Chapter 70 – "The Wings of Astria"
Astria.
A city suspended above the clouds, radiant, almost unreal.
Towers of gold and crystal soared into the heights, floating bridges linked temples, and stone angels guarded the gates.
A paradise… or at least, the perfect illusion of one.
Valen, Naël, and Zarion walked along the main skybridge.
Around them, silver-armored guards watched every step — silent, wary.
> "Charming welcome," muttered Zarion, hands in his pockets.
> "Shut it," Naël replied. "We're not here to spark a diplomatic incident."
> "Me? Never. I only provoke the wrong people."
> "So… everyone," Valen sighed.
Elyonna, perched on Valen's shoulder, let out a long breath.
> "Three legends on an infiltration mission, and none of you can stay discreet."
> "I'm trying," Valen said with a crooked smile. "It's just that my natural charm betrays me."
> "You mean your stupidity," Elyonna snapped.
A soldier from Astria approached, his aura making the air tremble.
> "Name and affiliation."
> "Diplomatic mission. Authorized by Commander Liora," Naël replied, presenting a black badge.
The soldier bowed slightly, but his gaze lingered on Valen a second too long.
> "I know, I'm gorgeous. Move along," Valen said with a grin.
---
They entered the high city.
All around, elite hunters trained on floating platforms.
The insignia of the "Astrian Veil" shimmered in the wind — silver wings crossed by a line of pure energy.
> "They call these mercenaries? Looks more like a celestial army," Zarion whistled.
> "Worse. They choose their wars," Naël replied.
> "And apparently, they chose the wrong one," Valen murmured.
They stopped before a massive arch carved with ancient inscriptions.
Above it, a name: Sanctuary of the Twelve Vows.
Elyonna vibrated faintly.
> "I sense strange magic… old. Something's hidden here, Valen."
> "Yeah. And whatever it is… doesn't want to be found."
---
In front of an inverted cathedral, a man with golden wings awaited them.
Tall, cold, almost unreal.
> "Welcome to Astria. I am Seraphiel, right hand of the High Guard. Your arrival is an honor."
> "Yeah, an honor. They even rolled out the white tablecloth," Naël muttered.
Seraphiel smiled without warmth.
> "Come. The Council awaits."
---
The Council chamber was blinding.
Stained glass windows cast golden light on impassive faces.
Ten figures sat around a glowing circle.
All… except one.
One empty chair, marked with a strange symbol — three interlocking circles.
The same symbol carved into the corpses of the Chaos cult.
> "Well well. One angel missing," Valen remarked.
> "Archangel Lysandra is on a spiritual mission. She will return… when the heavens decide," a councilor replied.
> "Spiritual mission, huh? Nice way of saying 'she vanished,' right?" Naël retorted.
Silence fell instantly.
Seraphiel frowned.
> "Your words are reckless, hunter."
> "No. Realistic. I've seen enough cults to know when something stinks beneath the roses."
Valen placed a hand on Naël's shoulder.
> "Easy. We're not here to fight."
> "Not yet."
---
Zarion, lingering at the back, approached a statue of an angel.
A crack ran through the marble… and inside, an eye. Alive.
> "Okay… these statues are watching. LITERALLY."
> "Excuse me?"
> "They have eyes! One blinked at me!"
> "Zarion, if you ate something weird again—"
> "I'm telling you, they moved!"
Valen touched the base of the statue.
> "This isn't a statue. It's a living seal. A form of divine guard… or worse."
Seraphiel stepped closer.
> "Astria protects its secrets."
> "Or locks them away," Valen replied.
---
In their temporary quarters, Valen gazed out over the city.
The angels sang. The towers pulsed.
And yet… a subtle pressure lingered. Almost human.
> "Naël, you feel that?"
> "Yeah. An inverted aura. It feels hollow."
> "Because they're blessed by something other than light."
> "The cult?"
> "Or worse. Someone's pulling strings from above."
Zarion entered, tense.
> "I heard rumors. The 'Lord of Chaos' was seen… in Astria."
> "You mean he's here?"
> "No. That he was here."
Valen stared at the sky.
> "Astria forgot what it is. A city of light built on the ashes of lies."
> "So what do we do?"
> "We dig. Until we find what they're hiding… even if it's a god."
---
Meanwhile, at Black Eclipse HQ.
Liora watched the aura flows of the four teams.
Béatrice entered.
> "You didn't tell them everything, did you?"
> "No. Because the truth… would've broken them before the fight even began."
> "And you?"
> "Me? I've got nothing left to lose."
---
Back in Astria.
Night fell, and the city lit up with floating runes.
> "Comms are down. Someone's jamming our signal," Zarion said.
> "They were expecting us," Naël murmured.
