Dancing on the golden ashes

"Just shut up and watch. You're so noisy…" The Creator's annoyed voice crashes over me like a mountain. My lungs seize. Even at my realm, where breath is no longer necessary, it feels as though he strips that right from me. Just how powerful is he?

My eyes fall on the battlefield. The chaos is unsettling—blood flows everywhere, and this planet itself will not survive this war. The very crust splits open under their clash, bleeding magma like the veins of a dying world. Too many Immortal Emperors clash with their last, desperate breaths. The ground quakes, the sky splinters, and my commanders fight on without hesitation.

I cannot escape. I can only watch. Am I useless once again? My heart sinks.

"You're not useless. Believe in yourself, Gaon."

A faint voice whispers inside me. One I've never heard before.

Who!?

But nothing follows. Only my startled expression remains as my chest tingles. The sins surge inside me, restless. Could they… have developed a consciousness? I dare not imagine it. Another entity fighting for space inside me? I let out a short, bitter chuckle. That would be almost comical. But there's no room for jokes, not when my friends are dying left and right.

I spot Min-jeong in the distance, her thorns and vines lashing in wild arcs, slashing through thousands of enemies at once. Her long pink hair, disheveled and bloodstained, is a beacon in the storm.

Is she okay?

I look closer, my heart dropping. Her heavy breaths betray her weakness. She alone shields nearly ten million demons against the commanders of the beast legion. A lion shines like a blazing sun, tearing through her vines with ease, burning everything in its path. And behind it, the Elephant with fifty arms begins to chant, its deep voice resonating like thunder across the battlefield.

"Not good…" I whisper as a colossal golden sword manifests above them, vast as a mountain, its radiance rivaling even my own. Min-jeong cannot withstand that at her strength.

Where is Ji-hoon?!

My eyes sweep frantically across the battlefield. At last, I find him—a shadow darting through the ranks, severing heads with every flicker of his daggers. And then I see him rushing toward the elephant.

He noticed! Relief washes over me. No wonder those two are sweet on each other. Go, Ji-hoon. Rip that wretched beast to shreds!

Darkness envelops the two of them in a bubble, and then—with a silent eruption—the elephant's head is severed in an instant. The shock alone makes the heavens groan, cracks spiderwebbing further through the broken sky. Death itself seemed to reach out and claim it. Ji-hoon's strength. He never fails to assassinate his target. But an ability like that… it must be taxing on him.

ROAR!

A thunderous roar from the lion shakes the battlefield, and a massive explosion of fire engulfs everything. I blink once, and in the next instant my heart nearly stops. The inferno seals every escape route. Ji-hoon is trapped, burning alive.

My eyes dart to Min-jeong. Her vines lash wildly, carrying her underground. In a blink, she reappears inside the inferno, shielding him with her own body. Her vines crack and burn, their strength fading—I can feel it.

The flames rage higher, and through them I see the two of them exchange words. Then… they kiss, standing together in the heart of the blaze, hands clasped.

No. Don't.

Cold fear floods me.

"Thank you, Sister Gaon, for the chance to be by your side…" Min-jeong's voice enters my mind. My heart pounds wildly. Why now? Why those words?

"Thank you, Empress, for this gift—to fight for you, to taste the power of the gods. I am grateful." Ji-hoon's voice follows, calm, resolute.

No! Please! Don't do anything reckless! I scream inside my mind, but my feelings never reach them. Or if they do, it doesn't matter. Their conviction doesn't waver.

"Goodbye."

"Goodbye."

Their voices fuse together, and in that instant I feel our connection snap.

A colossal shadow vine bursts from the inferno, their bodies fusing into it for one final strike.

"NOOOO!" My scream tears across the battlefield.

The vine lashes forward, cleaving the lion in half in a single strike, obliterating millions of enemies in a wave of annihilation. It smashes against my cage with a thunderous crack—their final attempt to free me. The impact rattles the entire realm, distant mountains collapsing into dust as though they too bowed to their sacrifice. But even that devastating blow leaves only a fracture, a thin crack in the light. Not enough.

Those fools… why? Shit!

"LET ME OUT! I'LL SLAUGHTER THEM ALL!" My head slams against the bars of light, eyes locked on the Creator. His smile lingers, satisfied, as if this tragedy were scripted for his amusement.

"Do you feel it? It's growing. Is it fate? Why is that power awakening in this body?"

"We do… this power needs more… sadly…"

The voices stir inside me again, and my sins writhe. It hurts—hurts so much—like my chest is splitting open.

"Gaon… if you hear this, I hope my last words reach you. I… I wanted to say thank you. Without you, I would never have reached this place. Let this attack be my last sacrifice to help you escape… my Empress… my friend… to all of us—demons, humans… friends. Goodbye…"

Min-jae's voice rises from the south, and my heart clenches until I can barely breathe. Why? Stop dying. Please.

In a brilliant surge of violet light, the sky cracks. A colossal sword descends, wielded by a man with twenty blades already piercing his chest. His sword tears not only through the enemy but through the heavens themselves, leaving streaks of violet that scar the sky. It tears through everything in its path, killing all that dares to resist, crashing against my cage. And in that instant, the warrior who never yielded, who never surrendered, perishes before my eyes.

It hurts. Shit... it hurts so much. Enough. Please. I can't take it.