ZEPHYR: Reborn With A God System

CHAPTER 10 - THE GODSPARK

“Then it is settled.”

Elder Rovan's announcement brought the whispers to an end, but I barely heard him. My father's vote kept replaying in my head.

I vote for the Rite of Severance. He hadn't hesitated. Not even once. Two guards approached from either side of the hall towards me “Zephyr Veyne, you will come with us.”

I looked at them, then at my father. “Is there anything else you would like to take from me?”

Draven's expression didn't change after he stared back at me “Don't make a spectacle of yourself.”

A bitter laugh almost escaped me. They had already decided to strip me of what little standing I had left. What spectacle could possibly be worse than that?

I followed the guards. Renn moved as though he intended to come after me, but an elder raised his hand. “Only the accused may enter the chamber.”

“I'm his friend,” Renn protested.

“And this is a clan matter.”

Renn looked at me and I gave him a small shake of my head. There was nothing he could do without making himself another target.

As I passed Sylene, she leaned slightly toward me. “You should have stayed missing.” she whispered

I stopped on my way and She smiled faintly before continuing “Things would have been much simpler.”

I looked at her for a moment before continuing, I didn't know what she wanted from me, but I was beginning to understand that my return had ruined something she had carefully arranged.

The guards led me through a narrow corridor behind the great hall. The further we walked, the colder the air became. We passed two iron doors before reaching a circular chamber carved into the stone beneath the fort.

I had never been inside it, but I knew what it was…The Severance Chamber.

Five pillars stood around a raised stone platform. Each pillar carried the symbol of one of the five ancient clans. Their markings had been carved deep into the stone, and faint silver lines connected them to a circular pattern beneath my feet.

An elderly woman stood beside the platform. Her grey hair was braided tightly against her head, and several rings covered her fingers.

“Place him in the centre,” she instructed.

The guards released my arms and I stepped onto the platform.

“Remove your weapons,” she said.

“I don't have any.”

“Then this should be easy.”

I glanced at the guards. One of them looked away and the woman approached and examined my face. “Zephyr Veyne?”

“Yes.”

“Do you understand why you have been brought here?”

“Because my father voted against me.”

Her eyes narrowed. “Your father's vote is not the reason for this ritual. The council has determined that your presence poses a risk to the clan.”

“That's a nicer way of saying they want me gone.”

She ignored the remark and continued “The Rite of Severance will examine your bloodline and determine whether you possess an awakening worth preserving. If your blood remains dormant, the ritual will cut your claim to the clan's inheritance and protection.”

“And if something awakens?”

“Then the elders will decide what happens next.”

I looked at the pillars. Something about the symbols bothered me. I couldn't explain it, but the markings seemed familiar in a way I couldn't place.

The woman noticed where I was looking then she finally warned “Do not touch the pillars.”

“I wasn't planning to.”

“Good.”

She turned toward the entrance and said “Bring the elders.”

A few minutes later, the chamber began filling up with people. My father entered first, followed by Elder Rovan and the others. Sylene came in behind them, with Nyra close at her side but Renn wasn't there. I tried not to let that bother me.

Sylene looked at the platform and then at me. “It's almost over,” she said.

I didn't answer, the elderly woman moved to the first pillar.

“Before we begin, the accused must understand that the Rite cannot be interrupted once the first seal is activated.”

I looked at her. “What happens if it goes wrong?”

“It will not.”

“That wasn't my question.”

Her mouth tightened before Elder Rovan stepped forward and nod “Proceed.”

The woman raised her hands as the markings on the five pillars began to glow.

A low vibration travelled through the chamber. I felt it beneath my feet, then in my legs, and finally in my chest. The circular pattern beneath the platform lit up one section at a time.

“Stand still,” the woman instructed.

I spread my fingers then the first symbol flashed…Pain struck the centre of my chest.

I sucked in a breath. It felt as though someone had pushed a burning iron rod through my ribs. My knees weakened, but I forced myself to remain upright.

“First seal activated,” the woman announced.

The light around the platform intensified as I looked down at it Thin silver lines had appeared beneath my skin, running from my wrists toward my elbows.

