Chapter 147

This chapter is an interlude set seven thousand one hundred years before the main timeline, depicting the aftermath of a devastating war on the planet Alaswha (later called Ashyn). God, an ancient deity, witnesses the destruction and grief caused by Rayse's empire, while Jezrien approaches Makibak to offer survivors passage to a new world through a portal created by Ishar.

God, in an avatar form capable of touch, holds the body of a dead child amid massive destruction on Alaswha. Rayse appears, dismissing the catastrophe and the death toll as inevitable. God feels the deaths of thousands directly through a power within, particularly those of followers who died with honor—a concept that both satisfies the power yet terrifies God. Nale searches among corpses and finds his sister's body. Jezrien, a leader of a city-state that joined Rayse's empire, approaches Nale's uncle Makibak with a proposition. Makibak, burned and exhausted, expects to be killed but instead is offered salvation. Jezrien reveals that Zoral, known as the Voidbringer, is dead, and Jezrien now claims kingship, promising better leadership. He offers to lead survivors to safety using Ishar's ability to create portals to a new world, as the firestorm is returning and the land itself is melting into lava. Makibak, bitter about Zoral's similar recruitment promises in the past, questions Jezrien's sincerity. Jezrien's commitment to being present demonstrates his willingness to help. God finds some hope in this moment of a king making amends with a former enemy, recognizing that loss is inevitable but some good may yet be salvaged. God returns home to Kor and weeps, at which point Rayse arrives with the survivors at the portal.