Devon appeared 3,000 meters away, atop a collapsing building in the ruined city, his presence unshaken.
"It's been a while, Devon, the one referred to as 'The End,'" a voice said.
"Yes, it has, Nick, Son of Chaos," Devon replied.
Nick, golden-haired, with a sculpted body, a tail, and towering seven to eight feet, smirked.
"You are getting tired, aren't you? It's getting infuriating, isn't it," Nick said, stepping closer. "No matter how much you try to change it, Maria must die, and each time by your hands." He laughed, then grew quiet.
"Explain this to me, Devon. Right now you stand at the peak of both of these worlds, you can have everything you desire, why go for a mere mortal? I don't get it, I really don't, but perhaps it has to do with the fact that you are human.
You are not one of us, you have already went back 500 or was it 600 times back to save her just before she dies, but it won't change, no matter what, she dies in your hands and you can't change that, you can't change fate."
"Maybe I will be the first one to do it," Devon said.
Nick clasped Devon's head with massive hands. "No matter how powerful you are, fate stands above us all, it isn't a being, Devon, it's an entity, an entity that is very much aware of this conversation we are having right now."
Devon shattered Nick's hands, unmoving.
Nick stepped back, regenerating instantly, unangered, and folded his arms. "And each time we have to face each other in this deadly embrace we always have where I always lose to you, but the memories still stay fresh in my head and I'm guessing it's the same for you, perhaps a painful reminder from fate that it cannot be overcome."
"All I need is your left eye, Nick," Devon said, referring to the Eye of Stasis.
Nick touched his left eye. "Of course you do, you already have the Eyes of Space and Time, one more and you would be able to do it, go back for Maria. It would be different this time," Devon said.
"Each time I hear those exact words and it is getting sickening. This time I mean it, Nick," Devon said, pulling a black crystal resembling the Milky Way from his coat.
"A void crystal?" Nick said, voice trembling. "You killed a god?"
"The God of Speed," Devon replied blandly.
"You fool, you will definitely be killed, perhaps if you had 2,000 more years you may be able to get away with it. But right now, no matter where you go, you will be killed, they will find you no matter."
The world trembled, the downpour intensifying as the gods descended, their fury sparked by Devon's rebellion.
Five frail figures stepped forward, led by a young boy, his eyes carrying millennia of weight, a judge of fate's will.
"Devon Veyron, Son of Time and Space, you are hereby sentenced to death on charges that I won't even bother stating," the boy said.
The world cracked, chaos spreading.
"Stabilize it, Sadean," he ordered, and another god paused the destruction.
"What a feeble-looking world," the boy said. "And yet a deity such as yourself has these mere limitations to an already dying world. This world would be destroyed in a hundred years by the people within it. And all this for a girl, you should have let it go. You should know that fate's word is absolute. Bringing a dead mortal is not something that can't be done, but fate refused to allow it and yet you disobeyed to the point of even killing a god," his voice rising with anger. "I had hope for you, I even made a bet that you would be a god within a hundred years, but you failed me, like a son would his father."
Devon faced the gods, his eyes blazing with defiance.
"Isn't there a way to change the verdict?" Nick said.
"Son of Chaos, stay out of this lest you join him in death," the boy warned.
"Apology, Senior, I spoke out of line," Nick said, stepping back.
He whispered to Devon, "What are the chances you will succeed?"
"10 percent," Devon said, uncertain.
"And how long will you take? I need 30 seconds for the heavenly chant."
"A deity holding off six gods in 30 seconds? That will be written down in history," Nick said, laughing. "Very well, let my name be known across the universe. Nick Birch, Son of Chaos, took on gods all by himself!"
He surged forward, his hammer manifesting from lightning. "The World Acura!"
A shockwave erupted, slamming into a barrier.
The boy and Sadean, the only gods attacking, sneered. "I did warn you to stay out of this. Your father has no one but himself to blame," the boy said.
Nick's hammer and hand shattered, his armor and limbs shredded.
Regeneration blocked, his vision blurred as only his head remained, held by Sadean, who laughed.
Nick glanced at Devon. "23 seconds. I'm pathetic, but it's not over, I will buy him the time he needs."
A massive lion-like beast, Sven, erupted from the ground, its roar shaking the city, its eyes blazing with loyalty to Nick, its master for centuries.
"Protect him!" Nick commanded.
Sven faced the gods, its grief fueling its charge.
Devon continued the chant, his voice steady.
The boy moved past Sven, splitting the beast in two with a single strike.
He grabbed Devon's neck. "You shouldn't have done that," Devon said.
Sven, blood pouring from its severed body, smacked the boy away with a final roar.
The other gods advanced, their shadows closing in.
Devon stood. "It is time."
He touched Sven's head. "I'm sorry, and I will make everything right."
As the gods reached for him, a void opened, and Devon vanished.