Beneath the sky of a dead universe, a god stirred.
Not a god of love. Not war. Not even death.
But a god of consumption.
His name was whispered by stars as they blinked out.
Gor'than.The Eater of Eternities.
He rose from the Sea of Forgotten Realms, body stitched from the bones of extinct pantheons, each breath exhaling lost timelines. His eyes burned with stolen suns. And with every step, existence itself crumbled.
Zeus had released him.Odin had consented.Highfather had watched in silence.
Now the first target of Gor'than's hunger… was Sarive.
The Training of Infinity
Far from the cosmic dread, Sarive stood in a storm-ringed valley alongside Miko.
His eyes were closed. His breath was steady.
"You must stop using your power like a hammer," Miko said, circling him. "You are not just muscle. You are not just rage."
"I'm not a god either," he replied.
"No," she agreed. "You're something worse."
Sarive opened his eyes, glowing faint gold. "What's that supposed to mean?"
"You are a mortal becoming a god," Miko said. "A soul forged in fire, grief, and love. That makes you unpredictable. And that makes you dangerous."
She raised her staff.
"Again."
Hope's Fracture
In the Refuge's garden, Zatanna watched as Hope stared into a pool of still water.
"She's been quiet," Diana said, arms crossed.
Zatanna nodded. "Too quiet. And when children with cosmic power go quiet…"
The pool rippled. Hope trembled.
"I saw Theonix," she whispered. "He's sick."
Diana blinked. "Sick? Theonix is a god."
Hope looked up, eyes wide.
"Not sick like people.Sick like… rotting from the inside.Something is killing him.Something inside me."
Selari's Revelation
Selari sat alone in the armory, polishing a blade that no longer existed in this timeline.
Diana approached, tension in every step.
"Your future-self said Theonix was eternal," Diana challenged. "You said the war couldn't be won without him. What changed?"
Selari met her gaze. "The child did. Hope wasn't supposed to develop this fast. She's evolving… rewriting not just the future, but the present."
She stood.
"She's unconsciously feeding her power into the ones she trusts most. That's why Sarive grows so quickly. That's why Theonix—her father—is decaying."
Diana's face darkened. "So she's killing him."
"No," Selari whispered. "She's becoming him."
Meanwhile: Gor'than Feeds
Across the Void Expanse, a world screamed.
It was a small one—a realm of twilight gods who worshipped silence and memory. Their temples shimmered like crystal.
And in one breath, Gor'than devoured it.
Not just its matter.
Its meaning.
The gods there were erased from thought. From time. They had never existed.
At the center of the ruin, Gor'than turned his massive head toward the multiverse.
He spoke with a voice that scraped across the bones of space.
"I hunger for the child."
A Fracture Between Allies
Back in the Refuge, Diana confronted Sarive during a break in training.
"You're hiding something."
Sarive turned. "What?"
"After your last surge," she said, "Selari said you spoke again. Another word of the old tongue."
Sarive clenched his jaw. "It came out. I didn't mean to."
"What was the word?"
"…Kaelor."
Diana stepped back.
"That's not just old tongue," she said. "That's one of the Six Locks. Words that can unchain the divine heart. They weren't meant for mortals."
Sarive shook his head. "Then why do I know them?"
Diana looked at him sadly. "Because maybe you were never just a mortal."
Hope's Drawing Changes
Hope sat alone, drawing in silence.
She looked at her newest picture.
It had changed.
Now, Theonix was crumbling.
Selari was weeping, eyes black.
And Sarive… wore a crown.
Not of gold.But of bones.
Final Scene: Gor'than's Arrival
The sky cracked open above the Refuge.
Thunder screamed backwards. Time glitched.
From that bleeding wound in space, Gor'than stepped forward—massive, dripping with the energy of forgotten gods, his presence bending gravity.
He opened his mouth—and the trees near the Refuge vanished into ash.
Zatanna whispered, "He's here."
Sarive, eyes glowing gold, took a single step forward.
Diana stepped beside him, blade drawn.
And Hope… stood behind them, her hands trembling.
But not with fear.
With power.
"He wants me," she said."Then let him try."