With their combined full-force strike, the Void Hub finally exploded into countless fragments. The black threads snapped one after another, and the chains of consciousness linking millions of controlled people collapsed at the same time.
Across the entire Alliance, every controlled soldier froze in place.
Zeus knelt on the floor of the Supreme Hall, his trembling hands covering his face as golden tears dripped through his fingers.
As a Creator, he should not have been capable of tears. The existence of Conceptual Gods transcended the emotional restraints of mortals, yet at that moment, the memories he had suppressed came flooding back like a breached dam.
Every innocent person he had ordered to be controlled.
Every family shattered by his commands.
Every life extinguished by his decisions.
The desperate looks in the eyes of the Moderate Faction Quartet when they were placed under house arrest, Iota's agonized pleas before his self-destruction, the hollow eyes of those soldiers... all those images replayed over and over in his mind, carving into his soul like a dull blade.
"What have I done... What have I done..." His voice was hoarse and broken.
Gamma crouched down and placed a hand on his old friend's shoulder. "It wasn't you. The Lord of the Void did it through you."
"But it was me!" Zeus suddenly raised his head, his eyes bloodshot. "I opened that door. I accepted his power. I wanted perfect order so badly that I lost my judgment!"
His voice grew more and more agitated. "If I had been clearer-headed, if I had been more vigilant, if I had listened to Alpha's advice... none of this would have happened!"
After a moment of silence, Alpha said, "You can blame yourself later. Right now, we need you to do the right thing. Tens of thousands in