The sound was the first thing that came back to her — a low hum like air moving through a hollow. Then pressure. Then light.
Hespera opened her eyes.
For a moment she didn't recognize what she was seeing. The inside of the cocoon had become transparent, layers of star-glass shifting above her like fractured ice. Every movement sent cracks through it, slow and steady. She flexed her hand. The metal-like shell fractured at her touch. The glow faded as she pushed through, falling forward into cold air.
Her boots hit solid ground. She steadied herself and looked around.
She was standing in what was left of her star — a crater in the upper atmosphere of a still-recovering world. The sky was black and quiet. Below her, lights flickered across continents that had survived the rewrite. Her hair stuck to her face, and her limbs felt heavy, but her body was whole. Her heartbeat was slow, measured. Controlled.
"Not bad," she muttered to herself. "Still alive."
A ripple of dark energy spread through the air. Nyx stepped out of it.
"You're awake," Nyx said, voice steady as always. "Took you long enough."
Hespera brushed off stardust from her sleeve. "I needed the nap. The universe was loud."
Nyx crossed her arms, studying her. "You look human again."
"Temporary," Hespera replied. "I don't want to scare anyone yet."
Nyx's eyes softened slightly. "You're thinking about her."
"Yeah," Hespera said quietly. "Kuroka."
She looked down toward the world below. Her senses spread outward, searching. It took only seconds to find what she was looking for — two familiar signatures, sisters, faint but alive. Kuroka and Koneko were together again, safe in a rebuilt portion of the Underworld. The relief hit her harder than expected.
"She's alive," Hespera said.
Nyx tilted her head. "You rewrote it. Of course she's alive."
"I wasn't sure if it would hold," Hespera admitted. "Pandora's power was… unstable."
"Then go see her."
"Soon. First, I need to make sure the ones who caused her death don't get the chance to undo it."
Nyx's gaze sharpened. "You found them?"
"I never lost them," Hespera said. "They hid behind divine protocol. They called it balance. But they were the reason Kuroka was executed. The reason the Phenex issue ever started."
Her eyes narrowed, tone cold. "Shiva. Odin. Ra. Amaterasu. Brahma. Vishnu. Indra. Loki. Dagna. And the one who led them—Diana."
Nyx exhaled through her nose. "Diana. That's going to be a problem."
"She was Lucifer's lover," Hespera said flatly. "And my sister-in-law. That's not a problem. That's unfinished business."
Before Nyx could respond, the air behind them rippled. A familiar voice broke through.
"Still picking fights the moment you wake up, I see," Ophis said.
Hespera turned. Ophis stood there, calm as ever, long black hair drifting in the breeze, eyes reflecting the void. Behind her, the air shimmered — Great Red, the enormous dragon, keeping his distance out of respect. His crimson scales caught what little light was left in the sky.
"Mother," Hespera greeted simply.
Ophis's expression didn't change. "You scared the entire multiverse."
"Good," Hespera said. "Maybe they'll think twice next time."
Ophis stepped closer. "You intend to face them now."
"They're regrouping," Hespera said. "They won't stop. They'll blame the rewrite on me, call it interference, and convince the other pantheons to prepare for war."
"Let them," Great Red said, his voice a deep rumble. "They've forgotten what real power looks like."
Hespera looked up at him. "And you're volunteering?"
"I've been bored," Great Red replied. "And they owe me for the prison they stuck me in."
Nyx smirked slightly. "This is turning into a family reunion."
Ophis folded her arms. "We'll handle the gods. You should see the girl first."
Hespera hesitated. "Kuroka?"
Ophis nodded. "You'll lose focus if you don't."
Hespera looked away. She didn't like being read so easily, but Ophis was right. She couldn't think clearly until she saw Kuroka alive again.
"I'll go," she said finally. "You three—watch the upper realms. If Diana moves first, I want to know."
Ophis inclined her head. "Understood."
Nyx reached out, placing a hand on Hespera's shoulder. "Don't take too long."
"Don't start without me," Hespera replied.
She vanished in a flash of magenta light.
The Underworld had changed.
