Moras’s eyes blazed with divine fury, his voice shaking the very air.
"How dare you challenge a god? You think yourself righteous? You are nothing but a blight!"
Kyle didn’t flinch. His sword remained steady, its edge glowing faintly with mana and aura, almost like it was alive in his grip.
"You talk too much. Let’s finish this."
With a roar, Moras exploded forward, releasing an ocean of divine energy so thick it made the sanctuary tremble.
The pressure crushed the air, but Kyle responded instantly, cloaking himself in a sharp veil of aura that sliced clean through the divine onslaught.
The two forces collided in the blinding white space, sending out ripples of energy that shattered what remained of the floating sanctuary.
Moras staggered back from the clash, his divine robes torn, cracks forming along his arm.
"You think this means anything? I am a god. I do not fall to mortals. You may have pushed me back, but you cannot win."
Kyle slowly advanced.
"You’ve already lost. You just refuse to see it."
Moras laughed, the sound hollow and frayed.
"Lost? Do you think this is victory? Fool. Gods do not die. Even if you destroy this form, I will return. I will come for you. For your people. I will raze your world until—"
Kyle’s voice cut clean through Moras’s tirade.
A glowing circle formed beneath their feet—an intricate array pulsing with silver and black light, carved from Kyle’s mana. The system’s voice echoed softly in his mind:
[Divine Suppression Array initialized. Commencing divine absorption—standby.]
"What... what are you doing?"
Moras snarled as the energy around him began to drain.
"You can’t. You can’t do this—this is forbidden!"
Kyle gave him a cold smile.
"You said it yourself. Gods don’t die. So I won’t kill you."
Moras’s eyes widened in shock.
"I’ll bind you. I’ll absorb you. And I’ll make sure you can never escape."
"You’ll be cursed for this! All who defy the divine order pay in blood! You think this is justice? This is blasphemy!"
He snarled, raising one trembling hand toward them.
Kyle’s eyes darkened.
Moras’s hollow voice rang with venom.
"I can already feel Goddess Selene’s curse eating away at your companion. So I will add my own."
He sneered, eyes locking onto Melissa.
The dying god raised both arms, drawing on the last remnants of his divine power. The ground beneath them cracked, the sanctuary pulsed with dangerous energy, and darkness bled through the air like ink in water.
He wove a curse—a spiraling, two-pronged spear of malevolence meant to maim and torment.
Kyle reacted instantly, slashing through one half of the curse with his sword, scattering the curse’s shadow into flecks of dissipating magic.
He growled, sensing the second half still streaking through the air toward Melissa and Bruce.
He sprang forward, only to be yanked back—Moras’s broken body, clinging to his ankle, had latched onto him once more.
"You will watch. You will lose them, just like before. My curse will bind you to despair, Kyle Armstrong. That is your punishment for defying divinity."
Bruce’s eyes widened. He stood frozen, unsure of how to defend against a divine attack. Melissa reached for her dagger, though she knew it would be useless.
Moras’s eyes blazed with divine fury, his voice shaking the very air.
"How dare you challenge a god? You think yourself righteous? You are nothing but a blight!"
Kyle didn’t flinch. His sword remained steady, its edge glowing faintly with mana and aura, almost like it was alive in his grip.
With a roar, Moras exploded forward, releasing an ocean of divine energy so thick it made the sanctuary tremble.
The pressure crushed the air, but Kyle responded instantly, cloaking himself in a sharp veil of aura that sliced clean through the divine onslaught.
The two forces collided in the blinding white space, sending out ripples of energy that shattered what remained of the floating sanctuary. Moras staggered back from the clash, his divine robes torn, cracks forming along his arm.
"You think this means anything? I am a god. I do not fall to mortals. You may have pushed me back, but you cannot win."
Kyle slowly advanced.
"You’ve already lost. You just refuse to see it."
Moras laughed, the sound hollow and frayed.
"Lost? Do you think this is victory? Fool. Gods do not die. Even if you destroy this form, I will return. I will come for you. For your people. I will raze your world until—"
Kyle’s voice cut clean through Moras’s tirade.
Kyle said nothing. He pressed his hand into the array and felt the divine energy being siphoned. The white sanctuary trembled violently as Moras’s essence began to unravel.
Realizing that pleading wouldn’t work, Moras’s gaze flicked to Bruce and Melissa—still unconscious at the edge of the field.
"If I’m going down, I’ll take them with me."
He snarled, raising one trembling hand toward them.
Kyle’s eyes darkened.
Queen shrieked from above, a flare of protective mana wrapping around the unconscious pair.
"No. You don’t get to hurt anyone else
He thrust his sword into the center of the array. The light exploded, encasing Moras in a sphere of blinding energy.
The god screamed, clawing at the collapsing threads of divinity that made up his form.
"You will regret this, Kyle! This won’t end here!"
Kyle watched silently, his expression unreadable.
Moras howled one final time, his voice breaking into static as the array sealed shut.
The sanctuary fractured. The oppressive white faded into shadow, and then into sky.
Kyle stood in the middle of a crater, sword still embedded in the fading array. His breathing was even. Measured.
Bruce asked, its voice echoing in his mind.
Behind him, Bruce and Melissa stirred, groggy but safe.
The god was gone. Bound. Powerless.
And Kyle, once again, had done the impossible.