The sky remained fractured.
Golden light poured through the cracks, spilling over the broken ruins like the gaze of an angry god. Kael didn't flinch. He stared back at the heavens, two swords dripping black and divine blood.
Lilith stood beside him, breathing heavily. "He's watching, isn't he?"
"Yes," Kael answered.
Aureon's gaze pressed down from the sky—not warmth, but suffocating brilliance. The weight of law, the judgment of creation, the hypocrisy of a god too proud to see his own rot.
From within the cracks, golden chains slithered through the sky like serpents.
"Divine intervention," Lilith whispered.
"No," Kael said. "Divine control."
---
Null stirred beside them, her eyes fluttering open. For a moment, there was fear in her expression. Then recognition. Then fury.
"He sent the Chains of Edict," she said.
Lilith took a cautious step back. "Those only appear during trials of heresy."
Kael's lips curled into a bitter smile. "Then I suppose my existence is heresy enough."
The chains descended with blinding speed.
Kael didn't run.
He raised both blades and met the first impact with a thunderous clash. Sparks burst through the air as time itself bent from the pressure.
The second chain wrapped around his leg.
Lilith moved to cut it—Kael stopped her.
"Don't interfere. He's testing me."
---
Aureon's voice echoed from the skies—not in words, but in thought. Every tree, every stone, every breath whispered his decree:
"You are out of place."
"Return to the Void."
"Kneel, and I shall forgive."
Kael stood taller.
"I am the Void," he said aloud. "And I kneel to nothing."
The third chain fell. This one struck Null—its barbs sinking into her essence. She screamed, her form destabilizing, flickering like a dying star.
Kael's eyes widened.
He moved.
In an instant, he severed the chain.
Null fell into his arms, shivering. "He's trying to erase me again."
Kael lowered her gently, then turned his gaze skyward. "No more erasures."
---
The fourth chain was different. It was not gold—but white. Radiant, flawless. It shimmered with the will of law itself.
Lilith recognized it. "That's no punishment. That's execution."
Kael stepped forward.
The white chain screamed as it descended, tearing through clouds, through time.
Kael didn't raise his blades this time.
He raised his hand.
Black flames erupted from his palm, forming a sigil. The Seal of Endings—an ancient mark only the gods of finality could wield.
The chain met the seal.
And shattered.
The sky screamed.
---
Above, Aureon finally moved.
From the heavens, a figure descended—wingless, flawless, and surrounded by ten halos of celestial light.
He walked, not flew, across the broken air.
Lilith fell to her knees from the pressure.
Even Null turned her face away.
But Kael stood still.
The being before them was not Aureon, but a fragment—a projection.
Still, the presence was unbearable.
His voice was like a choir of a thousand truths. "You who bear the name Kael… you who rose from the Void. You who broke the cycle. What are you?"
Kael's voice was quiet. "Your mistake."
---
The projection blinked once. "Then you are to be corrected."
Kael raised both blades.
"No," he said. "I'm to be remembered."
And he charged.
The battle lasted only three seconds.
One clash—divine will against death's judgment.
The projection crumbled like ash.
But as it vanished, it smiled. "Then let the first sin awaken."
Kael froze.
"What—?"
Behind him, the ruins shook.
The sky darkened.
A figure rose—not from the heavens, but from the earth.
A man.
No.
A child.
Eyes black as obsidian. Hair white as snow. A crown of void above his head.
Lilith gasped. "That's…"
Null whispered, "Your first creation."
---
Kael's hands trembled.
"I destroyed him…"
The child opened his mouth.
And spoke with Kael's own voice:
"Father."
The child took a step forward.
His small bare feet left no imprint on the cracked stone. His eyes—two endless abysses—held no innocence. Only the cold, consuming void that Kael knew too well.
Lilith backed away, a flicker of terror breaking through her usual calm. "Kael… that child. He's not human, is he?"
"No," Kael murmured. "He's something far worse. He's what I tried to erase."
Null looked shaken. "You created him?"
Kael didn't answer.
The child smiled.
"I've been waiting for you, Father."
His voice was calm, melodic, yet hollow—like a bell tolling at a funeral.
Kael finally found words. "You weren't supposed to exist."
The child tilted his head. "And yet I do. That makes me stronger than your will."
---
A tremor ran through the earth. From the child's feet, dark veins of energy spread out, crawling across the stone like roots of decay. Life withered instantly.
Lilith drew her sword, but Kael raised his hand.
