That body was no longer a child's it had become a fully grown demon, twisted and towering, its flesh pulsing with malevolent energy.
Sloth, one of the Seven Deadly Sins and the god of eternal lethargy, sat upon his throne of bone and ash. In ancient texts, scrawled in dark, coagulated blood, it was written: once, long ago, the righteous gods and the corrupted demonic deities coexisted in harmony. But when the Chaotic Era dawned, temptation seeped into the divine. The gods, unable to resist their own desires, turned on one another. A war of unimaginable devastation erupted.
Countless gods perished. The few who survived banished the corrupted ones to a realm hidden between heaven and earth a place where light could not reach, and time itself recoiled.
Before their demise, the righteous gods forged Heaven, a sanctuary for their descendants. There, a divine governor would be chosen to uphold peace across the realms. Heaven alone held the authority to judge the Seven Supreme Gods of the land, including the demons.
Hell, in contrast, was ruled by the Seven Deadly Sins and the Seven Demonic Supremes. It thrived on human suffering, feeding on negative emotions, twisting them into power. Karma, in this world, was not a concept it was a currency, traded between realms.
Neither Heaven nor Hell was superior. But the mortal realm, fragile and volatile, could tip the balance. And so, to tilt the scales in their favor, the demons devised a plan: assassinate a newly ascending god and turn his domain into a breeding ground for despair.
Sloth had been scheming for centuries. His target: North Frozenlight, the newborn God of Ice.
But there was another reason an ancient prophecy.
Within his obsidian citadel, guarded by monstrous generals stitched from the bones of fallen angels, Sloth began the ritual. A circle of sacrifices bled into the runes etched into the stone floor. At its center stood a humanoid vessel, sculpted from the petrified heart of an ancient dragon.
Sloth opened his mouth, his voice a whisper that slithered like smoke.
"Welcome, newly crowned God of Ice… North Frozenlight."
***
"Why?" I asked, my voice trembling with fury. "Why try to kill me?"
As I summoned my divine authority, the emotion of anger began to dissolve, replaced by a chilling calm.
"Your death," Sloth said, his grin stretching unnaturally wide, "is a feast for us. Your domain a banquet of sorrow."
"The last Ice God dared to expand into our realm. He was weak. Even with six others beside him, he fell. Pride wounded him, and the curse of divine blood did the rest."
"The battle raged above our lands. The heavens struck hard, but we struck deeper. Both sides bled. Both sides lost."
Sloth's eyes glowed a dull, corpse-gray. The space between us twisted, reality tearing like wet parchment.
"Do you know why I truly want you dead?" he asked.
I stared into his hollow gaze, silent.
His smile widened grotesquely, nearly splitting his face in two. "Because the heavens betrayed us first."
"What?"
"Yes," he hissed. "The Seven Gods, including Heaven's governor, launched a secret assault on our realm. Few know the truth. They feared the prophecy an ancient scripture unearthed from the bottom of Hell."
"We, the Seven Sins and the Demonic Supremes, united to unlock it. Cooperation among us is rare… but fear is a powerful motivator."
"With the help of our governor, we forged a pact. We sacrificed thirty percent of our own kind to open the seal. The cost was… exquisite."
He laughed. A sound like bones grinding in a furnace.
"The prophecy was written by the great sage, the last believer of the Forgotten One. As we read it, a rainbow tore through the abyss. Half the page vanished stolen by the heavens."
"They tried to retrieve the rest. They failed."
"I cannot reveal our half… but know this: the prophecy speaks of the Seven New Gods. Of the end of all things. And so, we begin with you."
He stepped forward, shadows writhing at his feet.
I narrowed my eyes, white frost blooming in my irises.
"You think you can kill me?" I whispered. "Then come. I do not fear death."
The world turned gray. Then, in a heartbeat, it froze shattering like glass beneath my will.
***
From the shattered roof of the cave, I watched North clash with the demon. The air screamed with their power.
I unleashed my own divinity 'Zero Kelvin.' The Purgatorios laughed until their laughter froze in their throats, their bodies preserved in eternal frost.
But one remained. Hidden beneath the earth, it emerged, grinning. With a flick of its claw, it split into dozens hundreds of clones. A sea of Purgatorios surged forward.
If even one survived, it would begin again.
I couldn't leave. If I did, they'd descend upon Slumber Pit Village. The civilians would be slaughtered.
I shouted, "North! I'll come once I've finished them off. Stall them buy us time!"
"Our mother sent us to die," I muttered. "A ticket to Heaven… or Hell?"
I couldn't wield Absolute Zero like North. My frost was limited. I couldn't freeze everything.
Tsk.
"You can't kill me," one Purgatorio hissed.
"Hehehe… You can't kill us."
"You can't kill us."
"Hehehe… Hahaha… Kekeke…"
"Son of a—" I growled, leaping into the swarm. "I'll kill every last one of you!"
***
"So cold… Am I dying again?"
My limbs felt like stone. My breath, a whisper.
"Are you awake?" a woman's voice asked, soft and warm.
I opened my eyes, startled. My wounds were sealed in ice. We were still in the cave but in a deeper, quieter hollow. Safe, for now.
A middle-aged woman sat beside me, her presence calm and maternal. Others were nearby, wrapped in thick blankets.
"My name is Anna," she said. "I haven't seen you before. Are you new to the village?"
The room was dark. We couldn't see each other, but her voice was a balm.
"Don't be afraid. Our Eternal Lord came. He sealed our wounds. No one will die tonight."
"He told us not to light a fire until he returns. But he left us warmth."
Her words settled over me like snow. But I knew the truth. I had read the novel. I knew what was coming.
Either Raka or North would die tonight.
The author once wrote a 'what if' a version where Raka survived. But in this timeline, if North dies, the world ends. If Raka dies, North and his fiancée the Goddess of Nature will spiral into despair. She will lose herself to grief and nearly destroy the Netherworld.
I couldn't let that happen.
"I'm Yuria," I whispered. "Anna… do you know where the Eternal Lord went—"
Before I could finish, the cave roof exploded.
I staggered to my feet, pain lancing through my side. I ran toward the light.
"Yuria, don't go!" Anna cried. "He'll protect us!"
"I have to," I said. "I must."
I stepped into the night. The scent of blood clung to the wind. The sky was painted in crimson, the moon bleeding light.
And there, bathed in that unholy glow, stood North Frozenlight his eyes like dying stars, his breath misting in the frozen air.
The final battle had begun.