The silence stretched on, thick and crushing. Veyruun's molten gold eyes remained fixed on Jalen, a smoldering intensity that seemed to peel away the very fabric of his being.
Jalen's fists clenched at his sides, his breath a slow, measured rhythm. He was ready. He'd been ready since they'd stepped into this nightmare.
But something was wrong. The air felt heavier now, as if the very room was conspiring against him.
"Are you just gonna sit there, or are we doing this?" Jalen snapped, his voice cracking against the stillness.
Veyruun's gaze drifted, sweeping over the others like a wolf sizing up lesser prey.
"You stand before me seeking power. Judgment. Vindication," Veyruun's voice rumbled, deep and layered, each word heavy enough to break bones. "But only one among you carries the scent of divinity."
The words struck like a hammer. Kullen's eyes widened, his gaze flicking to Jalen, then back to Veyruun.
"Divinity?" Nathan echoed, his confusion evident.
"What the hell's he talking about?" Lucio muttered, his fingers twitching over his rifle.
Jalen's expression twisted into a scowl. "You really like the sound of your own voice, huh? If you've got something to say, then say it."
Veyruun's gaze locked onto Jalen again, searing and unyielding. "Only one of you dares to tread upon the realm of gods. A fledgling, untested, and ignorant of his own power."
"No... he knows, he chooses to hide it. But he fails to realize..." Veyruun rose from his throne, his presence expanding until it felt like the room itself bent around him. "The only way our kind deal with each other… is through combat."
Veyruun's staff appeared in his hand, a weapon of polished ebony and gold, twisted like roots encasing a molten core. It shimmered with power, radiating judgment so fierce it left the air trembling.
The staff blurred through the air, a strike faster than thought. Jalen barely had time to twist his body, the blow grazing his shoulder with the force of a thunderclap.
He staggered, his footing unsteady. But before he could recover, Veyruun was on him again, the staff spinning and crashing down like an executioner's blade.
Jalen threw up his arms to block, the impact driving him to his knees. The floor cracked beneath him, spiderwebbing from the force.
"Shit—!" Jalen gasped, scrambling back. His eyes narrowed, determination blazing within him.
He charged forward, fists flying. His strikes were wild, relentless. But Veyruun's staff moved with effortless precision, deflecting every blow, countering with punishing force.
Veyruun twisted his staff, the weapon lashing out like a viper. Jalen ducked, but the strike clipped his ribs, sending him spinning through the air.
He crashed into the stone floor, coughing as pain tore through his chest.
"Is this all you have?" Veyruun taunted, his voice reverberating through the chamber. "Childish tricks and petty defiance?"
The staff whipped through the air like a scythe, its edge slashing toward Jalen's chest. He twisted away, narrowly avoiding a blow that could have crushed bone.
"Yeah… I've got more than that," Jalen shot back, his voice strained but defiant.
The air around him shimmered, colors bleeding into existence. Chains erupted from the ground, wrapping around Veyruun's limbs and pulling him back with a force that cracked the stone beneath him.
The deity's expression did not falter. With a twist of his staff, the chains disintegrated into dust.
"Pathetic," Veyruun sneered. "You wield power as if it were a child's toy."
Jalen's fingers twitched, his mind racing. "You like to talk big for someone who just got wrapped up like a Christmas present."
He reached deeper, his imagination exploding into life. Blades of pure energy spiraled around him like a cyclone, their edges gleaming with golden and violet light.
He hurled them forward, each blade curving through the air with lethal precision.
Veyruun's staff moved like liquid, deflecting each attack with effortless grace. The blades shattered against the black stone, leaving only faint scars where they struck.
Jalen growled in frustration. "Okay… fine. Let's try something else."
His Dream Mold flared again, his arms glowing as he conjured weapons from sheer willpower. An axe. A spear. A sword. Each one thrown at Veyruun with desperate precision.
Veyruun swatted them away like insects, his gaze never wavering. "Such fragile creations. They hold no weight. No substance."
Jalen grinned through the pain. "Good thing I've got more where that came from."
