In the boundless void, a gigantic hand reached down from beyond the heavens, turning everything into dust... That's how it should have been, but in reality, it clearly wouldn't be so direct.
Because at the moment the fantasy world was on the brink of complete destruction, the force that had been maintaining the world's existence had no choice but to be withdrawn. It transformed into an impenetrable barrier, designed to combat the great enemy of this fractured world.
Of course, a force can't be used in two places at once, so when the membrane made of creation energy collided with the gigantic hand, while it stopped itself from being instantly annihilated, the unsupported illusionary world inevitably moved toward its end.
The powers of the gods were dissipating, the law that constituted all things was disintegrating… The only difference was, one was a bit faster, the other a bit slower. After all, the collapse of self, however minuscule, still required a process.
Above the western seas, on a fragmented islet, Hermes awakened amidst excruciating pain.
He opened his eyes and recalled the recent events—the instant that inexplicable hand from beyond seized hold, the true Great Divine Power and the remnants of creation collided. In that moment, a terribly frightening surge swept across the world.
All beings with Intermediate Divine Power and below vanished in the blink of an eye, and mortals turned to dust. Although Hermes was not among them, he too suffered unimaginable damage.
He briefly lost consciousness and only after a while did he finally awake. Struggling to stand up from the ruins, Hermes couldn't help but gasp in pain.
"Hiss—I thought I had run far enough... Now it seems, not nearly far enough."
Every part of his body ached as if he had endured some cruel torture. Hermes, having never experienced such pain, grimaced—it was truly unbearable for a god.
But that wasn't the most critical issue... As he regained his senses a bit, he truly realized the current situation. Hermes could distinctly feel that as the unseen titanic hand from beyond continued to retract its strength, a sense of emptiness and withdrawal from the Origin rose in his heart.
Others may not know what this was, perhaps thinking it was the world extracting the deities' powers to fight the external threat. But at this moment, Hermes perceived a deeper secret.
"Is this world fake... Heh, this is truly beyond my expectations."
Finding amusement amidst suffering, Hermes chuckled. It must be said that, among the native gods of this false world, he was one of the only three deities who had perceived this distinction between truth and illusion.
The first was Hades, who sensed it due to his deep connection with the Origin of the Underworld before death; the second was Zeus, who could feel everything simply because of his position as Divine King; and Hermes was the third. The reason he could perceive it was entirely accidental.
He was originally the child of the Sky-bearing Titan Atlas, and the son of the storm goddess Maia and Zeus. In the intended trajectory, he possessed exceptional wisdom even as an infant, with many attributes known innately to Titan deities, eventually ascending to the position of one of Olympus's twelve Principal Gods.
But, unfortunately, reality differed from this fantasy world, and a turning point occurred in Atlas's fate. The birth of Hermes was consequently influenced, and amid the impending destruction of the world, this consequence allowed him to have a subtle intuition of reality.
More coincidentally, the roles of 'Commerce' within Hermes's godhood were later additions; what truly belonged to him by nature had some relation to 'theft' and 'travel'.
"Cough cough, ruler of The Thousand Thunders, my revered Father God, even now, you remain so mighty."
After a light cough, Hermes looked in the direction where the land once lay.
There, continents were divided, enormous spatial rifts devoured all like gaping maws. The only undamaged place was where Mount of the Gods, Olympus, was situated.
That sky-bearing pillar, the Home of the Gods, an immense column of thunder that pierced through heaven and earth, shaking the heavens, was the embodiment of the Divine King's unmatched power. But looking at this scene, Hermes felt a bit like laughing.
Everything in the world suffers in comparison. Next to the colossal hand that enveloped the world, the thunder column, grandiose as it was, seemed less impactful.
Instead, it was like an ant in the palm of the gigantic hand, provoking an existence it could never hope to oppose.
"Never mind that, it's better to leave now... What happens to my 'dear Father God' is his business, but if I wait any longer, I might not be able to leave at all."
"The greatest adventure of this world, a legendary journey, crossing between fantasy and reality—Hmm, I just don't know what will be waiting for me on the other side. Are there any pretty girls?"
Despite his lighthearted words, gradually, the tension and fear in Hermes's heart were temporarily suppressed.
He took one last look at this world, akin to the apocalypse, this world he had lived in for so long, which was in fact not real. Then, in the next moment, Hermes did not hesitate to muster his strength, igniting everything he possessed.
Rather than waiting for the world to siphon them away to confront the destructor, he decided it would be better to make use of them... So in the next instant, from solid to ethereal, from stillness to extreme speed, Hermes's form swiftly turned into a dim streak of light, slicing through the sky in a flash.