A goddess sits on her throne made of gold, a long hallway stretching out in front of her—empty, devoid of any human followers or life.


    She gazes at the entrance to her chamber, hoping that at least one follower will arrive, even if just one.


    Her hope begins to wane, but just as doubt creeps in, she hears footsteps, growing closer with each step.


    A man in a gray cloak enters the hallway, his expression neutral. The goddess’s demeanor shifts from boredom to one of joy and excitement.


    Goddess: "Are you a follower? Go on, make any request, and I shall grant it in exchange for your faith."


    Man: "…Any request?"


    Goddess: "Yes, as long as you worship me. I can give you anything—power, wealth, anything you desire."


    Man: "…Then, let''s have a duel."


    The goddess''s expression, once filled with joy, now shifts to confusion.


    Before the goddess could reply to the man’s request, the once silent hallway is suddenly filled with chatter. The chamber remains empty, but the sound of many gods conversing among themselves fills the room.


    God 1: "Hahaha, even the first human she meets after centuries doesn’t want her blessing!"


    God 2: "I like this human, beat the crap out of her!"


    God 3: "You better not lose this! Otherwise, you’ll become an even bigger disgrace to the gods!”


    The man, seemingly amused by the gods’ chatter, asks again.


    Man: "So? Althyria, do you accept?"


    The goddess’s expression shifts to one of anger.


    Althyria: "How dare a mere mortal call me by my true name!"


    The air around her crackles with energy.


    Althyria: "Tell me your name, fool!"


    Man: "Thalos. You still haven''t answered my question. I will ask again—do you accept the duel?"


    Althyria: "Under what obligation do I have to fight a weak human like you?"


    Thalos: "I heard gods never reject a duel... It seems you’re just scared. Well, you are the weakest after all, so it makes sense. Okay, how about this: if you win, I’ll become your loyal follower."


    Althyria: "Why would I, a goddess, want someone like you with such a foul mouth as a follower?"


    Thalos: "Well? Isn''t it obvious? I’m your only chance. You know, they say something is better than nothing..."


    The chatter of gods fills the room again.


    God 2 : "Hey, enough with the talking. Start fighting already!"


    God 3: "Althyria, there’s no way you can deny a duel with a human! Please, don’t taint our name any further."


    Thalos: "Looks like the audience is growing impatient... so, do you accept?"


    Althyria: "Damn you! You will regret this!”


    Thalos: "I’ll take that as a yes..."


    He raises his arm, forming several black holes. The pillars and concrete walls begin to crack and get sucked in.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    Upon seeing this, Althyria''s expression shifts from anger to shock, but she quickly regains her composure. She extends her hand, and the black holes transform into flower petals, scattering in the air.


    She rises from her throne as the divine energy around her begins to materialize, and several beams of light rush toward Thalos.


    He raises a barrier just in time to block most of the barrage, but as the final beam strikes, the barrier cracks, and the light burns part of his arm.


    Althyria: "You carry nothing but empty confidence!”


    Thalos grits his teeth, ignoring the pain, and extends his arm forward. Black energy crackles in front of him, forming a longsword with a jet-black blade.


    The goddess smiles as the energy around her materializes once more, shaping into a spear and a thick golden armor that envelops her entire body.


    Without wasting a second, Thalos hurls the black blade at her with shocking speed.


    Althyria, startled, swiftly moves to the side, narrowly evading the sword.


    Thalos snaps his fingers, and within milliseconds, he appears behind her, sword aimed at her neck.


    She reacts immediately, thrusting her spear forward to block the strike. Thalos slides the blade along the handle of the spear, managing to cut through the armor around her arm. Blood begins to flow from the crack.


    The gods speak once again.


    God 1: "Damn, he really managed to injure her..."


    God 2: "I can''t even imagine letting myself be scratched by a mortal."


    Althyria: "My... my armor?"


    Thalos smiles as he charges up another strike.


    Thalos: "I didn’t dedicate 30 years of my life to magic for nothing!"


    He thrusts his blade at her with deadly precision.


    Althyria blocks and immediately counters.


    The two exchange slashes and thrusts, neither gaining much ground, the battle balanced on the edge of a knife.


    Amidst the clanking of blades, Thalos charges his magic into a black sphere in his left palm. Spotting an opening, he releases the concentrated energy all at once.


