"You will see it!"
Renekton caught the crescent war-axe that Sloth had thrown over. His hunched spine slowly straightened.
Emerald light flickered like strobing sparks, gathering inside the ancient god's body. Blazing radiance coursed through his branching veins, flooding every inch of his frame.
The sand beneath his feet lifted into the air, swirling around him. Renekton grew taller and taller, revealing the true posture he had long forgotten.
He was no longer the crooked figure he first appeared as. Sloth and the members of the Sand Scavengers watched as the ancient god revealed his true form—magic long forgotten surged through his body, raw power pouring directly from the sun itself and reforging every aspect of him.
His wounds healed in an instant. Newly reconstructed skin gleamed with radiant vitality, unmarred by any scars.
The blood that seeped from the torn scales shifted from black to a brilliant crimson. The droplets floated upward, turning into ruby-like beads suspended in the air.
The gaping wound in his chest closed at a speed visible to the naked eye, strands of tissue reconnecting and stitching bone back together.
His gold-and-bronze armor liquefied midair, flowing like polished wax as it restored itself to pristine condition.
The jaundiced eyes he once had were now blazing with the light of a newborn star—clear where madness once clouded them.
Bandits around him dropped to their knees before the fully awakened crocodile god, praying in trembling reverence.
The sand tigers, sensing the pressure of a true predator, pressed their bellies to the ground. Their eyes rolled white, their throats silent. Even their instinctive growls vanished.
Everyone could feel it—the divine power that forged this being was pulsing like a tidal wave.
The very existence of such a creature was a deterrent in itself. No written myth could ever describe the true force and grandeur of this celestial warrior.
This—this was Renekton as an Ascended. The beast they had seen earlier was merely a shadow clouded by madness and illusion.
Sloth's eyes glowed with red light. Searing steam leaked from the corners of his mouth, scattering into a continuous stream of sparks. The moment he witnessed Renekton reveal his true body, an indescribable emotion ignited inside his heart.
It burned fiercely. It raged wildly. It set his very being ablaze.
"ROOOAR!!"
Lightning crawled across Sloth's skin as a monstrous bellow erupted from his throat. His body began to grow—taller, bulkier, his power surging.
The stone slabs under his feet shattered into dust. The surrounding sand blasted outward. Within moments, Sloth stood eye to eye with Renekton.
"Tell me your name, mighty warrior!"
Renekton hefted his crescent axe with one hand, studying Sloth. The opponent's stance and presence stirred memories—glory from ages past, comrades long gone.
"I am Sloth, the First of the Seven Deadly Sins!"
"Good."
Renekton's voice echoed through the ravaged walls. Emerald radiance rolled off his body in waves.
"I am an Ascended. I am the Butcher of the Sands. I am Renekton!"
"I once shattered armies, toppled cities, barred their gates and set them aflame! Ages ago, I trampled across this world—none dared bar my path!"
"Are you ready?"
"Cut the nonsense!"
Sloth's foot slammed into the earth, carving a deep crater. Shards of stone blasted like bullets.
"Show me your power, Ascended!"
"And then—do your utmost to entertain me!"
"Arrogant worm!"
Renekton tightened his grip on his axe. The muscles in his arm bulged explosively as he met Sloth's long halberd head-on.
The clash rang out like a thunderstrike, loud enough to rupture mortal eardrums.
Wind flattened the ground beneath their feet, pulverizing dirt and sand into fine dust. Members of the Sand Scavengers bent low, struggling to remain standing in the storm.
Shock filled every pair of eyes.
This was a battle of gods. Mortals had no place here—only the hope that they might still see tomorrow's sunrise.
Two monstrous titans strained against each other. Their eyes reflected each other's killing intent. Then, at the same instant, they withdrew their weapons—
—and exchanged a thousand blows in the span of a heartbeat.
Weapon afterimage shredded the air itself. From afar, all one could see was a storm of razor-sharp light expanding in every direction.
Each stray gust from their battle carved trenches into the earth.
In the blink of an eye, the entire battlefield was unrecognizable.
The ground split apart. Sand rolled outward in great waves. Golden sparks rained down like stars falling from the heavens.
CLANG!
Sloth's halberd struck Renekton's axe, knocking it aside. He surged forward, eyes blazing with exhilaration. A cursed aura crawled along the surface of his Darkin halberd.
Sloth's breath steamed like molten metal. The emotion burning inside him surged to its peak.
"ROAR!!"
A beam of destructive breath shot from his maw, grazing Renekton's shoulder before streaking into the horizon. It bored through everything in its path before erupting as a distant fireball.
