Silence.
For the first time in what felt like hours, there was no screaming.
No explosions.
No thunder.
No clash of Nexus energy.
Only silence.
Kaosu slowly opened his eyes.
His vision was blurry.
He stared at the wooden ceiling above him, trying to remember where he was.
"…Where…"
His body suddenly throbbed with pain.
"AGH!"
Kaosu tried to sit up, but a sharp pain forced him back down.
A familiar voice came from nearby.
"Don't move."
Kaosu slowly turned his head.
Supira was sitting against the wall, his arms crossed and several bandages wrapped around his body.
Kaosu blinked.
"Supira?"
Supira opened one eye.
"You're finally awake."
Kaosu looked around.
Doraibu was lying on another bed, completely exhausted.
Kaji sat against the wall, quietly examining the room.
Kori was lying unconscious nearby.
Kaosu's eyes widened.
"Kori!"
He tried to stand.
Supira immediately grabbed his shoulder.
"Relax. He's alive."
Kaosu stopped.
"…He's alive?"
"Yes."
Kaosu breathed a sigh of relief.
"What about Shimo?"
A soft voice answered from the other side of the room.
"I'm here."
Kaosu looked over.
Shimo was sitting beside Kori.
She looked exhausted, but she was unharmed.
Kaosu smiled faintly.
"…Good."
Suddenly—
"Ugh…"
Doraibu slowly opened his eyes.
"My entire body feels like it got hit by a mountain."
Kaji looked at him.
"You were hit by something much worse."
Doraibu stared at him.
"…That doesn't make me feel better."
Supira stood up slowly.
"We need to find out what happened."
Kaosu frowned.
"What do you mean?"
Supira looked toward the window.
"…Look outside."
Kaosu slowly turned his head.
The moment he saw the sky—
His eyes widened.
"…What the hell?"
Everyone slowly gathered near the window.
The sky above Atheris was no longer the same.
Massive pieces of the Heavens had fallen across the land.
Golden structures stretched across the horizon.
Floating islands had crashed into mountains.
Fragments of the Kingdom of Light were scattered throughout Atheris.
The Heavens—
Had fallen.
Doraibu stared in disbelief.
"…They actually did it."
Kaji adjusted his glasses.
"The Kingdom of Light is no longer above us."
Kaosu clenched his fists.
"Ransei…"
Kori suddenly moved.
His eyes slowly opened.
"…Mom…"
Everyone turned.
Kori pushed himself upright.
His eyes were filled with confusion.
Then his memories returned.
Ransei.
Hono.
The King.
Raiten.
The Aurelians.
Kori's breathing became heavier.
"Hono…"
Shimo placed a hand on his shoulder.
"Kori…"
Kori looked at her.
"What happened?"
Nobody answered.
Kori looked toward Kaosu.
"Where's Hono?"
Kaosu lowered his head.
"He…"
Kori's fists trembled.
"He saved the Heavens."
Kori's eyes widened.
"What?"
Kaosu continued.
"He used the last of his strength to stop the Heavens from crashing completely."
Kori looked toward the window.
"…So he's still alive?"
"We don't know."
Kori immediately stood.
"Then we have to find him!"
Kaosu grabbed his arm.
"Kori, wait!"
Kori turned around angrily.
"Why?!"
"You can barely stand!"
"I don't care!"
Kori's voice echoed through the dojo.
"He saved me!"
The room became silent.
Kori lowered his head.
"…He saved all of us."
Shimo stepped beside him.
"We'll find him."
Kori looked at her.
Shimo smiled.
"But we're not going to rush blindly into danger."
Kori slowly nodded.
"…Okay."
Suddenly—
The dojo doors opened.
Everyone turned.
Seiro walked inside.
His expression was completely different from before.
There was no smile.
No calmness.
Only seriousness.
Kaosu looked at him.
"Seiro."
Seiro looked toward the fallen Heavens.
"…So you've seen it."
Supira stepped forward.
"What happened to the King?"
Seiro remained silent.
Then he lowered his head.
"…He's dead."
Doraibu's expression changed.
"The King…"
Seiro nodded.
"Ransei killed him."
Kaosu clenched his fists.
"Damn it…"
Supira narrowed his eyes.
"And Ransei?"
"Gone."
Kaji spoke up.
"And the Aurelians?"
Seiro's eyes sharpened.
"You saw them?"
