"Before we were gods, we were brothers in swords. Before protecting a destiny... we lived our own."
Arrival at the Village of Miriandur <<
After a few hours of descending through the High Heavens, the group reached the limits of the Lesser Heavens, where magic played a more important role, and life made its way amidst dust, wood, and effort.
The village of Miriandur greeted them with the singing of humble bells and the aroma of freshly baked bread. The roofs were covered with luminous moss, and children played with low-level magical illusions, laughing among the stone alleys.
Zodiark, still sleepy, was carried on Alexander's shoulders to an old but charming inn: "The Morning Star." There, an elderly woman, rustic in appearance and bright-eyed, recognized them instantly.
"Zeus, Yatma... And that giant walking iron cube!" she laughed.
"Neriel!" "Zeus exclaimed, opening his arms to her. "Haven't you retired from innkeeping yet, sweetheart?"
"And you haven't retired from being annoying yet!" she replied, hugging him.
Zodiark was left to rest in the room most protected by calming spells, while the three mentors departed for the old Guild of the First Echoes near the inn.
> The Guild of the First Echoes<<
The guild was a majestic building covered in crystalline roots and ancient banners, with a stained-glass window at the entrance depicting six heroes holding the balance of the world. Three of them were easily recognizable: Alexander, Yatma, and Zeus. But two others… hadn't been seen for a while.
At the entrance, a demon angel, a red-eyed samurai with a black katana, waited, sitting with a fishing rod in an empty bucket.
"It's about time..." he muttered in a raspy voice. "I almost became a monk waiting."
"Rykamaru!" Zeus shouted. "You keep fishing in empty buckets, you crazy angel!"
"And you keep shouting like you own the sky!" he replied, standing up. His movements were feline, and his samurai armor still bore the blood of old enemies.
Suddenly, the guild doors opened by themselves, in a burst of golden light.
"I thought you'd never return," said a melodious, firm, and utterly unforgettable voice.
There she was: Seraphiel, his former companion and captain of his old group. Her presence still dominated the room like an eclipse. Her sacred sword hung on her back, and her blond hair flowed like fire in the sun. Her blue eyes, wiser than ever, rested on her former companions.
"What do the gods do on this plane of simplicity?"
"We bring forth a child... who will be more than a god," Yatma said firmly.
Seraphiel lowered her gaze.
"Zodiark...?"
>Flashback – "Before Divinity"<<
Memories of "Zeus"
Before temples, there were taverns. Before the divine brilliance, our boots treaded on mud and bones. We were a team. "We were the Heroes of the Power of the Heavens."
Memories of "Alexander"
"I wasn't always like this. I was a soul trapped in an ancient war artifact. Seraphiel gave me a purpose… and a promise of redemption."
Centuries ago, a young Zeus, a life-destroying Alexander, a youthful Yatma, a samurai (angel demon) named Rykamaru, and the brave Seraphiel formed an elite company. Their mission: to bridge the gaps between heaven and hell, confront cosmic horrors, and some evil deities.
At a key moment in their adventures, they faced various void beasts and beings no being could imagine. They saw pain, death, and blood, sweat, and tears, fighting mercilessly to protect the weakest in the cosmos.
They also lived through wars and saw planets destroyed without mercy. Those worlds where the weakest mortal beings fought to be the strongest or richest. Sadly, they were merely pieces on the board of the divine supreme gods and the dark supreme gods. Things we are too.
In the end, everyone has a destiny, a cycle to end and be reincarnated.
The only truth is hope, which is the only thing that should never be lost.
Flashback – "The Fallen Angel"<<
The ground was a hellish crater tinged red and black. Dark flames licked the air, and rivers of trapped souls flowed between cracks that spewed the whispers of the damned. There, five celestial figures descended from a portal ripped in the sky:
"Looks like we're late to the party..." Zeus muttered, adjusting his lightning-sparking gloves. "And there's not even a single goddess dancing..."
"Your sense of humor will be the first thing this hell melts," Alexander growled, his great armor vibrating as he drew his colossal sword.
"Silence!" Seraphiel ordered, his voice pure edge. "Arzelion already senses our presence. Let's not give him any more advantage."
Yatma closed her eyes and raised a golden protective field that covered the group.
"Ready for combat. The blessings are active. But beware... he is not alone."
From the top of a ruined structure, a winged figure slowly emerged. Its wings were ragged, its face hidden behind a cracked celestial bone mask. It held a spear of dark aether, and runes of corruption floated around it.
