"Is this really the end?"

Dark clouds covered the entire sky, and a gray, destructive mist enveloped the atmosphere.

Daniel's armor was shattered, his body drenched in blood, and his bones were completely crushed.

He looked around. The buildings and skyscrapers were burning in flames. Exhaustion, despair, and regret shone in his eyes.

At this point, he was the last human—no, the only living being left on Earth. All his friends and loved ones were dead.

The rest of the heroes had been torn apart by the beasts of corruption, leaving nothing but their skeletal remains.

"This is it…? All those sacrifices, and in the end, failure?"

What hurt the most was the senselessness of his friends' sacrifices. Their deaths had become meaningless and futile.

At this stage, humanity and the remaining races had sacrificed everything, yet they had still lost. But how could they have possibly won?

Perhaps his former lover had made the right choice; perhaps betraying humanity was indeed the correct decision—the only way to survive.

Still, he had no regrets about his own decision.

CRACK

A deafening thunder shook the entire world. The fabric of the sky split in two.

A crushing pressure descended upon the earth as space-time itself began to fracture.

The oppressive force made breathing nearly impossible.

Several gigantic figures appeared, beings so colossal that they eclipsed the sky, each with three heads. Their eyes reflected entire galaxies.

"Oh God… how were we ever supposed to fight beings like this?"

Daniel's voice was utterly hopeless. This battle had been doomed from the very start.

Suddenly, above those enormous creatures, a face appeared—a breathtakingly beautiful woman, more radiant than anything Daniel had ever seen in his life.

"Looks like a pathetic ant still clings to life."

Her voice was the sweetest sound Daniel had ever heard, bringing both a strange calm and an overwhelming sense of death and cold.

The woman gazed down at him, her expression icy and playful, as though she were looking at a fragile toy.

"You're remarkable. Become my servant, and I will spare your life."

The woman descended closer to him, so close that Daniel could take a better look at her.

A woman with black hair and eyes as dark as an abyss of eternal void. Her figure was flawless, with seductive curves.

"What… are you? No… what are you all?"

Using the last remnants of his energy, Daniel managed to ask the question he had always wanted to.

"Us? We are gods."

The woman's voice brimmed with pride and superiority.

"Gods? Hahaha. So you're telling me that all along, the enemies we were fighting were the very gods we worshiped?!"

Daniel was on the verge of madness; his mental state was on the brink of collapse. He couldn't accept such a truth.

The woman's face finally showed some emotion—deep contempt and mockery.

"No? Those are gods, and so are we."

"Anyway, human, you're the first—or no, the second—being who managed to stand against us this far. Who knows, maybe if you'd had more time, you could have saved your world."

Daniel shook his head. More time wouldn't have solved anything. The gap in power was so vast that nothing could bridge it.

"I can't kill you, but maybe I can do something else—prove that you so-called gods aren't invincible."

"Hahaha."

Her laugh, even in mockery, made her even more beautiful. Yet it still carried a chilling sense of dread.

"And what exactly are you going to do?" The goddess took a closer look at Daniel.

"Can you come closer?"

The goddess gave him a puzzled look but didn't refuse. She descended to the ground.

"Closer. Close enough that I can whisper something in your ear—a secret that will prove you're not invincible."

The goddess hesitated slightly, but her curiosity overrode her caution. She wanted to know what had given this human such audacity.

Slowly, she approached the bloodied Daniel, bending down next to him.

"So, what do you want to say—"

Before she could finish her sentence, her lips were sealed by something… another pair of lips? Another pair of lips pressed against hers.

Daniel kissed her soft lips. He could swear they were softer and sweeter than anything he had ever tasted before.

So sweet that, in another situation, he might have become addicted to them.

Unfortunately, he couldn't enjoy them for long. Within less than a second, the goddess pulled herself away.

"You wretched human, how dare you!"

Her face turned red for a moment before becoming furious.

As her anger flared, the entire sky roared, and the earth trembled.

"Haha."

Daniel laughed maniacally.

[Ding… Heaven-Devouring talent activated.]

[Congratulations to the host for devouring the divinity of the Goddess of Death.]

[Rank: ??? Unable to measure.]

Daniel's true goal wasn't just to kiss her. He wanted to test something—and it had worked.

"You—"

The Goddess of Death suddenly realized something. Her expression shifted to one of terror.

"What did you do?!"

She looked at Daniel with murderous intent. Her aura surged, and the world began to collapse.

Collapse in the most literal sense.

But before she could act, the world suddenly stopped. Time itself came to a standstill.

The cycle of life and death completely froze.

A cicada appeared from nowhere, snatched Daniel's soul, and fluttered against the flow of the River of Time, unseen by anyone.

And at the same moment, everything returned to normal.

"He's dead? No… this! How dare you interfere!"