"Don't attack him."
"But—"
"He's not a threat we can face by instinct. He's… something else."
The child blinked slowly. "You forgot my name, didn't you?"
Kael stayed silent.
The boy continued, stepping closer. "You forged me in wrath, birthed me in despair. I am your vengeance unbound. Your hatred given form. I am the first sin of Death itself."
Kael's jaw clenched. "I know what you are."
---
The wind stopped.
Not calmed—stopped. The world held its breath.
The child raised a single finger and pointed at Kael.
"You killed me once. Do you remember how I screamed? How I begged?"
Kael's face remained stone. "You begged for the end. And I gave it."
"But I didn't die, did I?" the boy said, grinning now. "I hid in the cracks of your soul. Grew in the corners of your guilt."
Null stepped between them, her light flickering. "You don't belong here."
The boy's smile faded. "And you do? You're just a stolen wisp. A thing he couldn't save, so he caged instead."
Null trembled.
---
Kael stepped forward, standing between Null and the child.
"I created you at the end of the Age of Silence. I was grieving, broken. I thought you could bear my pain."
The boy laughed. "And when I bore it too well, you destroyed me. How poetic."
Kael's grip on his swords tightened.
The child pointed behind Kael. "Tell me—will you destroy them too? When they disobey?"
A pulse of black energy spread from the boy's chest, and suddenly Lilith gasped, clutching her side. Wounds appeared across her skin as if cut by invisible blades.
Kael turned instantly. "Stop."
"I'm only showing you your truth," the boy said softly.
---
Kael slashed the air.
A ripple tore through the space between them, a wave of pure death-force arcing toward the child.
It hit.
The world blinked.
And the boy stood unharmed.
"You taught me everything," he said, eyes glowing. "Why would that hurt me?"
Kael's breathing slowed.
"I taught you wrong," he said.
"No," the child whispered. "You taught me the truth. And now I'll show you what comes next."
---
Suddenly, a second sun rose in the sky—but it wasn't light.
It was darkness made visible. A pulsing black orb hovered above the ruins, bleeding stars from its core.
Lilith collapsed to one knee. "What… is that?"
Kael's voice was a whisper. "His soul core. He's manifesting it fully."
The child raised both hands. "You denied me life. I will deny you existence."
The orb grew, swallowing light, color, sound.
Even Null began to fade at its edge.
Kael stepped forward, cloak flaring.
His voice echoed, not from his throat, but from the earth itself.
"You are still bound to me."
---
Chains erupted from the shadows behind Kael—twelve black cords tipped with silver runes. They shot toward the boy, wrapping around his arms, legs, and neck.
The boy didn't resist.
Instead, he grinned. "Now you remember."
"I never forgot," Kael said. "I just hoped you'd never return."
The boy chuckled. "Hope is such a fragile thing."
With a twist of his body, one of the chains snapped.
Kael's eyes widened.
"That… shouldn't be possible."
The child stepped forward, dragging the rest of the chains behind him like a tattered cloak.
"I've grown, Father. The prison no longer holds."
---
Suddenly, Null cried out.
Dark tendrils from the orb had reached her, pulling at her essence.
Kael moved instantly, severing them.
But it was too late.
The child waved his hand.
And Null collapsed—her form flickering like dying fire.
Kael rushed to her.
She looked up, weakly.
"He… touched the memory core…"
"What did he see?" Kael asked.
Null's eyes trembled.
"Everything."
---
The child raised his arms, the orb behind him throbbing with power.
"Shall I show her what you really are?"
Kael stood up slowly, rage cold and sharp.
"No."
He pointed one sword at the boy, and the other at the orb.
"Because I'll erase you again."
The child didn't flinch.
Instead, he whispered:
"Then die with me."
The orb exploded in silence.
Silence reigned.
The world had no sound, no light, no breath. Only a crushing void—dense and consuming.
Then—movement.
Kael opened his eyes.
The air was thick with ash. The sky, if it could be called that, was a swirling canvas of black and crimson. No stars. No horizon.
Just him.
And the boy.
Kael knelt, wounded—his cloak torn, blood trailing down his cheek in threads of silver and shadow. His swords lay at his sides, dimmed.
Across from him, the boy stood in a crater of annihilation.
Half his face was gone—revealing bone and something deeper. Not flesh. Not spirit.
Void.
---
"I'm impressed," the boy said, smiling through cracked teeth. "You survived the Devouring Core. I thought it would end you."