The ground no longer trembled. The rivers ran clean. Entire cities had been rebuilt, though scars still marked the horizon. Devils were adapting, rebuilding homes, fortifying borders. At the center of it all stood the new Gremory estate, smaller but functional, its courtyard surrounded by crystal trees.
Hespera appeared in the courtyard, unseen. She walked toward the mansion quietly, the faint hum of her power masked behind layers of human illusion.
Through the windows she could see them — Rias, Akeno, Kiba, Gasper, and Koneko, all together again. Koneko was laughing softly while pouring tea for her sister. Kuroka's ears twitched as she teased her sibling, tail flicking lazily. The sight made Hespera stop at the door.
She'd seen gods rise and fall. She'd erased timelines. But this—seeing Kuroka smile—hit her harder than any divine war.
She stepped forward and knocked once on the wooden door.
The laughter stopped. Kuroka tilted her head, ears twitching. "That's weird," she said. "I didn't sense anyone."
Rias opened the door—and froze.
Hespera stood there, dressed simply in a black coat, eyes calm. "You look better than the last time I saw you," she said.
Rias blinked, speechless. "Hespera… you— you're alive?"
"Seems like it," Hespera said. "May I come in?"
Rias stepped aside automatically. Kuroka and Koneko both turned as Hespera entered. For a moment, neither spoke. Then Kuroka stood, tail flicking in disbelief.
"You're real," Kuroka whispered.
Hespera smiled faintly. "Last I checked."
Kuroka crossed the room and hugged her without hesitation. Hespera froze for half a second before returning the gesture, resting her chin on the cat girl's shoulder.
"You're warm," Kuroka murmured. "I thought you'd feel like a ghost."
"Not yet," Hespera said softly. "I made sure of that."
When they separated, Kuroka looked at her carefully. "Why now?"
"Because it's over," Hespera said. "And because you're alive. That's all that mattered."
Koneko moved closer, hesitating before hugging Hespera's arm. "Nee-sama said you wouldn't want us to thank you."
"She's right," Hespera replied. "I didn't do it for thanks. I did it because the world was wrong."
Rias cleared her throat. "You mentioned the ones responsible…"
"Yeah," Hespera said, her tone cooling. "The council of false gods. Shiva, Odin, Ra, Amaterasu, Brahma, Vishnu, Indra, Loki, Dagna… and Diana."
Akeno frowned. "Diana? The Roman goddess?"
Hespera nodded. "Lucifer's old lover. My brother's mistake."
Kiba looked uneasy. "They'll retaliate."
"They can try," Hespera said. "But I'm done letting them play with lives."
Rias met her gaze. "You're planning to kill them."
"I'm planning to remove them," Hespera corrected. "Completely. No resurrection, no memory. Just gone."
Kuroka's expression hardened. "Then we're coming with you."
Hespera looked at her. "No. You're staying here."
Kuroka's tail flicked sharply. "You think I'm just going to let you—"
"I'm not asking," Hespera interrupted. "I rewrote existence to give you peace. Don't throw it away chasing my ghosts."
Kuroka clenched her fists, but Hespera stepped forward and placed a hand on her cheek. "You already died once. That's enough."
Kuroka swallowed hard and nodded, though her eyes stayed wet. "Then promise me something."
"What?"
"Make it quick."
Hespera smiled faintly. "Always."
When she stepped back outside, the sky above the Underworld was already darkening. Nyx's aura spread faintly across the clouds—a signal. Ophis and Great Red were waiting above the Dimensional Rift.
Hespera's expression hardened. "Time's up."
She ascended through the atmosphere, the layers of reality peeling away until the battlefield stretched out before her again. The rift was still cracked open, faint traces of Pandora's power drifting through like smoke. Beyond it, she could feel them—ten gods gathered in one place, their auras arrogant and familiar.
Nyx appeared beside her mid-flight. "You saw her?"
"She's fine," Hespera said. "Smiling."
"Then you're ready."
"Yeah."
Ophis and Great Red waited ahead, both silent. Hespera stopped between them, her coat whipping in the windless void.
"You're going alone?" Great Red asked.
