The black door dissolved as they stepped through.
Room Two greeted them with silence.
A vast hall stretched forward, supported by towering white pillars that seemed carved from a single slab of divine stone. Light filtered in from no visible source, reflecting endlessly off polished surfaces.
Between the pillars stood statues.
Serpents coiled around dragons.
Dragons devouring serpents.
Each statue massive. Ancient. Watching.
Darius and Kaelus carried Stellar between them.
Rein paused at the entrance for a moment, glancing back toward the rubble of Room Three—the split tower, the open sky, the lingering scent of burnt light.
Then he stepped in.
The door vanished.
Eryndor walked to Stellar and placed his palm gently against her back.
Lightning cracked softly.
Not destructive.
Precise.
Stellar gasped as current surged through her nervous system. Her eyes snapped open.
She inhaled sharply.
"I'm… alive?"
"Unfortunately," Kaelus muttered with a grin.
Darius' gaze never left the statues.
"I don't trust these," he said quietly. "They feel… aware."
A clap echoed through the hall.
Slow.
Measured.
"Well observed, Warden of the Black Sun God."
A figure stepped down from behind one of the serpent statues.
Tall.
Composed.
Smiling like this was a social visit.
"I am Eli Samson," he said smoothly. "Number Two of Atlas."
His eyes glinted.
"Mid deity. Authority over sound. And… nullification."
The air subtly vibrated around him.
Rein stepped forward.
"Guys," he said calmly, "could I take care of this?"
Eryndor studied him.
Silent.
Then nodded once.
"Sure. Go ahead."
Without hesitation, Eryndor, Darius, Kaelus, and Stellar moved to the side and sat along the base of a pillar.
Like spectators.
Eli raised a brow.
"Well, if it isn't Rein Clark. Heir of the Dominion Seat." He sighed dramatically. "It's truly depressing, Clark. I always thought you'd join us someday. Aren't we… friends?"
Rein rolled his neck slowly.
Cracked his knuckles.
"You'll pay for what you did back then."
Eli laughed lightly.
"Oh, come now. We have history. It doesn't have to be like this."
Rein's eyes hardened.
"Fuck that."
His feet dug into the stone—
And he launched forward at light-level velocity.
"Fuck you."
He appeared in front of Eli and drove a punch straight toward his face.
Eli blocked.
Countered with a knee.
Rein twisted mid-air and deflected.
They vanished.
Reappeared.
Clashed again.
Shockwaves rippled between pillars.
Stone cracked beneath their footwork.
Pure hand-to-hand combat.
Superhuman strength.
Refined technique.
Eli still smiling.
Still not serious.
Then—
A shrill frequency burst outward.
Sound so high it bent perception.
The hall distorted.
Invisible waves pierced Rein's ears—
An enchantment hidden in vibration.
Once heard, the mind becomes pliable.
Susceptible.
Commandable.
But golden energy flared around Rein's body.
Dominion energy coated him like armor.
The sound shattered on contact.
"No effect?" Eli clicked his tongue.
Rein drove a punch infused with dominion force—
But Eli's aether nullification activated.
The energy dispersed before impact.
They separated.
Circled.
Clashed again.
Canceling each other out repeatedly.
But Eli was mid-tier.
His speed sharpened.
His strength deepened.
His reactions edged ahead.
He caught Rein mid-combo—
Delivered a brutal two-hit counter.
Rein flew.
Smashed into the floor.
Before he could rise—
Eli stepped on his stomach.
The stone beneath cratered.
Rein cried out.
Eryndor and the others watched silently.
Eli leaned down and punched Rein across the face.
Once.
Twice.
Rein's vision blurred.
For a few seconds—
Darkness.
Eli laughed.
"You should've joined us, Rein."
He leaned closer.
"Your mother would have liked that."
The air changed.
Rein's eyes opened slowly.
Gold flickered within them.
Eli lifted his fist to finish it—
But the world shifted.
Eryndor was already behind him.
Lightning crackling inches from Eli's neck.
Kaelus stood at his flank, Tempest Blade pressed toward a vital point.
Darius' shadow wrapped around Eli's own shadow, binding him.
Even Stellar—still recovering—sat upright with dozens of ice spears hovering above Eli's head.
Eli froze.
For the first time—
He felt threatened.
"Don't interfere."
Rein's voice echoed through the hall.
Everyone paused.
Rein slowly stood.
Blood trickling from his lip.
"I'll kill him myself."
They withdrew.
Returned to their seats.
Eli took several cautious steps back.
Rein straightened.
"When I was a child," Rein said quietly, "I watched you slaughter my cousin's family."
The hall felt heavier.
"You tried it with mine too. Failed. So you planted a mole. Poisoned them."
His hands trembled—but not from weakness.
"The only reason I survived was because dominion energy rejected the toxin."
His voice deepened.
"My father didn't die immediately. He held on for days. Long enough to tell me what happened. Who did it."
Golden light began to leak from his skin.
"So I enrolled in the Celestia God Academy. Became a god candidate."
His hair began to glow.
"To get sent on a mission to kill you."
Eli shrugged lazily.
"Touching story. I have many victims. What? Am I supposed to feel fear now?"
Dominion energy erupted outward.
Uncontrolled.
Massive.
"No," Rein said, voice shaking with fury. "I'll be the cause of your fear."
Golden energy formed around him like armor.
A spiritual silhouette appeared behind him—
A towering golden figure.
Majestic.
Authoritative.
"Your head," Rein said calmly, "will become my family's heirloom."
The pressure intensified.
Even the statues trembled.
"Do you know why I remained a god candidate for so long, Eli?"
He spread his arms wide.
"It wasn't because I was weak."
The golden silhouette solidified further.
"It was because I couldn't find my limit."
His aura surged violently.
"Atlas pushed me."
Cracks formed in the floor beneath his feet.
"Until something finally broke."
Eli's smile faded slightly.
"You see," Rein continued, "there are rare cases where someone can skip the low deity stage entirely."
Golden lines formed across his skin.
"I've just crossed that threshold."
The air thickened.
"I now understand what it means to become a mid-level deity."
He didn't shout.
Didn't roar.
He simply said:
"Area Lock."
The space around them folded.
A golden barrier formed—cylindrical.
Sealed.
Isolated from the rest of the hall.
No entry.
No exit.
Just Rein and Eli.
Eli raised a brow.
"You sure you want to lock us in together? You might lose."
Rein stepped forward slowly.
"I think you misunderstood something."
His golden eyes glowed brighter.
"I'm not afraid of you."
The aura pressed inward.
"I'm not locked inside with you…"
Eli shifted his stance.
"…you're locked inside with me."
Eli exploded forward, using speed as advantage.
Sound condensed at his fists.
But before the attack could land—
Rein vanished.
Eli's eyes widened.
A presence materialized behind him.
Calm.
Golden.
Unavoidable.
Rein's voice echoed softly from his back—
"Too slow."