Epic of Caterpillar Chapter 2920 2921: The Sun God

When Kireina and her companions emerged onto the surface, they were met with nothing but an absolute, unsettling silence.

Having been flung into the crushing depths of the Sea of Emptiness, Kireina had temporarily lost the mental link to her Heart Avatars. Now, the bitter realization struck her that every single one of them had been wiped out. Frank, standing nearby, had arrived at the exact same conclusion.

They had braced themselves for a landscape far more devastated, yet the reality was bafflingly different. The frenzied chaos and the roaring battles had vanished, replaced by a hollow quietude.

Above, the sun blazed with such savage intensity that even Amaterasu winced, her skin visibly beginning to blister under the searing rays. The earth beneath their feet smoked, heat rising in waves, yet the sky remained a void of blinding, unnatural gold instead of its usual blue.

"W-What could cause this?! This heat is agonizing…!" Kireina hissed through gritted teeth, her eyes narrowing. "This Presence…! Is it… YOU?!"

Then, the horizon shifted, revealing a sight so grotesque it defied description.

The sun itself pulsed, two massive, luminous blue eyes snapping open to glare down at them with a suffocating, tyrannical air of mastery. Amaterasu let out a shrill cry of agony as an otherworldly, monstrous entity breached the defenses of her mind and heart—a force far beyond that of any Outer God.

Unlike the Outer Gods, this creature was something far more hideous—he was the twisted, corrupted manifestation of the Sun itself, the most abominable being to ever draw breath.

"At long last, Kireina, and all of you too! My patience has been rewarded. Welcome to my perfect reality. A world where every soul bows to a single deity—me, the brilliant, absolute Sun!"

It was him.

The Sun God of the Abyss.

Kireina had crossed paths with him before, even driving him back in their previous encounters, but she had never envisioned he could ascend to such terrifying heights.

In the distance, gargantuan mechs and warships loomed. Each human soldier aboard displayed the same insignia: a rising sun fused with rays of golden light. Elsewhere, the massive flagship of the Netherworld Plane Ruler drifted, marked by the same sigil, its observation ports glowing with solar flames.

Further out, a titanic dimensional rift tore open, vomiting forth an endless ocean of spirit crystals. Every spiritual inhabitant within projected a dazzling golden halo. Even her old foes had been corralled, including Skadi in her mutated state—all of them now mindless puppets.

Legions of Dream Entities swarmed from gargantuan portals, each bearing the same cursed mark.

What truly chilled her blood was the realization that every deity who had stood against him had been broken. The Norse, the Greek, the Ancient Spirits—everyone of significance had fallen.

Save for a ragged band of survivors racing toward them, shouting in desperation.

"Kireina! You’ve finally returned! Ungh…!"

"What took you so long?!"

"The situation is far more dire than we anticipated…!"

"That monster is constantly gnawing at our sanity!"

"This is madness! He has even brainwashed all of Hell! Even Mammon!"

Redgaria, Flora, the System Master, Aura, and Lucifer—accompanied by the remnants of their forces—scrambled toward Kireina. Many of the subordinates accompanying the Supreme Gods had already been corrupted, turning their blades against their former masters from a distance.

"Unnggh…!" Mammon groaned, clutching his head near Harumi. "My primary form has been seized?! Damn him…!"

Though his consciousness remained intact, his original physical body had been hollowed out and fused with the Sun God, fated to serve as an eternal thrall.

"Hahahaha! Don't you feel privileged, Mammon?! I have granted your original vessel what he craved most—restoration to his former might! Every one of them has received the same blessing!"

Suddenly, a monolithic demonic tower erupted from the dimensional fissures. The six remaining Archdemons emerged, but their forms had been transformed into radiant, angelic caricatures.

It appeared they had been forcefully reverted to their long-lost origins as archangels.

"Look! Even they have succumbed!"

He cackled as a blood-red moon plummeted from the heavens. The Vampires of the Abyss poured out, their forms twisted and half-angelic.

Every victim of this corruption gained angelic traits, yet those traits looked warped and monstrous.

"And, after some persistence, that foolish woman finally embraced my grace and divine radiance!"

The Sun God exulted. The Spiritual Plane swelled, and an enormous rainbow-colored throne materialized. The Queen of Spirits sat upon it, a golden halo hovering over her brow, her physique mutated into an angelic catastrophe—alongside all her loyal subjects.

The Sun God’s grand design had reached fruition. He had claimed everything… and everyone.

"And… even Them!"

From another massive tear in the firmament, the Supreme Gods of Genesis appeared—even Genesis herself, a colossal, feathered dragon-like celestial being.

Her once noble eyes were now glowing with a sickening yellow flame, halos encircling her head.

"T-This is… pure insanity…" Kireina muttered, her features twisted in disbelief. "How…? You were nothing but a craven weakling! This makes no sense!"

"Does it not? I simply harvested everything that was here. I am an opportunist at the core! I devoured dozens of divine sun entities, including Ra and Apollo, and countless other delectable spirits. I absorbed the Genesis Sun and the Amaterasu residing within. Afterward, I consumed every star within reach. My vitality, my dominion, and the extent of my reach continued to proliferate—limitless, eternally! THIS! IS! MY! TRUE! ABILITY!"

