Chapter 287 A God’s Betrayal

"What sins?!" the crab’s deep voice thundered across the celestial expanse, its enormous body trembling with indignation as the surrounding stars bent around its silver shell. "The only sin I have ever committed was believing that you were my friends, my family! Was it not by your own orders that I—"

Before Ka’mir could finish, a torrent of celestial fire suddenly erupted from the hand of the man who had once walked beside him, crossing the vast distance between them in an instant. The flames struck the crab’s enormous shell, scattering brilliant sparks across the darkness and forcing its massive body backward, while the surrounding stars briefly vanished beneath the radiance of the attack.

"Enough, brother!" the man declared, lowering his outstretched hand as the last traces of celestial fire faded from his fingers. "How much longer will you insist upon your innocence? Do you truly believe we cannot sense the Creator’s Will dwelling within you? Your very body shines with its presence, burning brighter than a star at the moment of its destruction!"

His voice carried such authority that several gods standing nearby lowered their heads in solemn agreement, seemingly taking his intervention as nothing more than a righteous response to Ka’mir’s accusations.

Yet Max, who was experiencing the memories through the ancient crab, witnessed something entirely different.

The moment Ka’mir had begun mentioning their orders, the man’s expression had changed. His eyes narrowed, and his fingers moved before the crab could finish speaking, as though he had been waiting for that precise moment to silence him.

It happened so quickly that none of the surrounding gods appeared to notice.

But Ka’mir had.

The rage burning within the ancient creature faltered, replaced by a disbelief so profound that even Max struggled to endure it. Ka’mir’s enormous claws slowly curled inward, scraping against the surface of the celestial platform beneath him as his crimson eyes remained fixed upon the man he had once called his brother.

Max could feel that disbelief giving way to resentment, the ancient creature’s emotions threatening to merge with his own until he could barely distinguish one from the other. Yet even as the overwhelming rage pressed against his consciousness, something else had caught his attention.

The woman.

Her voice, the very same voice that had condemned Ka’mir moments earlier, carried a familiarity that made Max struggle to recall where he had heard it before. There was something about its tone, the way she pronounced her words, that reminded him of someone he knew all too well.

The System Creator.

The realization made him focus entirely on the celestial woman standing among the gods, desperately attempting to make out her appearance through the strange haze surrounding the memory. Her enormous silhouette was visible, and he could distinguish the graceful movements of her body as she turned toward the man who had interrupted Ka’mir, but her face remained obscured, as though something prevented him from seeing it clearly.

Her hair, however, was unlike anything Max had ever witnessed. It flowed gracefully behind her, shimmering with countless stars and distant galaxies that seemed to move within its strands, as though an entire universe had taken shape upon her head.

Max strained against the overwhelming pressure of Ka’mir’s memories, unwilling to let the vision slip away before he could confirm his suspicion. He had never walked among the gods, nor had he witnessed a realm remotely resembling this one, and the possibility that the woman before him might be the same System Creator who had caused him so much suffering seemed almost impossible to accept.

After all, it was because of his connection to her that he had become a target, hunted for something he had never asked to be involved in.

Meanwhile, in the outside world, the enormous Silver Crab suddenly shuddered beneath the rising land, its colossal limbs shifting as a deep tremor passed through its armored body. The tribal village lurched violently to one side, sending fresh cracks across the already damaged ground while several of the remaining houses collapsed beneath the strain.

The villagers desperately clung to whatever remained standing as the ancient creature continued moving, unaware of the memories unfolding within the consciousness of the man they had bound to the towering totem.

Back within the celestial vision, the woman finally spoke again.

"Ka’mir, you are a Celestial God of Chaos. Your duty was to guard the treasure entrusted to you, not consume it. Therefore, for your betrayal of the divine order, we hereby sentence you to spend the remainder of your existence as a lesser god upon the planet Akra."

Her voice carried across the celestial platform, calm and unwavering as the countless gods surrounding Ka’mir watched in silence.

"Your immortal lifespan shall be stripped away and placed under my protection until such a time that I deem your punishment sufficient. Only then will I personally decide whether you are worthy of reclaiming your former position among the gods."

She paused, her long, pale fingers slowly extending toward the enormous crab.

"Until then... goodbye, Ka’mir."

A brilliant celestial light erupted from her fingertips, spreading across the cosmic expanse before wrapping itself around Ka’mir’s colossal body. The ancient god struggled against the overwhelming radiance, its enormous claws scraping against the celestial platform as the light tightened around its shell, gradually suppressing every movement.

Ka’mir attempted to speak, to defend himself one final time, but no sound escaped his mouth. The celestial power had already sealed his voice, leaving him unable to utter even a single word before those he had once considered family.

Only rage remained.

And that rage, accumulated over countless years of betrayal and suffering, surged through Max’s consciousness with such intensity that even his extraordinary will could no longer contain it.

Outside, the white mist totem suddenly fractured, enormous cracks spreading across its surface before the entire structure shattered with a thunderous explosion. The silver energy scattered across the village, and Max’s bloodied body plunged toward the ground, landing heavily on his feet in a crouch that sent a fresh tremor through the already damaged earth.

The surrounding women watched in terror, their hands tightening around whatever they could hold on to as the foreigner slowly straightened his back.

Something about him had changed.

The wounds covering his body remained, yet the overwhelming pressure radiating from him was nothing like the weakened prisoner they had known. When Max finally opened his eyes, the crimson glow within them had grown darker, burning with a dreadful intensity that made even the bravest warriors hesitate.

His gaze slowly settled upon the old shaman.

"Puny humans... Today, I shall feast upon your souls."

The voice that escaped his lips was deep and ancient, carrying the unmistakable authority of Ka’mir himself. Yet before the terrified villagers could react, Max’s expression suddenly twisted, his fingers curling into fists as his body began trembling once more.

"No..."

The ancient voice faltered, its words breaking beneath another voice struggling to emerge from the same throat.

"No! I will kill them all if that’s what it takes to get back home to the people waiting for me!"

Max’s head jerked upward, his crimson eyes burning with a fury that seemed to belong to neither man nor god alone.

"You have no right to take over my body. Not now, not ever!"