CHAPTER 6: DIVINE INTERRUPTION
The pain should have been unbearable.
Finn's body arched against the altar as Lysander's dagger of static plunged deeper, his vision fracturing into a thousand shards of corrupted code. He could feel the Omega Entity drinking him in—his memories, his glitches, even the damn dolphin sneezes—all being unraveled and repurposed as fuel for whatever cosmic horror was waking up.
And then...
"HOLD MY COSMIC BEER!"
A shockwave of pure chaos rocked the throne room. The obsidian walls rippled like disturbed water as a neon-green portal tore open directly above the altar.
Kael—God of Chaos, certified dumbass—tumbled out in a shower of glitter and half-eaten tacos.
"Oops." He righted himself mid-air, floating cross-legged as tacos rained onto Lysander's head. "Did I forget to mention you're my nephew, Finn?"
Finn blinked through the pain. "WHAT."
THE RESCUE (SORT OF)Kael snapped his fingers. The chains binding Finn dissolved into pixelated confetti.
"Yeah, so, funny story." Kael plucked a taco from Lysander's now-glitching hair. "Turns out big bro Lysander here wasn't just stealing your soul. He was also stealing MY chaos energy to wake up Old Grumpy over there."He jerked a thumb at the pulsating Omega Symbol.
Lysander's form flickered between his human shape and the throne-monster abomination. "You knew?"
"Duh." Kael took a bite of taco. "That's why I gave Finn the dolphin sneezes. Chaos signature, baby! Trackable as hell."
A system alert burned across Finn's vision:
[SOUL CORRUPTION: 92%]
Warning: Integration irreversible at 95%
"Cool cool cool," Finn wheezed, clutching his chest. "Any chance you could, I dunno, stop the ritual?"
Kael winced. "About that..."
ZARA'S GRAND ENTRANCEThe tattoo on Finn's forearm—a tiny glitch symbol Zara had "accidentally" burned into his skin during the reincarnation process—erupted in neon-blue light.
"NOBODY STABS MY GLITCH BUT ME!"
Zara's form exploded outward, her neon hair lashing like electric whips. She materialized in full goddess mode—hoodie swapped for armor made of shattered screens, her eyes blazing with enough power to melt planets.
Lysander actually stepped back. "Sister. You're... supposed to be trapped."
"And you're supposed to be dead," Zara snarled. "But hey, guess we're both disappointments!"
Behind her, the wall-faces began to stir. Their glowing eyes snapped open.
"Uh, Zara?" Finn pointed.
"Yeah, saw that." She cracked her knuckles. "Kael? Distract your brother. Finn? Run."
THE SACRIFICEVroomba skidded to Finn's side, his newly repaired frame still sparking. "Get on!"
"Not without Juno!" Finn grabbed the noodle-bot's remains—just a cracked processor core now.
"JUNO'S DATA IS ALREADY BACKED UP," the core wheezed. "IN... VROOMBA'S BRAKE PADS."
Vroomba's engine sputtered. "Wait, THAT'S why you wanted them?!"
No time to argue. The wall-faces were peeling free, their half-formed bodies dripping with liquid shadow.
Zara and Kael stood back-to-back, holding off Lysander and the Omega Entity's tendrils.
"FINN!" Zara threw something at him—a tiny USB drive shaped like a middle finger. "TAKE THIS TO THE CORE! IT'LL—"
Lysander struck. A blade of pure static impaled Zara through the stomach.
"NO!" Finn lunged—
Vroomba yanked him onto the seat. "WE HAVE TO GO!"
As they peeled out, Finn's last sight was Kael catching Zara's falling form, his usual grin replaced by something terrifyingly serious.