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Plains of Stillness – Crater of the Gods
Dust hung heavy in the air. Trees had vanished. Mountains were flattened. The sky wept golden rain as the aftermath of divinity tore the atmosphere apart.
In the center stood Rael, his left arm wrapped in makeshift cloth, burned and cracked.
To his right, Selene, frost clinging to her body like armor, pale but standing.
To his left, Lyra, wings glowing softly, her presence soothing yet sharp, a beacon of divine defiance.
The three looked ahead.
The Executioners still stood—but they were wounded now.
Aras's spear was broken in half.
Veyra's whip lay in fragments.
Dolrin's cloak was torn, exposing the skeletal divinity beneath. His chest bore a deep gouge—Rael's earlier strike.
Yet they still radiated power, even weakened.
---
Rael's system flickered.
> [Emergency Protocol: Third Clone Activation possible.]
[Warning: Will consume 37% of remaining soul integrity.]
[Proceed?]
He hesitated. Thirty-seven percent. That meant shortening his life. Again.
But then he looked at them—Selene, gripping her spear with trembling fingers. Lyra, lips pale from the strain of awakening her divine bloodline.
They were fighting for him.
"I swore I'd never rely on this body again," he muttered.
> [Override confirmed. Third Clone Initiating—Permission Granted.]
---
Flashback: Tower Floor 100 – Rael's Throne Room (Years Ago)
Rael stood alone before a mirror that didn't reflect light.
He reached inside his chest—into his soul—and split it. Three fragments. Three versions of himself.
> One for sword.
One for flame.
And one for what he feared the most—the one who loved.
That last clone, he sealed away. Buried deep. Because love, in the tower, was a weakness.
But now?
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Present – Plains of Stillness
A new figure stepped from Rael's shadow.
Same face. But the aura—softer. Sadder. Gentler.
Selene's breath caught. Lyra's eyes welled.
This one didn't radiate destruction or hunger. This clone smiled.
"…You really brought him back," Lyra whispered.
The Third Clone nodded once. "Let me carry the burden for now."
And just like that—the battlefield tilted.
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Clash Begins
Rael's Third Clone moved like a ghost. Fast, graceful. It didn't attack head-on—it targeted weakness. The small cracks Lyra's magic had left in Dolrin's shield. The fracture Selene caused in Aras's flame core.
The clone danced through fire and void.
Meanwhile, Lyra raised both hands, chanting in an ancient tongue. A holy barrier formed over the trio—a defiant rejection of divine law.
Selene leapt, crashing down on Veyra with a blade of frozen moonlight.
> CRACK!
The whip shattered. Veyra screamed.
Dolrin turned to retaliate—only to be impaled by Rael's Third Clone, straight through the heart.
He collapsed. His divine body cracked.
> [Divine Executioner Dolrin – STATUS: TERMINATED]
---
Backlash
The death of a god didn't go unnoticed.
Far above, in the Celestial Court, bells tolled. Wings unfurled. Dozens more looked down toward the Tower.
> "They've killed one of us."
"The Defiers have chosen death."
"Then we grant it."
---
Back on Floor 83
Rael dropped to one knee. His eyes bled silver. The system warned again.
> [Soul strain critical. Body integrity at 42%.]
"Damn it…" he hissed. "Still not enough?"
Lyra caught him before he collapsed.
"I won't let you fall again."
Selene stood at the edge of the crater, staring at the divine light forming above.
"They're sending reinforcements," she said grimly. "Dozens."
Rael groaned. "Too many…"
Then Lyra stepped forward. "Let me buy you time."
Rael's eyes widened. "No. Lyra, if you—"
But she turned, smiling.
"This time… you survive."
And before he could stop her, Lyra ascended, wings blazing white-gold, soaring upward into the light.
The last thing Rael saw was her silhouette vanishing into the divine gate, alone.
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