A voice echoed.
> "Welcome to Astria, hunters of the Eclipse. I hoped Liora would send dogs worthy of her name."
A figure stepped forward.
White armor. Golden eyes. Twelve wings of energy.
Elyonna trembled.
> "Impossible… that's a Seraph."
Valen gripped his sword.
> "Great. No time to sightsee — we're already facing a boss."
The Seraph raised his hand.
The runes ignited, forming a perfect circle.
> "May the Cult of Chaos bless your recklessness. You will die for your lies."
Valen smiled, a wild gleam in his eyes.
> "Bad line. You just signed your death warrant."
---
High above the temple, Seraphiel watched the city.
A priest knelt before him.
> "Lord Seraphiel, the intruders are in place. Shall we activate the Rite?"
> "No. Not yet. First, I want to know… if that boy with the star-born gaze is truly the one the Cult awaits."
The evening light shattered across his wings.
And for a moment, his shadow traced a dark, ancient symbol — the mark of Chaos.
Chapter 71 – "The Gods of the North"
The northern wind howled—icy, sharp as a blade.
Beneath a grey sky, the mountains of the Pantheon rose, unmoving since the dawn of time.
Arthur, hood up, led the way, followed by Béatrice and two scouts.
Their footsteps echoed across the snow.
> "Charming place," Arthur quipped.
— "If you enjoy freezing to death, sure," Béatrice replied.
— "I'm trying to stay positive."
— "Save your optimism for when a titan charges you."
She gestured with her hand: the ice crystals around them began to float, forming a barrier.
The cold here wasn't natural.
It breathed something older.
Something divine.
> "The Pantheon," Béatrice murmured. "Hunters call this place the 'Resting Ground of Fallen Gods.'"
Arthur placed a hand on the wall of a half-buried temple.
The runes glowed faintly, as if watching them.
> "This is where it all began. The first celestial wars, the pacts between humans and gods… and the betrayals."
Béatrice nodded slowly.
> "And this is where Liora wants us to find answers."
---
Elsewhere, in another plane,
Liora watched the scene through a water mirror in her command chamber.
Her breath formed a faint mist.
She wasn't alone.
> "Still watching everything, huh?" said a deep voice.
Liora didn't turn.
> "I told you not to appear without permission, Architect."
A tall, hooded figure stood in the shadows.
His eyes—two glowing fissures—seemed to pierce through reality.
> "And I told you I find rules amusing."
— "You find tampering with the balance of realms amusing."
The Architect smiled.
> "Balance… you still believe it exists? Look around, Liora. Your hunters walk through ruins even gods dare not face.
The Cult of Chaos wasn't born of a mistake. It was born of a void."
Liora stared at him, cold.
> "And you? Do you fill that void—or deepen it?"
Silence.
Then the Architect shrugged.
> "Let's say… I build over it."
---
Back in the North.
Arthur and Béatrice entered the main temple.
Colossal statues lined the nave, depicting forgotten entities: the Northern Primordials.
Names erased. Faces buried in frost.
Suddenly, a sound.
A deep pulse.
Then a voice—hoarse, echoing from the sanctuaryals… here?"
Arthur drew Excalibur.
Béatrice activated her radiant cross.
A shadow formed between the columns.
A towering figure, draped in chains and ice.
> "I… recognize that light. Liora… she still lives?"
Béatrice narrowed her eyes.
> "You know her?"
The entity stepped forward slowly.
Its face was hidden behind a fractured helm.
Its eyes burned with an ancient blue.
> "Long ago… I was one of her allies. Before the Fall of the First Throne."
Arthur tightened his grip on his sword.
> "That's impossible. All gods of the First Throne vanished."
> "Vanished? No. Banished.
And if you're here… it means one of them is awakening."
---
The ground shook.
Crimson fissures of light snaked beneath their feet.
Béatrice looked up—symbols of the Cult of Chaos etched themselves into the walls.
> "Arthur… it's a trap."
> "No."
The entity's voice rang out, resonant.
— "It's a message."
The temple suddenly opened, revealing a vortex of black energy that sucked in snow and stone.
A female voice rose—clear, distant—
Liora's, projected through the northern winds.
> "Béatrice, Arthur… fall back. You're touching the First Root."
Arthur grimaced.
> "The First Root of what?"
Through the water mirror, Liora clenched her jaw.
> "Of Chaos."
---
Within the vortex, something stirred.
A massive hand—made of shadow and flame—unfurled slowly.
The entity stepped between them and the abyss, chains rattling.
> "Go! This seal should never have been broken!"
Arthur hesitated.
Béatrice grabbed his arm.
> "We're leaving. Now!"
They crossed the threshold just as the temple erupted in a wave of scarlet energy.
