CHAPTER 204: BRANDED

How I even found the nerve to speak was beyond me. My voice shouldn’t have worked—my throat felt dry, my lungs locked—but somehow, the words came out.

Maybe it was instinct.

Or maybe I was just too stunned to care anymore.

Either way, I was shaking in my boots. Literally.

The divine figure’s gaze lingered on me, the weight of its attention pressing down like the gravity of a collapsing star. Those eyes—vast and calm—studied me in a way that made me feel stripped bare, like it could read the thoughts I hadn’t even formed yet.

Then, finally, it spoke.

"The Overseer," it said, its tone deep enough to vibrate through the air. "Assigned by Lord Drugar."

The name hit me like a cold slap.

"Lord Drugar?" I repeated under my breath before I could stop myself.

The being’s expression shifted—subtle, but unmistakable. Its eyes narrowed, the air growing heavier, and an almost tangible pressure descended over me. The world dimmed around the edges of my vision.

"You do not know who that is?"

The question wasn’t shouted, but it didn’t have to be. The sheer weight behind it was enough to make my knees buckle. The pressure slammed into me like an invisible wall, and I had to bite down hard on my lip just to keep from collapsing outright.

My instincts screamed at me to be careful—to say something.

"Of course I do," I blurted out quickly, forcing a weak laugh that sounded anything but convincing. My palms were slick with sweat, and every word I said felt like walking a blade’s edge.

I could feel the scrutiny in its silence.

Its presence pressed closer, almost tasting the truth in my words. My heart hammered so loud it might as well have been an alarm.

If this thing was really what it said it was—an Overseer—and I’d just admitted ignorance about someone it served, someone powerful enough to command it, someone I should know, then that meant...If I wasn’t careful, it could decide I didn’t belong here.

That I was some kind of mistake.

A glitch in its "domain."

And glitches...usually get erased.

"Hmm..." it murmured, the sound rolling across the sky like distant thunder. The great face began to withdraw, its massive form retreating into the shimmering light above. "Then we’re done here."

"Wait—!" I shouted before I could think better of it. My voice cracked in the air, tiny and pathetic compared to the enormity of the thing looming above.

It paused.

I swallowed hard and forced the words out, my heart hammering so hard it hurt. "Since you... dealt with the threat, does that mean I don’t get any kind of reward for battling him?"

For a heartbeat, there was only silence. The world itself seemed to still.

Then, slowly, the giant’s eyes narrowed.

The weight of that gaze hit like a falling mountain, and for a split second I seriously questioned whether I’d lost my mind. Yeah, apparently I had. Asking for rewards from a godlike being that could crush me with a thought? I must’ve been high on adrenaline. Or stupidity. Probably both.

Then, to my utter shock, the titan’s voice came again—calm, thoughtful.

"Hmm... I suppose a reward would suffice."

The tension in my chest eased. Relief washed over me in a rush, chased quickly by a spark of excitement. I couldn’t help it—after everything, after nearly dying ten different ways, it felt like maybe the universe was finally throwing me a bone.

That feeling didn’t last.

A sharp, searing pain tore through my back.

It was so sudden I didn’t even have time to scream properly—just a choked gasp as white-hot agony lanced straight through me. The smell of burnt flesh filled the air. My knees buckled, and I hit the ground hard, breath shuddering out of me as the heat intensified, branding deep into muscle and bone.

"Ah—ghhh—!" The sound that left my mouth was somewhere between a groan and a growl. My vision blurred, spots of white flashing across it as I clutched at the dirt.

"What the hell—" I managed to choke out before a sharp chime cut through the air.

Ding.

[Seal of the Divine is being placed upon you]

Seal of the what...?

Before I could even process the words, the burning in my back flared to a blinding peak.

"Aaahhh!" I screamed, my voice cracking as I rolled onto my side, every muscle in my body seizing at once. It felt like molten metal was being etched into my flesh—each line carved not with heat, but with light. The pain was unbearable, raw and searing, as if the very essence of my being was being rewritten.

I clawed at the dirt, trying to keep from convulsing, teeth gritted so hard they ached. My vision pulsed white, the system notification hovering uselessly above me like some cruel cosmic joke.

The being’s voice rumbled again, serene and detached, completely unfazed by the agony that wracked my body.

"These rewards will aid you in battles against any entity of the damned," it said, tone almost... casual. Then, as if suddenly remembering something, it added, "Ah. And I should also repair the damage it caused."

It raised a hand—an enormous, radiant shape that blotted out the sky—and light cascaded down from its palm like a waterfall of gold and white.

The energy swept over the battlefield in a single wave.

The black ink of death, the corruption that had spread across the land, vanished instantly—burned away without a trace. The decay, the stench, the lifeless soil—all of it reversed in seconds.

The world that had been hollowed and grey began to breathe again.

Green returned to the earth, sprouting from the cracks in the scorched terrain. Trees reformed from the ash, their leaves unfurling as though waking from a long sleep. Even the air changed, losing its weight and filling with the scent of rain and new life.

I lay there, half-conscious, gasping as the last traces of divine fire cooled on my back. My fingers dug into the freshly restored grass, warm and alive beneath my palm.

And through the haze of pain and confusion, one thought pulsed in my mind—sharp and unrelenting.

What the hell kind of "reward" was this?

The pain finally began to ebb, leaving behind a throbbing ache that pulsed deep beneath my skin. I lay there for a long moment, gasping for air, each breath scraping through my throat like sandpaper. My muscles trembled, my back still searing with residual heat.

When I could finally move again, I reached back instinctively, trying to touch the spot where the burning had been—where the so-called "Seal of the Divine" had carved itself into me.

But it was too high, right between my shoulder blades, a place my fingers couldn’t reach no matter how I twisted.

All I could feel was warmth radiating from the area, faintly humming, like something alive had been branded into my flesh.

Above me, the sky shimmered faintly where the divine figure hovered, its form already dissolving into light.

"Now that that’s done," it said, its voice echoing through the clearing like a fading storm. "Good luck with the games, goblin."

Games?

The word snagged in my mind like a hook, dragging a dozen questions behind it.

Games? What games? What the hell did that mean?

But I didn’t dare ask.

I swallowed my confusion, forcing my face into something that looked vaguely like understanding.

No way was I going to risk getting erased.

The being lingered for one last moment, its vast silhouette towering in the heavens, then inclined its head ever so slightly.

"Until we meet again."

And with that, it was gone.

I let out...