I created my own system

Chapter 404: Another miracle

Apollo's POV

Multiple authorities at once.

I never knew someone could do this aside from me.

"Jeremiah, what is going on?"

[That I am not sure either, Creator. There were no signs. It all occurred suddenly.]

"Is there a way to cancel whatever is going on?"

[No.]

Jeremiah's words were like a verdict, sealing the situation I wanted to change.

But still… everything is okay.

I have the stored data from Midgar's and the other battles against the champions.

The four other authorities had been copied as well.

So although they won't possess the same power as the original authorities, they are still useful.

I repeated those thoughts to myself.

I need to calm down.

Everything is still under control.

At least, that was what I wanted to believe as I continued analyzing the current data.

"Okay… let's send this information to our Knight."

I tightened my grip around the console, and the moment I moved my fingers, the command was immediately transmitted.

"Please, Knight… win."

...

Apollo hoped that his will could generate enough strength to secure victory.

|New authorities detected|

A pause.

Then—

|Analysis complete. New battle plan has been installed.|

The Knight adjusted its stance, and with its master's guidance, it regained its battle sense.

The final thread connecting opposing forces.

A symbol of hope and destruction to ally and enemy alike.

All attention focused on whether their clash would decide the outcome of the war.

The ground subtly trembled with a different kind of vibration.

One unlike the previous tremors.

Once again, light and darkness flashed across the entire capital.

The sky did not breathe.

It waited.

Niccolo moved first.

Not with hesitation—

—but with resolve sharpened by death itself.

A fate he had already accepted.

And because of that acceptance, his will had become even stronger.

Six dazzling wings burst from his back as he lunged forward.

Light erupted from his blade while silver mist trailed behind him like a phantom tide.

The air sang—

No.

It screamed—

—as sound bent around his strike, distorting distance and fracturing perception.

Leaving nothing for the enemy to properly perceive.

The Knight did not retreat.

It stepped forward.

And the world broke.

Gravity inverted.

Space folded.

Time staggered.

Niccolo's strike split into thousands of reflections, each one real, each one fatal. The Authority of Sound multiplied impact, while Dream blurred intention itself—forcing even the future to hesitate.

The Knight answered.

Not with force—

—but with precision.

"Collapse."

Every reflected strike vanished.

Space compressed inward, crushing illusions and devouring false trajectories until only one remained—

The real blade.

Niccolo's sword met the Knight's.

Impact.

No explosion.

No sound.

Just—

absence.

Then—

the sky screamed.

A shockwave tore outward, ripping clouds apart and sending the armada spiraling as reality snapped violently back into place.

Niccolo gritted his teeth.

The force traveled through his arms and into his bones, threatening to shatter him completely—

—but he endured.

He refused to fall.

"Not… yet!"

Nature answered his determination.

Vines surged upward, binding the Knight's limbs mid-motion. Roots coiled through fractured space, anchoring every limb they could reach.

At the same time—

Dream descended.

A silent world.

A false stillness.

For a fraction of a moment—

the Knight stopped.

Niccolo's eyes sharpened.

"That's enough."

Light gathered.

Not outward—

—but inward.

Everything he had.

Every blessing.

Every borrowed power.

Every fragment of faith entrusted to him—

compressed into a single point.

His sword trembled.

The sky dimmed.

"End this."

"SKY DROP."

He struck.

A beam of absolute brilliance tore forward—

cutting through space, ignoring gravity, defying time itself.

Even the Sacred Flame failed to intervene.

The attack resembled a miracle.

A final answer.

For the first time—

the Knight raised both hands.

Not to attack.

To defend.

|Confirmed.|

Its voice sounded almost…

quiet.

|Threat level: absolute.|

Inside the chamber, Apollo controlled the flow of the authorities.

All divine powers suddenly intensified beneath his will.

Sacred Flame ignited.

Not only along the Knight's wings—

—but everywhere.

A white-gold inferno consumed the air itself, devouring light and swallowing the miracle as though reality had decided to burn.

Apollo's counterattack fully manifested through the Knight's movements.

More authorities were amplified.

Time fractured into frozen frames.

Gravity collapsed into a singularity point.

Space folded inward, locking everything into a single moment.

Then—

the Knight moved.

It stepped through the beam of light.

Not resisting.

Not clashing.

Overriding.

Its blade rose—

coated in every authority it possessed.

And fell.

Niccolo saw it.

He saw everything.

The beginning.

The end.

He smiled.

"…So this is not enough."

The light around him did not falter.

It welcomed the strike.

'It seems you need me.'

Another voice suddenly emerged.

Another hand.

A warmth bloomed inside his body.

The wind carried another power.

One that also felt familiar to him.

"Thank you."

It was all he could mutter.

He looked upward and stacked every remaining authority together in another desperate attempt to block the strike.

The two blades collided.

His body shook violently as he endured the shockwave.

"Ugh—!"

Blood poured from his mouth, yet he refused to let out a scream.

His grip tightened despite his bleeding hands.

With countless people depending on him, he could not afford to give up.

With all his strength, he forced every remaining ounce of power forward.

"Please… my lord… my Goddess… guide me."

Niccolo offered one final prayer.

A last attempt to fulfill his wish.

His plea was heard.

The sword in his hand suddenly glowed.

His wounds healed, erasing the crushing pressure tormenting his body.

His Goddess had protected him.

However—

[Initiating skill synchronization to the target host.]

[Synchronization complete.]

[New skill created.]

[Skill: Avatar has been created.]

[Every skill and spell created by the Creator shall now be directly usable by the chosen Avatar.]

Apollo had already made his move before Niccolo could fully realize the potential of his newly awakened gift.

Spells suddenly surged across the Knight's blade.

The sword of light—formed from all the hope Niccolo could gather—

shattered.

And without stopping, the Knight's blade continued toward its enemy.

The strike passed through the hero hailed by his allies.

Niccolo felt flesh split apart.

Pain surged through him, but not a single cry escaped his lips.

Silence followed.

The miracle shattered.

Light scattered into countless fragments, dissolving into the sky like fading stars.

The forest vanished.

The mist disappeared.

The sound…

ceased.

Niccolo fell.

Not broken.

Not erased.

But defeated.

The Knight stood alone once more.

Unmoved.

Unchanged.

Unstoppable.

Apollo felt relief while his friends celebrated the victory.

"Now all that's left is the remaining army," he said.

And then—

Crack.

A small sound.

Sharp.

It echoed from the screen, causing the celebration to stop instantly.

All eyes turned toward the dome.

Apollo immediately prompted the Knight as anxiety clawed its way through him.

"Something is wrong."

That was all he could say while staring at the screen.

The Knight turned.

Far below—

the dome protecting the capital trembled.

Another crack appeared.

Light seeped through its surface—

not from outside.

From within.