Ankh stared at the strange glow rising faintly beneath the surface of the sea, and an uneasy feeling settled in his chest.
The next instant, his vision went black.
The battlefield around him blurred and dissolved, only to slowly reconstruct itself into an entirely unfamiliar place.
He was standing in the center of a vast, magnificent hall.
Everything about it was grand enough to inspire instinctive reverence.
Towering walls surrounded him on every side, covered in countless intricate reliefs so exquisitely carved that they seemed almost alive.
Ankh tightened his grip on his sword and cautiously moved forward. Before long, he reached the true centerpiece of the hall.
Twenty-three enormous statues stood along both sides in a broad semicircle.
Each one was sacred and imposing, rendered in brilliant colors with such impossible detail that they looked more like living beings frozen in place than sculptures.
Yet there was something distinctly unnatural about their beauty, something too perfect to belong in the mortal world.
Ankh recognized several of them immediately.
As he passed one statue after another, each bearing its own unmistakable traits, he saw Yusalk, Sorda, Vilty…
Then his footsteps stopped.
His expression grew complicated as he stared at the most familiar statue of all.
Black and white blended together in perfect balance.
The compassion of life and the merciless impartiality of death had both been captured with almost frightening precision.
Its face was identical to Ankh's.
There was only one real difference.
The God of Life and Death wore no trace of Ankh's usual warmth.
The expression was utterly cold, yet within those ruby-red eyes there seemed to be the faintest hint of compassion.
Of every divine statue in the hall, it was the only one whose eyes seemed to contain any genuine emotion.
"So this was what I used to be…"
After a moment's hesitation, Ankh reached out and placed a hand against the statue.
Familiar divine power immediately flowed from within.
"This is… Life and Death Divine Power?"
He pulled his hand back in surprise, but when he gathered some of that power into his palm, his brows slowly furrowed.
Something was wrong.
"Fake?"
"It isn't fake."
A strange voice sounded behind him.
"It simply hasn't become real yet."
Ankh's expression changed.
Before turning around, he glanced once toward the statue positioned at the very center of all twenty-three gods.
Then he slowly looked back.
A figure had appeared behind him without warning.
Much like the impossibly lifelike statue at the center of the hall, the newcomer's gender was impossible to determine by appearance alone.
Their features were delicate and flawless, almost unnaturally beautiful, while faint divine radiance shimmered within their eyes.
A loose white robe draped over their body as they stood calmly before him.
"Zous…"
Ankh stared at the figure and sighed softly.
"I figured you'd show up the moment the Black Dragon ran into trouble."
The being he called Zous showed no reaction.
Their flawless face remained completely expressionless as their gaze settled on the blade in Ankh's hand.
"You still chose to walk this false path."
Ankh tightened his grip on the Dragon God's Arsenal and raised it slightly.
"If by 'false path' you mean choosing to live with humans, then no. I don't regret it."
Zous seemed to have expected that answer.
They lifted their gaze toward the hall around them.
"This is a Divine Realm I created."
Their voice remained flat and detached.
"And yet it cannot reproduce even half the majesty of the true Divine Realm."
Zous raised one hand and pointed toward Ankh.
"The ones who destroyed that Divine Realm were the gods who allowed themselves to be stained by the God of Emotion."
"In other words, you."
"Did you drag me here just to put me on trial?" Ankh asked.
Zous shook their head.
"We are all guilty."
Ankh raised an eyebrow.
"The influence of the God of Emotion prevented us from fully controlling the laws we represented. Even so, we still possessed divine authority and power far beyond all living creatures."
Zous looked directly at him.
"Every god was affected. Every god bears responsibility."
"But removing that influence is not difficult. If you are willing to return to us, a new Divine Realm can be established."
They swept one hand lazily through the air.
"You entered this world carrying a body capable of feeling emotion. Surely, after everything you have experienced, you must have regretted it at least once."
A screen of light appeared beside them.
Ankh looked over.
His own life unfolded across it.
Makarov finding him and bringing him home.
Meeting Erza.
Eating and fooling around with Natsu and the others.
Bringing Mirajane back.
Becoming close friends with Laxus.
Then came the years after he grew older—the countless jobs, the clients he met, the people he fought, the things that had irritated, angered, disgusted, or saddened him.
Gradually, the images became darker.
Magical manipulation.
Human trafficking.
Murder.
Robbery.
Cruelty hidden in forgotten corners of society.
Children crying where no one could hear them. Betrayal between companions. Rage born from humiliation. Love turning into heartbreak.
It was almost like a documentary of humanity itself, showing everything emotion could create—both beautiful and vile.
Then the image changed again.
A group of half-grown children were thrown alive into a boiling cauldron by members of a cult.
Ankh's grip around his sword tightened so hard that his knuckles went white.
He tore his gaze away from the screen and stared directly at Zous.
"What exactly are you trying to say?"
His voice had gone cold.
"That every horrible thing humans do comes from having emotions?"
"Gods are no different."
Zous waved a hand, and the screen vanished.
"You lived among humans. You formed bonds with them. And what did those bonds make you do?"
Black flames appeared above their left palm.
Death Divine Power—created through Zous's own authority.
"When your companions were humiliated, you killed those responsible out of anger, even though their crimes did not warrant death."
Then a gentle white light gathered above their right hand.
It carried the same warmth and compassion as Life Divine Power.
"And when people you considered family were meant to die, you returned their souls to the mortal world simply because you wanted to preserve their smiles."
"That is something the old you would never have done."
Zous looked at him calmly.
"Ankhseram, the emotions you pursued have confined you to one small guild."
"You no longer protect humanity with even the limited impartiality you once possessed."
"You protect the humans you personally care about."
"You love only the people you have chosen to love."
The two divine powers floated above their palms like the weights of some invisible scale.
Zous's tone never changed, but every word carried a strange, almost hypnotic force.
Ankh remained silent for a while.
Memories of everything he had done over the years passed through his mind.
Then, unexpectedly, he smiled.
For the first time, Zous frowned.
Brilliant divine light flared within their eyes, almost as though they had already seen the answer Ankh was about to give.
"You know…"
Ankh's smile widened.
"Hearing you put it like that actually makes me pretty happy."
"If I can care about some people more than others, if I can be biased toward my family and friends…"
"Then that just means I've become more human."
"The authority of the God of Life and Death was never meant to—"
A blade flashed.
Zous looked calmly at the sword that had stopped against a shimmering barrier inches from their body.
Ankh stared straight into their eyes.
His expression was utterly resolute.
"That god you keep talking about?"
"I don't give a damn about being him!"