The floor split open as spikes of crystalline stone shot upward, jagged and sharp. Jalen didn't let up—he conjured chainsaws, hammers, and even torrents of fire, his imagination running wild.
But Veyruun tore through it all. His staff smashed through every creation with terrifying efficiency.
The god's strikes grew faster, each blow carving through Jalen's defenses. His muscles screamed from the strain, his body bruised and bloodied.
"Do you understand now, child?" Veyruun's voice boomed, shaking the air itself. "Power without understanding is chaos. You wield nothing but broken dreams."
Jalen wiped blood from his mouth, his eyes burning. "Chaos, huh? Yeah… I can do chaos."
He slammed his fist into the ground. "Joker's Playground."
The world trembled. For a moment, everything went still.
Then, madness erupted.
The room twisted and warped, the walls expanding and contracting like living flesh. Blades, chains, gears, and weapons of all shapes and sizes erupted from the ground and ceiling, each one moving with a will of its own.
Jalen's subconscious desires manifested in a chaotic display of raw, untamed power. Energy blasts erupted from the air itself, their trajectories unpredictable.
Veyruun's eyes narrowed. His staff spun through the air, deflecting attacks from every direction. But there was no pattern to follow. No logic to predict.
A giant spiked mace crashed down from above, forcing Veyruun to sidestep. Chains snaked around his legs, only to transform into serpents that lashed out with razor-sharp fangs.
Veyruun shattered them with a single blow, his expression twisted with something almost resembling interest. "This… is different."
"Damn right it is," Jalen snapped, his voice fraying at the edges. "I'm just getting started."
More creations spilled forth. Shields rose from the ground, twisting into battering rams. Cannons sprouted from the walls, firing blasts of pure energy. Massive hands made of molten steel smashed toward Veyruun with relentless fury.
Veyruun met the assault head-on, his staff carving through Jalen's manifestations with merciless precision. But even he couldn't defend against everything.
A chain wrapped around Veyruun's arm, pulling him backward. A spike shot up from the ground, grazing his shoulder and drawing dark, golden ichor.
Jalen's grin widened, his energy building to a fever pitch. "Not so untouchable now, huh?"
Veyruun's gaze darkened. "You think chaos will grant you victory?"
"No." Jalen's eyes gleamed, wild and furious. "But it'll keep you on your damn toes."
He lunged forward, his fists surrounded by tendrils of pure energy, his strikes amplified by the erratic power of Joker's Playground.
Veyruun's staff deflected the blows, but his stance faltered. The sheer unpredictability of Jalen's attacks was forcing the god to adapt on the fly.
"Admirable…" Veyruun said, his voice strained. "But futile."
The staff lashed out, crashing into Jalen's shoulder with the force of a wrecking ball. Bone snapped. Pain exploded through Jalen's body, forcing him to his knees.
Veyruun's retaliation was swift and brutal. His staff struck with surgical precision, each blow designed to cripple, to punish.
Jalen's vision blurred, his breath hitching as his body screamed in agony. Joker's Playground faltered, the chaotic energy dissipating like smoke.
"What… the hell…" Jalen gasped, his fists trembling.
"You wield power like a child thrashing in the dark," Veyruun sneered. "Undisciplined. Reckless. You are not a god. You are nothing but a shadow of what you wish to become."
Jalen's head drooped, his breaths shallow. But even as the darkness closed in, something deep within him continued to stir—a pulse, heavy and rhythmic, like the ticking of a colossal clock. The sound reverberated through his veins, throbbing against his chest. His heartbeat itself had changed—more deliberate, more powerful.
He could feel the energy building, not within his flesh, but deeper. It resonated from his very essence, like a storm clawing its way to the surface. A force older and more primal than he had ever known.
The air around him vibrated, pulses of power radiating outward in waves. It wasn't just his abilities struggling to break free—it was his entire being, screaming against the force that sought to crush him.
Veyruun picked up Jalen by his hair and whispered softly in his ear, "Some God you tried to be. Judgment comes for all." He raised his staff, the weapon gleaming with cruel finality. "This ends now."