The explosion of faith energy tore through the cosmos like a supernova. Entire constellations vanished in its wake, reduced to nothingness. Space itself twisted and screamed under the force of Fan Shen's final, desperate gambit.
Yun Lintian stood at the epicenter, his body wreathed in the combined might of the Primordial Gods. The God of Light's radiance shielded his front. The God of Darkness's void absorbed the aftershocks. The God of War's crimson fury reinforced his bones. The God of Balance stabilized the chaotic energies around him.
His barrier shattered. Golden blood sprayed from fresh wounds. The sheer force of the blast sent him skidding backward through the void, his boots carving trenches through reality itself.
When the light faded, the devastation was absolute. The battlefield—what remained of it—was a graveyard of broken space and dying stars.
Fan Shen floated limply, his body broken beyond recognition. The Human Emperor Sword in his hand had snapped in half, its golden glow extinguished. His divine flesh was charred black, golden blood leaking from countless wounds. His once-blazing golden eyes were dim, flickering like dying embers.
He stared at Yun Lintian in dazed disbelief.
"How...?" His voice was a ragged whisper. "I... I burned everything... How are you still...?"
Yun Lintian exhaled sharply, his own body battered but intact. With a thought, he activated the Tree of Life's power. Emerald light swirled around him, knitting his wounds shut one by one.
He stepped forward, the God Slaying Sword still gleaming in his grip.
"In fact, I don't truly blame you for what you did. There's nothing wrong with taking power," Yun Lintian said quietly. "I know very well. This world is take or be taken."
Fan Shen's lips twitched, golden blood bubbling at the corners. "Why...?"
"Because you forgot," Yun Lintian said, his voice hardening. "You inherited the power of mortals—the faith of those who struggle, who defy gods like you. And yet... you looked down on them. You wanted to be the only god. That selfishness... that arrogance... is why you lost."
Fan Shen's body trembled. His vision blurred.
Memories flashed before his eyes—
A young boy, kneeling in the mud of a war-torn village. Starving. Desperate.
The previous God of Mortals, his face kind, extending a hand.
"You have the will to defy fate. That is why I choose you."
Centuries of training. Of suffering. Of clawing his way to the top.
The moment he first grasped the Human Emperor Sword, feeling the hopes of millions surge through him.
"I will protect them," he had sworn. "I will become their shield."
The first time he tasted godhood. The first time he thought—
"Why should I serve them... when I can rule?"
Fan Shen's breath hitched.
"I... I just wanted..." His voice cracked. "...to never be weak again."
Yun Lintian's gaze didn't waver. "And that fear... is what destroyed you."
He raised the God Slaying Sword, its edge humming with the power of Chaos.
Fan Shen stared at the blade. Then, slowly, his lips curled into a broken smile.
It was a bitter sound, echoing through the ruined void like the last gasp of a dying star. His golden eyes, dimming with every passing second, fixed on Yun Lintian with a strange mix of resignation and clarity.
"You know... when I first inherited the power of the God of Mortals... I thought his will was ridiculous."
His voice was weak, but every word carried the weight of centuries.
"To become the Creator? To reshape existence itself? I laughed at it. Called it arrogance. Called it impossible."
A cough wracked his broken body. Golden blood spilled from his lips.
"But... slowly... without me even realizing it... his will consumed me. The more power I gained, the more I craved. Until one day... I woke up and realized... I had become exactly what I once despised."
He chuckled again, the sound hollow.
"You're right, Yun Lintian. I did lose myself. And that's why... this ending is fitting."
His gaze shifted, staring past Yun Lintian as if seeing something far beyond the shattered battlefield.
"You must have faced Nian Shi before coming here... didn't you?"
Yun Lintian's grip on the God Slaying Sword tightened slightly.
Fan Shen smirked. "I thought so. That bastard... he told me you were coming. Told me to test you." His smirk faded. "Listen to me, Yun Lintian. No matter what... you have to kill Nian Shi first. Even the Chasm of Uncreation isn't as terrifying as him. Because he... he never stops growing stronger."
Yun Lintian's eyes narrowed. "Why tell me this?"
Fan Shen coughed again, his body flickering like a dying candle. "Call it... a final act of atonement."
He took a shuddering breath.
"There's something else I must tell you. A memory from the previous God of Mortals. Before the Creator disappeared... she tried to erase Nian Shi. But she was too weak by then. Couldn't do it. So instead... she left behind one last thing."
His golden eyes met Yun Lintian's.
"The Seed of Creation."
Yun Lintian's eyes narrowed slightly. It was the second time he had heard such a term.
"I don't know what it is... or where it is," Fan Shen admitted. "But it's the key. The key to defeating Nian Shi... and the Chasm. Find it... before he does."
Silence fell between them.
Then, Yun Lintian nodded. "...Thank you."
Fan Shen smiled—a genuine one, for the first time in centuries. "Don't thank me yet. The hard part... is still ahead."
His gaze dropped to the broken halves of the Human Emperor Sword floating beside him. With trembling hands, he gathered the pieces.
"This sword... it doesn't belong to me anymore. I hope you take it. Repair it. And send it back to my home star... to the Profound Continent."
"Let it find a new Human Emperor. One... who won't make my mistakes."
Yun Lintian reached out, taking the shattered blade. "I will."
Fan Shen exhaled, his body relaxing as if a great weight had been lifted. Then, with the last of his strength, he grasped one of the broken shards—
And plunged it into his own heart.
Golden light erupted from the wound, spilling into the void like liquid sunlight.
"Ah... I see them now..."
His dimming eyes gazed into the distance, seeing something—or someone—that Yun Lintian couldn't.
"Father... Mother... Big Sister... Lan'er..."
A tear, pure gold, trailed down his cheek.
"I'm... coming home..."
Fan Shen, the last False God of Mortals, shattered.
His body dissolved into countless motes of golden light, scattering across the cosmos like fireflies returning to the earth…