Dark Force has been busy maintaining order, especially preventing clashes among Earth’s souls. Somehow, they have begun dividing into factions based on differing beliefs about him as a divine entity. One faction believes Dark Force is the ultimate being who has liberated all life on Earth and that they should all live in peace. Another claims he is nothing more than an evil deceiver who seized power through trickery, and they await the arrival of a true “God” to set them free. Meanwhile, a third insists that Dark Force is “God,” but that he is secretly choosing select souls to bring to an even greater realm – one where they will gain the power to create life as they desire. And these are only a few of the many interpretations that have begun to take root.

  The nerds have also been dealing with internal conflicts, as the new recruits feel they are being treated as second-class citizens compared to the original nerds. Since those who had witnessed the war aren’t allowed to share knowledge of elemental powers and essence with the newcomers – for safety reasons – the divide between the two groups has only deepened. Tensions continue to grow, with rumors spreading that the new recruits are planning to overthrow Pete and the original nerd army.

  The cats and dogs don’t have it any easier than the rest. Despite their loyalty to Dark Force and the authority granted to them to enforce rules and laws, many Earth souls resent being monitored by creatures they once considered mere “pets” on the old Earth. Some, especially teenagers, have attempted to disrupt their work – sometimes even harming them – despite the punishments in place.

  It appears that, without being forced to have a goal in life, Earth souls have begun to drift aimlessly, searching for meaning in ways that often lead to conflict and division.

  “There is no slavery, less crime, and even no intrusive ads. Everyone is free to live as they please, and yet you choose to protest against pollution – something that doesn’t even exist on this new Earth?” Dark Force sighs, once again finding himself reasoning with yet another group of protesters who have been gaining traction.

  While Dark Force is attempting to disperse the crowd, Pete rushes in, breathless.

  “Wyn has requested your presence. You need to hurry – he’s taken out all the moderators,” Pete says, urgency in his voice.

  Arriving at the vast space where the gray band had once resided, Dark Force finds Wyn standing alone, unmoving.

  “What is the meaning of this?” Dark Force’s voice echoes, the stillness of the space amplifying his words.

  Wyn doesn’t turn to face him. “I’m honoring my last wish – a wish I made a long time ago to rid the world of all gods,” he replies, his tone detached, but heavy. “And now...I despise myself for becoming something I hate.”

  “Is this about your friends?” Dark Force inquires, his words measured. “You could always recreate them perfectly.”

  “They’re gone,” Wyn says, his voice sharp and final. “Leave them be. Even if I were to bring them back, they wouldn't be the same. And neither would I. I’m no longer the Wyn they knew.”

  Dark Force’s voice carries a rare edge of urgency. “Bring them back and ask them yourself. This is not what they would have wanted. Let’s go to the nerds together. I’ll help you.”

  Wyn’s gaze remains fixed on the horizon, his words cold. “They’re gone. You don’t understand. You never could. It’s time I do what I want – for me, not for anyone else.”

  After learning that the creators had nothing to do with his past life, Wyn was left adrift, confusion clouding his thoughts. For a time, he had managed to cope with the hatred he had once harbored for them, but that was before he lost everything in the war. The anger had returned, sharper and more bitter than before.

  In the early days of his role as a life force, before his emotions were stripped away, he had set that hatred aside, hoping that by shaping a better world, he might also find some sense of fulfillment. But now, with the world improved and his feelings gone, all that remained was emptiness – just as it had been before his end on Earth long ago.

  This time, however, it isn’t just about self-hatred or the loss of his emotions – it’s also about the void left by losing everything that had ever mattered to him.

  “All the divine beings are gone. It’s just you and me left,” Wyn says, his voice hollow, resonating with the weight of what had been lost.

  A portal materializes, this one glowing with an emerald hue, and Wyn extends his arm into it. As his hand disappears into the glowing vortex, another portal opens above Dark Force, unleashing a beam of golden light that shoots forth with blinding speed. Dark Force reacts instantly, twisting his body to evade the attack as his form darkens into pitch black.

  "You've interacted with the void warden after all," Dark Force remarks, his voice a low rumble.

  Without missing a beat, Wyn opens multiple portals at once, the air crackling with energy. From each one, he sends out attacks at random, their trajectories chaotic and unpredictable. The sudden onslaught catches Dark Force off guard, and though he evades some, others hit their mark, forcing him to retaliate with his own power.

