The tribunal was broken.
But the battle was only beginning.
As Maximilian lay recovering, his soul bound in starlight and defiance, the world outside moved—like a great beast stirred from slumber. The Divine Universities scrambled. The Seven Thrones were silent. And in that silence... war was brewing.
But before armies could clash and divine hunters be unleashed, Maximilian needed one thing:
A weapon worthy of the war ahead.
I. Aftermath and Recovery
The infirmary beneath Flammensang was little more than a cathedral of pain. Runes of preservation shimmered faintly across walls made of scorched stone. Maximilian floated in a suspended healing ward, watched over by Maelis and Alwin in shifts, while Lirael stood at the gates — refusing to sleep.
Each of them had changed.
➤ Lirael's aura now bore faint crystalline fractures — signs of a secret gift she'd unlocked in Maximilian's absence.➤ Alwin had begun forging mental barriers, his aura sharp, analytic, like a blade learning its edge.➤ Maelis, however, had started glowing faintly with lunar glyphs. She had touched something in the old ruins during the tribunal clash… something from her bloodline. Something ancient.
But none had changed as deeply as Maximilian.
When he finally awoke, his first words were not of fear — but of purpose.
"The next time they come for me," he rasped, "I'll greet them in armor made of stars."
II. Lore Drop: Cosmic Forging and the Aegis Vault
Lirael guided him beneath the university into a location few even knew existed — the Aegis Vault.
Built by the founder of the Universität der Ewigen Flamme, it was said to contain proto-weapons forged before the System even settled on rules.
"Only Starborne or chosen may enter," she whispered. "This place... was meant for you."
Inside, Maximilian witnessed wonders beyond comprehension:
➤ Spears of frozen gravity.➤ Shields made from compressed soullight.➤ Blueprints for relics that whispered madness to unworthy minds.
At the heart of it all pulsed a forge — The Helios Crucible.
A semi-sentient artifact bound to the last dying sun of a collapsed realm. Only those who could wield stellar essence without being annihilated could awaken it.
Maximilian stepped forward.
The Crucible responded.
It ignited.
III. Trial of the Aegis
The forge was not simply a tool — it was a test.
To create the Stellarbound Aegis, Maximilian had to feed it not just material — but memory, pain, and truth.
The Crucible pulled him into a soul-tempered vision:
He stood again in the orphanage, watching as the fire consumed everything.
He heard his mother's scream — not biological, but the soul-woman who'd raised him.
He relived every moment of powerlessness, every humiliation, every time he'd knelt to fate.
And then he stood — and chose to forgive none of it.
He didn't seek peace.
He sought purpose.
And the forge responded with fire.
IV. The Birth of the Aegis
The Stellarbound Aegis was not a shield in the classic sense.
It was a dimensional counter-force generator. A weaponized barrier forged from the idea of refusal.The refusal to kneel. The refusal to die. The refusal to be bound by the Divine.
It hovered behind him like a living constellation, its edge tracing shifting runes that could split space.
It wasn't just defense.
It was judgment.
📜 Item Profile: Stellarbound Aegis
Type: Cosmic-Class Relic (Myth-Rank – Soul-Bound)
Forged by: Helios Crucible, under Soulfire Trial
Current Bearer: Maximilian Kriegswald
Core Abilities:
✹ Aegis Veil – Automatically blocks one divine-level attack every 24 hours.
✹ Starlit Reversal – Converts an intercepted spell or attack into cosmic backlash.
✹ Dimensional Anchor – Temporarily anchors user's existence in space-time, making banishment impossible.
Passive Effects:
Emits a faint stellar gravity field.
Causes unevolved divine entities to become uneasy or hostile.
Syncs with Starfire Remnant — amplifying both aura and defense when together.
Drawback:
Incompatible with most known system artifacts. Overwrites lesser enchantments.
Emits detectable stellar signals across dimensional boundaries.
V. The Divine Hunter Arrives
Far across the shattered remains of the Tribunal's echo, a gate of black opal burst open.
A figure stepped out.
Tall. Wrapped in void-bandages. A face made of masks — thousands, rotating constantly.
This was the First Divine Hunter, created by the Thrones to exterminate Starbearers in the Old Age.
It whispered as it walked, collecting the memories of everything it passed.
And it had only one target: Maximilian.
VI. Final Choice: Stay or Escape
As the university trembled under the growing pressure of the approaching hunter, councils met in secret.
Some wanted to protect Maximilian.Others whispered of offering him up.Still others sought only to use him.
It was Lirael who broke the silence, sword drawn:
"He stays. If any of you move against him — you answer to me."
But Maximilian — staring into the stars above — had another idea.
"No. I won't bring ruin to this place."
He turned.
His cloak of burning stardust wrapped around him like the shroud of a fallen god.
"I'll meet the hunter on my terms."
VII. The Departure
Maximilian left that night with nothing but the Aegis, a hidden map etched into starlight, and a kiss from Maelis he hadn't expected — soft, silent, and trembling with unspoken fears.
"Come back," she said, "with the sky still in your eyes."
He didn't promise.
Because he couldn't.
End of Chapter 38: Stellarbound Aegis