(Execution Livestream Continuation, Across the Universe)
For a while, as the Cult army stalled against the warriors of the Third Ring, the Righteous Faction’s citizens began to believe once again that their army could win this war, because for the first time since the execution broadcast began, the terrifying momentum that had shaken entire star systems no longer felt unstoppable.
"Get in there! Don’t let those monsters advance!"
"This is it... we’ve got them in a chokehold."
"This is as far as they go...."
Cheers rose across planets, stations, and sanctuaries, echoing through public squares and private chambers alike, as citizens who had been watching in dread now leaned forward with renewed hope, fists clenched and voices raised, as the image of Transcendent-tier defenders holding firm fed into a collective belief that the worst might finally be over.
"Come on, brave soldiers! Crush the Cult completely!"
Screens across the universe showed Cult formations slowing, vanguard units being torn apart by wide-area techniques, bodies flung backward in violent arcs, as the Righteous Faction’s elite finally appeared to assert dominance, their disciplined ranks and overwhelming force presenting an image of control that many had desperately needed to see.
For a brief span of time, celebration felt justified.
Relief spread.
Fear loosened its grip.
Some even allowed themselves to smile.
However, that moment did not last.
Because the battlefield changed all at once the instant Leo Skyshard descended into the war.
Across countless worlds, the same reaction unfolded simultaneously, as voices cut off without finishing their words, breaths catching in throats, eyes widening in disbelief, as the live feed showed the sky above the battlefield distort and compress, followed by a single, impossible impact that silenced even the most fervent supporters.
*CRASH*
A massive crater formed.
Followed by a powerful shockwave that flung bodies aside like debris.
And then the camera displayed his visage emerge through the dust, as he stood at the center of it all unbothered.
"...."
For a heartbeat, no one dared to speak, the silence emerging naturally, as though something fundamental had pressed down on the collective consciousness of the Righteous Faction, making celebration feel inappropriate, as faint waves of dizziness rippled through the spectators.
*Stumble*
Some stumbled back from displays.
Others sat down without realizing they had moved.
While a few reached for support rails or walls, brows furrowed as nausea and unease washed through them without explanation, as though their instincts were reacting to something their minds had not yet processed.
"That’s..."
One voice whispered on a crowded station concourse, trailing off without finishing the thought.
"No... I thought he was dead at the start..."
Another muttered, eyes locked on the figure lowering his weapons with unsettling calm, as Leo looked directly into the live stream camera and muttered the words "Kneel...."
The moment Leo spoke, the reaction turned from shock into something far worse, as across the universe, citizens watched tens of thousands of Transcendent-tier warriors drop to their knees in unison, elite soldiers who had been presented as unbreakable suddenly failing to remain upright, as Leo established his dominance through his aura alone.
"IT’S HIM! IT’S THE DEMON OF OMEGA!"
Someone screamed in panic, as the cheers that had filled the air just moments earlier turned into panicked shouts.
"He... he didn’t even attack them."
"He just... stood there...."
Another noted, as the realization spread quickly amongst the onlookers, that with Leo’s arrival, the war they thought they understood had been rendered obsolete.
"How is he so strong? Only Demi Gods are supposed to perform such feats, and I’m positive that he can’t be a Demi God."
An Army Monarch watching the stream said, as he could not believe as to how someone at the Monarch Tier could display such a feat of strength?
"Just how many men has he killed for his killing intent to be so strong?
To suppress thousands of Transcendents at once, his overall kill count must be in the billions....
What a fucking monster."
Another old military Commander noted, as those with knowledge about aura and true strength became baffled with what Leo currently displayed.
"The Third Ring is done for.
If they can’t stand up to his aura alone, then they won’t be able to resist his attacks at all."
A war tactician noted, as dread settled into the hearts of every soldier watching across the universe, as they all had the same exact thought run through their mind.
’Im glad I wasn’t invited to fight on The Pit.... Or else it would be my head that would be decapitated next....’
They thought, as the realization spread, that what they were witnessing was not merely the return of a powerful combatant to the forefront, but rather the arrival of an annihilator that was capable of overturning every assumption the Righteous Faction had so far relied upon.
Across cities and orbital platforms, the execution broadcast was no longer watched with cheers or clenched fists, but with rigid stillness, as people remained rooted to their places, eyes fixed on the screens while an unspoken understanding settled into the collective mind of the Righteous Faction.
This was not a battle turning moment.
This was a judgement being delivered.
Families who had moments earlier spoken of victory fell silent, as parents instinctively pulled children closer, as though distance itself could offer protection from what was unfolding light-years away, while military analysts and veterans stared in grim disbelief, recognizing the posture, the composure, the absolute lack of urgency that only appeared when the outcome was already decided.
"He hasn’t even started yet...."
Someone whispered in a command chamber, voice hollow.
"He’s not fighting them," another replied, barely audible.
"He’s just measuring how long they can endure."
He noted, as the feed continued to show Transcendent-tier soldiers kneeling, some trembling, others coughing blood, as the image burned itself into the public consciousness, fracturing long-held beliefs about divine order, righteous supremacy, and guaranteed victory.
This was not how heroes were supposed to look.
This was not how today’s execution stream was supposed to go.
And yet, because it was so unexpected, the impact it made was that much more significant, as fear of a Cult ruled universe returned into every heart watching for the first time in over two millennia.
"No.... This can’t be. Those monsters can’t be allowed to win...."
"What is this? Did the Cult secretly hack the livestream or what? Surely this can’t be real...."
On countless worlds, citizens quietly began turning off their displays, unable to continue watching, while others remained frozen, compelled by the knowledge that history had just taken a decisive step onto a different path, one whose outcome could no longer be predicted with certainty.
"What’s happening? Will evil triumph over good this time?"
Someone asked, as everyone shook their heads in dismay.
Unable to refute the man or his words this time.