The darkness descended and Telmus raised his blade against it, and he lost.

There was a shriek of pain from his Blade of Intent as the darkness now in the form of a sword, sliced through the blade and passed through Telmus’ body, before vanishing.

The name of the God King’s weapon was the Gaping Undoer, and everything it cut would die. Even a small nick from the weapon would kill an Immortal, Telmus had defended against a great portion of its might, but it was not enough.

The weapon beside the God King began to laugh, the head of Rowan that was beside it looked at this sword, and his gaze grew dark. Like its master, this weapon was insane, and it luxuriated in drinking the blood of Immortals.

Rowan could not save the soul of Telmus, because that weapon destroyed it in its entirety.

It did not matter that Telmus had hundreds of thousands of Intent, against the might of Will that could attack across time, the master of space fell short.

Telmus staggered, but he did not fall nor did he bleed, even Gaping Undoer was unable to cut through his flesh, but his soul was weaker and it was crushed.

He looked at the shattered blade in his hand, a hint of confusion inside his eyes, and then understanding, and with a sigh, his hand fell to the side, his enormous powers bubbled inside him, with a thought he should be able to unleash all his might, and crush Trion, and if he wanted even kill some of the gods inside their shell, but his wife and daughter would die.

Everyone had underestimated Telmus, even Rowan. During the battle with the gods, he had been able to see the shapes of their vault, and he had measured the strength he would need to cut through it.

If he released all his Intent inside him and directed it towards them, he would kill more than a few, but killing his family was not an option.

His death did not matter because he had shown his daughter the path towards freedom. He hoped she had watched her old man clearly, for she was the continuation of his greatness. She would be the one to slaughter the gods of Trion and their master, he only wished he could have heard the name she gave herself. Why did she have to be so stubborn to allow her old man to wait for so long without answers?

Telmus looked at the stars for one last time, and he whispered, the gods of Trion did not hear what he said, but Rowan sitting inside the Crystal Leviathan and watching everything that transpired, did.

“Look at the stars, they mourn for me… I wonder who will mourn for you all.” He closed his eyes, and his last breath left his chest.

Telmus was dead.

Yet his body still stood tall. His long white hair which resembled a cloud was carried by the breeze making it appear as if he had a halo around his head. His hand still held tight to his shattered blade, and it mourned for its master before it fell into a deep slumber, wishing to accompany him in death.

In the heavens above, the light of the stars that shone on Trion began to converge until they settled on the body of Telmus like a cloak.

This sign shook the entire universe as endless lines of starlight streamed across the cosmos to fall on the figure of the one man. The only person in existence whom the stars mourned for.

Andar was atop the Black Tower and he watched this spectacular event, he felt his heart shake, as a profound sense of loss passed through him, he could hear the stars crying and it terrified and amazed him in equal measures.

It terrified all the great powers in the universe and all eyes began to turn towards Trion.

The gods of Trion were all quiet, and although they did not use their entire might to fight this battle, they all knew that even if they did, it would still be useless against this single mortal. They all put away their weapons in silence, as they stood and watched the cosmos weep.

The voice of Golgoth shattered their reverie, “The Child of the Stars is dead by my hand. This is the fate of all who defy me, even my wretched brother. All of you, move your children towards the fields of battle, wash away the filth of the mages and demons from my domain!”

The gods seemed to be shaken from their introspection and they all turned into large strips of light that flew towards the horizon. The last to leave was Tiberius, the God of War. He looked at the man who stood alone, refusing to fall, even in death and for the first time in his life, the God of War bowed and then he left.

An hour later Minerva arrived and she was free from injury, her eyes watching the still body of her son, and she turned her eyes away in shock. She had been unaware when she began regarding her child as invincible, and the reality of his death shook her to the core.

She fell to her knees and remained this way, even when the sun had set and arose anew, she remained by his side, and after staying by his side for seven days, Minerva spoke for the first time,

“You died as you have lived… defiant. You fool, if only you could have waited a while.”

A memory entered her consciousness, the last thing Telmus had told her. He had been standing with his back against her, his arrogance and pride not held back in the slightest, even in her presence, and he had said to her,

“The measure of a man is not on how long they have lived. It’s in how they make use of what life has shown them. I am Telmus, and I bow to no one.”

Minerva brought her hands forward to take the body of Telmus but she hastily drew it back, as a long cut that revealed her bones appeared on her limb. Even in death, no god was worthy enough to touch Telmus.

If she forced it, it might even kill her. Equal pride, pain, relief, anger, and so many emotions warred inside her chest and it took everything for Minerva to stop herself from screaming.

She blinked and something fell from her eyes. She wanted to believe it was rain, but the sun was beginning to rise, and the skies were clear.

In the distance, multiple rumblings had begun to vibrate across every continent on Trion, as the final battle commenced. The smell of blood filled the air, and the lights from the sun became dim due to a film of red that had covered the planet. A red that came as a result of blood being shed in monstrous volumes.

The voice of the God King reached her ears, “Honor your part in this bargain Minerva, release the demons of the Great Abyss to feast, and I shall give you the last piece of the puzzle. I have used a million years to prepare quite the buffet, and my guests are not enough.”

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