The training began immediately.Selene returned the next day with instructors. War Gods who'd agreed to teach in exchange for their eventual freedom. They were harsh. Demanding. Brutal.But effective.Kael spent his mornings in combat training. Learning techniques from beings who'd fought for millennia. Afternoons studying strategy with Selene herself. Evenings coordinating with his commanders.Three hundred fighters became three thousand within a month. Word spread. About the alliance with Selene. About the coming convergence. People who'd been hiding joined the cause.Some were genuine. Others were spies.Kael expected that. Planned for it. Used Vincent's knowledge to identify compromised individuals. Isolated them. Fed them false information while conducting real operations through secure channels.By the second month, they were ready to expand operations."Seven gate locations," Kael said, addressing his war council. "We can't defend all of them simultaneously. But we can disrupt.

They reached the ritual chamber only to find they were too late.Not too late to complete the ritual. Too late to control it.His mother was already there. Standing at the convergence point. Channeling power into the gate."Kael," she said without turning. "I knew you'd come. Knew you'd figure out Selene's game. Knew you'd try something desperate.""Then you know we're going to stop you.""Stop me? You're going to help me." She gestured. Guards surrounded Kael's team. Hundreds of them. "Drop your weapons or your people die. Starting with Lyra."A blade pressed against Lyra's throat. She'd been grabbed during the chaos. Held hostage."Don't do it," Lyra said. "Complete the mission.""Brave words. But pointless." His mother smiled. "Kael, you have ten seconds to comply. Then I start killing your team. One every ten seconds. Until you cooperate."Kael looked around desperately. Looking for options. Finding none. They were surrounded. Outnumbered. Exhausted."Five seconds.""Kael, don't—"

They traveled for three weeks through wasteland.The Seven Ascended had been busy. Cities were ruins. Infrastructure destroyed. Survivors huddled in camps. Afraid. Desperate. Waiting for the end.Kael and his group moved through it all. Helping where they could. Gathering information. Learning how the world had changed.On the twenty-first day, they found something unexpected.An old man approached their camp. Weathered. Ancient. But his eyes were sharp. Alert."You're Draven," he said to Kael. "I can tell by the way you move. By the artifacts you wear.""Who are you?""Someone who's been waiting. For decades. Centuries maybe. I've lost track." The old man sat by their fire uninvited. "My name was Theron once. Now I don't know what I'm called. Just the Keeper.""Keeper of what?""Of secrets your grandfather left behind. Hidden places he created before the purge. Refuges for the bloodline. In case everything fell apart." Theron pulled out a crystal similar to the one that opened the Fi

Intelligence came three days after Marcus's exposure.A spy, ironically turned double agent after seeing Marcus's fate, brought news. His mother was consolidating power at Shadow Pass. A mountain fortress she'd taken from the remnants of the old Order."She's gathering forces there," the spy reported. "Building something. Every faction that still follows her is sending troops. Resources. Materials for some kind of ritual.""Another gate opening?" Kael asked."No. Something else. Something about controlling the Ascended. Making them serve her instead of just rampaging." The spy showed photographs. Dark symbols carved into stone. Altars stained with blood. "They're using forbidden techniques. Magic banned even by the War Gods. Blood rituals. Soul binding. Things that shouldn't be possible."Kael studied the images. His grandfather's notes had mentioned these techniques. Called them abominations. Said they corrupted everything they touched."How many forces at the pass?""A thousand. May

Word spread fast after the First Warlord's appearance.Survivors across the wasteland had seen the red sky. Felt the reality-bending power. Knew something impossible had happened.And they knew Kael had survived it.People started arriving at his camp. Not armies. Small groups. Individuals. Seeking answers. Seeking hope. Seeking leadership."We heard you fought a god," one refugee said. "And lived.""Barely," Kael admitted."But you lived. That's more than anyone else can say. The Seven Ascended kill everything they touch. Your mother enslaves everyone she meets. The War Gods use us like tools. But you... you fight. And survive. And keep fighting."Within a week, Kael's seventy-five had become two hundred. Then five hundred. Then a thousand.Not all fighters. Many were refugees. Families. Children. People who just wanted protection. A place to be safe while the world ended.Kael didn't turn them away. But he also didn't promise safety. Just honesty."I can't protect everyone," he told