Kael stood in front of the collapsing throne while divine light gathered above him. The god hovered in the sky like a blazing sun. Golden energy flowed around the figure and spread across the clouds. The pressure of that power forced everyone on the battlefield to step backward.The divine executor lifted its spear and aimed it directly at Kael, and the false king raised his weapon beside the giant; both servants waited for the god’s command.Kael remained where he stood. His sword pointed toward the sky. “If you destroy that throne,” Kael said firmly, “you will have to kill me first.”The god looked down at him. The light surrounding the divine figure pulsed once. “You place yourself between divine judgment and its target.”Kael answered without hesitation. “Yes.”The god’s voice remained calm and distant. “You believe your life holds greater value than the correction of this world.”Kael shook his head. “I believe innocent people should not die because you want to correct a mistake.

The sky above the shattered valley burned with violent light. Kael stood in silence while the enormous creature formed from storm and lightning continued gathering power. The glowing sphere inside the creature’s mouth grew larger every second.The gods hovered across the sky in a wide formation. Their golden light clashed against the violent storm winds, and the tension between the two forces filled the air with unbearable pressure.Kael kept his eyes on the sky. However, movement behind him finally caught his attention. Eron stepped forward through the ash-covered battlefield; his armor had been damaged during the earlier fighting, and dried blood covered parts of the metal. His breathing remained steady despite the exhaustion written across his face.He stopped several steps beside Kael and stared at the storm. “So that is the world waking up.”Kael glanced at him. “Yes.”Eron watched the lightning creature silently for several seconds, and the enormous being continued gathering ene

The light above the broken sky continued to expand. Eron could not look away from it.The opening beyond the clouds had grown wide enough that the storm no longer hid it. The shape behind the light had become clearer, although it remained distant and indistinct.Kael stood beside him without speaking.The storm creature circled beneath the opening like a guardian that had awakened too late.Its huge body crackled with energy, and the lightning that made it up grew stronger and stronger. Eron felt something odd in his chest. At first, he assumed it was fear, but the feeling did not match the situation; it was not panic, it was recognition.He frowned and pressed a hand against his chest. “That is strange,” he said quietly.Kael glanced at him. “What is wrong?”Eron kept staring at the sky. “I feel like I have seen this before.”Kael’s expression shifted slightly. “That is not possible.”Eron shook his head. “I know that it should not be possible,” he said. “However, the feeling is still

The Cathedral of Radiant Order had never felt so unstable. High Priest Alvar stood at the center of the council chamber, surrounded by the most powerful figures within the Church. The tall marble pillars still held the ceiling in place, and the golden symbols still glowed faintly along the walls, but the atmosphere had changed. No one trusted the silence anymore.Reports had arrived one after another over the past few hours. Each one carried worse news than the last; cities had fallen, refugee caravans had been attacked, and entire regions had gone dark.Alvar tightened his grip on the staff in his hand. “This cannot continue,” he said. His voice echoed through the chamber, but it failed to bring order.One of the senior bishops stepped forward. “We warned you,” Bishop Renald said. “The purge was rushed, and now we are losing control.”Alvar turned toward him slowly. “The purge was necessary,” he replied.Renald shook his head. “It was reckless,” he said. “We declared war on our own p

Kael saw the moment the figure shifted its target, and he moved without hesitation. He drove his power forward and forced his body across the shattered ground with everything he had. However, the distance between intention and impact became too large.The figure’s hand reached Eron first.Eron tried to move, but his body refused. The pressure that had filled the battlefield condensed around him in a single point. It wrapped around his limbs and locked him in place before he could even react.Kael’s strike collided with the figure a fraction of a second later. The impact exploded outward, dark energy clashed against that cold, controlled force, and the shockwave tore through the ruins of the battlefield.Eron was caught in the center of it. The force should have thrown him away. Instead, it held him still. The figure did not move, and Kael’s attack had no effect. Eron felt the hand reach his chest, but it did not touch him physically, but something passed through him. It felt like a cu