“What is that?” I asked.

“Remain still.”

The second seal activated. This time, the pain spread through my shoulders and down my spine. My teeth clenched as something inside me seemed to pull in opposite directions then I heard a faint crack.

One of the pillars had developed a thin line along its surface as the elderly woman glanced at it.

“Continue.”

The third seal activated and I couldn't hold back a cry.

The chamber blurred. The elders became distant shapes, their voices mixing with the strange vibration beneath the floor.

Something was moving inside me but it was not my blood. Something deeper. I could feel it pressing against the ritual, refusing to settle into the shape they wanted.

“His blood is resisting,” one elder said.

“That is impossible,” another replied.

My father stepped closer. “What is happening?”

The woman looked at the markings before turning to my father “The ritual is encountering an irregular response.”

“Then stop it,” Sylene said.

I wanted to tell her that stopping it would be a wonderful idea. Unfortunately, I couldn't get enough air into my lungs to speak.

The fourth seal activated as the entire platform shook.

A burst of heat rushed through my body, followed by a strange coldness that made my fingers numb. The silver lines beneath my skin turned brighter. The elderly woman stumbled backwards..“Something is wrong.” she murmured

Elder Rovan grabbed the edge of the nearest pillar. “Complete the ritual!”

“I'm trying!”

The fifth seal began to glow…I felt something inside me break open.

A force rushed through my chest, spreading into my arms, my legs and my head. The air around me became unbearably heavy.

The pillars flashed one after another, then the first one cracked. A sharp sound echoed through the chamber and the second pillar followed.

Someone shouted for the guards to move back. I couldn't see clearly anymore. My body felt as though it was being torn apart from the inside, and I had no idea how to stop it.

“Zephyr!” my father shouted.

I looked toward him for a brief second, our eyes met, then the platform erupted.

A wave of energy burst outward, throwing the nearest guards against the walls. The elders stumbled, and Nyra screamed as Sylene pulled her behind one of the pillars.

I dropped to my knees. My hands struck the stone and the floor beneath me glowed.

Five different markings appeared around my body. One burned silver. Another deep red. A third shone blue. The fourth was green. The fifth was gold.

The colours rose from the floor like flames, twisting around my arms and shoulders before disappearing beneath my skin.

I couldn't breathe. I couldn't think…I could only feel them.

Five separate forces, each moving differently, each refusing to remain quiet. Something flickered above my head. A familiar translucent screen appeared.

[God System]

I stared at it through the pain.

[Bloodline examination complete.]

[Five latent bloodlines detected.]

[Awakening status: Unstable.]

I blinked at the screen…Five?

The screen shifted again and a new notification popped up [Godspark: 15 → 50]

My fingers dug into the stone in shock…Fifty?

The number pulsed once before another message appeared. [Warning: Multiple bloodline resonance detected.]

[Warning: Control insufficient.]

[Warning: The clans are watching.]

The last message remained suspended above me. I barely had time to understand it before another surge passed through my body.

Then the chamber went silent…all at once the vibration stopped. The pillars dimmed, and the pressure that had filled the room disappeared as I collapsed onto my side.

For several seconds, I couldn't move, then I heard someone whisper. “Five.”

I forced my eyes open. Elder Rovan was staring at the markings beneath the platform.

“What did you say?” my father demanded.

The elder didn't look at him. “Five bloodlines.”

The elderly woman approached the platform cautiously. She examined the five symbols, her face growing paler with every passing second.

“No,” she whispered.

Sylene stepped forward. “What is it?”

The woman looked up.

“Every one of the five ancient bloodlines responded.”

A heavy silence followed as I tried to push myself up, but my arms trembled beneath my weight.

“What does that mean?” I asked.

Nobody answered then I looked at my father.

His expression had changed. The cold certainty I had seen earlier was gone, replaced by something I couldn't identify. Fear, perhaps. Or disbelief.

Elder Rovan finally found his voice. “This cannot be possible. No single person has carried all five bloodlines since the old records were written.”

“But the marks are there,” the woman replied.

