Divinity: Against the Godly System

"Young one, are you sure about it? It would be painful for you if I entered inside your body. Think carefully," The Shadow reminded Ryder. 

"Ah, didn't you just say that it was going to protect you and me both? Now you want me to think about it? Shouldn't you be the one to make up your mind?" Ryder thought, rolling his eyes. 

"If it keeps my family and me safe, I don't need to think about it. It doesn't matter how painful it will be. I believe I went through much more dangerous times in my life compared to it. This will be nothing," He further added. 

"Alright. If you say that, I'll do it. But not here," the shadow added. "We can't stay here for long."

He casually waved his hand, making everything turn white. Everything became so bright that Ryder had to close his eyes to protect his eyes. 

As the light decreased, he slowly opened his eyes, finding himself in a completely different place. 

As far as his eyes could see, there were only clouds. But there wasn't a sun in the sky, making him believe that he wasn't on earth. 

"Where are we?" he asked the shadow, who was still standing before him. 

"This is my Inner Domain. It's a temporary space that I created. No one can come in here since it's not in this universe," the Shadow replied. 

"Unfortunately, I can't hold this for long because I'm weak at the moment, and it requires a lot of energy to keep it up. So I'll start now," he further added. "Take a deep breath and hold it. It'll be painful."

Taking up the advice, Ryder closed his eyes while taking a deep breath, standing on the fluffy clouds. He couldn't help but wonder how painful it was going to be. Was it going to be as painful as it was when he first absorbed the strength of a God? He wondered. 

The only thing he knew for sure was that it wasn't going to be easy. When the person who created the gods called it painful, then it was going to be much more painful since the definition of painful for him was going to be at a much higher threshold. 

Just as he was lost in thought, he felt something touch him. The next moment, his heart stopped entirely as a terrifying pain engulfed his body. 

It was a pain that was a thousand times worse than the worst pain he experienced, and it wasn't even close. 

He dropped to the ground, screaming in pain. He clenched his fist so tight that it started bleeding. His nerves started bursting one by one... Or at least that's what he felt was happening. 

...

As Ryder went through excruciating pain, Janus stood in the realm of gods, facing the sky. A deep frown spread across his forehead as he noticed something odd. 

The connection he had with Ryder was suddenly cut. Even though he had already stopped listening to Ryder or keeping a contact with him, he still left his System for Ryder. 

The System was the last link, but he just realized that the last link was also gone for some reason. 

"What just happened? How can this connection be cut? Did he die? No! Even if he died, he had the time reversal. Except for the Origin Immunity, Brother gave him all the other powers he possessed before, including time reversal."

"If he died, he should've gone back in time. This wouldn't have happened. The connection was never cut even though he died many times before too. So what could have happened to him?"

Janus started getting concerned, thinking about what might have happened. He wanted to go down to check, but he couldn't do that. He was needed here, after all. 

Moreover, the entrance and the exit of the Realm of Gods were sealed. He couldn't leave that easily without breaking the seal, but that wasn't an option even if he could.

Instead, he decided to look at earth to see what was happening. His figure disappeared. 

He soon appeared near his place where his pond was. It was the place which he often used to keep an eye on earth. The two Sun and Moon fishes were also there who further boosted his vision. 

Unfortunately, he stopped at a distance and didn't go close. 

"Those guys. They already surrounded my Palace? That was a bit fast. Not bad," he muttered, frowning. 

He could see many gods standing near his Place, searching it to find him. 

He dropped the plan to go inside now, leaving it for later. He went back. 

...

The Goddess of Reincarnation appeared near a massive palace that was on a floating mountain. Chaos also appeared behind him, watching the waterfall that was falling from the floating mountain onto the ground. 

A mystical shine was emanating from the floating Castle, looking surreal to a large extent. 

"The High Council... The arrogant bunch. I didn't expect to see them so fast. But if I want my sword, I'll have to meet them ultimately. Better now than later," Chaos muttered, observing the Castle.

"The High Council isn't anything special. If you hadn't refused to join them, you would've been there too. Same with me. Unfortunately, that's not what you or I wanted. The day I left the High Council Palace, I didn't expect to return to this place again," the woman with Chaos muttered, sighing.

Chaos moved his hand, holding onto the hand of the Goddess of Reincarnation. The two of them started flying towards the High Council Palace. 

Soon, they landed in front of the Palace. 

A golden lion head was carved on the High Council Palace gates. The lion's head started moving as he saw people before him. 

"State your purpose for approaching the High Council. Your request will be sent to them," a voice came from the mouth of the carved head. 

"My purpose? It's to take back what belongs to me. But don't worry about sending my request to them. I can take it myself," Chaos declared, raising his foot, kicking the door.

As the door was kicked, it flew back, breaking apart. The cries of a lion echoed everywhere as if the lion was really hurt. The cries soon stopped. 

Chaos and the Goddess of Reincarnation stepped inside the High Council Palace. 

...

In a different chamber of the High Council, five people were sitting in a circle, talking about something important, when all of them stopped as they heard something. 

"Someone dares to break inside? Who is it?!" One of the five yelled in anger.