"No," Hespera said. "You're just my distraction."
Nyx smirked. "I'll take care of Ra and Amaterasu."
"Good. I'll handle Diana."
Ophis's expression didn't change. "You're not going to give her a chance to speak?"
"No," Hespera said. "She had her chance."
The sky fractured again as the divine council appeared above the Rift. Their combined light distorted the air — Shiva's flames, Odin's lightning, Ra's sunfire, Amaterasu's glare, Brahma's gold, Vishnu's calm, Indra's storm, Loki's shadow, Dagna's void, and Diana's pale silver. They floated in a ring, looking down on her as if she were a relic that had overstayed her welcome.
Diana spoke first, her tone cold. "Even after everything, you return."
Hespera raised her head. "You killed her."
Diana's expression didn't waver. "You rewrote the balance. The universe was forced to reset. Her death was the anchor."
"Her death was a choice you made," Hespera said. "And now I'm making mine."
She lifted her hand.
For the first time since her rebirth, the full power of the Evening Star erupted.
The cocoon's remnants flared around her, forming twenty-four wings of magenta flame. Her eyes turned silver and black. The air trembled as her aura spread across every plane. The gods braced instinctively. Even Shiva took a step back.
Hespera looked up, calm but deadly. "No more resets. No more councils. No more excuses."
She drew her sword — Pandemonium Noctis — from the void.
"And no more mercy."
~☆~
The air around the Rift was cold and sharp, like a blade pressed against the world.
Ten gods floated above her in perfect formation.
They didn't speak at first. They didn't have to. Each of them radiated the kind of arrogance only immortality breeds.
Hespera's boots touched down on nothing. Space bent to hold her weight. Twenty-four wings spread behind her, thin lines of magenta fire that moved more like thought than feathers.
She looked up, smiling faintly. "You know," she said, "I expected at least a 'welcome back.' I did rewrite the entire universe for you."
Shiva's eyes burned. "You overstepped, Eveningstar."
"Overstepped?" Hespera tilted her head. "I undid your mistake. You murdered a girl who never mattered to you just to control me."
Odin stepped forward, spear in hand. "We acted to preserve the balance."
"Balance," Hespera repeated, laughing once — light, almost pleasant. "You always say that word when you want to sound righteous. Balance. As if killing someone's lover is part of cosmic bookkeeping."
Ra's aura flared, blinding gold. "You are not the judge of gods."
Her smile widened a little. "You're right. I'm the replacement."
The space around them shifted — a sudden distortion that bent light, sound, and gravity. The Rift folded in on itself, snapping into a closed sphere of endless black and silver.
Hespera turned slowly, hand raised. "Welcome," she said sweetly, "to Pandemonium's Court."
The gods looked around. The stars outside had vanished. The ground beneath them was glass, reflecting their faces but not their shadows. High above, spectral chains stretched into the void. Each chain ended in a cracked mirror showing their pasts — every war, every mortal death they'd claimed as divine will.
Amaterasu tried to teleport out first. She vanished — and reappeared immediately, gasping, her own light dimmed.
"No exits," Hespera said, tone still light. "We're doing honesty today."
Loki gave a slow clap, smirking. "Always dramatic. You could have just killed us."
"Oh, Loki," she said, almost fondly. "You really think this is about killing? I'm beyond that phase."
Her smile sharpened. "I want you to understand what you've done before you stop existing."
She flicked her fingers. The mirrors above them lit up — each showing the same scene: Kuroka's execution. The chained nekomata, the false tribunal, the divine order that sanctioned it.
"See," Hespera said softly, "you called it necessary. You said her death would maintain cosmic order. But look closer."
The image expanded. It showed the gods themselves, watching through the divine scrying pool — cold, detached, amused.
Dagna scowled. "We did what was required. You were unstable."
"Unstable," Hespera repeated, her voice flattening. "That's what you call it when someone has a soul left."
She turned her eyes toward Diana. "And you. My dear sister-in-law. How's eternity treating you?"
Diana met her gaze without flinching. Her silver armor shimmered with holy runes. "You were never meant to live past the rebellion. Lucifer's fall was divine design. You should have joined him."
