The night sky burned.
Stars ,once cold, distant witnesses of creation now fell like embers toward the earth. Each one screamed as it descended, leaving trails of silver fire across the heavens. From the mountains of Arctis to the shattered plains of Dravern, the world watched in awe and terror as the constellations themselves began to break apart.
Kaien Draven stood atop the ridge of the Hollow Peaks, his cloak torn by the storm. The winds were violent, charged with something more than thunder raw celestial fury. His hair whipped across his face, and his eyes glowed faintly red in the stormlight.
He could feel it. The pulse of the Sovereign's awakening.
Every falling star was a fragment of that power, burning its way back into existence.
Behind him, a faint sound echoed the crunch of boots on gravel.
"You didn't tell me it would be like this," said a voice calm, but edged with disbelief.
Kaien turned slightly. Lira stood there, her white cloak fluttering in the wind, her staff glowing faintly blue. Her expression was tight, her silver eyes reflecting the chaos above.
"I didn't plan for it," Kaien said. "The Sovereign's seal broke when I destroyed the monolith. Now the stars are rebelling."
"Rebelling?" she repeated. "Kaien, the sky is falling!"
He didn't answer. His gaze was locked on the horizon, where entire mountain ranges glowed from the impact of celestial fire. Demons were crawling from the craters — not the twisted beasts of the lower Abyss, but something older. Their bodies shimmered like obsidian glass, and their veins ran with molten light.
"The Starborn," Kaien murmured.
Lira's grip tightened around her staff. "You mean they're—"
"The Sovereign's first creations," Kaien finished. "Before demons, before gods — before humans. They were the architects of balance. Until he turned them into weapons."
Lightning slashed across the sky, briefly illuminating Kaien's face. The mark on his chest flickered again, pulsing in rhythm with the stars.
"You're linked to them," Lira realized softly. "That's why they're waking."
Kaien didn't deny it. "Then I'll end them before they end the world."
He jumped down the ridge. The air rippled as he landed, cracks spreading through the ground from the force. His sword — reforged from the fragments of Arkveil — shimmered with a faint black-silver glow. He'd named it Eclipsera, the Blade of Twilight.
As the first Starborn emerged fully from the crater, its form towered above him — a creature of pure energy, humanoid but for the wings of shattered crystal on its back. Its eyes were galaxies, its voice a chorus.
"Child of the Shadow Flame," it said. "You carry the Sovereign's will. Why do you oppose your own kind?"
Kaien raised his blade. "Because your kind forgot what mercy meant."
The creature smiled, or something close to it. "Then you will learn what rebellion costs."
The world exploded in light. The creature swung its arm, sending a wave of cosmic fire that tore through the valley. Kaien met it head-on, cutting through the blast, the ground beneath his feet disintegrating. His blade hummed, absorbing the raw energy and channeling it back in a violent pulse.
The clash sent both flying. The impact carved an entire crater into the mountain's side. Lira raised her staff, summoning a barrier that barely held against the shockwave.
Kaien rolled to his feet, panting. "This is only one of them," he muttered.
Before he could recover, another light appeared in the sky — then another, and another. Dozens. Hundreds. The Starborn were descending like a storm.
Lira shouted over the wind. "There's too many! We need to fall back!"
Kaien shook his head. "No. If they reach the cities, there won't be anything left to fall back to."
He closed his eyes briefly — and for the first time, called to the thing he hated most.
The voice inside him stirred.
You summon me again, the Sovereign's tone purred. You finally accept that your humanity is not enough.
"Shut up and give me power."
The air around him cracked. Darkness poured from his veins, spiraling into his sword. His aura blazed — half light, half void — the impossible fusion of life and death. When he opened his eyes, the crimson had deepened into pure black.
Lira stepped back. "Kaien…"
He moved. Faster than light, faster than thought. The first Starborn didn't even have time to scream — Kaien's blade sliced clean through its chest, cutting its core apart. The creature shattered into starlight.
More followed. He tore through them like a storm incarnate, every movement a blend of elegance and brutality. Yet with each kill, his aura darkened further. The stars above flickered as though wincing in pain.
"Kaien!" Lira yelled. "You're losing yourself again!"
He didn't respond. The Sovereign's laughter echoed inside his mind.
That's it. Feel it. The power that made gods kneel. You were never meant to be mortal, Kaien.
He struck another Starborn down, but his hands trembled afterward. The blade pulsed violently, almost alive. His reflection in the steel was no longer entirely his own.
Then — a voice cut through the chaos. Calm. Familiar.
"Still fighting like a beast, huh?"
Kaien froze. He turned slowly — and there, standing amidst the falling stars, was a man in silver armor, his expression soft but steady. His hair shimmered faintly gold beneath the burning sky.
"Ethan…"
Lira gasped. "But — that's impossible—"
Ethan Vale smiled sadly. "It's not. Not anymore."
Kaien's voice cracked. "You… you died."
"I did," Ethan said quietly, walking closer. "But something wouldn't let me rest. Maybe it was you. Maybe it was what's coming. The balance broke when you awakened the Sovereign's power — and now even the dead can't stay dead."
Kaien's grip on his sword loosened. "If you're real, help me stop this."
Ethan looked past him at the storm of Starborn descending. "You can't stop it. Not yet. You can only choose what burns first."
Kaien's eyes hardened. "Then we burn the heavens."
The two stood side by side again — like the battlefield years ago, when the world first called them legends. The Demon Slayer and the Lightbearer, reborn beneath a dying sky.
Lira raised her staff beside them. "Then let's make sure this world still has something left to save."
The ground split beneath their feet. The stars screamed as they fell, and the war for the skies began anew — the Rebellion of Heaven against the Shadow Sovereign's heir.
And above them all, unseen, the true Sovereign smiled through the void.
At last… the final dawn begins.