The snow-ruined courtyard of Brynth trembled as the ancient being fully rose from the ice.A long arm of bone and old flesh scraped across the ground, claws longer than swords.Eyes, sunken pits filled with swirling smoke, locked onto Snake.Snake didn’t move.His mind was still on Doom. On Trina.On the unanswered silence from Cellok.A fatal distraction.The claw swung again, silently, impossibly fast,until Dragon yanked Snake back so hard the ground cracked where they had stood. “GET YOUR MIND IN THIS, SNAKE!”Another claw tore through the air,But this time, Sky flicked his fingers, lightning weaving into a curved shield that rang like a bell as the blow struck. “This thing just appeared out of nowhere…what is it? Some half-dead god?Because I swear it smells like rotten divinity.” “Creatures like this are drawn to liroids. They know we kill what should’ve died long ago.” Dragon clenched his jaw as he spat the words.“Am I supposed to be worried then? I’m a cirax and still yet

Night fell on Kindraloy like a heavy omen.The streets were still. The barrier shimmered faintly. And then,A tremor.A quiver.A pulse of divine will.Goddess Loy of Kindraloy materialized before her white-marble temple, her robes glowing like moonlit water. Civilians instantly fell to their knees, trembling in fear.She raised her hand.Goddess Loy, “Bring her.”The air warped. The sky darkened.And the Veil of Silence, the sacred barrier that forbade all gods from entering Kindraloy…Lifted.For the first time in five centuries.A cold wind swept the city.And then she appeared.Evilside, stepping into the open square as though she had always belonged to the darkness.Her hair a waterfall of shadows, her eyes gold, burning, ancient, dangerous. “I cannot enter your city, Loy. The magic ban forb…” “I lifted it.”A second presence descended, heavy, masculine, calm, yet trembling with restrained power.God Kindra joined his wife.His voice thundered through the city, “You test our pa

The Temple of Daggers End was quiet, lit only by floating orbs of silver-blue light.Evilside stood at the altar, her back straight, her long dark hair swept over one shoulder. Priestesses knelt beside her, arranging the ceremonial flowers, until they felt him.The moment Snake stepped across the threshold, every priestess bowed and slipped away.Leaving mother and son alone.Evilside did not turn.But Snake could see the slight tension in her shoulders, the tension of a goddess who knew she could outrun fate, but not the boy she raised.He stood there… staring.And she finally sighed. “Your stare can bore a hole through my skull.”Snake stepped closer, voice tight. “You were avoiding me.”She continued arranging flowers, slowly, deliberately. “A necessary evil. You had to learn.”Snake’s jaw clenched. “Learn what?”She turned one petal between her fingers. “How to listen. How to fight with a clear head.”Snake erupted. “You kept me in the dark for twenty-eight years, two months, thre

The Journey to CellokThe road to Cellok was the longest Snake had ever walked.Every movement,every jolt of the carriage wheels,every shift of airmade the child scream.Not a normal infant’s cry.But a raw, tearing sound as if the curse carved pain into him with every breath.Rage held him at first.Then Trina.Then Rage again, when Trina nearly fainted.Snake sat opposite them, fists clenched, eyes glowing faintly with his divine healing, straining to soothe a curse it could not break.Rage whispered, “Snake… he is fighting the curse. Every second.”Trina, “I can’t watch this…I can’t…”Snake cupped her cheek. “He fights because he is mine. He will endure. We all will.”But inside, even he was crumbling.The closer they came to Cellok, the louder the screams.As though the curse knew exactly where they were going.As though it feared what awaited.The Main Temple of EvilsideCellok rose before them, a vast city of dark stone and gleaming silver roofs.At its heart stood the Temple

Evilside Watching UnseenHigh above the breakfast hall, where the lilies carved into the ceiling swayed with unnatural wind, a shadow thickened…And parted.Evilside stood unseen, veiled in her own divine darkness.Her gaze rested not on Trina,not on Rage, nor Dragon, nor the bustling priestesses,But on Snake.Seated calmly, laughing faintly, his son in his arms.Her lips curled into a soft, almost human smile.She whispered like a ghost touching the world:Evilside: “My serpent… let our race begin.”The air trembled.No one noticed.Except the lilies.They bowed.Doom ArrivesA sudden hush spread through the hall.The golden veils parted.Doom entered,not in her war armor, but in a dark embroidered gown, her silver braids cascading like chains. Her eyes glowed faintly violet, the sign she was still healing, still dangerous.Trina’s breath caught.She grabbed Snake’s arm and instantly hid behind him.Snake straightened, protective and tense.Rage and Dragon moved subtly closer.Doo