The truth, when it fully settled, was not a crushing weight.
It was a cold, heavy stone that dropped into his chest. But it didn't shatter him. Didn't break his will.
Instead, he felt something strange.
Clarity.
For the first time since being summoned to this nightmare, he understood the game completely. The board was revealed. The players were known. The rules were finally clear.
He was a pawn. A tool. A disposable soldier in a war he'd never known existed.
The knowledge should have filled him with despair.
Instead, he felt excited.
Liora looked at him carefully. Her galactic eyes were full of sorrowful pity. She expected him to fall to his knees. To weep at the cosmic injustice of it all.
"I am sorry, Dante," she said gently. "I know this is a heavy burden to bear. But it is the nature of the roles we must play."
She raised her hand. The vision of the countless gods and worlds faded completely. They were alone in the sterile white expanse again.
