(Execution Livestream Continuation, The Pit)
All eight figures holding the core of the Chakravyuh Formation intact gasped at once, as a moment that they never thought possible finally unfolded before them.
*Gasp*
Soron lay incapacitated before Helmuth’s blade in what seemed to be a sure shot end to the fight.
"This is it.... Kill him, Helmuth!"
Ru Vassa screamed in joy, as Helmuth raised his axe, the weapon’s edge catching the fractured light of the battlefield while its weight drew the air downward with it.
For the countless eyes watching across the universe, the moment fractured.
Their eyes still unable to process the exchange that was unfolding at its current speed, however, for the Gods present, the moment slowed.
While Helmuth stood as the obvious center of attention, looming above Soron with his axe poised to fall, their awareness split instantly toward two additional vectors of movement, both erupting into motion at the same time, both carrying intent sharp enough to cut through the chaos.
Kaelith moved first.
A red intent line snapped into existence from his core, straight and unbroken, connecting his origin metal dagger to Soron’s heart with terrifying clarity, his body surging forward as though space itself had bent to accommodate his will, every ounce of his focus locked onto his younger brother’s chest.
While, on the other hand, Mauriss followed an entirely different trajectory.
He moved wide.
Loose.
Almost playful.
A grin stretched across his face as he accelerated, eyes glittering with a kind of anticipation that had nothing to do with mercy or fear, his path curving toward the converging disaster like a man stepping into a carefully planned prank rather than a God entering a lethal collision.
*Downward motion*
Helmuth’s axe began its descent.
The moment stretched thin.
The blade cut downward through layers of pressure and sound, each fraction of its movement dragging reality along with it, and as the swing committed fully, Helmuth became aware of the change.
The presence.
Two of them.
Approaching fast.
His awareness expanded sideways even as his body continued forward, instinct screaming as his eyes flicked sharply to the right.
*Side eye*
His gaze caught Kaelith mid-motion.
However, much to his annoyance, the Eternal Sovereign never looked back at him.
Kaelith’s eyes remained fixed on Soron’s heart instead, pupils narrow, expression calm, resolved, as though Helmuth existed only as background noise in a plan already set in stone.
’He plans to kill Soron before me.’
The Berserker God realized, as Rage surged through him, hot and violent, as the truth crystallized in his mind.
’THIS WAS MEANT TO END BY MY HAND. I TOLD YOU TO NOT INTERFERE!’
Helmuth thought, as his grip tightened around his axe, muscles roaring as he attempted to adjust the angle of his swing to somehow block Kaelith’s attack.
However, unfortunately for him, he found himself unable to change the trajectory of his swing, as given the short distance between his axe and Soron’s neck, the momentum behind the axe seemed to betray him.
’It’s too late, I can’t block Kaelith now even if I somehow pause the axe—’
Helmuth realized, as the weight of the committed strike pulled his axe downward with unstoppable force, his body locked into the execution arc he had chosen mirco-seconds earlier, as every fraction of his power seemed to be invested in the killing blow aimed at Soron’s neck.
Kaelith had chosen the moment perfectly.
The timing sliced between intention and consequence with surgical precision, a window so exact that Helmuth lacked the leverage to alter his course, his own commitment turning into a prison built by his strength.
And so, Kaelith closed the distance without obstruction.
*Step* *Step*
"This is the end for you, little brother," he said, voice steady, carrying through the distorted air as his blade aligned with Soron’s heart, its tip glowing faintly as origin metal responded to intent.
Soron saw everything.
The descending axe.
The approaching dagger.
Two deaths converging from opposite angles, one tearing through flesh and bone, the other piercing straight through the core of his existence.
His breath caught in his throat.
His heart clenched.
Time slowed further, stretching each sensation into agony as realization settled heavy within him.
’So this is how it ends.’
The thought carried no drama, only exhaustion and bitter clarity.
’After everything... this is where I fall.’
Images flashed through his mind.
The Cult advancing.
The rings breaking.
The people who believed in him.
’I failed them.’
The space between Helmuth’s blade and his neck vanished inch by inch, while Kaelith’s dagger aligned perfectly with his heart, two vectors of death harmonizing into inevitability.
Then—
Impact exploded from the side.
Mauriss arrived like a wrecking ball wrapped in laughter.
The Deceiver slammed into the collision point with reckless enthusiasm, his body crashing into Helmuth’s flank and Soron’s shoulder simultaneously, his grin wide and unrepentant as raw force tore through the convergence.
The trajectory shattered.
Helmuth’s axe wrenched sideways, its edge carving through empty air instead of flesh as his balance collapsed under the unexpected blow.
Kaelith’s dagger skewed off course, the red intent line snapping as his arm was knocked wide, the blade missing Soron’s heart by a screaming margin, as the three gods tangled together in a violent spiral, momentum scattering them across the fractured ground as shockwaves rippled outward from the collision point, stone splitting, air detonating.
*THUD*
*TUMBLE* *ROLL*
Soron was torn free from the killing axes by sheer chaos, his body flung aside as Mauriss’s laughter rang out, bright and unrestrained, echoing through the stunned silence that followed.
For a single suspended instant, the universe held its breath.
Execution had been moments away.
Death had reached out with certainty.
However, through unexpected interference born of madness and timing sharpened to a razor’s edge, fate had been torn violently off its predestined path.
"What the fuck are you doing Mauriss? Have you finally fucking lost your head? You spineless lying snake?"
Kaelith snapped, his expression turning into one of pure disbelief, as he could not believe that he had the chance to end Soron so simply, and that his own ally had so stupidly taken it from him.