The Sun God’s laughter roared, mirrored by the entire chorus of his worshipers: Archdemons, Space Humans, Gods, Vampires, Spirits, Undead—the collective had become a part of him.

"BOW BEFORE ME, MORTALS! KNEEL TO YOUR SOVEREIGN! YOUR PROGENITOR! YOUR EMPEROR! YOUR DEITY! BOW BEFORE ME, THE SUN INDEED!!!"

As he bellowed, the sun’s radiance flared, searing the very atmosphere of the planet. The burning light reduced the landscape of Tokyo to ash.

His supplicants remained untouched, drawing vitality from the heat, becoming progressively more distorted and monstrous.

Kireina stood frozen.

She had truly miscalculated—dismissing him as a threat until it was nearly too late.

The entity she had deemed unworthy of her focus had ascended into her ultimate nightmare.

However.

Was that the totality of his power?

"I see. So this is your endgame, is it?"

As the eternal, scorching light bore down, Kireina’s brows knit together; she began to grow in size, her shadow expanding.

In the face of this endless solar fire, her abyssal void and chaotic darkness unfurled like a protective shroud, shielding her allies.

"Then I shall transform into the darkness that eclipses your radiance, Sun!"

The Sun God laughed maniacally. Kireina noted that thousands upon thousands of distant stars joined in his laughter.

Just how many celestial bodies had he drained? What scale of consumption had he achieved?

The scope was absurd. He had undoubtedly pushed his cultivation to its absolute peak—though he had clearly climbed on the back of another.

"Kireina! That villain got his hands on the First Esper! That girl was the key, using her psychic influence to help him expand his reach across the realms!" Redgaria shouted as he retreated into the safety of her darkness.

"I see. I suspected as much," Kireina replied, shaking her head. "Then—"

"Nee-sama!!!"

Their dialogue was severed by Tsukuyomi’s blood-curdling scream. Everyone turned to look. Amaterasu was writhing in the air, her form shifting and contorting violently.

"Aaaaaaaggh!"

White, luminous feathered wings erupted from her spine, piercing through Kireina’s wall of darkness and spiraling toward the zenith.

"Noooo!"

Tsukuyomi dashed after her, but Beowulf grabbed him, dragging him back.

"Let go of me! Nee-sama! My nee-sama needs our help!"

"Can you not see why she is ascending?! She is losing control! Didn't you hear him?! That creature possesses absolute authority over everything that encompasses the Sun!"

"…?!"

Tsukuyomi watched in despair as Amaterasu drifted further into the blinding light.

Kireina surged forward in pursuit. The brilliance scorched her essence, but the Sea of Emptiness kept her form intact.

"Amaterasu, grab my hand!"

Kireina slashed through the radiance, but the light was inexhaustible, a tide fueled by everything it had already devoured.

"A-Ahh… the light… the… lovely light…"

Amaterasu wept as she gazed into the Sun God’s glory, feeling the pull of assimilation.

Then, she looked back at Kireina, one fleeting, final gaze.

"Please… watch over… my… family…"

"AMATERASU!!!"

Kireina cried out, stretching her hand toward her.

But she was a fraction of a second too late.

The Sun God’s power enveloped Amaterasu entirely. She vanished from existence.

She had been subsumed.

…Or had she?

"NNNGGHHH?!"

The very moment he consumed her, a sharp, piercing pain manifested within the core of his existence.

Amidst the inferno of the skies, a translucent silhouette of Amaterasu flickered into view.

"People of Japan…! Hold fast…! Nay, citizens of the entire world…! THIS FIEND…! AND EVERY SINISTER FATE…! CAN BE DEFEATED! IF YOU HAVE RELIANCE… IN YOUR HEARTS! AND… STRIVE AS ONE!"

As she projected her final command, Tsukuyomi wept openly. Susanoo fell from the sky, wheezing after surviving an onslaught of mind-controlled foes.

"N-Nee-sama?!"

"G-GET OUT…! BEGONE, YOU PARASITE!"

The Sun God desperately attempted to purge her influence. Amaterasu’s phantom form began to wane.

Yet her hand remained clamped to his heart—until a fracture appeared.

"Susanoo…! Tsukuyomi…! Izanami-sama… I implore you…! Protect Japan…! Kireina…! Save this world…! This is my final… decree…! Do not dare…! To defy it!"

"E-ENOUGH!!!"

The Sun God, his poise fractured, regained control—though a searing pain lingered deep within his Origin Core.

Attempting to devour the most obstinate and prideful goddess of Japan had been a fatal error.

While his power had surged, the cost had been far higher than anticipated.

"D-Damn it! This excruciating pain…! Uuggh…!"

Kireina looked toward the heavens and bowed her head, eyes misting—chagrin gnawing at her for failing to preserve another life.

Especially someone like Amaterasu, who had transformed through the fires of conflict, revealing a soul that deeply cherished her kin.

Tsukuyomi and Susanoo slumped, sobbing as their sister dissipated.

Kireina, however, stayed fixated on the Sun God’s reactions. Harnessing her deepening connection to her own power, she probed his Heart Essence.

