Dancing on the golden ashes

The devastating explosion carves a vortex in the heart of the clash, ripping sky and earth into a spiraling void. I feel her spirit flicker, then fade, and the bond between us severs like a snapped thread. Come back… My soul cries out, but she does not. Of course she won't. Even Malrang has perished.

And yet... he remains.

The Creator straightens, wiping the blood from his lips as though it were nothing more than wine. Around him, the purple ashes drift upward, dissolving into the air, carrying the last trace of her away.

I collapse against the bars of my cage. I have no strength left to fight, no fire left to give. And still, within me, my sins churn, spinning wildly, their power foreign even to me. They claw and surge, refusing to let me fall into despair, anchoring me against the madness that threatens to consume me whole.

BOOM!

BOOM! BOOM!

A tremor rattles my cage, dragging me out of my stupor. I lift my head, dazed, and watch as waves of celestial magic hammer against the bars, again and again. Each strike chips away at the light, cracks spiderwebbing across its surface. It's beautiful and unbearably sad. Every blow feels like a prayer, a vow, a sacrifice dedicated to me.

Jieun.

Her power rages from afar, vast and unrelenting. The ten Immortal Emperors who tried to bar her path already lie in ruins, their blood painting the broken earth. And yet her strength only swells, each breath heavier, each strike fiercer. It feels as though she is burning her very soul to ash, and still she does not falter.

"I will get you out, Gaon! And then, we shall take revenge together!" Her voice tears through the battlefield, her eyes glistening with blood and tears.

She loved Malrang as fiercely as I did. No… still does. Malrang isn't gone to us. Not truly. Even in death, she burns in our hearts. In a way, she is still here, fighting with us in every strike, every breath. Yet as I watch this endless slaughter, I see no path forward. No way to win.

"I guess you have more people than I imagined to care for you." A soft wind brushes against me as the Creator settles back into his throne. His eyes gleam, cold and bright, fixed on my broken frame. He doesn't even bother to acknowledge Jieun's relentless strikes against the cage, dismissing them with the indifference one would show to scattered dust.

"This is reality. Endless suffering. Endless loss. That is the only meaning in life. Isn't it funny? That we humans became the most powerful existence in all worlds—none can match us." His tone grows heavier, each word dragging like a chain. "Look at her struggle. She knows this celestial steel cannot be broken, yet she keeps trying. Pathetic… yet admirable."

But then, something changes.

The air shifts. Even he feels it.

We both turn to Jieun.

Her eyes blaze black, but within them glimmer stars, a cosmos roaring to life. Energy floods toward her from every direction, pulled as though the universe itself bends to her will. For the first time, I see the Creator flinch. He rises sharply from the throne, hands weaving seals, the air and the very throne of eternity shuddering as if in communion with the fabric of existence.

Not far from here, golden blood spills across the ruined earth. The head of the angel emperor rolls, lifeless. Seong-hoon stands beyond it, his sword drenched, his gaze seething. Rage burns in his eyes, frost in every step he takes. The cold of his power rushes toward Jieun, merging seamlessly with her cosmic storm.

The world groans. The ground fractures like glass. It feels as though creation itself draws its last breath. These two strikes… together, they hold enough force to tear half the universe apart. Even this great realm will not withstand it.

ROOOOAAAAAR!

A metallic, heart-wrenching dragon's roar tears from Seong-hoon's weapon, the sound steeped in blood and fury. The aura of a true dragon floods the world, shaking the ground, splitting the heavens; I can feel it vibrating in my bones, burning in my soul.

His power coils with Jieun's, their forces merging into a single orb of cosmic black and eternal frost. The two energies coexist, paradox and harmony bound together, a sphere of annihilation that makes the realm itself scream in fear.

Opposite them, the Creator raises his arm, unbothered. Reality bends before his hands as golden brilliance erupts, woven from every element, compressing into a radiant sun that drips raw destruction.

"LET GAON GO!" The voices of Jieun and Seong-hoon thunder as one, their strength tearing their bodies apart even before the attack leaves them. With everything drained, they hurl their combined strike toward me, toward the celestial bars, desperate to break my cage.

The Creator only snorts. With a lazy flick of his wrist, his sun hurtles forth, colliding to block their sacrifice.

THRUMMMMMMM—KABOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

The world itself cannot bear such a clash. Reality twists and bends, folding like torn parchment. A supernova erupts at the heart of creation, its light blinding, its roar endless. Scorching heat and freezing cold wrestle for dominion, tearing the sky into ribbons of fire and ice. The ground liquefies, the oceans boil into steam, and even the heavens fracture into shards that rain down like broken glass.

The bars of my cage quake, each one vibrating as if screaming against the strain. For the first time, I feel them loosen.

I raise my scythe, every sin inside me howling. With a single swing, I pour my wrath, pride, envy, greed, gluttony, lust, and sloth, all of it into the strike. The blow rends the bars apart, and the celestial metal bursts into cosmic dust. It scatters, floating away in colors that shimmer like the last breath of a dying star.

My sins roar inside me, devouring the chaos, swallowing the destruction as fuel. When the storm finally settles, my body no longer trembles. I surge forward, my gaze fixed on the only evil aura that still burns through the ruin.

The Creator.

And I rush to meet him.

But my advance halts as I see his hand clamped around Jieun's throat, squeezing until a loud snap rings out. Her head tilts to the side, eyes brimming with tears, her last gaze fixed on me. Those eyes beg for help, yet at the same time, they soften, relieved to see me one final time. That little girl I once carried with me, the one who smiled through her suffering more than any of us… gone, vanishing like smoke into the broken air.

Wrath detonates inside me. Darkness swallows me whole, and this time, I know, I might not come back.

"I'll slaughter you… DIE!"

My scythe screams with my heart as I pour every ounce of my existence into it. Darkness wraps around the blade, cosmic power coiling like a storm of collapsing stars. The universe trembles, quaking in terror as the black crescent moon tears loose, its path distorted, devouring everything that dares to stand in its way.

But then my world shatters.

With nothing but a smirk, the Creator flicks his wrist.

And suddenly… he's there.

Seong-hoon. My Seong-hoon. The man I love, my soulmate, my destiny... Teleported into the path of my own strike. His body already drained, no strength left to defend himself.

Our eyes lock, and in that instant, time dies.

A whisper brushes into my ears, so soft it cuts deeper than any blade:

"Protect So-yeon… our daughter… make sure she lives. I love you, Gaon. Goodbye… my big sis, hehe…"

My crescent crashes into him, swallowing his body like a human shield. Not into the Creator. Not into the monster I hate more than anything in existence. No. Into the only man I ever loved.

He forced my hand. He made me kill Seong-hoon.

"SKREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!"

A scream of pain rips from my lungs, shaking all of reality. The surrounding planets shatter under its force, exploding into drifting ash.

Despair…

It's time. She's awakening...

The eternal one...

The forbidden one...

The one destined to end it all...

Our master...

The eighth sin... It's despair? Right?

My chest bursts open with unbearable pain, pain so absolute it should end any life in an instant. The seven sins blaze brighter than ever, orbiting wildly around the black void forming at my core. Each rotation pulses like the heartbeat of a dying star, and with every beat my power surges higher, tearing through the dam that once held it back. The universe itself bends, buckles, writhes before me.

"The last sin… Despair… the forbidden sin awakens. To destroy the universe. To end all life. The eternal destroyer—Lee Gaon. Our master. We welcome you."

Their voices chant within me, but I don't care. I no longer distinguish their will from my own. I crave only blood.

And when my eyes lift, they lock on the Creator's face, surprise carved deep, terror staining his perfect features.