The dark waters closed over Lester’s head as Python’s massive coils dragged him deeper into the black abyss. The pressure was suffocating, the icy chill biting through his mortal body. He thrashed, clawing at the serpent’s scales, but Python’s laughter echoed in his mind, a cruel reminder of how powerless he had become.

“Is this how it ends, Lester Papadopoulos?” Python’s voice rumbled like a storm, reverberating through the chasm. “Dragged into the depths, forgotten, a god no more?”

His lungs burned as he struggled for air, his vision blurring in the murky water. Every instinct told him to give up, that he was too weak, too mortal. But something stirred deep within him—a spark, a reminder of who he had been. No, who he still was.

He clenched his fists, summoning every ounce of courage, every lesson he had learned since his fall. He wasn’t just a god—or just a mortal. He was both. And he would not let Python win.