Arzelion opened his arms and spoke in a double voice, a mixture of angelic chant and abyssal echo:
"The puppets of the gods... Have they come to stop the one who will renounce the yoke? What tender arrogance..."
Rykamaru, from the rear, activated his magical seals and extended his demonic blades.
"I have heard better speeches... in taverns infested with drunken goblins."
Scene 1: Total Combat <<
"Now!" Seraphiel shouted.
Alexander stomped. The ground shook. His giant sword collided with Arzelion's spear, and the impact generated a shockwave that disintegrated the nearby pillars.
"Divine Laser: Extinction Ray!" roared the metallic colossus.
A beam of white light crossed the battlefield. Arzelion vanished into smoke, reappearing to the left with a distorted movement.
"Slow. Eternally slow."
Zeus appeared from behind, his fist wrapped in lightning.
"But with style!" he shouted, striking him square in the chest with a "CRACK!" that lit up the dark sky.
The angel fell several meters, but before he hit the ground, his black wings expanded and released a shower of ethereal thorns.
"Total protection!" Yatma exclaimed, summoning a crystalline dome of magical shields. The thorns ricocheted with celestial sparks.
Seraphiel swooped down, his sword blazing like a golden sun. He shouted a spell:
"Serene Light Metamorphosis."
His hair turned silvery white, his body radiated divine speed, and his blade doubled in strength and magic.
"You will die here, Arzelion! For the souls you corrupted… and for those you may yet wound."
The two clashed in a frenzied dance of blades, lightning, black feathers, and divine blood.
Rykamaru threw Abyssal Seal shurikens, sealing away some of Arzelion's corrupted magic.
"You will not be able to open Dëlvak's chamber! You are finished!"
But Arzelion laughed.
"I don't need to open it… I just need time!"
Scene 2: Breaking Point<<
Alexander fell to his knees, his internal system overloaded.
"My engines are... collapsing. The core of my soul... is oscillating."
"Back off, giant iron! Let me shine!" Zeus shouted, slamming his fist into a floating rock and absorbing electricity from the surroundings.
"Yatma, I need a mana channel!" Seraphiel shouted, sweating and panting.
"Done! Aetherlight: Dawn Transfer!" the Yatma exclaimed, channeling her entire magical reserve into Seraphiel, who with a final shout unleashed her ultimate technique:
"Final Ascension Slash."
A slash in the shape of a divine cross streaked across the sky. Arzelion's chest was cleaved. The angel screamed, expelling shadows, light, blood, and memories all at once.
"Why?!" Why do you deny me the freedom to become a god…?! Free will… should also be divine…!
Zeus took a deep breath, his torso bruised:
"Friend… it's not freedom if you need to trample others to achieve it."
Seraphiel slowly descended, still in his exalted form, and thrust his sword next to Arzelion's almost defeated body.
"You're not a god… you're just someone who was afraid to remain mortal."
Arzelion's body slowly dissolved… as if Hell itself were claiming him.
>Scene 3: Scars and End of the Battle<<
The five heroes, wounded, covered in dust, light, and silence, sat on some ruins. The battle was over. But not the war.
Yatma, exhausted, wiped her sweat with a smile:
"Did I tell you we would survive…?"
Zeus lay down on the ground:
"I'm alive, but my ass doesn't know it."
Rykamaru just drank from his canteen, staring at the horizon.
Alexander, in a deep, gravelly voice, murmured:
"Today I saw my end... and I'm not ready for it yet."
Seraphiel looked at the reddish sky of Hell with melancholy.
"That was our last battle as adventurers, or so I hope..."
>>Flashback: Last Mission<<
>>A Century After the Battle in the Lesser Hell<<
Divine Supreme Council Hall – Hall of Eternal Judgment<<
The echo of firm footsteps resonated on the celestial marble as Alexander, Zeus, Yatma, Rykamaru, and Seraphiel appeared before the supreme gods. A divine halo enveloped the hall. In the center, the god Aetherios (1) spoke in an authoritative voice:
"Heroes of the war against Arzelion. The Creator Nexus has made a decision. You will be the guardians of the Legacy of the Thread of Creation: a divine child… his child."
The silence was absolute. Zeus was the first to speak.
"A… baby? Us? Don't you have a squad of celestial nannies or something?"
Alexander crossed his arms, his voice booming like wrought iron.
"The Creator's child?" Wouldn't it be wiser to train him with celestial sages?
