Against The True Gods

From behind, the two remaining Heirs attacked Caine with everything they had left.

Dorothy Celestis, Heiress of the Celestis Clan, with her long golden hair and pulsating blue eyes, and Elijah Stormborne, Heir of the Stormborne Clan, with his slicked-back white hair and radiant emerald pupils, burst forward, their blades gleaming with fiendish momentum as they tore through the air toward Caine, their restraint abandoned.

Suddenly, time itself slowed—not metaphorically, but literally. Caine's time affinity roared to life, and a shimmering domain of time spread around him. Within this domain, the world froze, each moment stretched like a single frame in a painting.

'What a terrifying affinity,' Caine thought idly, his eyes reflecting the crystalline stillness.

He lifted his hand and tapped the air in front of him. Though his fingers barely brushed empty space, a ripple of Qi surged behind him toward the two Heirs.

The time domain dissolved.

BOOOM!

Reality snapped back, and before anyone could comprehend what had happened, Dorothy and Elijah coughed up mouthfuls of blood, their Qi in disarray. They stumbled backward, eyes wide with shock and pain.

Caine turned slowly to face them, his expression calm, almost indifferent.

His gaze, full of pity, rested on their trembling figures. They were reflections of something he never wanted to become.

They had been born with everything—wealth, status, talent—and yet they were still so pitifully weak. If even a crippled version of himself could carve something out of his curses, how could they squander their blessings?

Their very existence reminded him of his past vulnerabilities, a period of weakness he loathed with every fiber of his being. Just looking at them filled his heart with disgust.

His gut twisted, and his lips curled in contempt.

Dorothy and Elijah met his gaze, and their hearts quivered. The disgust in his eyes was so potent, so raw, that it seeped into their minds, shaking their very souls.

Caine clicked his teeth and waved his hand.

Their veins ruptured, and they crumpled to the ground, unconscious. The battle was over.

The performance—a clown show—had ended.

The inferno that had raged around them flickered out, revealing a grim tableau to the spectators: five Heavenly Heirs, all defeated, while one man remained untouched.

'It should be about now.'

BANG!

From the Renala Clan's floating structure, a door burst open. A figure emerged, his presence radiating malice.

The man appeared ancient, his wrinkled skin marred with dark spots. His bald head bore intricate white tribal tattoos that glowed faintly.

His eyes, two bloody-red orbs, burned with the killing intent of countless battles fought and lives extinguished.

Dark robes fluttered around him as he descended, the northern winds whispering through the fabric. His gaze locked onto Caine, who returned the look with an infuriating smile. The old man's fury spiked.

In a heartbeat, he vanished from the floating structure and appeared on the arena floor, his hand already slicing through the air toward Caine's throat. His nails, curved and razor-sharp, glistened with murderous intent.

This was no ordinary Sage. He was a Paragon, a being two realms beyond the Sage Realm. If he wanted Caine dead, no one could stop him.

BANG!

From above, Zao's eyes went wide in panic.

His heart thundered in his chest as his aura surged, a desperate wave of power meant to tear through the heavens. He lunged forward, knowing it was too late.

He'd made a mistake. He should have stayed by Caine's side. He should have—

"Oh?"

Caine's voice, calm and detached, broke through the chaos.

He stood there, eyes locked with the Paragon's, his fingers wrapped tightly around the old man's wrist. The deadly hand, poised to shred his throat, was caught mere inches away.

The Paragon, Ancestor Bloody Eye, frowned in confusion. His instincts screamed, but before he could react, his body betrayed him.

His heart stopped.

Not from shock, but because Caine held it in his hand—a pulsing, bloody organ torn free from his chest.

Caine's crown appeared above his head, shimmering with undeniable authority. He looked down at the heart, his silver eyes cold.

"Bunch of idiots."

He clenched his fist.

The heart exploded in a burst of blood and gore. Ancestor Bloody Eye stumbled backward, his face draining of color. For a being of his caliber, losing a heart shouldn't have been fatal.

And yet, weakness seeped through his limbs. The world dimmed; the sun's warmth faded.

His arms felt like lead.

He collapsed, his body striking the cold marble floor. His eyes, locked on the sky, dimmed to darkness. His last thoughts were of utter, bewildered confusion.

BOOOOOOOOOOOOOM!

A shockwave of terrifying Qi erupted from his corpse, threatening to annihilate everything nearby.

Caine tapped the air, and the explosion compressed, contained effortlessly.

The entire sequence had happened in less than a second. By the time Zao reached the arena, panting, a second and a half had passed—and everything was over.

Zao stared at Caine, eyes wide, heart pounding. Sweat slicked his back.

Caine turned to him, a serene smile on his face. "Did I not tell you I could hold up the skies on my own?"

That smile curled into a grin.

Around them, more ancestors descended, their auras flaring violently. The oppressive pressure slammed into Caine from every direction, darkening the skies and cracking the earth.

Yet Caine stood firm, unbothered. Blood still stained his hands, the evidence of Ancestor Bloody Eye's demise. His grin widened, an expression of pure arrogance and defiance.

The crowd watched, paralyzed by confusion and fear. Why were the ancestors attacking their own royal heir? And more importantly—how had Caine killed an ancestor?

BOOOOOOM!

The pressure continued to build, a storm of power that threatened to crush everything in its path.

But Caine simply waited, daring them to act, his silver eyes glinting with challenge.

Just as the tension reached a breaking point, a voice rang out, powerful and unwavering.

"Enough."

It was the same voice that had sanctioned the battle between Caine and the Heirs.