  Dark clouds begin to swirl around the battlefield, quickly engulfing the area in a thick, oppressive gloom. From the shadowed ground, grotesque hands burst forth, swiping violently at Wyn’s legs, scattering his form. The attack forces him to hover high above the ground, his body a silhouette against the darkened sky.

  In that moment, a single dark beam shoots through the pitch-black portals opening across the sky, its path unpredictable as it weaves and snakes toward Wyn. His instincts flare, sharp and precise. With a swift movement, he raises his golden shield just as the beam reaches him, the energy splintering across its surface with a deafening crack. The shield holds, flickering with the force of the impact, before he sweeps and hurls it to cut off the dark beam.

  “I knew it, you have your personal portals that no one else can pass through, not even Light Force or me,” Wyn says.

  In a twisted, reckless turn, Wyn unleashes a flurry of golden orbs, sending some through his portals, others not – each one spiraling aimlessly across the battlefield. As he clenches his fists, they shatter, sending beams of light cascading through the air, not only striking Dark Force but also hitting Wyn himself.

  “What are you doing?” Dark Force asks.

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  Wyn doesn't slow. His attacks intensify, golden arrows joining the fray, fired in quick succession.

  “You’re not even evading your own attacks,” Dark Force observes. “You’re just going to kill yourself before you kill me.”

  Wyn’s movements grow erratic, his focus shifting between destruction and self-destruction.

  “Tell me the truth. Could the war have ended even before souls were involved?” Wyn asks, his voice hard, carrying the weight of years of questioning.

  In the silence that follows, Dark Force knows the answer all too well. The war could have indeed ended long ago. But none of the life forces were willing to take the risk of Earth crumbling, which was why the souls were brought into the conflict – to solve their problem and keep the war going without risking losing Earth should one of them perish.

  “I learned from our fight against Light Force that even divine beings aren’t perfect. Even at equal strength, the one who makes more mistakes can change the tide of the battle,” Wyn says.

  He hovers forward, his gaze unwavering. “It was you. Both of you. You killed my friends.”

  The attacks stop. Dark Force locks eyes with Wyn.

  “But it was the war that brought you together,” he says.

  “And maybe I wouldn’t suffer like this,” Wyn replies, his tone flat, though his gaze sharpens.

  Emerald portals open across the ground, nearly covering it entirely, forcing both beings to hover in the air. Wyn surges forward, shield raised, crashing into Dark Force. Dark Force resists, pushing against the shield with his hands. Wyn sweeps the shield aside, quickly following up with a punch into Dark Force’s form. A golden beam strikes down from above, forcing both to stagger. Dark Force disperses, re-forming behind Wyn – only to realize that Wyn’s form has shifted. He now stands as Yu.

  “I want to look at the statues and mourn for my friends, but I can’t,” Wyn says, his voice now sounding as Yu.

  “Don’t do this. Don’t destroy Earth,” Dark Force says, his voice carrying a hint of desperation.

  Wyn unleashes arrows toward Dark Force, who deftly evades them. Without hesitation, Wyn shifts into Mira’s form, dashing through Dark Force’s mass. He turns, now in Anish’s form, and delivers a powerful backhand to Dark Force’s head. In a flash, Wyn changes again, this time into James, and punches diagonally through Dark Force’s form. Now as Lisa, he drives both hands through Dark Force’s chest, leaving them embedded within. Finally, as David, Wyn calls down a beam of golden light, striking both Dark Force and himself.

  “You’re not fighting back,” Wyn says, his tone unwavering, “because you don’t want to win this no-winner fight.” He shifts back into his original form, his gaze steady.

  To Wyn’s surprise, Dark Force’s form swiftly reformed after each of his attacks, as if he was willingly accepting them.

  “You know I can’t kill you, and I don’t want you to kill me,” Dark Force says, his tone calm. “This is all for Earth.”

  Wyn stares at Dark Force for a long moment, his gaze steady, before letting out a sigh.

  “I’m not starting a new war. I’m freeing you,” Wyn replies, his voice clear. “To achieve what you’re seeking, you need to start fresh. Give them a unified purpose. Rid them of all negative emotions and keep only the positive, the altruistic. The ones roaming Earth now have evolved too far for change. Worse yet, they don’t perish, which means they’ll never change. You can keep only the good ones, but eventually, they’ll become stale and mindless.”

