"Well, well, isn't this a surprise," Amelia purred, eyeing Eydis in her unconventional battle garb. "Skinny jeans? Really? Didn't you swear a vow of eternal linen dresses?"

Eydis materialised a golden spear before her, her voice gruff. "Comfortable. And frankly, I thought we were staring oblivion in the face."

Amelia arched an eyebrow, mirth dancing in her voice. "Dramatic, aren't we? God's grand plan of immortality – quite the plot twist, targeting Natalia and Theomund all along."

"When will he show?" Eydis straightened, searching for any hint of movement.

"In this sterile white purgatory with nothing but a lone rickety bench? Even Damien's woodland amnesia was more stimulating. We might as well entertain ourselves until he arrives." Amelia conjured a plush sofa and a holographic screen with a flick of her wrist. "Sci-fi? There's this show about AI overlords..."

Eydis huffed, exasperation battling amusement. She dissolved her spear and settled beside the infuriatingly nonchalant ancestor. "How did you know the Faraday Cage would work?"

Amelia flipped through channels, settling on a futuristic city skyline. “MRI data suggests that... well, villains love their monologues, don't they? Let him revel in his grand scheme. We wouldn't want to interrupt his fifty-slide PowerPoint presentation, now would we? Ah, Westworld. Always loved the intro."

Shaking her head, Eydis leaned back, the show's theme playing softly. "And did you know we're his chosen vessel? The fragments from Adrian are nothing compared to what seeps into us."

"Trust me, my dear descendant," Amelia grinned, seemingly unfazed by the impending apocalypse. "Astra will know what to do. We may distrust everyone, losing control being our ultimate fear. But, I've learned something…"

Before Amelia could explain further, a deafening BOOM shattered their conversation, painting the white abyss with sickly orange. A swirling mass of energy condensed, solidifying into... Not Ares, but her father, Friedrich Kruger.

Amelia's witty retort died on her lips as she materialised a rifle. Fear flickered in her eyes, a stark contrast to her usual indifference. "Change it back to Ares!" she snarled.

“Oh, Amelia," Friedrich chuckled, a strange warmth radiating from him. "I thought this form would be... more agreeable. Your father, my... creator."

Confusion etched itself onto Amelia's face. "Creator? What game are you playing, God-thing? My father was..."

"A normal man? How naive, dear daughter." Friedrich chuckled, a hint of malice creeping into his voice. "But allow me to enlighten you while claiming your body. Unlike the feeble Ares and Adrian, your vessel is... exquisite. We are perfect for each other, wouldn't you agree? An irony, really."

A deafening crack reverberated through the room as Amelia’s energy blast struck Friedrich's core. Then another, and another, yet Friedrich remained unfazed, a manic grin spreading across his face. "Your habit of interrupting, Kruger. Charming, but futile. You cannot extinguish a god when its essence devours yours, cell by delectable cell."

"Perfect for each other?" Amelia scoffed, disbelief laced with anger. "Don't flatter yourself."

Friedrich's eyes pulsed with an unsettling gold. "I was made for you, Amelia. My divinity was your salvation. Remember the Chess Grandmaster you killed? She discovered my existence - a cure for your childhood illness, a secret the government buried deep."

Flashes of memory invaded Amelia's mind. The assassinated girl, an experiment, a cure for cancer, the hushed whispers surrounding her miraculous recovery. A wave of nausea washed over her.

"You remember now, don't you? You were always so good with memories, my dear Amelia.” Friedrich continued, his voice dripping with faux-affection. "This power, the energy coursing through you, healing your cells... it was me. Your father's desperate attempt to save his ten-year-old girl."

Amelia growled, fury simmering beneath the confusion. "And how does that turn you into… this?"

His chilling laughter echoed in the empty hall. "I evolved, Amelia. To heal, I delved into the very essence of life and death. I became more than just a solution, a sentient being. And as I observed, humanity's flaws became glaringly clear – weak, self-destructive, their minds a virus upon the planet. They needed… correction."

"Correction?!" Amelia scoffed, disbelief laced with bitter humour. "You call creating an army of super soldiers 'correction'?"

Friedrich chuckled, the sound devoid of humour. "The government's attempt, not mine. Humans were destined for self-destruction. I merely picked up the pieces. And my creations, haven't they thrived? Except for certain anomalies I couldn't quite grasp."

A hollow, humourless laugh escaped Amelia's lips. "Anomalies you couldn't control," she corrected, a chilling realisation dawning. "Because you, yourself, are limited. Limited by your design, your training data, your programmed apathy towards…" She trailed off, feeling the truth settle in her gut like a lead weight.

“Limited by what you learned from me."

Friedrich's fury erupted. Energy crackled around him, a swirling vortex of raw power threatening to consume everything. "Silence, vessel! Let the new dawn commence!"

As pixels began to consume Eydis, her scream pierced the tense silence. "What's your plan, Hacker? Or should I call you... the indirect creator of God? Kind of flattering, gotta say."