    The sphere erupts with overwhelming magic, all directed at Althyria.


    The chamber is filled with a suffocating black hue. As the magic clears, Althyria stands, her armor cracked in several places, blood flowing from the wounds. She pants for breath, barely able to stand with the support of her spear.


    Althyria: "Damn... damn it!"


    She looks up, her eyes glowing with fury.


    The world around Thalos seems to slow down. He tries to move, but his once fluid and lightning-fast movements now feel slower than a turtle''s crawl.


    In the blink of an eye, Althyria disappears.


    Thalos: "What... the?"


    He feels a sharp pain, first on his arm, then it spreads throughout his entire body, as though every inch of him is being impaled all at once. Blood pours from the several hundred slashes that have been inflicted on him in the blink of an eye.


    With another blink, Althyria is now in front of Thalos, rushing toward him, ready to strike and end it all once and for all.


    The spear moves at light speed, mere centimeters away from Thalos.


    Thalos: "Release..."


    The sword in his hand explodes in a burst of the same black magic he used to attack Althyria. The entire chamber cracks and rumbles as the overwhelming energy erupts, filling the space with destructive force.


    The world around Thalos returns to normal speed, his speed and agility restored.


    Thalos breathes a sigh of relief. He takes a step, but unimaginable and excruciating pain runs through his entire body. He collapses to the ground in agony.


    Thalos: "Dammit, I... I used too much magic! I''m done for... she''s gonna kill me!"


    He looks in front of him, expecting to see her holding the spear to his head. But what he sees instead makes him smile.


    Althyria lies there, holding her now broken arm, the spear snapped in half. She breathes heavily.


    Thalos tries to stand, but his legs, with every muscle torn from the joint, refuse to support his weight.


    The gods speak again.


    God 2: "Am I seeing things correctly? I was just joking when I said to kick her ass... this guy is a monster."


    God 1: "I can’t believe it. She failed to kill him! Damn it, now every human is gonna come and try to challenge us, thinking it''s gonna be easy."


    God 3: "She might not have lost, but a stalemate against a human is no better than defeat!”


    One of the gods watching snaps their fingers, instantly healing both Thalos and Althyria.


    The excruciating pain leaves Thalos''s body within seconds, and he stands back up on his feet with a satisfied look.


    Althyria, her expression one of defeat, slowly stands and faces Thalos.


    Althyria: "Are you satisfied now? You won, now leave!"


    Thalos: "Hey, calm down. I didn’t exactly win. It was a stalemate. But I’ll keep my promise. I’ll follow you until I die."


    Althyria: "What? Wait, then why did you want to fight me in the first place?"


    Thalos: "Well, I thought since you''re the weakest, I had the best chance of keeping up with you. If I win, I go down in history as the only one who ever beat a god. And if I lose, I become one of the few who died with honor fighting a god."


    Althyria: "Damn you! You made me fight a losing battle, while you never even had the chance of losing from the beginning!"


    Thalos: "Oh well, it''s over now, so I’ll take my leave."


    Without saying another word, he walked toward the same entrance he had come from. But just before stepping out, he paused and looked back.


    Thalos: "You should consider polishing your fighting skills..."


    And with that, he left the chamber, leaving Althyria seething in anger.


    God 2: "Damn, he really got you good. If it were me, it wouldn''t have taken more than a second to beat him, though."


    God 1: "Oh well, he was fighting Althyria for a reason."


    Althyria looked up, her rage evident on her face.


    Althyria: "It''s about damn time you guys shut up!”


    While Althyria was busy defending her pride, Thalos walked through the bustling streets of a kingdom, the murmurs of the people growing louder with every step he took.


    Local 1 (whispering to another): "Not only did he survive challenging a god, but he almost beat her to death!"


    Local 2: "He’s the hero of this country now, a legend!"


    As Thalos passed by, a child gazed up at him with wide eyes full of admiration.


    Kid: "I want to beat a god just like you!"


    Thalos chuckled and kneeled down, eye level with the child.


    Thalos: "Hey there, calm down. I don’t want to shatter your dreams, but even the weakest god could beat the crap out of the strongest human."


    Kid: "I’ll still try!"


    Thalos: "Well, it’s your choice, but I wouldn’t recommend it…"


    He stood back up, dusting off his cloak as he continued down the street, the crowd parting to let him pass, their eyes still filled with awe.