Deitos’ eyes glowed with hope and excitement as he continued deciphering the runes.
"A power of possibility… Dreko, with a power like this… we could change everything. No more war… no more suffering… a universe that’s actually peaceful… a universe filled with joy."
Deitos almost seemed to glow just thinking about it.
"It could be dangerous," Dreko said, his voice more serious now. "Power like that doesn’t just create peace. It can destroy everything just as easily. We need more information."
They continued deeper into the temple, reading more and more runes.
The walls were filled with myths and stories.
Stories about a goddess with the appearance of a child, one who could wield any foosoo imaginable. A being whose only limit was imagination itself.
As they went further in, the temple began to react.
Flames burst from the walls without warning.
Floods of water crashed down from hidden openings.
The deeper they went, the more violent it became.
Eventually, they reached a chamber.
At the center stood a statue of Jyra, laughing.
On either side stood two more statues.
One took the form of a well-built man.
The other, a woman radiating a quiet, overwhelming majesty.
"This place gives me the creeps, bro…" Deitos muttered, glancing around.
"I swear if I have to deal with even one more trap…"
Suddenly, the eyes of the two statues lit up.
The man’s glowed with an eerie purple.
The woman’s burned with a deep golden light.
Then, faster than either of them could fully register, the male statue attacked.
Dreko barely moved in time.
The female statue struck him with a brutal kick, sending him crashing into the wall. Stone cracked around him.
"DREKO!!" Deitos shouted.
Lightning-like energy erupted from his body.
In an instant, he reappeared above the female statue, a blazing fireball forming in his hand.
"Turn to dust!"
He hurled it down.
But the statue vanished.
The next second, the male statue appeared behind him and slammed him into the ground.
The impact carved a crater into the floor.
"Aaagh, what the hell are these things?!" Deitos shouted, struggling to rise.
Dreko pushed off the wall, moving fast.
His fist collided with the male statue’s chest, sending it flying across the room.
"I don’t know," Dreko said, steadying himself. "Guess we destroy them and find out."
"Yeah… you’re right," Deitos said, already healing. "Let’s turn ’em to dust."
At that moment, both of their eyes burned bright yellow.
Energy surged outward like lightning.
Then they vanished.
The two of them moved faster than the eye could follow.
Striking. Reappearing. Disappearing again.
They fought back to back, overwhelming the statues with sheer speed and power.
The statues tried to retaliate, but they couldn’t keep up.
Blow after blow landed.
Cracks spread across their bodies.
Until they stopped moving.
Their forms crumbled into pieces across the floor.
Silence filled the chamber.
Then the eyes of the Jyra statue began to glow.
A deep, burning orange.
But it didn’t move.
Instead, a compartment opened beneath it.
"Tch… that was annoying," Deitos scoffed, brushing himself off.
Dreko let out a small breath.
"Hah… not too bad."
He glanced toward the opening.
"I guess our prize is waiting for us."
Inside the chamber, a glowing ball of light floated. Its presence was ominous, yet majestic at the same time.
"This... must be the power they were talking about," Deitos said, his voice filled with excitement.
"Yeah… we should probably investigate it carefully—"
Before Dreko could finish, Deitos lunged forward.
"Deitos, wait!" Dreko shouted, immediately chasing after him.
They both reached it at the same time.
The moment their hands touched the light, a violent surge of energy erupted outward, engulfing them completely.
They were thrown across the chamber, slammed hard into opposite walls.
"Ahh… what the hell just happened?" Dreko groaned, rubbing his head.
Deitos slowly pushed himself up, staring at his hands.
"I don’t know… but I feel powerful… like really powerful."
He clenched his fist.
Light burst from his palm, illuminating the entire chamber.
"I’ve never controlled light before… Dreko, I think we can do anything. Like actually anything."
Dreko sat up, breathing steadily. He looked down at his hand.
It shifted.
Turned solid.
Crystal.
Diamond.
His eyes widened slightly.
"This is… I mean…"
Deitos stood, a bright, almost overwhelming energy radiating from him.
"We have to use this power for good. We can reshape the universe itself."
Dreko rose to his feet.
"I don’t know about reshaping, Deitos. Remember what we stand for. We protect the balance, we don’t rewrite everything."
Deitos started pacing.
"Balance this, balance that… you sound like some old monk, Dreko."
He turned sharply.
"All that matters is that we can bring peace. Imagine it… no more suffering. No more war. No one starving. No one crying out for help and getting nothing."
Dreko’s expression hardened.
"I want that too. But people need choice. Their own path. Even if it leads to mistakes."
Deitos shook his head slowly.
"People don’t know what they want. I’ve seen that again and again."
He looked down at his hand, power building again.
"Now… with this… I can create something better. A universe that actually works."
Energy surged around him, his body beginning to glow.
Dreko took a step forward.
"Deitos… don’t do this."
Deitos looked at him.
For a moment… there was hesitation.
Then a faint smile.
"Please don’t come after me, Dreko."
His voice softened.
"You’ll always be my best friend."
In an instant, his body vanished.
Silence filled the chamber.
Dreko stood there, staring at the empty space he left behind.
"...Damn it."
He clenched his fist slightly.
"What the hell are you about to do…"
The news spread quickly.
At first, it sounded like a rumor. Something people whispered about but didn’t fully believe.
Deitos, the one so many people admired, had attacked Iluminus, the capital city of the Bright Empire at the very center of the galaxy.
For a while, people denied it.
Then the reports started coming in. One world after another began to fall. Not destroyed, but taken over.
