I stood on top of a cliff, feeling a tingling sensation in my eyes. The sound of electricity crackling in my fists was audible, a reminder of the battle I had just endured. My blue superhero costume was torn and tattered, the eye mask long lost in the chaos. Below the cliff stretched a vast desert plain, and standing amidst the desolation was my greatest enemy.
My brows furrowed in anger, my teeth clenched tightly. I tightened my fists, and my arm glowed white. A guttural roar escaped my throat, shaking both the sky and the earth. My vision blurred, and the faint scent of defeat lingered in the air.
Behind me, a woman sat cross-legged, her arms resting on her lap and her eyes closed. From her lifeless aura, I could tell she was barely holding on, essentially dead. A sigh escaped my lips, and a solitary tear ran down my cheek.
My body was battered and bloody, evident from the thick line of blood trailing down the corner of my mouth. I tilted my head back to gaze at the sky, which rippled with the shockwaves of a battle between two titans: the God of Magic and one of General Eirwen's strongest captains, Olivia. Each clash threatened the very stability of the world. But what was left to save if we lost this war?
To my right, my teammates were locked in their own battles. Rachael, the archer, had been bisected by a stray laser beam from Olivia—a consequence of their clashing attacks that tore apart a large portion of the earth. Ryder, though barely alive, fought valiantly despite losing his right arm to the same laser's destructive force. He had been buried under rubble, yet he managed to stand and fight Eirwen's ground soldiers, though his efforts were ultimately futile.
Eric's mind had been taken over when he tried to use mind control on Eirwen. A mistake had cost him dearly, trapping him in a twisted fate where he was now being controlled. He was locked in a brutal fight with Tiana, his own cousin. Killing him was the only way to free his mind, as Eirwen had made abundantly clear. Even the goddess behind me had agreed to this grim solution, but Tiana hesitated.
Alpha-Omega, the demi-goddess, had been sealed in the Spirit Realm the day before when she confronted Eirwen alone. Scarlett, the Elvin princess, lay on her royal spear, counting her shallow breaths. Her scarlet eyes dimmed as life slowly slipped away. I could see the fear of death in her eyes—a fear that mirrored my own.
Tears streamed freely down my face. This was a future I had never envisioned for my team.
---
"This is the end of your little crusade," General Eirwen called from below, his rugged voice laced with arrogance. His demeanor exuded overconfidence and dominance. He was shirtless, bearing the mark of my fist on his abdomen like a grotesque tattoo. His hair danced in the wind, his piercing green eyes scanning the battlefield for threats, his grip tightening on the hilt of the Blade of Beelzebub.
"This ends with us!" I yelled, attempting to project confidence.
My words were met with a cruel laugh.
"The goddess is dead!" he shouted, making sure I heard every word. "If you think she'll stop me, it won't be for another 600 years!"
His words extinguished the last embers of hope within me. I sniffled, resigning myself to my fate. Revenge was never my path, but Eirwen had taken too much from me. Someone once said, 'When you take the road to vengeance, prepare for the consequences.' I understood that now.
---
My toes dug into the earth as I prepared to strike. With a burst of energy, I sped off, the ground beneath my feet exploding in a massive shockwave that spanned a 200-meter radius. I began running in circles around Eirwen, faster and faster, until I could see my own afterimages. Blue lightning erupted from my back, creating a domain of crackling energy, and a tornado formed due to my speed.
"Ahhhh!" I roared, pushing past my limits. I knew I was outrunning Mach 60 and nearing Mach 62. The muscles in my legs and arms burned red with the strain.
Eirwen, however, remained unfazed. Despite the distance I maintained while running, his presence loomed so large it sent shivers down my spine. My glimpse caught him raising the Blade of Beelzebub, and before I could react, I was airborne.
A shockwave from his blade striking the ground had knocked me off balance. The dark energy that rippled from the impact spread like a tidal wave, throwing me violently to the earth. When I landed, Olivia had appeared alongside the God of Magic, whom she held in a deadly chokehold, suspending him in the air.
Despair consumed me as I took in the scene. Even the greatest among us couldn't stop them. How could we have thought we stood a chance?
Falling to my knees, I screamed in frustration, pounding my fists into the ground. I was devastated, overwhelmed with despair, and utterly terrified. I didn't want to die. No one wanted to die.
I forced myself to rise, but before I could fully stand, Eirwen's boot came crashing toward my head. In a desperate moment, I slowed time, taking control of the moment. But even within the stretched flow of time, he shattered the barrier, and his kick struck me with full force.
