Dolos had been playing games.

  He had been laughing, testing, pushing—acting like he was in control. Like this was all some grand entertainment for his amusement.

  But Dolos had miscalculated.

  Because Sera had had enough.

  And unlike Elias, she wasn’t here to play.

  She was here to end this.

  Elias barely had time to react before he felt a sudden shift—a force like gravity snapping around him. The world blurred, his vision fracturing, and then—

  He was falling.

  No—not falling. Being thrown.

  A pulse of raw, undeniable power—Sera’s power—ripped through the space, launching him out of the realm.

  There was no warning.

  No hesitation.

  Just a single moment of Sera’s patience snapping, and then Elias was gone.

  Dolos blinked.

  The golden lock in his hands vanished, the game dissolving into nothingness.

  His expression froze, confusion flickering across his too-perfect features.

  Sera had just forcibly ejected Elias from his domain.

  Not tricked.

  Not bargained.

  Thrown.

  That shouldn’t have been possible.

  This was his world. His game. His rules.

  And yet, here he was, suddenly alone with a woman who had just broken his reality like it was a cheap party trick.

  Sera exhaled slowly, rolling her shoulders.

  Finally. Finally.

  No more running.

  No more waiting.

  No more playing along with Dolos’ nonsense.

  She had been holding back this entire time, cautious of Greek Pantheon politics, careful not to attract too much attention.

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  But that was over now.

  She had sent Elias away.

  Which meant she didn’t have to hold back anymore.

  —

  Dolos took a slow step back.

  “Y-You..” he started, lifting his hands in a mock surrender, his usual amusement faltering for the first time. “Le-let’s... be reasonable.”

  Sera tilted her head.

  “Reasonable?” she repeated.

  And then—

  She smiled.

  It wasn’t kind.

  It wasn’t amused.

  It was cold.

  “I should have done this first,” she said.

  Dolos moved—

  But he was too late.

  —

  Sera snapped her fingers.

  And the entire realm locked in place.

  Not just the sky.

  Not just the ground.

  Everything.

  The space itself solidified, the ever-shifting illusions, the playful trickery, the bending of perception—all of it froze.

  Dolos staggered, his golden eyes widening as the very foundation of his power shuddered beneath him.

  His tricks—his realm—had just been caged.

  By her.

  By an outside force.

  By something stronger than his own domain.

  —

  “You—” Dolos started, his form glitching, his very presence flickering in and out of existence.

  Sera didn’t let him finish.

  She moved.

  One step—the ground cracked beneath her.

  Another—Dolos barely dodged as reality itself bent under the force of her motion.

  She wasn’t moving through space.

  She was collapsing the distance between them.

  Dolos lashed out, twisting his hand through the air, trying to pull reality into another trick, another illusion, another game—

  But it didn’t work.

  Because Sera wasn’t playing anymore.

  She was tearing apart the board.

  —

  Dolos ducked, barely avoiding the strike that followed—except he hadn’t dodged at all.

  Sera hadn’t been aiming at him.

  She had been aiming at his power itself.

  The concept of trickery in the space around them fractured, the very fabric of deception and misdirection crumbling as she crushed it with raw force.

  Dolos choked, staggering backward as the realm screamed around them, its illusions shattering, its magic trembling under Sera’s overwhelming dominance.

  “You’re not even that strong,” Sera muttered, disappointed.

  Dolos snarled, his easy demeanor cracking for the first time.

  “You think I’m weak?” he hissed.

  Sera tilted her head.

  “You rely on belief,” she said flatly. “You rely on lies. You and your power, your godhood exist because people think it should exist.”

  Dolos stilled was that aproblem? He honestly wasn't sure it had never been tricking mortals to believe he was a god been easy ever since he was mortal himself he had only gotten easier now, but sera was different

  Sera wasn’t trapped by his tricks.

  Because she didn’t believe in them.

  She saw through them instantly, of she did to her it was nothing more than child's play.

  She was outside this system of his. Honestly God's of trickery from most pantheon could be seen as branch of the pawn shops just limited in freedom and reach, not reaching their full potential.

  And worst of all knowing all this—

  She had let him play his little games this whole time, not because he was a threat, but because she hadn’t cared enough to crush him earlier, wanting to create less enemies but now.......

  Dolos gritted his teeth, golden light flickering around his hands as he gathered everything he had left.

  He lunged—

  Sera caught his wrist.

  A single sharp movement.

  A single effortless counter.

  Dolos froze.

  The moment her fingers touched him, the entire realm trembled.

  Her presence flooded through the space, filling every crack, every illusion, every trick Dolos had ever built.

  She wasn’t just breaking his realm anymore.

  She was rewriting it.

  And he couldn’t stop her.

  —

  Sera leaned in, her grip tightening.

  “I could erase you,” she said, voice quiet. “Right here. Right now.”

  Because solos had simply become a personification of the god of trickery in Greek mythology erasing those beliefs would erase him in all totality

  Dolos trembled.

  She wasn’t bluffing.

  She wasn’t lying.

  She could do it.

  And that was when he realized—

  He had been playing with fire.

  —

  The silence stretched.

  Then—

  Dolos did the only thing he could do.

  He smiled.

  Because he was still Dolos.

  The god of trickery.

  The god of deception.

  And if he couldn’t win—

  Then he would bow out gracefully.

  —

  Sera let go.

  Dolos stepped back, rubbing his wrist with a charming, sheepish grin, as if she hadn’t just nearly erased his entire existence, now understanding a little bit of what elias felt. She might have even done this because of that but who knows

  “Well,” he said, exhaling. “That was unnecessarily dramatic.”

  Sera didn’t blink.

  Dolos chuckled, shaking his head. “Alright, alright. No need get fired up, hmm? Let’s say you win.”

  Sera said nothing.

  Dolos sighed. “Take what you came for. And get out.”

  He waved a hand, and a golden shimmer filled the air.

  A small, glowing key appeared.

  Sera took it without hesitation.

  And with a final, parting glance, she turned—

  And walked away.

  —

  Elias crashed back into existence, gasping as he hit the ground.

  He barely had time to process what had happened before the space warped behind him—

  And Sera stepped out.

  Completely unscathed.

  Elias blinked up at her.

  She tossed him the key.

  “It’s done.”

  Elias caught it, still trying to catch his breath.

  Sera stretched.

  “That,” she muttered, rolling her shoulders, “was a complete waste of my time.”

  Elias exhaled, staring at her.

  And grinned.

  “Yeah?” he said breathlessly. “Then I guess that makes two of us.”

  And just like that—

  They left Dolos behind.