Kael didn't reply.
He stood slowly, every muscle screaming. His body, forged in divine flame, was damaged. That wasn't supposed to happen.
The boy tilted his head. "Tell me, Father… why do you look so tired?"
Kael finally spoke, voice low. "Because I buried you once. I know what it cost."
The boy chuckled. "And yet here we are. You should've buried the guilt instead."
A flash of memory tore through Kael's mind.
A temple.
A weeping child.
A name.
Erevan.
---
The name burned like a curse.
"Erevan…" Kael whispered.
The boy smiled wider. "Ah, you remember now. My true name."
He stepped forward, and with every footfall, the ground cracked.
"You named me in secret. Raised me in silence. But when I grew too strong—too real—you destroyed me."
Kael's hand tightened on his sword. "You weren't just strong. You were unstable. Your existence twisted the fabric of death."
"You mean I made it real," Erevan snapped. "I made death permanent."
Kael's silence was answer enough.
Erevan's gaze turned bitter. "You feared me."
"I feared what I'd become through you."
---
The void around them trembled. Shadows formed shapes—faces of gods, monsters, and forgotten souls. They watched.
They waited.
Erevan spread his arms. "So what now? Will you try to kill me again? Cage me? Or finally face what you created?"
Kael didn't move.
He asked instead, "Where are the others? Lilith. Null."
Erevan's smile faded. "You're always looking outward. Never inward."
Kael stepped forward. "Answer me."
"They're not dead," Erevan said. "But neither are they untouched. You'll see them soon enough… changed."
Kael's voice sharpened. "What did you do?"
Erevan's eyes flared. "I showed them who you are."
---
A ripple of power surged.
Suddenly, the ash cleared—revealing a shattered plain of bone and crystal. In the center: a black mirror.
Kael saw his reflection.
Not himself.
But something else.
A cloaked being with no face. Eyes glowing red. Chains hanging from skeletal hands. A god without mercy.
"Is that what you see?" Kael asked quietly.
"It's what they will," Erevan replied.
The mirror pulsed—and Kael staggered back.
From it, Lilith emerged.
But her body was covered in armor of cracked obsidian, her eyes empty.
Behind her, Null followed—her light dimmed, her voice gone.
They were shadows of themselves.
---
Kael moved, but stopped.
They didn't attack.
They simply stared.
Lilith spoke first. "He showed us the truth."
Null added softly, "You made him. You buried him. And you lied."
Kael's throat tightened. "He's manipulating you."
"Is he?" Lilith asked. "Or are you?"
Kael's grip on his sword loosened. "You know who I am."
"That's what we're afraid of," Null whispered.
Behind them, Erevan clapped slowly.
"Beautiful, isn't it? The betrayal of trust. It carves deeper than any blade."
Kael looked at the girls. "I never meant to—"
"Doesn't matter," Lilith said. "You did."
---
Erevan stepped beside the mirror.
"You can't run anymore, Father. The world must see what you tried to bury."
The mirror rippled again—this time showing realms.
The mortal world.
The divine cities.
The Hall of Creation.
Every eye turned toward the black mirror.
Toward Kael.
"Let them watch," Erevan whispered.
Kael's heart thundered. "You'll start another divine war."
"I'll end one," Erevan said. "The war you began when you killed me."
A thousand voices echoed from the mirror. Accusations. Screams. Pleas.
And one voice rose above all—
"The God of Death must fall."
---
Lilith stepped forward.
Null too.
Their blades unsheathed.
Kael stood alone.
He didn't raise his sword.
He just looked at Erevan.
"Is this what you want?" he asked. "To destroy me in front of them all?"
Erevan's voice was soft. "No."
Kael blinked.
"I want you to admit it," Erevan said. "Say it."
Kael closed his eyes.
And whispered:
"I was afraid of you."
The void trembled.
Erevan stepped back.
Kael continued. "You were never broken. I was. I made you that way."
The mirror cracked.
---
A silence fell.
Then—
Lilith lowered her sword.
Null collapsed to her knees.
The shadows watching through the mirror grew still.
Kael looked at Erevan. "But I'm not afraid anymore."
Erevan's eyes widened.
Kael took a step forward.
"You want me to fall. But this time, I'll rise. Not as Death. Not as a god."
He drew his sword.
"But as your father."
Erevan's face twisted.
The mirror shattered.
Light burst forth.
And a voice—ancient, divine—echoed from beyond:
"Judgment begins."