Omniphage of Apathy

The god's grin widened as he released the white fireball, watching it descend through the water. an almost casual malice.

It shimmered like a dying star, its brilliance growing more intense as it sank deeper. The radiant heat it emitted caused the surrounding water to boil and churn violently.

The fireball erupted.

The explosion was catastrophic, a blast of such magnitude that it instantly vaporized the water within its radius.

Then came the shockwave.

The Business Hub of Rise was obliterated in an instant. Buildings that had been reconstructing themselves were reduced to fragments of stone and steel, swept away like paper in a storm.

The sheer force of the explosion tore through the submerged structures. The water turned to steam under the ferocious heat. Towering columns of vapor surged skyward, shattering the hemispherical barrier that had enclosed the upper city like glass.

Entire streets collapsed, plunging into the depths below as molten energy radiated outward, incinerating everything in its path.

Adelasta was thrown off her feet as the ground beneath her quaked violently. The remains of the city were unrecognizable, reduced to a wasteland of steaming rubble and glowing embers.

The heat scorched her skin and the force of the blast knocked the air from her lungs. Gritting her teeth, she braced herself as the shockwave passed, leaving behind a ringing silence that felt almost deafening.

The water was gone. The entire makeshift flood that had engulfed the hub had evaporated in the explosion, leaving behind a scorched, barren landscape. The place was thick with steam and smoke, making it hard to breathe or see more than a few meters ahead.

Adelasta hit the ground hard as the barrier's collapse left her without water to keep her afloat. Her body ached, her arm throbbed but she pushed herself to her knees. She coughed.

"Vastarael..."

Adelasta forced herself to stand. The heat from the explosion still lingered, waves of it radiating off the charred ground. She began to run, stumbling over the fractured debris, calling his name.

"Vastarael!"

The god's laughter echoed in the distance, taunting her as she searched.

"Foolish child, Your Betrothed is no more. Do you see the price of opposing me now?"

Adelasta ignored him. Her heart pounded in her chest and her vision blurred, but she pressed forward.

Vastarael couldn't be gone. Not like this. He was the strongest person she knew, the one who had always defied impossible odds. There was no way he had succumbed, not to this.

"Vastarael!"

The entire Business Hub of Rise was gone, reduced to a charred crater. The once-majestic spires were now little more than smoldering piles of rubble. Steam hissed from cracks in the ground where molten rock still bubbled.

Gathering her strength, she pushed herself back up and continued to search, her eyes scanning the wreckage for any sign of Vastarael. The god's mocking laughter grew fainter but she barely noticed.

And somewhere, amidst the chaos and the wreckage, a faint glimmer of hope flickered in the distance.

Adelasta froze as she heard the faint voice cut through the suffocating silence.

"Sheesh… I survived a nuclear attack."

Her head snapped toward the sound, her eyes wide with disbelief. Through the haze of steam and smoke, she saw him. Vastarael stood, his body battered but upright.

He was alive.

Adelasta's breath caught as she took in his condition. His white hair, now matted and singed, clung to his forehead. His upper garments were entirely gone, leaving his chest bare and riddled with burns, deep cuts, and bruises.

Steam rose from his injuries, the faint glow of his essence flickering around him as his body struggled to regenerate. His pants were torn and scorched and his boots had been lost somewhere in the chaos. Blood trickled from a gash on his temple, mixing with the soot that covered his skin.

And yet, despite his state, Vastarael managed a lopsided grin.

Adelasta felt her legs move before her mind caught up. She ran to him, her heart pounding harder with each step.

"Vastarael!"

Without thinking, she threw her arms around him, clutching him tightly. She could feel the heat radiating from his wounds, the faint pulse of his essence as it worked to repair the damage.

"Adelasta," he murmured, wincing slightly. "Careful... my injuries—"

She pulled away abruptly, realizing what she had done. Her cold expression returned in an instant, her arms stiff at her sides as if to distance herself from her moment of vulnerability.

"I-I know that," she said curtly, but her hands were trembling.

Her eyes scanned him again, lingering on the burns and cuts that marred his once-pristine form. Physically, she looked composed, even detached, but inside, her emotions churned.

'Why am I so worried?'

She swallowed hard, her mind racing. Vastarael wasn't supposed to look this broken, this fragile. He was always strong, her rival, her equal. Seeing him like this, so vulnerable yet still standing, sent a pang through her chest that she didn't understand.

And then, something strange settled within her. Relief.

She couldn't name it, but it was there, like a spark buried deep in her cold exterior. He was alive and for reasons she couldn't articulate, that mattered more than anything else.

"Why am I… glad?" She muttered under her breath, her brow furrowing as she tried to make sense of the unfamiliar feeling. Her gaze softened for a fraction of a second before she forced herself to look away.

Vastarael, noticing the turmoil in her eyes, offered her a small smile.

"You look like you've seen a ghost."

"I could say the same about you. You're more resilient than I thought, Prince of Anqerise."

