"Even gods forget. That's how you beat them."
— Words carved into the hilt of the White Lotus spear
The Ritual Valley – Midnight
The golden-masked priests stood in silence, encircling the obsidian altar. The child lay still—his blood ready to call forth The Timeless One.
Above them, the sky cracked in spirals of crimson light. The ritual chant grew deeper.
"Blood for the Hollow Flame."
"Names for the Timeless One."
The high priest raised the blade.
And then—
a sound.
Not thunder. Not barking.
Something softer.
A single breath.
And from the cliff above, a man stepped forward…
Mike Arshur.
In His Hands: The White Lotus
The priests paused.
Their masks turned toward him like sunflowers to light.
He held a spear—unlike anything they'd seen in centuries.
Bone white. Pulsing.
Carved from fossilized lotus petals, soaked in the tears of orphaned gods.
"I know what this is," Mike shouted, his voice shaking but clear.
"You fear it. You buried it."
The high priest stepped forward, unmoved.
"That weapon was made by traitors. It cannot harm gods."
Mike tightened his grip.
"Then why are your hands trembling?"
The First Strike
Mike leapt.
The White Lotus glowed white-hot as it pierced the air.
The nearest priest charged at him—hovering, ethereal.
Mike stabbed.
The priest disintegrated, not into blood… but into ashes of memory.
The rest hesitated.
They remembered.
The White Lotus was not a weapon of death.
It was a weapon of undoing.
It erased existence itself.
Sarah and Adam Break Through
At the foot of the valley, Sarah dragged Adam through broken stone.
He was barely awake, his voice a whisper.
"Dad's... burning like a star…"
Sarah looked up.
Mike stood now within their sacred circle.
Alone.
One man.
One flower.
Against thousands.
And still—he fought.
Challenge to the High Gods
The sky twisted open.
Something descended.
Not a priest.
Not a god.
A presence—the First Flame, the original hunger before time.
Mike dropped to one knee.
The White Lotus dimmed.
The presence spoke—not in words, but in visions:
His worst memories
His son's dying scream
The day Sarah almost left
The guilt
The failure
The weakness
And still—
Mike stood.
He raised the Lotus again.
"You want sacrifice?"
"Then take me."
He stabbed the spear into his own chest.
Silence.
Time froze.
The sky screamed.
The priests fell to their knees—not in worship… but in pain.
The ritual collapsed.
The altar shattered.
And in the center of the valley, the White Lotus blossomed into a wave of white light, cleansing everything it touched.
Final Scene: The Aftermath
Sarah crawled to where Mike had stood.
There was no body.
Just the cracked shaft of the Lotus.
And beside it, a single message burned into stone:
"Not all gods demand blood. Some just need someone brave enough to say: 'No more.'"
She wept.
But Adam stood. His eyes open.
"He didn't die, Mom."
"He entered the silence."
"And now… they're listening to him."