For three nights straight, the heavens refused to rest.
The stars burned crimson and gold, forming nine blazing orbs that pierced through the veil of the sky
each pulsing with the heartbeat of the First Beast.
All across the continent, chaos erupted.
Volcanoes roared in the south, ancient seas boiled in the east, and the sky split with auroras of molten color.
Every beast, from the smallest wisp to the mightiest dragon, lifted its head and howled
their instincts screaming one word into the wind:
"Return."
✦ The Gathering Storm
In the Wild Fortress, the council chambers trembled with arguments.
Generals, mages, and beastlords shouted over one another.
"If those lights are truly fragments of the Origin, then they must be contained!"
"Contained? You fool! Whoever possesses one gains divine power!"
"And if the Cult gets there first?"
The tension was suffocating.
Even Liora's voice, normally calm and commanding, trembled as she turned to Arka.
"The balance is breaking. We can't be everywhere at once."
Arka stood at the head of the chamber, silent for a long moment.
The wolf spirit glimmered faintly behind him less a companion now, more an extension of his own being.
"Then we divide," he said at last.
"We hunt the fragments, one by one. Before the world tears itself apart."
✦ Map of the Nine Lights
Liora unfurled an enchanted map the parchment glowing with celestial energy.
Nine radiant points burned across it, scattered over land and sea.
The Abyssal Reef – where the sea bleeds silver.
The Frozen Womb – deep beneath the northern glaciers.
The Desert of Echoes – where time stands still.
The Twin Peaks of Oros – said to touch the heavens.
The Cradle of Flame – a dormant volcano worshiped by salamander tribes.
The Fallen City of Lumeris – buried beneath sand and silence.
The Garden of Thorns – home of the ancient dryads.
The Sky Spire – a pillar of light floating among the clouds.
The Hollow Star – a ruin on the moonlit plains, said to be where the First Beast died.
Each light pulsed as if alive.
Each called to something or someone.
"The Seals are reforming," Liora said gravely.
"If they combine, the First Beast will regain consciousness… fully."
Arka traced a finger along the glowing lines.
"Then I'll chase the first light myself."
"Where?" Garran asked.
"The Abyssal Reef," Arka replied. "Where the stars meet the sea."
✦ The Cult's Movement
Far away, in the ruins of the south, shadows gathered.
Mirel's disciples now leaderless had been consumed by a greater power.
A man cloaked in obsidian armor stood at the center of the circle. His eyes burned like dying suns.
In his hand, a fragment of golden bone pulsed faintly.
"The Sovereign has awakened," he murmured.
"Then so shall I."
He lifted the fragment, and golden tendrils wrapped around his body branding him with a symbol older than gods.
"Let the beasts chase their light," he whispered.
"I will claim the heart of divinity itself."
The cultists bowed.
The man's name spread in whispers across the continent Kael, the False Star.
✦ Voyage to the Abyssal Reef
Two weeks later, Arka's ship cut through the storming seas under a black and red sky.
The ocean glowed faintly bioluminescent waves rising and falling as if breathing.
The crew, a mix of humans and beasts, worked in uneasy silence.
Rumors said the Reef devoured ships, dragging them into the sea's heart.
Liora stood at the bow, chanting protective wards.
"The stars are bleeding," she muttered. "Their energy contaminates the water."
Arka looked over the railing into the depths, where faint golden light shimmered far below.
The mark on his arm pulsed in response.
"It's here," he said softly.
"The first fragment."
✦ Descent Beneath the Sea
They dove beneath the waves using enchanted air orbs and protective runes.
The world below was breathtaking — coral forests glowing with pale fire, ancient ruins overgrown with crystalline vines.
But at the heart of the reef floated a massive sphere of light a fragment of the First Beast's ribcage, beating like a heart.
Beasts swam in circles around it, entranced, their eyes glowing gold.
"They're possessed," Garran said. "It's controlling them."
The wolf spirit's voice echoed inside Arka's mind.
"That fragment holds the essence of Dominion. If you touch it unprepared, you will become its vessel."
Arka's eyes narrowed.
"Then I'll become its master instead."
✦ Battle in the Depths
As Arka reached for the fragment, the sea exploded with motion.
Dozens of corrupted beasts attacked serpents of water and bone, their forms twisted by divine influence.
Arka drew his blade, its runes glowing silver.
Each swing cut through the sea like a comet's tail, but the monsters regenerated instantly.
Liora shouted through the telepathic link,
"It's feeding off the fragment! We can't win by brute force!"
Arka closed his eyes.
"Then we end it the way it began."
He summoned the Star Seal, merging it with the wolf's spirit.
A pulse of pure silver burst from his core, turning the ocean into a field of starlight.
Every corrupted creature froze then shattered into dust.
The fragment quivered.
Slowly, carefully, Arka reached out and touched it.
A surge of power rushed into him ancient, heavy, and vast.
Visions of galaxies, beasts, and dying gods flashed before his eyes.
And in the end, a whisper echoed:
"One claimed. Eight remain."
✦ Return to the Surface
When Arka returned to the ship, his aura had changed.
His eyes now shimmered with two tones — silver and faint gold.
Even the wolf spirit bowed slightly before him.
"You've bound the first fragment," it said.
"But every light you claim will bring the others closer. The world will begin to resist you."
Arka looked to the horizon.
The remaining eight lights burned brighter than before watching, waiting.
"Then let them come," he said quietly.
"I'll hunt them all before they hunt me."