'I can't let that happen.'
Composing himself, Ramiel looked at Zeke and said.
[Mortal. As a merciful constellation, I forgive your impiety. Release me, and I shall bestow a divine gift. Cease this.]
A faint halo glowed behind him as he coaxed Zeke with a benevolent voice to free him.
Zeke stared at Ramiel in disbelief.
'Did he really think I'd just let him go if he said that?'
It made no sense to Zeke, but for Ramiel, this was already a concession.
Constellations' divine tongue was revelation to the Phenomenal World's creations; their words carried immense power, akin to word magic.
Any other human would have wept in awe and obeyed immediately.
But Zeke himself possessed divinity. Thus, Ramiel's divine tongue had no effect, leading to this farce.
Seeing Zeke's gaze, Ramiel panicked instead.
'Did he not properly hear my divine tongue?'
A mortal should have been in tears,
retreating at once—yet there was no sign of it.
If anything, the chains binding him felt tighter.
Zeke looked at Ramiel and said.
"Guess I was too nice to you."
With those words, he gripped Solomon's Chains and invoked both Chaos Field and the authority of Flame.
The two powers flowed through the chains into the Avatar Body.
Fwoosh—
The authority of Flame, fused with Chaos Field, ignited not just the Avatar Body but Ramiel's soul itself.
[Kwaaaaaaaaagh!]
Ramiel screamed in agony as his soul burned.
He had never been captured by the godslayer Solomon, so he'd never felt such direct pain.
For the first time, the horrific torment across his entire soul drew an agonized cry from Ramiel.
Zeke nodded in satisfaction at the sight.
"Now we're getting the picture I wanted."
He fully employed the skills he'd honed torturing demons and fallen constellations.
After Zeke withdrew the authority, it took some time before Ramiel regained his senses.
He roared at Zeke.
[I am a constellation! How dare a creation defy a god!]
"Still calling yourself a god? Exploiting the Phenomenal World and treating us as playthings while expecting reverence—you've got no shame."
Ramiel was momentarily speechless at Zeke's blunt words.He never imagined hearing such utter impiety from a mortal.
Across eons of creating and destroying civilizations, this was a first. With trembling eyes, Ramiel looked at Zeke and asked.
[What... what is your name?]
Only now did Ramiel ask Zeke's name.
Zeke smirked and gripped Solomon's Chains again.
"You think I'll tell you?"
Revealing a True Name to a constellation meant handing over vast information about oneself.
Those who could wield karma could access related data via the Akashic Code, so Zeke knew to keep it hidden. He gave Ramiel a cold smile.
"Unlike demons, let's see how long you last."
The chains glowed red again with the authority of Flame. Hours passed, and Ramiel finally submitted to Zeke.
[Please... enough...]
Zeke looked at him impassively and said. "Now we can talk. Ramiel, answer my questions."
His eyes flashed as he continued.
"Why does the Celestial Realm not stop the Demon King's descent and allow chaos in the Phenomenal World?"