The stars above Mount Oryx flickered dimly, as though the heavens themselves trembled in anticipation of what was to come. The cold air wrapped around the mountain like a shroud—silent, heavy, foreboding.
Megumi Valentine stood at the edge of the peak, his breath forming faint clouds in the frigid night. His golden eyes glowed faintly, dimmed by exhaustion, yet beneath their fading light still burned a fierce, immortal resolve. His once-divine aura was now fragmented—a strange fusion of human frailty, demonic heat, and divine radiance. The orb Uranus had given him pulsed faintly within his chest, synchronizing with the rhythm of his fading heart.
Leonidas approached slowly, his dark armor reflecting the pale moonlight. Even as the Demon King, his footsteps carried a solemn weight. "You shouldn't be standing," he said quietly. "Your body's still adapting to the orb. You push yourself too hard, and that thing inside you—"
Megumi turned, the faintest smile forming on his lips. "Leonidas… if I must sacrifice myself, then please… bring Ava here. She deserves to understand. She must bear witness."
Leonidas' crimson eyes flickered with sorrow. "You really intend to go through with it?"
"I don't intend to die for glory," Megumi replied softly, staring up at the stars. "I intend to die for peace."
⸻
The Council of Gods and Titans
The grand marble halls of Olympus once again blazed with light. The twelve Olympians stood alongside the eight surviving Titans, their faces grim. Lightning danced across the high ceilings, resonating with Zeus' tense energy. Even Poseidon's ocean-blue eyes were clouded with unease.
Cronus stood at the center beside Hyperion, his expression carved with both guilt and resolve. "Uranus is gone," he began, voice heavy. "He trapped himself and the King of Erasure beyond the event horizon. But the King's essence… still bleeds through reality."
Apollo's golden eyes narrowed. "If Uranus trapped him, how can he still bleed through?"
"Because," Hyperion interjected grimly, "Uranus didn't destroy him. He only delayed the inevitable."
Zeus clenched his fist, lightning sparking between his knuckles. "Then we need to finish what our forefathers started."
Athena, standing near the pillars, folded her arms. "The only one who can touch that power is Megumi. If the King of Erasure rises fully again, only the Fallen King's essence can counteract it."
Poseidon's gaze turned distant. "But Megumi is mortal now."
Cronus exhaled slowly. "Not entirely. Uranus gave Leonidas an orb—a fusion of divine and demonic energy. It's merged with Megumi's soul, reawakening fragments of what he once was."
Zeus looked up, determination flickering in his storm-gray eyes. "Then we must help him, whatever it takes. We owe him that much."
⸻
Back on Mount Oryx
The wind howled across the peaks as Ava appeared, her long black hair whipping violently behind her. Her violet eyes were filled with worry and heartbreak as she ran to Megumi, clutching his arm. "Leonidas said you wanted me here… Why, Megumi? What are you planning?"
Megumi turned toward her, the faint glow of his golden eyes illuminating her face. "If we cannot seal the King of Erasure again," he said, voice trembling slightly, "then I will seal him inside my body once more."
Ava froze. "No… Megumi, you can't—"
He took her hands in his. "Listen to me. If I merge with him again, I can fly into the void—into the stars. I can let my divine and demonic energies collide… like matter and antimatter. That explosion will erase him permanently."
Tears welled in Ava's eyes. "You'll die too!"
He smiled faintly. "Then so be it. My life isn't worth more than the world's."
Leonidas stepped forward, his voice low but resolute. "Don't speak like that, Megumi. We still have options. We'll come up with something. We have to."
⸻
The Plans of Salvation
Inside the mountain's inner sanctum, the air shimmered with divine and infernal energy. Leonidas, Ava, Cronus, Hyperion, and even Athena gathered around a floating sigil of light and shadow, its glow pulsating in rhythm with Megumi's heartbeat.
Cronus extended his hand, summoning a vision of cosmic patterns. "There are three possible ways," he began.
"First," Hyperion added, "we use the energy of the gods and Titans together to create a containment sphere—a new cosmic prison. But… it would take all of us. None of us might survive the backlash."
Ava's grip on Megumi's arm tightened.
Cronus continued, "Second, we redirect the King of Erasure's energy back through the cracks in the black hole. If Uranus still lives inside it, his power might help us anchor the seal."
"And the third?" Leonidas asked grimly.
Cronus hesitated before saying it. "The third… is Megumi's way."
The room fell silent. Ava's expression shattered into pain. "There has to be another way—some other method!"
Athena stepped forward, her voice steady but sorrowful. "Sometimes sacrifice is the only constant of creation. Uranus taught us that."
Megumi stood tall, even as the faint light from the orb within his chest flickered like a dying flame. "Then we prepare. Whatever plan works—whatever must be done—we'll see it through."
⸻
Resolve
Later that night, as the council dispersed, Ava lingered by Megumi's side. The mountain breeze whispered through the caverns, carrying the scent of frost and ash.
"Do you remember," she said softly, "what you told me… before our daughter was born?"
Megumi turned to her. "That I'd never let the darkness take me again."
"And now?" she asked, voice trembling.
He smiled weakly. "Now I have to make sure it never touches her."
Ava buried her face against his chest, her tears staining his robes. "Then promise me one thing," she whispered.
"Anything."
"If you go through with this… you'll come back to us."
He hesitated—but then, with a soft, bittersweet smile, he nodded. "I promise."
⸻
A Storm Gathers
Far above, thunder rolled across Olympus. Zeus and Cronus looked toward the skies as an otherworldly hum rippled through the cosmos. The King of Erasure's energy was stirring again—stronger, hungrier, breaking through layers of reality.
Cronus gripped his sickle tightly. "It's beginning."
Leonidas, standing beside him, clenched his fist. "Then so are we."
Ava and Megumi stood at the heart of the storm—the orb glowing brighter within him, divine and demonic light intertwined in perfect opposition.
For the first time since the dawn of their struggles, Megumi felt no fear.
Only purpose.
And in the far distance, deep beyond the fabric of creation, Uranus stirred within the void, whispering faintly into the cosmos:
"The boy carries both light and ruin…
Let us pray his heart chooses the right one."