God Simulator: The Goddesses In The Simulation Are All Real

Ted seized the opportunity, his brown flux surging forward and severing one of the creature's tentacles. The lackey howled in pain, its corrupted flux struggling to regenerate the damage.

Linsley moved swiftly, creating a massive portal above the strongest lackey. A rain of redirected projectiles descended, hammering the figure relentlessly.

With one final surge of energy, the lackey's mutated Barrier gift shattered, leaving it vulnerable.

Lucy's spear struck true, piercing the creature's core. Her holy light surged through its form, purging the corruption in a brilliant explosion of radiance. As the figure disintegrated, the chamber fell silent once more.

"We've cleared the area," Linsley said, his white flux dimming slightly. "But the heart of this spire is still ahead."

Lucy's golden light dimmed as she caught her breath. "Then we keep going. Whatever's waiting for us won't stand a chance."

Ted nodded in agreement, his brown flux rippling faintly as the trio prepared to ascend further into the Shadowspire.

Without hesitation, they moved up the winding staircase, the oppressive atmosphere thickening with each step. The walls pulsed faintly with crimson veins, emitting an eerie, otherworldly hum that reverberated in their ears.

The higher they climbed, the more the resistance thinned. A few infected beasts lunged at them, their twisted forms barely a challenge as Linsley's Real Fantasy gift erased them effortlessly.

Lucy's purifying light incinerated the remnants of corruption that clung to the walls, and Ted's Annihilation gift eliminated any stray lackeys with precise strikes.

"They're just stalling now," Lucy noted, her golden light bathing the stairwell. "Whatever's at the top must be desperate to buy time."

"Desperate or confident," Linsley replied, his tone measured. "Either way, we're ending this."

After a grueling ascent, they reached the top floor of the Shadowspire. The doors creaked open with an ominous groan, revealing a massive chamber that seemed alive in its malevolence.

The walls were grotesque, resembling pulsating dark-flesh streaked with crimson veins. A faint mist hung in the air, thick with the stench of decay and the metallic tang of corrupted flux.

At the center of the room stood the source of the oppressive energy—a gigantic, dark crimson heart. It pulsed rhythmically, each beat sending ripples of malevolent flux through the air.

The heart seemed almost alive, its surface slick with a viscous, otherworldly substance that dripped onto the floor and pooled around its base. Each pulse resonated with an unnatural power, feeding into the chamber and beyond.

Lucy's golden eyes narrowed. "That must be the source. It's like it's pumping the virus into the very fabric of this continent."

Surrounding the massive heart were thirteen black-robed figures. Their forms were twisted and grotesque, black tentacles writhing and coiling around them. Each lackey radiated an aura of immense power—Level 9.8 Overlords, their corrupted flux flaring with dark crimson energy.

The lackeys were in the middle of a ritual, their voices chanting in an incomprehensible, guttural language that seemed to claw at the trio's minds. The air was thick with tension, and the room seemed to darken further as the ritual continued.

"They're using the heart to empower themselves," Linsley said, his eyes scanning the scene with sharp precision. "That's how they've been creating so many high-level overlords."

Ted's flux flared, his voice grim. "Thirteen Level 9.8s at once. This is going to be a fight."

Lucy gripped her radiant spear tightly, her holy light intensifying. "Then we fight together. Take out the lackeys first—we'll destroy the heart after."

One of the robed figures turned toward them, its voice a rasping growl. "You dare interrupt the will of the Outer Gods? You will be consumed."

The rest of the lackeys broke from the ritual, their tentacles lashing out as they charged toward the trio. Each attack was infused with corrupted gifts, the dark crimson energy amplifying their strikes.

Linsley moved first, summoning a network of portals with his Real Fantasy gift. Tentacles and projectiles disappeared into the shimmering voids, only to reappear from unexpected angles and strike the lackeys themselves.

The battlefield became a chaotic maze of redirected attacks, the lackeys struggling to keep up with the unpredictable trajectories.

Ted followed with a surge of his brown annihilation flux, unleashing devastating waves that erased several tentacles in an instant.

One lackey, its tentacles infused with a mutation of the Frost gift, lunged toward him. Ted sidestepped gracefully, countering with a precise strike that obliterated the creature's corrupted form.

Lucy stood at the forefront, her golden light radiating like a beacon of hope. Her spear slashed through the air, severing black tentacles and purifying the lackeys with each strike.

Two lackeys with mutated Speed gifts attempted to flank her, but her radiant shield repelled their attacks before her spear pierced them, reducing them to ash.

The remaining lackeys regrouped, their dark crimson flux intensifying as they synchronized their attacks.

Linsley responded with a complex series of portals, redirecting their combined assault into the massive heart at the center of the chamber. The heart shuddered violently, its pulse faltering as corrupted energy spilled from its surface.

The lackeys roared in fury, their tentacles writhing as they channeled more power into the heart.

Lucy took the opportunity to unleash a burst of her Angel of Redemption: Gabriel gift, her golden light engulfing the chamber and severing the ritual's connection. The lackeys staggered, their flux flickering under the overwhelming purity of her gift.

Ted pressed forward, his annihilation flux carving through the disoriented lackeys with ruthless precision. One by one, they fell, their corrupted forms disintegrating into nothingness.

The final lackey, the strongest among them, unleashed a desperate surge of dark crimson flux, its tentacles lashing out in every direction.

Linsley's portals intercepted the strikes, redirecting the energy back at the lackey and piercing its core.

With a final, anguished roar, the figure crumbled into ash.

As the last of the lackeys fell, the room fell eerily silent, save for the faint, labored beating of the massive heart.

The trio turned their attention to it, their resolve unwavering.

"This ends now," Linsley said, his voice cold and determined.n/o/vel/b//in dot c//om

Lucy stepped forward, her radiant spear glowing with divine energy. "Together. Let's finish this."