The Omnipotent System

192  False Gods

Eren's brow furrowed, his dark eyes burning with a mixture of confusion and anger as he absorbed Adams' words. The weight of the revelation sank into him like a cold stone, but his resolve only hardened. His grip on the obsidian shard remained tight, knuckles white, as though he was trying to hold onto the last remnants of his sanity. "How?" he asked, his voice low, demanding the truth, despite the creeping doubt gnawing at the edge of his thoughts.

Adams' golden eyes gleamed with an unsettling, almost paternal amusement. His smile deepened, serene yet chilling, as he leaned slightly forward in his glowing throne. The ethereal light surrounding him shimmered, his entire being radiating an aura that seemed to bend the very fabric of reality around him. "How..." Adams mused, as if savoring the moment. His words slipped from his lips with calculated precision, each one wrapped in an undeniable truth. "Simple, Eren. I'm going to get rid of the false gods."

At the mention of false gods, Kael's fiery eyes flickered with skepticism, but she remained silent, watching intently as Adams continued. Her posture was rigid, her hands twitching slightly as if ready to draw her sword in an instant, though the air around them seemed too thick to make a move.

Adams' golden gaze never left Eren, but there was a flicker of something else there, something that hinted at the weight of ancient knowledge. His fingers slowly drummed against the armrest of his throne, the motion slow and deliberate, almost teasing. "Well," he continued, his voice smooth, "they are true gods here, after all. They created everything you have—the power you seek, the land you stand on, your very existence." His smile grew more knowing, almost imperceptibly. "But they are not true gods. No, all they do is sit on their thrones, pretending to be creators while you... you fight, struggle, kill each other, and eventually die. The strength you build up, the power you collect, all of it—returns back to them." His words carried a quiet finality as he leaned back in his throne, as though speaking of a well-known truth.

The air seemed to thicken as Adams continued. Eren's breath quickened, his heart pounding in his chest. He clenched his fists harder, the shard of obsidian humming louder, almost in resonance with the fire in his chest. "What are you saying?" His voice was hoarse now, uncertainty clawing at his throat, but the embers of defiance refused to die out. He felt the sting of betrayal, something he could not quite grasp, but it was there—gnawing at him like an itch that wouldn't be scratched.

Adams chuckled, the sound a low rumble that vibrated the ground beneath them. "Ah, I see," he said, his tone light, as if he were explaining something elementary to a child. "The anomaly—you, Eren." His eyes gleamed as he leaned in slightly, his words carrying the weight of eternity. "You were never their creation. Or should I say... their descendant?" He paused, savoring the moment, the smile on his face unfading. "You came out of nowhere. And they saw you as a threat. As an anomaly. A mistake in their grand design."

Kael's expression twisted with disbelief, her crimson eyes wide. Her chest rose and fell with the intensity of her breathing, and she moved slightly, inching toward Eren as if to protect him, though her body was still tense, like a bowstring ready to snap. "What are you talking about?" she asked, the words sharp, her tone tinged with confusion. "Eren's not some anomaly."

Adams merely glanced at her, his golden eyes cold and distant, dismissing her concern as if it were a fleeting thought. "They wanted to kill you, Eren," he said, turning back to the young man. "They would have, if not for one thing—your energy. You were an infant, powerless against them, but the energy you carried... that was something they could not ignore." His voice was soft now, almost coaxing, as if explaining a complicated concept to a child. "So, instead of killing you, they took it. Took it for themselves. And they brought you to that village, the one you thought was your home."

Eren's mind raced, the weight of Adams' words crashing over him in waves. His pulse throbbed in his ears, and his hand tightened around the shard, veins standing out in stark relief against his pale skin. He could feel the hum of his power, louder now, resonating with the surge of emotions churning inside him. His gaze flicked from Adams to Kael and Selene, searching for something—anything—that could make sense of what he was hearing.

"And the artifact you brought with you," Adams continued, his voice thick with knowledge, "at the time, they had no idea what it was. But now... now they do." He leaned back once again, his smile almost pitying as he observed Eren's struggle to process it all. "And given your recent rise to power—by me—they are out for your blood, Eren. But they won't face you directly, no." He almost seemed to revel in the idea. "No, they prefer the underhanded methods."

Eren's pulse quickened at that last statement. His eyes flicked to Kael and Selene, his confusion giving way to something darker, a flicker of understanding that turned his gut cold. "So... what? They're just going to keep hiding in the shadows? Sending their lackeys after me?" His voice was shaking now, but there was no fear in his words—only anger and resolve.

Adams nodded slowly, his golden eyes still gleaming with that unsettling calm. "Exactly." He paused, as if letting the weight of his words sink in, before finishing with a knowing smile, "And if you want to stop them, you'll have to do more than just fight, Eren. You'll need to destroy everything they've built, tear down their false kingdom. But first, you need to understand what you are truly up against." n/ô/vel/b//in dot c//om

Eren stood there, his body taut with the tension of the moment, his mind swirling with the revelation. His emotions were a mess—anger, confusion, fear, and the faintest spark of hope, tempered by an overwhelming realization of the monstrous scale of what he was now facing. And yet, even in the face of Adams' imposing presence and the world-shattering truth he had just delivered, there was something that flickered deep within Eren's chest—a will to rise above it all, to fight, and to claim whatever future he could carve for himself.

