Night fell hard and silent. The fires in the village had burned out, leaving only the faint blue glow of the Aethern Fragment pulsing through Troady's chest. The world around him slept uneasily—half afraid of him, half grateful.
Troady sat on the cliff's edge overlooking the ruined valley, his reflection shimmering in the crystal light. His mind raced.
He had died once, defied a god, shattered fate, and survived the impossible. Yet now, for the first time, he wasn't asking "Why me?" but "What now?"
Lira approached, her boots crunching softly against the ash. She sat beside him, tossing him a piece of stale bread. "Eat. You'll need strength."
He chuckled weakly. "For what? Another apocalypse before breakfast?"
"Something like that," she said, looking up at the fractured moon. "The Nullspawn you fought were scouts. A breach is forming in the Veil. The real storm's coming."
Troady frowned. "The Veil?"
Lira traced a rune in the air — a glowing circle that shimmered, showing glimpses of swirling light and shadow. "The boundary that separates worlds. Every time a Fragment awakens… the Veil weakens."
"So my curse is tearing the universe open?"
"Pretty much," she said bluntly. "But that's not the worst part."
She looked at him — eyes full of something between fear and respect. "The Divine Council isn't protecting the realms anymore, Troady. They're hunting the vessels. One by one."
The wind howled through the valley as the truth sank in.
---
A sudden tremor shook the ground. The cliff beneath them cracked open, and from the darkness below, a golden light erupted — not pure, but violent.
Lira's eyes widened. "No… not here. Not this soon."
Troady staggered to his feet, clutching his chest. The shard inside him burned like wildfire.
"What's happening!?"
"The Veil's collapsing!" she shouted. "It's responding to you!"
Above them, the sky itself began to split — cracks of light tearing across the stars like shattered glass. From within the fissure, something enormous stirred — a celestial figure cloaked in broken divinity.
Its voice thundered through the heavens:
> "TROADY OF THE LOST REALM — RETURN THE FRAGMENT. YOU WERE NEVER MEANT TO EXIST."
The pressure crushed him to his knees. His lungs screamed. The shard inside him pulsed violently, syncing with the voice as if recognizing its master.
Lira grabbed his arm. "Troady, you can't fight that thing!"
He looked at her, defiance burning behind his pain. "Then I'll stop running."
He slammed his hand against the ground. The Fragment erupted—reality spiraling, light and darkness colliding in a storm of raw chaos. The divine figure recoiled as its own power twisted back toward it.
"Every god who tried to use me…" Troady growled through gritted teeth, "ended up cursed. You'll be no different."
A burst of fractured energy exploded skyward, severing the link between the realms. The golden light shattered like glass, the heavens dimming back into silence.
When the dust settled, the cliff was gone. The valley, scorched. The stars… still fractured.
Troady collapsed to the ground, panting. The shard's glow was dim — but alive.
Lira knelt beside him, eyes wide. "You just fought a celestial and lived."
He smiled faintly. "Guess luck's on my side… for once."
---
As dawn broke, the first light hit the ruined horizon. Troady rose, still aching but standing taller than before.
Lira looked at him. "Where do we go now?"
Troady glanced toward the horizon — where faint pillars of light marked other realms beyond the Veil.
"To find the others," he said. "If there are more vessels, they deserve to know the truth."
Lira nodded, tightening her cloak. "Then let's walk the cursed road together."
He grinned. "Hope you're ready to trip over fate itself."
And as the two stepped into the unknown, the Fragment pulsed once more — this time not with chaos, but purpose.
Far above, in the broken heavens, unseen watchers whispered:
> "The Vessel has chosen rebellion.
The Age of Balance… has ended."
—End of Chapter 2—
Notice:-
Ohayo fellas we are so class to 5k viewers!!!!!
So I have decided to drop Chapter 3 along with chapter 2 So hope you enjoy it ,Pls keep supporting like you always did :p)
Written by:-Punit Israni
Enhanced by:-Chatgptt