On one distant world, a massive crowd gathered as Deitos descended from the sky. Weapons were raised against him… then slowly lowered. One by one, people fell to their knees.
Peace had arrived.
Deitos moved from system to system, bringing an end to conflict wherever he went. Wars that had lasted generations suddenly stopped. Entire civilizations fell silent under his control.
He wasn’t conquering in the way people expected.
He was enforcing something else.
Peace.
Soon after, he formed something new. A coalition made up of the empires and nations he had taken.
He called it the Universal Coalition of Empires, or the U.C.E.
Its influence spread rapidly, reaching beyond the boundaries of a single galaxy.
Nations didn’t exactly join. They were absorbed into it, one by one.
People were fed. No one went hungry anymore. They were given homes, stability, and structure. Every role in society was assigned. Every system carefully controlled.
Everything was organized to maintain peace and order.
But with that…
Choice slowly disappeared.
Only one major power remained outside of it.
The Kudonian Empire.
The last galactic nation still standing against the coalition.
Dreko stood on the pavilion of the royal palace in Ziha, the capital city of Kudos.
The wind moved gently through the open space, brushing against the stone beneath his feet.
He stared out at the horizon, already knowing what was coming.
There was a quiet tension in the air, like the calm before something inevitable.
Then the sky began to change.
Ships appeared in the distance.
At first, just a few.
Then more.
And more.
Until the sky was filled with them.
Coalition vessels stretched across the horizon, covering the heavens in every direction.
They hovered in silence, overwhelming in their sheer number.
Dreko didn’t move.
His expression hardened slightly as he took it in.
“…So this is what you chose,” he said quietly.
His hand clenched at his side.
“…Then I’ll stop you.”
Out of the largest vessel, Deitos emerged, flying in view of the entire city. He began to speak, his voice amplified by his power so everyone could hear.
"On behalf of the coalition, the Kudonian Empire will be taken under the control of the coalition. Please do not resist."
Countless nobles joined Dreko on the pavilion, gasping at the sight. Below, people panicked and screamed.
The Kudonian Army responded immediately. Kudonian ships began to attack the coalition vessels.
"Very well… I had hoped my home world would have been more welcoming. What a shame…" Deitos continued.
He thrust his hand forward, and the ships began firing on the city, destroying countless buildings and streets.
The city was filled with Kudonians running, some flying away using their abilities, others joining the fight. It was madness.
Dreko flew up to where Deitos was. When their eyes met, they both knew everything had changed.
"I told you not to come after me, Dreko. I've brought peace to this universe. No one will ever have to suffer again."
Deitos made their conversation private, meant only for the two of them.
"Look around you, Deitos. The city is in flames. You're nothing more than a dictator, forcing your will on the universe."
"I can't stop, Dreko. I won't stop. Your ways are too slow, too permissive."
"Have you forgotten everything Solomon taught us!?" Dreko shouted, tears streaming down his face.
"Master Solomon was naive, Dreko."
Dreko wiped the tears from his eyes, a determined expression forming on his face.
"I'll have to stop you!"
At once, Dreko rushed Deitos, striking him and launching him into nearby buildings. He then crashed into the ground. Dreko followed.
"It's a shame it's come to this…" Deitos said, surrounding Dreko with a sphere of the ground he stood on, crushing it in on him.
Deitos flew into the air and began lifting a large high-rise building with his abilities, then launched it at Dreko.
It hit with a loud crunch.
Suddenly, the sky filled with gray clouds. It began pouring rain.
Dreko flew out of the attack with blinding speed, striking Deitos once more into the ground.
He gathered water from the rain, forming a large spike, then summoned lightning onto it. He sent it flying toward where Deitos was.
As the cloud from the attack wore off, Deitos walked out, his wounds partially healing.
Dreko didn’t let up. He controlled the ground, turning it into sharp pillars and barraged Deitos relentlessly.
Deitos flew out, turning his fist into a gigantic diamond-spiked form and slammed it into Dreko.
Over time, their regeneration slowed as they accumulated more and more damage.
"Your body will give out soon, Deitos. Stop this now!" Dreko yelled in the pouring rain as the battle raged behind him.
Deitos was panting heavily.
"...I can't. Why couldn't you just support me? Why… why do you care so much about this guardian thing?"
Dreko looked down, shaking his head.
"People are only happy if they can choose, Deitos. Free will. They need order, but they need chaos too."
Deitos looked visibly upset.
"I trusted you, Dreko… more than anyone."
"You still sound like him!" Deitos said, lunging at him.
Suddenly, there was a heavy, wet crack.
"Ahhh!!" Deitos screamed.
A spike filled with glowing golden energy had pierced straight through him.
Dreko stood there, tears running down his cheeks, mixing with the rain.
The spike retracted, and Deitos fell onto Dreko.
"Dre… Dreko… you really…" Deitos stammered, the life draining from his eyes.
"I… I'm sorry, Deitos… my friend. Maybe in another life our story would end differently…" Dreko said, completely sobbing now.
"It's okay… I tried. Maybe I was wrong… or maybe you were. It doesn't matter, does it…"
Deitos slumped further.
"Either way… you were a great friend… Dreko. Goodbye…"
With that, his body fell to the ground, lifeless.
Deitos had died, slain by his best friend.
Dreko fell to his knees and cried out loudly. They say the entirety of Kudos could hear him that day.
Dreko pulled the time core from his pocket and crushed it, crying more and more.
"Why… why… why… why did it have to be me? Why did you choose me, Solomon?!"
At that, he opened a portal with his abilities and ran through it.
It is said that Dreko Dan, the Guardian of the Universe, was never seen again.