The mountains trembled.
And in the echoes of the wind, one phrase rang out—deep, distant:
> "The First Throne returns."
Chapter 72 – "The Blood of Oaths":
---
Astria, deep night.
The runes floated like frozen fireflies in the ether.
The battle had left invisible scars — in the air, in their souls.
Valen, Naël, and Zarion walked slowly through the Sanctuary's corridors.
The Seraph had vanished… but his aura still clung to the walls.
Each step felt heavier than the last.
> — "He's gone… or still watching us?" murmured Zarion.
> — "Both, probably," Naël replied.
> — "I don't like glowing people who judge."
> — "You don't like anyone," Valen sighed.
> — "Wrong. I like me. And Elyonna, when she's asleep."
Elyonna, perched on his shoulder, growled:
> — "I never sleep. I watch you. And I judge you."
Silence fell.
Even the walls seemed to hold their breath.
---
They reached a sealed door.
Twelve circles carved into the stone.
A symbol at the center: three crossed wings, stained with red.
The floor pulsed gently, as if something beneath was breathing.
Valen stopped.
> — "The Council lied to us. This isn't a sanctuary. It's a prison."
Naël touched the stone.
It vibrated.
A whisper escaped — a broken female voice.
> — "Lysandra…" Béatrice breathed through the earpiece.
> — "You hear it too?" asked Arthur.
> — "Yes. She's calling."
Zarion stepped closer, frowning.
> — "It's not a voice. It's a memory. She's not speaking… she's bleeding."
---
In the command chamber, Liora stood abruptly.
The water mirror had turned red.
The aura flows twisted, as if the fabric of the world bent.
> — "The blood of oaths…" she murmured.
> — "You knew Lysandra was here," said Béatrice.
> — "I suspected. But I couldn't be sure."
The Architect reappeared, like a shadow in the fog.
His gaze was graver than usual.
> — "You send your hunters into the depths of lies. You think they'll emerge unscathed?"
> — "I believe they're the only ones who can survive the truth."
> — "Or carry it."
Liora didn't answer.
But her fist clenched.
---
Back in Astria.
The door opened with a breath.
Inside, a circular chamber bathed in black light.
The walls were covered in carved oaths — names, pacts, betrayals.
At the center, suspended in a sphere of energy: Lysandra.
Her wings were broken.
Her body marked with runes.
Her eyes… empty.
> — "By the heavens…" Naël whispered.
> — "Is she alive?" asked Zarion.
> — "She's… somewhere in between," Valen replied.
Elyonna vibrated.
> — "This isn't a prison. It's a ritual. They're transforming her."
Valen stepped closer.
His sword vibrated, as if it recognized the energy.
> — "This isn't pure Chaos. It's… a blend. Someone's tampering with the foundations."
Naël knelt beside the sphere.
> — "Lysandra… if you can hear me, resist."
---
A rune lit up.
Then another.
Then all of them.
The chamber shook.
The carved oaths faded one by one.
A voice rose — deep, multiple, ancient.
> — "The Oath is broken. Chaos demands its due."
Chains of energy surged from the floor, trying to bind Lysandra.
Valen drew his sword.
> — "We're getting her out. Now."
Naël placed his hand on the sphere.
It burned.
But Lysandra opened her eyes.
> — "Too late… he's already here."
---
High above the temple, Seraphiel watched the scene.
His gaze was empty.
His shadow… no longer human.
A priest approached, trembling.
> — "Lord… the Rite is nearly complete."
Seraphiel didn't answer.
But his wings slowly unfurled, revealing a black, ancient symbol — that of Chaos.
> — "The First Throne returns. And this time… he won't be alone."
Chapter 73 – "The Golden Continent":
---
A warm wind blew across the horizon, carrying the scent of metal and dust.
Three figures walked slowly along the crystal road leading straight to one of the most powerful cities in the world: Solarys, capital of the Golden Continent, domain of the Sage-Dragon and seat of the Ouroboros guild.
At the front, Nova walked with his hood down, a massive sword strapped to his back.
To his left, Lya moved silently, twin daggers crossed behind her, eyes sharp and alert to the slightest sound.
Trailing behind, Valor strolled with his hands in his pockets, whistling as if he were out for a walk rather than on a spy mission.
> "Seriously," Nova growled without turning, "don't you think whistling as we approach an enemy guild is a bit… suicidal?"
> "It's my personal infiltration technique," Valor replied with a grin. "Total relaxation. No one suspects a chill guy."
> "Yeah, until your head rolls across the golden pavement," Lya muttered.
> "Details, details…"
---
Their march continued in silence, paced by footsteps and wind.
In the distance, the golden towers of Solarys gleamed like celestial pillars.
