The clash of divine and mortal shook the forest to its core.
Leon's spear, forged from his deepest memories and reforged by will, met the Herald's radiant blade with a brilliance that scarred the sky. Each blow sent ripples across the earth, distorting space and time itself. Trees warped, air collapsed into silence, and reality groaned under the weight of their battle.
But Leon held his ground.
This Herald was no mere foot soldier of the divine—it was an entity birthed from celestial law itself, designed to extinguish the impossible. Its presence warped everything nearby into a dreamlike haze, yet Leon saw through it. He didn't just see light—he saw the threads of fate that bent around the Herald's form.
"You were made to erase me," Leon growled, locking weapons with the being, "but you were too late. I am again."
The Herald made no sound. Instead, it raised its second arm, and from it spawned a chain forged of star-core and judgment, lashing out in a blur. Leon ducked, slid across the earth, and with a fluid motion hurled his spear—aimed directly at the Herald's mask.
The impact detonated.
A wall of energy expanded outward like a nova, sending clouds into retreat and carving a crater half a mile wide. The Herald staggered—if such a being could. A single crack, thin as hair, appeared across its faceless helm.
Leon reappeared behind it in a blink, fist already drawn back.
"Heavenfall Strike!"
The punch landed.
The Herald was sent crashing through space, disappearing into the clouds above in a streak of golden fire. The sound came a heartbeat later—an explosion so vast it briefly silenced all else.
Leon stood still, breathing hard. His knuckles bled. The spear hovered beside him, responding to his will. His eyes glowed with silver fire, threads of forgotten divinity awakening behind them.
But even now… he knew this wasn't over.
The Herald hadn't come to kill him. It had come to test him.
To measure the God-King's rebirth.
---
Far away, in a hidden celestial domain...
The Herald knelt before the Council, its cracked helm evidence of its failure. The gods stared in silence.
"He is awakening too quickly," one whispered.
The eldest god's eyes burned. "Then we send the Triumvirate."
---
Back on Earth...
As the chaos settled, Leon turned to find the survivors staring wide-eyed. They had seen flashes of the fight, felt the tremors, and now, they saw the man who had defeated a god's messenger.
Some fell to their knees. Others wept. One boy whispered, "He really is a god…"
But Leon shook his head. "I'm not a god," he said, voice firm, "Not yet."
That night, as stars shimmered above and the wounded were tended to, Leon sat alone. His hand rested on the soil. He could feel the pulse of the planet—weak, desperate. The apocalypse hadn't ended when he rewound time.
It had only restarted differently.
He reached inward, past the fear, past the sorrow, to the vast emptiness where his true self slept. There, in the void, he saw a throne—his throne. Dust-covered, cracked… waiting.
As he stepped toward it in his mind, a figure appeared in the dark.
A woman.
Her form shimmered between memory and dream—his love, her face aglow with warmth and sadness. She placed a hand on his cheek.
"You've come back," she whispered.
Leon's breath caught. "I couldn't save you."
She smiled. "Not yet. But you will. The throne is only the beginning."
And just like that, she vanished.
He woke with a start.
---
Morning.
Leon stood atop a ridge, overlooking the land. He could see far—cities in ruin, fires smoldering in the distance, creatures slithering in shadows. The apocalypse had splintered the world, but it had also awakened more than just him.
Others were rising.
Monsters. Mutants. Beings touched by the divine spark. Some had gained gifts—healing, strength, elemental control. Others had become abominations, corrupted by the virus that had once decimated humanity.
He would need allies.
But he would also need an army.
Just then, the girl from before—the one who called him King—approached.
"They're ready," she said. "They want to follow you."
Leon turned.
"Then we build a kingdom," he said simply. "A sanctuary... and a fortress."
---
Elsewhere…
In a shattered metropolis long abandoned, a woman opened her eyes. Flames danced on her fingertips. She remembered Leon. She remembered dying. But now… she burned with power.
She would find him.
She had to.
---
The storm was only beginning, and the God-King had only just taken his first step.