"We don't seek wisdom," Metatron chimed in. "We seek scarred hearts. You forged your souls in battle. That experience... is the fire that will temper him."
Yatma lowered her gaze, silent. She knew it wasn't an order... it was a test. But then Rykamaru raised his voice:
"No. I will not risk turning my life into a cage for a destiny not mine. I love freedom... and that child will be a chain."
"Nor will I." Seraphiel crossed her arms, her gaze steady. "Raising the Creator's child is something for priests or full gods, not us. I value the honor, but I will not be a slave to the high gods."
Zeus remained silent. But she glanced sideways at her companions.
"Even if I don't see myself as a father... perhaps the boy could need more than glory and rules." Perhaps… a bit of madness too.
Alexander nodded slowly.
"I accept. Because someone must protect him, even if it's only with steel."
Yatma raised her head.
"And someone must teach him to love life… even if fate crushes him."
Rykamaru looked away with a tired smile.
"I suppose… we'll meet again when all their divine hair has fallen out."
Seraphiel smiled, though her eyes were filled with regret.
"You have my respect. But I choose to live… as a free warrior. If that child ever needs a sword, he'll know where to find me."
> > Minor Sky (4) "Lyras" — 7 Years After the Oath <<
A luminous valley opened between floating mountains. There, among butterflies of light and golden trees, Alexander rested, his titanic body leaning against a hill. Yatma wove a protective embroidery. Zeus slept on a cloud... snoring.
Zodiark, barely three years old, played among enchanted flowers, trying to chase his own aura like a fox of light.
Suddenly, a shadow descended. A beam of dark, warm wind stirred the celestial cups.
"Is that... him?"
Seraphiel appeared from the mist, dressed in her shimmering cloak, a white rose in her hair. Beside her, Rykamaru, his katana slung over his back, his arms crossed.
Zodiark stopped his game and watched them with curious eyes, as if he recognized them from a dream.
Yatma smiled from afar.
"He's not afraid of anyone. He just... wants to know."
Alexander, without rising, spoke:
"You must greet him before he attacks you with magic bubbles. He has demonic aim."
Rykamaru approached and knelt before the boy.
"Is this little one going to inherit the universe?" "I'm not little!" Zodiark cried, puffing out his cheeks.
Seraphiel laughed, and then... hugged him.
"Maybe... I wasn't the one who was supposed to run from fate."
Zodiark stared at her.
"You... fought dragons? Alexander says he yells at them until they faint."
"I cut them down before they have time to scream," she replied, winking at him.
And so, after centuries of separate paths, the ancient heroes shared a campfire, heavenly food, and laughter. They weren't the same as before... but their bond was reborn, stronger than ever.
> Flashback – 2 Years of Travels Later <<
Zodiark, now 5 years old, crossed the Lesser Heavens with his mentors. He learned to invoke small magics, read ancient dialects, and distinguish between justice and arrogance.
Sometimes, he fell. Sometimes, he cried. But he always got up.
"Alexander! Look! I brought down that golem with a scream!"
"It was a hiccup, kid. But… effective," the colossus replied, hiding his pride.
"Yatma, I made you a fire flower!"
"That's not… IT'S A FIRE GRENADE! THROW THAT!" she shouted, as the field erupted into fiery petals.
In the Lesser Hells, Zodiark touched the demons with a purity none of them understood. He spoke to them, offered them heavenly bread, asked them why they were sad. Even Rykamaru, who used to lurk in the shadows, began telling him stories of fallen divine samurai and redemption.
Seraphiel trained him silently.
"Don't fight with fury, Zodiark. Fight... with purpose."
"And if I don't have one?"
"Then fight... until you find one."
> End of Flashback<<
> Back to the Present – Guild of the First Echoes<<
The story returns to a lively tavern, its walls lined with trophies and ancient weapons. Alexander, Zeus, and Yatma laugh with the other adventurers. In the corner, Seraphiel sharpens his sword. Rykamaru drinks dark sake.
Zodiark, now 7 years old, sleeps in a corner of the Morningstar Inn, covered with a constellation blanket.
"Sometimes... I forget that little one brought us back together," Yatma said, looking into his glass.
"Fate separated us... and a star brought us together," Zeus added, raising his glass.
Alexander nodded.
"And that star... will shine in the coming darkness."
Thus concludes the chapter, leaving the guild behind, as the night sky reveals a new constellation: "Zodiark, the legacy of Nexus."
Will something dark threaten all our protagonist's peace? Is death stalking him?