Chapter 42 - The Clash
The God of Illusion appeared behind the God of Causality like a ghost emerging from the void. His voice was laced with amusement as he whispered,
"Well, that was a good surprise attack, man."
The God of Causality stiffened. He spun around to face him, his divine senses sharpening.
"So," he murmured, his eyes narrowing, "you already figured out the rules here?"
The Illusionist smirked. "Yeah, and more than that." He stretched his arms as if this was just another casual day. "We're all here with fake bodies—but these fake bodies contain 100% of our original power."
Causality's eyes darkened. "Which means..."
"Which means—"
Slash!
A blade of shimmering mirage cut through his back.
Causality's body—or what he thought was his body—began unraveling like a broken karma , splitting into fractured moments of existence before collapsing into nothing.
But the real Causality was already moving.
Without hesitation, he raised his hand, and the very concept of cause and effect rippled through the battlefield. The Illusionist's attack had struck him—so he reversed it.
The very moment of the attack was rewritten.
Illusion's blade, instead of piercing Causality, instead slashed through empty space—as if the event had never happened in the first place.
Illusion clicked his tongue. "Ah, annoying."
Causality smirked, wiping nonexistent dust from his shoulder. "You should've known better."
But Illusion simply chuckled, stepping forward as if nothing had happened. "Well, what can I say? I like messing around."
Then, suddenly—
There were twenty of him.
Each identical. Each radiating his true divine presence.
And all of them attacked at once.
Causality barely had time to react before a barrage of reality-bending strikes came crashing down, tearing through space-time itself. The attacks weren't physical—they were shifts in perception, illusions so potent that they became real. Every slash wasn't just an illusion, it was a paradox—both real and not real, forcing his mind and powers to decide which to accept.
Causality gritted his teeth.
"Annoying bastard," he muttered.
With a flick of his wrist, he froze possibility itself.
Time didn't stop. Events didn't halt.
But every possible outcome of Illusion's attack became visible to him—like threads branching in every direction.
And with a mere thought—
He chose the one where none of the attacks landed.
The moment he made that decision, it obeyed.
The illusions flickered, distorting—then vanished.
Illusion whistled. "Damn. You're good."
Causality flexed his fingers. "And you're persistent."
They both grinned.
Then, they charged at each other once more.
---
Elsewhere on the Battlefield...
Several lesser gods had sensed the fight. Drawn by the clash of divine auras, they rushed toward the scene, eager to understand what was happening.
A lesser god under Aetherion, the God of Chronomancy, arrived first. With a flick of his hand, time rippled, replaying the moments that had just occurred.
As the gathered gods watched the recorded events unfold, realization dawned.
"They're..." one muttered. "They're fighting to kill."
"But their real bodies are fine," another added.
"So that means..."
The realization spread like wildfire.
A grin stretched across one god's face. "Then there's no risk."
Another laughed, cracking their knuckles. "Meaning we can go all out."
Excitement surged through them. What began as a calculated battle of survival shifted into something else entirely—a challenge. A competition.
And then, all at once—
The battlefield erupted.
Lesser gods attacked each other with full power, their divine abilities colliding like celestial storms. Some fought with strategy, others with raw power, but all of them fought for one thing—to prove who was strongest.
A battle of chaos and skill.
Some gods fell. Others vanished in flashes of divine energy, their avatar destroyed.
The numbers dwindled.
Until finally—
Seven remained.
Each of them stood amidst the ruins of the battlefield, their divine forms untouched—not by luck, but by sheer dominance.
God of Chronomancy – Subordinate of Aetherion, the God of Time and Space. He controlled time's flow with terrifying mastery, unraveling moments before they even happened.
God of Molten Flames – Subordinate of Ignis, the God of Multiversal Elements. His flames weren't mere fire—they were the essence of creation and destruction, capable of melting existence itself.
Goddess of Decay – Subordinate of Eterna, the Goddess of Life and Death. Where she walked, all things withered, rotting away into oblivion. Even the divine was not immune to her touch.
God of Illusion – Subordinate of Noctis, the God of Illumination and Darkness. A trickster whose illusions weren't mere tricks—they were realities, created and discarded at will.
God of Celestial Thunder – Subordinate of Zephiron, the God of Everstorm. His power was the fury of cosmic storms, lightning that could shatter entire dimensions with a single strike.
God of Causality – Subordinate of Vaelora, the Goddess of Destiny and Fate. His power was not strength—it was certainty. He did not fight to win. He simply made it so that he already had.
Goddess of Ruin – Subordinate of Nyxara, the Goddess of Destruction. She did not break things. She unmade them, erasing their very concept from reality itself.
The seven lesser gods faced each other.
A moment of silence.
Then—
A spark.
A tension so thick it could tear the cosmos apart.
They all knew.
This...
Was the their final battle.