Kaji nodded.
"One of them said something about a feast."
Seiro's expression darkened.
"…Then we have a serious problem."
Kaosu stepped forward.
"What are Aurelians?"
Seiro took a deep breath.
"Aurelians are beings that existed long before the kingdoms of Atheris."
Everyone listened.
"They aren't demons."
"They aren't gods."
"They aren't humans."
"They are something else."
Doraibu frowned.
"Something else?"
Seiro nodded.
"Their bodies naturally absorb energy from the world around them."
Supira's eyes narrowed.
"And Nexus energy?"
Seiro looked directly at him.
"Especially Nexus energy."
Silence.
Kaosu's eyes widened.
"So that's why they came here."
Seiro nodded.
"They sensed the concentration of Nexus users after the Heavens fell."
Kaji's expression became serious.
"And now they're hunting them."
"Yes."
Kori clenched his fists.
"How many are there?"
Seiro looked toward the horizon.
"We don't know."
Doraibu swallowed.
"That's not exactly comforting."
Suddenly—
BOOOOOOM!
The ground shook.
Everyone turned toward the window.
A distant mountain exploded.
A column of black smoke rose into the sky.
Kaosu's eyes widened.
"What was that?"
Seiro looked toward the explosion.
"…An Aurelian."
Supira grabbed his Spiral Staff.
"Then we should go."
Seiro looked at him.
"No."
Supira stopped.
"What?"
"You're all still injured."
Kaosu frowned.
"We can fight."
Seiro shook his head.
"No."
His voice became firmer.
"You fought Raiten."
"You fought Kurayami."
"You fought the Oscura."
"And you survived the fall of the Heavens."
He looked at each of them.
"Your Nexuses are damaged."
Kaji nodded.
"He's right."
Doraibu looked down at his hands.
His Nexus energy flickered weakly.
"…Mine isn't responding properly."
Supira tried to activate his Spiral Nexus.
A small spiral appeared—
Then disappeared.
"Tch."
Kaosu clenched his fist.
His purple aura appeared for a moment.
Then flickered.
"…Mine too."
Kori looked at his hands.
His lightning barely sparked.
"So we're powerless?"
Seiro shook his head.
"No."
Everyone looked at him.
"You're recovering."
He walked toward the dojo entrance.
"And while you recover…"
He looked toward the fallen Heavens.
"…we need to understand what we're dealing with."
Suddenly—
A loud roar echoed across Atheris.
Everyone froze.
The sound wasn't human.
It wasn't animal.
It was something far more terrifying.
Kori slowly looked toward the door.
"…They're coming."
Seiro nodded.
"Yes."
Kaosu stepped forward.
"Then we'll be ready."
Supira stood beside him.
Doraibu joined them.
Kaji picked up his bow.
Kori stepped forward.
Shimo stood beside him.
For the first time since the Heavens fell—
The group stood together again.
Kaosu looked at everyone.
"We've lost the King."
Supira continued.
"Hono is missing."
Doraibu clenched his fists.
"The Heavens have fallen."
Kaji finished.
"And something called Aurelians is hunting Nexus users."
Kori looked toward the horizon.
"…Then we'll stop them."
Kaosu smiled.
"That's right."
Suddenly—
A shadow appeared high above the dojo.
Everyone looked up.
Two enormous golden eyes stared down at them.
The air became heavy.
Shimo's eyes widened.
"…Everyone…"
Kaosu slowly summoned the Dimension Blade.
"…Yeah."
The creature smiled.
Its voice echoed across the land.
"Nexus users…"
Everyone froze.
The creature's golden scales shimmered beneath the moonlight.
"We have found you."
Its eyes glowed red.
"And the Great Feast…"
It opened its mouth.
"…will begin soon."
Kaosu tightened his grip around his blade.
Supira raised his Spiral Staff.
Doraibu clenched his fists.
Kori's lightning began crackling around his body.
Shimo's flowers began blooming across the ground.
The creature smiled.
Then—
It vanished.
Kaosu stared at the empty sky.
"…That wasn't even an attack."
Kaji slowly lowered his bow.
"No."
He looked toward Seiro.
"That was a warning."
Seiro's expression remained cold.
"…Then we better prepare."
The fallen Heavens had changed Atheris forever.
And somewhere beyond the shattered sky—
The Aurelians were waiting.
The feast had only just begun.
End of Chapter