Hespera smiled again — gentle, almost kind. "You know, you always talk about divine design like you weren't just jealous."
Diana's eyes narrowed. "Jealous?"
"You loved my brother," Hespera said, voice soft, almost sympathetic. "But he loved freedom more than you. So you turned that love into hatred. You convinced yourself killing me would fix the ache he left behind. Classic goddess move."
Diana raised her blade. "You know nothing of—"
Hespera appeared in front of her mid-sentence. No movement, no flash — just instant displacement. She placed a finger gently under Diana's chin and smiled sweetly.
"Oh, I know everything," she said, voice low. "I saw it all while I was rewriting time. The tears. The prayers. The little deals you made with the Powers. You didn't want balance. You wanted revenge."
Diana swung her sword. Hespera caught it with two fingers. The blade shattered instantly, fragments floating around them like dust.
"Now," Hespera said, tone bright again, "you get to relive it. All of you."
The mirrors above shattered, raining shards of memory. Each shard struck one of the gods, dissolving into them.
Shiva gasped. Odin cursed. Ra screamed.
Their minds filled with the deaths they'd caused — every prayer unanswered, every mortal crushed under divine order. They staggered, clutching their heads as centuries of pain bled into them.
Hespera watched, calm and detached. "Feel it," she said quietly. "That's balance."
Loki fell to one knee, laughter breaking under strain. "You— you think this makes you better than us?"
"No," Hespera said. "It makes me done with you."
Her wings flared. Each feather detached, turning into glowing sigils that formed a ring around the gods.
"Sentence time," she said cheerfully. "Odin. You claimed to see everything. Now you'll see nothing. Eternal blindness."
The All-Father screamed as his vision dimmed to black.
"Shiva. You danced for destruction. You'll keep dancing—forever."
His limbs twisted into flame, forced into endless motion, trapped in a burning loop.
"Ra. You called yourself light. You'll burn until you understand darkness."
The sun god's aura flared and collapsed, his body fragmenting into motes of gold.
"Brahma. Vishnu. Indra. Dagna."
She flicked her wrist. "Shared sentence. Mortality. Go see what your worshipers endure."
They vanished in bursts of gray smoke, stripped of power.
Loki smirked weakly. "You can't kill the idea of chaos."
Hespera leaned down, eyes meeting his. "You're not chaos. You're noise."
She snapped her fingers. The trickster vanished into silence.
That left Diana.
She stood trembling, sword gone, armor cracked. But her eyes still burned with defiance. "You think this makes you righteous? You're no different than Lucifer."
Hespera's expression softened. "You're right," she said quietly. "I loved him too."
For a moment, Diana looked almost human. Then Hespera's hand passed through her chest. Light poured out, and Diana froze.
"I'm not killing you," Hespera said. "I'm just deleting the part that remembers being divine. The rest can live as long as it learns humility."
She pulled her hand back. Diana collapsed, glowing fading, her wings gone.
The court dissolved around them, the mirrors fading into darkness.
Only Hespera remained, standing in the void.
Her breathing slowed. The adrenaline was gone. What remained was quiet.
Ophis appeared beside her, arms crossed. "Done?"
Hespera exhaled. "Yeah. Done."
Nyx appeared next, brushing dust from her sleeve. "You didn't annihilate them. I'm impressed."
"Trying something new," Hespera said. "Self-control."
Great Red landed nearby, shaking the void with a low rumble. "So what now, star girl?"
Hespera looked down toward the worlds below — the living, the dead, the rebuilt. She smiled faintly, the kind of smile that was too soft for her reputation.
"Now?" she said. "I'm going home."
Nyx smirked. "To your lover or your cat?"
Hespera's smile turned sharp again. "Aren't they the same thing?~ And aren't you coming?"
She turned, her wings folding in, light fading as she descended back toward the mortal realm.
The void trembled once, then went still. The gods of old were gone. The balance was realigned. And for the first time since the war began, Hespera Eveningstar wasn't carrying the weight of a dying universe — just the memory of a girl who'd made her laugh.