The execution ground trembled.
Isaac Gator didn't move his feet.
He simply raised his hand.
The suspended swords above the chamber began to hum.
Not metal.
Not steel.
Each blade shimmered with layered glyphs rotating along its edge — symbols of erasure, collapse, unmaking.
Annihilation.
Isaac's fingers twitched.
The swords fell.
Not dropped.
Commanded.
They came down like divine verdicts, tearing through air with a sound that felt wrong — as if reality itself objected to their passage.
"No ordinary weapon can defend against them," Isaac said calmly.
Kaelus didn't wait.
"Tempest Blade!"
Wind erupted upward in a rotating column.
He leapt and met the first descending sword mid-air.
Tempest Blade clashed against annihilation.
The collision didn't spark.
It screamed.
Wind fractured around the edge of the annihilation blade.
Kaelus was forced downward violently, boots grinding across stone as he redirected the strike.
Rein roared and jumped into the air, Dominion authority coating his forearms.
He grabbed a descending sword with both hands.
The glyphs burned into his skin.
He gritted his teeth and twisted his body, redirecting it away from Stellar.
Darius snapped his fingers.
Chains burst upward from shadows and wrapped around three falling blades.
"Bind!"
The swords resisted.
Their edges began erasing the chains slowly.
Stellar thrust both hands forward.
Ice pillars erupted from the ground, striking the swords and redirecting their fall paths.
But annihilation magic wasn't just destructive.
It carried erasure essence.
Anything it touched long enough ceased to exist conceptually.
Darius' eyes narrowed.
One sword had slipped through.
It wasn't aimed at them.
It was aimed behind them.
At Eryndor.
"Kaelus!"
Kaelus turned mid-deflection.
"Isaac, you dog!"
Darius launched a chain toward the blade.
It wrapped around it—
But Isaac's fingers curled.
The sword changed trajectory instantly.
Space wasn't folding.
This wasn't spatial manipulation.
This was absolute magical control.
The blade tore free from the chain and shot straight toward Eryndor's head.
Rein lunged—
Too far.
Stellar froze the air—
Too slow.
The annihilation sword descended.
And—
CLANG.
Lightning erupted.
A rotating sphere of storm energy materialized around Eryndor's unconscious body.
The blade struck it—
And was deflected violently to the side.
It embedded itself into the execution ground instead.
Isaac's smile widened.
"I see."
Even unconscious, a god senses impending danger.
If they lack an automatic barrier, they die.
Eryndor's Storm Barrier was instinctual.
Automatic.
Alive.
Isaac stepped forward at last.
"Enough theatrics."
Annihilation glyphs ignited across his arms.
He vanished.
And reappeared in front of Kaelus.
Palm strike.
Kaelus blocked.
The impact erased the outer layer of wind around Tempest Blade.
Kaelus was launched backward.
Rein came from the side.
Punch.
Isaac ducked and countered with a knee infused with annihilation.
Rein felt part of his dominion layer peel away.
Darius engaged next.
Chains lashed.
Shadow Blade formed in his palm.
Isaac moved through them like a predator among amateurs.
He wasn't just stronger.
He was refined.
Each of his strikes carried erasure essence.
A glancing blow tore through Stellar's frost armor like paper.
She stumbled.
Rein swung again.
Isaac caught his wrist.
Annihilation energy surged.
Rein screamed as the outer layer of his authority cracked.
He was thrown across the chamber.
Kaelus attacked from above.
Tempest Blade descended.
Isaac caught the blade with two fingers.
The wind around it vanished.
Not dispersed.
Erased.
He kicked Kaelus in the stomach.
Kaelus crashed through a pillar.
Darius rushed in.
Shadow Embodiment intensified.
He exchanged blows directly.
For five seconds, they matched each other.
Then Isaac whispered, "Erasure Pulse."
A shockwave expanded outward.
Darius' shadow form fractured.
He was flung across the execution ground.
Stellar roared and charged, frost surging violently.
She landed three solid strikes.
Each one left cracks in Isaac's coat.
But Isaac grabbed her by the throat.
Annihilation energy surged through his palm.
Stellar's frost began dissolving.
Her eyes widened—
Then everything went black.
She collapsed.
Rein forced himself back up.
Blood running down his face.
He charged again.
Isaac sighed.
One punch.
Rein went down.
Unconscious.
Now only Darius and Kaelus remained standing.
They looked at each other briefly.
No fear.
Just understanding.
They attacked together.
Wind and shadow synchronized.
Kaelus cut high.