"No, this is incomplete. It is almost as if… I failed to claim it entirely?!"

"…!"

Kireina cast her gaze further afield. The gods were mourning; Matsuo, his father, and Hinata were among the gathering.

"Matsuo…"

She looked directly into him. Matsuo’s eyes flared wide as he clutched at his chest, feeling a flicker of Amaterasu’s radiance still burning within him.

"W-What is this?"

Tears tracking through the dust on his face, he understood that a shard of her legacy endured—as his own latent power.

Amaterasu’s final parting gift.

"She entrusted you with her remaining essence," Kireina whispered directly into his consciousness.

Matsuo turned to her, his gaze wide and vulnerable.

"K-Kireina… I…" He struggled for composure, overwhelmed by regret over his past actions. "I don’t know…! What must we do now?! Amaterasu-sama… I…!"

"What else can we do but fight, Matsuo?" Kireina stepped into the fray. The shroud of darkness parted to grant her passage. "Combat is our sole remaining recourse—to resist, with every ounce of our being. And to pursue triumph, despite the impossible odds."

"…!"

She peered into his heart. Amaterasu’s spirit continued its fusion with him. The power of the Mountain Chief God within him melded in perfect harmony.

"You were chosen to steward your deity’s legacy, Matsuo," she directed, her tone resolute. "Ensure you do not fail her. Grief, weeping, and lamenting—none of these will pave our way forward. We must prevail."

Her words resonated in everyone's hearts. With a surge of power, she linked them all to the Pillar of Celestial Enlightenment, her latent Blossoming Defiance, and the vast web of her Myriad Forms and Connections.

The survivors suddenly awakened as Heart Path Cultivators. Their Manifestations rose from their bodies—the vivid, tangible shadows of their Souls, their Paths, their Agony, their Joy, their Hope, and their Despair.

Those previously attuned to the Heart Tribe surged with new vigor, tethered to the endpoint of Kireina’s odyssey: the Pillar of Celestial Enlightenment. They bathed in the wisdom of Repentant Enlightenment, seeing the world as she did.

"Do you perceive it now, everyone?" Kireina queried.

Her Sea of Emptiness roiled. A titaness of chaos and her kin emerged one by one, stunning the collective onlookers.

"And besides, I have arranged for reinforcements. Some overwhelmingly mighty allies shall join us, so do not abandon hope… No sacrifice will prove futile… I give you my word."

Khaos, her mother, manifested and surveyed the scene. Kireina’s progeny and wives instantly recognized her presence.

Chaos, Abyss, and Kosmos signaled their readiness, unleashing their Auras as they braced for the coming clash.

Veronica and Ervas exchanged resolute glances, prepared to die fighting to shield their sister and this reality from the abomination.

"Who… is that regal lady?" Lord Chaos stammered, his eyes fixated on Khaos’s striking appearance. "Kireina… Who could she be…?"

"That is Khaos, my mother," Kireina explained. "The originator of my soul, at the very least. From my earlier existence. I liberated her alongside my siblings after she was almost seized by the Overseers."

"A pleasure to make your acquaintance, kind sir," Khaos beamed warmly. She glided toward him and clasped his hands. "Thank you so deeply for nurturing my daughter… She lacked a father figure until you emerged and became the parent she deserved. It brings me great happiness… thank you."

Khaos pulled him into a warm embrace. Kireina’s father felt his heart skip a beat. "G-Gah? W-Who…! Oh…! I haven’t felt a warmth like this… since… Kireina’s mother… I…!"

"Let us unite our strength, sir," Khaos said with a radiant, kind smile.

"Indeed… absolutely," Papa Chaos assented. "To think that I would encounter one of my own kind… I find myself incredibly fortunate this day."

Kireina chuckled and surveyed the ranks of those gathered. "Then what are you holding back for? Shall you fight? Or will you allow the grief to paralyze you? I have granted you the fortitude to strike back! We must reclaim this world before its atmosphere is utterly consumed. It is now or never, everyone! One final battle!"

Her declaration acted as a spark to dry tinder. The survivors nodded, their hands curling into fists with newfound resolve.

"One final battle!" Susanoo bellowed, unsheathing his blade.

"For nee-sama…!" Tsukuyomi agreed, drying his tears.

"Yeah!" Ryo roared, his spirit soaring.

"Let’s get to work, masta! Guguguuuuu!" Rimuru cheered, shifting into a massive, shimmering slime.

"And we have even more reinforcements on the way!" Kireina noted, triggering a massive, celestial portal that opened directly into her Cosmic Realm.

Dozens of old companions and loved ones emerged, their strength amplified by the new energies of the realm.

"Let’s do this!"

Kireina roared, marshalling the thousands under her banner as she faced the God of the Sun—while looking beyond him toward the Celestial Staircase and the web-like strands leading toward the unknown.

The path was illuminated. Now, she would seize the moment and bring this ordeal to a definitive conclusion.

Watched by the sisters of fate and the monstrosity they had accidentally forged to oppose her, Kireina stepped forward once more—defiant, unyielding, and destined to rewrite the constraints of fate.