Ex rank talent Awakening: 100% Dodge rate

"Little one, do not let emotions cloud your judgment and make the grave mistake of lowering your guard. While traversing the cosmos, I have seen mighty beings brought to ruin by the very ones they held dearest—betrayed by lovers, siblings, even their own children. Do not fall like them simply because you trust too easily," the Universe Ender lectured Rebecca as they drifted through the cosmic void, stars and galaxies streaking past them like streaks of paint on a divine canvas. Their destination loomed ahead: a universe on the brink of its annihilation, soon to be ended by his hand.

Rebecca glanced at him with a faint pout. "Come now… does that mean you keep your guard up even against me?"

"Yes," he replied without a moment's hesitation.

His tone was blunt, final—devoid of apology. Rebecca's expression fell, a quiet grumble escaping her lips. It wasn't what she wanted to hear. Not from him.

"It's not that I don't trust you, child," the Universe Ender said, sensing her disappointment. "I do. But consider it… a safety mechanism. The most painful blows are always the ones dealt by those closest to our hearts."

✦ ✦ ✦

Now, Rebecca finally understood.

She stared in stunned silence at the dagger embedded deep in her chest, the cold steel grazing her heart. It pulsed with strange energy—an unnatural, volatile element spreading through her veins like wildfire. Her knees weakened, her breath caught. Her gaze lifted, trembling, to the one who had struck her.

"Why…?" she whispered, a single tear slipping from her eye, trailing down her cheek.

"I'm sorry," Grey said softly, his hands still clenched around the hilt, his arms trembling. "But I can't let you destroy this world. Mother's resting place… it's here."

Her mind reeled at the words, unable to believe it. The betrayal ran deeper than the blade itself. The dagger had been laced with the corrosive blood of the first Demon—bestowed by the Demon King to the Celestial King long ago—and mixed with the essence of the First Celestial. The opposing primordial forces clashed violently inside her, rending her from within.

"Urgh!!"

An explosion of darkness erupted from her body, flinging Grey away with cataclysmic force. He crashed into the earth like a meteor, the ground collapsing beneath him as he was buried deep, swallowed by layers of shattered stone like a ship sinking into the abyssal sea.

Rebecca stood frozen, heart quaking.

The Universe Ender's words echoed in her mind. "Do not fall like them because you trust them."

She had fallen.

She had trusted him—trusted a stranger, a man she had only just learned was her brother. She had offered him her power out of shared blood, out of hope. And he had betrayed her. She regretted every decision—every moment of hesitation, every flicker of trust. If she had simply fought with everything she had from the start… this would not have happened.

"To save the world? Because his mother's grave is here?" Her lips trembled. He couldn't even think of a better excuse?

Anger boiled within her—a rage unlike anything she had ever known. It swelled and surged, responding to her despair. Her power answered in kind, howling from the depths of her soul.

The darkness within her stirred.

Her abyssal puppets vanished, called back to her side as her pupils turned into deep, endless voids. An oppressive aura of absolute darkness spread from her like ink in water, dripping through the fabric of the universe itself.

The will of the universe trembled.

It had never before feared a single being. But now… it recoiled in panic, like a child before a god. It tried to resist, tried to contain her fury, but it was naive—foolish. A fledgling universe could not suppress one who wielded two supreme laws.

Rebecca scoffed, her eyes burning with contempt.

Her darkness surged outward in an unstoppable flood, swallowing stars, shrouding space in endless night. The cries of the universe will echoed across all minds within the cosmos—an agonizing scream heard by every living being.

Grey emerged, bloodied and broken, dragging himself from the crater he had created, only to behold the wrath of a goddess.

All across the universe, life stood still. Demon lords, celestial kings, humans, elves, orcs, goblins—every species gazed skyward in stunned silence, powerless to act. They could only watch as Rebecca's fury blackened the sky.

"It seems… our plan has failed," the Demon King murmured, eyes wide as he watched her hover above the battlefield like an invincible god of destruction.

The universe was completely consumed. And Rebecca—her resolve hardened—prepared to devour it whole.

"Sigh… it had to come to this, didn't it, child?"

A soothing, melodic voice reached Rebecca's ears—a sound like a mother's lullaby wrapped in timeless sorrow.

Her consciousness was pulled away, dragged into a familiar place—a cave of serene light and quiet infinity. There stood the Queen of All Entities, watching her with tender, mournful eyes.

"You can't stop me," Rebecca said coldly, eyes still blazing. "I will destroy the universe."

"It's alright, child. I understand your pain—betrayal, heartbreak. I've known them all too well. But please…" The queen's voice quivered as she stepped forward. "I beg of you—do not destroy this universe. Not for me… but for the sake of my son."

Rebecca's breath caught.

Her fury wavered, ever so slightly.

The plea—so raw, so genuine—tugged at the shattered pieces of her soul.

"I'm sorry… but I must see this universe burn. It's the only way I'll be free."

The Queen nodded slowly. "Then answer me this: was it the universe that betrayed you… or just one person?"

Rebecca hesitated. Her lips parted, but no words came. She couldn't answer. The truth hovered just beyond her grasp.

"It's alright," the Queen said, placing a gentle hand on Rebecca's chest. "If you must destroy it, then I will not stop you. I only ask… wait. Wait until my son has escaped."

"I don't understand… Why not stop me by force? Aren't you stronger than I am?"

"Strength isn't always the answer," the Queen replied with a gentle smile. "And I am not one to raise my hand unless forced into war. Besides… if your life is truly endangered—if your soul begins to fade—there is another who will come. And when he does… the betrayer will know wrath."

Rebecca's rage dulled, caught in the Queen's quiet dignity. But even so… her vengeance still burned.

"I can't wait that long. I need justice now."

"Then I will help you," the Queen said softly.

Before Rebecca could protest, she felt a searing pain in her chest—then emptiness. The Queen had forcefully severed a part of her soul.

"This piece of your soul," the Queen whispered, holding the fragment delicately in her palm, "shall be bound to my son. When the temporal sphere around him dissolves, it will begin a new life. It will carry the key to your true power… but will not unlock it until it reunites with you completely."

Rebecca, breathless, looked down at her chest—at the absence she hadn't known could exist.

"You…" she said faintly. "You stripped me of part of myself…"

"I preserved the part of you that still believes in healing… in redemption."

The Queen smiled.

And Rebecca—for the first time—felt something other than fury.

She felt the faintest flicker… of hope.