Marvel's master of cosmic magic-Chapter 822
The God of War was not alone. ππππ¦ππππππ·ππ.πΈπ°π
When he struck, the Earth Mother moved with him.
That was the card he believed guaranteed victory.
Even if the Goddess of Night had been pretending all along, even if she had already absorbed Deathβs authority, facing three true gods at once meant her output would be limited. With the Earth Mother fighting beside him, the outcome should have been decided.
A perfect pincer.
A certain win.
"Youβre celebrating too early."
The Goddess of Night suddenly smiled.
All the power she had been using to block the God of War vanished in an instant.
At the same moment, the attack aimed at her changed direction.
The Earth Motherβs power twisted mid-flight.
Every bit of it slammed into the God of War instead.
A betrayal so clean it felt rehearsed.
"Mother?" the God of War cried out in disbelief.
"Be good," the Earth Mother said softly. "Donβt resist. Mother loves you."
Her form shifted.
Fangs emerged.
Lilith revealed her true face, her vampiric smile widening as her assault intensified.
The God of War froze.
"So it was you."
Only then did he understand.
This was never his mother.
The Earth Mother had been killed long ago, slain in secret by Lilith and the Goddess of Night. The woman he had trusted for millennia was the progenitor of the blood race, the same ancient being who had once self-destructed in the Second Era after being betrayed by the Giant King and the Elf King.
She had survived.
She had waited.
And she had worn his motherβs face until this very moment.
Rage consumed him.
He tried to retaliate, drawing on every scrap of divine power he had left.
It was useless.
He wielded only a single authority.
Both Lilith and the Goddess of Night commanded two.
The ambush had already crippled him. Even self-destruction failed.
Together, they tore him apart.
His divine kingdom collapsed with his death.
The ancient barrier left behind by the First Creator weakened again.
Beyond Earth, the outer gods stirred.
They drifted through the void in visible excitement.
Let the true gods kill each other.
Let a few more fall.
Then the gate would open.
Storm Lord, Eternal Blazing Sun, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom all witnessed the God of Warβs death.
None of them stopped.
Instead, they surged toward the unguarded authorities and high-tier essences stripped from Grisha.
They interfered with one another as they moved, already clashing in silence.
Whoever seized the Hanging Man and Dreamer authorities, plus the first Blasphemy Slate, would become the next Ancient Sun God.
"About time."
Rowan opened his eyes.
"You dare steal my spoils?"
He roared in feigned fury.
With a single graft, he redirected their clashing powers away, then calmly reclaimed the Dreamer and Hanging Man authorities.
"Roselle. Go to the God of Steam and Machineryβs divine realm."
"Iβll handle the other three."
Having fully integrated the Error authority, Rowan split into three identical figures. The Source Citadel and the Sea of Chaos vanished with him as each form flew toward a different divine kingdom.
Behind him, Grisha finally regained consciousness.
Reduced to a shadow of his former self, his face went pale.
"This is bad," he muttered. "If another god falls, the barrier wonβt hold."
The God of Warβs death had already pushed it to the brink.
If Rowan or Roselle killed even one more true god, the outer gods would force their way in.
Elsewhere, William Augustus I and the remaining royal elites recovered from their shock and blocked Amon and Adamβs path.
"This ends now," William said coldly.
Amon and Adam exchanged a glance.
They did not stay.
Though reduced to far weaker states, they had once stood far higher. Escaping pursuit was still well within their reach.
They fled Loen.
In the Perfect Realm of the God of Steam and Machinery, Roselle clashed with a towering figure of steel and light.
Freshly returned, Roselle nonetheless fought evenly. His past mastery of multiple authorities allowed him to wield more than just the Black Emperorβs power, and his understanding of his opponentβs abilities ran deep.
The fight did not last long.
The Goddess of Night arrived with Lilith.
Together, they overwhelmed the God of Steam and Machinery and sealed him instead of killing him.
Meanwhile, Rowan and his two other selves entered the divine realms of Eternal Blazing Sun, the Storm Lord, and the God of Knowledge and Wisdom.
"This is a misunderstanding," one of them pleaded. "Keep fighting and the apocalypse will arrive early."
"If you and Roselle stop now," another added, "youβll become the eighth and ninth true gods. We can face the end together."
Rowan laughed.
"You didnβt say that when you were grabbing my loot."
"And frankly, I trust myself more with your power."
He attacked.
No excess magic.
Only Fool, Door, and Error.
His strength pressed just hard enough to dominate them, no more than what an Old One should display.
Beyond the barrier, the watching outer gods would not be frightened off.
One by one, the three fell.
Just as Rowan prepared to strip their remaining power, the Goddess of Night arrived, escorting the sealed God of Steam and Machinery alongside Roselle and Lilith.
"Rowan. Not now," she said sharply. "Another death could shatter the barrier."
She laid out her plan quickly.
Seal them.
Absorb the God of Warβs power.
Rebuild divine realms in the sky to replace the fallen ones.
Then act.
Rowan smiled and blinked at her.
"I know what Iβm doing."
He ignored her warning.
With swift precision, he stripped the unique authorities and high-tier essences from all four captured gods.
He did not kill them.
He reduced them to lesser states instead.
The barrier weakened again.
Exactly as he intended.
Because now, the outer gods would come.
And when they didβ
They would find the lid already sealed.
