They hid in the bones of a long-dead temple—once sacred to a forgotten wind god, now hollow and devoured by moss.
Elyra lay wrapped in Kael's cloak, her skin pale, burning with silver-blue veins—prophetic corruption. Not a wound. Not a poison. A splintering of timelines. Her memories were syncing faster than her body could hold.
She was remembering too much of Kael's past—and it was killing her.
Kael knelt beside her, helpless.
His hands, once powerful enough to end pantheons, now trembled over her forehead.
⚠️ SYSTEM WARNING:
Prophet-Class Anchor: ElyraMemory Stability: 18%Soul Thread Degeneration: Accelerating
Cause: Overlap of conflicting divine events
Suggested Action: Sever Memory Link or locate Anchor Heirloom for recalibration
Current Known Heirloom: The Crown of the Forsaken Star – Location: [UNKNOWN]
Kael swallowed the scream rising in his throat.
He couldn't lose her.
Not her.
💭 Memories That Aren't His
Elyra stirred, whispering in broken tongues. She was sleep-talking in three voices—the past, the present, and one he didn't recognize.
One moment she called him Kael, another "My king," and once—just once—"Slayer of the Sun Choir."
Each word cracked through his chest like a whip.
She was remembering the first war. The first fall. The day Kael—when he was still a god—turned against the celestial choir that had raised him.
And when he turned, he didn't just betray them.
He consumed them.
💀 Flashback Fragment Accessed:
"You wept as you devoured them, Kael. But you did it anyway. Because they would've taken her."
🩸 Blood on the Stone
A sound.
Soft.
Footsteps.
Kael looked up just in time to meet the gaze of a figure cloaked in voidsteel, face masked, eyes glowing violet.
The figure bowed, then drew a gleaming staff tipped with a divine scale.
"I am Iraeth, Arbiter of the Chain Council," the figure intoned. "By decree of the Eternal Tribunal, you—Kael, God-Eater—are to be detained or destroyed."
Kael stood, placing Elyra gently behind a crumbling altar.
"She'll die if you touch her," he said softly.
"I know," Iraeth replied. "She was never meant to survive your return. She is… a deviation."
Kael's hands lit with lightning and sorrow.
Then he moved.
⚔️ Arbiter vs Forsaken God
Iraeth fought with terrifying precision. Every strike of his staff carried divine judgment—compressing Kael's field of motion, binding parts of his power temporarily.
But Kael had been reforged.
Each hit he took, he converted—letting regret fuel him, letting sorrow shape his strikes.
⚡ Passive Triggered: Lightning of Regret– Emotional link to Elyra has heightened response– Pain shared = Power gained
Kael turned a binding glyph into a blade. Turned Iraeth's memory-attack into a mirror.
"You judge me for becoming a monster," Kael said, ducking under a strike. "But I was made to be one."
"And still you loved her," Iraeth replied.
That one sentence stunned Kael.
Long enough for Iraeth to pierce his side.
🩶 A Price Paid in Silence
Kael collapsed, coughing blood.
Elyra stirred behind him, whispering again. This time her words made no sense—but the tone struck Kael like a bell: it was not her voice anymore.
A third presence had taken root in her. Something ancient, something divine, awakened by contact with Kael's buried soul.
⚠️ SOUL RESONANCE DETECTED
Name: [UNKNOWN ENTITY]Class: Godbound FragmentOrigin: Bound to Kael's First Life
Status: Dormant… Awakening
Kael realized then—
Elyra was not just his anchor.
She was becoming a vessel for a lost piece of his divine soul.
And if the council learned that, they wouldn't try to kill her.
They'd use her.
🌑 The Arbiter's Decision
Iraeth stood over him.
"I should end this now. Before you burn more holes through existence."
Kael looked up, breathing hard. "Then do it."
A long silence.
Then Iraeth lowered his staff.
"…Not yet," the arbiter said. "You're incomplete. You're dangerous. But something… is changing. I will report that you escaped."
Kael narrowed his eyes.
"Why?"
The masked figure's voice cracked just slightly. "Because long ago, before you fell, you were my brother."
Then he vanished.
🩸 Back to the Fire
Kael dragged himself to Elyra, who now glowed faintly under her skin—her pulse syncing with some unseen star.
He pressed his forehead to hers.
"I don't know what you're becoming," he whispered. "But I'll burn the sky before I let them take you."
✅ CHAPTER SUMMARY
– Elyra's condition worsens as she absorbs divine memories– Kael faces Iraeth, a former ally turned executioner– A godbound soul fragment awakens in Elyra– Kael discovers that the council plans more than just his death
⚠️ End of Chapter 7