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  As the memories rushed into Black Mentis, he screamed, clutching his head with both hands.

  His breath stopped. His eyes widened. Tears mixed with blood as they streaked down his cheeks.

  Black Mentis: "So… this is what was really happening? The truth?"

  His fists trembled violently, blood leaking between his fingers. He slammed one fist into the ground—hard—cracking stone beneath his knuckles.

  Black Mentis: "This is why you called me a puppet the moment you saw me…?"

  His voice dropped, hollow.

  "You knew everything from the start… didn't you?"

  He swallowed hard, throat tightening.

  Black Mentis: "Every battle… every struggle… every experience…"

  A bitter laugh tried to form but died in his chest.

  "…everything… a lie…?"

  He forced himself upright, staggering as his legs shook beneath him. One step to the left, then another—his knees nearly folding. His chest pumped desperately for air, each breath scraping his lungs raw.

  A small, exhausted smirk tugged weakly at his lip.

  Black Mentis: "Thanks… for not keeping me in the dark, you asshole."

  He wiped blood from his mouth with the back of his hand.

  "Sneaking another spell into my head… making me do your dirty work."

  The smoke had thinned.

  The first rays of light pierced through the haze, cutting across the ruined battlefield.

  Bodies lay everywhere.

  Heroes. Allies. Friends.

  Black Mentis lowered his head, jaw trembling.

  He could barely stay standing.

  And he knew—deep down—he wouldn't survive much longer.

  Blood poured from his mouth, dripping down his chin. He coughed hard—thick, dark clots splattering against the cracked ground.

  Black Mentis (voice shaking, but firm):

  "I'll make you all pay… for making me feel this way."

  Another cough. He spat blood aside.

  "For forcing me to live this miserable lie."

  His eyes burned as he looked toward the ruins.

  "Your king isn't getting a damn thing from me… not today. Not ever."

  His fingers lifted, trembling, carving sharp arcs through the air. Runes ignited—flickering like molten metal. His voice wavered, but it didn't stop.

  Black Mentis: "Ex cruore et cinere cadentium…"

  His knees shook.

  "Ex ossibus fractis heroum et daemonum…"

  His throat seized. He gagged, thick strings of blood hanging from his lips before dropping into the dirt.

  "…ex spiritu ultimo eorum qui hodie occubuerunt… ego… Mentis…"

  His breath hitched.

  "…iubeo et signo…"

  The runes snapped brighter, pulsing violently.

  "…Transferte omnem virtutem… omnem scientiam… omnem flammam latentem…"

  His legs buckled. He barely caught himself.

  "…in unum vas electum… in Filium Prophetae… in Deorum Delictum…"

  He choked on blood, forcing the last words out through sheer will.

  "…OMNITHON."

  A violent cough. Blood sprayed from his mouth.

  "—si audis… testare… hoc pactum…"

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  The runes flared blinding gold.

  "…Sic fiat… Sic erit… in nomine Ultionis Aeternae."

  A violent surge of golden energy ripped through him.

  His veins ignited white-hot beneath his skin. His body convulsed, muscles locking and spasming as if something was tearing him open from the inside.

  The battlefield answered.

  Dead heroes. Demon corpses. Severed limbs. Shattered armor. Pools of blood.

  Everything left behind began to glow.

  Bones rattled. Fingers twitched. Broken spines dragged across stone. Melted armor fragments hummed and lifted, drawn toward Mentis like iron to a magnet.

  A thin beam of white light burst from his chest and tore across the sky, vanishing at impossible speed.

  The ground split open around him. Shockwaves cracked the earth outward. Clouds above shredded apart as black lightning tore through the sky, loud and violent.

  Mentis stood at the center of it all, swaying.

  Blood poured off him endlessly, pooling at his feet.

  But he didn't fall.

  The moment lasted only a heartbeat.

  A soft shift of air behind him.

  Oblivion (right at his ear, panting): "The hell was that spell, huh?"

  Mentis turned slowly.

  THWACK.

  Oblivion's backhand smashed into Mentis' face. Teeth flew. Mentis spun and slammed into the ground, sliding through dust and blood.

  He groaned, trying to push himself up on shaking arms.

  A boot came down on his chest.

  The cloaked man pressed his weight in, pinning him flat.

  Cloaked Man (teeth clenched): "Doesn't matter what he did. We're finishing the mission. Now."

  Oblivion glanced at Megalodon's crushed, split-open torso.

  "Yeah," he muttered. "I'll grab his powers. Hold on."

  He caught the red artifact gem as it was tossed to him. The runes inside twitched, writhing like something alive.

  Mentis slapped the boot away and lunged.

  His punch missed by inches.

  The cloaked man slipped around him cleanly, palm already glowing.

  A dagger of raw energy formed instantly— and slammed into Mentis' back.

  SHLKK.

  The blade burst out of his stomach in a wet spray. His body jerked violently.

  Before he could react, the cloaked man drove his other hand straight into Mentis' chest.