My shoulder blades broke under the impact, and I was sent flying, the warm desert sand finally halting my momentum. Coughing up blood and bile, I lay there, my body wracked with pain. This was the end, I thought. Memories of my life flashed before my eyes.
Mom... Dad... Annie... I'm sorry, I apologized silently to the faces in my mind. Tears streamed from my eyes to my ears as I waited for the inevitable.
Eirwen landed effortlessly beside me. He walked until he stood over me, exuding supremacy. His eyes held both contempt and disgust.
"You would've served a wonderful purpose in my army if you were more obedient," he said, his voice calm yet laced with malice.
He raised his blade high, ready to deliver the final blow. But just as he swung, a flash of white light engulfed the scene. Time slowed as I redirected the blade's path slightly, avoiding a fatal wound. Yet, the white flash didn't come from me. In this slowed-down reality, something extraordinary had occurred.
Eirwen was suddenly flung backward, rolling violently across the ground from an unseen force. He rose quickly, but his composure was shattered when a figure appeared before him.
The figure's very presence radiated overwhelming power. It was the being whose existence alone was a danger to the cosmos. The one whose supremacy surpassed even the gods themselves.
The one above all. The goddess of everything.
Elsa.
She stood there, wrapped in a black scarf, dressed in a simple black top and trousers, her feet bare. Her smooth, glowing skin contrasted with the chaos around her, and her hair fell freely in soft waves. Her royal blue irises gleamed faintly as she observed Eirwen, who now trembled for the first time.
"You... you can't be!" Eirwen stammered, his voice cracking with fear.
His disbelief quickly turned to rage. Swinging the Blade of Beelzebub in a wild arc, he charged at her. But before he could even reach her, Olivia's head fell to the ground, severed. The God of Magic lay motionless, his lifeless body sprawled in the dirt.
Coming to a halt, rage consumed Eirwen, and he attacked Elsa with reckless abandon. But she was faster, effortlessly maneuvering around his strikes. Placing her palm on his chest, she muttered with authority, "God's Palm."
Her voice was calm, soothing, yet carried an undeniable weight.
The impact of her touch was cataclysmic. A massive explosion erupted, expanding outward in waves of fire and destruction. When the dust settled, Eirwen stood unscathed—not because he was strong enough to withstand the attack, but because she had spared him.
His mouth hung open in disbelief. Defeated, he collapsed backward, consumed by fear.
Elsa began walking toward me, her steps slow and deliberate. When she was close, she stopped, and I felt my body lift into the air. Her telekinesis forced me to face her, though I resisted at first. Eventually, I let myself go.
Her gaze didn't meet mine, and I wondered why. When she released her hold, I fell hard to the ground. Wincing in pain, I used my remaining strength to push myself up with my only working arm.
The Elsa standing before me seemed different from the one I had been fighting to protect. Her beauty was ethereal, her skin glowing softly, her royal blue irises brighter than I remembered. Black, bracelet-like tattoos adorned her right wrist, separated by a single centimeter of space.
"You're resilient," she said, her voice devoid of emotion, still avoiding my gaze.
Anger bubbled within me. "And you're just like the rest of them—brutal, cruel, heartless, selfish, wicked, greedy, and sick in the head!" I spat.
I continued, my voice rising with each word. "You think you're gods, stepping on lives as if we're insects. You kill for fun, use people because it amuses you. Don't think saving me makes you a hero. No matter what lifetime I'm reborn into, I'll always hate you and every single member of your kind. The only reason I fought for your return was to repay a debt I owed."
I spat blood onto the ground, tears streaming down my face. Each word carried the weight of my despair and hatred.
For a moment, I thought she'd have speed blitzed me but there she stood unfazed by my words and her gaze uncaring even though they barely met mine.
"If you ever cared, you'd look at me!" Anger boiling within me.
Finally, her gaze met mine, and I felt a pressure force me to my knees, slamming my face into the ground. My head was lifted again, locking my eyes with hers.
"This is the point where our eyes meet," she said, her voice calm and crystalline.
Her dominance was undeniable as she placed her foot on my head. "I've never killed unjustly, never been cruel, and never given anyone a death they didn't deserve. And yes, I am a goddess—a real one."
She stepped back, her voice laced with overconfidence. "No matter what lifetime you're reborn into, you'll never surpass me."
Elsa turned to Eirwen, who was still crumpled in defeat. With a simple gesture, her presence alone sent him hurtling into a pile of rocks.
Before stepping through a portal she had opened, she paused. "Disturb the balance of this world again, and I will return to end you," she said, her gaze piercing through him.
With that, she walked through the portal.