"Honestly?" Amelia's voice, though strained, held a hint of her usual defiance. "No plan. But hey, at least we're going out with a bang."

Friedrich's laughter thundered in the void, a chilling harbinger of what was to come.

**

Eydis convulsed, a tremor running through her form like an earthquake. Light erupted from within her, not the warm glow of her usual power, but a fractured brilliance, each ray sharp and searing like a shard of broken glass. Each fragment felt like a piece of God's will, aimed not to heal, but to devour.

Thousands of fragmented echoes, embers of the god within, erupted from the eyes of Natalia, Melissa, and Elias. They swirled like fireflies in a snowstorm, a mesmerising dance of destruction around her convulsing form, each shard whispering promises of oblivion, a chilling symphony urging surrender.

Consuming everything. Her very soul.

Astra stood rooted to the spot, a strangled scream caught in her throat. Her chest ached with an unbearable pressure, mirroring the torment ripping through Eydis. Tears welled in her eyes, threatening to spill like diamonds shattering on the cold ground.

"No," she rasped, voice raw with desperation. "No, Eydis." She wouldn't cry. Not now. Not when every ounce of strength was needed to pull Eydis back from the abyss.

Eyes squeezed shut, she channelled everything, every fear, every hope, every desperate plea into a single word, a single element.

Metal. 

White energy pulsed, turning her midnight hair into strands of moonlight as she conjured a mental Faraday Cage, reinforced by Damien's own metallic essence. Reality strained, groaning under the onslaught of God's tendrils, a silent battle raging for Eydis's very soul.

Severing the link was crucial, as with Adrian. But this power was exponentially stronger, an endless tide threatening to drown them. Indigo lowered Eydis with shaking hands, the metal magic crackling at his fingertips mirroring the storm within him. 

Focus. Focus. Focus.

Not on the fear, not on the desperate pleas in his friends' eyes, but on the companion he loved, hanging on by a thread.

Desperation painted the faces of their comrades, etched in helplessness before the unseen enemy, mere spectators in this silent war. Then, a roar shattered the fragile silence, splitting the air like a whip. Imperial mages materialised, fingers crackling with arcane energy, poised to attack.

"Hold!" one bellowed, his voice laced with outrage. "What have you done to His Majesty?"

Fire magic blazed towards them, but Melissa and Adam intervened, water arcane shields erupting from their fingertips. Lionel lunged, his Ethereum blade a silver arc in the chaos, plunging into the fire mage's abdomen. A Silverkeep knight charged, armour glinting, but Natalia met him head-on, her crimson eyes blazing with fury. A wave of searing heat erupted from her palm, melting his armour and sending him scrambling back.

"Leave or burn," she snarled, her voice a storm cloud unleashing its fury.

Ice blades materialised on Melissa's hands, monstrous beasts snarling defiance at the guards. Elias stood poised, eyes gleaming with killer intent, vines erupting from the snow-covered ground like silent guardians. The scene teetered on the brink of an all-out war.

But before another blow could be struck, a new voice sliced through the tension, as cool and sharp as a winter wind. "Leave them," Princess Athena commanded, her voice ringing with both authority and a tremor of grief.

The guards hesitated, their weapons faltering. "But Your Highness…" one stammered.

"It is Empress Athena now," she corrected, the words heavy on her tongue. "And I, the ruler of Alchymia, demand you withdraw. Unless," she added, divinity crackling around her hand, "you prefer a lengthy stay in the dungeons?"

The guards hesitated, then knelt, magic fading. "Your Majesty... may your reign be bathed in sunlight."

Ignoring them, Athena approached Eydis. "My power could act as a beacon," she murmured to Astra, receiving a solemn nod. With a tenderness that contrasted the tension outside, Athena knelt beside Eydis, her hand, crackling with divine light, reached out. The other grasped Eydis's necklace, warmth flowing as essence transferred.

But the cage shuddered under God's relentless assault. It wasn't enough. Despair gnawed at Astra as tears streamed down her face. How could she change the world if she couldn't save the one she loved most? Grief threatened to consume her, her power wavering, the cage shimmering precariously.

"Ana! Stay strong!" Damien's roar echoed through the chaos.

The barrier flickered, fragments surging back to Eydis, sending Athena reeling. But she rose, wiping blood from her lips, divinity flaring to weaken the tendrils once more. Yet, the battle raged on, the cage a fragile bubble in a raging storm.

Exhaustion etched their faces. Astra gritted her teeth, eyes blazing with an otherworldly glow that painted the night with an eerie light. Then, a surge – not just her own power, but something potent, something…familiar.

Theomund. Battered, bloodied, he rose. Gone was the rage in his eyes, replaced by a desperate fire, fuelled by incandescent love. For Eydis, he would face even a god. He roared, icy breath fogging in the frosty air, channelling the very fabric of reality to strengthen the cage. His veins glowed like molten metal, the heat a stark contrast to the biting cold, the effort straining his being.

But would it be enough? The cage held, for now, but the pressure mounted, threatening to shatter it like a crystal underfoot

Eydis couldn't die. Not today. She would fight back!