Hell screamed. Blood rained from the sky soaked in crimson.
Its master had died. The world trembled with the wails of ghosts and gods. Spirits and phantoms appeared across the sky of Hell, weeping blood and mourning the Lord of Hell, Lucifer.
Shhkk—
Bardi waved his hand and stored away the chocolate statue of Lucifer. His towering divine body stepped onto the molten ground of Hell, and as his foot struck, the shrieking realm was forced into silence. He suppressed Hell itself.
His eyes, deep and dark, turned toward Morpheus.
This Lord of Nightmares possessed two of the most powerful domains in the Divine Realm.
Dream Realm: The mystical domain of Morpheus, King of Dreams. It housed the Twelve Houses of the Endless Family Hall, the Faerie Court, and the Gem World. Its inhabitants included Oberon, Titania, Purple Gold, Santa Claus, and the Easter Bunny.
Nightmare Realm: The chilling, shadow-infested extension of Morpheus's domain. This was the Goblin Market, where nothing was real. It was the land of shadow-night, home to the Wicked Wizard, Corinth, the Witch, the Night Hiss, and Nightmares.
What made him truly remarkable was that these two realms, combined into one, could be carried by Morpheus at all times.
Any god who tried to act against Morpheus or his subordinates would find it impossible to calculate the odds.
Since the First Era of Ancients, no one had ever gained the upper hand against Morpheus.
"Origin, we still need his troops to attack Heaven."
Sensing Bardi's murderous intent, Zeus, holding his thunder spear and covered in battle-worn bloodstains, spoke with fatigue.
The gods of the heavenly realm nearby understood his meaning and all turned to look at Bardi.
When Bardi was trapped, the gods of Heaven and Morpheus came to rescue him. At that time, Morpheus took the lead, being a First-Stage god. The heavenly gods lacked that level of strength.
However, on the way to rescue Bardi, once he made his oath of self-binding, the gods realized that Morpheus and Lucifer likely had ulterior motives. They had no intention of truly saving Bardi.
Only the heavenly gods genuinely needed Bardi to fight alongside them.
So, the gods of Heaven decided to act immediately.
But Morpheus remained unmoved, refusing to act until Trigon self-destructed and it was certain that Bardi could escape.
And the timing—perfect. Not a second too early or too late.
Had Bardi been unable to escape, Morpheus would have chosen to side with Lucifer. But the moment Bardi showed signs of breaking free, Morpheus turned on Lucifer and acted instantly.
Even worse, the timing of Morpheus's intervention completely nullified Bardi's self-binding myth.
> "I swear on this moment."
> "Whoever saves me at this moment, I shall protect for all generations. I am with you."
> "At this moment, those who deceive me under the guise of salvation—on the day I break free, whether the sky falls, the universe resets, or the era ends—shall be the first to be destroyed."
This was Bardi's self-binding oath, issued to both Morpheus and the heavenly gods. Now, both parties had fulfilled the terms of Bardi's oath, and the divine curse naturally dissipated.
Therefore, Bardi had no justification to act against Morpheus. In fact, he was bound to protect Morpheus and his band.
Morpheus's double-edged maneuver was a masterclass in manipulation.
No matter how passive he seemed, he always extracted maximum benefit for himself.
Bardi had no reason to attack him, and more importantly, he still needed Morpheus's power to take on Heaven.
So, in the eyes of the gods and Morpheus, no matter how furious Bardi was, he could only accept it.
After all, they still needed Morpheus to confront Heaven.
Any god would be forced to accept such unpleasant maneuvering.
But—
"I reject it!"
Bardi's voice crashed through the divine realm like a storm. The broken layers of Hell's space quaked and shattered even more under his divine pressure. The torn shards of space reflected infinite chaos, now frozen in place.
The entire sky of Hell was sealed by Bardi's supreme divine power.
In that moment, the hazy, mist-like figure of Morpheus in the sky, always elusive and intangible, along with the endless nightmares behind him—the very realm of dreams—froze in place.
Then came a shocking scene.
Morpheus and the dreamscape behind him, like smoke and illusion, simply vanished.
At the final moment before the smoke disappeared, Morpheus's shadowy figure, like a fading wisp, glanced at Bardi one last time before disappearing completely.
"He…"
"He was a fake!!!"
"Impossible! We were just fighting side by side!"
"He escaped!"
"He got the Origin's protection."
"He received the oath from Bardi—'I am with you.'"
"Morpheus never intended to attack Heaven. He just ran!"
The gods of Heaven were stunned. They hadn't expected a First-Stage god to be so cunning, disguising truth with illusion, calculating the outcome to perfection, and then fleeing without a fight.
Bardi had made a move, thinking a battle with Morpheus would follow.
But Morpheus didn't even fight. He had already fled.
Bardi's divine power, like a receding tide, flowed through the heavens, the earth, and space before returning to him.
Hell's skies began to stabilize once again.
"He is the Only God of 'Falsehood.'"
Bardi withdrew his divine power and said slowly.
Morpheus had always given him an uncanny feeling.
Given Bardi's current strength—second only to God and the Primordial Beasts—his perceptions could not be mistaken.
Yet even so, it always felt like Morpheus both existed and did not.
In that moment, Bardi had decided to act before he figured Morpheus out.
Morpheus was not the Dream God that others believed him to be. He was a false god.
Not in the sense of a fake deity, but a god of falsehood.
And that falsehood was miraculous.
What is real? What is false?
It's all subjective. And based on that very subjectivity, Morpheus had become a First-Stage god—his divinity even more abstract than a concept itself.
This divine path was truly fascinating to Bardi.
If he could master that kind of falsehood, he could have made the Star of Barmulodi a fake and carried it with him. Maybe then, the tragedy of the Star of Barmulodi and his wife could have been avoided.
But it was too late.
Morpheus had fled, vanishing without a trace.
This era would never see him again.
Because he had become false.
The gods finally understood why Morpheus had survived from the ancient First Era until now.
This was how.
It was a survival technique unlike any other.
So long as he turned to falsehood, he could survive any war that engulfed the Divine Realm.
The war that would end this era had nothing to do with him.
"Origin, without Morpheus, our combat power is insufficient."
The Jade Emperor stepped forward and pointed out a grim truth.
Could they really take on Heaven with just the current force?
They would only end up with Origin besieged and sealed by multiple First-Stage gods, and the heavenly gods crushed into submission.
"It doesn't matter. I never considered Morpheus a combat asset."
"You will assist Trigon in his rebirth. Let him absorb Lucifer's blessing and consume the Endless Family statues. Make Trigon the new Lord of Hell, and take Hell out of the Divine Realm."
"I will liberate the Wall of Origin and rally enough forces under my command."
"When I return, I will lift Hell and smash it into Heaven."
With those words, Bardi tore open space and headed for the Wall of Origin.
The gods of Heaven stood there, shocked.
(To be continued.)