“Huh? Where am I? Where’s the rest of the team?!” Wyn exclaims, his eyes darting around in confusion.

  “Do you not remember this place, Wyn?” Light Force asks.

  Wyn finds himself standing atop a skyscraper, the very place where his nightmares began – the city where he ended it all. Above him, the sky is shifting, the deep blues of the afternoon fading as streaks of orange begin to creep in, the sun inching toward the horizon.

  “This…is real?” he mutters, his breath hitching.

  While the throne room was flooded with souls to distract Dark Force, the Heaven King had stealthily opened portals beneath the team, scattering them to different locations.

  “Where’s my team?” Wyn demands.

  “Don’t you want to talk about the letter you wrote me? It really hurt my feelings,” Light Force says, his voice soft and gentle.

  “WHERE ARE THEY? DID YOU SPLIT INTO FIVE OR WHAT?!”

  The version of Light Force before him looks just as old as the one in the throne room, but his form has changed – his frame now broader, his muscles defined with a strength that radiates power. His top is bare, revealing a physique carved with both age and authority, each muscle taut with divine energy. Below, he wears flowing white pants, their fabric light yet regal, embroidered with faint golden patterns that shift like ripples in water. A sash, shimmering like woven starlight, is tied around his waist. Though his form exudes raw strength, his presence is not just one of power but of deep, unwavering wisdom. The aura surrounding his head remains, its glow steady and unyielding.

  “You might have learned this already, but I had no role in your sad life.”

  “Why are you ignoring my questions?”

  “I’m here to make a proposal. I want you to side with me and help defeat Dark Force.”

  “I need my friends back. I don’t care about either of you.”

  “The thing is, I only need one of you. I’m offering the same deal to your friends. The first to accept will be spared, while the rest will perish. I can’t afford another Damien.”

  “Enough with your bullshit. You won’t win against Dark Force even with us on your side – especially because of Luce.”

  “While you’re here, your god is fending off millions of beings in Heaven. That’s a lot of energy to burn through, you see.”

  “You piece of…”

  “Think about it. This war wouldn’t be happening if it weren’t for Dark Force.”

  “Like I said, I don’t care about either of you. I just want my friends back.”

  “I’ll take that as a no. Too bad, Wyn,” Light Force says, his voice carrying a hint of disappointment, yet still calm. “You’re second only to David in potential, but if it weren’t for your jealousy and your ego, you would’ve been perfect.”

  Wyn falls silent at Light Force’s words. Memories of his past life flood his mind, overwhelming him. He feels the agony all over again, as if he’s reliving it.

  “I may have been a piece of garbage back then, but I’m different now. You can’t judge me based on my shitty past,” Wyn finally responds, tears streaming down his face. “Meeting Yu, Mira, Anish, James, Lisa, and David – it changed me. They triggered something in me. I’m the best me yet…thanks to them.”

  While both creators have access to souls’ past lives, they have no knowledge of their current lives unless the souls reside within their realm. Even so, Light Force sighs and shakes his head before reciting Wyn’s letter aloud:

  "Dear God, if you exist...

  There are many things I want to ask you.

  How could you allow the world to become what it is today?

  How could you allow me onto this earth, knowing what I was to become?

  How could you let me die?

  Maybe you are not as powerful as people believe you to be.

  Come visit me in Hell. Let's have a chat. But knowing you, you'd neglect me anyway."

  Wyn clenches his fists, feeling as if he’s being taunted.

  “One, I had nothing to do with your so-called ‘shitty’ life. Second, I’m not the only ‘God’, as you already know. Third, your letter was cringe!” Light Force says, his usual gentle voice carrying a sharper edge, even using air quotes.

  Wyn roars in anger, hurling rocks at Light Force. The creator easily evades, then leaps off the roof, soaring downward before landing effortlessly in front of a bank. He waves up at Wyn, taunting him. Gritting his teeth, Wyn carefully lifts himself with a cyclone, descending in controlled bursts. When he’s close enough, he lets himself drop, doing his best to avoid damaging the surroundings.

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  “See this girl?” Light Force asks, standing behind a little girl tying her shoelaces. “She can’t see or hear us. In fact, no one here can. If they walk into us, they’ll bump into what would be an invisible wall to them.”

  Wyn’s brow furrows. “And what about our powers here? Can we hurt them?”

  “You want to test it out?” Light Force grins.

  The girl screams, causing her mother, who had been talking to a friend nearby, to turn in alarm. She watches in shock as the girl is lifted off the ground by Light Force, her expression shifting from confusion to panic. The mother and her friend rush over, but as they approach, they crash into the invisible figure and fall backward onto their rears.

  “I know you always thought you were better than others, that your logic outmatched theirs,” Light Force begins, his voice steady. “But when they succeeded more than you, when it seemed like they had someone backing them, you became jealous. You wished you could be them.” He pauses, watching as the mother struggles to pull her daughter back into her arms, but to no avail. “And in some ways, you weren’t wrong. That’s how the world often works. If only you’d learned how to play the game, to kiss up to the right people, maybe you would’ve done better in life. But instead, you were the bad apple – the one that never grew into a tree despite all its potential. And that was entirely your own doing.”

