"Most likely. The essence signature is strong. Controlled." Marcus kept walking, maintaining their corporate consultant appearance. "Zeus sent someone. Someone good enough to track us here already."
"How?" Yuki whispered, fear creeping into her voice. "We just arrived."
"They were probably already here. Waiting." Marcus guided them toward a nearby shopping complex, moving naturally, not rushing. "Singapore is a hub. Strategic location. If Zeus wanted coverage in Asia, he'd station hunters in major cities. Tokyo, Beijing, Bangkok, Singapore. We just walked into someone's territory."
They entered the mall, blending into the morning crowd of early shoppers and people taking shortcuts through air-conditioned corridors. Marcus led them to a café on the second floor, selecting a table with good sightlines to multiple exits.
They sat. Ordered coffee they didn't need. Waited.
"Explain something to me," Tony said, keeping his voice low. "Divine ranks. You mentioned High Gods earlier. Where do we fall in the hierarchy?"
Marcus glanced around, confirming no one was close enough to overhear clearly. "We're all gods, technically. Zeus, me, Grimmey, Tony, even lesser deities you've never heard of. But what separates us isn't just power. It's rank. And rank is determined by authority, essence weight, and age."
He traced a pattern on the table with one finger, illustrating.
"There are four main ranks of divinity, not counting special cases. Supreme Gods at the top. Tenth dimension. Reality anchors. Zeus, Odin, Ra, Shiva, the Jade Emperor... each major pantheon has at least one. The goddess of Knowledge was one before... before whatever happened to her." Marcus's voice tightened slightly. "They define rules instead of following them. Their authority overrides everything below them."
"Then Elder Gods. Ninth dimension. Custodians. Watchers. Beings who've existed since near the beginning. Partial Eternal Present awareness. They can challenge Supreme Gods indirectly but not override them."
"Then High Gods. Eighth dimension. That's us." He gestured to include himself and Grimmey. "We command genuine Concepts with full divine authority. We exist in Eternal Present in our home dimensions. We can descend but suffer for it."
"And below you?" Tony asked.
"Lesser Gods. Seventh dimension. Localized deities. City gods, minor pantheon members, faith-based entities. Limited authority. They can be killed by coordinated mortal forces if those mortals are strong enough."
Tony processed this. "The hunter watching us. High God?"
"Yes. Has to be. Lesser Gods can't maintain Truesight across city distances while staying hidden. The essence signature is too refined, too controlled." Marcus's jaw tightened. "Zeus sent someone from the eighth dimension. Someone who can operate in Sequential Time without immediate collapse. Someone trained for exactly this kind of hunt."
"Can you fight them?" Yuki asked.
"Maybe. Depends on their Concept, their skill, their preparation." Marcus looked at Grimmey. "You?"
"Six months until I need restructuring. Maybe less now that we're actively being hunted and I'll have to use power defensively." Grimmey's confidence was still present but tempered with realism. "I could fight. And the hunter will suffer the same penalties we do in this dimension. But they're probably more experienced, better trained, sent specifically for this. I'd win or collapse trying."
"And me?" Tony asked.
"You're the weakest in raw power," Marcus said bluntly. "Mortal fragment. Divine essence buried under human flesh. You haven't accessed most of your abilities yet. Against a trained High God hunter, you'd last seconds."
The assessment was clinical. Accurate. Tony didn't take offense.
"Then our optimal strategy is avoidance," Tony concluded.
"For now, yes. Until we can get to Ledger, get answers, figure out what your mother did to hide you and how to use it." Marcus checked his watch. "But avoidance only works if they don't know exactly where we are. And I have a feeling they're getting closer."
The pressure intensified. That sensation of being watched sharpened, focused, narrowed. Like a predator finally locking onto prey after hours of stalking.
"They found us," Grimmey said quietly.
Marcus stood. "We're leaving. Stay together. Don't run, but move with purpose. Corporate consultants finishing their coffee, heading to a meeting."
They rose, leaving cash on the table, walking toward the escalators. The mall was getting busier now, late morning shoppers filling the corridors. They moved with the flow, not against it.
The pressure followed.
Tony's enhanced perception picked up more detail now. The essence signature was refined, professional, patient. Whoever was hunting them wasn't rushing. Wasn't aggressive. Just... observing. Tracking. Waiting for the right moment.
"They're not attacking," Tony observed.
"Not yet," Marcus agreed. "They're assessing. Confirming identities. Making sure we're actually the targets and not false positives." His voice was tight. "Once they're certain, they'll move. High Gods don't waste time on uncertainty."
They exited the mall onto a different street, turning toward the financial district again. The morning heat pressed down, humidity making the expensive suits uncomfortable. Grimmey looked slightly less pleased with his appearance now, sweat beginning to show at his collar.
"We need to get to Ledger," Grimmey said. "If this hunter moves, we'll need backup or information or something. Standing out here exposed isn't optimal."
"Agreed." Marcus pulled out his phone, typed something quickly. "I'm sending a message to one of my contacts. Someone who knows Ledger's operation. Maybe they can get us a meeting faster than cold-approaching."
They walked faster now, corporate consultants late for an important meeting. Still maintaining cover but with more urgency.
The Ledger building appeared ahead, dark glass reflecting the morning sun.
The pressure spiked.
And then it vanished.
Completely. Instantly. As if someone had switched off a light.
Marcus stopped walking. "That's not good."
"What?" Yuki looked around nervously.
"They stopped watching. Which means they're done observing." Marcus's hand moved to his pocket, fingers touching something there. Probably a weapon, disguised as everyday object. "They're moving."
"Where?" Tony asked.
Marcus's divine perception expanded, searching. Tony felt it as a ripple in reality, Marcus's Messenger ability letting him phase slightly into Relational Time to sense across broader areas.
"I don't..." Marcus stopped. His expression hardened. "Down. They're below us. Underground."
Grimmey's eyes widened. "The MRT tunnels?"
"Or something else. Something divine." Marcus's jaw tightened. "They're setting up a trap. Dimensional space. If they complete it..."
The ground beneath them rippled.
Not physically. Reality itself shifted, like standing on water that suddenly remembered it wasn't solid. The street, the buildings, the people around them... everything flickered.
"Run," Marcus said.
They ran.
Corporate consultants late for a meeting became gods fleeing for their lives. Grimmey grabbed Yuki, lifting her without breaking stride. Tony kept pace with Marcus, his enhanced physical capabilities finally useful.
But the ripple followed. Spread. Expanded outward from some point beneath them, consuming space like a growing sphere of altered reality.
Marcus could escape. His Messenger ability would let him phase out, delete the distance, move faster than the dimensional trap could close. But not while carrying three others. Not while maintaining their cohesion across the phase shift.
"Marcus, you could..." Tony started.
"No." Marcus's voice was flat. "We stay together."
They weren't going to make it.
Tony calculated trajectories, speeds, expansion rates. The mathematical certainty was clear. The dimensional space would engulf them in approximately seven seconds. They couldn't outrun it.
"Marcus," Tony said.
"I know." Marcus's expression was grim.
The world folded.
Colors inverted. Sounds echoed wrong. The street disappeared, replaced by something that wasn't quite space, wasn't quite solid, wasn't quite anything definable.
They were inside.
The trap had closed.
And somewhere in the altered space around them, the High God hunter was waiting.