Chapter 9: The Eternal God

Deitos walked forward, his eyes fixed on the sky above.

Dreko stood beside him. For a moment, neither of them spoke.

“So… what happens now?” Deitos finally asked, breaking the silence.

Dreko glanced down at his hands, slowly clenching them into fists.

“I don’t know,” he said. “But whatever happens… we face it together. You’re my best friend. That doesn’t change.”

Deitos gave a faint nod.

“Yeah… I mean, I’m a little bummed I wasn’t chosen.” He let out a quiet breath. “But I can still help. Maybe… that’s enough.”

He hesitated, his thoughts drifting back.

“Master said the Kudonians will take over the planet… we can’t let that happen, right?”

Dreko didn’t answer immediately.

When he finally looked up, something in his expression had changed.

“I’m not fighting them, Deitos.”

The words landed heavier than they should have.

“I’m going to let them win.”

Deitos blinked, caught off guard.

“What…?”

Dreko’s gaze hardened.

“You’ve seen it. Jiba doesn’t have the strength to win this war. We’ve known that for a long time.” He paused. “Master was right. If we side with Kudos… maybe we can make this world better.”

Deitos slowly turned his head, his eyes falling on the time core in Rowlo’s hand.

“With that…” he said quietly, “we could change everything.”

Dreko followed his gaze.

“We could erase Kudos before it ever began.”

Dreko’s hand tightened.

“No.”

His voice was firm now.

“Time isn’t something we play with. You know what Master taught us.” His grip tightened even more. “There’s only one time core… and I won’t let you use it for that.”

Deitos let out a sharp breath through his nose.

“Chuh… that’s insane.”

He turned away.

“I’m not fighting you. Not over this.” He started walking. “I’ll just do what I can to protect Jiba… for the both of us.”

Dreko didn’t stop him.

But the space between them felt different now.

He couldn’t let Deitos touch the timeline.

The war didn’t slow. Battle after battle fell to Kudos. Jiba’s forces crumbled, piece by piece. Until one day,

the Kudonian flag rose over their homeland.

Three hollow circles. A flame at the center. Burning against a field of yellow.

Deitos was captured.

Along with the remaining high command of Jiba. There was no trial. Only a sentence. Execution.

Years later…

Deitos lay on the cold floor of a grungy prison cell, dressed in a worn blue jumpsuit. From inside, the outside world didn’t exist. Only stone, iron, and noise.

Voices echoed constantly through the halls, prisoners arguing, guards shouting, metal clanking against metal. Every so often, armored footsteps passed by. The guards wore thick, plated suits, built to withstand heat.

Deitos stared up at the ceiling.

This wasn’t right. He shouldn’t even be here.

Suddenly the alarms started blaring.

A sharp, blaring sound tore through the prison, cutting across every other noise.

For a brief moment, everything froze.

Then,

BOOM!

A deafening explosion shook the walls. Dust fell from the ceiling as the entire structure trembled. Shouts erupted across the prison, growing louder with each passing second.

Then suddenly, a guard came flying across the hallway in front of Deitos’s cell, screaming as he slammed into the opposite wall.

Deitos pushed himself up, eyes narrowing.

And then he saw it.

Spiky hair.

Familiar.

Too familiar.

Dreko burst into view, a blast of fire erupting behind him as he moved.

He stopped in front of the cell and looked directly at Deitos.

“Now you didn’t think I’d just let you die, did you?” he said with a slight chuckle.

Deitos shot to his feet, still trying to process what he was seeing.

“…You little—”

“At least try to look happy to see me,” Dreko cut in.

He grabbed the bars of the cell. Heat flared instantly, metal glowing before beginning to melt under his grip.

Within seconds, the bars gave way.

Dreko stepped inside and crouched slightly, grabbing the Foosoo dampener locked around Deitos’s leg. With a quick motion, he snapped it apart.

The pressure lifted immediately.