Each building looked sculpted from light itself.
Even the clouds seemed to bow before the city.
> "Impressive, huh?" said Nova, eyes raised.
> "Too flashy for my taste," Lya replied. "Looks like they tried to recreate paradise without the manual."
> "That's kind of Ouroboros' whole thing," added Valor. "Build, destroy, rebuild again. The snake eating its own tail. Evolution through wreckage."
> "Did you study your notes?"
> "I don't like showing up dumb to a mission. Bad form."
---
They stopped on a hill overlooking the entire city.
Golden guards patrolled the main gate, and miniature dragons flew above the ramparts.
> "Alright, today's plan," said Nova. "We go in, investigate, find the cult connections, and get out alive. Easy."
> "I admire your optimism," Lya replied. "How exactly? The dragons scan visitors' auras. If we lie, we get roasted."
> "We improvise."
> "That's not a plan, that's freestyle suicide."
Valor raised a hand, looking inspired.
> "Wait. I've got an idea."
Nova eyed him warily.
> "…I'm already scared."
> "We say we're freelance hunters here to propose a trade alliance with Ouroboros. Sounds legit, right?"
> "Until they ask for your guild certificate."
> "Ah. Technicality."
Lya sighed and rubbed her temples.
> "Seriously, how did we end up with just the three of us infiltrating the most paranoid guild in the world?"
> "Because Liora hates us," Nova replied without hesitation.
> "No, she hates you," Valor retorted. "She likes me. She told me, 'Try not to blow up the mission.' Which, between us, is a vote of confidence."
> "Valor, you literally blew up a temple by accident last time."
> "By accident, exactly. I'm improving."
---
They descended toward the main gate.
Two guards in draconic armor stopped them, their golden helmets reflecting the sun.
> "Identification."
> "Nova, freelance mercenary. These are my colleagues, Lya and Valor. We're here to negotiate a deal with the Ouroboros Council."
The guard stared at him for a long moment, then his gaze shifted to the sword on Nova's back.
> "That blade… it emits an unusual energy. Where's it from?"
> "Family heirloom," Nova replied without flinching.
> "Your father must've been a real psychopath," the guard muttered before letting them pass.
> "He was, yeah," Nova whispered.
---
They finally entered the city.
The ground was paved with pure gold.
The inhabitants wore clothes with metallic reflections, and dragon statues rose at every street corner.
Everywhere, runes floated in the air — incantations of control and purification.
> "I've never seen a place so… regulated," Lya whispered.
> "Makes sense," Valor replied. "Here, even your thoughts are monitored. Think too loud about something shady, and a priest might show up to exorcise you."
> "Charming."
They passed a silent market where vendors didn't shout: prices appeared telepathically.
A child stared at them, then ran off — as if he'd recognized something.
> "Are we exposed?" Nova asked.
> "No. We're just… too alive for this place," Lya replied.
---
They finally reached the center: a gigantic spiral tower of white gold, surrounded by a circle of living runes.
> "The Sage-Dragon's Palace," Nova murmured. "That's where we need to go."
A chill swept through the air.
A shadow passed overhead.
A massive dragon, covered in golden scales, landed atop the tower.
Its roar shook the entire continent.
> "Well damn," Valor said, eyes wide. "Not every day you see a lizard worth more than an entire nation."
> "Shh," Lya hissed. "If that dragon hears you, he'll swallow you just for the principle."
> "He better chew properly."
---
Nova stayed focused.
His gaze turned to the palace steps, where a figure slowly descended.
An old man in a golden cloak, his draconic eyes calmly studying the trio.
> "The Sage-Dragon…" Nova murmured.
Lya felt her heart race.
> "Wait, he's coming straight toward us?!"
> "Apparently. And I don't get the feeling it's for tea."
The old man stopped before them.
His voice, soft yet powerful, echoed through the space.
> "You smell strange, strangers.
Liora's scent clings to your skin.
Is she the one who sent you?"
Their faces froze.
> "Okay," Valor whispered nervously. "Plan B?"
> "Plan B?" Nova repeated.
> "Run. Fast."
But before they could move, the Sage-Dragon raised his hand.
A golden rune appeared on the ground, freezing them in place.
> "Not so fast.
You've come a long way to reach me… so I might as well know why."
The dragon's gaze locked onto Nova.
And for a brief moment, Nova felt a presence in his mind — something ancient, immense, reptilian.
> "Tell me why Liora sent you.
Are you here to observe us… or to investigate the new cult?"
Nova didn't answer.
His sword vibrated softly on his back.
And behind him, Valor murmured:
> "I think we're neck-deep in trouble."
Then all three looked at the old man.
And he smiled — a slow, almost amused smile.
> "Very well…".