Stephos, the god of flames, emerged from the haze of destruction, his white suit immaculate despite the chaos. His golden cloak billowed behind him as he sauntered forward, molten cracks forming beneath his feet with every step. His face bore a grin of mock amusement but his eyes gleamed with malice.

"You're alive? Impressive. You're more resilient than I thought, Prince of Anqerise. I'll admit, I underestimated you. But no matter. The game is over."

He stopped a few meters from Vastarael and Adelasta, his tone dripping with condescension.

"Any final words before I end this charade?"

Vastarael straightened, though his body screamed in protest. Steam still rose from his wounds as his essence sluggishly worked to regenerate him. He glanced at Adelasta, who looked both furious and terrified, before turning his attention back to Stephos. Despite the pain, a faint smirk tugged at his lips.

"Final words, huh? Sure. I'll tell you my plan. You'll like it. It's clever, if I say so myself."

Stephos arched an eyebrow, curious despite himself.

"Go on, amuse me."

Vastarael took a deep breath, ignoring the stabbing pain in his ribs. "Let's start from the beginning. My plan began the moment I realized you were hunting us. You see, I've been preparing for this since you trapped this cursed city. The first step was summoning water runes."

Stephos frowned slightly.

"Water is a rare ability in Spheraphase," Vastarael explained, his voice gaining strength as he spoke. "Only three beings can control it: my mother Lysameria, another I'd rather not name, and me. The rarer the ability, the more potent its effects and the less essence it consumes to use it. That's why flooding this hub wasn't as difficult as it seemed. Sure, it drained a lot of my essence, but that's where your monsters came in handy."

Stephos's expression darkened as Vastarael continued.

"I didn't just kill them to thin their numbers. Every time I slew one, my Principal Tether absorbed their essence, replenishing mine. It was an endless loop you see. Use essence to create the flood, then recover it from your minions. Efficient, don't you think?"

Adelasta blinked, stunned by the revelation. She had underestimated just how much foresight Vastarael had.

Stephos folded his arms, his molten footsteps halting. "Clever. But flooding the city alone wouldn't kill me. So what was the point?"

Vastarael chuckled weakly. "I thought you'd ask. Flooding the city was Phase One. Phase Two relied on you. You see, you're arrogant. You like to flaunt your power and I counted on that. I knew you wouldn't wade into the water to chase me. Instead, you'd vaporize it with your flames. And you did, just as I predicted."

Stephos's eyes narrowed, but he said nothing, allowing Vastarael to continue.

"Now here's where things get interesting. You ever heard of pressure dynamics? Let me give you a quick physics lesson."

He gestured weakly to the surrounding destruction.

"When you heat water into steam, it expands. The barrier surrounding this city acted like a giant container. By flooding the city, I filled that container with liquid. When you vaporized it, the pressure inside skyrocketed. But here's the thing. Even a Tenth Star Barrier like yours can't ignore the laws of physics. The pressure built and built until…"

"The barrier shattered," Stephos finished, his tone colder now.

"Exactly." Vastarael grinned, though it was strained. "All that destructive energy from the collapsing barrier did more than just wipe out your monsters. It destabilized the city, creating chaos that bought me time."

"So what if the barrier is gone? What difference does that make? You're still outmatched. What was the point of all this?"

"That's Phase Three," Vastarael said, his voice calm despite his exhaustion. "Buying time. From the moment my stepmother told me to stay alive until sunrise, I knew it wasn't random advice. She's never wrong about these things. If she said morning was the key, it meant someone would come to save us. My job was to make sure we survived long enough for that to happen."

Stephos sneered. "Your father is on another continent. Your two mothers are busy defending your precious palace. No one's coming for you, Vastarael."

Vastarael's smirk widened, though it cost him dearly to maintain it. "Are you so sure about that?"

Before Stephos could respond, the air shifted. A crushing, otherworldly presence descended upon the ruined city, so powerful that it made the very ground tremble. The oppressive aura was like a tidal wave.

Stephos froze, his eyes widening in disbelief.

"No… it can't be..."

From the edge of the destruction, a figure emerged, her steps deliberate and unhurried.

Lysameria, the Nexus of Oceans, the Blade Nexus, and Vastarael's mother, had arrived.

Her hair flowed and her deep cerulean eyes shimmered with an intensity that made even Stephos take a step back. Her flowing white robes seemed to ripple like waves and every movement she made exuded the grace and power of the sea itself.

"You dared to threaten and kill my son."

Stephos clenched his fists, his bravado cracking under her gaze.

"You weren't supposed to—"

"Be here?" Lysameria interrupted, a faint smile playing on her lips. "You underestimated a mother's reach, Stephos. And now, you'll pay the price for your arrogance."

Adelasta stared in shock, her heart racing as Lysameria's aura washed over them like a protective tide. Vastarael, for the first time, allowed himself to relax, his smirk softening into a genuine smile.

"Right on time," he murmured, his voice barely audible. "About time, mother."

The tides had turned. Literally.