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Chapter 54 - Chapter 54: The Deathless Curse

[EXT. LIGHT REALM – SKIES OF INFINITY]

The battlefield is silent.

Where once the realm shimmered with divine light,

now only embers drift across the endless void —

the fragile remains of a colossal clash.

In the center of it all —

Haruto and Airi.

Still glowing with the resonance of the Core of Eternity,

but now kneeling, gasping for breath.

Their hands — once intertwined — now reaching out, fingertips trembling to find each other again.

> Haruto (panting, broken):

"W-We did it…?"

He stares up —

at the Core — spinning wildly, unstable, reacting to a cosmic imbalance.

And then—

Laughter.

Shrill, ugly, echoing.

> Dark God (emerging from the smoke, body cracked but whole):

"HAHAHAHAHAHA!!"

His form is wrong —

splintered, reforming,

feeding on the dark rot rising from the fractures of fallen realms.

> Dark God (grinning, victorious):

"You actually thought you could kill me?"

He lifts one hand.

And across the field—

All the other gods collapse to their knees.

Pinned. Crushed. Helpless.

> Dark God (mocking, booming):

"You remember, don't you?

The Absolute Law.

No Deity shall destroy another Deity permanently.

Only time may consume gods.

And I—

I am Time's mistake."

> God of Time (straining, furious):

"Damn it…

He's right.

The Absolute's Laws protect him…

because he's part of the original balance."

The Dark God floats higher —

his shattered cloak reforming in coiling shadows.

> Dark God (gleeful, cruel):

"As long as I exist within the balance,

I cannot die.

If you kill me — the universe collapses.

If you spare me — I rot you from within.

You are trapped."

> Haruto (clenching his fists, voice shaking):

"Then what was the point…

of everything…?"

> Airi (soft, searching):

"No.

There has to be something.

Something before even the laws.

Something the Absolute left behind."

And then—

A golden wind stirs.

Gentle. Ancient. Familiar.

From the heavens, a Presence descends —

not a body.

Not a voice.

But a whisper inside every living soul.

> Absolute God (resonating, barely audible):

"I cannot intervene…

but I never said you cannot transcend."

Haruto and Airi's eyes widen.

The Dark God stiffens —

feeling it too — something beyond comprehension.

> Absolute God (fading whisper):

"Create your own balance.

Evolve the meaning of divinity.

The answer is in your love…

and your sacrifice."

The Presence fades.

The golden wind dissolves into the void.

> Dark God (snarling, unsteady):

"NO.

I am protected.

I am BOUND.

I AM—"

> Haruto (rising slowly, voice clear and bright):

"You're bound by the past."

> Airi (standing beside him, her eyes radiant):

"But we're writing the future."

They lift their hands —

not to strike.

Not to destroy.

But to create.

The Core of Eternity glows again —

not as a weapon —

but as a womb for something new.

Their voices rise together:

> Haruto & Airi (united):

"If balance cannot destroy you—

then we will recreate balance itself."

From their open palms,

a new Law begins to take shape —

golden, spiraling, luminous beyond imagination.

The Dark God staggers back.

For the first time—

afraid.

> Dark God (whispering, terrified):

"What are you doing…?"

The sky cracks.

The realms shake.

Something new is being born.

---

TO BE CONTINUED…

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