  CRACK.

  Bone shattered. Flesh tore. Blood burst out in short, choking sprays.

  Mentis gasped, air escaping his lungs like they'd been punctured.

  Cloaked Man: "Stay down already."

  He leaned closer.

  "It's over. The false demon king is dead."

  A sneer.

  "You're way too eager to die. Wait your turn."

  Mentis' vision blurred. Cold spread outward from his chest.

  Nearby, Oblivion knelt beside Megalodon's corpse. He jammed his blade into the demon's ribcage, twisting it, carving space. He shoved the artifact gem deep into the cavity.

  Oblivion (glancing back, annoyed): "Damn… even now he's still fighting?"

  He spat blood from his mouth.

  "Heroes are too damn stubborn. Should've stayed down."

  He glanced toward Mentis.

  "Old man, your turn's coming next."

  The cloaked man ripped his hand out of Mentis' chest.

  CHRRRK.

  Then kicked him hard.

  Mentis flew back, crashing into rubble. He coughed violently—blood pouring out as his knees gave way. He collapsed face-first, body shuddering between burning heat and freezing cold.

  Cloaked Man: "You should understand one thing."

  He looked down at him.

  "No one wins against the new gods."

  A pause.

  "This world belongs to the new ruler."

  Mentis' fingers jerked.

  He forced a crooked smile—dark, unsteady, his body turning slightly as one hand pressed against the hole in his chest. Blood seeped between his fingers, slick and warm.

  Mentis (gurgling, weak laugh breaking): "Tell your master…"

  He coughed, thick blood bubbling at his lips. His shoulders shook as he laughed again, wetter this time.

  "…to go fuck himself."

  A low, broken gurgle tore out of his throat.

  "That puppet…"

  He inhaled air through clenched teeth.

  "…shoved a middle finger straight up his own ass…"

  More blood spilled from his mouth, dripping down his chin.

  "I…"

  His breath hitched.

  "…already took a fat load of shit on that fucker's whole plan…"

  The cloaked man stiffened.

  His jaw tightened.

  Cloaked Man: "What the hell are you talking about…?"

  He leaned in, eyes narrowing.

  "What did you do? How do you even know about our master?"

  Oblivion jogged over, irritation written all over his posture. He rolled his shoulders, shaking blood off his knuckles.

  Oblivion: "Something's wrong."

  He glanced down at the artifact in his hand.

  "The gem isn't working. Or maybe I'm doing it wrong."

  He shoved the gemstone hard into the cloaked man's chest.

  "Here. You try it. Use it on Mentis."

  Mentis' smile widened, teeth stained red. His chest rattled as he breathed.

  For the first time— panic flickered across the cloaked man's eyes.

  His expression hardened instantly.

  Cloaked Man (snapping): "You think this is funny?!"

  He dropped to one knee, grabbed Mentis by the collar, and shook him violently. Mentis' head lolled with the motion.

  "WHAT DID YOU DO?!"

  His grip tightened.

  "WHY ISN'T THE GEM WORKING?!"

  Mentis' eyes rolled back for a moment— but the spark behind them didn't fade. His breaths came in short, wet gasps.

  The cloaked man snarled and lifted him by the throat, hauling him off the ground. Mentis' boots scraped uselessly against broken stone.

  Cloaked Man: "Like I said…"

  He squeezed harder.

  "This is the end. Now I take everything."

  Oblivion stepped back, pulling his cloak up to shadow his face again. He crossed his arms, uneasy.

  The cloaked man's glove flared to life.

  The red artifact pulsed.

  Tendrils of concept magic burst outward— thin, writhing strands— wrapping around Mentis' body. They dug in, probing, clawing through flesh, and memory.

  Searching.

  Grasping.

  Finding— Nothing.

  The glow sputtered.

  Then died.

  The gem dulled to an empty, lifeless red.

  Silence.

  Both villains froze.

  They looked at each other.

  Oblivion frowned, confused.

  "See?"

  He tilted his head.

  "I told you. It's dead. It's not working at all."

  Cloaked Man (breathing faster): "No…"

  His grip loosened slightly.

  "No, no no no, this should've taken seconds."

  His eyes snapped toward Megalodon's body.

  "Plus that fucker over there is starting to turn into grains of sand."

  His teeth clenched.

  "We need to hurry."

  Mentis' fingers trembled.

  A faint white spark gathered at his fingertips—quiet, controlled, steady.

  His breathing slowed.

  Mentis (barely a whisper):

  "My last gift…"

  His eyes locked onto them.

  "…for you bastards."

  A pause.

  "Now rot in hell."

  ZIPP.

  CRACK.

  A razor-thin white beam snapped from his fingertip and sliced clean through the gemstone.

  The artifact shrieked.

  It started glitching a violent shriek that twisted the air around it.

  CRACK— CRACK.

  CRACK— BOOM!!

  The gem shattered into dozens of jagged shards, exploding outward in a spray of glowing fragments.

  The light died.

  The battlefield went still.

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