  “I already know that, genius! But that has nothing to do with the girl! Give her back to her mother!” Wyn demands.

  “Well, despite your flaws, deep down, you always had this sense of doing what’s right, of not stepping on others’ rights,” Light Force continues, his tone measured. “And maybe that was your biggest flaw – the very thing that held you back in life.” As people nearby rush to the girl, some pulling her back while others record the scene, Light Force eyes Wyn carefully. “But I wonder… have you really changed?”

  Light Force suddenly hurls the girl in a sharp arc toward Wyn, and almost instantly, six arrows materialize at his sides – three on each. Wyn lunges forward, catching the girl, but the impact sends him crashing to the ground. Before he can recover, the arrows fire outward, only to twist midair and curve toward him.

  Reacting fast, Wyn raises rock pillars to shield himself. The arrows strike, embedding deep into the stone before vanishing. But as he lowers his defenses, his stomach drops – several people nearby lie motionless, their bodies pierced where the arrows had passed.

  “If you care for their lives,” Light Force says coldly, “you won’t last long against me.”

  Wyn shuts his eyes, taking a slow, unsteady breath as the little girl sobs in his arms. When he opens them again, he sees her crawling out of his reach, desperate to get to her mother – one of the lifeless bodies lying nearby. His fingers twitch, his chest tight, before he exhales shakily.

  “You’re right,” he mutters, his voice unsteady. “I’ve slaughtered so many innocent creatures… even Heaven souls. So why stop now, right?” His eyelids tremble, his fists clenching. “I know these people don’t just end here. They’ll become souls anyway, so they’re not really dead…not yet.”

  Wyn rises to his feet, his eyes blazing with unwavering determination.

  "Let the real me fight this battle!" he declares.

  A slanted rock juts upward, launching both the girl and her lifeless mother toward Light Force. Without hesitation, he catches them. With a flick of his wrists, he tosses them behind him – just as a swirling rocky cyclone erupts from the ground, spiraling downward around him.

  “You’re indeed strong,” Light Force muses.

  The storm rages on, jagged stones seemingly pelting him as Wyn steadily tightens the cyclone’s radius, trying to pin him in place. Though the rocks appear to strike their mark, it’s hard to tell from the distance and the chaos whether they’re truly harming the divine figure.

  A burst of golden light erupts from Light Force’s body, pushing against the cyclone with overwhelming force. The rocky cyclone twists violently as the golden light pushes through, its winds scattering while debris is flung in every direction. Soon, the storm dissipates entirely, leaving only Light Force’s radiance piercing the sky.

  "Let’s see how long you last. Without Dark Force, none of you stand a chance!"

  Light Force takes flight, golden arrows forming around him before shooting downward. Wyn reacts instantly, hurling rocks to intercept them. The projectiles collide midair, shattering on impact.

  Then, a blinding golden beam crashes down from above. Sensing the danger, Wyn propels himself away with a slanted rock just in time. The beam slams into the ground, leaving a gaping hole in its wake.

  “I just want my friends back!” Wyn shouts.

  “That’s not an option. I can’t risk any of you rejoining Dark Force. I won’t lose this war!”

  More arrows rain down, but this time, Wyn dodges and takes flight. As he circles Light Force, planning his next move, his opponent hurls shimmering golden orbs. Unlike anything Wyn has seen before, these orbs don’t just explode on impact – they shatter at Light Force’s command. With each break, smaller beams of golden light shoot down from above, forcing Wyn to weave through the barrage with increasing difficulty.

  Light Force now alternates between arrows and orbs, making his attacks even harder to predict. Finally, one of the orbs strikes Wyn, sending him reeling backward in midair. Before he can drift too far, a beam of light quickly slams down on him – not powerful, but enough to throw him off balance. His cyclone falters, and he begins to descend uncontrollably.

  At the last second, Wyn manages to stabilize himself, cyclone-dashing just above the ground. He crashes into several people before veering upward again. Light Force, however, is flying farther away and is out of sight, giving Wyn a moment to take in the devastation left behind – buildings, roads, cars, and people all scarred by the relentless assault.

  “Come here, Wyn. I have a surprise for you,” Light Force calls out from the distance.

  Wyn flies toward the divine entity, expecting another attack – but to his surprise, Light Force isn’t making a move. Seizing the opportunity, Wyn summons a cyclone, sending it howling down at his enemy. Light Force evades, prompting Wyn to unleash more rocky cyclones from his palms as he steadies himself in the air. Yet, Light Force continues to dodge.

  “Hey now! You might want to stop attacking and look up. Can’t say I didn’t warn you!”

  Wyn hesitates, then glances upward, only to be met with a horrifying sight. People are plummeting from the sky, raining down through a massive portal above. Some of them, he realizes, might be his former colleagues.