“Could the ritual have produced a false reading?”

She shook her head. “The pillars responded independently. There is no false reading.”

Sylene moved closer to the platform. Her gaze travelled over the five markings before settling on me.

Then she spoke. “The prophecy.”

Elder Rovan turned sharply. “Be careful.”

“No. Everyone here knows what the old prophecy says.”

Her voice grew louder as she looked at me “The five-blooded one will rise beneath the signs of five ancient houses. Their awakening will shake the clans, and their power will bring a reckoning no bloodline can escape.”

I stared at her. I had never heard those words before but Sylene continued. “But the prophecy does not end there.”

The elderly woman lowered her eyes. “Sylene,” my father warned.

She ignored him and continued anyway “The five-blooded one must die young. If allowed to grow into their full power, the five houses will fall.”

The words settled over the chamber and I looked around, but nobody laughed and nobody dismissed her either…

Even the elders seemed uncomfortable. I pushed myself onto one elbow. “That's convenient.”

Sylene's eyes snapped toward me. “What?”

“You accuse me of being a threat, and now you've found a prophecy that says I should die.”

“You don't understand what you've awakened.”

“Neither do you.”

Her expression hardened. “You think this is a joke?”

“No. I think everyone in this room has suddenly become interested in my death.”

Elder Rovan raised his staff. “Silence!”

I looked at him, then he turned toward my father.

“Draven, we must act before this becomes known beyond our walls.”

My father didn't respond immediately. The elderly woman stepped away from the platform.

“The Rite was intended to sever his dormant bloodline connection. Instead, it awakened all five. I have never witnessed anything like this.”

“Can the process be reversed?” one elder asked.

She shook her head. “Not without killing him.”

A strange stillness came over the chamber then I looked down at my hands.

The silver lines were fading, but I could still feel something moving beneath my skin. A faint warmth gathered in my palm, and the stone beneath my fingers began to tremble.

I quickly pulled my hand away. Whatever had happened, I had no control over it. And if they noticed, they would have another reason to fear me.

“Get him off the platform,” my father ordered.

Two guards approached and I tried to stand, but my legs nearly gave way. One of them caught my arm. “Careful,” he muttered.

I didn't bother to thank him as they helped me down, I looked toward Sylene and sure enough she was still watching me.

There was something strange in her expression now. It wasn't the satisfaction of someone who had finally won an argument. It was closer to panic. Perhaps she had expected the ritual to leave me powerless or maybe she had never imagined what would happen if it failed.

“Father,” she said, turning toward Draven. “We cannot allow him to remain here.”

He looked at her in disbelief “The council will discuss it.”

“There's nothing to discuss. The prophecy is clear.”

“Enough.”

“But—”

“I said enough.”

Sylene closed her mouth, though her eyes remained fixed on me. Elder Rovan moved closer to my father.

“If the other clans learn that a five-blooded has awakened within Veyne territory, they will demand answers. Some may even come looking for him.”

My father glanced at me. “Then they will receive none.”

The elder frowned. “You cannot keep this secret forever.”

“I don't intend to.”

I wasn't sure what he meant, but the way he said it made my stomach tighten. The guards began leading me toward the exit. Behind us, the elders continued arguing. I heard fragments of their conversation, words about the prophecy, the five houses and the danger of allowing me to live.

I had entered that chamber expecting to lose everything. Instead, I had become something they didn't understand, and somehow, that seemed worse. Just before we reached the door, the system appeared again.

[God System]

[Five bloodlines awakened.]

[Current Godspark: 50]

[Warning: Awakening instability remains.]

I stared at the final line, then another message appeared. [Your survival has altered the balance.]

I swallowed hard before responding quietly “What balance?” I whispered.

The guard beside me glanced down at me “Did you say something?”

“No.” I replied then I looked back at the chamber.

My father was still standing beside the platform. His eyes met mine, and neither of us looked away.

He had voted to sever me from the clan.

Now he was looking at me as though he had discovered something far more dangerous than the son he wanted to get rid of and I had a feeling the Rite of Severance was only the beginning