The air cracked like thunder given breath.From the sundered heart of Cellok, the sound of weeping roots filled the void, a groan that shivered across kingdoms. Every Liroid felt it, from the highest assassin to the youngest marked child. In Kindraloy, Shiver awoke screaming, his mark searing gold and black. In Doomsany, Fury dropped her silver goblet as wine turned to ash. And in Tan’s temple, the holy flames flickered into darkness for the space of one heartbeat.Something ancient was waking.Snake stood over his mother’s body, blood still on his hands, the dagger of Cirax trembling with power that no mortal should wield. The ground beneath him pulsed, the rhythm of a heart far below the soil, Evilside’s heart, reforming itself in the belly of the world.Dragon stared toward the horizon, where the earth split open and tendrils of light and shadow coiled upward into a storm.“She’s coming back,” he whispered.Snake didn’t answer. The dagger quivered in his grip, humming with a strang

Silence had become unbearable.The world stood on the edge of its own breath. Every leaf, every ember, every lingering echo of battle trembled beneath a stillness too vast to comprehend. The truth had been spoken. The lie that bound gods to heaven and mortals to worship had cracked, and now the sky began to feel the wound.A sound rose. Faint at first, like the tolling of a distant bell. Then louder, deeper. A note of grief so pure it made mountains shudder.It was Cirax.The eldest of the Old Gods had fallen to her knees, her silver hair cascading like moonlight across the ashen soil. Her face was turned upward toward the blackened sky, her tears shining as starlight that refused to fall. Each drop hung in the air, forming constellations that bled light.“Ciria,” she whispered, voice breaking. “My sister, what have you done?”Her cry rippled through heaven, tearing open clouds that had watched for eons in silence, and from the rift poured streams of celestial flame, blue and white, f

The sky above creation trembled.What had once been the quiet hum of eternity now roared like a thousand storms. The Veil, that sacred realm where the gods convened, had been torn open. Rivers of starlight flowed upward instead of down. The heavens had gathered to pass judgment.Where stars once burned in quiet order, thrones of light and stone now floated vast, ancient seats circling a hollow of mist and memory. It was here that gods judged gods, where even immortality could be stripped away.At the center, upon the Seat of Balance, stood Cirax, the eldest daughter of the First gods, her hair a river of silver fire, her eyes galaxies in motion. She was the head of all, the arbiter of existence, the sister of the fallen Ciria, and the one who now bore the weight of both vengeance and order.Behind her, the twin thrones of her parents, Civax and Civon, stood empty but glowing faintly. Echoes of beings too ancient to die yet too proud to return.The gathered gods murmured in a thousand

The Liroid Academy had never been so alive.Banners of black silk rippled through the great hall, each marked with the sigil of the houses that still rule under Evilside’s name. Candles burned with silver flame, their light too cold to be holy. The air trembled, not with sound, but with the weight of presence.For the first time since the age of the gods, the entire Liroid bloodline had gathered.At the highest dais, upon the throne of obsidian and root, sat Heartless, Headmistress of the Academy and daughter of Evilside. Her pale eyes shone like frost beneath moonlight. Behind her, the roots of the great tree pulsed, whispering ancient songs, Evilside’s heartbeat echoing through the world.Before her, four young Liroids knelt: Shiver, Death Sentence, Passion, and Game. Their faces were masks of focus, but beneath each surface flickered a storm.They were surrounded by an audience of gods, monsters, and immortals, their forebears.Among them sat Queen Dark of Doomsany, her black crown

Darkness swallowed sound.Time, light, even breath seemed to vanish.The four heirs stood alone, not upon the training field, but within the heart of the Liroid curse itself. This was the place beyond shadow, where every soul of their bloodline was tested once before claiming their mark.It was said no god could enter here. Only those born of the Tree’s will could survive its truth.And tonight, the Tree spoke to them.Shiver: The Valley of BonesThe first to awaken was Shiver.He stood upon cracked earth stretching to a black horizon. The ground was littered with bones; serpents, men, Liroids, and creatures he did not recognize. Each skull was marked with the Tar sigil, glowing faintly like dying embers.The wind whispered, “Do you know their names?”He turned and froze.Among the bones lay Snake, his father, eyes hollow, blade broken, serpents lifeless around him. Beyond him knelt Trina, hands folded as if in prayer, her lips moving but no sound emerging.“No…”He stumbled forward.