Page 69 of Death God

“You won’t lose me, my precious daughter,” he said. “Your mom and I will always be with you. The connection is already there. And you won’t lose your looks. The transformation isn’t going to take away your beauty. Nothing and no one can.”

I stopped sobbing. “Are you sure?”

He smiled at me. “It’ll be a power upgrade to make sure your power awakens fully. But the transformation takes time, and while you’re in the midst of it, you’ll be weak. So you’ll need to be guarded by your most powerful warriors. But we don’t have time, and they’re not here. We’ll carry on, and you’ll hide here until the transformation is complete. Goodbye, my daughter.”

“Wait, Dad!”

A star formed in the center of my father’s skeleton chest, glowing so brightly that I had to shield my eyes with both hands, which didn’t stop the star from shooting toward me and slamming into my ribcage before I could react or protest.

It was like a scorching sun settling deeply within me, purging me and burning my every cell.

In my scream, I still vaguely heard my father’s words echoing in the crimson lightning that crackled in the black wind around me.

“It’ll pass, daughter. You’re loved.”

My father turned to dark mist, then the immense darkness devoured the last thread of the mist. The dark cell was empty now, as if my father had never been there.

“No, no! Don’t go, Dad! Come back!” I dropped to my knees, sobbing in heartbreak. “We can work this out. I’ll free you another way. Just don’t leave me, please.”

But I knew my father was gone forever this time.

“Pip! Pip!” Freckles shouted. “What happened?”

His footsteps pounded on the stone ground as he rushed toward me. With my father crossing over to the other side, the barrier no longer held. I wasn’t sure how much my mage friend had heard, but I couldn’t answer him as the transformation kicked in.

I writhed in agony as the elemental power from the star beyond our universe infused my cells and atoms.

Memories of the past, dreams of the present, and visions of the future merged in a rapid torrent of images, shapes, and colors, passing through my mind like I was a transmitter. I screamed at the brutal force. It was more than I could take.

But it kept coming.

It wasn’t just pain invading my body and my soul. Darkness and starlight turned me into their vessel. Phantom trains that carried the dead passed through me like I was a station. One train left, then another arrived. Billions of souls screamed, unwilling to leave. They reached toward me to grab me, as if I could save them from their fates.

I stood between two worlds. I was a passage to the Underworld.

I clenched my teeth as visions ran through my head, nearly blinding me.

Carnage.

Blood flowed like a river.

Broken bodies piled up.

The horseman of war poured gasoline on a sea of bodies and lit a match. Smoke twirled into the air, and the horseman chuckled, admiring his work and harvesting power from the dead.

Beneath the burning sky, skyscrapers collapsed in clouds of dust and rubble, steel falling and glass raining down.

Cities emptied, trash floating in the wind.

Civilization was all gone.

Dragon fire rose in me, mating with the dark death flame. When they became one, the new power started to remake me, forging me in galaxy flame and earthly fire.

All I wanted was to curl up on the floor and pass out, so I wouldn’t feel the burn of my bones.

Then another vision hit—

Blood rained down on my face.

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