Far beyond Celestara's golden towers, in secret halls carved from jade and ice, three empires gathered.
The Council of Three
The Twilight Empire, draped in robes of obsidian, where assassins whispered as loudly as kings.
The Stormwind Dominion, carved upon mountains, whose generals wielded thunder as naturally as blades.
And the Silverflame Dynasty, ancient and aloof, whose scholars claimed lineage from the stars themselves.
Their rulers sat at a triangular table of white stone, a rare gathering unseen in centuries. Between them, a single word poisoned the air:
"Aezreal."
The Stormwind Emperor slammed his fist upon the table. "The Radiant Emperor was a fool to provoke him. Now his shadow grows unchecked. If he steps beyond the Tribulation Realm, no empire may restrain him."
The Twilight Empress laughed softly, voice silk wrapped around daggers. "Unrestrained men devour themselves. Let him and the Radiant Emperor bleed each other dry. Why waste our armies, when we may inherit the ashes?"
The Silverflame Patriarch, oldest among them, shook his head. His eyes gleamed with secrets no mortal should know. "You do not understand. His cultivation path does not belong to this world."
The others stilled.
The Lower World's Cage
The patriarch's voice echoed. "This world — this Lower World we inhabit — its laws are broken. For countless eras, no man has surpassed the Mortal Realm. Tribulation is the peak. Beyond it lies only death or stagnation."
He leaned forward, each word heavy as iron. "But he… he has defied the ceiling. His five years of silence were not idleness. He is perfecting the Final Realm, a realm that does not belong here."
A chill ran through the chamber.
"Then what happens when he succeeds?" the Stormwind Emperor demanded.
The patriarch's gaze lifted, beyond the hall, beyond the skies themselves. "When he completes it, he will shatter this world's laws. And when he does… he will ascend. Not to power within this realm, but to the Immortal World above."
The Twilight Empress narrowed her eyes. "And what waits for him there?"
The patriarch's voice dropped to a whisper. "Enemies. Ancient enemies. The Dragon Race. The Demon Race. Both banished from this lower plane when the heavens sealed its limits. They thrive in the Immortal World still."
"And beyond even that," he continued, his tone grave now, "the God's World towers. Where those who defy immortality itself ascend. And in that world… dwells the man who cast aside his blood, who slew the woman he once called wife."
The hall darkened. None needed to speak the name.
Aezreal's father.
Schemes in the Shadows
The Stormwind Emperor spat. "So this is not the rise of a rebel. It is the rise of a calamity. If he ascends, he carries with him vengeance against dragons, demons, and even gods. The Immortal World itself will bleed."
The Twilight Empress smiled thinly. "Then let him ascend. A weapon forged in another world can still be used, so long as one is clever enough to wield it."
The patriarch shook his head, eyes fixed on unseen horizons. "No one wields a storm. They only drown beneath it."
Celestara Trembles
Back in the Radiant capital, the emperor received news of the secret council. His fury was volcanic.
"Cowards! Vultures! They would watch me fall before lifting a hand!"
But beneath his rage, unease gnawed deeper. The oracles' words echoed: the heavens do not resist him. If even the world itself could not bind Aezreal, then how could men?
The Shadow's Vigil
Upon the cliff overlooking Celestara, Aezreal sat cross-legged, Nyx coiled at his side. His aura swelled, thunderous yet restrained, as though an ocean pressed against its dam.
He had learned the truth years ago. This world was too small. Its ceiling, too low. No matter how he climbed, the heavens would not allow him beyond.
Unless he broke them.
The scythe whispered in the night, its hunger laced with reverence.
Nyx raised her three heads, each eye burning with ancient flame. She too felt it — the veil thinning, the gate forming.
When he perfected the Final Realm, the heavens would have no choice. He would leave this cage, ascend to the Immortal World. And there, he would meet dragons and demons, foes destined by blood and fate.
And one day, beyond even that… he would drag his father down from the God's throne itself.
Aezreal's eyes opened. Stars blazed above him, but he no longer saw them. His gaze pierced higher, farther, to realms no mortal dared dream.
A whisper curled from his lips, calm and absolute.
I am coming.