More laughter rang out and for a few moments, the deities felt the first taste of hope in what seemed like an endless nightmare.
However, it lasted only a heartbeat.
Because the prison trembled.
Not from the Overseer.
Not from instability.
But from inside.
Nocturnis' gaze snapped back to the cage.
"What… was that?"
The Overseer frowned. "What do you mean?"
The prison trembled again.
This time harder.
A low, thrumming vibration rippled through the bars. A pressure that didn't belong to the prison.
It belonged to Gustav.
Nocturnis' eyes widened. "Impossible—"
FWOOM.
A burst of power flew outward, expanding from within the cage like a newborn star.
The Overseer staggered backward.
The deities gasped.
Within the red sphere, Gustav's aura exploded like a supernova, evolving, twisting, sharpening into something more refined and infinitely more dangerous.
His Outworldly aura surged.
It swelled.
Each second, it grew denser.
More potent.
More ancient.