Darius bound low.
Isaac countered flawlessly.
He slipped through their coordination.
His strikes became heavier.
Darius staggered.
Kaelus' breathing grew ragged.
They were running out of energy.
Rein groaned.
Forced himself up again.
"You're not done yet," he muttered.
He rushed back in.
Isaac backhanded him.
Rein collapsed again.
Isaac stepped back.
Laughing softly.
"You've reached so far," he said, adjusting his coat.
"Now is not the time to give up."
He glanced at their exhausted forms.
"Well… I can't blame you."
His gaze sharpened.
"You are low deities and god candidates."
He sighed faintly.
Then—
A laugh echoed.
Sharp.
Unstable.
Wrong.
Isaac stopped.
Everyone turned.
Stellar.
She was standing.
Her head tilted downward.
Laughing.
Her hair was turning pure white.
Not pale.
Not silver.
White like untouched frost.
Her eyes glowed bright blue.
The temperature plummeted instantly.
The execution ground began freezing.
Chains.
Cages.
Pillars.
The very air crystallized.
Everything except Eryndor, Darius, Kaelus, Rein—
And Isaac.
Isaac's eyes widened slightly.
"So."
His voice lowered.
"You've broken through your limits."
He smiled faintly.
"And reached the level of a low deity."
He stepped back slightly.
"Or should I call you… Queen Frost?"
Stellar stopped laughing.
She didn't speak.
She simply moved.
And vanished.
Isaac's eyes widened.
That speed—
Not god candidate.
Not freshly ascended.
She appeared in front of him.
Punch.
He barely blocked.
The force sent him skidding.
Impossible.
He vanished upward.
Appeared above her.
"Fire Annihilation Pillar!"
A massive magic circle formed above her head.
Flames of erasure gathered—
The circle cracked.
Then dissolved into frost dust.
Isaac froze.
His eyes widened fully.
She had frozen the concept of the spell.
Not the fire.
The formation itself.
The magic never completed.
Stellar looked up at him.
And smiled.
Menacing.
She appeared above him in an instant.
And kicked him down.
The ground cratered.
She didn't stop.
Punch.
Step.
Punch.
Step.
Each strike infused with conceptual frost.
Isaac's coat tore.
Blood spilled.
Rein blinked awake.
"…Guess she's a deity now."
Kaelus coughed.
"About time."
Darius pushed himself upright.
Watching carefully.
Isaac rolled away violently.
His expression twisted.
Anger.
"You've forced my hand."
His aura surged darker.
"Great Demon Magic of Annihilation—"
He spread both arms.
"Apocalypse."
Reality cracked.
Inside the tower.
A massive fracture tore open in mid-air.
From within it—
Something moved.
A presence clawing at existence.
Trying to force its way through.
Stellar reacted instantly.
She thrust both hands forward.
Frost surged toward the crack.
Freezing its edges.
But the creature inside pushed back.
The fracture widened slightly.
Isaac smiled—
And moved silently behind Stellar while she focused on the crack.
Darius' eyes sharpened.
"Shadow Blade."
A blade rose from Isaac's shadow.
It slashed upward—
Scratching his cheek.
Isaac turned.
Just enough.
Rein appeared in front of him.
Hand gripping Isaac's head.
"Dominion Authority—"
His eyes glowed fiercely.
"Overpower."
His grip tightened.
Isaac tried to activate annihilation—
Too slow.
Rein's authority crushed downward.
Bone cracked.
Skull shattered.
Isaac's body collapsed.
The fracture in reality froze completely.
Then shattered like glass.
The chamber went silent.
Stellar swayed.
Her frost receded.
She fell backward.
Darius caught her.
Breathing heavily.
Kaelus leaned against Tempest Blade.
Rein dropped to one knee.
"…That was insane."
Behind them—
Storm energy flickered faintly.
Eryndor's eyes opened slowly.
He blinked once.
Twice.
A black door materialized ahead.
Room Three.
Eryndor sat up slightly.
Looked at the wrecked chamber.
The frozen aftermath.
The blood.
His unconscious teammates barely standing.
He smirked.
"Damn."
He stretched his neck slightly.
"Y'all was getting your asses handed to you, huh?"
Rein snorted weakly.
Kaelus rolled his eyes.
Darius shook his head faintly.
Eryndor stood slowly.
Storm flickering faint but stable.
He looked at them.
And smiled.
"Thanks, guys."
His gaze shifted toward the black door.
"It's only gonna get more dangerous from here on."
And Room Three waited.