Chapter 762: 762

Even when she left the chamber, even when the door closed softly behind her, Osita remained where he was, still watching the empty space she had occupied, caught between longing and restraint, knowing with painful clarity that the hardest battles were not fought with power...but with patience.

Osita could not stop the tears as they carved slow, burning paths down his face.

For all his power, for all the terror his name could inspire, he had never felt so small. Every path before him was narrowed by the people he loved. His will, capable of shaking worlds, now felt bound by invisible chains forged from care and responsibility.

His children.

What would become of them if he took the Queen away? What kind of existence would he be dragging them into, a life spent fleeing sanctuaries, hunted by kingdoms, cursed by prayers filled with rage? The thought alone made his chest ache. To claim his wife at the cost of his children’s future would be nothing short of cruelty.

That kind of selfishness was something he refused to become, it was not an action she would be proud of.

"She is safe," he whispered to himself, the words trembling as they left his lips.

She was still here. Still breathing. Still anchored to the world, even if not in the way he had dreamed. She was within reach, not of his hands, but of his hope. Given time, given patience, he would find a way.

For now, restraint was the only mercy he could offer.

There were other burdens waiting for him heavier and unavoidable. The consequences of what he had done today could not be ignored. Lives had been lost, and no amount of justification could erase that truth. The echoes of their deaths already rippled outward, carried by rumor, fear, and grief.

He knew the world would not stay silent.

The people of Nana would demand answers. Entire nations would gather with accusations, with trembling voices asking whether the devastation had been necessary. Whether the price paid had been worth the survival of others. Whether Osita was still a protector... or something far worse.

He would not hide from it.

The hatred would come, thick and suffocating, and he would stand in its path alone. His kingdom could not be allowed to shoulder that weight. His children could never be bound to the fate he had carved for himself with blood and fire.

If the world needed a monster, then he would give them one.

Better that their eyes turned toward him, every curse, every prayer, every blade of intent, than ever toward the fragile lives of his loved ones.

Osita straightened, wiping the tears from his face.

This was the role Murmur wanted him to play.

And for now... he would play it.

Months passed after the incident, and the world did what it always did in the absence of truth, grasp at straws.

Fragments of the event spread across continents and planes, distorted by fear and distance. Every retelling twisted the story further. Some claimed Osita had snapped, others insisted it was a warning, a calculated show of dominance meant to remind the world of its place. No one truly knew what had happened, and worse... no one knew why.

Speculation filled the void where answers should have been.

For the first time in ages, humans and godlings found themselves bound by the same limitations. Both sides lacked information. Both lacked certainty. And, perhaps most telling of all, both lacked the courage to seek the truth directly.

Conclusions were drawn in private councils. Verdicts were spoken behind wards and sealed doors. Yet not a single one of them dared to cross the threshold into Osita’s kingdom to confront him. Fear was the one belief they all shared.

The display of power Osita had shown that day had carved itself into the collective consciousness of the world. The kind of power that did not threaten or boast, but simply was. To realize that such an existence lived beside them, separated only by borders and fragile treaties, filled even immortals with quiet despair.

They all remembered the same thing.

The moment they had been dragged into his domain, everything they thought defined them had been stripped away. Divine heritage meant nothing. Arcane mastery evaporated like mist. Their so-called power became a hollow concept, something distant and unreachable.

Inside Osita’s domain, there was no fight to be had.

Thought itself bent under the pressure of his presence. Instincts screamed surrender before reason could even form a plan. Every being who had experienced it understood the same truth in that helpless moment.

It was through their vampire kin that the godlings finally learned the truth.

They spoke of Roth, of how he had acted when no one else could. Piece by piece, the godlings assembled a clearer picture of the event.

They spared no effort in expressing their gratitude. Envoys crossed seas and skies alike, bearing gifts, relics, and tributes. Offerings meant to honor Roth’s help and perhaps to ease their own conscience for having been powerless when it mattered most. Gratitude, in this case, walked hand in hand with relief.

Across the planet Nana, the long process of recovery began.

The world had suffered disasters before, but never one that pressed so closely against total annihilation. Not since the great meteor shower had Nana faced a crisis that threa

tened everything at once. Cities were rebuilt stone by stone, rituals were held for the fallen.

This time, however, the people were different. They were stronger. Yet strength did not erase grief. Mourning echoed through streets and halls, and leaders of every kingdom gathered debating safeguards, alliances, and contingencies that they all knew might never be enough.

And looming over every conversation was the same unspoken presence.

Osita.

His existence had become a thorne in the minds of the world, a seat of absolute power that no one had elected, no one could challenge, and no one dared to approach. There was nothing more terrifying than power unrestrained by oversight... especially power proven willing to be used without hesitation.

The question haunted every chamber, every sleepless night.

What if Roth had not been there?

The answer was always the same, no matter how gently they tried to phrase it. There would have been no resistance. No miracle waiting in reserve.

All would have been lost.

Power became the axis upon which the world began to turn.

Both the godlings and the greatest human kingdoms poured every resource they possessed into understanding what Sixth Stage truly meant. Theories once dismissed as myth were dragged into scholarly debate. If this level of power existed and clearly it did then ignorance was no longer an option.

What also became prevalent was was how quickly reverence shifted.

The existence of the gods, both the Origin Gods and those who had ascended became more beloved than ever before. In the aftermath, the people of Nana began to recognize the quiet restraint those gods had always practiced. Divine law, once seen as distant was now understood as protection. The gods were powerful... and yet they chose not to cross certain lines.

That distinction mattered.

Among the people, a new and chilling definition of the Sixth Stage took root: Gods among men.

But unlike the divine gods, who were bound by immutable laws that forbade the endangerment of mortal life, Sixth Stage powerhouses bore no such universal restraint.

While many Sixth Stage beings had their own laws and followed it, their own codes, oaths, principles, loyalties, the distance between them and ordinary life was terrifyingly small. Not a gulf measured in heavens or planes, but an arm’s reach. A single decision. A single moment of emotion.

And the world had already seen what happened when that restraint failed.

If a kingdom was unfortunate enough to exist without a Sixth Stage powerhouse of its own, someone capable of shielding them, deterring others, or at the very least answering overwhelming force with overwhelming force, then history could repeat itself.

Osita had proven that lesson brutally.

Of all those shaken by the aftermath, Nwadiebube was among the most deeply affected.

The moment he had been dragged into that domain, the moment reality bent and his strength became meaningless, something inside him had fractured. Pride, carefully cultivated over centuries, had cracked in an instant. He had always known Osita was powerful, but knowing and experiencing were two very different things.

Only then did it truly make sense.

Osita had never taken him seriously. Not out of arrogance, but out of perspective. Like a parent watching a mischievous child lash out, full of noise and confidence yet incapable of causing real harm. The memory burned now, every dismissed insult, every calm glance, every moment where Osita chose patience over retaliation.

With the scale of power Osita possessed, Nwadiebube finally understood why his provocations had never mattered. Why his threats had never been answered. Why he had been allowed to speak at all. Against that kind of existence, his actions had been no more than ripples against a mountain.

The realization hollowed him out.

And into that hollow, something else began to seep. A whisper that slid between his doubts and his wounded pride, offering understanding for his humiliation. Murmur words began to dance in his ears.

Power that would place him beyond condescension, beyond being overlooked. Power that would ensure he would never again feel that small, that helpless.

Power that could be his.

Godhood.