Sloth—born to fight for Duke—now felt, for the first time, the joy of fighting for himself.
His breathing grew heavier. The power in his body surpassed its limits. His excitement sharpened his attacks into pure devastation.
Renekton, facing this ferocious onslaught, felt his own memories reawakening—the passion of his ancient wars for Shurima pounding in his veins.
Two colossal beasts clashed with increasing fury. Both unleashed every ounce of their power.
Emerald light surged through Renekton like a flowing river.
Heat burst from Sloth, distorting the air itself. The ground beneath him melted into glass.
BOOM!
Their weapons collided again. Renekton's jaws parted in a triumphant roar.
"I remember it! I remember my glory!"
"Do not stop—don't you dare stop!"
"Tonight, we fight until death!"
"Call me Sloth. Call me Sin. Call me Death!"
Flames streamed from Sloth's mouth. His blood-red eyes glowed with terrifying purity. The energy building in his throat vibrated the air.
"Father commanded me to follow my own will—and I will bring Father glory!"
"And that glory—begins with you!"
"Ascended!"
A split second later—
Sloth's breath exploded from his mouth like a cataclysm. Renekton unleashed the full might of an Ascended, meeting the attack head-on.
One born of science.
One born of ancient celestial magic.
Future and past—technology and sorcery—collided in a clash beyond imagination.
The Sand Scavengers lost their sight to the blinding light. Their hearing vanished. The resulting pillar of energy rose like a volcanic eruption, piercing the clouds above.
Only after a long, suffocating moment did the light begin to fade.
Residual Ascended magic and Sloth's raw energy warped the air, leaving the battlefield bathed in unstable ripples.
Those still alive crawled out of the ruins. Many had been blown away or reduced to ash by the shockwaves.
Laz Bloodbeard, having recovered his strength, stood at the edge of an enormous crater—so vast and deep that the earth had turned into molten glass.
Inside the crater, only one figure remained standing.
His gold-red scales glowed dangerously hot, light pulsing beneath them. His eyes shone like flawless rubies.
At his feet lay his defeated opponent—the ancient god, the slayer of armies, the Butcher of the Sands—Renekton, charred and motionless.
Noticing Laz's trembling stare, Sloth slowly turned his head.
"Mortal."
"Your name."
"L-Laz… Bloodbeard." Laz's fear grew wild and uncontrollable as he stared at Renekton collapsed before Sloth.
"You are conscripted."
Sloth grabbed the fallen crocodile god with one hand and carried him to the crater's edge, standing before the gathered Sand Scavengers.
Even now, Renekton still clutched his weapon tightly. Sloth glanced at the still-breathing Ascended, his tone strangely complex.
"Father gave me freedom. And I will answer Him."
"I will conquer. I will slaughter. I will bring Father the glory of the blazing sun."
"I will make Father proud of me!"
His halberd struck the ground with a resounding clang. His gaze swept across everyone.
"You—are my first step to conquest."
Laz's legs buckled. He fell to his knees, drew his weapon, and offered his allegiance to the Original Sin before him.
"Your will… is our life!"
Sloth took Laz's weapon, breathed crystalline flame onto it, reforging it into something sharper, stronger. He stabbed it into the ground before Laz.
"I will be watching you."
"Yes, my lord!"
"Now—tend to him."
Sloth pointed at Renekton, then strode toward the throne Susase had once used. Miraculously, the glass-brick throne had survived the battle.
He sat upon it, halberd in hand.
"I came. I saw. I conquered."
............
Somewhere in the desert, before an ancient altar—
Several desert folk presented livestock for sacrifice, then knelt beside other worshippers, praying for survival—praying that they might live long enough to witness annihilation.
Malzahar hovered above the altar, legs bent slightly. A violet energy shroud wrapped around him, his gaze fixed upon the sacrificial platform.
"The Void shall witness all. The Void shall consume all."
"We are eternal. And you will offer sacrifice."
The Prophet's voice echoed through every believer's ears until the ritual concluded.
Once the worshippers departed, Malzahar descended onto the altar, waving his hand. The altar split open, dropping the sacrificial beasts into the deep pit below.
He floated down afterward. The pit boiled with violet-black Void energy. A strange creature lurked within, its corrosive drool eating holes into the ground.
"The time has come, Kog'Maw."
The Voidspawn lifted its head and let out a rasping cry.
"Obey the will of the Void."
End of chapter....
IRONBOUND PATRON
🔸 Arc Reactor Elite – 35 chapters + HIDDEN SURPRISES
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