Deitos rolled his shoulder, testing the feeling.

“…Took you long enough,” he muttered.

Dreko smirked. “Yeah, yeah. Let’s go.”

They turned toward the wall.

At the same time, both of their fists ignited.

They struck.

The impact shattered the stone instantly, sending debris outward as a hole tore open through the prison wall.

Without hesitating, they launched forward, flames bursting from their feet as they shot into the open air.

They didn’t stop until the prison was far behind them.

The desert stretched endlessly in every direction, the heat rising in waves from the sand below.

Eventually, they slowed near a rocky outcrop, landing just outside a cave.

Both of them bent slightly, catching their breath.

For a moment, neither of them spoke.

“…Jiba is gone.”

Deitos broke the silence, still catching his breath.

“This whole planet… everything we knew, it’s all just Kudos now.” He looked at Dreko. “Is this what you wanted?”

Dreko straightened up and reached for a gourd at his side, taking a long drink before exhaling.

“You know that’s not true,” he said. “And this… it’s not permanent.”

He started to walk toward him, but Deitos immediately brushed him off.

“Then why save me?”

Dreko stopped.

“Because this universe needs us.”

Deitos didn’t respond.

“Kudos is already planning to expand beyond this planet,” Dreko continued. “Other star systems. And if no one guides it…” He shook his head slightly. “They won’t be peaceful about it.”

He met Deitos’s eyes.

“This is bigger than us.”

For a moment, neither of them moved.

Then Dreko held out his hand.

“Please,” he said. “You’re my best friend. We’re going to outlive everyone on this planet… and I can’t do this alone.”

Deitos stood there, arms still crossed, the tension clear on his face.

Slowly, it faded.

Not completely, but enough.

He stepped forward slowly, then took Dreko’s hand, pulling him into an embrace.

“I still don’t agree with you,” he said quietly. “But you’re my best friend… no matter what happens.”

They separated after a moment.

Dreko gave a small nod, a faint smile forming.

“Getting into Kudos… it’s going to take time. Years. Maybe longer.” He paused. “But like Master said, we can watch over what comes next.”

Deitos let out a short breath.

“Tch… whatever. Let’s just do it.”

Over the centuries, the two of them began to make a name for themselves.

Their presence started appearing in records, in decisions, in moments where conflicts should have turned into wars, but didn’t.

What started as small, unseen actions gradually grew into something larger. Influence. Trust. Power.

Eventually, they found their way into the Kudonian government itself.

It took time, far more than either of them cared to count, but little by little, they helped guide the empire. Not through force, but through patience. Through restraint.

And slowly, the expansion of Kudos changed.

What could have become endless conflict instead turned toward uneasy peace with its galactic neighbors.

They traveled the stars for thousands of years after that.

World after world.

Sometimes as protectors. Sometimes as mediators. Sometimes as nothing more than observers.

They used time travel sparingly, only when there was no other choice.

Even then, neither of them ever fully agreed on it.

Then one day, they found something different.

Something neither of them had been looking for.

The planet was called Cresto.

Its skies were a deep, endless blue, not unlike Earth’s, but above it hung two suns. One burned a steady yellow. The other glowed with a softer, almost unnatural blue.

The light they cast together gave the world an unfamiliar warmth.

Deep within one of its jungles, following a lead they hadn’t expected to matter, the two of them came across a structure long forgotten by time.

A temple.

Worn stone covered in age and growth, nearly swallowed by the surrounding forest.

According to the local tribe, it had once been dedicated to a goddess.

Jyra.

The goddess of laughter.

Inside, the air was still.

There was something off about it. Not empty, just quiet in a way that didn’t feel natural.

The walls were lined with ancient runes, etched deep into the stone, their meaning obscured by time but not entirely lost.

Deitos stepped closer, running his hand lightly along the markings.

“These runes…” he said, studying them carefully. “They’re talking about something. A power. Not like anything we’ve seen before.”