Kael, still kneeling beside her sword, was still catching her breath, her fiery eyes flickering between Adams and Eren. She was unnervingly quiet now, as if trying to process the depths of what she had just heard. Selene, who had been rigid with worry, now looked at Eren, her silver eyes filled with silent understanding. She knew the weight of the burden he was about to bear.

Adams leaned back again, his smile now fully returned, as though this conversation were little more than a passing amusement for him. "Now," he said, his voice calm and authoritative, "it's time for you to decide, Eren. Will you take your power back from them? Or will you let them continue to drain it for their own purposes?"

"Loose ends…" Eren's voice was low, almost inaudible, but the weight behind it was palpable. His dark eyes locked onto Adams with a sharp intensity, his breath steadying as realization dawned. "Back at the desert," he murmured, his expression a mix of suspicion and reluctant understanding. "That was you, wasn't it? You were the voice… telling me to take care of my loose ends."

Adams leaned back in his glowing throne, the ethereal light casting shifting shadows across his face. His golden eyes gleamed with amusement, but he didn't confirm it outright. Instead, the subtle curve of his lips said everything that needed to be said.

Eren's jaw clenched, his hands balling into fists. He took a half-step forward, his frame taut with tension as though on the verge of an outburst, but Selene's soft voice cut through his storm of emotions.

"How do you know all of this?" she demanded, her silver eyes narrowing as she rose to her feet, steadying Kael beside her. Her gaze bore into Adams, searching for answers, though the tremor in her tone betrayed the unease she tried to mask. "You speak as though you were there yourself."

Adams let out a low chuckle, the sound reverberating through the ruins like a wave. His golden eyes turned to Selene, calm yet brimming with an almost playful disdain. "You wouldn't understand," he said simply, his voice dripping with confidence. His smile deepened, and he gestured dismissively toward her. "You're far too weak to even begin to comprehend what I am."

Selene's lips pressed into a thin line, her silver eyes flashing with a mixture of anger and wounded pride. She opened her mouth to retort, but Kael's voice cut through, sharp and unrelenting.

"Why should we get rid of the gods?" Kael spat, her crimson eyes blazing with defiance despite her still-shaking frame. She struggled to her feet, brushing off Selene's supporting hand. Her fingers twitched, longing to reclaim her fallen sword, but she held herself back, her fiery spirit undeterred by the overwhelming pressure emanating from Adams. "Why should we fight them for you?"

Adams' golden gaze turned to Kael, and the faintest flicker of annoyance crossed his face. With a languid gesture, he waved a hand toward the ruins surrounding them, the air itself seeming to shudder at his command.

"Why?" he echoed, his voice calm yet carrying an edge that sent chills down their spines. "Look around you." His golden eyes darkened, the glint of molten sunlight in them dimming into something colder, sharper. "All of this—this destruction, this chaos—is their doing. The gods you so blindly follow, who sit on their thrones and let you struggle, die, and bleed for power… all for their benefit."

Kael's crimson eyes narrowed further, her lips curling into a scowl. "None of this would have happened," she countered, her voice sharp and biting, "if you hadn't chosen Eren as your horseman."

Adams' golden eyes flicked to her, and his expression darkened, though his smile remained. "And yet, without him," he said coldly, "it would still come. Slowly, insidiously, as they bled this world dry. I merely gave you the means to fight back."

Selene stepped forward, her silver eyes narrowing as she studied him. "Or perhaps," she said, her voice soft but cutting, "you're just using us to do your dirty work. Maybe you're no better than the gods you want us to destroy."

At this, Adams' smile vanished. The ruins seemed to tremble more violently, the air growing heavy and oppressive as his aura flared. When he spoke, his voice was no longer calm and measured—it was a thunderous boom that shook the very ground beneath them.

"Do not mistake my patience for weakness, child," he said, his golden eyes blazing like twin suns. "I could unmake this world with a thought. I could tear your gods from their thrones and reduce them to ash without so much as lifting a finger. But I do not. Because I do not care."

The weight of his words crushed down on them, leaving them breathless. Adams leaned forward once more, his gaze locking onto Selene with an intensity that made her flinch. "This is your fight," he said, his tone quieter now but no less powerful. "Your choice. I offer you a way out of their endless cycle. Take it, or don't. But do not presume to question my motives when you can barely comprehend the scope of what's at stake."

Eren's voice, quiet but firm, broke the silence. "And if we say no?"

Adams' smile returned, calm and enigmatic. "Then you'll die," he said simply, his tone almost indifferent. "And your precious gods will continue to feast on the scraps of your existence, until there's nothing left."

The ruins fell silent once more, the weight of Adams' words hanging heavy in the air. The trio exchanged tense glances, the unspoken question lingering between them: Could they truly trust this man—or was he simply another puppet master in a game they were only beginning to understand?