The Hundred Palm Eye of Judgment
"What does the deepest power of the human soul represent?"
"Why are you willing to help me?"
Ragna asked, feigning curiosity.
There was undoubtedly a profound secret buried within the depths of the human soul. However, those who attempted to unravel such mysteries without divine sanction faced inevitable hostility from the gods themselves.
Zatanos' proposal seemed enticing, almost too good to be true. And that was precisely the problem—an insidious trap lay hidden beneath his words. But Ragna was far more intrigued by something else.
How had Zatanos survived after uncovering these forbidden truths?
Even Mephisto, the Prince of Lies, had dared not venture too deeply into these mysteries. Yet, Zatanos had, and he still stood before Ragna. The gods did not forgive transgressions so easily. A being of his level should have been obliterated for his transgressions.
"That is the truth. It is hope! If you explore its depths, you will naturally understand," Zatanos declared. "As for why I am helping you—it's because you are strong enough!"
"Reality? Hope?"
"True hope!"
Ragna's mind numbed for an instant. True Hope.
That was the reward he had received after sacrificing all the Infinity Gems. A concept beyond simple optimism—it was something fundamental, something tied to the very essence of the Earth and the soul of mankind.
But what was this secret?
For the first time in a long while, Ragna felt an urge to say yes.
Then, his mind snapped back to Odin.
The gods were unfathomably powerful. The Celestials alone were beyond reckoning. Odin had once defied them, and though he had slain one of their kind, the cost had been monumental. The remaining eight still held power that rivaled the absolute limits of divine might. Even now, no force in the known universe could challenge them.
Ragna's subordinates were formidable, but compared to the cosmic scale, they were still far too weak.
Greed is a demon. The ladder to destruction.
Curiosity, when paired with insufficient strength, was the prelude to death.
Ragna wasn't ready to die just yet.
He said nothing more. No questions. No further dialogue.
Instead, he gripped the Sun Scepter and unleashed its full power. Having ascended to the fourth-order limit, he now wielded the purest essence of solar energy—thermonuclear fusion.
That meant near-infinite energy, an unparalleled force of destruction.
If he so wished, Ragna could induce the core collapse of a fixed star, triggering a supernova that would send gamma-ray bursts surging across space, incinerating entire systems. The ensuing energy release could erase a small galaxy from existence, its aftershock radiating across tens of thousands of light-years.
Yet, such devastation was not an option so close to Earth.
Instead, he focused only a fraction of the Sun's power, igniting it within the Sun Scepter. With precise control, he thrust the divine weapon forward, aiming straight for Zatanos.
Zatanos had anticipated the attack.
Dark soul-forged chains burst forth, their spectral weight designed to suppress divine power. They coiled around the Sun Scepter, straining against Ragna's thrust.
But the difference in raw energy levels was too great.
The chains cracked.
They shattered.
The spear-point of the Sun Scepter advanced, closing the distance to Zatanos.
Zatanos did not attempt to block the attack with his physical form. That would be meaningless.
As an Elemental Spirit, an embodiment of supernatural law, his existence was not that of flesh and blood. But even an entity of his nature had limitations. When his energy was dispersed, his consciousness would fragment across the void, unable to reform.
And if he reconstituted, it would no longer be the same Zatanos.
More chains erupted, layering into an oppressive web that darkened the sky itself.
Ragna did not care.
Divine energy surged. The Sun Scepter advanced once more.
The spectral chains disintegrated before they could even touch him.
Zatanos, sensing imminent doom, withdrew in haste. He had no desire to engage Ragna directly.
But Ragna had no intention of letting him escape.
Even after devouring Mephisto, Zatanos had only managed to boost his power slightly. Against Ragna, who had mastered the absolute power of the Sun, he was still far too weak.
If not for Earth's safety, Ragna wouldn't have bothered to contain his energy output.
Otherwise, Zatanos would have already been reduced to cosmic ash.
Attack. Defense.
A back-and-forth exchange that drained Zatanos more and more with each passing moment.
It was a downward spiral.
Zatanos saw the inevitable. He would lose.
His mind churned, searching for alternatives. Then, when Ragna struck once more, he finally acted.
The soul chains unfurled, releasing a gap in his defenses.
Ragna's Sun Scepter drove forward, impaling his chest.
At the very moment the divine energy detonated, obliterating Zatanos' lower half, a trap was sprung.
The shattered chains coalesced, forming a cage around Ragna.
Zatanos' remaining hands latched onto the Sun Scepter, and a wave of ethereal blue fire rushed along the divine weapon, surging toward Ragna's body.
At the same time, from deep within Zatanos' hollow skull, two blazing blue lights erupted, piercing directly into Ragna's eyes.
"Come to judgment, sinner!"
Zatanos' laughter echoed within Ragna's mind.
An incomprehensible force surged into his soul.
This was the true power of the Penance Stare—a devastating assault against the deepest sins of its target.
If Ragna harbored even the faintest remorse, the attack would ignite his very soul, consuming him in eternal agony.
The technique was Ghost Rider's most feared ability.
Zatanos had bet everything on this final move.
But then—
"Is that all?"
A cascade of voices erupted within Ragna's consciousness.
"I expected pure soul destruction, but this still relies on exploiting an opponent's weakness?"
"Zatanos, you disappoint me."
The voices did not belong to Ragna alone.
They were the collective voices of countless Angels and the echoes of all who had ever prayed for salvation.
The overwhelming light of faith coalesced, forming an impenetrable barrier around Ragna's soul.
"But fortunately, I have you now."
Ragna's trap had already been set.
He had anticipated the Eye of Judgment.
From the very beginning, his plan had been in motion—to seal Zatanos within the Reincarnation Pool and subject him to the Flames of Heaven and the Furnace of Hell.
The Reincarnation Pool was directly linked to the consciousness of all Angels.
The Flames of Heaven and the Furnace of Hell connected to the souls of all who had ever lived.
For Zatanos alone, escape was impossible.
Even if he found a crack, Ragna was already prepared.
Zatanos writhed, his consciousness fracturing as the suffering souls of countless Angels engulfed him.
But an Angel's soul knows no regret.
And a single ember can ignite an inferno.
Before an infinite sea of purity, there was only one outcome—absolute extinction.
Zatanos' will collapsed, scattered to the void.
"Hexi, throw him into the Furnace of Hell. Let him burn until we unlock the secrets of the Eye of Judgment and the deeper nature of human soul energy.
"Once we have what we need—erase him."
Some secrets remained unspoken.
Even now, Ragna suspected that Zatanos' true identity was anything but ordinary.
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