In the images Maeve provided, the Abyss, like countless other worlds, was under siege by the Zerg.

Each world's rules and structures were different, as were their races and strengths, and so were their fates.

In some realms, such as the Endless Abyss and the world governed by a mid-level gods, the swarm had not yet breached the crystal wall. Their barriers still held. These worlds still retained the strength to send their own creations into the void and fight the Zerg beyond their borders.

But others were not so fortunate.

For many secret realms and worlds of the lesser gods, defenses had already collapsed or vanished entirely.

The swarm was pouring through the rifts, invading their divine realms, devouring everything sacred.

Once a lower deity's world was overrun, only two choices remained.

One could descend in their true divine form, burning their own essence to battle the swarm and die protecting their realm.

Or one could abandon it entirely, let their divine fire fade, fall from their pedestal, and become mortal once more.

At first glance, it seemed like a simple choice between life and death.

But those who thought they could simply "start over" after falling were gravely mistaken.

When a divine realm is destroyed, it is not only the world that breaks, it is part of the god themselves.

Their divine fire is extinguished.

Their divine essence shatters.

their very identity is fractured.

And when they attempt to rebuild, they find their soul's sea wounded beyond repair.

This loss goes beyond damage to one's power, it destroys what centuries of creation have built.

And even worse…

A god's mind and soul are not mortal. Once ascended, they exist on a higher plane of being.

When the divine fire dies, that transcendence collapses.

And in the fading light, a god discovers in horror that they are becoming the very mortals they once ruled.

The despair of that realization is enough to shatter sanity.

That is why so many gods would rather die fighting than surrender their realms.

But this time was different, In the past, divine realms fell to other gods or to dangerous explorations of secret realms. In those battles, one could still retreat, still survive with dignity.

This time, the enemy was the Zerg,creatures that went beyond logic and devoured everything.

⸻———x——————

"Lord… we have nowhere left to retreat."

In one such divine realm, belonging to a lower god, a king knelt before a colossal statue, an armored figure clad in radiant, multicolored scales.

The king's voice trembled like that of a child crying before a silent parent.

And in a sense, that was exactly what he was.

His kingdom had been swallowed by the swarm.

Every city had been reduced to ash.

The royal mages had told him that the land's very essence had been drained.

The soil no longer held life, not even for weeds.

Of the three great kingdoms on his continent, two had already fallen.

His people teetered on the edge of extinction.

Now, desperate and broken, the king had placed his final hope in the god who had created this world.

"Great Lord…"

Tears slid down his face as he looked into the statue's lifeless eyes.

"I don't know if you can hear me… or if you still see us sinners."

"I am an unworthy king. I abandoned my army. I ran from the front. I sought comfort while my people burned."

His trembling hand drew his sword.

"But now, I am ready to atone."

"Your Majesty! please!" an attendant cried, lunging forward.

But the king pushed him away and pressed the blade to his neck.

"My only wish… is that you save them. Even if it's only one."

And with a final breath, he dragged the blade across his throat.

Blood spilled at the feet of the statue.

and mingled within it, unseen by mortals, flickered the faintest ember of divine fire.

The king's body collapsed.

Then a sigh broke out.

It echoed through every corner of the realm.

"A miracle…" one attendant whispered in awe.

"A divine miracle…"

Before their eyes, the statue began to move. Its surface rippled like molten gold as divine fire poured into it.

Its immense frame shrank, transforming into a living being, from rose a god clad in armor of resplendent scales, eyes glowing with infinite sorrow.

The deity's mere presence sent waves of reverence through every heart.

None dared raise their head.

He looked over the broken world with regret, and then, his voice descended like a final command from the heavens.

"Prepare… for a counterattack," he said softly.

"My dear people."

When the lower-ranked deity uttered those words, his fate was already sealed.

Even the descent of a true god could not change a world on the brink of annihilation.

If his enemies had been ordinary Zerg, there might still have been a sliver of hope, perhaps a single thread of survival.

But these evolved Zerg, beasts that transcended the legendary level, hatched, even lower gods were powerless.

They no longer stood a chance.

Yet, as the creator and guardian of this realm, this deity refused to retreat. He would roar for his world one last time.

With his divine fire blazing, he led the last surviving warriors in a desperate charge against the tide of insects.

And for a brief moment, all beings across the multiverse saw it, a faint, flickering light glowing within a dying world.