  Dark Force’s voice tightens. “You’re okay with wiping out your loved ones, like your parents, Cateto, the nerds, and the elites?”

  Wyn’s expression softens, a genuine smile crossing his face. “That’s up to you. Truth is, I’m not here to destroy you.”

  Wyn’s form scatters and re-forms a distance away from Dark Force. He begins to circle around him, his shape slowly shifting, his features growing younger by the minute.

  “Don’t do this, Wyn,” Dark Force pleads, his voice tinged with something unspoken.

  As Wyn circles around him, his mind is overwhelmed by flashes of his life, each memory coming to life in an intense, rapid sequence. From his early days to his time in the afterlife, every moment feels sharp and vivid, and for the first time, his expression shifts with each memory.

  He smiles at the joyful moments – the first time he stands, wobbly on his tiny feet, and his parents cheer him on, their faces glowing with pride and joy. The memory of that moment is filled with warmth, their hands holding him up, guiding him to take his first step.

  Then, another memory surges forward – he’s in class, a little older now, eyes wide as he receives the news: he’s first in his class. His parents celebrate, beaming with pride as they take him out for dinner, their eyes full of hope for his future. It’s a memory of success, of love, of everything that could have been.

  But the next memory hits harder. The disappointment. The failure. The times he struggles in high school. The exams he fails. The tears in his parents' eyes when they argue with him, their faces etched with frustration and concern. The ache of disappointing them settles in his chest, and the weight of those unspoken words follows him through the years.

  Time shifts, and Wyn’s mind flashes to Cannothing. The harsh, dark winters that haunt him, as he lives there alone, with nothing but depression for company. The silence suffocates him, the endless nights spent shivering in his small apartment, trapped in his own isolation.

  Then, he’s back in Tideland. His parents are there, waiting for him at the airport, their faces lighting up in joy. He doesn’t move back into his house, instead choosing to work, losing touch with the place that was once his home. Work...the constant pressure, the struggles, the toxic environment that drains him. There are brief moments of accomplishment, but they feel hollow, fleeting. The joy of success is quickly overshadowed by the weight of expectations, the never-ending grind, and the sense of never measuring up.

  Then, the moment that changes everything. His last moments before he dies. The tears he sheds for what he’s about to do lead him into the memories of the afterlife – the first meetings with Yu, Mira, Anish, James, Lisa, and David. In those moments with them, he finds a sense of purpose again, a sense of belonging.

  But as the memories continue to unravel, the inevitable happens. He loses them. The faces he once called friends fade away, one by one. The pain surges, raw and jagged. They’re taken from him in a way that leaves him shattered, alone once more.

  As the memories unfold, Wyn’s expression shifts with each change – smiles to tears, warmth to coldness. He moves through his life like an observer, caught in the endless cycle of joy and pain, searching for something he can never quite reach. The weight of it all presses down on him, but then, he sees himself – a child, around thirteen years old.

  “This is the only way I can end this fight without the afterlife realm getting wiped out,” Wyn says, his voice now youthful. “As long as one of us remains, the war can’t restart – no matter what.”

  He exhales, as if trying to ease the weight of his decision. “I won’t be around to see what you do, but if you understand humans, keep Cateo, the nerds, the elites, my parents, and the statues in the dome safe.” His gaze lowers. “If my friends were still here…things would’ve been different.”

  The memories shift once again, and Wyn finds himself as a baby – barely recognizable, yet still smiling.

  “Yu, Mira, Anish, James, Lisa, David, Cateto...thank you for everything,” he whispers softly, his voice breaking, heavy with emotion. “I’m sorry I can’t carry the weight...I’m sorry for being the failure that I am. I never deserved your love, but I can’t live without it.”

  Tears fall freely now, his voice quivering like that of a child, vulnerable and full of regret. “For one last time...you’ve let me feel sad, happy, and...excited.”

  And with that, Wyn reverts to an embryo. His form bursts into blinding light, then dissolves into an overflow of essence, swiftly drawn into the many portals scattered across the floor. Desperate, Dark Force reaches for Wyn’s essence, but the portals snap shut before he can follow, leaving him with only a lingering remnant that failed to pass through. Worse yet, he cannot locate the void warden or the elites. With growing urgency, he turns to the nerds for help while he ventures into the void space, hoping to find either Wyn’s essence or the void warden. Though he manages to trace some of Wyn’s essence, his search is cut short when Pete delivers an urgent report – Earth is trembling.