⸻———x——————

On the other side of the image feed, Peter stared silently at the light.

His expression remained still, though a trace of grief flickered behind his eyes. For a moment, it seemed he mourned the fall of that god.

But before Maeve could speak, Peter's face hardened again. Duty rose above sentiment.

Orders from the senile old man seated upon the throne of Heavens Mountain were absolute.

And Peter, the Angel of Punishment, had never disobeyed.

"Maeve," he said calmly, breaking the silence. "Relay my orders to the divisions resting at the rear."

He leaned over the glowing map, his voice low and steady.

"All secret realms invaded by the Zerg will be purged."

"Authorize the use of continent-level weapons, the oscillators, the elemental destruction devices."

He paused, thinking. "They can draw from the warehouse at full capacity… no, allocate fifty percent. We'll need the rest for later operations."

"These Divine worlds have already been lost," Peter continued coldly. "Rather than let them become nests for the swarm, we'll turn them into weapons, to burn the Zerg to ash."

Maeve blinked, her blue eyes shimmering as countless messages flashed across her vision. The commands spread through the Heavenly Army.

Moments later, angels descended upon the armories, retrieving sealed containers heavy with divine energy.

Each weapon had the power to erase continents turning earth and ocean alike into a sea of raw elements.

Originally forged to counter the swarm directly, these weapons had been left unused when the Zerg world was found to lack stable continents.

Now, they would finally fulfill their purpose.

⸻———x——————

"Next," Peter said, tracing his finger across the map, "thirty percent of our remaining forces will move to the divine realms that haven't yet fallen."

"They'll assist the surviving deities in clearing out the surrounding swarms and preventing more worlds from being overrun."

He glanced up at Maeve. "And make sure our envoys persuade those gods to cooperate with Heavens Mountain. They'll need to see us as allies."

But then his tone turned sharp. "And remember, control the number of swarms they destroy. The Zerg they eliminate must not exceed what the divine warriors can handle. Maintain balance, Keep their structures stable."

Maeve turned to him, surprise in her usually calm expression. She couldn't quite understand Peter's decision to "assist outsiders."

Peter smiled faintly. "Don't look at me like that, Maeve."

"I'm not disobeying the Venerable's command. I know what's expected of me. These lower gods will be purged eventually."

He paused, his golden eyes narrowing.

"But for now, unity is a weapon. If we strike at them now, they'll resist, and drag us all down while the swarm thrives."

Maeve nodded slowly. "Destruction is always easier than construction,"

"Even if the Void Zerg are weaker than Paradise, carelessness could doom us. And if these divine realms, in their death throes, turn their worlds into nests… the swarm could recover faster than we could respond."

Peter's gaze hardened. "Exactly. The divine realms are not like secret realms."

"Their resources are vast. If they fall, the Zerg will grow beyond control."

He straightened, his armor gleaming in the sacred light of the command chamber.

"Send the orders. Let our angels move. These gods have long begged for our aid. We'll give it to them."

He smiled faintly, almost amused.

"No matter what they believe, none of them will escape the fate that's already waiting."

With Peter's decree, the Heavenly Army shifted into motion.

Legions of soldiers descended upon the infested secret worlds, unleashing destruction unlike anything seen before.

Weapons tore through continents, breaking them into storms of elements and light.

Entire worlds vanished, consumed by dimensional collapse.

Neither the Zerg nor the mortals survived.

Meanwhile, other divisions of the Heavenly Army descended toward the remaining divine realms, joined by radiant angels carrying banners of "cooperation."

The lesser gods, desperate for salvation, greeted them with joy and reverence.

The pressure of the Void Zerg had nearly broken them, and now, divine reinforcements from Heaven had come to their aid.

For many, it was hope, perhaps the last they would ever feel.

They dreamed of alliances, of shared defense, of survival under Heaven's wings.

And the angels, in their perfect grace, encouraged those dreams with soft words and veiled smiles.

But not everyone welcomed them.

An angel descended near the edge of a battlefield within the Endless Abyss, carrying Peter's banner of goodwill.

She expected chaos, but what she found made her wings stiffen mid-flight.

All around her, the grotesque creatures of the Abyss had stopped moving.

They stared at her with countless scarlet eyes, unblinking.

Their stillness was almost reverent.

Almost.

For the first time, a flicker of unease passed through her divine heart.

She did not know why she trembled.

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